These princes, in obedience to that law of nature which seems to be pretty equally predominant amongst all her sons, extended the power they enjoyed as often as they had the means, and what they gave to themselves was taken from the liberties of the people; but they dazzled the eyes of the subject, and concealed the encroachment, or legitimated it by the brilliancy of illustrious achievements. A small territory, scooped from the ocean, rose to rank and estimation in the scale of nations, by its valour, its riches, and its arts, and was enabled to resist the mighty power of England and France, by the genius and energy of succession of five princes of the House of Orange, for upwards of a century. The stadtholderate remained vacant from the death of William the Third, who by his talents preserved the republic from impending danger, till fresh difficulties, the wishes of the nation, and the powerful interposition of George the Second, in 1747, induced them to confer the dignity of stadtholder on William the Fourth, father of the last stadtholder, and to make it hereditary in his family. This prince (I mean the father) possessed considerable talents, from which the country did not derive much advantage, for he died soon after his elevation to the dignity. By this act the offices of captain-general and admiral-general were united in the person of the stadtholder, who also became president of every province; and his power and influence was such as to enable him to change every deputy, magistrate, and officer, in every province and city, at pleasure, by which he had the almost complete formation of the States General, although he had no voice in it. CHAPTER VIII. REMARKS ON THE LAST STADTHOLDER ... ALSO ON THE PRINCESS OF ORANGE ... HER PRESUMPTION AND INDISCRETION ... HATRED OF THE DUTCH TO THE HOUSE OF ORANGE ... FETE AT THE HAGUE ON THE FLIGHT OF THAT FAMILY ... REASONS ASSIGNED FOR THE PROGRESS OF THE FRENCH ARMS ... FOR THE GLORIOUS TRIUMPH OF BRITISH PROWESS ... CONDUCT OF THE NEW GOVERNMENT TOWARDS SOME OF THE SERVANTS OF THE OLD ... THE NEW CONSTITUTION OF HOLLAND.