He came prepared, not only to smite the Netherlanders in the open field, but to cope with them in tortuous policy; to outwatch and outweary them in the game to which his impatient predecessor had fallen a baked victim.

He possessed the art and the patience--as time was to prove--not only to undermine their most impregnable cities, but to delve below the intrigues of their most accomplished politicians.

To circumvent at once both their negotiators and their men-at-arms was his appointed task.

Had it not been for the courage, the vigilance, and the superior intellect of a single antagonist, the whole of the Netherlands would have shared the fate which was reserved for the more southern portion.

Had the life of William of Orange been prolonged, perhaps the evil genius of the Netherlands might have still been exorcised throughout the whole extent of the country.