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.'

WITTE CORNELIS DE WITH.

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.

His mother had managed to send him to school, where he learned a little, and did a great deal of mischief. But one day, when he was eleven years old, she heard of this, and calling him into her room, gave him a sound lecture. Old Farmer De With had belonged to the Baptist congregation of Briel, and the Baptists in those days were very much like the Quakers; they strictly forbade any one to return blow for blow; they would not even defend themselves, and held it a great sin to go fighting and quarrelling all over the place. Now when Mother De With heard that her son was such a good hand at this she felt deeply shocked. The boy was fond of his mother, and no doubt somewhat afraid of her; so, having listened to the lecture, he promised that as a Baptist boy he would not fight again. I need not tell you, however, that this very soon became unbearable for him. When the boys at school heard of it, they roared with laughter, and the poor fellow was teased most unmercifully. They played all sorts of tricks on him, and when he wanted to find out and punish them, they all came up to him and held up their fingers, and said, 'Now, mind, you must not fight.'

One day, when this had been going on for some time, and when he had been more than usually teased, Cornelis said to himself that he would stand it no longer. He dare not break his promise, and yet there was Walter, his neighbour, who had put a dead cat in his desk-he must give him a drubbing. So what did he do? He went quietly to the Protestant

minister, without anybody knowing of it, and had himself baptized; and as he went home, he said to himself, I may do what I like now, for I am no longer a Baptist boy. And they found it out next day at school. There was no more teasing, no more dead cats, and Walter's back felt sore for many a day afterwards. His mother, of course, was deeply grieved; but what was to be done? As the boy grew older, he grew worse instead of better; and while others settled down to some quiet business or trade, Cornelis continued to display the same pugnacious and restless spirit. Whenever there was a row in the town he was sure to be in it, and his work, of course, suffered in consequence. They tried him at everything, but nothing would succeed. He was, in plain words, a wicked boy. He went rope-making, but was sent away. Then he went to a button-factory, then to a tannery, but in neither of these employments could he keep peace with the rest of the men. As he had a great liking for the sea, they thought sail-making might suit him, but even this was of no use; and when he was at last apprenticed to a tailor, he fairly ran away. 'It is no use, mother,' he said, 'I was born for the sea. When I stand on the bank and see the ships sailing in and out of the Meuze, I feel that I must go to sea, and that I shall never do any good for myself on shore.' So in 1616, when he was seventeen years old, he took service as cabin-boy in an East India merchantman, and sailed for Java.

When he returned from his first voyage he had