remain sovereigns of the sea, to give no quarter, and allow no escape; and the Dutch, wrought up to a high pitch of excitement by their previous defeats, by the knowledge that they were fighting for their existence, and within sight of the shores which they had wrung from the ocean, and snatched out of Spanish hands; both Protestant in religion, and devout in spirit; having but lately suffered and fought against the same enemy, and for the same sacred purpose, were now fully fixed in their bloody purpose to destroy each other. All brotherly love, all esteem, all goodwill had passed away. The flaming sulphur that spurted out of ten thousand cannon supplanted the light of heaven. In a few hours,' says Burchett, 'the air was filled with fragments of ships blown up, and human bodies, and the sea dyed with the blood of the slain and wounded,'

Once already Tromp had broken through the English line of battle, and forced Monk to change front. At about midday he hoisted the signal for a repetition of the manœuvre, hoping thereby to divide and scatter the English fleet. Cool and collected as ever, he gave his instructions with admirable precision. At one moment on the quarter-deck, watching the different squadrons through his telescope, singling out with rare judgment the best men for each order, and giving the most befitting duty to each captain, he was the pivot on which the whole action turned. At this moment, Rear-Admiral Goodson was in front of him and eager to engage. For some unexplained

reason, Tromp's signal at that moment was not understood by the fleet, and the advance was not made as uniformly as he desired. He saw himself and part of his squadron in the danger of being surrounded by Goodson. Roused to momentary displeasure by what he considered want of skill or courage on the part of De Ruyter and the other Admirals, he exclaimed, ‘If anything has to be done, there is nobody to do it but myself. Nobody comes to relieve me until I have opened a way for them.' While saying these words, Goodson had advanced, and was running past him, followed by his squadron in line, under a terrific fire from both sides. Tromp's ship was soon enveloped in smoke and invisible. The other Admirals, who had watched and waited the hoisting of the red flag, lost sight of her for a time. When she reappeared at last out of the obscuring cloud, there waved instead of the red flag, another, which carried consternation into the hearts of every captain. They were summoned to the Admiral's ship. Their worst fears were realised. On a few pillows in his cabin, they found the lifeless body of their great commander weltering in blood. From the second ship that followed Goodson a musketball had pierced his heart as he was descending the steps to the maindeck, and he had scarcely breath enough to say a few words of encouragement and affection to the sailors who came grouping around him, and he had not time to finish the prayer to the Great Judge before whom he was about to appear, when he gave up his life, as his father and many of

his friends had done before him, at his post on the deck of his ship. It is my intention to describe the end of this fearful battle when I shall speak to you of De With and De Ruyter. The grief of these commanders was profound; but it was unanimously resolved to keep the disaster secret, that no man might become disheartened. The red flag was hoisted, Evertsen was entrusted with the command, the others. returned to their vessels, and the battle was continued.. Thus round about his, body there waged one of the most furious battles that had ever been seen; and what more befitting end could there be for a man who had been nursed by the winds of the Atlantic, whose school had been a man-of-war, whose love had been for his sailors, and in whom the quality of soldier was not more admired than that of justice? Those who have the opportunity should visit his magnificent tomb in Delft, where he was buried with great pomp and remember part of what is written on that tomb by the nation, that 'He left to posterity a grand example of mastery in naval warfare, of fidelity to the State, of prudence, of courage, of intrepidity and of immovable firmness.'

ADMIRAL DE WITH was a man whose life I find it very difficult to describe without saying either too little or too much. You have come across his name already more than once in the Life of Admiral Tromp, but you may be very thankful that you did not come across himself; for if you had been in his way, or if he thought you were going to be in his way, he would probably have taken you by the collar, and sent you rolling to the other side of his deck, with very little politeness or ceremony. I have asked myself the question whether he ought to be included in the list of Great Dutch Admirals, and at one moment I have answered yes, and at another no. I will, therefore, let you judge for yourselves, and tell you with impartiality what he did, and how he did it. Whatever else he may have been, he was one of the most prominent men of his day; and no boy who has studied the history of the Netherlands can be ignorant of his name. For forty-two long years he displayed, in the service of his country, an amount of courage and perseverance under difficulties, in which none of the

other Admirals excelled him. He was engaged in no less than fifty sea-fights, and commanded a large fleet, or part of a large fleet, in fifteen great battles. His body was covered with wounds; he was frequently indisposed, and twice dangerously ill, in consequence of exposing himself too much; and yet when he died on the deck of his ship, and with the enemy in front of him, he did not leave much wealth or property behind, and amidst the crowd of mourners who followed his body to the grave, he scarcely numbered a friend. With many admirable qualities, he was totally without self-control. He deliberately spoiled his own life, and marred his own happiness, because he would not curb his temper. He was so savage, so jealous, so overbearing, that he made enemies of all his friends, and at the same time so harsh and stern, and even cruel, that he made no friends amongst his enemies.

He began life in very humble circumstances in the neighbourhood of Briel. His father, who was a small farmer, and poor, died within three years of his son's birth, and although the mother's work and the income of the farm seemed to have brought in enough for them to live on, this sad accident compelled De With to look out for himself at an age when other boys are guided and helped by their father's love. He saw when he could scarcely crawl-and he tumbled out of his cradle as soon as he could-that whatever was to be his in this world, he must fight for; and as he wanted a good deal, and did not dislike the fighting, there was plenty for him to do.