2. It had been the one great object of William's life to thwart the great enemy of his native country, Louis XIV. Though often defeated, he was never conquered. In the darkest times he had never given way to despair, and after each defeat had set to work to mend his broken fortunes. And now he had England at his back, William believed that he could meet his old enemy on equal terms, and he rejoiced at the prospect. Few men have had to contend with so many difficulties, and none have grappled with them more courageously.
3. Though William did much for England, it cannot be said that he ever loved her, or was beloved by her. He was cold and reserved in manner, and seldom seen to smile, being rarely free from bodily pain. But in the field of battle, on his war charger, he seemed full of life and joy; wherever the fight was fiercest and the danger greatest, there he was sure to be. We see the kind of man he was in his reply to the Parliament that proposed to make his wife, Mary, Queen of England, and himself only Regent.
4. "My lords and gentlemen," he said, "No man can esteem a woman more than I do the princess, but I am so made that I cannot think of holding anything by my wife's apron-strings; nor can I think it reasonable to have any share in the Government unless it be put in my own person, and that for the term of my life. If you think fit to settle it otherwise, I will not oppose you, but will go back to Holland and meddle no more in your affairs." William, you see, knew his own mind. He will be king or nothing, and king, accordingly, he became.
5. William was scarcely seated on the throne, when James II. landed in Ireland, with a body of French troops, brought there under the escort of fifteen French men-of-war. As soon as news of this reached London, war was declared against King Louis, in spite of the peril in which the declaration placed England, for not only was the greater part of Ireland in the hands of James II. and his French allies, but the Highlanders of Scotland had risen in his favour. William first made peace in Scotland, and then crossed to Ireland. He had no sooner landed there with some thousands of troops than a great French fleet under Admiral Tourville appeared in the Channel.
6. The spectators standing on the summit of Beachy Head on the last day of June, 1690, must have watched the battle fought just below, with sinking hearts; for the combined English and Dutch fleets were that day completely beaten, and obliged to seek refuge in the Thames, leaving the French fleet sole master of the Channel. Luckily no French troops were ready to be landed on our shores, and the danger soon passed away; for on the very next day, William won a complete victory over James II. in Ireland, on the banks of the little river Boyne.
7. On the day before the battle, whilst inspecting his troops, a shot grazed William's shoulder, and made him reel in his saddle. "There was no need for any bullet to come nearer than that!" was his remark. And certainly not many bullets have ever come nearer to changing the history of Britain, and therefore of the British Empire. But on the fateful day itself (1st July, 1690) he escaped unhurt, though often in the thick of the fight. Seeing the battle going against him, James galloped off to Dublin and embarked for France. The brave Irish who had fought for him that day were much disgusted, and said to the victors after the battle: "Change leaders and we will fight it all over again."
8. The battle of the Boyne is a memorable one, for it decided whether the crown of England should be worn by a despot like James II. under the patronage, if not the pay, of the French king, or by a champion of popular freedom like William III., whose one aim was to diminish the power of France and to foil the designs of King Louis.
9. James II., who had fled to France after his defeat in Ireland, resolved to make one more effort, with the help of the French king, to recover his throne. French troops were assembled in Normandy for the invasion of England, and Admiral Tourville was sent with a fleet to protect their passage across the Channel. It was feared that Admiral Russell, who commanded the English fleet, would not do his duty, for it was known that he was personally in favour of the deposed monarch. But to James's friends he said, "Do not think I will let the French triumph over us in our own seas; if I meet them, I fight them, ay, though his Majesty himself should be on board."
10. Russell was as good as his word. After a determined fight for five hours, the French were obliged to make for the shelter of their ports. Fifteen ships that failed to reach St. Malo before the tide had turned, took refuge in the bays of Cherbourg and La Hogue. Their pursuers were soon upon them, and ship after ship was burnt under the eyes of the French army, waiting to be taken across the Channel—in sight too of James II. who, on beholding the daring of our sailors, could not forbear exclaiming, "My brave English tars," even though their victory was the death-blow of his hopes of ever regaining the throne. La Hogue was the last general action fought by the French fleet for a long period, and Louis's dream of supremacy at sea was, for the present, at least, seen to be hopeless.
11. William was now safely seated on the throne, but he had no intention of sitting quietly on it. He carried on the war vigorously against Louis on the continent. Much English blood was shed, but it was not shed in vain. It was necessary, in the interests of England, to keep the French from overflowing the limits of their own land. Had they succeeded in adding the Netherlands to France and the Dutch navy to their own, our country would have been outmatched. She would probably have lost her lead upon the sea, and her future greatness in America and India. Louis by the Treaty of Ryswick, in 1697, agreed to acknowledge William as King of England, and to give up all his conquests except Strasburg. All honour to William of Orange who foiled the ambition of the vain monarch that made war upon war for his own glorification.