The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-04-11
SOME NEW BOOKS.
Holland IN the NapoIconic Era


Ni"0dom 'Doupicday. rage ana COM
pahy) invites may indceu De meant
10 chailenSc a comparative reference
10 MT M"''cys Dutch 'epupic'
'oi. hisslhSon called inc carrier ms
'orian a""rlous nut uehsh'iui MI
van Loon ~ perhaps netncr auI,e so
luxurious nor uuite so rhgn'iut
literary artificer; the sixteenth CEN
tgrS nutvhncn set more brilliant
stage than that which their descend
ants pe,p,cd I'm l7e5-1SI2 and the
,n,,,oas,,ia, -, xo,,, lnyi,,d EpyIisb
80 w ,,..,,ta.a ,a.s
>" '''o wa" ''"'' -
nervous performance thdh we i''"
model oil pcnmdnsnlp. Whatever
may be thought Of the now book, II
will not he criticised for lack of CHAR
actor" Tborc ia "a ,rond dcal of ed-
.,., ,.,.,,.,,, t,,c ,,.i,h ,bo r.
- t,,t.'.,. - ,o,,,oro,,,
p'''' -.
"oWeN'i' ''ah ""t'tH '"'N INV" '"'
inc Spanlaru ana aureoie ioT every
Ncderlander. \ crisp tense. dramatic
unacademic history.
In tho s,,uy ,f tho day thcrc is a
.,,.,,,... 80 ,,,ro,.i,., a., I, 10 i,,,o.
Pm go &c ~ :, mi.
son, ivy ".''' ''
IL inc Story oi p'"pt' "h'' WY
Nhh' ll'' ~ T''' wv '''' ''''
"a fan which We caused by our own
mistakes and during which We showed
a. ,,.o,s, .id, 90 ,,,,. ,h,ra,,cr''. and
10. ',,,,,,, hit" %, bc hc ,hourh,
""S '''"' =. -.
Eu'''N VI INV MY W W. WV P''p'''
tne historian states MS '"S''
who is there thai has studied the events
Of those years between 1928 and 1919 who
did not feel the utter iniignity. the ter
rlhc shame Of - much cowsrdice. OF
euch hopeless vacillation In the hour Of
need. Of such Indifference to civic duties
Who has ever tried to understand the
events OF the year of Restoration who
does not know that there was very little
glory connected with an event which the
sclf-contented contemporary delighted to
compare to the great days OF the struggle
against spanish tyranny And who that
has studied the history OF the carry nine
teenth century does not know now Tor
two whole generations after the Nspo-
lconic wars our country was no better
than negative Power tolerated because
90 lnoffcnslvc"
And who. when he compares what was
100 years ago with what is to-day. can
Isl' 10 sec Nn"' q ".'.'c w
go ana , h',, q, d.,li,c uoIia,d once
more has aspircd to he great in every
thing in which a small nation can he
great No other nation OF such small
area ana 'n>lsh'nydn' hu"oer VI pe"p,e
v"p'Vn a. an,ds =, h,r,sn
Scavor as il the modern putch nation
The failure of the men Of 1875. who
dreamed their honest but Intellectual dream
OF prosperous ana united is'herland'
"P'''' -, =, 81 49,.
.ssno,su,ir,,,. LII hcio,s,t N h,sone
age. have AZ last made place for q healthy
and modern state capable OF normal self.
development.
Out OF the ruins OF the OLD divided re-
puo'Iv' Se'nS" von, ,.s 'ous' me-
t.,,,.. .,I,,ra,1ar,a,. -, ,n,Io,on.tsn,
little sovcrnirnties, a civic body man.
aging its own household affairs without
Interference from abroad and without dis.
ss'rous partisanship at home people
VINO as'in u're 70 see visions 1eyoh" ,ne
o.e', 'n'r ~ ,'',,o w. 80 ,op ,S NV
.u,, Of rro,ncritv and Individual hsppi.
ness under /. government Of their own
choice and under the gracious Leadership
OF her Majesty Queen Wilhelmina.
We make this generous grant of
epace To Mr. van Loon that his apo
logia may suffer no diminutlon Of force
by paraphrase He writes freely and
frankly Of an era in his country's his
tory. not its most glorious. but OF
monitory value for the patriotic
Dutchman and of high informing
worth to all who are interested in live
political philosophy, the tracing OF
cause and effect in the practical socia
affairs Of men.
In the eighteenth century HOLLAND
was as uneasy as the rest of the E.u
yopean world AiSer long perot
OF political debate. in the middle Of
the century, the intelligent middle
classes" began to aSitate for share
In the Government. The House o
Orange. whose princes had served TIT
land so well, failed here. Through thu
era of great commercial prosperit,
Capital had taken the helm, and tn
Patriots had an appetite for change
1t is party of hot heads, filled Will
undigosted PHILOSOPHERS borrowed from
their better instructed neighbUrs.
Those among them who are expert
cnced politicians are also self-seeker:
using the revolutionaries to the eNecu
ton of their own pet purposes
Thanks to the slackness Of their op
ponents rather than to their own goo
management, the Patriots gain a vic
tory in the old Estates. where tn
clumsy machinery of the republica
4. 4