[D] "His temperament was cheerful. At table, the pleasures of which in
moderation were his only relaxation, he was always animated and merry;
and this jocoseness was partly natural, partly intentional. In the
darkest hours of his country's trial, he affected a serenity he was far
from feeling; so that his apparent gayety at momentous epochs was even
censured by dullards, who could not comprehend its philosophy, nor
applaud the flippancy of William the Silent. He went through life
bearing the load of a people's sorrows with a smiling face."--Motley's
_Rise of the Dutch Republic_.
Perhaps a lively national sense of humor is one of the surest exponents
of advanced civilization. Certainly a grim sullenness and fierceness
have been the leading traits of the Rebellion for Slavery; while
Freedom, like a Brave at the stake, has gone through her long agony with
a smile and a jest ever on her lips.