By England's Aid

Excerpt

In my preface to By Pike and Dyke I promised in a future story
to deal with the closing events of the War of Independence in Holland. 
The period over which that war extended was so long, and the incidents
were so numerous and varied, that it was impossible to include the
whole within the limit of a single book.  The former volume brought the
story of the struggle down to the death of the Prince of Orange and the
capture of Antwerp; the present gives the second phase of the war, when
England, who had long unofficially assisted Holland, threw herself
openly into the struggle, and by her aid mainly contributed to the
successful issue of the war.  In the first part of the struggle the
scene lay wholly among the low lands and cities of Holland and Zeeland,
and the war was strictly a defensive one, waged against overpowering
odds.  After England threw herself into the strife it assumed far wider
proportions, and the independence of the Netherlands was mainly secured
by the defeat and destruction of the great Armada, by the capture of
Cadiz and the fatal blow thereby struck at the mercantile prosperity of
Spain, and by the defeat of the Holy League by Henry of Navarre, aided
by English soldiers and English gold.  For the facts connected with the
doings of Sir Francis Vere and the British contingent in Holland, I
have depended much upon the excellent work by Mr. Clement Markham
entitled the Fighting Veres.  In this full justice is done to the
great English general and his followers, and it is conclusively shown
that some statements to the disparagement of Sir Francis Vere by Mr.
Motley are founded upon a misconception of the facts.  Sir Francis Vere
was, in the general opinion of the time, one of the greatest commanders
of the age, and more, perhaps, than any other man—­with the exception
of the Prince of Orange—­contributed to the successful issue of the
struggle of Holland to throw off the yoke of Spain.