CHAPTER VII.
William, Prince of Orange; his Appearance--His early Life and Education--His Theological Opinions--His Military Qualifications--His Love of Danger; his bad Health--Coldness of his Manners and Strength of his Emotions; his Friendship for Bentinck--Mary, Princess of Orange--Gilbert Burnet--He brings about a good Understanding between the Prince and Princess--Relations between William and English Parties--His Feelings towards England--His Feelings towards Holland and France--His Policy consistent throughout--Treaty of Augsburg--William becomes the Head of the English Opposition--Mordaunt proposes to William a Descent on England--William rejects the Advice--Discontent in England after the Fall of the Hydes--Conversions to Popery; Peterborough; Salisbury--Wycherley; Tindal; Haines--Dryden--The Hind and Panther--Change in the Policy of the Court towards the Puritans--Partial Toleration granted in Scotland--Closeting--It is unsuccessful--Admiral Herbert--Declaration of Indulgence--Feeling of the Protestant Dissenters--Feeling of the Church of England--The Court and the Church--Letter to a Dissenter; Conduct of the Dissenters--Some of the Dissenters side with the Court; Care; Alsop--Rosewell; Lobb--Venn--The Majority of the Puritans are against the Court; Baxter; Howe,--Banyan--Kiffin--The Prince and Princess of Orange hostile to the Declaration of Indulgence--Their Views respecting the English Roman Catholics vindicated--Enmity of James to Burnet--Mission of Dykvelt to England; Negotiations of Dykvelt with English Statesmen--Danby--Nottingham--Halifax--Devonshire--Edward Russell; Compton; Herbert--Churchill--Lady Churchill and the Princess Anne--Dykvelt returns to the Hague with Letters from many eminent Englishmen--Zulestein's Mission--Growing Enmity between James and William--Influence of the Dutch Press--Correspondence of Stewart and Fagel--Castelmaine's embassy to Rome THE place which William Henry, Prince of Orange Nassau, occupies in the history of England and of mankind is so great that it may be desirable to portray with some minuteness the strong lineaments of his character.
[208] He was now in his thirty-seventh year.

But both in body and in mind he was older than other men of the same age.

Indeed it might be said that he had never been young.

His external appearance is almost as well known to us as to his own captains and counsellors.

Sculptors, painters, and medallists exerted their utmost skill in the work of transmitting his features to posterity; and his features were such as no artist could fail to seize, and such as, once seen, could never be forgotten.