traitures drawn by this master's hand. Gunther, count of Schwartzburg, surnamed the warlike, brother-in-law of the Prince of Orange, was a mere soldier, rushing into the hazards and adventures of war, from the love of glory and impatience of repose. The Count of Chantony calls him fin, caut, et cortesan-subtile, cautious, and courtly. The tone of his letters is light. Little interested in religious discussions, he was inclined to favour opposition to the cardinal. The next must be described in the editor's own words :

"The brother of the prince, Count Louis of Nassau, born in 1538, studied at Strasburg and Geneva, appeared early in the Netherlands, at the court, and in the army, and took part in the battle of St Quentin. This young hero, whose valour threw such a lustre around him—who was the soul of the confederated nobles, and the right arm of the Prince of Orange in the deliverance of the Netherlands, devoted himself, at an early period, to the service of his brother. To that brother he was of the utmost use, in consequence of the relations he maintained in France and Germany. His letters are written in a lively, gay, and mirthful style. He does not seem to have restrained himself to a very severe mode of life; nevertheless, in reading his correspondence, we perceive, ere long, that the example and instructions of his parents, the pious tenderness of his mother, and frequent discussions on the great truths of the gospel, had not been without fruit for his soul; he had faith and zeal; his example and his exhortations were blessed to many, and particularly to the Prince of Orange." P. 182.

A life of this young Christian nobleman, whom in our January number we compared with D'Andelot, the decided and dauntless brother in Christ, as well as according to the flesh, of De Coligny, would be a valuable addition to Christian biography; and the collection before us might supply much interesting matter, at least for a sketch. Whatever is gay and light-hearted in his letters, seems to flow from the constant evenness, or rather cheerfulness, of his disposition. In this respect he seems to have been the same constitutionally light-hearted person that his brother the prince was, in his earlier days. But how different must have been their educationhow opposite the influences of the court of Charles V., and of the young noblemen and courtiers at Brussels, from that of the society and instructions of the reformers, whether ministers or laymen, at Strasburg and Geneva! Yet, as in the case of the two brothers of the house of Châtillon, the different early experience and greater Christian maturity of the count, seemed only to give him peculiar claims to the love and confidence of the prince. To this the correspondence of the latter bears affecting testimony, especially when he came to lament the premature death of his admirable brother. One would object less to the exuberant animal spirits displayed in Count Louis's letters, were it not that he speaks of war, that dreadful calamity, in terms that say more for his personal indifference to its dan

gers, than for his sympathy with the wide-spread suffering which it always brings in its train. But this was a fault of the times, and of the class in which he lived. Yet he was no mere soldier. Every day but Sunday was a day of labour with him, (p. 150.) He was a man of ardent prayer, (ibid.) He was zealous for the Reformation, and affectionately solicitous about his youngest brother, Henry, who, he was alarmed to think, might be coerced into superstitious observances: nolumus eum, says he, hac in ætatis juditiique sui imbecillitate ullis contra conscientiam præceptis teneri, (p. 205.) He, too, as well as the prince, came, with the advancing maturity of their years, to adopt Calvin's views; but even in 1566 he was no Calvinist.

The government of the Netherlands was entrusted to Margaret, duchess of Parma, natural daughter of Charles V., born at Ghent, in 1522, a very clever woman, and very devoted Papist. Strada tells us that she had had no less eminent a person than Ignatius Loyola for her confessor. Though fear or flattery may have led her for a time to allow the opposition to direct affairs as they chose, she soon resumed courage, and in 1566 showed she could take full advantage of the faults and excesses of her antagonists. When she left the country she was generally regretted; especially when the bloody administration of her successor had made the gallows and the stake the order of the day. Granvelle, though he had reason to complain of her conduct, pronounced her eulogy in 1578, and wished for her return; but the honour of reconciling one part of the Netherlands with the king was reserved for her son, Alexander of Parma.

Margaret, with all her talents, had too difficult a post to admit of her being independent of councillors. Among these, by far the ablest was, unquestionably, Cardinal Granvelle. Let us contemplate for a moment the portrait of this distinguished statesman as given by the Editor.

"Antoine de Perrenot, bishop of Arras, afterwards Cardinal de Granvelle, was born at Besançon in 1517. He was the son of Nicholas de Perrenot, chancellor under Charles V., and one of the most remarkable men of that age.

"No one has ever disputed the talents of Granvelle, and his amazing tact: he is universally allowed to have been active, indefatigable, clearsighted in perceiving the designs of others, persevering in those he himself pursued, and fruitful in resources.

"But he was hated, and this hatred was of long date. The German princes charged his father and him with being the authors of the most odious measures of Charles V.; of the aggressions on the Germanic constitution, the violent treatment of the Protestants, the detention of the landgrave of Hesse, and the elector of Saxony. This noted dislike redoubled the exasperation in the Low Countries. He was detested as a

foreigner, as a friend to the Spaniards, as an enemy to the public liberties, as an astute and perfidious counsellor, as the author of all the country's grievances, endeavouring to keep the Spanish troops in the country, desirous of multiplying the number of the bishops, pushing matters to violence, ruining the lords in the king's opinion, false, vindictive, and actuated solely by a regard to his personal interests. Let us examine what ground there was for these complaints."

The editor here adduces a mass of very conclusive evidence in support of his position, that Granvelle's memory, on almost all these points, has been unfairly dealt with. The cardinal was, as he himself observed, less a foreigner than the Count of Mansfeldt, for his birth-place was at Besançon, within the circle of Burgundy, and he and his relations were vassals and subjects of the emperor. So far from showing any particular friendship for the Spaniards, to their excesses he attributed all the troubles in the Netherlands, and, in repeated instances, he showed his dislike to Spanish troops being employed in that country. Then, so far from being an enemy to the public franchises and privileges, he is found, in a strictly private and confidential document, in which it cannot be doubted that he spoke his sincere opinions, to justify the zeal of the inhabitants of the Netherlands for the preservation of their rights. As for the augmentation of the number of bishops, that measure was adopted by the king without Granvelle's being aware of it. Far from recommending violent measures, he was constantly urging a return to a course of moderation and mildness. He gave the most explicit denial to the charge, to use a well-known term in old Scottish law and history, of leasing-making,—that is, of misrepresenting to the king the intentions and actions of the nobility, and there is satisfactory evidence that this denial was no more than the truth. With respect to the Prince of Orange, whom he was particularly accused of calumniating, his letters prove, that on several occasions when he might have spoken to his disadvantage, he endeavoured, on the contrary, to give the king a favourable impression of him. • A profound politician, he acted with reserve; he kept his sovereign's secrets: he did not pour forth his fears, his hopes, or his plans into the bosom of his antagonists, nevertheless, there will scarcely be found room to accuse him, at least as respects the Netherlands, of falsehood and perfidy. Far from being an eager, fawning, servile courtier, he told his mind to the Duchess of Parma with much freedom, and was not afraid to speak harsh truths to the king himself, and that often and directly.' P. 187.

What follows of his character reminds us of Leo X. Granvelle, like Leo, it would appear, was a good-natured and peaceable person, - he judged and treated his most violent adversaries with a moderation by no means common; he was much disposed to forgive injuries,

nay, he could return good for evil.' This however, was not due to any strength of Christian principle, for, like Leo, he was not distinguished either for fervour of piety or for regularity of conduct. He was fond of luxury, magnificence, the pride of life. He had not renounced worldly lusts, to live soberly in this present world.' Indeed, in one of his letters, he professes a kind of jovial epicureanism. Writing from Besançon to a friend, he says 'je fayz ici bonne et joyeuse chiere;' and again, we must do our best to extract advantage from that which our adversaries try to turn to our loss; such is my philosophy, and therewithal to procure the means of living as joyously as we can, and to laugh at the world, at passionate people, and at what they say without having any ground for it.' P. 240.

Of one thing there can be no doubt, that Granvelle was a zealous and faithful servant to his king, and, as such, he thought himself obliged to oppose the proceedings of the malcontent nobility. He had a great dread of any meeting of the states general, and thought it an anomaly in the constitution of the country. He was resolved to maintain the royal authority and the Roman religion, and in this showed courage, constancy, and devotedness. On his departure, his very enemies owned his usefulness; the public administration suffered from his absence; his return was soon spoken of; several who had helped towards his going away, would have been delighted to see him back again. The main complaint of his antagonists was, that he kept too sharp an eye on their designs. On the whole, the Cardinal was one of those remarkable men, raised up from time to time, to act an important part at those critical conjunctures, so trying to the faith and patience of the church of God, when the cause of truth seems ready to be overwhelmed by the puissant array of its enemies, -when power, rank, talents, and many effective, and even attractive qualities, all ranged on the side of error and falsehood, seem ready to overwhelm the little flock,' which maintains the testimony of Jesus. There will always, in such cases, be strong temptations to meet such men on their own ground, and with their own weapons; but we need not say that this temptation ought to be strenuously resisted. And there will also be temptations to malign and traduce them, to misrepresent and distort their intentions and characters— against which, too, we ought to be sedulously on our guard. They may be our superiors in talents, in political resources and influence, nay, in certain commanding or attractive qualities which have often distinguished very worldly, and at heart very selfish men. they should never be our superiors in candour, forbearance, simplicity, and unbending integrity,-still less, if possible, in placability and readiness to overcome evil with good. Success may not be ours, yet the want of it is no excuse for indulging in that fretful and envious spirit, which cannot digest a defeat, or forgive those who have

But

given it. But, indeed, with the Christian, what is success? With the world it is to triumph over a fallen adversary—to obtain the ends for which the contest was waged. With the Christian, on the other hand, defeat and disappointment may be the best success, because these may, after all, present the widest and noblest sphere for the exercise of the most arduous virtues; these may enable him best to subserve the very end of his being, which is to glorify God and to enjoy him for ever.

We must altogether omit two short but powerful sketches of Granvelle's brother, the Lord of Chantonay, and of the aged judge so often mentioned by Strada, Viglius. After detaining our readers so long, we can only remind those who may be disappointed at finding no mention made of Marninx, count of St Aldegonde, so well known as a patriot and a reformer, and some other distinguished Netherlanders, that the above sketches include only those who appeared in the opening scenes of the drama in which they acted their parts.

ART. IV.-The Past History and Future Destiny of Israel, as unfolded in the Eighth and Succeeding Chapters of the Book of Daniel. By the late ROBERT WODROW, Esq., with a Preliminary Essay, by the Rev. JOHN G. LORIMER, of St David's Free Church, Glasgow. Glasgow: Blackie and Son. 1844.

THE interest which has been lately awakened regarding God's ancient people is every day casting more and more discredit on the prevailing system of prophetic interpretation. The restoration of Israel to their own land is now almost universally acknowledged to be an event predicted in the word of God; and the admission of this fact is forcing men to perceive that, in order that it may find a place in the history of the future, room must be made for many other events, closely and necessarily associated with it, but which have hitherto been spiritualized as mere figurative descriptions of the glory of the latter days.

"It has so happened, that for the most part we have fallen short of the full meaning of these scriptures; for, in grasping at the blessings which they convey to ourselves, we have, in many instances, entirely overlooked, or but partially and faintly recognised, the special interest which Israel has in them as a people. To such an extent has this been carried, that with a kind of refined selfishness, we have not scrupled to apply to the Jews the prophetic denunciations of the word of God, and from their manifest fulfilment, to draw an argument of irresistible force for the truth of our holy religion, while, at the same time, we have sought to appropriate to ourselves the promises of mercy to that nation, uttered it may be in the same breath, and in the same passage set over against