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96 with the most potent kingdoms of Europe, and resisted the gigantic forces of the monarchies of England and France.

From the death of William the Third, whose talents and address rescued the republic from the most imminent danger, the stadtholderate remained vacant, till the difficulties in which the states found themselves involved in 1747, together with the wishes of the nation, and the powerful interposition of George the Second, induced them to confer that dignity on William the father of the present Prince of Orange, and to make the offices of captain-general and admiral-general of the republic hereditary in his family. William the Fourth was a prince of considerable talents, but he survived his elevation only a few years, and his administration was too short for the nation to derive much advantage from it.

The stadtholders hitherto had shed a lustre on the republic by their great abilities, which concealed their designs against the liberties of the people; but William the Fifth inherited the ambition of his ancestors, without any