The Washington herald., 1909-06-20
Fron the Pal Mall Gazette.

EToU the Pail Mall Gazette.
The adectionate regard shown az pres
ent for Queen Wilhelnina BY the Dutch
people has its basis IN the gratitude felt
by them toward the descendants Of the
ilustrious William the Silent. the Faith
er Of the Country" II is. therefore, with
a heartfelt hope that the Queens sub
jects pray that the line OF Orange may
continue as a result Of the birth OF lii
tie princess. for should Il not the Dutch
would see the German specter looming up
more and more distinctly in their history.
There Is. Of course. a court at The Hague.
but its influence IS not felt IN the prov
inces Of the "Lowlands. which. although
ever ready 10 demonstrate their affection
for the lady who was once known 10 them
ar the KoniginnetjL OF Little Queen"
are at heart democratic. once a year. IN
April this year was naturally an excep-
tion). the Queen visits for a period OF ten
days the old Stadhuis on the Dam, at
Amsterdam. which was converted into a
royal palace in Is0S. when Napoleon i'm
posed his brother Louis as sovereign over
the Dutch nation For all that he had
been forced on Holland. King Louis and
his followers made themselves liked, and
70 the present day is his memory cher
ished. while OF all the foreign languages
French is the most popular one IN the
country; Il IS huently spoken IN many
places by the peaSantry and the fisher
folk. Utrecht. Leyden, HARLEM. and The
Hague are not alone in their knowledge
Of the French language. When the
Queen arrives in Amsterdam the event is
celebrated with great rejoicing and the
cheers OF her subjects proceed unmistak-
ably from their hearts as well as from
their lips There is something touching
in this enthusiastic love Of the HOIlancers
for the house OF Orange. but II may be
pointed out BY way OF explanation
that there are IN Europe few dynasties
whose history Is so closely bound Up with
that Of a nation from the day in which
the latter achieved its independence to
the present time
How came IL about that William was
styled the SilenJg' That appeuation
would seem a more appropriate one IN the
case OF Philip II OF Spain. who seldom
spoke and whose stern nneaments never
revealed that which was IN his thoughts
William could indeed speak, and elO-
quently when circumstances demanded.
but he was a great statesman who knew
when to keep his own counsel and who
knew the Dutch. a people who required
OF him deeds and not mere words. Hence
perhaps his surname It is perhaps diff
cult TO say why in the first instance the
I Dutch so concentrated their trust IN Will
I lam OF Orange rather than in any other
man at the time they were striving to
overthrow the cruel Spanisrd's yoke. IN
/ deed, II was not he who was the insti-
I
/ Of the country, nor was he, at least IN
the beginning the incarnation OF Calvin
l Ism, which was the soul and the strength
OF the revolt against Spain.
II was an apparently fortuitous circum-
/ stance which connected William Of Mas
sau with Holland. viz, the fact OF his
coming into the title OF Prince Of Orange.
| The principality OF that name was situat-
ed in the south OF France, in what IS now
I the Department of Vaucluse, a depart
ment formed Of part OF the Comtat-
( Venaissin and OF the principality OF
] Orange The little town OF Orange, with
ltE Roman amphitheSter, IN which the
actors OF the Coincide Francaise have in
recent years given performances, recalls
the name
The sovereignty OF this principality
passed TO the family of Nassau after the
( death Of Phihbert de ChalOn. Prince Of
Orange, who died in 1880, while IN the
service Of Pope Clement VII. ne who re-
fused TO divorce Catharine CT Aragon and
! denounced the marriage OF Henry VII
with Annes Boleyn- Phllibert had desig-
mated as his successor the only son OF
his sister Claude. the wife OF Count Henry
OF Nassau. Young Rene Of Nassau adopt
ed his uncle's motto. "Je Maintiendrai, -
which IS seen To-day On the RIVAL arms
At his death. which occurred ct the siege