The only military achievement which characterized the close of the year, to the great satisfaction of the Provinces and the annoyance of Parma, was the surprise of the city of Bonn.  The indefatigable Martin Schenk—­in fulfilment of his great contract with the States-General, by which the war on the Rhine had been farmed out to him on such profitable terms:—­had led his mercenaries against this important town.  He had found one of its gates somewhat insecurely guarded, placed a mortar under it at night, and occupied a neighbouring pig-stye with a number of his men, who by chasing, maltreating, and slaughtering the swine, had raised an unearthly din, sufficient to drown the martial operations at the gate.  In brief, the place was easily mastered, and taken possession of by Martin, in the name of the deposed elector, Gebhard Truchsess—­the first stroke of good fortune which had for a long time befallen that melancholy prelate.

The administration of Leicester has been so minutely pictured, that it would be superfluous to indulge in many concluding reflections.  His acts and words have been made to speak for themselves.  His career in the country has been described with much detail, because the period was a great epoch of transition.  The republic of the Netherlands, during those years, acquired consistency and permanent form.  It seemed possible, on the Earl’s first advent, that the Provinces might become part and parcel of the English realm.  Whether such a consummation would have been desirable or not, is a fruitless enquiry.  But it is certain that the selection of such a man as Leicester made that result impossible.  Doubtless there were many errors committed by all parties.  The Queen was supposed by the Netherlands to be secretly desirous of accepting the sovereignty of the Provinces, provided she were made sure, by the Earl’s experience, that they were competent to protect themselves.  But this suspicion was unfounded.  The result of every investigation showed the country so full of resources, of wealth, and of military and naval capabilities, that, united with England, it would have been a source of great revenue and power, not a burthen and an expense.  Yet, when convinced of such facts, by the statistics which were liberally laid before her by her confidential agents, she never manifested, either in public or private, any intention of accepting the sovereignty.  This being her avowed determination, it was an error on the part of the States, before becoming thoroughly acquainted with the man’s character, to confer upon Leicester the almost boundless authority which they granted on, his first arrival.  It was a still graver mistake, on the part of Elizabeth, to give way to such explosions of fury, both against the governor and the States, when informed of the offer and acceptance of that authority.  The Earl, elevated by the adulation of others, and by his own vanity, into an almost sovereign attitude, saw himself chastised before the world, like an aspiring lackey, by her