Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1882-01-26
WILLIAM THE SILENT
Eneertainen& Lecture by New, j, Rich.r,,s
Bowie,

E.s'rsa'n@< Lecture BY New. j. Richard.
| Boyle.
Rev. J. Richards Boyle, formerly pas.
tor Of the Duke street NJ. E. church. de
livered lecture therein last evening for
the benefit Of the Sunday school sssocia-
tion, and Notwithstanding the unpleasant
weather-thsrs being fall CT sles, that
made the pavemeutS as slippery as glass
almost every seat in the body Of the
church was occupied. and there were a
few who took seats in the gallery.
The subject Of the lecture was William
OF Nassau. William of Orange. or "WiI
liam the Silent" is the great soldier and
statesman Woo founded the Dusak kS-
public IS more generally named in history
| The reverend orator had arranged sars.
fully the material of his lecture, and win
| vigorous voice and earnest declamarion he
reoited the thrilling events tina. marked
the life and death Of the great apostle Of
civil and religious liberty. After briefly
| sketchins the history OF the noble family
| from which William spranr, aud
| noting the unusual advantages sf
position aud education he possessed in
early life, being first 4 page and then Il
| courtier and councillor at the royal court,
he described him as i man above the me-
| dunn height, with brown hair and beard.
an attractive, manly face, courteous de-
| meanor, fire scholar, the master OF seven
languages, an accomplished diplomat, i
universal favorite with the gentry as we'll
as the nobility, a. skiliful soldier. admir-.
ably fitted for the command OF the royal
army, to which position he was at 4 later
date promoted. Born Catholic he became
convert to Professionalism. but was 80
liberal and tolerant and uncommunicative
that his religious views We're unknown
even unto the Emperor Charles the Fifth.
or his more fauatical and bloody son,
Philip the Second Of Spain, until that
monarch attempted to crush out Protest
antism, first by the terrors of this iuluisi-
ton and then by the wholesale assassiaa-
tion of the "heretics. as they were
deemed to be. William argued and plead
against the enforcement Of the kings cruel
proceedings, and finally, after thousands
of innocent men and women had been
murdered as heret:cs and price had been
set upon his own head, lie took up arms in
defense OF his people.
Most graphically did the lecturer dc.
scribe the murderous march and brutal
butcheries by the Duke OF Alva. command
er Of the Spanish forces, rs he invaded and
laid waste the Netherlands and the stub
born patriotism of the people. who. under
the lead Of William, withstood fire and
blood, famine and pesti!ence, for i period
Of twenty-tour years, :nd finally gained
their independence in 1879 when the
Union Of Utrecht formed tho seven north
ern provinces into the Dutch Republic.
under the presidency of William. Like
Cesar, William was offered and refused a
crown He had wasted his immense
estates and revenues and iupov-
erished himself for his people he had
given them everythins-his lands. his
money, his plate, the accumulation Of his
ancestors for five centuries, but would &c
cept nothing iii return. He had been
brought up i'll the most prod;gal opulence
and in early life lived like 4 monarch, but
now he shared all tho privations OF the
common people. Never d;i purcr patriot
live never was man more unSeli:Sh he
was intOlerant only of Intolerance, and
offered to exile himself ii by So doing he
could secure religious and civil liberty to
his people. He was the Washington OF
his generation, and his influence fox good
has been felt in all countries in all sue.
ceeding ages. America has felt tho intlu |
ence of his struggle against bigotry, and |
its fruit appears in our free institutions
to day, in our religious ILL erty and our ad- !
vauced enlightenment.
Mr.. Boyle quoted largely from Motley,
the historian, and concluded his lecture
by drawing a parable. between the assas-
siuation Of William by Gerard, and Gar
field by Guiteau. After several fruitless
to accomplish his assassination,
Gerard, under the guise of an envoy aud
a friend, obtained money fiom Will
lam, with which no purchased Il
pistol, and springins from an al
cove as William was ascending tho
stairway of his own palace, shot three
poisoned bullets into his body, and he
died. The assassin, like Guiteau, cloried
in his deed and proclaimed himself the
David of the truc faith who had slain the
hereto GOliah, as Guiteau to day glorics
in his bloody crime, charges it to Deity,
and points to Abraham and his intended
sacrifice of Isaac in justification OF Car
fields murder. Both assassins were bold,
bad men-bigOted, brutal aud dovilisll
both followed their victims with crafty
premeditatiOn and preparation. But here
the parallel ends. The murderer of Will
lam the Silent was sentenced and executed
before the body Of his victim was en-
tOmbed ; the government furnished no
funds to defend him no leave was given
him to insult the court, the counsel and
The witnesses no leave was given him to
boast for months Of the peoples commcn-
latiOn Of his crime The Prince of Orange
was murdered ON tho 10th of the month
IN tho 14th, the right hand of the assassin
was burned off, and. on tho same day no
vas beheaded and his body was
thrown away to rot. If tho Netherland-
us were too swift in the execution of JUS
ice, and erred on the side of cruelty, who
hall say that We have not been too slow
md erred on the sidc of kindness in the
reatment accorded to the murderer of
'ur beloved chief magistrate?
At the conclusion of tho lecture, Super
nteDdent Shaub thanked those present
or their attendance the choir sang
cry pretty anthem, and the audience was
dismissed with benedictiOn. {
the MINSTREiS.
D>. 4 l..