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1 correction by allanraymond - Show corrections

MISCELLANEOUS EXTRACTS. DEATH OF THE EX-KING OF HOLLAND. An extraordinary courier arrived from Berlin at the Hague, with news of the death of His Ma- jesty King William Frederick, Count of Nassau. An extraordinary Supplement of the Staats Courant says — ' At half past 12 o'clock, Co- lonel Spengler arrived from Berlin with the melancholy intelligence that the Almighty had been pleased to take to Himself his Majesty King William Frederick, Count of Nassau, on the 12th December, at half-past 8 o'clock in the morn ing. ' Nothng had given reason to expect so speedy an end of the life of the venerable Prince. He had been engaged in business that very morn- ing, and was found by his aide-de-camp sitting in his own chair, struck by a fit of apoplexy, and apparently dead. All the attempts which were immediately made to recover His Majesty proved fruitless.'' The deceased Prince was born in the year 1772, and was therefore at the lime at his death in the 71st year of his age. At an early period of life be ardently applied himself to the acquisition of knowledge, and spent some years, not only in foreign travel, but in serious study at the Uni versity of Leyden. In the month of' June, 1790, he received the command of the garrison of Bre- da, and in the following year he was appointed a General of Infantry. On the 1st of October, 1791, he married the Princess Frederique Wil- helmina Louise of Prussia, daughter of Frederick William II The eldest child of this marriage is the present King of Holland, who was born on the 6th of December, 1792.   When the French republic in the year 1793   declared war against the Low Countries, the sub ject ol this notice received the command of the army of Holland, and so much distinguished himself during the hostilities which ensued, as to attract, in a remarkable degree, the favour and approbation of the Eperorori of Austria ; but, as every one remembers, that severe struggle prov- ed unsuccessful, and the partisans of the deceased King und his family were obliged to take refuge in England, while he himself remained in Prus- sia. From the time that the resistance to Re-   publican France proved unsuccessful until it was renewed against Imperial France, there occurred scarcely an event in the life of the late King of Holland worth recording, if we except the f'act that he commanded a division at the battle of Jena. He was also at the battle of Wagram, af- ter which event he proceeded to Berlin, and   finally visited this country, which he did not quit till the year 1813. He was proclaimed King of the Netherlands (his lather being then dead) on the 16th ot March, 1815, and as a Sovereign en- tered Brussels on the 5th of April following. On the return of Bonaparte from Elba, fore- seeing that his territories were likely to become the scene of great operations, he lost no lime in labouring to put their military positions into the beat state ol defence that circumstance would  

permit, and, to organise his troops with as much expedition as possible. The command of these forces was confided to the present King of Hol land (then Prince of Orange), who was wounded at their head in the battle of Waterloo. The late King for many years of his life resid- ed alternately at Brussels and the Hague. He is said to have been a person of great simplicity of life, very attentive to business, and of most eco- nomical habits. The issue of his first marriage was three children, the eldest of whom is now on the throne of Holland. The rupture which sep- arated Holland from Belgium, and gave the title of King of Holland merely to the deceased monarch — bis abdication in 1840 in favour of his son — his second marriage, to the Countess d'Oul- tremont — his life of honourable retirement as the Count of Nassau — are circumstances of course familiar to every reader. It is stated that the late King of Holland, Wil- liam Frederick, has left a fortune of 157 millions of florins (13 million poundsa!erling)of which half is bequeathed to the present King of Holland, Wil Ham II. Five or six millions, with large landed property, will come to the Countess of Oultre mont. The remaining millions will be divided between Prince Frederick and Princess Maria Anne, consort of Prince Albert of Prussia. The present King of Holland was born on the 6th of December, 1792, and married on the 21st of February, 1816, to the Princess Anne Paul-   owna, daughter of the Emperor Paul of Russia, by whom he has four children. — London Mail.

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