King William, however, continued his Continental wars for the next five years, until, by the Peace of Ryswick, in Holland, 1697, Louis XIV bound himself to recognize William as King of England, the Princess Anne[1] as his successor, to withdraw all support from James, and to place the chief fortresses of the Netherlands, or Low Countries, in the hands of the Dutch garrisons.  The Peace of Ryswick marked the end of the conspiracy between Louis and the Stuarts to turn England into a Roman Catholic country dependent on France (SS477, 488).  When William went in solemn state to return thanks for the conclusion of the war, it was to the new cathedral of St. Paul’s, which Wren had nearly completed (S474), and which was then first used for public worship.

[1] The second (Protestant) daughter of James II.  See Genealogical Table, p. 323.

503.  The National Debt, 1693; the Bank of England, 1694.

William had now gained, at least temporarily, the object that he had in view when he accepted the English crown.  He had succeeded in drawing the English into a close defensive alliance against Lois XIV,[2] who, as we have seen, was bent on destroying both the political and the religious liberty of the Dutch as a Protestant people (S476).

[2] Guizot’s “History of Civilization,” chap. xiii.

William’s wars had compelled him to borrow large sums from the London merchants.  Out of these loans sprang the permanent National Debt.  That debt was destined to grow from less than a million of pounds to so many hundred millions that all thought of ever paying it has long since been given up.  Furthermore, it became necessary to organize a Banking Company, 1694, for the management of this collosal debt; together the two were destined to become more widely known than any of William’s victories.

The building erected by that Company covers not far from four acres of land in the very heart of London.  In the first room which one enters stands a statue of the King, bearing this inscription:  “To the memory of the best of Princes, William of Orange, founder of the Bank of England,”—­the largest and most important financial institution in the world.

504.  William’s Death.

King William hasd a brave soul in a feeble body.  All his life he was an invalid, but he learned to conquer disease, or at least to hold it in check, as he conquered his enemies.  He was worn out by overwork, sickness, and the cares of office.  If he could have been assured of the safety of his beloved Holland, death would have been welcome to one who had so long been stretched “upon the hard rack of this tough world.”  He was never popular in England, and at one time was kept from returning to his native country only through the earnest protestation of the Lord Chancellor, who refused to stamp the King’s resignation with the Great Seal (S145).

There were plots to assassinate him, and many who pretended to be friends were treacherous, and only wanted a good opportunity to go over to the side of James II.  Others were eager to hear of his death, and when it occurred, through the stumbling of his horse over a molehill, they drank to “the little gentleman in black velvet,” whose work underground caused the fatal accident.