TOTHING could afford a more

ftriking inftance how much the iffue of the greatest and most fyftematically conducted affairs of ftate depend on unforeseen events, often collateral to the cause in queftion, than was exhibited by the arreft of the princefs of Orange at Schoonhaven. After the whole train is regularly laid, and political defigns are ripening by mature degrees, it frequently happens, that refolutions are to be taken on the fpur of the occafion, which are decifive of failure or fuccefs, but which admit of little or no deliberation. Thus it was in the affairs of Holland.

It must have been evident to every cool obferver, however limited in his political views, that nothing could be more dangerous to the republic than the affording an opening to any foreign power for an hoftile interference in their domeftic feuds, under the colour of a perfonal or family infult. And of all the princes in Europe it was equally evident, that the king of Pruffia, from his near neighbour hood, clofe affinity with the ftadtholder, and, perhaps above all, from the promptnefs in the execution of the greatest measures which has fo long diftinguished that court, fhould have been looked to with the moft guarded caution, in order to prevent the poffibility of any pretence, diftinct from the subject, for fuch interference

For the king of Pruffia would have otherwife found it very diffi

cult, in the prefent pofture of affairs, and unless much more decifive and dangerous measures were purfued against the stadtholder and his family, to colour a violent invafion of the territories of the republic with thofe plaufible pretexts, which the present fyftem of policy and conduct adopted by the states of Europe has rendered, at least in a confiderable degree, neceffary. But all this difficulty was removed by themselves, through the infult offered to the princefs his fifter; and thereby, a foreign quarrel being involved in their domeftic diffenfions, the fwords that were drawn under pretence of obtaining fatiffaction for the affront, were foon directed to model the state and government.

On the other hand, it is not to be denied, that if the intentions of the princefs had not been as pure as her known character affures us they were, the admiflion of fuch a perfon into the very center of their operations, could not but be fatal to the defigns of the republican party. The activity and energy of her difpofition, her acknowledged ability, the affection the provinces bore to her perfon, and more especially the difficulties her sex would have oppofed on the reftraint which prudence might require, made her an object of fome apprehenfion. The very refpe&t which is attached to the character of mediator is capable of being perverted to finifter purposes. And the peculiar circumftance of a prin

cefs,

cefs, allied to one of the greateft royal houses, after being reduced to fly from her country, nobly rushing back again into the fcenes of war and tumult, and committing herself to the mercy of hoftile factions, that the might plead the cause of her husband and her children; this was a fpectacle not rafhly to be indulged to a people yet in the ferment of a recent revolution, and before the fpirit was properly affimilated to a new government. Men embarked in civil contentions are naturally fufpicious; and the great and critical intereft, in which all is at ftake, cannot liften to those perfonal respects, and bow to the confiderations which regulate the concerns of ordinary times. It may be added too, with fome appearance of probability, that the king of Pruffia would not have engaged in the Dutch affairs at all, if his interference had not coincided with his condition and the plan of his politics; and that, if circumftances had made it neceffary for him to acquiefce in fuch open attacks on the rights of a perfon fo nearly allied to him as the ftadtholder, he would not be moved by a measure which fome people would call a perfonal unprovoked indignity, but others might conftrue an act of juftifiable rigour, and of political necetlity: fo that, in cafting up the account, find rather the occafion than the cause of the king of Pruffia's irruption into Holland, in the event, the particulars of which we are going to relate.

we may

The princefs of Orange, whether from a confidence founded in a fenfe of her abilities, or on the influence which the expected might be derived from her fex, dignity, and family, adopted the refolution of pro

ceeding, unaccompanied by the prince her husband, from Nimeguen to the Hague; intending, undoubtedly, to have entered into a perfonal negociation with the leaders of the adverse party, and at the fame time to manage the interests of the ftadtholder with the states general, the council of ftate, and other great bodies of the government.

Whatever the fecret motives might be, thofe avowed by the princefs were, that he was on her way to the Houfe in the Wood, (a palace belonging to the house of Orange, known by that name, and adjoining to the Hague) in order to communicate to Mr. Van Bleifwick, the grand penfionary, to their noble mightineffes the ftates of Holland, and to their high mightineffes the ftates general, fuch conciliatory propofitions, in the name of the prince her hutband, (who could not in the prefent fituation of affairs attend in perfon) as would, if it were yet poffible, prevent the evils and horrors of a civil war, which at present hung fo heavily over the republic.

On the other hand, the adverse party reprefented this myfterious journey as a measure fraught with the greateft dangers. They faid, that in order to facilitate the stadtholder's open operation against them in the field, the princefs had come into Holland with a view of exciting infurrection and rebellion, among the people, and of throwing every thing into confusion at home. That the debauching the troops of the ftate, and procuring a farther defertion of them from their masters, was probably another object of the journey. And, as it was neceffary to inflame as much as poffible the minds of the more vulgar and ig

norant

norant members of their party, and that a common travelling poft coach or two, with a couple of hired chaifes, could not well bear the imputation of being the conveyance of any dangerous quantity of artillery, it was induftrioufly given out, that the princess's baggage was full fraught with ammunition of the most dangerous nature, for that above 3000 orange cockades were packed up in it, which the intended to diftribute among her adherents. And, as the baggage was not fearched, either from motives of respect, or from a political af fumption of them, it became impoffible after to prove the negative. The princefs, accompanied only by the baronefs Watfanaar, count Bentinck, a field officer or two, and attended by a few domeftics, arrived, in the common mode of travelling, with hired carriages, at the borders of Holland, near Schoonhoven. They were stopped by the firft guard of armed burghers they met; but upon a declaration of the princefs's quality, and where the was going, the officer, after much hefitation, and apparent embarraffment, fuffered them to proceed.

We have before obferved, that the place of the deferted troops had been fupplied by the armed burghers, who, with thofe that remained, ftill kept up the line on the frontiers of Utrecht. It appears that the commanding officers of the line had received fome previous inteiligence of the approach of the princefs, and it is probable had time to receive private inftructions from the fecret commiffion of defence at Woerden, which was furnished in fome refpects with dictatorial pow ers, in what manner to act upon this new occafion. The princess feems

rather to have paffed by than thro' Schoonhoven, and pro- June 28th. ceeded above a league farther without inter- 1787. ruption; but the carriages were then fuddenly furrounded by a party of burghers, who were foon joined by a detachment of the horfe of Heffe Philipftal, whose commander had gone over to the prince, but was either deferted by his regiment, or they had refused to proceed with him.

This detachment, though officered, fubmitted to act like machines, under the orders of a rough, vulgar, ignorant captain of the free corps. Their behaviour was fuch as might have been expected from such a leader; who was equally ignorant of military duties, and of the manners established among gentlemen. After much altercation and delay, he, with difficulty, complied with a propofal of the princefs, to fend an exprefs to general Van Ryffell, who was at three leagues diftance, in order that he might remove this obftruction to her route; but abfolutely refufed to let M. Bentinck accompany the exprefs, and was hardly perfuaded to fuffer him to write a few lines to Van Ryffell.

Upon a reprefentation of the very difagreeable fituation of the princefs, topped upon a narrow road between two. canals, it was agreed to remove her to fome more convenient place until the arrival of the meffenger from Van Ryffell. The miferable guard who had her in cuftody, and who exhibited the exultation and diforder of a banditti who had feized a rich prey, rather than the conduct and character of foldiers, by their noife and sudden unmilitary motions fo fiartled the horfes in the princess's carriage,

that

overturned into one of the canals; while their infolence and brutality were fuch, that they prevented, by force, the gentlemen in the other carriages from going to her affift

ance.

They were then conveyed as prifoners through the country, without knowing for fome time whither they were to be carried, until their arrival at a small town about feven o'clock in the evening. At this place they were conducted to headquarters (we fuppofe an inn) where the princefs and the gentlemen were conducted to one room, and her attendants in another adjoining. Centries were placed at all the doors, and the most ridiculous precautions used to prevent an efcape. The captain of the free corps accompanied the princess in her room, with his fword drawn in his hand, but upon a remonftrance of the impropriety, civilly put it in the fcabbard; and, fitting cross-legged by her fide, he ordered wine, beer, pipes, and tobacco, as a refreshment. Some of the circumftances,which are reported to have accompanied this novel fcene, were highly laughable; particularly that three foldiers with drawn fwords attended one of the princefs's women upon a private bccafion, from which all male fpectators are ufually fecluded.

In fome hours the commiffioners from Woerden arrived, who endea voured to palliate what was paft by the ftri&tnefs of their orders, and the danger and neceffity of the times; but pleaded their inability to fuffer the princess to proceed on her journey, until the return of a meffenger whom they had dispatched for inftructions to the ftates. In the mean time they recommended VOL. XXIX,

neighbouring town where the could meet with proper accommodation for paffing the night. She accordingly fixed upon Gouda, as the neareft; but they apprehending an infurrection if the went to that town, Schoonhoven was at length determined upon, where the arrived about midnight, accompanied by two of the commiffioners, and efcorted by a party of horfe.

The princefs had immediately difpatched letters to the grand penfionary, and to the fecretary, upon her arrival at Schoonhoven; and waited there the following day for the anfwers to them, as well as that which was expected from the ftates of Holland. Thefe not arriving, the fet out the morning of the 30th on her return to Nimeguen. The expreffes, however, came up before the had repaffed the Lech; but as they contained nothing fatisfactory, nor in the smallest degree tending to encourage her in the purfuit of her object, of going to the Hague, the continued her jour ney. That adventurer the Rhingrave of Salm, who is a younger brother of the actual prince of that title, and who has made himself so notorious in the courfe of these troubles, having in the interim fpread a report, with a view of exciting the people to fome extraordinary violence, that the prince of Orange was travelling poft with an army of 12,000 men, for the rescue of the princefs from her captivity. All the arts of chicanery and falfehood, however liable to detection, however fhort the poffible duration of their effe, and however deftructive in their operation, are practifed without fhame or remorse, by thofe who hope to profit by increafing

[C]

creafing the flames of civil diffenfion, in whatever country is thus unhappily a prey to their defigns; and the conduct of this perfon affords an useful leffon, that to be without fcruples in the profecution of a caufe is by no means a proof of fidelity and zeal.

While the princess was in durance, the prince of Orange difpatched a letter to the ftates general, claiming their immediate interference for her liberation, as well as for proper fatisfaction for so unprecedented and extraordinary an infult:

But the bufinefs was now to fall into more effective hands, and to be taken up by a power that was not to be trifled with. A ftrong memorial, as foon as it could be done, was tranfmitted from the king of Pruffia, through Mr. July 10th. Thulemeyer, to the flates of Holland. His language was now confiderably changed from that which he usually held. He exprefsed the deepest fenfe of the affront, violence, and injury to his fifter, as if offered directly and perfonally to himself. He infifted accordingly upon immediate and ample fatisfaction, and particularly upon the punishment of thofe who had committed the outrage; and concluded by giving them to understand, that he fhould eftimate the value which they placed on his friendthip and good-will, by their conduct upon this occafion.

In the intermediate time, the ftates of Holland had paffed a refolution, juflifying and approving of the conduct of their commiflioners, in, what they called, "this extra"ordinary, unexpected, and dif"agreeable atlair." In the debates upon this fubject, they feemed

to throw the whole blame of every thing that happened upon the princefs, by her adopting the rafh meafure of fuddenly entering the territories of Holland, after fo long an abfence, and in fo critical a feafon, without previously acquainting the ftates with her defign; a measure which could not be confidered otherwife than dangerous; for that if the conciliatory motives affigned had been the real caufes of the journey, fuch a preliminary application wasfo indifpenfably neceffary to theireffect, that it could not poffibly have been overlooked.

The Pruffian memorial drew a very long and laboured, but diffatisfactory answer from the states of Holland. They denied all intention of infulting the king's fifter; attributed to her fudden and unexpected entry into the country, without any attention to the ufual and neceffary forms, whatever had happened; palliated fome, and denied others of the circumstances relative to her treatment: from all their information it was conducted decently, without the shadow of any thing injurious, or of any want of refpect fhewn to her royal highness; juftified their commiffioners; if they had acted otherwife, the laws of their country would have affixed fome penalty on them. They renewed the topic, though in a lefs lofty ftrain, of their own fupreme fovereignty; declared their great refpect for the king, but infinuated that refpect between fovereigns fhould be mutual; and obferved, that with the greatest respect and regard which they held for the perfon of her royal highness, they cannot think that his majefty means, that the fhould be exalted above the fovereignty. They conclude, that