breeze in the cedar branches, for before Vyvyan could speak, his old master's hand was stretched out to meet his, with a smile which had not yet forgotten to say welcome.

Behind them came the rustle of a feminine skirt, and a troubled voice said :

:

Miss Angela, dear! your tea's been awaiting for ever so, and if that tiresome magpie hasn't flown in at the window and been a-hopping and a-hopping on the table, and left the marks of his claws in the butter, and upset the strawberries!'-here there was a deep curtsey to Mr. Vyvyan-‘and you shouldn't be out here in your Sunday frock at this time, my dear. Excuse me, sir; but its a frock she never wears in the garden, Mr. Merton. Come in, my dearie, now, tea's all getting cold.'

Angela glanced down at her frock, then up at her uncle, while he and Vyvyan regarded her with interest, and Mrs. Raisins with amusement. There was no blush of self-consciousness on the child's face, as she answered, in perfect simplicity

'It was for the funeral I put it on.'

Then she turned gravely away with her arm through Mrs. Raisins', for Angela was very tall, and Mrs. Raisins very short.

This is my world, Vyvyan,' said Mr. Merton, as they strolled about the grounds together, master and pupil. Master-who had come to the conclusion long ago that all was vanity, and therefore that the highest attainment in life was calm serenity, safely ensured against any possible chance collision with persons or things; pupil-who had also learnt that all was vanity so far as satisfaction went, and therefore-but he was not always definite about the conclusion deducible from that proposition.

This is my world, as I told you in my letter,' continued Mr. Merton, and my little Angela is the life of it.'

'And her's?' asked Vyvyan quietly.

'Her's?' repeated the other interrogatively.

'Her world, what is it? Has she no playfellows? Does she never go beyond this?' and there was an impatient gesture made by Vyvyan as he uttered those last words.

What else does she want?' was the untroubled answer, serenely given. She has never known anything more, and she never shall know it. Have I not found enough that was bitter in the world and amongst my own kind, to make me anxious to shield her from suffering in a similar way? If she is never deceived, she will never know the bitterness of misplaced confidence; if she has no opportunity of loving much, she will never lose much; if she has no chance of making friends, she will never know the pain of a broken friendship, of misconceptions; and have not I known all this? From the trouble and sorrow that must come, sooner or later, to all who live in the world, and which few women are philosophical enough to endure calmly, or, sometimes even to survive, I would screen my little

VOL. 15.

Angela. On the other hand, there is no wish of her's, in reason, that I ever deny her; she has her animals and her pony, every comfort and every luxury, and as to books-ah! Vyvyan, she has a marvellous imagination, that little child! to her, the Arthurian Legends are real, the Knights of the Round Table are flesh and blood. She wanders about these grounds with Sir Galahad, and sees Elaine floating down the river there in her barge. She wants no companions -the very air she breathes is filled with them for her!'

'A great mistake! a huge mistake!' testily interrupted the philosopher's friend. I should like to send her to spend six weeks in my sister's nursery in Hyde Park Square. That would do her infinite good. Instead of which'-here Vyvyan broke off abruptly-' have you thought about the end of it all? Supposing you were to die to-morrow, would you leave her to live on alone here with Mrs. Raisins, her beasts, and her birds? Forgive me, my dear old master,' he added as hastily, taking the old man's hand, and pressing it affectionately, 'I had no right to speak so; I had no intention of paining you.' 'It was foolish of me to heed it,' replied Mr. Merton, smiling faintly; but you hit me on my vulnerable point, Vyvyan, the old sore-Change. I would give my life to screen her from that, from the ache of the heart, from the yearning of the soul, that is brought about by change.'

There was a momentary silence, in which the twit' of the wheeling swallows above their heads mingled with the voices of a child and of an old woman from one of the upper windows.

And you yourself, Vyvyan,' resumed Mr. Merton, 'you told me that you required the spur and the lash lest you should sink into quietism at times? Not much rousing required; habitual reserve and studied self-possession more easily broken through than of yore, I perceive.'

In an instant when a child takes possession of me.' And as Vyvyan spoke, it seemed that the smile of the child upstairs had transferred itself to his face, and transfigured it.

CAMEOS FROM ENGLISH HISTORY.

CAMEO CCXLIX.

THE DUTCH WAR.

1672.

THE storm that had been so long preparing against the Seven United Provinces began to break in 1672. As has been already explained, there were two parties dividing this country, which had rent itself from Spain-namely that of the influential province of Holland, which, led by the Grand Pensionary John de Witt, dreaded the preponderance of the House of Orange, and that of the other states, which for the most part preferred that the Stadtholdership should be continued, and in the line of the Princes who had contributed to the deliverance of their country. The close connection of the Orange family with England had thrown the opposite party into the French Alliance, and nothing would persuade them to believe that Louis had actual designs against them, as indeed nothing but shameless aggression could lead to such a war.

De Witt had influenced the States-General to abolish the office of Stadtholder during the minority of the young Prince, but he hoped to avert the hostility of England by causing William, now twenty years old, to be declared Captain-General on condition that he should never accept the Stadtholdership even if it were offered to him.

Beginning to take alarm, the States concluded an offensive and defensive treaty with Spain, their old enemy; while on the other hand Louis demanded a free passage through the Spanish Netherlands to chastise the insolence of the Dutch, declaring that, if it were not granted to him, he should force his way with 60,000 men.

Charles, almost at the same time, sent orders to Sir Robert Holmes to attack the Dutch fleet of merchantmen from Smyrna in the Channel and make prizes of them; but the Dutch ships were armed; and fought so gallantly that only five were captured. It was six days later that Charles formally declared war on various small pretexts, insults to his flag and the denial of the Stadtholdership coming first, and further that caricatures of him had been published in Holland. The Prince Prelates of Cologne and Munster also joined in the attack. The entire force of Louis XIV. amounted to 176,000 men, in four divisions, the principal one being commanded nominally by himself and his brother, and really by Turenne. This collected on the Sambre, and Condé's force at Sédan. The Elector of Cologne gave

the army a passage through his territories, and town after town went down before them, on the French and German side of their country; for the Dutch were utterly unprepared for such an invasion, and the burghers in their terror insisted on the garrison surrendering, so as to prevent the horrors of a sack.

Of the Triple Alliance, Holland was standing alone, deserted by Sweden and betrayed by England. The desire of De Witt and De Ruyter was to raise a fleet, make another dash at the Thames, or at some French harbour, and then prevent the English and French fleet from coalescing. And in April De Ruyter put to sea, but with only ten ships, and want of men and money, and general discouragement, prevented his complement from being made up till the 12th of May, when he sailed for the Downs, where he hoped to find the English fleet; but it had gone, and he was prevented from following, first by a thick fog, and then by a severe storm, and he learnt from a Swedish vessel that both fleets were together off the Isle of Wight. The Duke of York and the Earl of Sandwich were in command, and had 40 men-of-war, many, however, larger than the Dutch vessels, which only numbered 75, and there was besides the French fleet under La Rabinière and D'Estrées; and probably the Dutch Admiral was not aware that the King had sent secret instructions to these commanders to expose his ships as little as possible, but to allow the English and Dutch to destroy one another. Sandwich had a presentiment of evil, and when taking leave of Evelyn said, 'Had I lost a fleet I should have done better.'

Under these circumstances De Witt, whose brother Cornelis was on board De Ruyter's ship, the Seven Provinces, as commissary for the States, wrote suggesting the prudence of not venturing a battle, but retiring into harbour; but De Ruyter's mind was made up.

On the 12th of June the Duke of York anchored in Southwold Bay, between Harwich and Yarmouth, against the advice of Sandwich, whom he rudely asked whether the counsel sprang from prudence or cowardice. However, Sandwich took his own measures, and took his portion of the fleet to the front of the bay. Many of the officers went ashore to amuse themselves, no one believing the enemy to be so near, and when the sounds of battle commenced in the morning, they madly offered large sums for boats, often in vain.

Between seven and eight on the morning of the 12th of June, 1672, De Ruyter's squadron sailed against the Duke of York, and would have surprised him, had not a French brig brought information of the advance, Admiral Banckers against the French Admiral, D'Estrées, and Van Ghent against the Earl of Sandwich. The Dutch were in a long straight line, each squadron preceded by six men-of-war and six fireships-the great dread of the English sailors; so that the Duke had given orders that the word should not be publicly mentioned, but that if one was seen approaching a ship, information should be given in a whisper to the captain alone.

Cornelis de Witt, though very unwell from a severe cold and sore leg, was placed on a chair of state on deck, and there remained throughout the day, though exposed to the utmost danger. There was no wind, so that the smoke soon hung so heavily about the vessels that the Admirals could not see friends or foes, and their signals became invisible, so that the batt'e was a succession of single combats between the ships. De Ruyter began. Pointing to the Prince, which carried the Duke's flag, he said to his sailing-master

'Skipper Zegel, that's our man.'

'We'll let him have it, mein herr!' was the answer, and for two hours the two commanders poured an incessant fire upon one another, till, at about eleven o'clock, the Prince had lost a third of her men, and lay a mere wreck on the water, her flag shot down. James gave

orders for her to be towed to the rear, and at the same time crept out of the cabin window into his boat, and, hidden by the smoke, passed into the St. Michael, where he hoisted his flag.

Lord Sandwich boarded Van Ghent's ship of seventy guns, took it, and killed the Vice-Admiral; but after eight hours' desperate fighting, and having beat off three fireships, his vessel, the Royal James, already almost sinking, was attacked by a Dutch vessel on either side, and grappled by one of them. She caught fire, and there were fearful shrieks from the wounded lying on deck. James, seeing the blue flag above the dark fiery smoke, sent the Dartmouth to her aid, but it was too late. The Earl and two of his sons perished in the flames, and only about two hundred men were picked up. The senior lieutenant was taken on board the Seven Provinces, and, after changing his wet clothes, begged to remain on deck to watch the progress of the action. He was full of amazement.

Is this fighting?' he cried. It is not yet noon, and we have already done more than in all the four days in 1661!'

Other English vessels came out from the coast, but D'Estrées drew further away, and merely fired from a distance; and by five o'clock the St. Michael was in such a condition that the Duke of York was again obliged to change to another ship, the London. He said he had been in thirty battles, but this was the hardest-fought of all. De Ruyter, as evening came on, collected his fleet and drew off, the English lieutenant still expressing his admiration.

Is this an admiral? He is admiral, captain, skipper, sailor, soldier all in one.'

On his ship alone 25,000 pounds of powder and 3500 balls had been fired away, and the men had, throughout the battle, been full of alertness and cheerfulness.

Some of the English ships sailed after D'Estrées, but the Duke, with five-and-twenty ships, crept to windward of the Dutch, and claimed the victory. Indeed, he had lost only one ship-of-the-line, and had destroyed three of those of his enemies, and he had held his place against tremendous odds, and with half-hearted allies. In the