mm ;OFCAtlF0/?^ t^ so £7 d aWEUNIVERS//, %a3AINIl-3ftV^ ^lOSANCflfX^ o %a3AINft-3WV ^X\^l!BRARY6?/^ ^sMllBRARYQr^ '^.{/OJIIVDJO V^ '^A "^mwmw ^OFCALIFO/?^ ^0FCAIIF0%, r< ^^AbVHaii-^'^ ^^AHvaani^"^ MUBRARYOc. ^fllBRARYQ^ ^\WEUNIVERS'/^ ^-aOJIlVDJO^ ;OFCAllF0/?4^ &AavHain^ ^OFCAIIFOP^ >'MIIBRARYQ<^ .^^^•IIBRARYQ^ %0JI1VJ-J0>^ awminiver% r '" ^vWSANCElfj> ^TiiaONYSOl^ ^/5a3AIN(13WV' ^OFCAIIFO% ~5 =p A\\EUNIVERS'/A oslOSANCElfj-^A ^6>AHvaani^ so %a3AIN(13WV^ ^ ^lOSANCElfjV •n o = ^ ■n V KN^tllBRARYQc ^HIBRARYQC;^ "^aaAiNniwv^ ^omyi^"^ %ojnv3do^ |1 ^VlOSANCElfj'^ o '^ ^OFCALIFO/?^ .^,OFCALIFO%. > %a3AiNniwv^ "^(JAwaaii^ "^^Aavaan^ ^HIBRARYO^ ^^^^E•UNIVER% ^lOSANCElfx^ mum-i^'^ , \7f3 DESCRIPTION O F HOLLAND.- O R, T H E PRESENT STATE O F T H E United Provinces. i Wherein is contained, A Particular Account of the H a g u e, and all the Principal Cities and Towns of the R E P u B L I c K, with their Buildings, Curiofities, ^c. O F T H E Manner and Cuftoms of the Dutch; their Confti- tion, Legiflature, Sovereign Courts, Miniftry, Revenue, Forces by Sea and Land, Navy, Admiralty, B;ink, Eaft- India Company, Navigation, Commerce, in Afia, Africa and America j and with Great-Britain, France, Spain, and the other States of Europe. THEIR Univerfitics, Arts, Sciences, Men of Letters, ^c. To which arc added, Direcflions for making the Tou R of the Provinces. LONDON _ and P. Knapton, ..^ Ludgate- Street, m d c c x i.i i r. Printed for J. and P. Knapton, nt the Crown in <>» m , j j n .i.iii.i.i, III. |i . -. V^f y iy - - k1 M0IT31IC10MTMI \\ ' *^ I Hi Ml :?.^- -i^ INTRODUCTION. IN the moji conjiderable Cities of Greece and Italy there were anciently Ter^ fins, called Antiquaries^ whofe Office it was^ to jhew Strangers the Curio fit ies of the Tlaces, and to explain antique In^ firiptims, and every thing elfe of that kind cf Erudition. This Injiittition was ■ no le(s ufefui than honourable) the moft knowing and learned of the Senate being generally -pitched upon to exercife this FunBion^ as a kind of public k Mafters of the Ceremonies. ■They had fixed Salaries, and did the Ho^ ftours of their refpe^ive Cities with fo much grace and fuccefs, as to give the higheft Sa- tisf action to the curious Stranger, who re^ turned home with a great opinion of the po^ litenefs and learning of the Places he had 'uifited. Paiifanias calls thefe Antiquaries Condudors, Explainers, or Explainers of the Curiofities of their Country. The Sici- lians caUed them Miftagogues. In later times this Office has i)ery much degenerated, and taken another turn. 1h feveral Cities of Italy at this day Travel lers of note are waited upon oh the part of A a th^ W INTRODUCTION. fbe Senate^ and have Wine and other Re-- frejhments fent to their Lodgings, In the Emfire^ at the Talatine^ and other Courts y they are carried to the Cellars to drink at she great Tuns:^ and at Hamburgh, to the '^ublick Vaults to be treated with old Hock fuery liberally, in the Company of the M^i- firate^ \ ^^^^^ At Rome however there are ftill fome re' fnains of this ancient Ctiftom^ in a kind of Guides^ called C\cqxo*s, Their Bufinefs is to <:ondu5i Strangers about the City^ and to Jhew them the moft remarkable Structures ancient and modern. They are generally ig- norant Men^ and have no Aff ointment from pMje State* There are the fame kind of Teo- fie at Paris, Antwerp, Bruflels, i§c. They are Retainers to the InnSy wait the coming \^ of Stagecoaches^ and offer their Service to Strangers. ^:W -> But the judicious Traveller is far from \4rtifting to this fort of Guides. Before he \^ets outy he informs himfelf by Reading and 'f'^Oonverfation \ and carries with him the beft- wrote Books upon the T laces he intends 'f^ : '^vifit. At Ins leifure he amifes himfelf with comparing fuch Account Sy or Defcriptiotts^ with the Originals upon the Spot. ' "^^ The vajt variety of tiswObje^s he tneets ^V ' with IN TRODUCTI an r with almofl every 'UL'here^ are Like the Heat-' thenldols^ they have Mouths, but fpeak not; The fineft TiSfures, the moji exqtiifite Statues^ the mo(i magnificent Buildings^ cannot tnjorm him\ -who made them\ and wherein their feculiar Excellencies conjlft. This is to Be had only from fuch as have examined them with Judgment^ and taken the Tains to defcribe them accurately* The Hague, and other T laces of Holland defcribed in the following Sheets^ want many of the Curiofities and antique Monuments^ which have jo much recommended the Works of modern Writers y and are fo capable of embellijhing and enriching Narratives, Am^ fhitheatresy Triumphal Arches^ Obelisks^ Columns^ Baths^ Grottos^ Catacombs, ,&:c« are unknown in thefe^ as well as in the other modern Cities of the World, Magnificent Churches, fflendid Altars, and pompous •TroceJ/ions, which in Roman CatholickCotm" tries engage the Curioflty of Travellers y and afford great matter of Defcription, are not the Subjects of a Ten employed in defcribing :■ ^Troteftant Cities, , Notwithjianding all thefe Dif advantages^ '^*' / will venture to fay, that the Hague, witi^ the fmallTrtvmce it lies in, and the other Towns and Cities of Holland, exjriUitt a more , . wopderfjtl ^i INTROD tJCtlOI*. wonderful Scene to a Terfan of refieBioft^ than Rome herfelf in her [acred Tageantry^ (ind the Magnificence rf her antique Ruins, In them he fees a wonderful Neatnefs and noble Simflicity in all things ) which pleafe iiim more than thofe Objects^ that feem in* tended folely to fir ike and amaze him. Here Works of real ufe and emolument to the "Pub lick abound'^ there Works of Luxury and Fancy, 7he Citizens of Holland fee their Money laid out by tloe Magtfirate on. every thing that can render their Laves agreeable and hapj^y ; the Citizens both of old and new Rome are crujjjd under a load ef Taxations to aggrandize a few, and en^* able them to lay fill heavier Loads ufon them. Infiead of Amfhitheatres and Circus's^ for the cruel Sfort of deftroying the human Sfecies ; in the Dutch Dykes and Sluices are feen ftufendious Works of no lefs Art and Grandeur, for the fafety and frefervation of the Teofle. This Sfot exhibits great exam-, fles of Ingenuity, Application, and Virtue \ the other, a Race funk in Sloth, Voluptuouj- nefs. Effeminacy, and Toverty, If we carry our Views farther, and confix der the Roman and Bel^ick Commonwealths, we perceive the latter making greater ad^ vances towards the eftablijhment of her O- "" .. pulence ' -.-.. >^ ■ ■ - ■ - - - j^, •,.. I-JSTTRODUCTION. vii pulence and Grandeur in few Teai^s^ than the other was able to do m fever al Ages.' A whole Nation feems (to ufe the Exfrejffton^ to be born at once^ and a beautiful well-cul^ tivated Region (like the Creation in the Phoenician Syfiem) rifing out of the Bofom - tf the Deef, The wifeji Nations of Europe v Jiand amazed at the new Scene^ and catf^ find no Parallel in the Annals of the World^, ancient or modern. An handful of offrejfedy mhaffy Men make head againft four mighty Tyrants^ of whom each has fuccejfively made not only Nations y but all Europe tremble^ and after obtaining glorious Vicfories over them^ at length eftablifh their Rights and Uberties^ and tranfmit thofe inejfimable Blejfings to their Tojierity. One cannot run over their amazing^ but fhort Hijiory^ without conceiving a great Veneration for the Nobility of this Country^ that flood up in.'' Defence of the Teo fie' s Rights -^ and effect* ally for the illiifirious Trinces of Naflau O- range, who by their JVifdom and Valour ani- mated both the Nobility and Teofle^ and. founded a glorious Commonwealth ^ from which all they defired was^ that themfelves^ ^^4^ their Tofterity might be confidered as kt Friends and Defenders. ■The Reader will find thefe, and fubjeBs of this kindy occafioncilly interfferfed in the fol- lowing viii Introduction. lowing Narration, Mere Defcriftions of Talaces and Buildings are too dry and unaf- feBing^ "iphen not attended with important Circumfiances^ and hifiorical FaBs relating to them: To look on and gaze only ^h too harrow an Employment for an intelligent Being '^ torefleB u^on^ and improve from the ObjeBs that occur ^ is the f roper Exercife of the rational Mind. The SubjeB of the following Sheets abounds with Amufement^ Delight^ and InJiruBiony and deferved a better Ten than his who has attempted it ; and it is none of his Fault that it had not one. As there is no f articu- lar Defcription of the Hague, that he knew cfy tho* the Tlace is famous, throughout the World, he has often defired ingenious Na- tives to oblige the Tublick with an Account of it\ but they ham always excufed them- f elves, and referred that li ork to him. Their general Reafon for it w^s, that as he was not of the Country, he would write ofTer- fonSy Cujioms, aud other Things, with more mfartiality, and a jiriBer regard to Truths than their particular Attachments, national Prejudices, and other Biaffes would well admit '^ and indeed, than they cared to do, itt a Country, which notwithfiand'tng its boafcd Liberty, has inffanced its being highly fenfibh in ^mit of Honour, . In INTRODUCTION. iyc In this manner the Author was engaged in the Work ; and he has only to add in his ewn Excufe^ and for the Reader's Satisfa- i 6fiony that he has refided at the Hague, and \ ' in the TrovinceSy almoft from his Infancy^ ''^ and that this Volume is the growth of feve-* ral Tears^ and much Obfervation. He has never received any -particular Favours, or caufes of Difguft, from the Teople, of whom he writes ; and all his Defcriptions are made -..^ on the SfOt : And therefore he conceives the few fuferficial Things , [aid trarifiently by Voyage-writers^ on the Hague and the reft of Holland, fiould not hinder the Bulk of the prefent Relation from being confideredy as a new and original Work ; which indeed it is. On the Government of the Repiblick^ he would willingly have referred the Reader to Grotius, Bynkerfhoeck, Sir William Tern- y: pie, and Bafnage ; but that he could not do ^ intirely, without leaving confiderable Chafms in his Narration ^ it may however not be amifs to fay here, that the ipfiilima Reipub- licse fundamenta are to be found in the two firft of thofe eminent Jfriters. As it highly concerns the Britifh Nation to be perfeBly well acquainted with the Dif- fofitiouy Maxims, and Strength of fo confix derable a State and Ally as the United ^^ Trovinces j the Author, befides proper In^ a formations X INTRODUCTION. formations from Terfonsin Office^ and others, has gone Jjimfelfio the Stations of the Navy^ and to the FortreJ/es and Barrier Towns ^ in order to be capable of freaking with the greater certainty upon the frefent State of the Strength of the Refublick. Nor has there been lefs Attention beftowed on the frefent State of her Commerce^ and particularly that fart of it, carried on be^ tween the Provinces and Great Britain. The particulars ffecified under that head^ were colle5fed in the Torts themf elves ^ and from thofe who had a principal Share in the Trade on both Sides, I might on this Article have taken occajioyi to enter into a long Detail^ but that was not conjlftent with the princu- pal SubjeB of thefe Sheets. ^he Anecdotes relating to Ambajadors and other Mtnifters ; to Men of Letter s^ and the present State of the Arts and Sciences in that Seat of Toliticks and Learnings the Hague, will not^ it is hoped^ be difagreeable to the ingenious Reader, To conclude^ the Author* s chief Intention has been to be exa^ and full -^ and he has taken into his Tlany as far as the Limits of fo fmall a Volume would admits every thing that he conceived proper to diverjify and eft-- tich his Subject. THE THE CONTENTS CHAP. I. rj^H E Hague Jf Its Situation Air Antiquity Name Extent Number of Inhabitants and Beauty Page 1 2 ibid. 3 ibid. 4 ibid. The Principal Streets and Publick Buildings. ^e Palace or Court 5 The Apartments of the St AT 1.^ 7 Reception of a Morocco Ambajfador jo Prince Maurice' j Houfe 11 The Outer Court 12 The Dutch Guards ibi -^ - ' ibid. Harbour, Shipping, and Trade 360 Bignefs, and Number of Inhabitants at this Day 361 Streets, Publick Buildings, &c. 3^4 & ^eq. The Bank, its Treafure, Nature, and Ufe ^^^ Revenue and Taxes of Amfterdam 366 Stadhoufe compared to Verfailles, the Efcurial, &c, ibid. Thi Hofpitals, and other charitable Foundations 367 Ibe The CONTENTS. xxiil . Page The Admiralty Houfe 370 The Dutch Navy 371 The Eaft India Houfe ibid. Parallel between the Dutch and Englifh Eaft India Companies 373 ^he Plantagie or Plantation exqui/ttely beautiful 375 The Phyjick Garden^ and Profejfor ibid, The Publick Mufick Houfes 376 'The Playhoufe ; made to bring in a great Revenue to the Hofpitals ^yj Convent of Women here called Begulnes ibid. Good EJlablifhments in Roman Catholick Countries ibid. Amazing Examples of Induflry here 379 North Holland or Weft Friefland 380 Viftted by the curious Traveller ibid. Briefly defcribed^ &c. ibid. & feq. Pafjage from Amfterdam to Utrecht 383 Utrecht one of the beautifullejl Cities in Europe ibid. Inhabited by an elegant and polite People 384 Its Situation charming : fine Air ibid. The mofl difiinguijhed Profeffors 2^5 The Obfervatory 387 Pope Adrian born here ibid. His Chara^er and Epitaph 388 The Afylum of the perfecuted Janfenifts 389 Their prefent State in the Roman Catholick Nether- lands and France, ^c. ibid. *[he Cardinal de Fleury, to pleafe the Jefuits, perfe- , cutes, and banifhes them 391 "King Lewis XIV. charmed with Utrecht ■ 392 But raifed a vajl Contribution upon it ibid. Famous for the Treaties made in it 393 Reflexions upon them ibid." The Mall^ and the Country about Utrecht defcribed 394 Travellers xxiv The C O N T E N T S. Page Travellers go from hence to Leyden on the fine Canal', Soefdick, Loo, Dieren, Voorft, Da- venter, Zutphen, Yielftein, the Vaart, Vianen, Wick, Culenburg, Rhenen, Arnheim, and Nimeguen 3P5 From thence to Cleves in Germany, Aix la Cha- pelle, and Spaw 40^ Route from the Hague to Bruffels and Paris ibid. Route from the Spaw to Calais 409 Manner of going from the Hague to London ibid. Packet Boats y HelvoetHuys, ^c, 411 a;\. E R R A T A.^f^_'^^ PAGE 70. After the Words Lords and Commons^ add the following fkort Paragraph. The Chamber of Accounts examines, and controuls all the Accounts of the feveral Receivers. It is compofed of two Deputies from each Province, who are changed every three Years. Page 409. For, which is only fcven Leagues, cr twenty one Miles ^ read, where the Sea is only feven Zjcagues, cr twenty one Miles over. A DESCRIPTION OF HO L L A N a C H A P I. .■ ;.;::f:;)J2rii To- Till gT.' :. i ^-*^ H E tJague'is juftly -edeemed one of the fineft To'^i\i in Europe. Thole who have either feen, or ■* occafionally wrote of it, leem at a Lofs for Words to e^irprefs their. Admiration. An ingenious Gentleman, Fellow of the Royal 'Society, fpeaking of this Place, when it was nothing to what it is nOw, exprefles himfelf thus: " * And now let us enter the Hague ^ thedelicateft ^' Borough in the whole World, as all thofe ** who have feen any Thing abroad willingly ^' confels: A Place, which, for the Breadth of * Prefcnt State of the United Provinces of the Low Coun* tries. ■ By W, A, 'F. R. S. London, 1669. B the Tt A DESCRIPTION the Streets, the Noblenels of its Buildings, the Beauty of its Canals, the pleafant Shade of its Trees', and the Civility of its Inhabitants, " may juftly claim the Title of the moft pleafant •' Seat in the World, and make all Men envy " the Happinefs of thofe that live in it." This beautiful Place? lies in the Centre of a great Number of fine Cities and Villages, with which it has an eafy Communication by Canals, on the Sides of which a thoufand agreeable Ob- jeds perpetually rife up, ihat make the Journies on them feem too fhort. For wherever the PaA •fenger turns his EyeSj he fees either beautiful Country-Houfes, magnificent Gardens, fine Mea- dows, or charming Villages. The Hague ftands on a dry Soil, fbmewhat higher than the reft of the Country. But that Elevation is not fo confiderable as to occafion any fenfible Change in the Courfe of the Waters, or Inconvenience to the PafTage-Boats, which fail to and from the Hague with equal Facility. The Inhabitants breath a better Air than thofe of the other Cities; and have more agreeable Scenes without the Town for Health and Recre- ation. On the South is a large Extent of fine Meadows, and the City of Delft ; on the Eafl is the principal Canal; on the North a pleafant Wood ; and on the Weft the Walk to Scheveling ,and the Sea. And indeed, go which Way one will, one always finds delightful Paths, or Walki paved with Bricks, and Ihaded with feveral Rows st.i , of "Of HO \L:l a N D. 3 of Trees ; fo that the Neighbourhood of the Hague exhibits, on all Sides of it, whatever can form a fine Landfcape^ ' It lies in Lat. 51,' 15. about one Degree North of Landofi', fo th&t it can neither be ex- ceffively cold in the Winter, nor hot: in the Summer. The Winters here are however fome-- what longer and colder than with us; becaule the Wind from the Eaftward comes to them over, an exceedingly dry Continent of 5 or 6000 Miles from Cbina and Japan ; but are moillened by the Vapours, or ibfrened by the Warmth * occafioned by the Motion of the Sea, before they reach us* And on the other hand, , our Summers are commonly cooler, in Effed of the refrefhing Breezes from the Ocean, which in a Manner fan the Inhabitants of our happy Ifland. The Hague is called in Latin Haga Comilis, in French La Haye, and in Dutch s*Gravenhage, that isj the Earl's Grove or Wood •, alluding to a Wood that formerly grew here, where the Earls or Counts of Holland had a Country- Houfe. The Hague is little mentioned dll about the Year 1250, when William II. Count of Holland^ and King of the Romans^ removed his Court thither from Gravefant, a Village twelve Miles diftant. From that Time it has always been the Seat of the Government j and, fince the Com- mencement of the RepUblick in 1579, it may be reckoned the Capital of the Seven Provinces ; tho* indeed it is called only a Village, becaufe it B 2 . ia 4 ADESCRIPTION is not walled, and fends no Deputies to the States. It is however a better Town than many Cities, which enjoy that Privilege ; and for Extent, Number of People, and Opulence, may be rank*d amongft the beft Cities of Europe of the fecond Clals. It requires almoft two Hours to walk round it ; and contains above 5000 Houfes, in- habited by 40 or 50,000 Souls. ' It is furrounded by a beautiful Canal, over which there are feveral fine Draw-bridges ; but thofe Bridges are never drawn up, fo that one may enter the Hague at all Hours. This Canal is bordered on one Side, and in fome Places on both, by a Walk of lofty and fhady Trees. .itaii-. Principal O! H O L L J N D, Principal Streets and publick Build- ings of the Hagu^.-- ^ MA N Y of the Streets and publick Places of the Hague are fo exceedingly fpacious and airy, and fo much adorned with Water and Trees, that one is fometimes apt to think onefelf in a real Village, enjoying the Plealures of Soli- tude, tho* actually in the midfl of a magnificent City. The Palace or Court, which was built in 1250 by the forementioned William II. Count of Holland and King of the Romans^ Hands almoft in the Centre of the Hague. It is moated about on three Sides, and on the fourth is walhed by the Vyver, There are three Entrances into it over ib many Draw-bridges, which might be drawn up in Cafe of a Tumult, The Court is large and almoft Square ; and in it before the Guard- Houfe ftands a very great Tree, which was plant- ed by one of the Princes of Orange. The Buildings are old, irregular, and not very mag- nificent. The Stadholders refided herej and the States General, the States of the Province of Holland^ the Council of State, the Council of the Nobility and the fovereign Courts of Juftice, hold their Affemblies here in difi'erent Apartments. There is very little Noife of Coaches, or Thronging of Servants, ^c. feen here, even B 3 whilft f A D E S C R I P T I ON whilft the States General are fitting-, nor would one know any Thing of it, excepi: one were told fo, or in the CofFee-Houfes read Iq. the News- Papers, that their High Mightinefl.es were affem- bled. The Deputies of the States fo called, are plain Men, dreil no otherwife than other decent Citizens. They never are leen with more than one Servant, and are ufually on Foot, and alone in the Streets. The Appearance of thefe wife Rulers makes one call to Mind the noble Sim- plicity of the ancient Romans in the glorious times of jiheir Commonwealth. Strangers judge of the manly Plainnefs they fee here, according to the falfe or true Idea they have formed of Grandeur. The People however are extremely pleafed with it ', becaufe it is at leaft a Proof, that their Money 5s not applied to maintain Equipages and the idle Pomp and Glare of particular Perfons. The Auto^rapha, or authentick Inflruments of the Dutch Verfion of the Bible, are kept here in g, ftrong Cheft -, and there are other Afts of the fame Kind depofited in the Town-Houfe of Leyden. The Deputies of the Synod of the United Provinces, attended by thofe of the States, vifit thefe facred Records every three Years. This gives the Curious an Opportunity of getting the neceflary Information for folving any Difficuldes that arife in the various Editions, publiftied from time to time, of the Holy Scriptures. Some Years ago the Lawyers of the Hague l^ad Thoughts of ereding a Library in a large •if ti;^i Jiifi-, i„. ■..- ^41 Room O^ B L L A N D, 7 Room here. It was to be done upon the fame Plan as that of the Advocates at Edinburgh. But notwithftanding the Advantages of fuch Inflitu- . tions upon the Continent, and particularly iiij Holland^ where the Natives are perpetually print- ing vaft Numbers of Books in all Languages and^ Faculties, it would be a great while before the ; Hague Library came up to the Perfedion of the. other. And it may be queftioned, whether every; "Dutch Advocate, on putting on the Gown, would ^ be willing to pay forty Pounds (above 400 Gilders) towards the Support of that new Infti- tution. The Advocates of North-Britain, as I have been aflured, contribute no lefs for that ule on their Admiflion i which, with its fine Apart,- ments, the Abilities and Care of the Keepers, and- the curious and extenfive Learning of the Body, have render'd that Library very confiderable. The French Church is alio here ; and a great Hall of grofs Gothick Architedture, which is ths moft confpicuous Building of the Place, but with no happy Effed:. The Entrances into the feveral Chambers of the States are through this Hall, which anfwer to that of Wejiminfier, tho' it is far from being lb magnificent. It is roofed with Wood brought from Ireland, which was believed to be Proof againft Rottennefs ; and indeed, tho' this Build- ing is fire or fix hundred Years old, the Wood is found and frelh enough. The Roof of Weji^ minJier-'Hall was, we are told, brought alfo from B 4 the $\ A D E S C R I P T I O 1*J the fame Country. Some Naturalifls of Ireland' alcribe this kind oi incorruptible Quality to natural Caufes i but the Roman Catholicks to the Bene- didion of their Patron Saint Patrick. The Walls of this Hall are hung with Colours, Drums, an($ other Trophies of Vidory, taken from the SpO' niards, French, and other Enemies of the Com- monwealth. The Names of the Battles are wrote underneath them-, as Hockfiadt, Ramellies, Mai* plaquet. In the midft of the Hall there is a Scaffold or wooden Stru£ture, where the State- Lotteries are drawn by Hofpital-Boys as in Tjondon, There are alfo feveral Stationers-Shops in it. ^ The Chamber, where the States affemble, is plain enough. It is hung with Green Cloth* On one Side are the Pidures of the five Princes of Orange^ Stadholders of Holland ; William I. Maurice, Frederick-Henry, William II. sltvX William III. King of Qreat-J^rit-ain : They are placed in the Order let down, and aVe exquifttely well done at full Length. At the Head of the Room oyer the Chimney is the Pidure of Prudence, and ac the oppofite End that of Fortitude. In a Corner of it there is a Weather-Qlals, of which the Frame is much admired for the Sculpture, In tiie Windows lie feveral Books of Maps in Readi- liefs to be confulted on Qccafion. -. The Table, at which the Members fit, is long, and covered with Greert Cloth, with Pens, Ink, and Paper upon it. There is Room at it for about thirty Perfonsj which is theufual Number of this (bve- reign 0( H L L J N D. 9 feign Council. Neither Stadholder, Governour, jior a»y military Officer, are allowed to fit in the Aflembly of the States General. As each Province prefides a Week in its Turn, the Per- ibn befl: qualified amongft the Deputies of that Province is chofen Prefident, and fits in an EI-" bow Chair at the Middle of the Table. The Creffier or Secretary fits at the lower End. When a Foreign Minifter has Audience, he is feated at the middle of the Table, oppofite to the Prefi- dent, with his Face to the Light, The States other Room, which is very beau- tiful and magnificent, is called the Chamber of pheTrucc; becaufe the Truce for 12 Years be- tween the Republick and the Spaniards was con- cluded in it, 1609. It is very luminous 5 and the Windows, which are grand, front the Vyver ^nd Vyverherg. At the upper End is the Pi6lure pf King WilTiam III. who was Stadholder of Jlolland^ and King of Great-Britain at the fame Time i but he made very little Ufe of his Power, and left every Thing to the States themfelves. They asked him Leave to fet up his Pidure in this conlpicuous Place of their Aflemblies, and obtained it with fome Difficulty. He was a modefl: Prince, and defpifed Flattery and Vain- glory^ as much as he purfued that which is folid and real. This Pi6hire is reckoned the beft that was ever done of that gre^t King, The Carpet in it, on which the Chair of State fi:ands, is par- licularly admir*d j but there is po Part of this ftoble lo ADESCRIPTION noble Piece, that is not equally eflimable. Over the Door there is a Uberty, alfo very well done. Embaffadors have their Conferences, and publick Audiences of the States, in this grand Chamber ; in the midft of which flands a large and magni- ficent Table, fet round with Chairs. A pleafant Circumftance happened not long fince in this Apartment at a publick Audience given the Morocco EmbafTador on his Arrival by the States. The Ladies dcfired that they might be admitted on that Occafion. As the Thing was a Matter of mere Form and Cere- mony, they were indulged in their Requeft. When the EmbafTador approached, the Ladies, who were very richly dreft, opened and formed a Lane, thro' which he pafled : The mutual Compliments being over between the Miniftry and the EmbafTador j his Excellency turned about towards the Ladies, and after having viewed them with fome Attention, he told the States, that he prefumed thefe were their High Mighti- nefTes Seraglio ; applauded their Tafte, and de- clared, he had never feen fo beautiful a Sight in his whole Life. The AfTembly could fcarce for- bear an Horfe-laugh -, but they made fhift to keep it in, till his Excellency withdrew ; when Secretary Fagel^ notwithflanding his very great Age, faid fome lively Things, that almofl put the Ladies to the Blufh. Near this Chamber is a little Room, to which the Miniflers withdraw for private Conferences: : .. It Of HOLLAND, n It is very plain, and has round it feveral fmall but fine Pidures, done by the famous Hans Holben, Adjoining to thefe Apartments of the States are the Courts of Juftice, where one that under- ftands Low-Duichy may pafs a vacant Hour to hear the Pleadings, and obferve the Forms of 1-aw in Praftice. Clofe to the Court is the Palace or Hotel of Prince Maurice of Orange. He built it after his Return from his Government of Brazil, about 1650. It ftands pleafantly on the Vyver, and is the handfomefl Piece of modern Architedture at the Hague. It is neither very large, nor over- charged with Sculptures : It has juft enough of thofe Ornaments to argue the exquifite Talle of the Builder. He embellilhed it with the mod curious Productions of the Indies ; but all thofe fine Things were entirely confumed by Fire in 1707. However, as only the Timber- Work of the Building was burnt, it was repaired by thofe, who had a Mortgage upon it. The Govern- ment hire it of them, for lodging Embaffadors during the three Days the States defray their Expences, and for other publick Ufes. King Charles II. was lodged here many Days before he fet out on his Return to his Dominions. The fame Prince Maurice was afterwards Go^ vernor of Ckves, under the Eledlor of Branden- hurgby and adorned one half of that Dutchy, and pardcularly the Places adjacent to the Capital, ^ith fo many regular Plantations, magnificent Walks, m A D E S CRT P T I ON Walks, Parks, and Water-worses, as rendered the Country a kind of Paradife. That great Man, tired, of the Hurry and Pomp of State, built himfelf a litde Houfe in a Wood, about a Mile out of the Town of Cleves^ where he fpent the lafl: Years of a glorious Life. By his own Order he was buried near it, in an Hollow of the Wood, under a large Stone of black Marble, with an Infcription. Near this Stone ftands a fine Colledion of old Roman Urns, and other Monuments of Antiquity, made by this great Genius. The Inlcriptions on them, thro' length of Time, are {o much effaced that it is very hard to underftand them. This Colleftion, tho' the nobleft on this Side of the Alps, is omitted by Cruterus. .; 'TBvYTEN HoF, or Outct Court, Is much larger and more open than the Inner. The Horfe-Guards draw up here, as the Foot do in the Inner Court. The Former do no Duty, ex- cept whilll the States are fitting. They are cloathed in blue, fac*d with red, are very finely mounted, and make a good Appearance. Their Horfes are of a larger Size, a more exquilite black Colour, and far more beautiful to the Eye than the Englifk •, tho* the Latter are reckoned more hardy and fitter for long Marches. The Troops of the Dutch^ French^ and moft of the other Princes of Europe y are cloathed either in blue or in white i which are far from making fo fine a Shew in the Field as red, the livery of the Englifh, ..9>iirT7 The 0£ HO L L A N D. ig The Guards are relieved in this Court every Afternoon. The moft remarkable Houfe here is that of the Countels DoWager of Albemarle, the prefent Earl's Mother. She is efteemed the firft Lady of the Hague, and is Sifter of the Vander Duin, Nobles of Holland ; but her Rank and Extradion are not fb much to be confidered as her Merit, and decent and elegant Manner of Living. The late Earl, one of the favourite Minifters of King H^illiam IIL was of the Keppel Family, which has given many Perfons of diftinguifh'd Merit to the Republick. He was General of the Dutch Infantry^ and Governor of T'ournay ; was made a Peer by the King. The Earl of Portland, ano- ther Dutch Gentleman, was, as every Body knows, the other Favourite of that Prince; '■* At the Gevange Poorts, thro' which one goes Cut of the Outer Court into the Plaats, is the Prifon, where the De Witts met their Fate. This Place is always fhewn to Strangers. The Cataftrophe of thofe two great Men is ftill the Subjed of Converfation in Holland, and does not feem to be forgotten by moft of the other Nations of Europe. The Dutch talk and write of it in the Spirit of Party. The beft they could do, would be to bury the whole Affair in Oblivion. It mufl however be confeffed, that neither they nor any other Nation ought to be charged with the Fault of Individuals, or the Fury of a Mob : For that this was chiefly the Ad of a Mob is evident from ta.i all H A D E S C R I FT I ON all the good Accounts that have been given of IC The true Matter of Fail feems to have been ^ follows. A Barber-Surgeon came to the' Prince of Orange's Camp, and informed the Lord Zuyk" ftein, the, Prince's natural Uncle, t\\2il Cornelius De Witt, Burgomafter df Dort, and Brother to the great Penfionary John Be Witt^ had given him Money to make away with the Prince ; be- caufe as he faid, the Republick could not other-* wife preferve her Liberty. Upon this Informa-' tion the Court of Holland zommiit^di Be TVitt to Prifon ;. and on the Evidence of the Sufgeon con- demned him to lofe all his Offices and Employ- ments, and banilhed him from Holland and Wefi Friejland for ever. The People. who believed they were betrayed by Be Witt to the French King, looked upon this as a Defign . rather for fending him out of the Way, than as a Sentence againft him. However Be Witt's Wife and Friends prefented feveral Petitions and Remon- {trances to the Court in his Vindication. They infilled upon the well-known Services he had done the State for many Years ; that he was but juft returned from on board the Fleet, where his very Epemies, and amongft- them Be Ruyter, could atteft his Condu<5t and Courage. They alledged alfo the whole Tenor of his Life and Converfation •, and referred to the Records of fe- veral Courts, wherein the Surgeon had been con- v'&d of Perjury and Calumniating feveral Per- ... fon* O^ H L L A N D: 15 fonS of Note : In a "Word, they proved him a moil profligate Fellow. However, the Sentence which was adapted rather to the Conjundurc than to the ftrid Rules of Juftice, was confirnned, the Surgeon fet at Liberty, and, the Mob en- flamed by him began to murmur and grow tumultuous about the Prifon Door. In the midft of this Uproar, the Penfionary very imprudently came in his own Coach to carry his Brother out of Town, which looked like a Triumph over the Sentence : But as he was bringing him out of the Prifon, the Mob would not fiiffer them to come out. The Penfionary upon that fpoke to them with Authority to forbear ; but they forced them both.il) again, and obliged their Coach to drive off, in.v^hich, it is faid, their Father waited, in order to iiave carried them to Dinner before they let out. The Tumult encreafed perpetually j and a Report ifpreading that Cornelius had efcaped, the People could not be pacified, till two of the Burgomafters and four Burghers went in, who fatisfied them to the contrary. The Penfionary prevailed, on the two Magiftrates to dine with him and his Brother; and in the mean Time the Companies of Burghers came in Arms, and drew up about the Prifon to keep the Peace : But it was evident that fome of the principal of them were no Friends to the De JVitts, and not very foUicitous about their Prefer vation. Three Troops of Horfe, which lay then in the Hague^ ftood alio to their Arms. One of them marched to i^*;,i; the 16 A D E S C R I P T I O N the ufual Place of Rendezvous, and the other isw6 endeavoured to get into the Outer Court, bui were kept off by the armed Rabble, who got upon the Tops of the neighbouring Houles, to fee that neither of the De W^itts efcaped. At laft with Muskets and Smiths Hammers they broke open the Priibn-Doors, and went to the Chamber where the Brothers were. They found the Pen* fionary reading in his Bible, and his Brother laid down in his Night-Gown. The Penfionafy asked them what they wanted, and why all that Vio* lence? One of them anlwered, you muft come down ; for we will have your Lives. Cornelius rifing from the Bed, fpoke roughly to the Fel- low, and bid him get down : But at length the Penfionary feeing that no Realbns would do, hd took his Brother by the Hand to go down, and on the Stairs was wounded with a Pike above the Eye : At that Inftant he lifted up his Hands and Eyes to Heaven, recommending his Soul to God ; and immediately after was hurried away by the Mob to the very Place, where he had been aflaffinated two Months before, and there barbaroufly murther'd, covering his Face with his Cloak, and faying for his laft Words, fFett Men^ well Citizens. His Brother immediately after had the fame Fate. Thus fell thefe two great Men by popular Fury, Cornelius in the 49th, and the Penfionary in the 47 th Year of his Age, formerly as much be- loved as now hated by the People, who confi- dered of HOLLA Nlb^ I J dered them as the Caufe of all Calamities their Country fufferfed' at that time. All Hiftorians agree, that the Caule of their Ruin was the too great Oppofition they made to the Advancemerrt of the Prince of Orange, King Williain III. And Sir tVillia)m 'temple feems to be of the fame Opi- nion, who in his Chapter on ^he Caufes of the Fall of the Republic, refers it chiefly to that Oppo- fiti6n. He obferves, that the States of Holland from their Alliance with England in 1668, had engaged to advance the * Prince, and that the T)ther fix Provinces were heartily for it : That the T>e H^itts, who were at the Helm, neglefted the Army, and applied themfelves Iblely to ftrength- ening- the Fleet. " Perhaps content (fays Sir " William) that Ibme ill Succelles fhould attend " the Prince at his firfl Entrance upon the Com- *' mand of their Army, and thereby contribute " to their Defigns of reilraining him, — This '* indeed was not likely to fail ; for they had " worked out by Degrees all the old Oificers, " who were thought affedionate to the Family, * The two' Brothers having been long in Power, began at laft to grow-haughty, and to diftate to the States of the Pro- vince ; which could not fail to make them many Enemies. Bifliop Burnety and other good Hiftorians obferve, that the Great Penfionary had in a manner fuppreffed the Council of State, and taken the whole Management of Affairs upon him- felf, which excited much deferved Indignation againft him j for that was affuming the Dictator, or Stadholder, with a witnefs : So that he was for exercifmg a Power himfelf, which he was againft having lodged in another, who had certainly a much better Right to it, than any private Citizen could have. C ♦' and v^8 A D E S C Rl e)TION " and filled the Commands of the Army with *' the Sons or Kinfmen of Bqrgomafters and " other Officers and Deputies of the Province." Thus at the Time that Lewis XIV. attacked them, " their Towns without Order, their *' Burghers without Obedience, their Soldiers *' without Difcipline, and all without Life.— *' But the Kindnefs to the young Prince, both in the *' People and Army, was not to be diflblved by *' any Medicines or Operations either of Rigour " or Artifice." And the Author of the Lives of the Be Witts does not diflfemble the great Oppo- iition made to the Prince's Advancement to the Dignities of his Anceftors, and how difagreeable that was to the People in general. And indeed they were fully perfuaded, that if there was any Safety for them, it was to be expedted only from one of that Family, which had fo often extricated them out of the greateft Dangers, and to which, under Heaven, they owed their Being as a State, and that endre Liberty which they then enjoyed. Nor were thefe Expedtations vain. The Prince was no fooner placed at the Head of the Army, than the State aflumed new Life ; and his firft Steps were attended with an incredible, or rather miraculous Succels. For were it not aicribing too much to him, to believe that a Youth, not "two and twenty, at the Head of 18,000 raw Men, could do fuch great Things ; could ftop the Career of a mighty Monarch, who had planted his vidorious Enfigns in the very Heart r^.-. : -■ of of iihe Provinces, and made an ah^lute Conqueft of four of them in the Space of tw6 Months ; and not only ftop, but force him, his great * Generals (the greateft France eva* produced) and numerous veteran Armies, to give way, and retire to their own Frontiers ahnoft as faft as they had quitted themf ? ; Pofterity will never believe the Tran& anions of the memorable Year 1,672, ifH'eaven be not acknowledged in jthsm.fTT &A5 t$).f?tpni«J» our Subjed. :. lioi^j <; ^ 'Uvcro noqrj L-fJ -^:.I>e Plaais is an opea.airy Place,, almoft in tdjE Irorra. of a Triangle : It has no Trees, but is fuf- ficientLy adorned with neat and beautiful ;Hoiifes. Criminals jof any Eminence are executed here (^ a Scuffold ereded for that Purpofe. .Their He^fds are IJruck off with a Sword, at :sniV7. foo'^ficvb': owj ?p'^. tT The Clotjier Church has nothing in it remark- able. It is called fo from having formerly been a Jacohine Cloifler or Convent ; and was founded by a Daughter of Cleves, the Wife of one of the Florents^ Counts of Holland. At fome Dillance from it is a fine new Houfe, built by a private Perfon, with a noble Garden behind it, that reaches quite down to the Canal. On the other Side the Mall is the Hotel of Portland. It is a very extenfive handfom Stru- fture, and was built, I believe, by the late Earl, who was a magnificent Man, and favourite Mini- fler 2^s A . P E S C R t PoT J Q^N fler to PFilliam III. both befoife and; .after hit. was King of Gr^<2/ Britain. His Name was 5^«4 tjnck, an iliuftrious Name in thefe Provinces. It is at prefent occupied by the Hon. Mr. Bentinck, who is one of the States.. He has lately married a Daughter of the Lofd Cadogan, Sifter to the Duehefs of Richmond^ a-nd is in the Guards, having made Choice of the military Life. The prefent^ Duke of Portland had his Education at Ijyden, where he devoted five or fix Hours every Day to his Studies. He left a very high Opinion of him in a City where Merit is far more con- fider'd than Birth. ■ . -'From the Voorhout to the Wood, We pafs thro' the New Voorhout. It is railed about like the other, and adorned with high' Trees, and feveral very beautiful new Houfes, amongft which,- that of Mr. Swartzo the Jew is the fineft. It has two advanced Wings, which form a Court in the Front, and is the handfomeft Strudurc in the Hague ; but the Owner deferves it, and all other good Things •, who, all beautiful as it is, is an Ornament ta his Houfc,-and noLhis Hoiife ta ■*'The Jewijh Synagogue ftands here, which has not been long built, and does not front the Street. It is very ne^t and fine within, and is well worth being feen by the curious Traveller ; which Pleafure he may have every Saturday^ the Sabbath of the Jews. One may underftand the Worfliip of the QUfeftament^ and the Jewijfj r'jh Rites lOf H L L A N ®. / 277 Rites and Antiquities better by feeing a Syna- gogue, and being prefent in Time of Worfhip,^ than by the tedious dry Study of all the Books iai the World: The Method of acquiring Know-'^ ledge by the Eye is eafy and pleafant. Tiie Jews in their Synagogues are civil enough to Strangers»r> if they behave with any Degree of Decency:' They prefent them with an Hebrew Bible to read , in, and accommodate them in other Refpecflsr. : The little Voorhout opens to the Ne w Pr i n c e ss Graft, one of the nobleft Parts of the Hague »'- It is a Row of beautiful new Buildings, which- front the Wood, from which they are leparate T ION ^And'as thofe Rooms are exceeding large, and high rooPd, they have a very bad EflPedt on the Eye of a Britijh Subjeft. The Walls are hung •with Ibme coarfe Cloth, gilt Leather, and fome- times with Arras % and thofe Hangings remain from Generation to Generation, till it is fcarce to be known whether they are Cloth, Leather, of -Tapeftry. The Roofs are nothing but the Deals "of the next Floor lying acrols large Rafters or Joifts, which are fometimes pitch'd or oil'd to make them durable, and give them a better Hue. The Apartments are however generally adorned with a greater Variety of good Paint- ings than are commonly feen amongft us. Iri this Palace are many Pieces done by good Hands, but I faw none drawn by the great Mailers. There was formerly a Library hero open to the Publick, as well as the magnificent Garden, that lies behind the Houfe, and ex- • tends quite down to the Canal that furrounds the 'Hague. His Prujfian Majefty*s Minifter refides at prefent in this Houfe : but it feems rather too large for him. /^'i^ |? ^ '^^^ :^ <"" In the t^oord Eynde Street is alfo the Engtijh and High Dutch Church. The German and En- ■glijh Minifters preach in it by Turns : the former begins between feven and eight in the Morning, and the latter at Eleven. The Congregations of either Nation, and efpecially of the Engli/h, are but fmall. The Church is Prejbyterian, the efta- ■blilhed Church of the United Provinces. The Minifter O^ H O L L J N D. ^3 Minifter is paid by the States a Salary of about 1800 Florins, near i8bl. of our Money. There are feveral other Englijh and Scotch Calvinift Churches in the Provinces. They are all well fupported, the Poor well provided for, and their Minifters paid by the States : There is one at Afu fterdam, two at Rotterdam, where there are three or four thoufand of the Britijh Nation ; one at Dort, one at Gonda, one at ]\/Bddleburgy and one at Terveer. There are two Congregations of the Church of England ; one at Amfterdam, which ig fmall, and the other at Rotterdam, more nume- rous : the Government does not concern itfelf with thefe. The Minifters have a Salary of 100 1. a Year from the King, and probably a Contri- bution from the People. From this Street are two Turnings into the Voorhout and the Plaats. It terminates in the great Market, where Flelh is Ibid in the Sham- bles, but they are not much frequented. The Dutch take more Pleafure in another hard by, called the Filh-market. Great Variety of Fifh from the Sea and Canals is feen here. They are all brought to Market alive, and kept in Troughs full of Water. The Dutch, who are Epicures in Fifh, are {o nice, that they buy none but what are alive ; fo that if there be any dead, they are either thrown away, or fold to the Poor for a Trifle. The Dutch boaft as much of their Fifh-» markets, as the Englijh of their Leaden- halL They think them the greateft Curiofities in their D Country I 34 ADESCRIPTION Country ; and I have often heard them alk Stran* gers * emphatically, whether they had not feen the Filh-market. Near the great Market ftands the Stadhuys or Town-houfe. It was formerly but an ordinary Building, but is now rebuilt in a modern Tafte. It fronts the great Church. The Space between them is ufed for publick Executions. A Scaffold is erefted on fuch Occafions before the Windows of the Town-houfe, where the Magiftrate fits, and fees the Sentence executed. This Building, which b but jufl finifhed, is plain and handfom » but it* dififers in nothing from a private Houfe ; which feems to be an Error in the Architeft. All publick Edifices, and efpecially a Town- houfe, ought to be diflinguifhed in fome manner, and that fufHciently flrong, from the Houfes of Particulars, in order to attrad the Regard of the Publick. And this may be done without over- charging the Walls with Sculptures, Frefcos, Anagrams, and other Impertinences. At Top indeed there is one Image-, but it efcapes the Eye of the PafTenger, who can take this Build- ing only for the Houfe of a rich Citizen. The old Front is flill {landing, but it deferves the Fate of the reft of the Strudbjre. There is how- * It Is faid, tho' perhaps by Way of Joke, that the vul- gar DuUh addrefs their Sweethearts in thefe Words : Mjn fooute Cabalaww, that is, My dear Codjijht when they would exprefs exceeding Fondnefs and Paffion, ever or H L L 4 ilSfiJy. 3^ ever this good Motto upon it in large gilt Capitals; Ne Jupiter guidem omnihus placet: Alluding to the DiiEeulty of pleafing univerTally in the Office of a Magiftrate ; and he may ufe it to fupport himfelf on Occafion, when he refledls, that the Divinity himfelf does not pleafe all Men in his Government of the World. The Bench on which the Judges fit, is finely gilt and carv*d ; and over it there is a mythological Painting on theAdminiftration of Juftice, exqulfitely well done. De groote Kerk, or the great Church, is large, and has a pretty high Steeple. The Shell of it in other Relpedh is not confiderable. The great- eft Glory of this Church, as of all other Stru- dlures confecrated to Religion, is to be found within it ; that is, its being well filled with Wor- fhippers, both on Sundays and Week-days. It is the Devotion of the People that principally adorns the Temples of this Country, which in other Relpefts are plain, fimple, and without Ornament. This puts me in mind of an Infcrip- tion in a Church at Briftoly of which I took a Copy in the Year 1734, and think it the fineft I ever met with, both for Purity of Language, and fublime Simplicity of Sentiment. If the Reader be of the fame Opinion, I Ihall want no Excuie but itfelf forinferting it here. 35 A D E S C R I P T I N H at leaft it is not true of them all -, for I have feen of thefe Birds, and particularly at the Hague, m the Months of November and December. Perhaps thefe find themfelves fo well here, as to forget their African Expedition. Wild-geefe and Wild- ducks, of which there are great Flocks here in the Seafon, are certainly Birds of Paflage j tho* Ibme of thefe, no doubt, become h naturalized to the watry IQes of Zealand, as not to leave them. My Reafon for believing this is, we find thofe Fowl on the Table in that Province every Month of the Year. t:u;\ -it^. P 4 Beyond ^40 ADESCRIPTION Beyond the great Church we enter the YLooge weft Eynde, which is a long Street leading to the Loofrduyn-fe Bridge. In this Street ftands the Hof van Spanje. It is a large Building, with a Cupola at Top, and a Court fronting the Street. The 4-rms of Spain are affixed' to the Wall, as the foreign Minifters do at Rome ; but, I think, no where elfe. It belongs to Spain, whofe Am- bafladors always refide in it -, which is the only • Crown that has an Hotel at the Hague for ils Minifters. - >Tjp^Tt bnn li The Chapel belonging to it is neat, and well furnilh'd with rich Plate for celebrating the Mais, and other Ufes. It is the moft frequented of any private Chapel in xht. Hague ^ the Service being no where kept up with greater Regularity. The Jepdts officiate here, as in all the other Chapels of the Ambaffadors from Roman Catholick Powers. That Society find an uf^fylum only ia their Hotels here : for they are under an Inter- diftion of the State, by which they are prohibited to exercife their Funftions as Priefts in any Chapel within the Dominions of their High Mightinefles, upon the fevereft Penalties, This is not done by Way of Punilhment for any former Mifde-^ meanour (for they, as well as the Roman Catholicks %n general, have always lived as unexceptionably as the Proieftant Subjedts themfelves) but by Way pf Precaution, and to fecure the Tranquillity of ^he State at all Events ; io bad an Opinion do Proteftant: OF H O L L A N T>. 41 Pfdtejlant Powers entertain of the Difciples of Loyola. • . ari: Near this Hotel there is an Houfe, where -f- young Ladies, whofe Fortunes are not equal to their Birth, are educated and maintained. This excellent Foundation was Quecai Mary's, when Princels. Her Royal Highnefs relided near 12 Years at the Hague with great Satisfadion and Delight, and could not difpenfe with leaving, be- hind her fome Monument of her Regard for lb agreeable an Abode, when Ihe removed into Great Britain. Her Piety and good Senfe didatecj to her this Foundation, of which Mr. Bentinck has the Direftion. The Lands for its Mainte- nance are in England. I think the * Provilion is for Life ; or, if the Ladies chufe to marry, a Sum of Money is given them. It is ftrange that Biftjop Burnet Ihould not mention this Foundation in his Account of the Life of that incomparable Queen. He muft have overlook'd it; for he w^ h curious and inquifitive, that he l^t nothing •\ At Scheedam there is a Society of Fr^«f^ Proteftant -Ladies, that live all in one Houfe, and have feveral Things jn common. Their Manner of Life has much the Air of a "Cloifter Retirement, and would refemble it more, if Forms of Devotion were not rejefted as fuperftitiops by the Principles of their Religion. * There are nine fuch Foundations in the Eleftorate of Jianover, for -the Maintenance of which there are as many Lands, or confiderable Bailiwicks appropriated. One of the -principal IVfinifters of State has always the Care and Govern*- jnent of them, with a large Appointment. Some of the Ladies have 60 1. and others 100 1. a Year. On this they live handfomly, without feeling the Misfortunes of their Fa- mi]^, thro' the Jf^unificence of th? Sovereign. 4% A D E S C R I PT I ON cfcape him wherever he went ; and Holland and the Hague were particularly known to him, Ji At the Loof-duyn-fe Bridge are feveral Wind- mills, remarkable for their Height and Structure 5 and near them is a long Bleachery for Linen. The curious fometimes vifit this Place, to obferve the Method of the Duich in whitening their Linen. Several Things concur to that EflFeft. The Water of their Canals, and efpecially of their Ditches, is of a due Thicknefs, and perhaps their Air is fo too; iBoth thofe Elements may be too rare and fine for that purpofe. The Dutch beat the Cloth exceedingly, and make ufc of much Lime, and fometimes Chalk; which, iat the fame time that they give an extraordinary Whitenels to the Linen, muft make it both thin and rotten in many Places ; fo that if the Dutch Linen exceeds that of the Scotch and Irifi in Colour, the latter muft excel theirs in Thicfc- neis and Wear. - — i ...1 ......J,> In this Part of the Hague is the Prince Graff y one of the mod beautifial and magnificent Streets ^n Europe. It is near half a Mile in Length, pro- portionably broad, and as flraight as a Line. A fine Canal, adorned on both Sides with fhady Tiees, mns thro' the midft of it. The Bridges over it are of hewn Stone, with iron Rails upon the Sides of them. There is little Noife and Hurry here, Vib^^d't, the Inhabitants feem to en- joy the Tranquillity of the Country. The Build- ings, efpecially thofe lately ere<5ied on one Side ''~'' of Ol H O t L A N D. 43 of the Street, refemble Palaces more than private Houfes, and are inhabited by Pcrfons of the firft Rank. There cannot be a finer Profpedt than this Canal from either of the Ends of it. Per- haps this is the only Part of the Hague, beautiful as it is, that -is capable of any very. great Im- provement, <* rather Perfedlion, by a few good Statues judicioufly difpofed in it. Xt?fb vjv . i Near the farther End of this Street ftands th6 HoFjE VAN Ni coo p. It is the moft beautiful Hofpital I ever faw, and would almoft make the Spectator envy the Happinefs of the People who live in it.- It was built in 1661. by orq Newport ^ a Roman CathoUck Woollen-draper, for fixty poor Widows of his own Religion; but the States obliged him to allow the Protejlants an equal Share in his Charity. The Contrivance of the Building is- admirable, without being either too loft/i or- too mean for the Ufe it was intended. It may truly be called an Original, and lerve as a Model for all other Foundations of the lame kind. The Strufbure is longer than it is broad, but uniform in every Thing elle. It takes in a large Spot of Ground, in which every Inhabitant has a Garden. The outer Gate is handfom, and adorned with a bold Groupe of Figures, alluding to the charitable Ufes of the Houfe. After you pafs the Gate, you come into an hand- fom Portico, from whence runs a Vifta thro* the Middle of the Gardens, which terminates at a Building with a fine Turret upon it and a Clock, This 4# A D E S C~R I P T I ON This is the publick great Hall, which the Founder feans alio to have intended for the Place of De- votion of his large Family. Every Inhabitant has her Room in the Row of Buildings on each Side of the Court and Gardens. Befides the principal Walk, there is another that crojfes it, and forms a Figurc ; which did the States ob- ferve, they poflibly would alter that alio. On the poftem Gate are thefe two lines .altered from Horace; ■ • , ■ T .- '. ;.i| o/iw-O' Vivitur paruo bene, ubi gratuitim »g ^V Spkndet in menfa tenue falimm. 7\\ " V' y, ", ... I. .... , • Iri^'this Street ftands the Spin-houle, or Houfe of Corredion, for fuch young Women as have made a falfe Step. It is fo called, becaufe fuch of them as are confined for a certain Number of Months or Years, are obliged to fpin, few, or do any other Work for their Livelihood. Any Body is admitted to fee them, paying Two- pence to the Porter ; fo that they are made a publick Shew, like fo many wild Beafts. This does but harden the more impudent, and puts the modeft, v/ho lament their unhappy Condition with Sighs and Tears, to exquifite Pain and An- guilh ; fo that no Government can be guilty of a more cruel and abfurd Condud: than this. The Citizens fometimes fend their Daughters hither for Chaftifement, for whom there are particular Chambers allotted. In the^ publick Room of thefe • OrH L L A N Tf. 45 thefe Houfes of Corredllon are to be feen many moving Obje6b, Vidims to the fevere and unre- lenting Humour of gloomy and unnatural Pa- rents. All the Interceflion of Relations, Friends, and even Superiors, cannot avail to moderate the inhuman Sentence, that fixes their unhappy Fate for Life ; againft which, methinks, it would be- come the Wifdom of the Magiftracy to find Ibme Mitigation. For tho' the Power of Parents ought to be very extenfive in fuch Cafes ; yet it does not feem compatible with the Intereft of a State, and confequendy with wife Government, to fuffer exceflive, and even unnatural private Rigour to deprive it entirely of its Subjedb, in the Punifhment of youthful Folly, and human Frailty : Neither indeed does luch favage Severity confift with the Mercy and Charity of the Chriftian Difpofirion. St. John viii. 3,-11. Eft modus in rebus^ funt certi denique fines^ ^os ultra^ citraque nequii con/tfiere reSlum. Homt; Summum jus, fumma injuria. Hither alfo are brought fuch diforderly Peribns,^ as the Law has made no Provifion againft, and leaves to the Difcretion of the Magiftrates ; bad Wives or Husbands, rebellious and difobedient Children, Spendthrifts, &c. The Apartments for thefe adjoin to the Spin-houfe, or rather are a Part of the fame Building. But they are kept lock'd ; for the Prifoners in them being Perfons 9( 46 A DESCRIPTION of the better Sort, and of good Families, are not cxpofcd to any Body ; neither is it known to any, except their Relations and the Magiftrate, when and how they are confined and difcharged. They are maintained here, as long as it is thought neceflary, at the Expence of their Friends. Lunaticks are alfb confined here, but they are better ufed than the criminal People. They are kept from the Sight of the World ; nor is hu- .man Mifery made a publick Sped:acle for the fake of a fmall Increale of the Revenue of the Houfe, much Ids of the Porter, as at Bethlehem Hoipital in Zi(7»^^..tvVj, *.. .; <-..ru^y^y i.. ,.t o. Not far from the Prince Graft is the Lutheran Church, which is not very large. "/The W^ag^raet is one of the longeft and moft airy of the Hague, but not confiderable in other Refpecfts. It is tolerably well built, extends from the Wage-hridge almoft to the great Market, and is crols'd by the Flaming and Spuy Streets, both which are Ipacious, and well inhabited. The Spuy is a very fpacious and lightfom Part of the Hague\ It is half a Mile in Length from the Hof-ftreet and Court-gate to the Le- prous, and Watch-houfes, which are the laft of the Hague on the great Canal that leads to Delft and Leyden. That Canal extends to the upper End of this long Street, where its Waters dilap- pear, and run under Ground thro' Arches for feme Way ; after which they appear again, and empty themfelves into the feveral Canals of the City. Of H L L AND. City, Thofe* Waters are renewed twice in four and twenty Hours, for they ebb and flow with the Sea. The fame happens in refped to all the Rivers and Canals in the Umied Netherlands^ which ebb and flow with a more or Jels rapid Current, according to their Nearnels to, or Di'^ ftance from the Ocean, The Spuy is in a manner the Harbour of the Hague, the Paflfage-boats lying there; but the Market Vefiels load and unload on the Beer-key, a large Canal jufl by the Spuy, There are three handlbm ftone Bridges with iron Rails over the latter, befldes two large Draw-bridges. This Street is well built, and inhabited chiefly by Shopkeep- ers and Innholders. The mofl: remarkable pub- lick Buildings here are the new Church and the Poor's Houfe. The neuwe Kerk, or new Church, ftands in the midft of a Church-yard, very gloomy in Effed of the many Trees in it. This is an un- common Sight in the Province of Holland, where they have no Room' in their Cities for Church- yards. The Dead are commonly buried in the Churches, which cofl:s a round Sum of Money. This Church is remarkable for its Strudure, which is round, or rather oflogonal, without any Pillars in it; fo that the Minifl:er is feen from every Part of it. It is however large and high- roofed, and has been much admired for its Ar- chitedure. In that Point notwithftanding, the round Church in Mddlehurg exceeds it, which 4$ * A D E S C R I P T I O N is a fine Building, with the additional Ornament of a beautiful Cupola. We may here take Occafion to compare the Form of the Heathen and Chriftian Temples with each other. The former, being either round or oblong, were no doubt better contrived for hearing, and filled the Eye much better, as it took in the whole Beauty and Magnificence of the Temple at one View. But the Crofs Figure is capable of a greater Va- riety of Ornaments, and is better adapted to en- tertaining the Spectator. The firft, or round Temples, were intended to reprefent the Heavens, the Temple of the Almighty, which the Pagan World believed to be round. The latter arc built in the Form of a Crofs, the Sign of the Paffion of the Divine Person adored in them. The Chriftians of the firft Centuries might have put an End to the Differences that arofe about building their Churches from Eaft to Weft, or from Weft to Eaft, had they thought of the rotund Figure. -f The Arm-huys, or Poor's Houfe, ftands plealantly on the Canal. It is a large handfom Building, and has a Turret with a Clock. It maintains about fix hundred Boys and Girls, the Children of decay'd Citizens. They are kept wonderfully neat, and extraordinary Care is taken of them in other Refpe6b. There are four or iive Hofpitals more in the Hague of different kinds, which are not maintained but at a great annual Expence of the Inhabitants ; few of thefe _ Houfes '4Df ^ (> t L A k^-D: f^ Hotifes either htr6,-&i\i rfie dth(^t tiiits 61 tifie Provinces, being foarnply endow'd;''a^tt>requii*e Hb Sii^plies from ' ih6 fix*d cir ^oluht&'ry Con'tri- btrtions ■©£ the Peddle: ' It is idbnfvj^JUted, that lii the Ha^ lipwards t)f ibOjOdo F'ldrins, or io,oob 1. Sterling, ai^ annually tdllefte'd for the Ufe of tfe Po6r,'dilii^6r irt^e Cliurclies, ' or frbrti t)bof to ]3o6F;' M liM c^i- ani iboVe'tHe fik'd Rates, Legadbs, aM ' Sa^J:)^ out of the putlick Treafury. tVotn t^6 laft the Poor bf cktih ParifH have d br 306 1. Srferling aifeaf j atid in'cafe of a deal- ^f , br'th'e'fi^i-eil^ 6^ tlie Vkfifti m ConfiMy ■ trfTeftVy^ 'ilav'^' bflly; to a^.; ^ly lb' thfe MagiMtfe fBr^art e^^^i'dinUry Supp^^^ of i' or' 306 1. flibi^ei >^hich' iy dh'eiffully, ari^' iriimtedi^tely paid tlient.-' ' ' ' r -■'- c; • ^ ^ ^ TM t^E p £ RVk;© u s ^ ii tile' laft of tKq Et^r' It Mnds bti'^e-'Canal at:f6me Diftapce^ ffto'l^He- bther Mbihfe^, and is furrounded wTtfi' a^ WaU.' It has a Garden, and a fiiiall Spire at Tb|)^ of it, and is how inhabited: by a private Familyo^ V^z^w^^^H^ - ^;^^*^^"^ It'h^ri^were formerly Houfes bf this kind in' all the Cities of the Netherlands, and 'in. thole of moft other Countries. In the middle or more temperate Regions of Europe, Ireland, Engla^dy theiitficJt Countries, Germany, and Poland, therfe" was nb ;Confiderahle Town without them. No longer than a Century or two ago, there was only too much occafion for them. Thofe Houfes are all now either fal^n to decay, or inhabited by Particu- f^ A D E S CRi PT I ON lars for the fake of Retirement and their whol- fomSituation..^t.^j^^.^.4^^.(,-x- oonh/r,-:*! It feems no hard Matter to account for the Leproly's being ib rife form erly, and fo little known at prefent. That lothfom Dife^e is oc- cafioned by bad Air, but more efpecially by unr wholfom Diet. The Caufes of bad Air are, now, in a great Measure removed amongft us, by cut-, ting down our large Forefts, draining our Marfli- es, and cultivating our Lands ; and it cannot be denied, but we eat more wholfom Food, and live better than our Forefathers. Befides which,-^ Phyficians, for the common good of Mankind, have within thefe 50 or 60 Years paft, publilhed a multiplicity of little, intelligible Trafls, in the vulgar Tongue, on Diet and the Nature of Food, £f?r. which hardly a Farmer is without:' So that the meaneft Perfon of common Senfe, without underftanding the Terms of Art, is now capable of diftinguilhing good and bad, wholfom and unwholfom . Nourifhment. No longer ago than Cromwell's Time, the Leprofy was very common, in Ireland. It was occafioned by the People's living much upon unwholfom Salmon, that isj't when thofe Fifh are out of Seafon. Th« poor People had them for catching, every River and Brook abounding with them . The Englijh having got poflefllon of the Country, put an effednal ftop to the Ufe of fuch unwholfom Food, by ^yarning the People againft it, and by making fev^re Laws to prevent the taking of Salmon at i-i ^- a certain Of H L L AlKt D, 51 ^ cenain Seafon of the Year, when eating it is pernicious to Health. They alfo introduced the planting of Coleworts and other Garden- ftufF, and allowed each Family a Cow for Milk. The poor People in confequence were immediate-' Jy cured j and the many fefpitals exprefly builc" to receive the leprous, are now gone to Ruin. It is not to be doubted, but the Dutch, confi-^ derlng the indifferent Air they breathe, the wet Soil they live on, and the great C^antiues of Fifh they devour , in all Seafons, would con- ttdiO: terrible Dilbrders if they did not, per-* haps by Habit rather than Defign, make ufe of the moft powerful Antidotes againft them -, I mean Greens, Roots, and Milk ; as alfo a Glals of Brandy, good Beer, and Wine: which arc the daily Nouilfhments of both the poor and rich in this Country . , , , , I Ihall take occafion here to fay fomething of the Difeafes moft common in Holland; as alfo of the Prelervatives againft, and Remedies for them : Things that it highly imports Strangers to be apprized of. Every body has heard of Dutch Agues^ and their Inveteracy ; tho* I have not obferv'd them to have been either much more rife or more malignant than in England for 1 2 or 1 5 Years paft. The bcft Prefervative againft them in this damp Climate is a full, but not overcharged Stomach. Such as go sibroad early in the Morning, ufually fortify themfelves againft the thick Air, by £ 2 taking 52 A D E S QRi:S f 1 O N taking a Dram and a Cruft of Breadj fome piflies of Coffee, Gingerbread, or the like. The ordinary Remedies are not different from thofe made ufe of in other Places, as Bitters, Camo- mile, and the Bark : But this laft Drug is not given in fo large Quantities as in England. Vo- mits, of which the Dulch are very apprehenfive, are rarely adminiftred either alone, or before the Bark be taken. As this is the Prafbice, it is ^6 Wonder that the Patient fhould find fb litde benefit from that Medicine ; and one cannot but be amazed, how the Phyficians of this Country (where the Ar^t of Medicine is fo much cultivat- ed) cati' commit 'fuch a Blunder in fo obvious a Cafei Ifho' Conftitutions, dnd confequently the Nature and Degrees of the fame Diffemper, vary prodigioufly, and perhaps. are not exactly the fame in any two Perfons in the World ; yet I can affirm from my own Experience, and that of many others, that Vomits alone (and fortie- times change of Air) have proved the moftr ef- fe6bjal Speeificks a^ainft the Agues of this Country, ^-^-^i . - '-- :^ :- ;;:^ : :;. The Duub think no People are. lb much troubled with the Scurvy as they : But they miftake. There are more blotched Faces in one Town in England, than in a whole DuUb 'Province; from whence it feems probable, that eating Filh, fait Bacon, and hung" Beef, with moift Air, are not altogether fo prejudicial to the Blood and Juices, as living upon Butchers vo «.;-- iw...- .^_;,; iiuii^i^ ...... ii_jvuj Meafr * Of n L L A N D. J53 "Meat abne. "We muft however repeat here, that Roots, Greens, and new Milk, of which the Diet of the Dutch principally confifls, are •Sovereign Antidotes againft all Diftempers in- •tident to the Blood. The third epidemical Diftemper of the Climate IS the Gout, bccafitoned chiefly by eating too •much at Meals, and great Indolence after them. Hence the Gout, not only in Cicero's, but in all Times, has been reckoned the Companion of the rich, as the Ague of the poor. Abftinence and Milk-diet are ulually thought the moft efiedual againft this Diftemper. But a * young Phyfician of Holland, a Nephew of the late Dr. Boerhaave, imagines he has juft 4iicovered a Cure for this Difeafe, which I ftiall Icommunicate to the Reader. It conTifts in caiifing a Dog to lie at the Feet of a Per- Ibn troubled with the Gout; in confequence of which, He iboBt.; finds himfelf . cafed of the Dif- *'See' Pif^firatid at£ld' HtppScratl per'itniveffum 'corpus mnatomice illufirata •; Auflore Abrahamo Kaau, M. D. Leydae, 1738. The Doftor gives feveral Examples, which have fome Analogy with the abovcmentioned Method of curing the Gout, as that of David in his old Age gathering new Strength by lying with a young Girl, This was poffibly "the EfFeft of a kfcid of Attradlion : Homo ex homine trahit^ fays our Author. It is certain, the foul Diftemper may be contrafted by lying in the fame Bed with one that has it: And the Smadl-pox is ftill more infedlious. An Horfe, or Ox give their Difeafe to all in the fame Stable with them. Thefe are Cafes, which bear fome Refemb'ince with our Do£lor's gouty Perfon : But unfortunately we do not find, that a Man who has the Small-pox, or any o- ,ther contagious Difeafe, gets rid of it by communicating it to another. E 3 temper. 54 A D E S QR-I F T I QN temper, whilft the Dog is fdzcd with it, which ^e discovers by the agitation he is in, and his prying and howling. The Ani^ial, like . a Xoadftone, attracts to hirpfelf the morbifick Matter of the Gout. There is indeed no,- thing impolfible in this, or that m^y not be rationally accounted ,for; and it will jbe weU fpt many, if Practice and Experience confirm it. Jt 'is perhaps as eafy to conceive this Effed:, as that of Pigeoiis applied; alive in Fevers and Lunacy to the Head, Feet, and other Extrci- mi ties of the Body ; . or that, in the Itch and certain other Foulneflfes in the Blood, in which Cafes Steel Girdles round the Middle, or the Wrifts, and Ancles, are infallible Remedies. :o Some have thought that more 'People are>af"- .'flicted with the Palfy, and other Difeafes of the Nerves, in thefe Provinces, than in other Countries. And: this probably is true; for the Patch are continually drinking Tea, and let no Bounds to the Uie of that Liquor, Very many drink it, and Coffee alfo, three times a Day i the latter . being often ufed inftead of a Supper: In a Word the People half liibfifl upon thefe Liquors;, I. megn the poorer fort. They .have tjieir Tea, fuch as it is, at the Rate of two Shillings a Pound, and Coffee at a Penny an ■M^m 1- Of B Qk^Jp^m D. 55 76e H AGUE and Madrid As the Hague and Madrid are often mention- ed together, on account of their being '^e. greateft Villages, or Places withput Walls in Europe, let us here draw a Parallel between them in fome Relpeds. Madrid, no more than the Hague, never re- ceived the Title of City, as many afcribe to it thro' miftake, but is called Villa, a Village or Market-town.^"^^^^^^^"^'*^' ^''^^. It lies in the Heart of a Kingdom, which is a very proper Situation for a Capital. As the feven United Provinces together are of no great Extent, fuch as have occafion to go to the Hague, which lies on one Side of the Country, have not above two or three Days ^ ^Journey thither. In refpeft to Situation U- irecht has the advantage of it, being in the Center of the Provinces. Madrid, tho' fituate Lat. 40, 25. in a fultry Climate, enjoys neverthelefs good Air in the midft of a fertile Soil. We have only to obferve on this Head, that the hot and dry Weather of Madrid fuits beft with the Con- ftitutions of tile Natives, as the cold and moift of the Hague does with thofe of its Inha- hitants. — - -- — ""The Aridqnlty of the Spanijh Capital is un« cerj:aip, an^ |l)pre^ora fhall ijipt. detain: us.r,\\=' Madrid is of ^ round or oval Form, a^id in compafs about eiglit ..Mifes : The Hague, as before obferyed, is near iix. ^^ t o - I^or ip?iG|ous Street^ fiaei Qpi^nings, arjd .^irj^ei^ thp. P^#! f^ .eijccfipds the Spanifij 'village:; -b^X.iii ynifpria?ity pf Buildin^^ is i»}- ferior to it. That great OisiiWflfient of f^Cj^y-js w^ll gbfervAd ^^ Midriff. ^^^^„j ^„ ,Vr^\r. Accordingly the Plapa Majeir has ^ I^a\y^ of an hundred aij4 thirty fix • ilately HouJ^j aU uniform, with continued Lines pf Ba]|CQ(njes'joii|]^ ing to ^ag]j. other, ^^d.^ll; ,ex,^ly:aji)f;je-^^ no hpdy beiji^ aUQwe4 to djep^rt^ in ^h^^ IfalJ-, frogi the Form of Building prefcrilpedy.in ,fi^ fpe6b tp Windows, Balcpnips^ or any ThW etfp cpntrajry .t;p. ljAifonr|ityi The JVi^^ UgQ- ging^, which ,is not the moll lofty Street i» %\cHagifey 43 the oply .01^ buijt A^ufor^^ . ^^ thsit. only. Qp Q^e Side., /Phe Prm^ Grx^t approaches Uniformity. It i$ furprizing tl)a|: t\\Q Butch-, "vyho are n^ore attentive to the .^eauty and Ornaments of their Towns, thaijj ^ijiy. otl^er Jffioplie, fhould have fo littl^ rc^4r4 to Wfhat conftitjUtes fo efjenti^l ^ par^ of hqfh, and is, in. r^jpe^t to Blace^, , i5fhaf > S.ymme^ js. in Sculpture, aiid Harmeny^ip Mujic;!^. ,;f as far excels the Hngue in Magnifi- cence, Of H L L A N D: ^ cencc, as the Ha^ue does Madrid in Be^iity and Cleanlineis. _ ? .- The latter is magnificent in Palaces; The Header will eafily believe this, when he knows that Philip II. was very fond of adorning l^is Capital. The Hague has no fuch royal Builder to boaft : That Prince's Father, Chfirles V. indeed planted a few Xre^* fti^.$lid. toe oiher fmall things to it.^n ' rj-^ -— \T ^^.^j-p The Pla^a Major^ or great- Square, mention- ^ juft before, has nothing that comes n^ar it at the Hague. It is 436 Feet on^ \^^y |)y 534, with Piazzas quite round it, after th^ manner of Covent Garden, to Ihelter People fro,n> the Sun and Rain. This is the Place where the Bull-feafts, and all other publick Shew? are kept ; and it contains 50,000 Spectator? <:ommodioufly. ■ The Hoff or Court at the Hague y tho' grols an4 Qothick, is more lightfom than the King's Pa* lacp at Madridi which in other Relpedts i$ very ftately^ and confifts of three Courts. The Pajaces of the Nobility and Grandees <^ Spain, whether ancient or modern, are very I^fty, and all built with Stone. . ^ranjue^ i§ QQt . fo ftately a Building as HQnJlardyke,h)X% its Gardens, Waterworks, an4 f\(^tive Beauties, being fituated in an Ifland \v\ the midft of the River, perhaps exceed thole ^jf the Vutcb Palace. The Spaniards are never ^seary of expatiating in praife of this perfect Paradiis, 5S A D E&CRI PT ION Paradife, as they call it, chiefly on account of what every Village and Cottage in Hollmid cnjbys, that is, fhady Walks and Water ; Things however in fo fultry a Climate as Spain^ of great Beauty and Convenience to the Natives. In this Place there is fo much Water, that the Trees 'arid Plants are' 'never- fcorched with thi heat of the Sun, and are always greeni'-^-^ • ■^ The Hague has no Place that anfwers th^ Prado at the end of Madrid. It is a delight' lul Plain ihaded with Poplar Trees, with many curious Fountains inr it,- and the Place of Re- creation for all the Inhabitants, who go thither to take the Air, and divert themfelves; the Nobility in their Coaches and on Horfebackj and the common People on Foot, and ufing feveral Exercifes.'-''^ "^''' At the end of the Prado is ■ a new hand- fbm Pialace, that anfwers the Houfe in the Wood, calltd El bicen Retire, the good Retreat^ the Kings retiring thither out of the Town^ It is adorned with ' the Paintings of the great Mafters, as well as the Houfe in the Wood. ^-'''As to Paintings, Statues, Buftos, and other valuable Curiofities, both ancient and modern,^ Madrid glories iii the Spoils of Italy, near one half of that Country, for about two Cen- turies, having belonged to the Kings of Spain', ^hofe Viceroys arid Governors did not fail to <6lle(5l all that was fineft, and to fend them^ OF HO L L A N D: 59 to Spain, either as Prefents to the King, the favourite Minifter, or to adorn their own Pa- laces when recalled. The J)utcb are indebted to no Nation of the Earth for adorning their Houfes as to Pidures. -rtY - M-At Madrid the Furniture is rich, at the ■5- Hague neat. The firfl, after the manner of the lialian Palaces, confifts of Velvet embroi- dered with Gold, Luftres of Rock Cryftal, with abundance of antique Buftos, Vafes, and Sta- tues of Marble and Brais; and they have liich Quantities of Plate, the Produdl of their In^ dian Mines, as are incredible. The Chapels of their Grandees, and other principal Nobili- ty, are fb exquifitely embelifh'd, and fo richly fiirnilh'd, that they fiirpals all Imagination. The Courts and Halls of their Palaces are always full of Domefticks: At the Hague little of all this is to be feen. '" The Draw-bridges over the Canals of th^ latter are neat and beautiful, but much infe- rior in Magnificence to the Bridge called Se- govia, over the little River at Madrid: To give an Idea of which it luffices to fay, that it was built by Philip II. who laid out 200,000 Ducats upon it. The Hague however abounds infinitely more in "Water than Madrid-, the Fyver, or a fingle Canal, having more Water at all Times than Ihe Mdftzamres, That Hiver is almoft dry in Summer^ ^ A X) ES CR I PTION Summer, when the hot Sealbn makes Watcf fo .refrefhing, and the fight of it ib delightful. This gave a Bifcayner, who iaw it in Sumt ftier, Occa0on to fay. That Madrid Jhmld etiher h^y W^fsr^ or fell their Brieve, -for r'^-^'-^^i ?r: • The exceflive Heat of the Climate prevents th^ Inha,l?itimts' of Madrid from adorning their Houfes with fuch lofty Windows, and fine Glazing, as b to be feen in Holland, inftead pf which they have generally only Lattices* The Houfes of the Npbility hav^ ^la^ Safhes in. Winter, which; they ar^ pbiiged to tak;« down during the Summer Heats, and to fupplj) either with Lattices or Canvas, _ ,, The Number, of the Inhabitants of the Ci, piCaV of. ^^i» 1$; not known; for they keep i^: 3iJ^ of Mortality, nor is there any other knowii Method amongfl them, to enable orp ItQ iprm a probable Calculation. Difcerning Trju vellers have however taken upon them to guels, ^nd -ieem- to agree, that their Number is about fomrfcore thoufand Souls. According to this Eftima;te, Aladrid has twice as many Inhabi-* tants.as the //(2^/^. The former has twelve Squares, or publick Places; and almoll every ^Street of the latter may be confidered as 4 beautiful publick Place. The forqier contain? four hundred Streets, but one Street .of the. rjatte^^ ii^^Oi^reji-f fpcious than three of Jte^v^^>''T Ik uymi.'/i -y^^y^ti g;jivnfi , • -; \ m x^b i>ofnI« ei rm^ JcHT .i»^.ti'^asr.^Theif PIB O I X A N D.'^ ii There are 57 Convents of Men and Wo*; men, and 2,2; ; Hofpkals and , charitable- Fotw* dations in J^da^id, The, genetal Hofpltal fot all Nations., and Diftempers* . feldom entemifi^ lefs thaa-, 59Q^, and fometimes 1,000. Si require a ranker Failure than Sheep; Xhc"' Sun burns up all in Spain^ and hardly leaves a few Herbs to fupport Life in the learf llarved Goats on the Clifts of the Rocks,^ whither his Rays do not penetrate fo vio» lendy. As for the reft, were the Number of the Inhabitants of ,a Plage, to be judged from itl Meat-eaters, London alone, perhaps, would be found to contain more People, than the King- doms of France and Spain together. In that Capital and its Suburbs, on a mean Calcu- lation, there are near 100,000 black Cat- tle, "and above "700,000 Sheep confumed yearly, of which, confidering their Largenels, two" would weigh at leaft three of the fame Species "in" the other tw© Countries. Accord- * * ing .Ipf n It A N,p^, Gs ing to the Rule of Proportion, this muft aug- ment the number of black Cattle confumed in Londoriy of the fize of theirs, to about 130^000, and of Sheep to upwards of 900,000. To make a tranfient Obfervation : The £»^/$/^ boaft much of Leaden-hall, and their other Butcher- markets, to which no, other Country has any thing comparable of that Kind ; and therefore conclude, that all other Nations are half-ftary'd : Bjt they feem either, not to confider, or not to know, : that: other JPeople have delicate Provifions for the Table,. Filh, Fowl, Fruits,' Oil, &c. (not to mention Wine) in greater plenty and perfedion than themfelves varid^ that fuch kind of Food is better fuited to their Conftitutipns, than the loads of Butchers Meat^ widi which they very frequently fui:f<:it; and ^um theirSj,^^Q^,^j^^,jg 5^^. bsiivni i«ft\i«^\K sxiT A more exaft Parallel might be drawn' be^ tween tht Province of Holland and the Colintry di Attica in ancient Greece. ' ^oxk are Repub- licks, aboundhig - with , learned . . and ingenious* Men, Merchants, and Navigators. The Fields: of Attica yftiQ v fitter for Failure than Corn,. The Athenians "WCK fond of planting and a* doming tlieir Country with Trees. The Men of Wit and Letters aflembled in fhady Walks,. In the Time of their great Law-giver Solony^ the People confifted of four Clafles; Mer-i chants and Mcchanicks, Farmers, Grafiers, and" iis/ii Soldiers. ^4 ADE^CRIFtlON Soldiers. Trade was in great honour' ambngft t^6tA'." Solon made good Laws for Merchants, arid trilled himfelf, as Plutarch tells us. *' In **^his"^''t'ihie, feys he, according to Hg&i, ** Tr^^ was riof tliought difhonourable, nor ** did it in the leafl debafe thofe who made it ^^ their f*rofeflidn : But above all. Commerce ** V^as dedmed^ a t^brthy Calling, that brought ** Hottie the good Things enjoyed by barba- "^ roiiS Nations, was the occafion of the Amit^ *' ahd Allianc^; with their Kings, and the *-* M&thet of Experience. Some Merchant* " haw ifeuilt'gitat' Cities, a^ the' Founder ot *■ M^ilia^ (^iarfiilles.) Shales a'hd Hippocrates ^-tradejd,^ arid Plctto defrayed the Expenc^ "of his Travels by felling Oil itt iSj^J)?.** {Plut. in vit. Solon.) .. :.'.' The Athenians invited and encouraged Strangeri ISO fettk artiongil them, by granting them the Privile^s of their City.' ^^^^^^^h.^' "^^v^^ -CJEpdininmdas called B^oUa^y t Country adP joining to Attica, the Theatre of Mars. The lame Name may be given to Flanders, which borders • on Holland. Xenophon called Ephefus tire rWork-fhop of War 5 an Epithet highlj^ fuidiig AMjlerdam, as the Manufacture of Armif^ Arilmuhition, ^c. with which it fupplies thC^ greatdft part of Europe and AJia, makes a coh- fiderable part of the Trade of that great City.., ■■; -. ■. .: -bi:!tflo'>M bm. UTfflcE There Of H O L L AN D. 63 There is a nearer Refemblance undoubtedly between the Commonwealth of Holland and the little States of Greece, than the latter have with any other modern Republicks, whether the Swifs Cantons, Venice, or Genoa; the two laft refembling therri fcarce in any thing except the Name. -A^ CHAP. 66 ADESCRiPTION CHAP. II. The Sovereign Courts held at the H AGU E. Tti¥j Polity or Civil Government of this great Republick has been occafionally touch'd upon by many Authors and Voyage- writers, but perhaps not with the Order and Perfpicuity, that a Subjed of fuch Weight and Importance requires. It mufl indeed be own'd, that there are in fome Parts of its Conftitution certain Intricacies and ReJJorts, that it is not eafy to trace: To attempt that therefore, is not our prefent Defign. It fhall fofEce now, to give the Reader as clear and exa6l an Idea as we can, of the external Face and Form of the Civil Government; and that is only to be done, by confidering the Sovereign Courts which are held at the Hague. The Government of the feven Provinces, which compofe the Republick, is vefted in the States General, and under them in the Council of State. The Aflembly of the States General confifts of the Deputies of each Province. The States of Guelderland have the firft Voice, thofe of Holland the fecond, of Zealand the third. O^ H Q t t A N D. 67 third, of Utrecht the fourth, of Friejland the . fifth, of Overyjfel the fixth, and of Gronin^hen the feve;ith. They fend as many Deputies as they pleafe, but the Deputies of each Province have but one Voice j and each prefides weejk- ly in its turn, in order to maintain its refpe- «5tive Sovereignty and Equality. The Perfon beft qualified, is chofen Prefident pro tempore out of the Deputies of each Province. This Aflembly declares War, makes Peace, gives Audience to foreign Minifters, and nominates Ambafladors to the feveral Courts of Europe, But none of thefe things are done, till the Deputies have firft confulted the States of their refpedive Provinces, and received their Orders : For without their Confent all they tranlaft is void ; and the Members, who Ihould prefume to aft any thing of Importance upon their own Authority, would moft certainly lofe their * Heads. Thus this Afifiembly, which is called Sovereign, only reprefents the Sovereignty, and * Sir W. Temple obferves, that this fundamental Article was never broke through, except in 1688. when he himfelf prevailed on the States General (for the prefervation of Flanders, at that Time invaded, and much of it conquered by France) to conclude three Treaties in five Days, with- out having recourfe to the Provinces, which muft likewife have confulted their feveral Cities, ^c. Sir William however owns, that the States General endanger'd theif Heads by this Step , had the Provinces difapproved it j but being unanimous, and knowing their Country's Inter- eft required it, they ventured it ; for which they were applauded, and thank'd by every Province, having thereby changed the Face of the Affairs of Chrijlendom, and for that Time broke the French King's Me^fores. F 2 oflen- 68 A D E S C R I P T I O N eflentially differs from the Parliament of Grea^ Britain^ of which the Members are in a man- ner Principals, and may ad independently of the Counties that deputed them; their only Punifhment, when they do amifs, being the Difgrace they luffer On the part of their Con- ftituents, on being laid afide at the next Ele- dion. It is this Form of Government that ren- ders the Refolutions of the Republick lb tedious and dilatory, as to tire the Patience of the Powers, who have Affairs to negotiate with the States, and whofe happier Conftitution, in this Point, admits of fpeedier Refolutions. This flow Method of proceeding, tho' attended with Difadvantages, has alfo its Advantages. It af- fords Leifure for mature DeHberation and Caution, and is fometimes an unexceptionable Pretext for protrafting Time, and waiting Events. Every body knows, that Affairs are not determined in this AfTembly by plurality of Voices, but by the unanimous Confent of all the Provin- ces; and each Province again mufl have the unanimous Confent of all their Towns, of whofe Deputies the Provincial States are com- pofed. Thus the Deputies of the States General are but a kind of Ambafladors from their refpedtive Provinces, afTembled to hold Con- ferences for the publick Good, but without any Powers to eflablifh any thing, except fuch as are from time to time remitted to them by their Principals, The Council of State is com- pofed 4<>f H O L L A 'N H. 69 poled of eleven Members, or Deputies-, one from Guelderland^ three from Holland, two from Zealand, one from Utrecht, two from Friejkmd, one from Overyjfel, and one from Groninghen. The Nobility have alfo a Deputy in it. Some of thofe Deputies are for Life, and others for three or four Years, as their relpeftive Provinces think fit. This Council puts the Relblutions of the States General in Execution, propofes to them the mod expe- dient Means for raifing Troops and Money, gives out Paflports, dilpoles of the Revenues, fuperintends the Army, Works, and Fortrefles, as alfo the Government and Affairs of all the conquer'd Places in Flanders and Brabant. To- wards the End of every Year this Council forms an Eftimate of the Expences they think necefliary for the Year following, which they lay before the States General, and defire thern to demand the Confent of the States Provinci- al, that the Money may be raifed according fo their refpeftive ^otas ; which * Quotas, in the proportion of aliquot Parts of 100 /. Sterling, ftaqd fhus: I I Guelderland 7 Friejland 17 Holland 42 OveryJJel 5 Zealand 13 Groninghen 8 Utrecht 8 * According to an approved Writer, Aihma in his Lewwe. He wrote about the Year 1668. fincewhen there has been no Alteration made in the ^otas of the feveral Provinces, ■ F 3 To fd A P E § C R 1 ^ t I ON To thefe two Sovereign Councils of the kc- ^ublick may be added a third, that of the Admiralty, which is fubdivided into five Col- leges, or Courts. Three of thefe are in Hol^ land ', one at Amjlerdam, one at Rotterdam, and the third at Horn-, the fdurth is at Middkhurg in Zealand, and the fifth at Harlingen in Frkjland. Each of thefe Courts confifts of leven Depu* ties ; four of that Province where tlie College refides, and three nominated by the other provinces. Great Britain has but onfe Court of Admiralty ; but the maritime Provinces of the Republick will have each their relpedive Court, as a mark of their Sovereignty, and in iomt fenfe of their Independency of each othb", The States Provincial are c6mpofed of the Deputies of the Nobility, and of the Towns, which in Ibme Meafure ahfw'e^ our Jioufes of Lords and Commons. ^ The States of the Province of Hollaki have nineteen Votes, of which the Nobility, who ft:nd as many Deputies as they pleafe, have the firft, and the Cities the other eighteen. The fmalleit of thofe Cities, Gorcum, Schiedam^ the Brill, and Purmeren, have an equal Voice m this City with Amjlerdam, tho' the latter pays almoft half the Expences of the whole ^Province ; as the Province of Overyjfel has ai? equal Voice m the States General with that of fjolland^ which "pays above two fifths of tlie ^Jjarges of the United Provinces. Much in the Of H L L A N B. 71 the lame manner the City of London, which pays at leaft one third of the publick Ex- pences, is allowed no more than four Voices VI the Legiflature. The Deputies of Holland are eleded out of the Magiftrates and Senate of each Town, in what number they pleafe; but all have only one Voice. They are main- tained at the Charge of their relpedive Towns ; and one of the Burgo-mafters, with the Penfi- onary of each City, are ufually of the num- ber. They meet in the Court at the Hague in February, June, September, and November. In the firft Seflions they fill up vacant Offices on the Civil Lift, and difpofe of the vacant CommifHons in fuch Regiments as are .upon the Eftablifhment of the Province. They alfo renew the Farms of the Taxes, conlult upon the common Affairs of the Province, and make up fuch Differences as may have ^rofe between Towns. In November they 2S- femble about the ^ota fettled by the States General for the Expences of the Republick /or the enfuing Year. This Province has alfo a Council of State ^((called in Dutch De Gecomitteerde Raden, the Committee of Council) which executes the Re- solutions, ^c, of the States of the Province. ; It confifts of one Deputy from the Nobility, one from each of the eight principal Cities, ^nd one from three of the fmaller Towns, =-pf which each chufes the Deputy in its turn. F 4 W^hen 72 A D E S C r\ P^T I O N ^hen the States General come to a Re- folution, they fend fome of their Body to their relpedlive Provinces with it and their Reafons, and defire Orders concerning it, which are generally granted ; but not till the Pro- vincial Deputies have fent Ibme of their num- ber to their refpedive Towns, in ord^r to their Confent. Hence it is evident, that the real Sovereignty of the Commonwealth vefts where one would leaft exped to find it; that is, neither in -the States General, n6r States Provincial, but in the Towns or People, en dernier Refort. With- out the Confent of every one, even to the fmalleft of thefe Towns, nothing can take effeft either in the States General, or Provinci- al. This is an enormous Defed in this*Con- * Some have thought, tl^at Willi ctr^ I. frince of O- range, who founded the Commonwealth, took in fo many little Towns, in order to balance the greater, of whom lie pould not be fure. Others fay with more reality, that he was forced to it, to induce them to concur more heartily in theWar, as they were to have fuch a Share in the Government for the future. But let us hear the States themfelves upon this Head. " For the end (fay they) that every one f might fliare in the Government, we have granted to •' many fmall Tcmins, which formerly were not called to " the general Affemblies, the Privilege of fending Depu- f ties, and taking part in the Ajiminiftration of ^1 <• Affairs, that they may in effeft more willingly fupport ** the payment of the Taxes, which themfelves fliall think f* fit to ifiipolp." See the Proclamation of the States o/'Holland, and Weft Friefland concerning the ancient Right of the Com- monnjoeahh o/" Holland made at Haerlem O^ober i6, 1587. It is worth obferving particularly here, that the Caufe of this folemn Proclamation, or, as it may more properly be called, I)eclaration, w^s fome Perfons crying up the ancient Coupts of Holland, and Statholders, who they fancied jtad fucceeded (hem. ilitutipn. Oi H O L L J N D. 73 ^itution. It were certainly fuiEcient, if two thirds roncurr'd to a Reiblutioir, in efFefl of which the Commonwealth could not but be niore lepufc againft Contingencies. For at prefent the Corruption of any one fmall Town may put the publick Affairs into great, and even fatal Dilbrder: And one would think That no difficult Matter for a foreign Mini- fler to effed by fecret Agents, and PMip of Macedon^s Key to the Towns of Greece. Yet to the gi-eat praife of this People, we cannot but obferve, that the ftrideft Enquirer wpuld find it extremely difficult, if not impoflible, to produce a fingle Inflance of fuch vile Corrup- tion in any of thefe Towns. Moft of them are independent, and in a manner fo many little Republicks. Their Go- vernment is Arjftocratical : So that the (o much .boafted Liberty of the Dutch is not to be underftood in the general and abfolute Senfe, but cum gram [alts. The Burgo-mafters and Senate compofe the Sovereignty; and, on a "Vacancy by Death, the Burgo-mafter would be highly offended, if any petulant Burgher pre- famed to murmur at his filling it up with one of his own Sons, or Relations. The Go- verrjment of mofl of the Cities in confequence has continued in a few good Families from ' immemorial Time : And fo great is the Awe pf the Magiftrate, and Perfon in Power in |his free Republick, that the Citizens, either 74 ADESCRJPTION in their private or colleftive Capacities, do not care to attempt putting Things into any other Order than they found them. Upon the whole, this State is not fo pro- perly a Commonwealth, as a Confederacy of feven fovereign Provinces for their mutual De- fence ; and each of thofe Provinces may be fubdivided into fo many little States or Cities, leagued together for their common Intereft and Safety. This Republick has a near Refemblance to the Achaean League, which confifted of fe- veral independent States and Cities allied to- gether for their mutual Defence. Each of them had been governed by fingle Perlbns, who having abufed their Power limited by Law, wejre degraded, and expell'd their Coun- try. Thofe Cities then form'd themfelves into fo many Commonwealths, and enter*d into a League to ftrengthen themfelves. This new State, which had at leaft the Face of Liber- ty, became the common Afylum of its Neigh- .bours, and immediately grew populous, rich, and powerful. The greatell Kings courted her Amity, and honoured her with folemn Em- baffies. She had a fix*d Place, where the De- puties of the Cities affembled to deliberate on the common Affairs of the League. They chofe alfo a Chief, whom they called Praetor ; who governed conformably to the Refolutions taken in the Affi^mblj^ of the Allies, and was it ^t 1 Of HOLLAND. 75 at die fame Time their Captain General^ The League had alfo a Minifter of State. Their Praetor indeed was only annual ; in which lingle Circumftance the Refemblance between the Confederate States of Greece and the United Provinces does not hold good. The Minifter of State of the ancient, an- iwers to the Office of Great Penfionary of the modern. League. A certain great Writer calk him only the Servant of the Republick, becaule the Deputies of the Provinces take place of him : But perhaps he does not deferve that Ap- pellation merely on that Account. As the De- puties of the Provinces reprefent the Sovereign- ty of the State, they have a right to take place of any of her particular Minifters; as Kings in right of Sovereignty take place of aU dthers. No Office, in my Opinion, is more laborious than that of Great Penfionary of Hol- iand; in which refpeft it far exceeds that of Minifter of State in other Governments. He not only does the Duties of Minifter, but is obliged to affift at all the Sovereign Councils t>f the Republick, to prepare Matters for them, find to have a great Share in their Confulta- tions. And yet this State has never wanted great Men to fill {q laborious ^nd extenfive an O^ fice. They muft be equally verfed in the Laws iand Politicks, and Perlbns of fine Addrefs and ^locudon. He is the Director and particular ^inifter of the College of the Nobles, and rT often 76 A D E S C R I P T I O 3Sr often their Interpreter : He is the Orator of the State, and in a Word the primum mobile^ and Soul of the Republick. It is furprizing, that the Dutch have no Hiftory of their Great Fmfionaries \ tho* indeed it would be a diffi- cult Task to compile one. In Common- wealths the Authors of the wifeft Counfels and Enterprizes are concealed, and confounded with the many ; and were they or their Friends to declare themfelves, it would be deemed crimi- nal Arrogance, and ambitious Oftentation, and render them the Objeds of much Jealoufy and Envy. De PFitt's Imprudence, and Cuftom of boafting did not a little contribute to his Deftrudion. In Kingdoms the Authors of great publick Meafures are not unknown. Grotius*^ * Remark on this Head is worth reading.. The other laborious Office of the State is that of the Grefficr^ or Secretary to the States General; But ^t is t]ie mpft beneficial in Holr land. ' We have hitherto barely mentioned the No-, hilityy who have a very confiderable Share in the Government of the Republick. They form a diitind Houfe or College in each Prot vince. They fend Deputies to all the Coun- cils, both of the States General and Provincial, * In regn'is maximarum 'rerum admintjiri non latent : in Batavis cunSia conjilii nomine ferfcribuntur, authorum nulla memoria'j quos etji noI^^A•5J King of Great Britain ^ -iu. t fi^Lvp 02 t:>nt i and his Heirs male. ' The Cro^ of Q-eat xhe Statholderfhip is jgn/tf;« is hereditary. eledive, and yet fo far hereditary, that the Dutch, from the invin- cible Ties of Gratitude, AfFedion, and Intereft, have always continued that Dignity in the Houfe of Orange. The King has the The Statholder is Cap- abfolute difpofal of all tain General, and Ad- the Forces by Sea and ^iral of the Forces of Land, and commands jh^ state, but with a -Marches, Sieges, Bat- p^^^j. fo limited, that -ties, and Fortifications, he can neither order a rwith unlimited Power. March, lay a Siege, -He has alfo the fame ^, ggh^ ^ 5^^^!^^ ^^^j^ in refped to Military out Leave firft had from Commands. his Mailers the States, who have their Depu- ties in the Camp, that are the fole Depofito- ries of the Secrets, and Authority of the Re- publick. Oi H L L A N D, 87 publick. The Gene- ral receives Orders, to which he is obliged to pay implicit * obedi- ence, from them. He has not the f abfolute difpofal of all Military- Commands in all the Provinces. Befides, as he ^ I is abfolutely dependent on each of them, and in a great Meafure on every Town of them, which conftitute the lii- premeLegiflature, com- mon Prudence prevents him from difpofing of Military Honours as he * In the late general War thefe State Deputies were a mighty eye-fore to P. Eugene and the D. of Marlborough, The Prince being asked one Day, how it came to pafs, that Alexander the Great and other Heroes made fo ra- pid a Progrefs in one Year, and now all the greateft Ge- nerals could do, was to take a Town or two in a Campaign ? he replied, the reafon was, becaufe Alexander and the an- cient Conquerors had no Deputies from the States Gene- ral in their Camps. It mull be confeffed, that thofe Gen- tlemen are a great Clog on wife and experienced Generals ; but in the Cafe of young and ralh Captains, they may fometimes be a neceffary Curb. It is however to be ob- ferved, that thofe Deputies, whether in the Army or the Fleet, are generally not only Perfons of great Abilities, but have alfo been Generals and Admirals themfelves. Thus a De Witt and a Gojling, afted at the fame time as able Admirals and Generals, as well as State Deputies. •f- Gubernator {the Statholder) tempore belli difpenfat munera militiae, fed non omnia; aliaq; agit intra limites iingularum {provinciarum) comprehenfos. 3v. Otton. Re^ rump. £urop the nqoft delpodck Countries, eveq ^urhf itfelf. It were an ill-natured Thing how- ever to undeceive the People : If they believe themlelves happy, they are fb, according to the paying of their own Erafmus: Crede quod babes , c? hai^es. Oi H O L L A N D. to^ 7he Present State of tie Forces of de REPUBLICK. Mo N E Y is not improperly called the Nerves and Sinews of War. We have feen the Revenues of the Republick, we come now to fay fomething of her Forces. The {landing Troops in 1 570. during a gene- ral Peace, were 26,200 Men ; being ten Regi* ments of Horfe, and nineteen of Foot, which coft the State annually 6,119,000 Gilders, about 600,000 1. Sterling. Formerly they ufually em- ployed in Time of Peace 30 or 40 Men of War in Convoys, befides Ibme ready in their Harbours on all Occafions ; and this Fleet, with the Ex- pence of building new Ships, amounted to a Sum almoft as great as that expended in the Land-fervice. Thus the Ordinary of the Ar- my and Navy was about one Million of our Money. At prefent the Ordinary of the Navy is confiderably lefs. _ ,- In 1666, the States had above ^ke Navy. 60,000 Landmen, and 100 Ships of War ^t Sea : And in Cromwell* s Time, about 1652. and that of Yim^ Charles, not many lefs than 150. Battles between the greateft Fleets that ever n^et upon the Ocean, were then fought. Befides 166 A DESCRIPTION Befides the Strength of the Dutch at home, their Eafi India Company in their Settlements are capa- ble of puttmg a Fleet of 50 Men of War to Sea, and of raifing at leaft 30,000 Men by Land; their Trade there being fo large, that the fame Author fays, he has known two and twenty Ships arrive from thence in one Year. In their Wars with England it was neccfTary to provide well for the Sea-fervice; in their Wars with France the Land-fervice was more imme- diately their Attention. Accordingly during the lafl general War with France, they had no very great Fleets at Sea ; for befides Frigates and other lefe Ships, they had no more Ships of the Line than are fet down in the following Account : - Ships Ships In 1702 — 5S In 1707 -— 49 . In 1703 — 50 In 1708 — 53 In 1704 — 55 In 1709 — ^o '■ In 1705 — s^ In 1710 — 43 In 1706 — 54 *In 171 1 — 40** Great Britain and the States increas'd and di- minifh'd their refpedive Quotas in proportion to • Memorial of their High Mightineffes the States Gene- ral prefented to the Queen of Great Britain April 3, 1712. ** The Reafon that our ^ota of Land-forces in Flanders were fo fmall, in comparifon withthofeofthe States, might be, becaufe Great Britain by its Situation lay more open and expofed by Sea to the Enemy, as the United Provinces did by Land. However, I own, I do not find this Reafon jiJledged in any of the Treaties between the two Powers. the ex HOLLAND. J07 the Force they judged the Enemy in a Condition to put to Sea each Year. And indeed the two Maritime Powers feem to have over-done it, having always greater Fleets at. Sea than perhaps were actually neceflary; at leaft the States Ge- neral were of that Opinion. After the Lofi liiftained by France at Vigo in 1702. and the other in the Sea-fight near Malaga in 1704. fhe was in no Condition to put any confiderable Fleet to Sea. The Britijh and Dutch Fleets aded both feparately, and in Conjunflion. The two Squa- drons, which were lent to Portugal, and the Ms- diterranean, afted in Conjundlion : The Security of the Channel was left to the Queen's particular Care ; becaufe Great Britain had a greater Inter- eft in point of Commerce in the Channel, and could by its Situation, and the Conveniency of its Harbours, keep Ships there more commo- diouQy than the S t a t e s. On the other hand, the North Seas were left to the States General, who from the fame Motive, the Security of their Trade, could fend and keep Ships there with more Conveniency than Great Britain. Cafes of Neceflity however were referved, on which Oc- cafions the two allied Powers were to ad in Con-r jundion ; as in cafe the Enemy fhould make and fend any extraordinary Armament to a cer-^ tain Place: but that never happen'd. As to the refl, we Ihall give an Account of the Navy of jhe Republick, when we come to Ipeak of the Arfenal of 4mfierdam, Aftej- '%o$ A D E S C R I P T I O N After the Treaty of Ryjwick in Land Forces. , , ^ i -m. r 1697. the States kept 44,992 Men in Pay: Great Britain 8000. In 1687. when the French King was at Peace with all his Neigh- bours, he had an Army of above 200,000 Men in Pay. At the Beginning of the laft general War, the States by Treaty furnifhed in the Netherlands 102,000 Men ; viz. 42,000 for Garrifons, and 60,000 for the Field : Great Britain only 40,000. By fiibfequent Treaties the ^otas of both Powers were augmented according to the Exigency of Affairs; that of the States to 129,458 Soldiers, and that of the Queen to 72,197. Deducting the fmaller Number from the greater, the Re- mainder is 57,261; fo that the D«/fy& ought to have had in Flanders during that War, 5 7,2 6 r fighting Men more than the Englijh. I believe, in Spain and Portugal we might have 15 or 16,000 Men in Pay more than the States; but that is far from making the Numbers equal : Be- fides whichj the States were at the Charge of all the Powder and Ball expended in the many Sieges laid by the Puke of Marlborough, during nine Campaigns : an enormous Sum undoubtedly, and not eafily computed. It was at their Coft the Fortifications of the Towns then taken were repaired, and their Magazines filled up : Amazing Efforts for fo fmall a State! the whole feven Provinces not exceeding five or % of our niiddling Counties in Extent. Formerly Oi H L L A N D. jojf Formerly in their Treaties with the great Powers of Europe, the Emperor, Great Britain^ France^ and Spain, the Regulation for the States was on the Foot of one third, or two fifths ; in Treaties of a later Date their ^ota has been augmented, and for every 12,000 Men fupplied by the other Powers, the States furnifh 8,000. The three preceding Years, as well as this 1740. the States have had 36,000 Men on Foot, includino: the 12,000 in the Barrier Towns. The ftrong frontier Towns of the Republick garrilbn'd by their Forces, are, to take them in a Line, Sluys, Sas van Ghent, Hulji, Lillo a Fort, Bergen op Zoom, Breda, Boijleduc, the Grave, and Nimeguen-i and on the Maes, Venlo, Maeftricht^ and the Fort of Stevenfweert. Her five Barrier Towns are on the Side of France, and are Namur, Tournay, Menin, Ipres, and Fumes, Thefe Towns all together form a kind of Line of Circumvalla- tion round the Aujirian Netherlands. The Empe- ror knows That, and left the Defence of the Ne- therlands to the States, during his late Turktjh War, having in a manner evacuated them from - the Beginning of it. The Garrifons are changed every three Years; but were not in 1737. to avoid giving Umbrage to France ; fo critical was the State of Affairs at that time. The Barrier Towns belong to the Emperor : They are only garrifoned by the States, towards the Expence of which his Imperial Majefty gives 500,000 Crowns by Treaty. There are at pre- fent 5|tb A DESCRIPTION lent fix Regiments in Namur^ five in Tourftay^ five in Maejiricht^ one in Sluys^ &c. Thofe Re- giments are not five hundred Men each compleat. Maejlrkht is reckoned the Capital of all thofe Towns, and has the greateft Magazines. That City, Namur, Tournay, &c. have been often de- fcribed as Places of vaft Strength ; but Ipres is per- haps much ftronger than all of them. It lies in a large and deep Morafs, and is fortified with very folid and high Ramparts. It has but one Gate towards the Terra firma, and that is undermined. The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene were for three or four Years within half a League of it, but never attempted it. It was given up by Treaty in Exchange for Ijjk^ which was re- ftored to France, The Republick has had no General in Chief fince the Marfhal D'Juverquerque, who died of Fatigue and Age in the Camp 1708. The three old eft Generals are Holjlein Beck, Governor of Bofcb, Collier of Namur, and Polen of Breda. Prince William of Hejje Cajfel is Governor of Maejiricht, and General of the Horfe. The Count of ISIaJfau is Governor of Sluys. The Prince o^ Hep Hemhurgh has the Government of' the City and Caftle of 'Tournay^ in which he fucceeded the ancient Monteze, who commanded ^iRcgimento^ French Proteftants in King William's Service. That Prince recommended them to the States, and all the'Officers are Hill French, Mon- teze C^ li O L L A N D. iiif teze liicceeded General Murray, The Baron of Cronjiroom is Governor of Ipres, The three Scotch Regiments in the Service of the States are commanded by the Generals Collier^ Cunningham, and Hacked, and are on the fame foot with the reft. It is remarkable, that almoft the whole Army of the States are Foreigners. The Generals men- tioned above, are all either Scots, or Germans* The Germans abound in the Towns of the United Provinces, and render * them populous. They are far more in Number even than the French Proteftants. Other Countries abound with liiper- fiuous People ; this wants Men to fill her Offices in the Army, Navy, Civil Lift, and for her Manufa6tures. The younger Sons of the German Princes come hither, and make their Fortunes. The Fleets are mann*d by Multitudes of Swedes and Danes, who find it better living aboard the Dutch Vefl^els than their own. The Encouragement and Pay in the Dutch Service of the S t a t e s are the beft in Europe y except the Britijh-, but in Point of Exadtnels perhaps they exceed us. The Foot Soldier hass 35 Stivers /)^r Week, of which feven is dedudled for his Clothes, ^c. The remaining 28, about our Half Crown, they have for their Subfiftence. A Captain's Pay is 12,000 Florins, or 120 1. Sterling per Annum. He has alfo the clothing * Bata'vta abundat multltudine hominum, quia eft afyluin totius Germanise. Superflua eft ibi copia hominum. Cor' ringiana. /. 307. 112 A DESCRIPTION of his Company, and Ten Crowns for every Man that falls in Battle ; which is given to en-i courage Bravery, and that the Officers fhould not be too fparing of their Men, thro* Fear of the Expence in railing them. In Holland it is very difficult to raife Soldiers^ Men being fcarce, and only here and there a loofe idle Fellow to be found 2 All are employed either in Trade, Manufadtures,- or Sea-fervice. And yet the States are never at a Lofs for Sol- diers. They have them from Flanders, Brabant, Liege, and other Countries upon the Borders of Germany. A Duicb Officer no Iboner beats up for Recruits, than Numbers flock to him, en- couraged by thefe Realbns : Firft, as we have juft faid, the Pay is g-ood, and exad. Secondly, their High Mightinefles pun6tually keep their Word with them. The Soldier lifts for what Number of Months or Years he pleafes ; at the Expiration of which Term, were there ever {o hot a War, he has his Dilcharge on Demand. And thirdly, the Humanity of the Officers* They have been fo accuftomed to ufe their Ser- vants well, according to the Laws of Holland^ that they cannot get the better of that Habit to treat the Soldiers with Infolence and Bruta* lity. In the United Provinces there is a Kind of Equality, natural indeed in Republicks, that prevails between all Orders of the People. Do- mefticks in confequence are upon a quite diffe- rent Footing here, to what they are in all other Countries-* Of H O L L A N D. iij Countries. If in this Land of Liberty tlie greatefl: Lord, ftrikes his Servant with a Cane, the latter fues him, and can immediately recover a conftde- rable Sum of Money froxn him by way of Amends. But I don't remember ever to have heard of a Complaint of this kind, or the leaft Ground for fuch a Complaint. In treating of the Strength of the United Pro- vinces weought not to omit their Situation, which conftitutes much their greatefl: Security. On the Wefl: and North they have the Ocean i on the South next Flanders and Brabant are Arms of the Sea, large Rivers, and Canals ; fo that they are abfolutely inaccefTible on that Side. On the Eafl: lies Wejiphalia^ from which they have nothing to fear, except another Bilhop Galen fhould rife up ; and on the South-eafl: Juliers and Cleves, on which Side there is a terrible Opening, as has been before obferyed. If this State were reduced to the laft Extremi- ties by an Enemy, Ihe would probably, in order to favc herfelf, ha\'e recourfe to one of thefe Methods : She would unite herfelf to the Em- pire, and becoming a Member of it under the Name of the Circle of Belgium, be entitled to its Protedlion. Charles V. Emperor of Germany^ and Sovereign of thefe Provinces, defigned to annex all the feventeen to the Empire, under the Name of the Circle of Burgundy. Another Re- fource would be to fly to the Eafl Indies , where they have much largt^r Territories and Settlements I th»a ii4 A D E S C R I P T I O N than the little Spot they now inhabit. In the dreadful Year 1672. the Duicb had Thoughts of having recourfe to this Expedient, and accord- ingly an exa6l Account having been taken of the Ships fit for fb long a Voyage, they were found to be enough to tranfport two hundred thoufand Perfons to the E^Ji Indies. A third Refource, but a defperate one, would be to lay their Coun- try under Water, and tc> drown the Enemy, tho* at the Hazard of therr own Lives. Moft of them might f lave themielvcs from perifhing, by getting on board their Veffels ajid Boats of all Sorts, which are innumerable in this Maritime Country. Befides France^ and the Ocean*, the Dutch have a third Elnemy, againft whom their High Migh- tinefles fhould be on their Guard ; but who, I am afraid, has hitherto efcaped their Vigilance. This Enemy, as well as his Method for ruining, them, is fomewhat extraordinary. The Pope, not knowing how to get at this Neft of Hereticks, at length fell upon the fhrewd Defign of cutting them off by Famine. The Projedt was bold^ and in every Refpefl worthy of the Court of -f- They might efFeftually revenge themfelves in dcftroying the Enemy, by laying their Country under Water, and fly- ing to England, which would undoubtedly receive, and in- corporate them. They would enjoy there not only their civil and religious Liberties, but the fineft, and moft plentiful Country upon Earth, which has Room enough for muclv greater Numbers than the Dutch ; witnefs the vaft Trafts of Land that lie uncultivated for an hundred Miles together, even about Loudon, in Forefts and Chaces, as well as in many other Parts of the Kingdom ;. befides which, the Lands \n many Counties are miferably cullivated, and not improyed, for Want of Inhabitants, Rome^ Of H L L J T^ D. ii5 Mofiiii On the Occafion of elefting a King of Ttiai^, fhe propofed to ereft a Monarchy in the North, compofed of Poland, Sweden, and Den- maf^k, and to employ their united Force againft England, and the United Provinces, in order to ' reduce both under the Yoke of Spain. If the Dukb could not he conquered by Arms, they were to be flarved into Subjeflion, by flopping the Trarilportation of Polijb Corn thro* the Sound. This being fo extraordinary a Piece of Hiftory, and difcoverihg a new Method for reducing thefe Provinces, unknown, I believe, to all their Writ- ers, I think it not improper to give the Original a Place here. It is in the I/alian § Language, and probably wrote within the Walls of Romey the Year before the Equipment of the invincible Armado\ from which it appears, that the Defigns were vafter, and the Scene more univerfal, which were to diftinguifh that ever memorable Year, than have hitherto been generally imagined. § Se dair altro canto il Principe di Suetia effendo Re (of Poland) rivolgeffe I'armi contro il Re di Dania, fuo natural nemico, non e dubbio, che il non potrebbe refiftere alle vafle forze d'un Re tale j & dal acquefto di quel regno di Dania nafcerebbe utile grandiffimo alia Religione Catolica, non folamente per la eftirpatione d'un Principe, & di peffima na- tura, come il Re di Dania ; ma per I'aiuto, che potriano percio ricevere le cofc Catolici in Flandra, effendo in potere, di effo Re di Dania, col 'vietare folamente il tranjito de grants che paffano di Danzico in Olanda & Zelanda, di far morire quelli Stati della fame ; oltre il molti aiuti di gente, & di vettovaglie, che \\ dello ftretto di Danimarca fuffe Patrone un Principe Catolico, fi potriano mandare, par quel mare 4i Septentrione in qual fi voglia imprefa contra Heretici, & principal mente contra la Regina {Elizabeth) d'Inghilterra. jy'tfcorfo fpra VEhttione da farji del nuo'vo Re di Poloniat 1587. This Piece is in Honorius's Thcfaurus, Tom. I. p. 459. 1 2 Bat 1x6 A D E S C R I P T I O N But thefe grand Schemes of the Court of Rome, as well as the Predidions of one of her ableft Minifters not long after concerning the Downfall of the Republick, prored abortive. We fhall conclude this Chapter with a few Re- flexions on thofe Conje6tures or Predidtions. Cardinal Bentivoglio, who was for fome tin^ the Pope*s Nuncio in the Law Countries, has wrote an Account of them, and alfo an Hiftory of their Wars, wherein he propofes, and in- duftrioudy examines this Queftion : What Judge- ment may he formed concerning the Duration or Downfall of this Commonwealth ? After giving fome Reafons which feem to favour its Perpetuity, he proceeds to others, to Ihew that a contrary . Opinion is moft probable. Oar Author ufes a Train of Caufes and ELffe6ts," of which fome are pretty far fetched ; but fuch Subtleties and Refinements in Matter of Politicks is of the Nature of the Italian Genius, and elpe- cially of the Court of Rome. Liberty, fays he, generates Licence -, LJcence In- equality, and Inequality Monarchy. Thus the Ra- mans, when they had expelled Kings, abandoned them- fehes to the Enjoytnent of Uberty. 'The Inequality of Charges and Honours afterwards introduced Divifion, Ambition, Fa^ion ; till at loft they fell under the Dominion of Emperors. As Bodies politick, no more than the Indivi- duals that compofe them, are not immortal, k h far from impoflible, but that this or the like Caufes Ot H L L J N D. iij Caufes may diflblve the prefent Form of Govern- ment. But his Eminency might have remember'd,^ that the Roman Commonwealth fubfifted no lels than five Centuries, and that it was not entirely fubverted, till Riches and Luxury had introduced univerlal Corruption and Depravity; and that' the modern Republick, whofe Fall he was fore-' telling, had not been inftituted half a Century,^ and was hitherto entirely free from thole fatal Vices; fo that his Predictions are rather too early not to be fbphifticate, when he conceiv'd them. ' 7'he Authority of the Statholder, according to the Cardinal, was too great ; the Authority however of the States is above it ; for he can only advile and recommend Counfels, but they command* them to be put in execution. The Authority^ and Weight of the Statholders in the Republick were indeed too ftrong for the Views both of Spain and Romey and therefore could not but give Offence to their Minifter. It was under their forming Hands and Defence that this State threw off the double Yoke of thofe Courts, and role to that Height of Power, Dominion, and Happinefs they poffefs at this Day. The Charges of the War in the Nuncio*s Time were exceffive and incredible, fo that he thought the Treafures of the States muft foon be ex- haufted. — But was the Condition of the Enemy better ? The only Difference between them was, 1 3 ^^^ 118 A D jE 5 C R I ? T ION tjiat the latter grew Beggars, whilft the form^ - became rich under their Oppreflion. ^rfj , |t was farther urged, ^haP the Province ef Holland is much fuperior to the reji in Stref^th and JRiches *, and ipf confequence may ufurp Dominion auer tbet». It is indeed no ej^fy matter abjfolutely to r«fute Poffibilities •, but in the prefent Cjonfti- tutiofl of^ Things it is to bp confiderM, that all the Provinces are equal in 4•^thority, and do not intermeddle in the Affairs of each other* Befides, 'vyere the Province of Holland to attempt any Thing againft the Liberties of any other, z,\\ t|ie i-eft would immediately take the Alarrn i and the fix would yndoubtedly be ftrong enough, to reduce one to Reafon. The Republick h^%< fjbfifted now about 170 Years, without any I^:^-; llance of one Province's, attempting to tyrannizQ over another, ib as to give any Room for, %. Pifunion. The wifi Ht;ads of Holland v?eU- know, that they fhould gain nothing, and eivt danger all Things by fuch an Attempt. To conclude, thj; Cardinal kys great Strefs, v^on the Di^jerfiiy of Religions : but that is fo fais from being a Source of Difcord, that k |s ^ Tic of Peace and Unity j evvry body being fatisfie4 \yith enjoying Liberty of Confcience. Indeed i« moft other Countries different Opinions di^ turb the Harmony of Converlation and civil Society \ for which Reafon Governments are a^ careful to maintain the Unity of Religion, andi i^eep out Sects, as rhey aj^e to keep out fufpeded Perfons ^"Of HOLLAND, 119 Perfons and Commodities in Time of a Plague. But here there are no Grounds for any fuch Pre- caution. And indeed what Difference is there between divine Service in an Edifice without % Steeple and Bells, and in one that has both? For my Part, I believe the Roman Catholicks them- felves, whom the Cardinal had chiefly in his Thoughts, are to the full as well pleafed with their Chapel at Amfterdam^ as they would be with St. Peter*s, or Notre Dame^ at Rome and Paris. If any Difturbance Ihould arife in this State on the fcore of Religion, if we may judge from the paft, it will not be occafioned by the Seds, but by the two prevailing Parties in the eftablilh*d Church, I mean the Coccejan and Voetian. But their High MightinelTes are much too prudent and circumfpe6l to fuffer thele Feuds to come to any Head ; and their Deputies, who prefide in all the Synods with great Authority, would make Ihort Work with any over-zealous Perfon, who Ihould prelume to difturb the publick Tran- quillity with his intemperate Heat. Changes in Religion induce Changes in civil Government; and the mighty Flame blown up in the iaft Century from a fmall Spark by two Dodors f of L^den, which even endangered the Conllitu- tion, is ftill frelh in every body's Memory ; but in all human Probability nothing of this kind will ever happen for the future. ■\ Arminius & Gomarut. 1 4 Thus 120 A D E S C R I P T I O N Thus all the Nuncio's Arguments feem to me to make againft himfelf-, and if we may pro- nounce upon them from the Experience of an hundred Years, inftead of the pernicious EfFeds he denounces from them,; they have all conduced to the Augmentation and Eftablifliment of the State, They fhew 'however the Vanity of de- ciding abiblutely concerning Futurity; That is the Prerogative of the allwife Ruler of the World, which he will not divide with his Creatures, The Cdnflitution, Government, and prefent Felicity of a State afford us however great Rooni to form jufl Conjectures concerning its Hiture Fortune, » l:^? r J . If we confider the Caufes of ' founding this State, we cannot believe that it will be eafily diffolved : Thefe were the Recovery of lofl U* berty, and the Prefervation of it when regained ; two Things highly dear to all Mankind, but efJDecially the Northern Nations of the World. The Liberties of its own People are not only &-» cure in Effed, but none of its Neighbours apprcr hend the Lois of theirs by the Augmentation of its Power; fo that, excluding the ambitious Views of a certain Court, it is the Interefl of none of them to promote a Change. The Rcr publick does not defire a Foot of Land more fhan fhe pofTelTes j and inftead of alarming any neighbouring Powers by her Meafures, the con- ftj^nt Tenour of her Endeavours is to prefervc peace Of H L L A 'n D. Hi Peace and Amity between them. Perhaps Ihe could be fatisfied with having a Town or two, as Ruremonde and Limburg, from the Emperor 5 but they are too inconfiderable to affeft him, or any other Power whatfoever ; and ftie only de- iires them with the View of being more fecure, not more powerful in any other Senle, or more capable of difturbing her Neighbours. ^., ^...^^ Befides, if we caft our Eye back to the firft Change, we Ihall find it fuch as pleafed every body. In matter of Government it is certain, when a Nation pafles from one Extreme to ano- ther, many of the People continue prejudiced to, and hanker after the old Eftablilhment : but here the Cafe was different ; for except the happy- Change of Sovereign, the Perfbn of tjie King of Spain for the States General, none was made in the Laws, Conftitutions, Magiftracy, and Cufloms of thefe Provinces ; fb that the Innovation was fcarce fenfible to the Body of the People, And this leems to have fully verified the Maxim, ^at thofe States^ which vary leaji from their ancient EJiahliJhments in changing the Form of their Go- vemmetfts, are likelj to fuhjiji the longeji. Trade fa^ A K) E S C R I P T I ON ^ W ' ' '■ ■ 4 T'R.A-D E and Manufactures ' ^ /^^ United Provinces. HEvaft Commerce of thele flourifhing JL Provinces has been ib often, and fo amply treated, that to refume the Subjeft at this time o£ t)ay, were in a manner to want fufHcient Regard for the Publick. Not that I think the Genera- fity of our Writers upon this Head, who dp but copy one another, leem to have had any certaiif Knowledge of their Subject, or have treated every Part of It with the Exa6lnefs it required. However, all I fhall do here, will be to fet a' few Things in a true Light, and then proceed to give the prefent State of the Trade between thefSf Provinces and Great Britain and Ireland ; at"' j^latter, however important for us to know, which' has hitherto been very' fuperficially touched uport by others. /* ' ^^""^ The ProBr, which the Dutch m'ake by the Herring Fifticry, has been 1| magnified exceeding- ly above the Truth. Pufendorff, Introd. c. 6« ^e5l. (i Some tell us, that this Trade occafions the building of looo Ships every Year; that the Dutch have made five Millions Sterling of it in one Year, and that they employ 8000 Fiiliing Veffels on our Coafts. Others talk of 20,000 Sliipa, and 4*0,000 Men employed in this Trade. When People get into this Way, no Bounds can be fet to their Ex- travagance. Of H O L L J N D, 123 SeB, 20. has obferved upon fome of excefllv* Computations: I^ muft not however be denied, that this Trade is highly beneficial, and employs a great Number of Hands. Grotius fays, it is chiefly for the laft Reafbn that his Country kept up this Trade, for that in other Refpe6ls it was by no means lucrative. But perhaps that great Man talks here like a Statefman and Politician^ to conceal the great Profits which the Dutch make of it ; and the Dijfimulator opis propria^ fihi comma* (his miy of Horace may be well enough applied to him on this Occafion. It is a pity the EngUJh have in a manner dropt the Whale Filhery. Laft Year 1739. the Hol^ landers had no lefs than 133 large Ships at Green-' l^nd, which brought home 676 Whales, befide^ 59 at St. Dcmd's, which returned with 51. Ham- hurgb the fame Year had 1 5 Ships ; Altena^ that belongs to Denmark^ five, and Bremen nine; of all which the Returns were confiderable. The Dutch ci\\ this Fifhery, ^be Lejfer Fifhery. The Wejl India Company Hill condnues in a low Condition, its A61:ions or Stock being funk almoft to nothing. Its projeded Coalition with the other great Company is not like to take Place; the latter being too rich, and the former too poor. The Eajl India Compare maintains her Grandeur, travagance. Thefe Exaggerations muft however be owned to be honeftly intended. The Defign of them was to exqite the Attention of the Britijh Nation, and to induce them to apply their Induftry to the Fifhing Trade, for which they are more commodioufly fitaated, and to which they have undoubtedly .» better Right. r notwith- fi2i|. A D E'S C R I P T I a N notwithftandihg the new Eftablifhments in other Countries. Gottemburg, where the ■ OJiend Com- pany was in Hopes of reviving, and of carrying on her Trade by her Agents, has had but two- Ships hitherto. At this Day, for two or three Millions of Gilders in Specie, which the Butch^ Company fends to the Eaji Indies, they bring' kome fifteen or fixteen Millions in Goods, of which the twelfth or fourteenth Part is confumed- amongft themfelves ; the reft is re-exported to tSi'e other Countries of Europe, for which they are paid in Money. Of late they have loft feve- ral' skips. I happened one Day with Concern to mention thofe LofTes to a confiderable Perfon of' the Company, who anfwered with great Coldnels, . that if they loft five or fix Ships every Year, . that made only a Difference of five or fix /xrr Cent. I was amazed at the Unconcern and In- difference with which that Gentleman expreffed himfelf ", and immediately remember'd the § De- fcription an able Hiftorian has givjen us of this". People in general, which is fo much to the Life, and fo pertinent to the prefent Occafion, that I cannot forbear tranfcribing it, tho' fomewhat long. From their Colonies at Surinam the Dutch have Sugar, Gums, Tobacco, Rum, Rice, Ar- § Nulli mortalium pari folertia terram ac mare ad qujeftum exercent, utriufque cul tores elementi atque incerti juris. In koc etiam perquam admirabiles, quod quantumcunque lucrum . jafturamve, quas (ut in mercatura) perfepe faciunt, tarn mo- dico furdoque l^ticitsB ac doloris fenfu prgetereunt, ut alienis intereffe, non fua curare credas ; aquitate, ut opinor, animi, ac ccclo illos fuo frigidius animante, Strada^ Lib. i . Bell. Pelg. Of H L L J N D, 125 rack. Balm, CofFee, Woods for dying and other Ufes, and candied Oranges and Lemons. They divide the Levant Trade with the En- fli/h. By the Levant Trade is underftood that carried on in Italy^ Greece^ Afia Minor ^ and Egypt* Our fine Cloths and Tin find a good Market there, and give us the Superiority in this Branch of Trade to the Butch. They however have a confiderable TrafHck in thofe Parts, and are at great Charges to maintain it. They have many ' Confuls here -, and the Dutch Ambaflador at the Porte is partly paid by the Direflors of the Le- vant Trade, who almoft every Year are obliged to fend him and the Confuls rich Prefents, to be dillributed amongft the principal Minifters of the Grand Signior. Their Trade to the North or Baltick, which includes Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Rufta, Po- land, and the North Coaft of Germany, is fupe- rior to that of the Englijh. It is however far from what it was before the Inftitution of the new Companies at Copenhagen, Stockholm, and the Increafe of the Trade of Hamburgh. By the Rhine, Maes, Scheld. and other great navigable Rivers, the Dutch carry their Mer- chandize into the very Heart of the Empire and Aujlrian Netherlands. With regard to France, the Dutch, as well as all other Nations whatfoever, are Lofers in Trade. The French take nothing from others but Money. The Dutch import yearly vaft Quantities of Wine and X26 A D E S C R I P t I ON and Brandy from thence, chiefly for their bWA Conllimption ; as alfo fine Paper, and Toys. Their Trade to Spain and Portugal is on a far better Foot. They fend great Quantities of Goods to America in the Name of Spaniards^ and have even difcover'd a Method foir trading diredlly to the Spanifh Weft Indies from CtiracaOy a fmall Illand in their PoflefTion at no great Diftance from Cartagena. They have alfo, un- der the Name of the Spanijh Company, great Shares in the Plate Fleets that arrive yearly in the Ports of Spain. I come now to confider the Trade of Great Britain and Ireland to and from the United Pro- vinces. I fhall begin at Amfterdam^ and trace the Commerce through every Part of Hollandy Zealand, and Fkftders, to Calais in France. One Year with another about 60 Sail of Ships From Great Britain and Ireland enter the Texel, In 1738. forty fix Ships enter'd it from England only. Rotterdam is generally thought to be in the fble Pofleflion of our Trade ; but that Miftake arifes from our Ships being more confpicuous there, than in the Port of Amfterdara, where they are in a manner loft among whole Fleets of other Nations ; befides which there is. no ordinary Paf- fage from tlience for England, as there is from Rotterdam, wliich lies more commodioufly for that purpofe. Befides many Ships from Hull, Tarmouth^ Whithy, Leverpool, Dublin, Cork, &c. there is about O? 11 O L L A N D^ t-tj about a Dozen I| Sloops, which ply the Trade continually between London and Rotterdam. They make five or fix Trips every Year, and PafTen^ gers afe no irtconfiderable Part of their Bufinefs. Some Years ago there were fifteen or fixteen of thefe Sloops, Dort is now an abandoned Port, being vifited only by a few Colliers from Sunderland. Former- ly it had much of our Trade, and was the Staple for Rhenifh Wines. Bat. Rotterdam has ingrofled it ; and indeed»that City, as it lies in the midft of a kind of Group of the great Cities of Holland^ is a more convenient Port for our Trade than any other. Middleburg, the Capital of the Province of Zealand J endeavours to fhare in our Trade with Rotter dam J and for that Purpofe has reduced the Cuftoms almoft to nothing : but Middleburg lies out of the way. All the Trade it has as yet, confifts in fome few Colliers from Scotland, about half a Dozen more from Hull and Tarmouth^ and three Sloops, or, as they are called. Packet Boats from London. They make five or fix Re- turns in the Year, and have fometimes the Ad- vantage of Paflengers, as the PafiTage is more dired, and lefs impeded by inland Sailing than H There is an Opportunity of going every Week in one or -other of thefe Sloops to and from London. They are large Veffels from loo to 200 Tons. The Paffage, which is fome- times very tedious, cofts 15 Shillings, befides a Guinea for the Cabbin, and three Shillings for every Dinner with the Cap- tain. The Packet is both the moft expeditious and the cheapeft Paffage. that ;x28 A DESCRIPTION that from Rotterdam* As this Province is obliged to bring its Turf from Holland, having none of its own, they now begin to burn nothing but Scotch Coal, which makes a much finer Fire, and comes at an eafier Rate than Turf. Ter-veer is the Staple for the Trade from Scot" land, and has gained much by it ; but Rotterdam has deprived this Town alfo of Part of its Com- merce. About 80 or 100 Sail from Scotland enter this Port yearly, laden chiefly with Coals, Lead, Salmon, Stockings, and other Woollen Manufadtures of Scotland, of which Nation there are between five and twenty or thirty Families fettled here. Their Privileges are great : for which Reafon the Englijh, who alfo trade hither, think proper to be all Scetchmen. They pay no Duties, and have Judges and Tribunals of their own. On the Stathoufe are the Statues of the Sovereigns of this Signiory, Predeceflbrs to the Princes of Orange, very well done. The firft is Henry de Borfellen, who lived about 600 Years ago. He married Jaune (for fo the Name is fpelt) the Daughter of a King oi Scotland, who fent with her a great Fleet of Ships for thofe Times. Hence the Scots date their Settlement and Privileges in this City. At Flujhing, another Town of Zealand, are al- ways to be ittn fmall Englijh Veflels of about 20 or 25 Tons, that run over to the Engliflo Coaft with Brandy, Teas, and other contraband Goods, and as foon as they have met their Afibciates, • • which OF H L L J N D. iz§ VfKich is done without putting into any Harbcair, they return for a freih Cargo. As the prime Goft of their Wares are next to nothing in Zealand, they can afford good Pennyworths to thofe they deal with here. Zurkk-^zee, and other fmall Towns of this Province alfo buy our Coals. Let us now go over to the Flemifh Coafr. Sluys^ which above two hundred Years ago was in pofleflion not only of our Trade, but that of a great Part of Europe, has now abfolutely no Trade at all* It was fupplanted b^ Bruges and Antwerp, as thole two great Cities were after^ wards by London and Amfterdam. Bruges indeed continues to enjoy a fmall Trade by the Canal of OSTEND. This laft Place is the bed of the three Ports of Flanders, and fends our Goods in fmall Veflek called Bilanders, of which it has about lOO, intQ the very Heart of the Country. There are four EngliJJj Sloops which conftantly ply the Trade between OJiend and London, and make four or five Trips in the Year : They have alfo fome Adw vantage by Paflengers. Befides thefe, there ar© three large Englifti Veflfcils here, that trade to Cadiz, and the Straits. They belong to Mer- chants of London, but never touch on any Part of England. Four more are employed in bring- ing over Cloth, Stuffs, and other bale Goods, about twelve Colliers, mofl of them from Sun* derland. When Corn is fcarce in Spain and elfe- where, Numbers of VefTcIs, principally Englijh^ K load 130 ADESCRIPTION load Flemijh Wheat here. The Natives have few Ships of their own, fo that the Trade is carried on in foreign Bottoms. The Flemijh Wheat is cheaper than the Englijh ; and the Englijh being the humbler Nation of the two, are contented to be their Carriers. Three Leagues South of OJlend lies N i E u- PORT. Its Haven is fo choaked up, that only fmall Veflels can enter it. Our chief Trade hither is in Coals, which are fent up the Coun- try to Ipres^ 'Tourmy^ &c. for the Ufe of Black- fmiths. Six Leagues farther lies Dunkirk, which the French King has very prudently made a free Port. It has a great Trade, and brings him in a greater Revenue, than it did, when he confider'd it as the Bulwark of his Kingdom on the Side of England and the JLsw Countries. Lifle^ the Capital of French Flanders^ is a moft flourifhing City in effeft of its great Trade and Manu- faftures. Thefe two Places are the bed improv'd of all the French Conquefts. They are a great Eye-fore to Imperial Flanders, OJlend, Bruges y Ghent, Antwerp, Brujfels, and the other great Cities, who are griev'd to fee the French King more attentive to the Profperity of his Sul> jedls, than the Emperor. Had fo flourifh- ing a Company, as that of OJiend, been efta- -bliihed at any of the French Ports, the King of France would have protected it againft any Pow-^ er whatfoever. It is highly probable, that in caf^ Of H O I L J isr D. 131 tafe of a War in Flanders, thefc Cities will take the firft fair Opportunity to exchange their Mafters; and to fpeak impartially, they cannot be much to blame, if they fhould take proper Meafures for preventing their Ruin. All the Places, which have lately been conquer*d and an- nex'd to the Crown of France, enjoy a good Trade, and have great and thriving Manu- faflures, whilft the People grow rich, and have Plenty of Money, to the meaneft of them. Their Mafter alfo is both able and willing to defend them againft invidious Neighbours. On the other hand the Emperor is poor, and makes his Sub- je<5b poorer. He does nothing on his Part td fcncourage the Trade and Manufadures of thefe once flourilliing Provinces. He knows, add they^ that there is ftill fome Money to be raifed amongft us from our Induftryj and the Fertility of our Soil, and that he takes care to tranlport to Vienna, for carrying on an unjuft War with the Turhi who had committed no Infradions of Treaty, to the Difgrace of the Chriftian Name^ and the Ruin of the Subjed. In thefe, and ftill ftronger Terms, have I heard both the Clergy and Laity exprefs themfelves in refpe6t to their* prefent low Condition. The Port of Dunkirk is croilded with the Veflels of moft Nations. Befides other Englijh Ships^ there are no lefs than fix London Sloops that trade hither perpetually. They make fix or* feven Trips a Year. Their Lading from En-^ 1^2 A D E S C R I P T I O N gland is chiefly Tobacco, Rice, and fome Bale Goods; and they lade them back with Brandy, Eggs, and old Rags for our Paper-mills ; but Hol- lands, Laces, and vaft Quantities of Cambricks are the valuable Part of their Cargoes. The Flemijh Trade having chalked out a new Channel to it- felf, viz. by this Port, which is more commo- dious than any other for the French Cambricks, ^c, it faves lo per Cent, on the inland Duties and Carriage. We cannot enter into any great Detail, but it will perhaps be worth our while to fay fomething upon the Article of Lace in par- ticular. The two Provinces of Flanders and Brabant furnilh England and all Europe with this valuable Commodity. To encourage the Exportation, and in favour of the Convents, it is the only Commodity of the Country that pays no Duty. Nunneries that confift of 500, and fometimes 1000 Perfons, partly maintain themfelves by this Work ; and one cannot go into a Houle with- out feeing two or three Wheels fpinning this Thread. In England five whole Counties, and about half a fixth, are chiefly employed in the Manufadlure of Lace. As the Neceflfaries of Life are cheaper abroad, as moft of the Con- vents have fome Endowment, and do not indre- ly depend on their Induftry for their Subfillence, and as the Thread is the Produd of their Coun- try, it is evident, that the Fhnings can furnifh Lace at much lower Rates than our Makers of it O^ H L' L A N D. 133 it at home. It were therefore well worth the Attention of our Legiflature, both in their pub- lick and private Capacities, to take Meafures for difcouraging the Wearing and Importation of foreign Lace, in order to make way for our own. It is very certain, that the Threads now made at Glafgow and Dublin are little or nothing in- ferior to the Flemijh in Finenefs, and even White- nels, and that they far furpais it in Strength. • From this fhort Account of the Trade in \ the nine principal Ports of the Lo'ix) Countries^ and of the Number of Ships employed in it, the Balance feems very much on the Side of Great Britain', elpecially if it be confidered, that all our Veflels go thither deep laden with our Com- modities and Manufaflures, and return in a manner empty to their own Ports. Their Car- goes confift of Tobacco, Rice, and Bale Goods of all Sorts ', the Tiutch Gentry wearing much of our Cloth, which they find both to be finer, and to wear better than their own : Stuffs, Calliman- coes, and all Sorts of our Woollens •, Wheat, Hats, Leather, Tin, Lead, and Coals: All Sorts of fine Toys -, as Watches, Snuff-boxes, Chains, Buckles, Buttons, Fans, Gloves, l^c. The Dutch had formerly mofl of thefe from France^ but now from England^ where they think they are better made j fo that our London Arti- + Thefe Titt Amjierdam, Rotter dam^ and Bort in Holland \ iSlddhhiirgy Ter-veer, and Tlujhing in Zealand; Ojiend, fiieuporty and Dunkirk in Flanders, K 3 zans 134 APESCRIPTION T-^ns have outdone the French even in their own Bagatelles. The Goods which we take in retarn are, a$ 5^e have faid, Linen, Cambrick, Lace, Brandy, Tea ; to which may be added Spice (the Dutch having engroffed the Spice Trade) and human Hair. Were it pofllble to prevent the Importa* tion of fuch of thefe Qoods as are contraband, and to oblige the reft to pay the whole Duty laid oh them by the Legiflature, the Balance of Trade would lie extremely on pur Side* ! Every Week confiderable Quantities of 6ur Gold and Silver are entered at the Cuftom-houle fbr Holland, which furprizes many ; but that doea not proceed from the Balance of Trade being againft us, as has generally been believed, but the confiderable Sums that the Dutch have in our publick Funds, in which they think their Money more fecure than any where elfe i and they will be paid no otherwile than in Specie, a Thing we cannot refufe. Befides which it is to be con- fider'd, that the Situation and Commerce of iJolland is fach, as renders it more commodious than any other Country for Matters of Exchange to all Parts of the Continent of Europe, and even the other Quarters of the World ; Lon- don having the double Difadvantage of being more remote, and fituate in in Ifland. or H L L A N D. 135 CHAP. III. Ambassadors and other Foreign Ministers to the States General ABOUT twenty Ambaffadors and other Minifters from Kings, Princes, and States, generally refide at the Hague, Thole Powers have alio their Agents and Confuls at Amfterdam and Rotterdam. They all live in hired Houfes, except the Ambaflador of Spain, who refides in that which belongs to his Crown, and that laves him i or 2,000 Gilders a Year. The Prujfian Minifter is more magnificently lodged than any of them, in the Palace, which formerly belong*d to the Prince of Orange, afterwards King William of Great Britain. None of the Minifters however have Reafon to complain. There are many fine Houles here for their Accommodation 5 but not quite fo convenient as thofe of London, nor fo richly furnifhed as the Hotels of Paris. ' Rent and the other Expences of Houfe-keeping "are almoft on a Par with the Price of them in ^he two Capitals juft mentioned. The Privileges and Immunities of foreign 'Minifters in this iCourt differ little from thofe K 4 they 13^ A desCripti on they enjoy elfewhere. The general Rule obferv'd by the feveral Courts of Europe, that pretend tO Equality, is to treat each others Minifters with the fame Meafure of Refped, as near as poffible, in point of Ceremonial, Privileges, ^c. The Republick, tho' confidered as a Sovereign State, abate fomething of the lofty Formalities, the other Powers contend for fo much ; fo that one feldom hears of their Minifter's having quarrel'd about Precedency at a foreign Court. It is a Part of their Inilrudions to avoid Difputes of that kind, that they may devote their whole Thoughts and Application to the material Affiiirs •of their Embaffies. ■ One of the raoft confiderable Privileges en^ joyed here by foreign Minifters is, in my Opinion, paying no Duty for their Wine. Were they to pay that, it would cut deep in their Expences, and make this confiderable Part of Houfe-keeping as dear as at t,'>ndon, and equal to the prime Goft of their Liquor, which is not greater here than even at Paris or Madrid. But there is this Diffe- rence J for one Hogfhead in thofe warm Climates, three are drank at the Hague, where Toping ^s fo far from being avoided, that it is reckon'd neceffary to Health, in giving a lively Motion to the Spints. We mufl obferve here, thaC every Kind of Minifters are not allowed this Pri- vilege. The Reafon of this is ; formerly little ^en, of no Principle, or Senfe of Honour, were, 1 knov/ not bPWa madq Agents. Tliefe fold v'lf-. ^ this O^ H O L L A N D. J37 this Indulgence of the Government, helped others to Wine in their Names Tax-free, and fome were even (o void of Shame, as to fell Liquors publickly themfelves. Thefe Abufes were fb ma- nifeft, that their Principals did not think fit to interpofe in their bohalf, and fuffered the Go- vernment to tax them as private Pcrfbns. One would however think, that as the Court o^ Great Britain^ by appointing Gentlemen of Quality and Charafter to a6l for it at the Hague and Rot- terdam^ has not had this Imputatwn, Things fhould be with them upon the ancient Foot in rcfpcd to Taxations. Lord Lexington, the favourite Minifter of King William, fo well read in Men, nego- ciated and figned the Treaty of Ryfwick in 1697. The other Britijh Miniflers, fince the Beginning of this Certtury, to the Court of the Hague, were, during Queen Jnne*s Reign, the Duke of Marl- borough, and the late Lord Townjhend. The firft every Year on going over to the Army took the Hague in his Way, where he aflumed his Character of Ambaflador Extraordinary and Ple- nipotentiary. He feldom flayed longer than a few Days there, his Prefence being neceflary in the Army. He did not however content him- felf with only conferring with the Minifters of the State in private^ he always demanded a pub- lick Audience ; upon which Occafions he no doubt had obferved, that what he faid had more Weight 138 A DESCRIPTION Weight. As himfelf and Lord GoMphin were at the Helm, his Grace was confidered as the •Depofitory of the Royal Counfels and Authority i befides which, his Perfon was very graceful, and he was always for pulhing the § War. As fo grand a Confederacy had been formed, the Dutch were far from being averfe to that •, at lead till they had brought the French King back to the Pyrenean Treaty. And indeed they had been fo tyrannized over by that infolcnt Monarch For almoft forty Years, that it is no wonder they laid hold of (o fair an Opportunity for difiibling him to hurt them for the future -, in confequence of which they were refolved now to adt effedually for that purpofe. Lord Townjhend came frequently over with the Duke, and fometimes alone in a publick Charafter. He made the fame Demands, tho' not in the fame Manner, as his Grace, who was a nior^ courtly Perfon, and he was not fo great a Fa- vourite at tliis Court as the Duke of Marlbo. rough. He was fueceeded by the Earl of Strafford^ and the Bifhop of Z-^^ii^^, who were employed to negociate- the Treaty of Utrecht^ and were § The peculiar Charafterifiicksv/f the Dake of Mz;-/Z'orci:g->& were Prefence of Mind, and Poffeffion of himfelf, which Qualities hardly ever forfook him, and he was efteem'd as great in the Cabinet, as he was glorious in the Field., „ . .^^ more Oi H O L L A N B. 139 more than once infulted by an incenfed People, who feared the Interefts of the whole Confede- racy, and of their Couhtry in particular, were giving up by Treaty. On great Revolutions and the Acceflion of Kings, folemn Embaflles are ufually fent to foreign Courts, to add Weight and Luilre to fuch Events. On the Acceffion of Kitig George X^ jto the Throne of Great Britain^ Lord Cadogan was fent to the Hague, and the Earl of Stair to Paris. Cadogan, who in the Army was next in Con- fidence, tho* not in I'oft, to the Duke of Mart- borough, was named as a proper Perfbn by the Duke. He had been acquainred with the Dutch Generals, aiid the States Depudes itt inlanders, and acquitted himfelf of his Commifiion with Dignity. At the fame time the Earl of Stair appeared with unparalled Magnificence at the Court of France. His publick Entry was fplendid beyond all Imagination, and had more the Air of a great King's Return to his Capital after a glorious Vidory, than of a Minifter coming to notify one Prince's Acceffion to another. The leafl that can be faid of it is, that it looked like a publick "Triumph in the Capital of an Enemy. The Cratid Monarqus did not like it. It looked, as 140 A D E S C R I P T I O N as if a Nation, which he had juft before in a manner duped, in the Perfon of their MinifVer, intentionally eclipfcd and infulced him in his Ca- pital, and on his Throne. But he was afraid to renew the War, and our Minifter in effedl was inore feared than loved. Stair was bold, faga- cious, vigilant, and in the moft critical Conjunc- ture a Match for the mod fubtle Court in Europe. At the Expence of his own Fortune he did Ho- nour to Great Britain^ and very much cpntj-ibuted to eftablifh the prefent auguft Faniily on the Throne. Since the Death of the Earl o^ Sunderland in 1722. the Right Honourable Harat'w Walpole has been often at the Hague^ at firft with the Character of Envoy Extraordinary, and after- wards of AmbalTador Extraordinary and Plenir potentiary. As he is Brother to the Prime Mini- fter, and of the Cabinet himfelf, he aded with full Powers at this Court. At the Acceffion of His prefent Majefly, the E. of Chefierfieldw2& fent thither. That Lord, during five Years Refidence as Ambafiador, lived at a great Expence, and with a Magnificence becom- ing the Reprefentative of a great King. The Dutch thought they faw a Refemblance in Ibme Things between the Prince and his Minifter. He might have had the Honour of a publick Entry, but declined it, which put the Citi;5ens of the Hapie out Of HOLLAND, 141 Out of Humour with him. But the Sight would not have been (o magnificent as either he or they might have defired it. He was follicitous to be recalled, and to be near the Perfon of his Prince, by whom he was beloved. He at length ob- tained his Requell ; but not till he had made it unqueflionable, that he was the greateft Genius of all the foreign Minillers of his Time. Since his recall, the Honourable Mr. Trevor has been Minifter in Ordinary at the Hague^ where he is now Envoy Extraordinary. After having made the Tour of Europe^ that Gentle- man was in the Secretary of State's Office, where he had the Opportunity of forming himfelf for publick Bufinefs. He has a quick Difcernment and folid Judgement. He is at prefent very young, but acquits himfelf in the moft arduous Affairs with the Ability and Eafe of the moft experienced in Negociation. He is very much confidered at the Hague, and in the Provinces, where, without the Luftre of a publick Charadler to fet it off, perfonal Merit is refpedled perhaps more than any where elfe. He has made a noble Ule of his Travels, and is profoundly verled in Arts and Sciences. After the Example of the greateft Minifters, he devotes a leifure Hour to the Mufes> by whom he is both honoured and beloved. In a Word, he is generally allowed to be the moft accompliIh*d Gentleman in a publick Charafter at this Court, and to do Honour to the great Nation to which he belongs. M.Bes Uz ADESCRIPTION M. Bes RoIIes, who was Briiijb Refident a great while, is lately dead in a very advanced Age. M. Laurenzy is Agent, or Refident, both for Great Britain, and the Ele6lorate of Hanover, fo that he has much Bufmefs upon his Hands ; but is equal to it. He is alfo a Perfon of many amiable Qualities, and much confidered at the Hague. Baron S p o r c k is Erivoy Extraordinary for the Eleftorate. From his manner of living, his Appointments Ihould be very confiderable. The higheft Charafter the Eledlors of the Em- pire ufually give their Minifters at foreign Courts, is that of Envoy Extraordinary. Crown*d Heads,! and the Republicks of the United Provinces and Venice, to fave Expences, generally do the fame, unle6 upon great Occafions. The other Minifters at this Court are : The Marquefs De Fenelon, AmbalTador of France. He is Nephew to the late great Arch- bilhop of Camhray, for the Honour of whofe Memory he is very paflionate. He has lately' caufed two very magnificent Editions of the TELEMACHUstobe printed with fine copper Plates, as alfo of the Prelate's other Works : And I have feen a fine gold Medal of him, of about fix Guineas in Value, ftruck by the Order< and at the Expence of this Miniller. On one Side is the Head of that great Man, the Reverfe I do not remember. The Marquefs is at prefenC Oi H O L L A N D, 143 at Paris , but the Abbe de la Ville, Secretary to the Embafly, takes care of AiTairs in his abfence. Count D'Uhlefeld is Envoy Extraor- dinary from the Emperor. He is at prefent at Vienna. His Return to the Hague is uncertain, and it is talked that he is to be fent Ambafla- dor to Conjiantinople. This Miniller was an intire Friend to the J)utcby and would fain have cultivated a good Underftanding between his Matter and the two Maritime Powers ; but for that he had no Thanks nor Commiflion from his own Court. In this Part of his Condud he refembled Sir William 'Temple^ who did all he could to promote mutual Amity, and an' Alliance between his Mafter and the States, tho' he did not find one Word to that purpofe in his Inflrudions. The Marquels Be St. Gill-es^ a Perlbn of great Magnificence, is AmbaflTador from the moft Catholick King. The Count D^Golofskin, who has been employed in many Embalfies, is Amhafiador Plenipotentiary from the Emprels of Rujfia to the States. He has the moft numerous Family (con- fifting of above an hundred Perfons) and the beft regulated of any Minifler at the Hague. He has many Children. He has not been employ'd in any important Negociation fince his Arrival. M. Luifciits, Envoy Extraordinary from the King of Prujfia, is a Native of Zanien in the Putchy of Ckves. His Prujfian Majefty gene- rally 144 A D E S C R I P T I N rally chufes his Miniftefs for the Hague fronl this Country, which borders on the United Provinces^ the Natives of it being fuppofed to know the Low Butch Cuftdms and Language better than others. Ltlifcius is a Man of Letters, and well read in the Law, which he pradifed at the Hague before he was appointed Minifter. In his noble hiftorlcal and genealogical Didlionary late- ly publifhed in feveral Folio's^ he is lb modeft to aflume no other Title but that of Lawyer, He affords no fmall Eafe to his Court *, for he draws up itioll of the Memorials and other Papers, which he prefents concerning the KingV Affairs, and particularly the Succeflion of Juliers and Bergi which he perfedly underftands, and to which his Matter has fo good a Right. But it is much to be feared ^ that neither the King's Right, nor the Minifter's Ability will be of any Avail, hewts XV". who does not care that the Dominions of io powerful a Prince fhould aug- ment on the Frontiers of France^ has declared it his Opinion, that the Prince of Sullzbach, from whom he has nothing to apprehend, has the better Right. For the lame Reafon, the States General do not feem to vary in their Sentiments from the moft Chriftian King. At firft Great Britain thought herfelf no otherwile concerned in that Succeffion, than to have it amicably fettled, and a War thereby prevented, in which fhe might be obliged to engage, to prevent her formidable Nciglibour from taking Advantages, and aggF.-vn- dizing Of H O L L J N D, 145 dizing himf^lf with new Spoils. For this end we entet'd into a Provifional Treaty with France and the United Provinces, to guarantee the even- tual Succeffion of the Countries in difpute to the Prince of Sultzbach^ on the Demife of the Eleftor Palatine. The Emperor, whofe fole Right it was to take Cognizance of this Affair, perceiving he could not effed a Sequeftrarion, and that he fhould get nothing by it, to fpare himfelf farther Trouble, referr*d the whole Affair to the Court of France^ with which the Empire had great Reaibn to be diflatisfied. It is moft certain, that were thofe Countries in the pofleffion of a King of Prujfta, it would greatly conduce to ad- vance the Protejiant Intereft, and to ftrengthen the Barrier againft France. It was perhaps this fecond maturer Thought, that has induced the two Maritime Powers to endeavour to recede from their firft Engagement, and to give a new Turn to this fl:ill depending Affair : but France will liften to no Variation, and infifts upon pinning them down to the Provifional Treaty. The Houfe of Aujlria^ which all Europe, and the two Maritime Powers in particular, have taken fo much pains to fct up in oppofition to the Houfe of Bourbon, is no longer to be de- pended on. The Wall is removed, and all within expofed, and at the Mercy of the Enemy. It therefore infinitely concerns Europe, and efpe- cially Great Britain, which has nothing to fear L from 146 A D E S C R I P T I O N from the Increafe of Territory in the Houfe of Prujfia, to fupport the juft Pretenfions of that Houfe, or of any other, that may in any man- ner fupply the Defedt or Inability of the Auftrian Family.— But to return to our Subjed. M. Luifcius was recalled in 1739. and was much difcompofed on that Occafion. He is fucceeded by the Count de Rasfeld^ who is alfo a Native of Cleves. M. D^ B ROSS E s is Envoy Extraordinary from Poland and Saxony *, for he adts for both, without having a Multiplicity of Bufmefs upon his Hands. He was angry with the States, becaufe they would do nothing to aflift his Mafter in obtain- ing the Crown of Poland-, and at prefent he has no great Reafon to be pleafed with the Coldneis, with which they receive the many Memorials he delivers them concerning the Pretenfions of Saxony to Juliers and Berg. The King of Poland is however in the right to fupport his Preten- fions : for foch is the Mutability ^f all human Things, that Occafion may fome Time or other rife up to give them Place, and make them effeiflual. De Brojfes is not married : He lives in a grand Manner, and gives more Entertain- ments to the foreign Minifters and others, than any one at the Hague : he feems to place the fummum honum of Life in thele Enjoyments, and Variety i for he is every where. He is a good- .natur'd fine Gentleman. The O^ H L L A N D. H7 The Count De Richecourt is lately arrived here as Minifter from the Great Duke of ^ufcany* M. Greys, of North Britijh Extradion, is En- voy Extraordinary here from his Danijh Majefty. He was in inferior Orders, having been bred for the Church ; but his Inclinations did not lie that Way. He is reckoned to have a very good Head, and to write better than he fpeaks. M. Preys is honoured with the fame Cha- rader on the Part of the Crown of Sweden. The Minifter that refides here from the King of Sardinia, is the Count De Chavanes. M. Gansinot is Envoy Extraordinary from the Eledors of Cologn, Bavaria, and Palatine. The Baron De Pfan has the fame Charader from the Duke of Wirtemherg: AsVanSande has from the Duke of Mechlemhurg. M. HuL3T is Refident from the Prince and Bifliop of LJege. The Hanfe Towns have always a Refident here to take care of their Interefts in Matters of Commerce. Befides thefe Ambafladors, and other Minifters at the Hague, the feveral trading Powers of Europe have particular Minifters, who refide at Amjlerdam and Rotterdam. Their Bufinels is of two Kinds j to take care of the Commerce and ■ to negociate the Money-bills from their refpedive Courts, for the Payment of AmbalTadors at the Mague, and for fecret Services. They ad in Ibme L 2 meafure u8 A DESCRIPTION meafure under the AmbafiTadors, and are 'em- ploy*d by them in particular Affairs. Thefe Gen- tlemen have not the fame Denomination. Thofe of Great Britain^ Sweden, Denmark, and Poland, are called Agents -, of Spain and Venice, Confuls; and of France, Commiffary of the Marine of France. Their Employment however is the fame. The Perlbns employ'd at prefent in this Function at Rotterdam and Amjlerdam by Great Britain, are Meffrs. Wolten and Regnard-, by France Meffrs. Lagier de Taffis and Potin ; by Spain Don Rodri- guez ; by Sweden M. Balguery ; and by Poland and Saxony M. Bertrey. The King of Great Britain has alfo a Coni- Jtiiflary at Utrecht, who lives in an Houle be- longing to His Majefty, and whole Bufinefs it is to provide travelling Equipages in his Journies to and from Hanover. There is alfo a large Houfe applied to the fame Ufe at Rhenen, twenty Miles from Utrecht. The unfortunate King- of Bohemia retired thither with his Family, and re- fided there a great while, where he built this Houfe, and planted fine Gardens, (^c. It fell to the King by his Grandmother the Eleftr&ls Sophia, Daughter of the faid Frederick, by Eliza^ . heth. Daughter of King James I. of Great Britain. The Appointments of foreign Minifters at the Hague, as at other Courts of Europe, are either fettled^ as are thofe of the Britijh and Dutch Minifters ; O^ H O L L J N D. .43 Minifters ; or arbitrary, according to their In- . tereft in their refpedlive Courts, as thofe of Spain, Thofe of the higheft Order, as Ambafladors, have very confiderable Stipends, befides an Air lowance for Plate and Equipage. Our Minifters indeed have the Honour to reprelent.agreat and powerful Prince, and to do Honour and impor- tant Service to their Country. Sir WilUam Tem-pUy who was Ambaflador at the Hague in the Reign of King Charles the Second, appeared there with great Magnificence, and preferved the Dig- nity, which became the Reprefentative of a King of Great Britain^ and his Rights as Ambaflador of that Prince. A Servant of his having been fummon'd to appear before the Court of Holland^ in the Year 1670; the Ambaflador fent the fol- lowing Letter to the Procurator of the Court, which ended the Affair, wz. " One of my Secretaries having given me a *' Copy of a Paper fign'd by you F. de BruftSy *' which was brought to my Houfe, and given " to one of my Servants, by which Paper you *' fummon one N. Watt, Valet, or Footman to " the Englifh Ambaflador to appear before the *' Court of Holland: By the Title you give the " faid iV. Watt, you make it plain, that you " believe him to be adually in my Houfe and *' Service -, upon which I have thought good to *' tell you, that I look upon you as ah inlblent *' Fellow, for daring to bring fuch a Paper , in- ,1,. ,- L ^ to ISO A DESCRIPTION '* h my Houfe ; and that I do not intend any ** of my Servants fhall be look'd upon as Subjed: '* to the Jurifdiftion of any Court of this Coun- " try, or of any other, befide thofe of tha King '* my Mafler ; and if any of them offends againft ** the Laws, Complaint muft be made to me, *' that I may either order Juftice to be done, or " deliver the Ofiender of my own Accord to be *' punifhed by the Law of the Place, having be- ** fore-hand difmifs'd him from my Service. " Therefore I do not defign to be expofed to ** fuch an Infolence as this that you have com- " mitted againfl me, in treating me hke one of '' your Burghers, as well by the Paper left in *^' my Houfe, as by the ringing of the Bell, *' whereof you make mention. What 1 here fay, " you may let your Mafters know from me, by *' whofe Order you pretend to have afled. Be- " fides, for their farther Information, let them ^' know, that whilft I refide in this Country, I ^^ will never fufFer the Rights and Privileges Co *' long granted to AmbafTadors by the Law of *' Nations, and hitherto obferved and refpedled *' by all Princes of Chriflendom, to be violated, *' or any Way infringed, in this Country in my *' Perlbn, under pretence of any particular So- ^' vereignty of a Province, or Privilege of a City, f in a Commonwealth, where I have the Ho« ♦' nour to lerve a King in Quality of his Am- •♦ balTador.' v. ■ Notwith- Oi H L L A N D. 151 Notwithftanding Sir William Temple performed many eminent Services, it feems, that he had hardly Intereft enough at Court, to fupport his Credit, and to be confidered in fuch manner as he might have been in a better Time. In a Let- ter of his to Sir John Temple, fpeaking of his In- clination to retire from publick Bufmels, he fays, '* Nor fhall I eafily refolve to offer at any of thofe " Advantages you think I might make upon *^ fuch a Retreat of the King's Favour, or good *' Opinion, by pretending either to Penfion, or *' any other Employment. The Honour and^ " Pay of fuch Pofts, as I have been in, ought to ** be efteem'd fufficient for the beft Services of *' them ; and if I have Credit left with the pre- " fent Minifters to get what is owing me upon " my Embafiy, I fhall think myfelf enough re- " warded ; confidering how different a Value is " now like to be put upon my Services in Hoi- *' land, from what there was when they were " performed. 'Tis very likely at that Time, *' there were few reafonable Things the King *' would have denied me, while the triple Al- " liance, and our League with Holland, had ib •" great a Vogue; and my Friends were not *' wanting in their Advices to me to make Ufe *' .of it. But I have refoived never to ask any *' Thing of him, but by ferving him well.' As our Minifters at foreign Courts are the King's immediate Servants, they are all paid by L 4 his 152 A D E S C R I P T I O N his Majefty. The Money expended for fecret Ser- vice is brought to the Account of the Nation. This Money judicioufly diftributed, is of infinite Service. All wife People therefore think, that however fparing States may be in other Articles, in this, with good Management, they can hardly be too lavifh. Every body knows the Influence which Le-wis XIV. had fucceffively in moft of the Courts of Europe. He kept able Miniflers abroad, and did not let them wanttfor Gold. Several of thofe Provinces and Cities which he annexed to his Dominions, were rather Purchafes than Con-^ quefls ; and tho* during the laft general War he was drove out of many of his Pofleffions, he however retained his Dominions intire in the end. The King of Great Britain's Minifters for the Eleftorate at foreign Courts make a good Ap- pearance, from whence it is evident that their Remittances are confiderable. The Salaries of the French Miniflers are not quite fb large as ours, but they 'make to the full as great an Appearance. The natural Loftinefs of the SpaniArd accom. panies him every where, fo that he has at leaft the Air of a great Miniiler. When he makes any Entertainments they are very magnificent. His Plate, the Produd of the Peruvian Mines, is rich beyond Imagination -, in which Point he out- does all the other Miniflers. His Appointments generally exceed thofe of mofl other Courts. . s No O^ H O L L A N^JP.i, 153 No Power in Europe allows their Minifters at foreign Courts more liberally than the King of Portugal. The Count De Taraucca was the moft magnificent Minifter of his Time. He chofe the moft publick Hotel of the Hague^ that at the Corner of the Plain, facing Prince Maurice's Houfe, for his Refidence. AH the World knew when this great Lord fat down to Dinner. The Hague refounded with Hautboys, Trumpets, French Horns, (^c. from the Stair-cafe of the Palace, which was at all Hours furnlfhed with whole Troops of Domeflicks in fplendid Liveries. Nor did he live with lefs Pomp during his othei* long EmbafTy at the Court of FienTta, where he died at an advanced Age in 1738. The Count had a great Eftate in Portugal, but defired not to be recalled. Notwithftanding all his pafl Splendor, on his Return to Court he muft have been confounded with the Tribe he found there, have received fome Mortifications, and given place to many. During his Embaflies he faw nothing above him but the Emperor only. He could in- deed have retired to very magnificent Seats in the Country ; but his having a6ted fb long in a publick Sphere, had made him lofe all Relifh for that Kind of Life. The Fall from fo much State and Eminence that Ambaflfadors fuffer on being recalled, is very great, and might mor- tify a weak Man ; befides which, they are not pften taken into the Adniiniftration at Home, .;^ the* 154 A D E S C R I P T I O N th6* if they are Perfbns of great Ability they might continue to render their Country impori. tant Services. , The Inhabttants or the Hague regretted the Lofs of Taraucca : And indeed no Minifters are more welcome to the feveral Capitals of Europe^ than thofe of Portugal. For the Ambafladors of that Crown, befides their own Expences, have laid out great Sums at the Hague, London, Paris, and Rome, fince the Acceflion of the prefent King John V. on Books, Maps, Prints, Ma- thematical Inllruments, Statues, Pidures, and Other Things of Value. The Arts and Science? are to be feen no where in fo much Luflre as at the Court of Portugal. i -The Ruffian Minifters make an handfom Ap^ f^ftrance here. Count Gohfskin has confiderable Appointments. Before Peter the Great, who in- deed liew-fbunded that Empire, and every Thing i^^ it, upon the beft Models he could meet with *fi? his Travels to the feveral Courts of Eurofe, ^tfie Ri4fian Minifters did nb Honour to their Crown. Now Things are wonderfully changed : "tic Sbis *6miluf UnquAtn mok. The Manners, drdei", afid Decorum of Count Gohfskin and liis Family might be a Model to other Minifters. t^ce Kurakin, wlio long refided at this Court as Afftball^dor Extraordinary, was a modeft, fedatCj well-bdiaved Man. The-Emperor^ P^/^ had d ' gr^at Of HOI L AND. ^55 great Value for him. He appeared here when Rujfta had attained to the Zenith of Glory. His Prince had fettled the State, triumph'd over all his Enemies, and afTumed the Title of Emperor, a Title which all Europe owned no lefs due to his Virtues than to his Power and Greatnefs. The Memorial deliver'd to the State by this Minifter, to defire them to acknowledge his Mafter Em- peror of all Ri^ia, was delicately worded, and with great Modcfly, tho* there never was grfeattr room for expatiating and Panegyrick. It was generally believed to be drawn up by Kurakin^ tho' others feem to afcribe it more juftly to Peter himfelf. One of Kurakm's Secretaries was a Frenchman, but all were pofitive that it was not done by him. The States far from hefitating about the Title, were glad they were amongft the firft that were applied to, and that they had an Opportunity of obliging fo great a Prince, not only in complying themfelves, but in fetting the Example to the other States of Europe to do the fam&. They thought for this trifling Fa- vour to obtain fome folid Advantage to their Commerce. But the Minifter did not think the Deputation that came to his Houfe from the States, folemn enough. It confifted only of three Members at nine in the Morning, who, after having made a very fhort dry Speech, retur^ied to the States that were fitdng. The Manner of granting Favours often deftroys the Merit of them. 156 A D E S C R I P T I O N them, and makes them feem even a different kind of Injuries, Kurakin was however in an Error on this. Occafion. The States followed their ufiml Forms, and he had no Reafon to doubt their Refpeft and Zeal. This Minifter at laft loft fo exceflively in the Dutch Bubbles, that Jie was obliged to retrench his Equipage and Table, and to live almoft fordidly : The Ruffian Youth in confequence, who were in Holland for the fake of Education at the Emperor's Expence, >vere reduced to great Straits, and ready to ftarve. They could have no Money from the Minifter, to whofe Care they were committed. He found means to extricate himfelf at la,ft, and was fent to Paris with the fame Charadler he ha4 at the Hague. He was much honoured, and died there. Her prcfent Czarifh Majefty gives large Sala- ries to her own Minifters, and makes very noble Prefents to thofe of foreign Princes on leaving her Court. In 1735. Ihe gave Count Jawifca, tHc King of Poland'* s Minifter, 6000 * Rubles "hh his returning to Warfaw ; but her ufual Prefent is her Pidure let with Diamonds to the Value of ieveral thoufand Rubles. To the Mi- nifters of Perfia^ China, the Great Mogul, and other' Eaftern Monarchs, to whom Gold and * A Ruble is a Mark Sterling. precious Of H O L L A N D. 157 precious Stones are no Rarities, fhe gives rich Furs and Ermine of extraordinary Beauty. The Minilters live and pafs their Time much in this Manner, pretty early in the Morning, according to their Affairs, they lee one another at their Houfes ; for after nine or ' ten o'Clock they are not to be found at home. At twelve they meet at the Baron Pfan^s on the Voorhoutj where they converfe on indifferent Matters, as in a Coffee-houfe. At three they either go home, or where they are invited, to Dinner. About fix they go to the Affemblies, of which there is al- ways at leaft one every Evening at one Houfe or another. There they play, or elfe go to the Theatre. The Places where they take the Air in their Coa,ches are the Voorhout, or the Walk to Scheveling. On Poll Nights it is not to be expedled that Minifters are to be feen. They frequent no Coffee-houfes. Rofelli'Sy which is the politeft, is only reforted to by the Beaux and Peiils Maiires, an infignificant Species of whom the Minifters take no Notice. But the reigning Diverfion of this Court, as indeed of moft others, is Gaming. Thofe how-^' ever who do not play, are not thought fo unfalhion^ able and ill-bred, and confequently are not fo much out of countenance here, as at Paris or London. The ferene Delights of the Hague make 158 A JD E a CR i PT I O N make the Amufement of Play fuperfluous and unneceflary. Tbofe who play here, plr.y deep, to the great Lofs both of their Money and Time. An Honourable Perfon during his Embafly loft ex- ceflively. All the Hague combined againft him, and every body faw it as well as himfelf, tho' he feemed to overlook it. In other Refpeds he was far the greateft Genius and Head-piece of them all. There was an unexpected Rencounter between the late King of Pruffia and his Minifter at the Hague, The King, tho* to the laft Degree magnificent, and who ufually travell'd like a King, would fometimes be incog, and enter a Town or an Houfe like a private Perfon. He made one of thefe Excurfions from Cleves to the Hague^ which he enter'd at Night, and went diredly to his Minifter's Houfe. The Door was open, and no Profufion of Lights in the Entry. Being not tall, he went forward unobferved into a Room before him, where he found his Minifter and a large Company at Cards. They were furrounded with Domefticks, and other Lookers on, by the means of whom his Majefty took his Station unobferved behind his Minifter*s Chair. There he ftood a eonfiderable Length of Time. At laft his Minifter being about to play a wrong Card, the King, who underftood play better than he liked it, tapp'd him on the Shoulder, and Oi H O L L A N D. 159 and advifed him take another Card. The Game- fter, who did not exped fuch a Vifit, nor de- fire fuch a Counfellor at that Time, was not a little confounded. The King only faid to him. Very well^ Sir: is this your Manner of minding my Affairs ? He accompanied th.ofe Words indeed with a Smile ; but the Smile was perhaps intended for the Company, and the Words for the Mini- fter. Frederick III. was an awful Prince, with whom there was no Jefting, any more than with his Son the late King. People obferve Forms here mpre than they do at the Court of Great -Britain. They know nothing of a Morning Undrels. Were a Perfon of Quality to appear in the Mall at the Hague equipped like his Footman, every Body would believe him out of his Senfes. The Equipages of the Minifters are not very fuperb. They drive at the Hague^ as at London^ with a Pair of Horfes, and two or three Foot- men behind the Coach. Nor do they ufe thoie great Machines, State-coaches, which two Horfes can hardly draw along. Were a Minifter to in- troduce the daily Ufe of them (for in publick Entries the AmbafTador always rides in one) it would not be long perhaps before they were proh hibited by an Edid of the State. At Amfterdam- only privileged Perfons are allowed the ufe pf Coaches, for fear of Ihaking the Houles^ fo very Ipongy and unliable is the Ground upon which i6o A D E S C R I P T I O N which that City Hands. The Ground indeed of the Hague is fomething firmer. Ambafladors generally have no more than fix Footmen, befides the Domefticks of a fuperior Clals, and the Mimjlres de la Bouche, as the French call them. The Place where this Part of his Excellency's Splendor is difplayed at large (that is, his Foot- men) is at Table, employed in ferving about rich Wines. But this is not the only Part of the Houfe where they are fcen : There is another, where one is lure to meet with them all, whether one cares for the Sight or no: This is called the Entry. I know the Domefticks of fome Hotels have been forbade to appear liere, and it were to be willi'd the Prohibition were general. It is Hill a greater Hardlhip to find a Troop of thefe Fellows laying wait for a Man at the Door, when he comes out from their Mafter, with whom perhaps he has had no Reafon to be very well fatisfied. It is jufual for this, as well as other Courts, to make a Prefent to a foreign Minifter on his be- ing recalled. The States give a gold Chain and Medal, value 1 300 Florins, or 1 30 1. Sterling ; to Am- bafTadors a Prefent of the like Nature worth 6000 Gilders, or 600 1. and another to their Secretaries of 60 1. Value. The King of Great-Britain gives confiderable Prefcnts, it was to the amount of fi^i.i •' 700 1. . Of U O L L AND. iSi 700 1. which was prefented to Prince Cantimir^ the JRjfftan Amballador, on his removing from London to Fans. This is given in Token of the Royal Favourj and that the Perfon of the Am- baflador was agreeable to the Court he is going to leave. It is alfo intended to belpeak his good Word at his own Courts to which it defrays the Charges of his Journey. The French King feldom gives Money, but ufually his Pidure fet with Jewels, or fome fuch valuable Mark of his Efteem. We have mentioned the Munificence of the Crown of Rujfia upon this Occafion above. Publick Entries are now much out of fafhion. They are chiefly kept up by the Republick of Venice^ and the Knights of Malta. The Am- bafl^dors of thofe two States to the Court of Rome never fail to make publick Entries; and that is all their Excellencies do, for they have no manner of Bufmefs to negociate there. After they have furnifh'd out the S h e w, they return home fome 18 or 20,000 Sequins lighter than they fet out. The Romans^ and indeed the Italians in general^ are never weary of thele Sights. A King's Acceflion, Ibmc grand Alli- ance, Treaties of Marriage, ^c. are now the chief Occafions on which his Ambafladors are ordered to make publick Entries. We will con- clude this Article upon publick Minifters, with faying fomething in particular upon thofe of the States General. M The 162 ADESCRIPTION The Thrifdnefs of this wife Republick In re* fped to the Expence of publick Money, appears in every Thing. No Officer or Minifter fhe has can make a Fortune, or indeed a Figure, at the Charge of the State. The Minifters at home ferve in a manner gratis-, and thofe at foreign Courts have juft enough, if they have quite that, allowed them. Tho* her extenfive Commerce obliges her to have Minifters at as many Places as Greai Britain, yet fhe maintains them at a lefs Expence by at leaft one third •, and at prefent fhe has only three in the Character of AmbafTadors. The ordinary Salary of thefe Minifters of the firft Clafs is 20,000 Gilders, which is not quite 2000 1. of our Money. M. Vandermeer has been on the begging hand with the Govern- ment to augment that Sum, but without Succefs, till very lately. He is AmbafTador at the Court of Madrid. As long as the King of Spain*s Re- gulation againft Luxury in Dr^is, Equipage, &c. remained in force, it was no fmall Relief to the foreign Minifters that refided there, whtj iibwever found living very expenfive. But on the Sufpeniion of that Regulation in 1738, they all petitioned their refpedlive Courts for an AuUgmentation of Appointments, the Court of 2\dadrid being become fo fplendid, that there was no appearing for them with fuitable Decency on their former Salai'ies. Great Britain and Frame immediately augmented the Allowance of their Minifters. 6^ k 6 L L A N t, i^ [Miniflers. The fir^ advanced that of her ^f^i"* Jiifter I^lenipqtentiarjr, Penjmij^ Kes^e Eiq; Sp iibove 6000 1. and the latter t}iat of .the. Count de la Mdrk to 120^006 Livres ;per Annum: Whereas his Predeceflbr .the Cqunt ^e Faugre- nant*s Appointments were only 80,000. The States faw themfelves now under the NeceiTity of making ibme Addition to the Appointments of M. yandermeer. The Count De WELDERtNandM. Silvius^ who were appointed Ambafladprs to England to congratulate their Britannick Majefties on theii* Acceffion to the Throne, were allowed upon that great Occafion 30,000 Gilders each 5 but they had no Iboner made the Compliments of the ■States, than they were recalled, and a Miniller with the Character of Envoy fent to fucceed them. The States, to give a Luftre to the Embaffy, and Inake the Compliment more compleat, ordered the AmbaiTadors to make a publick Entry ; but even upon that Occafion for difplaying Magnifi* cence, the frugal Genius of the Nation thofe Minifters reprefented, was difcernible. The States are very induftrious to oblige the foreign Minifters who refide with them. They make no great Ufe of a Mafter of the Geremo* nies, or Introdudlor of Ambafladors, as he is alfo Called : They in a great mealure do the Honours of the State themfelves. Thus in Auguji 1739, the Count de Raasfeldt^ tho* only Envoy from the King of Vruffia^ after having had a Confe- M a rencs i64- A D E S C R I P T I O N ^ence with their High Mightineffes in the Chattv^ ber of the 1'ruce, was recondudted to the Foot of the Stairs by M. de Ferfeman and the Baron de Mian Vifcontiy Deputies from the Provinces of Zealand and Utrecht. Good Provifion is - however made by this wife State for fuch of her Minifters as have impaired their Fortunes, or grown old in her Service. They have amongft them the ancient Demefnes of Holland^ the Revenues of which they colle6t themfelves, without accounting to the States. Upon Emergencies of the Government however, they call upon them for a Subfidy of 2 or 300,000 Crowns, or more, according as the Chamber is fiippofed to be grown rich, and to have in their Hands more than is neceflary to the general Defign of its Inftitution. No Nation perhaps has provided fo profitable and honourable a Retirement for its Minifters after their Services, which they may long enjoy after being recalled, .and declared Emeriti. And indeed the unreafbn- able Parfimony with which they are treated whilft in Office, is no lefs to be cenfured, than the noble Provifion afterwards made for them, is great and praife-worthy. This and many other Inftances of the Thrifti- nefs of the Republick have induced People to ;think, that fhe carried the Virtue of Frugality too far, and have funk her with fome in the Eyes of the World. It O^ H L L A N D, jSs It is even notorious, that the fame Spirit has influenced, the whole Conduct of the Republick, and made her fbmetimes negled extending her Frontiers on the Side of the Enemy. In the Year 1658, iVfa»/?^r was loft, Amjierdam not con^ lenting to keep that important City on account of the Expence. But they foon found to their Grief, that the Spirit of faving coft them many Millions, when the martial Bifhop Van Galen had almoft:. ruined them on the Side of Groningen and Frief- land. Had that Town been in the Hands of the StaXtSy it would not only have effedually covered them then, but been a very proper Place in all Times for raifing Troops in TFeJi" phalia', a Circumftance of great Importance to Holland^ where Levies are made with no fmall Difficulty, Another Error, fays a great Man, into which the Condudt of Amfterdam drew the States, was the Refufal of the Offer made them in 1663, W F^Jirddes th.t French Ambaflador, of a Partition of the Spanijh Cnow Aujirian) Nether- lands. By this Divifion OJiendy and a Line from thence to Maejlrkht^ within which Bruges^ Ghent^ and Antwerp were included, were to be in the pofTeffion of the States, the French defiring only St. Omer^ Valenciennes^ Camhray, 2indi Luxemburg \ and the Country between thofe Lines was to form a free Commonwealth.- This was much debated throughout Holland. It was evident, that this new Republick, taken out of the Hands of the Spaniards^ muft neceffarily have fallen into M 3 the fee A D E S C R I pfT I 6*K riie Dependende bf the SfitJiSV ^ 1^6^ 6^i^ miich more coftri'dferabfe urfd'^V arb^tSt^p Regult^r tiori. But diis could not b^ \^itholrt puttttig the" States to fome cohfiderabie E^sfpente. The ProV pc^i was thei'efore rgie6led pfincrpalfy by ^e' Of ^o^mon ot Anft^rdam -; by wMch unfeafohabl^' Parfirriony th^y were fo6rt' ^fter engaged ih 4 War of fo vait aii' Expente, th?it the yeairly amonnt of their whole Eftates did not anfwer th^t of the Ta3f:es they were reduced to lay. upon the People. It was perhaps owing to the fame Spirit of Frugality, that the Propofal 6f the famous G&\^ ral and Engineer Cohorii^ Which was 9:> Well rt-: Jifhed by King WiiliafH III. was not executed. That great Engineer propofed to cut a ^b^qadf' and deep Trench or Canal from Sltf^s in FMnikrs quite acrols the Country to Fenlo in Guelderlafid^^ within which was to be included Putch Flanders and ^raianf, with the ftrong Towns of S^s-^ flulji^ Sas van Qhenfy tillo^ Brvda^ and ^orjkd^. The Trench was to be fortify ?d with Lines and Forts at proper Diftances, and the Rejiublicfe' was to have no Territory beyond it. And indeed fon>e have thought, that this would have been t , pnuch nobler and more fecure Fbrtificatiori for her, than her four or five Birrier Towns, which f)efides what the Emperor pays them, coft them fo much, and are the Source of perpetual Wran^ gling betvireeA them and his Imperial Majefty j not 0[ HOLLAND. i6f not to add that they may all be taken in a Cam- paign or two, when there is not a grand Army ia the Field to defend them. In the Letters of Ibme Minifter ( I cannot re- colfed whofe) I have read, that Chriftina Queen of Sweden haying told the States AmbafTador at her Court, that fhe was extremely taken with tht Beauty of the Bufcb Yachts, that Minifter immediately gave her reafbn to expert a Prelent of one of the fineft of them, and wrote to the Hague upon that Head. But no Yacht was ient ; fo that the Queen was balked in her Ex- pedtation, and Things in effeft went very ill both with the Dutch Minifter, and the Apairs of hi^ Embafly. It muft however be owned, that the Repubr lick has Ibmetimes alTumed a different Air, and known how to be magnificent enough upoi^ Oceafion. I ftiall produce two or three Inftances of this kind here (it being unreafonable t<^ ret gard only the leaft fhining Part of a Meda| without confidering its Reverie, ) with which I fhall conclude this Chapter. When Charles II. King of Great Britain^ and his Royal Brothers had paffed many Years in a tedious Exile, and the Nation was univerfally ii> eiined to their return, they thought it advifeable to draw near the Coaft of the Sea, The States (jeneral on that Oceafion invited them with their jjumerous Courts firft to Breda^ apd afterwards M4 ^ i68 A D E S C R I P T I O N to the Hague y to which laft Place they were carried in the States Yachts and other Veffels in great Pomp and Ceremony. * " Their Entrance in-- *' to the Hague^ and Reception there, and the " conducing his Majefty to the Houfe (Prince *' Maurice's) provided for his Entertainment, " were very magnificent. The Treatment of " his Majefty, and all who had any Relation to *' his Service, at the States Charge during his ** abode there, which continued many Days, *' was incredibly noble and fplendid." To enter into a particular Detail would be improper in this Place. The Apartments of the Palace were furnifhed at a vaft Expenee. Seven jD«/^^ Lords were appointed to attend conftantly when the King fat down to Table ; at the Head of which the King lat under a rich Canopy, having on his left Pland the Princefs Royal of Orange his Sifter, and on his right the Queen of Bohemia his Aunt. At the End of the Table on the fame Side were his two Brothers the Dukes of Tork p.nd Gloucefter, and at the other End by the Princefs Royal, the young Prince of Orange her Son, afterwards King William III. of Great Britain^ who was then only ten Years old. The Services were incredibly magnificent, and the Dilhes of maflive Gold. Five Tables befides |:his were provided for the Lords, and one for the Ladies of the Court. The Delerts and pweetmeats at all thole Tables were fcrambled ' > Clqrend. Hiil. VpL HI- p. 599. for. Ol H L L A N D. i% for, and expofed to the Difcretion of the nume- rous Spedators: A Profufion unknown in the Courts of the greateft Kings. Batteries of Cannon were mounted on the Vyverherg fronting the Palace, which with the Trumpets, ^c. made the whole Hague refound alternately with Thun- der and Melody. The Expence of the whole was not particularly known, becaufe the Govern- ment ordered all Things of that Nature to be kept fecret. On the Day of the King's Entry pnly 30,000 1. Sterling were allotted by Way of a Foundation for Charges, and two or three Days after, 60,000 1. more were ordered for one grand Entertainment. Not content with this, the States made very noble § Prefents to the King, the Dukes of Tork and Gloucejier^ and the Lords of the Court at their Departure, The § The Prefents made his Majefty were, i , The beautiful Brigantine, which the King for many Years after ufed upon the River Thames. The occafion of giving it him was the King's expreifing his Pleafure on feeing the fine little Fleet of Yachts and Frigates that carried him from Breda to the Hague ; and faying, That he nuould ha^ve a Vejfel made after the fame Model, to ferve him on the Thames at his Arrival in Ijondon. Upon which one of the Deputies of Amfierdam, who was near his Majefty, told him, that there was fuch a one juft built in their Town of the fame Bignefs, and at leaft as commodious every way, which he took the Liberty %o offer his Majefty as a Prefent. The King neither accepted, nor refufed it ; fo that Orders were privately fent to Am- fierdatn, to finifti it in the grandeft Tafte poffible, that it might be ready to be prefented to his Majefty at Scheveling at his Departure for England. The Body of the Veffel was adorned with the fineft Tapeftry, the Royal Flag was hoifted on its Mafts, and its Yards were laden with Crowns and J?eftoons of Lawrels and Flowers. On one of the Streamers |)ras this Device, %ore, and that their Republic^ was as dear to him as his own Kingdoms^ Bu^ Motto of the Kings of England, Dteu fff Moft droit ; and to the King's embarking for the Land, whithw his Right, and the Providence of God CftW«d him. Th^ King^ with 2\\ the Royal Family, enter'd the Yacht in Sight of his own Fleet that was come to bring him over, ai)d feated himfelf fot fome time under a magnificent Canopy, the Deputies of the States ftill attending him. Batteries were raffed oa the I>6wns of Seheveling, which fired continually ; and tiie Concourfc of People on the Sands, in Coaches, and on Foot, were innumerable. At laft on the Admiral's giving the Signal to fail, the King tenderly embraced the young Prince of Orange, and gave him his Bleffing; and then took Leave of the Queen Dowager of Bohemia. But when he came to do the fame of the Princefs Royal, there was no parting them ; till the Admiral gave a fecond Signal for failing, and the whole Fleet were under Sail. 2. The other Prefent made the King was the rich Bed and Furniture, which the laft deccafed Prince of Orange had ordered to be made for the lying in of the Princefs Royal, and which fhe mevcr ufed, on account of her Husband's Death eight Days before the young Prince's Birth, This Bed was th^ fineft, and njoft magnificent, that ever was made at Paris ; ta which, and the Furniture, the States added a Set of Hang^ ings of ineftimable Value. They were of Tapeftry emboffed with Embroidery of Gold and Silver j and alfo feveral fine Paintings of the great Matters, ancient and modern, with jnany other Rarities of very great Value. Finding that Mpney would be moft acceptable to the two pukes, the States made each of them a Prefent of a Bill for 75,000 Gilders. They received the Bills with great Profeflions of Gratitude, and the Duke of Tork faid he willingly charged himfelf with that Obligation to the Lords the States. The Engli_fi Lords had Chains of Gold : that i the I(prd Crofts coft 4Q0 1, Sterling. thefc tf If a I L A p t). %ft tKe'fe extraordinary Kindneffes and Favours, be- fore the Tafte of them (to ufe that Expreflion) could be well out of his Mouth, were rewarded by him With an unjufl and cruel War ; and his whole Reign was one continued Plot, in Con- jundion Witlli his good Ally of Francey tor rtiin'ailid extirpate this Commonwealth : So that the tiutch. With the Change of a Word or two, might well apply the Diftich of the Poet to ^hemfelves : J'e inagis optdbat rediturum, Carole^ nemo, Et nemofmtit te reditjfe minus, Another Inftance of the Magnificence of this State I fhall take from an Event of a very diffe- rent Nature to the foregoing. This is the famous $ynod of Borty held in the Years 1618, and 1619^ with extraordinary Splendor and Expenee. King James I. of Great Britain, and the other Pro- teftant Powers fequefled, that it might be rather ^n Oecumenical than National Council or Synod, at which Members from all the Reformed Church6$ of Chriflendom might aflift, and there- by teftify their Agreement and Unity in the Chriftian Faith in the mofi authentick and Iblemn Manner. The S'tates, tho* they forefaw the great Charges with which the holding liich an univerfal Council Would be attended, readily complied. Accordingly oh the Invitation of their High Mightindfes, two or th?*ee of the moft learned • . and 172 A DESCRIPTION and moderate Divines were fent by their relpe- dive Churches to Holland. Thofe deputed by the Church of England, were Dr. Laud, then Bifliop of St. Afaph, and afterwards Archbilhop of Can- terhury, with the Dodors Hall and Davenant^ afterwards Bilhops of Exeter and Salisbury. The whole Number amounted to 104. The Lords Deputies from their High Mightinefles were prefent all the Time d^ey fat, and opened the Council with a Ihort Speech, wherein they thanked the King of Great Britain and the other Proteftant Princes for fending their Deputies, £«fc. The whole pafled with great Order and Solem- nity, and what is almoft wonderful, with perfe<9: Harmony and Unanimity. The Arminians and fome other Sefts were condemned nemine con- tradicente* The Deputies of the States ftayed behind, after the Synod broke up, to defray all Expences. Befides Fire, Candles, &c, each of the Deputies from England and Scotland, and probably from the other foreign Churches, had 20 Gilders, or near 2 1. Sterling a Day for their Table. The Arminians, who were the Lofers upon this Occa- llon, ridiculed every Thing the Government did. They gave out that the Bifhop of St. Afaph (who with his Collegues were allowed Precedency in the Council) had 8 1. to himfelf. The Minifters of the United Provinces had each 8 s. a Day ; as had the Minifters to the Number of fifteen, who were cited to the Synod. The Moderator, or Chairman, a H L L A N D. 173 Chairman, had i U 6 s. allowed him, and the Meffengers, Clerks, i^c. 8 s. each. The Secre- taries, Commiffaries, ^c. had fuch large Ap- pointments, that one of them received 300 1. on account of his daily Penfion. - A gold Medal worth 150 Gilders, or 1 5 1; and a Chain of 5I. was alfo given to all the Deputies of the foreign Churches on the Day of their Departure. Upon it was reprefented the Synod of Dort with thefe Words, Religione ajjerta ; and on the Reverfe Mount Sion, and the Temple attacked by the four Winds, and illuminated by the Rays that iffue from the Word 7\1T\*\ or Jehovah^ with this Legend, Ermtficut MonsSion. Each of the Dutch Minifters had a Silver Medal, •The travelling Charges of the foreign Deputies going and coming were alfo paid, but the exa6t Sum given on that Account is not laid. In all Probability it was confiderable, and much more than the Expences they were really at. The States, according to their conftant Cuftom on the like Occafions, kept all very fecret; but the Particulars above Ipecified were of a Nature not to be concealed. Henry Hollinger, an Jlrminian Minifter, in a little Book publifhed by him, affures us, that one of the States Deputies told a Friend of his in confidence, that the Charges of this famous Council, or, as the Proteltants affe(ft rather to call it. Synods amounted to ten Ton of Gold, or a Million of Gilders, that is, about 100,000 1. of our Money i a Sum equivalent to » . 200,000 1. gy4 ADE^Citll^TION 20Q,ooo J. in thefe Days. It is to be doubt- .^d, .whether the Expences of tht General Coun- g^f, Mr. S A u R I N was anpther eminent Minifter of the French Chufich at the Hague, He Ihone out with extraordinary Luflre in this Seat of Learning and Politenefs, He was educated with the late TuRRETiif of Geneva. After he. had ^nifh-d his Travels thrp' France^ Germany^ .^4 England^ he was, I believe, Chaplain for fbme jtime to a Regiment i^ Flanders, He was recalled from thence to be Minifter Extraprdiiiary, and Chaplain to the Nobility at the Hague-, both which Places were Inftifpted in his Favour, He ^nfwered, or rather far exceeded, the Expeda- tions of his great Patrons, who were no lefe Per- sons than the firft of the Republick. He was the greateft Preacher of his Time. When it :(caipe to his Turn^ fey^nty or eighty Coache§, h.'^s which O^ H t L A N t), 187 91'hich filled the whole Court, might be counted ^t the Church Door. His illuftrious AudiencQ honoured him wjth their ^reat Attention an4 Applaufe, and yet Mr. Saurin preached a fevere Morality. He declaimed againft the Vices of the Grpaty Wafte and Diflipation of Time^ Gaming, Luxury, with all the Vehemence of 3. Chryfojlom^ or a Gregory Nazianzen. Thefe Vices, as dilplayed by this great Orator, appeared no Peccadillos of Faihion, Habits of Rank and For- tune, and indifferent Things -, and he made flrong Impreflions on many. They were fp far from being difpleafed \vith \\is Freedom, that they declared, the Minifter wa§ a,n honpfl Man, ^nd did his duty without reipedt to perfons, ;A certain great m^n faid to him one day, Mi". Saurin, jy^« make me uneajy-^ hut I am fur^'you intend nothing ly.t our Good both here and here- after : I Jhould be a much worfe man, if it were not for you: fo pray go on. He would fometimes rife to fuch a Sublimity both of Senti_ ments and Expreffions, as furprized every body, and made thpfe who did not know him, and were not his ufiial Hearers, imagine he was no lefs follicitous to teach his Audience Eloquence and Pronunciation, than Piety and Virtu^. Th^ late Queen Confort, Caroline of Great Britain, had a fmgular Regard for Saurin and his Writings. tje was offered the French Royal Chapel at St. '^atnes^.s. He has a Brother in Ireland, who is a Dean ; and he himfelf might have been a Dean, no. Bilhop, i8*g A b E S C R I ]? T I (5>N Bifh6^,\6? -s^hat }i}d;^kafcdi btit?^ the Admini- ^^midn^bf Holland V^iild h^ve-been as loth t6 lend .him rfieir liite'rell with that of Great Britain on fiich aii account, ^s he was far from defiring it. .He.pnhted feveral' Volumes of Sermons; but he fhbuld, have printed himffclf a:llb, whole line Delivery" added fuch' Graces to'thofe Dif- coui:les. His Catechirni^ Hkc moft others, is ah abritiged Syfteni brDJY^m^ but fitter for the "Adult 'than young Be^irtn^'rs. , His Difcourfes, moral, hiftoricai, -cniical, ^c. on the Bible, are his moft confiderz^ble Work, and have abun- daqce' ' of ' philologicdr 'and ^cVitieal Le'arnin g in 'thenii. Tfie Author beftowed extrabriiiriary Ap- plication on this Work,, which fie did not liv6 to cortlpleat. It has been continued by La Roqiie of .Jjiufahne^ and ' Beciufobre of Berlin. The Copper-plates, with, which it' is adorned, are ex"- quifitely fine : there rs ohe " of them ' to each feifcouxfe. \ They were done by Hoet, Houbracken, and Picart'. The firft Volume was tranflated into Englijh; hiii without the Cuts; which was inju'- dicioufly done, becaufe the Difcourfes were prin- cipally intended to explain them." ' On thtff account only the Work is fit t5''^dorn the Cabinets of the Curious. Mr. Saurin publifhed a Treatife or two againft the Roman Catholicks, who tetcirted by venting their Malice ih ScandaF, and imputing bafe Vices to him, tho' his Lifb ivas as free from them, as Light fron^' Spots. '' His extraordinary Merit paid the ufual Tribute to . ■ Ibme Come of his own Religion. Several invidious Pens attacked him on the Subjed: of Hetero- doxy. Saurin had a great Spirit, and could not brook fuch Treatment. His noble Friends did their utmoft to make him defpife them, and to divert him : but all would not do. He lan- guilhed for a coniiderable Time, and at laft died of Chagrin. In him the Hague loft its chief De- light, the Widow and Orphan a charitable Friend, the Reformed Churches one of their brighteft Ornaments and Aflertors, and the po- lite World ia fine Gentleman. Another Perfon, who for fifty Years and up- wards adted a great Part in the Commonwealth of Letters, was Mr. Z^ C l e r c of Anjierdam. He was without doubt the moft univerlally learned Man of his Time. His philofbphical Works have been differently received. His par- ticular Thoughts on various Subjefts are wrote with admirable Judgment ; as is his Hiftory of Cardinal Richlieu, and his Annals of the two firft Centuries of the Church. His Tranflation of the New Teftament, and his Comment upon the Old, to which laft he applied himfelf in an extraordinary manner, are Proofs of his great Knowledge of the Greek, Hebrew, and Oriental Languages. His accounting for the Paflage of the Ifraelites over the Red Sea, and the drowning of the Egyptians who purfued them ; for the Fall of the Walls of Jericho, and other real Miracles related in the holy Scriptures, by natural i9o A DESCRIPTION^ natural Caufes, are affeding proofs of the blind*, nels into which the greateft of Men fall, when they abandon a better Light, and give them- felves up to their own. This fcientifick Perfon, whole great Learning and Judgment are fo confpicuous, and caft {o great a Light on other Occafions, on thefe vents fuch trifling filly things, as cannot be confidered, but as Chi-* mera and Nonfenfe* His Tranflation of the '{ Beginning of Sti John is tod philofophicali and foreign to the Simplicity of the facred Stile. His Latin Verfion of Hammond, and additional Notes, have done Honour to the Original, and caufed it to be read all over Europe, His Bihliotheques, or Journals, have too much of himfelf, and too little of his Authors: befides they are wrote in a dry manner. Le Clerc did not know what it was to enliven his Subje6l; which Talent was peculiar to his great Antago- nift Mr. Bayle, who had as juft and fine a Pen as any Writer in any Age. Le Clerc had Bick- erings with feveral other learned Men, and in particular with Dr. Whithy^ who ufed him rough* ly in his Annotations, of which he often com- plained to the Doctor's Diocelan, Bifhop Burnet, That Prelate was at a Lois how to behave be^ tween them ; for he honoured Le Clerc's Learn^ ing and Parts, and when he was in Holland, ufed to vifit him at Amjlerdam. Le Clerc kept an elbow Chair, which he uled to fhew fuch of the Britijh Nation as came to fee him, and called b/ Of H O L L A N D, i^i by the Bifhop's Name. The Occafion was as follows. Dr. Burnet one Day, after having ran over the City to view the CUriofities, and vifit feveral learned Men, came into Le Clerc's in a great Sweat, and threw himfelf down in this Chair with all his Weight. The Chair gave way, and down came the Do6lor to the Ground; upon which Le Clerc joked, and faid amongft other things,, that the falling down of one of her ftrongefi Pillars was a bad Omen for the Church. The Doftor was fo fatigued with the Rambles of the Day, that he could not get up without the Affiflance of Le Clerc and his Maid, who raifed him, and carried him to a Bed, where he flept feven or eight Hours without turning himfelf: fo that one may conceive, that the Danger of the Church did not lie very heavy upon his Spirits at that time. The great Earl of Shaftshury^ Dr. Burnet^ and Z£ Clerc formed a kind of Triumvirate in pri- vate Life ; and a like learned Society was after* wards formed between the Amjierdam Profeflbr, the Honourable Mr. O— — — , Speaker of the Houfe of Commons, and one or two more Englijh Gentlemen. Some Overtures were once made for inviting Le Clerc to Cambridge. I do not know what interfered •, but am aflured that Le Clerc would moft willingly have accepted a Profeffor-fhip there ; for he had a great Regard for the En- glijh Nation and Church, and for the Univer- fity i^t A D E S G R I P T I O N fity of Cambridge in particular. '"''Le Clerc would have been the Ornament of any Univerfity, and done Honour to any Science he had been called in to teach. •^i>-":J,U, :^ '""This great Man feveral Years before his Deatfi grew child ilh : almoft all his Senfes forfook him, io that he neither rem'ember*d, nor knew thofe about him. The Imbecillity of human Nature, and what a mere Bubble Man is, were a moving Spectacle in him. This total Dereliftion of Mind did not proceed fo much from Age, as from having intirely exhaufted his Spirits in Study and intenfe Application. What the late Archbilhop of Canterbury faid of Mr. Jujiell, the Author of the Codex ecclejue Africance, might be well ap- plied to him : It was, That Juftell died of his Books Le Clerc died in 1736. aged 79. He luci ceeded Limborch, who was Profeflbr of Philofo* phy and Ecclefiaftical Hiftory to the Remon* firants at Amfierdam^ 2sA died in 17 12. His other Predeceflbrs were great Men ; Courcelleus^ Brandt, and Epifcopius, I had almoft forgot to mention two other Works of Le Clere's. The one is the Hiftory of the United Provinces, illuftrated with Medals, in two or three Volumes in Folio. It is proba* ble, that he wrote this Hiftory with the View of reprefenting the Afiairs of the Remonfirants in the light, wherein he was defirous they Ihould bq conrider*d by Pofterity. His KOF IB O IL L A IVliD; i^^ •Hls't^o Diflfertaiions on the Truth of the CHriftiari' Religion^ by; Way of Supplement to GtbfiUS:, 1 2irQ in every body's H^rids.) having becA tranflated into EngUJh with that Treatife. In the firft.Ke treats of the .Choice to be made of Opinions arriongft all- thofe which divide the Chriftian World. He thinks the Proteftant Re^ ligion to be preferred before any Sed that derived Part of its Do6trines from any other Source than that of the New Teftament ; as from Tradition, i^c. In the iecorid he confutes fiich as hold the lodifferehce of Religions with relpe6l to Salva^ tion.v.that is, as if all were equally capable of leading Men to everlafting Happinefs, provided _l;hey lived good an<^ moral Lives. 'j^I iliall, with the Reader's Favour, mentioh one Author more^ tho' dead a confiderable time. His^JHillory is fomething fingular, andftill the S,ubje<51; ^of Converfation in Hollandy dio' not well underftood by the Generality of the Butch them- lelyes. But a great Hiftorian of our own Natioa has. explained the Myflery, and particularly the * .Caufe.of his Dilgrace. The Perfon in queflion is the famous W i g q^u e f o r t. He was born at Amjierdam, was a Man of confiderable Parts, and Dutch Secretary and Tranflator of the In- telligence that came from England^ the Originals oi which were fometimes left in his Hands. When * Bifhop Burnetts Hiftory of his own Times, Book III. Ml*. Bafnage in his Introduflion, and M. Bynkershoek in hisi Comfetttit Judge (f Amhaffadors, relate Wicquefort"?, Affeir with Ibme DiiFerence. I have given the Subltance of vvA.at they all fay of" it, in this Place. O Sir !I94 A D E S C R I P T I O N Sir Jofeph WilUamfon^ our Minifter Plenipoten- tiary, return'd from Cologn in 1675. he had a fecret Interview with Wicqueforty and prevailed upon him to .deliver Ibme of thele Papers to him. Williamjon had probably heard of Wtcquefort*^ Charader at Paris. Moll of thefe Letters were wrote by Lord Howard^ who held a fecret Correlpondence with the Court of the Prince of Orange, to whom he gave very good Intelligence.. He was a Man of Wit and Learning, very enterprizing, and a violent Malecontent* The Court of England was in fome Perplexity upon the Difcoveries made by thefe Papers. Howard Was committed to the Tower, where he was ex*' amined, and confounded at the Sight of his own Letters. Notice of all this was fent to the Hague, IVicquefort was called upon to produce all the Original Letters confided to him ; and upon his not doing lb, wasclapt up in Prifon. The States fent King Charles word, that if any Perlbn fuffered in England on account of the Letters be- trayed by their Secretary, his Head Ihould pay for it. When the Judges were conlulted con- cerning the Nature of this Crime (the Papers; having been given after the Peace was concluded ; for otherwife betraying the Secrets of the State to Enemies, was manifellly Treafon) they came to this Refolution : That as the Roman Law made every thing contra falutem Populi Romani Capital, the delivering up thofe Papers was a Capital I See Pufendorff 1, 7. Rer. Brandettburg. p. 437. •jici O Crimc^' . 01 H L L J N D. 495 Crime. This Menace (aved Howard; but Wkque^ fort was condemned to perpetual Imprifonmenty with Confifcation of all his Fortune. He bad the Chara Clerc^ who were all very able Men, but who wrote with very different Views, a good Hiftory of the Republick might be compiled by a dis- cerning and impartial Author ; but perhaps fuch a Perfon is not eafily, if at all, to be found, to write the Hiftory of diis or any other Nation. Strada the Jefuit, who is almoft the only Au- thor read by Strangers, little deferves that pecu- liar Diftinftion ; not fb much on account of his Partiality, a Fault too common to all Hiftorio- graphers, but his Want of Judgment, his fidli- tious Harangues, as there is Reafon to believe them, and his immoderate Praifes of a few Men, for whofe fakes one would think he compoled his Hiftory. Bentivoglio taxes him with Impru- dence, for treating of War and Politicks, Topicks of which he knew nothing : But with relped to the firft, the Nuncio himlelf perhaps had done we "of HOLLAND. 197 well to have followed the Golpel Advice of taking the Beam out of his own Eye. Wicqueforth Letters are not quite fo good as might be expefted from a Man of his Wit and InteUigence: They have however feveral curious Strokes in them. He obferves,, that Machiavel in his political Works fpeaks only of what Princes do, and not of what they ought to do. And indeed, Tyrants only feem to have been Machi- avel* s Matters, and to have didated all his po- litical Pieces J his fble D»;light being to fifh in impure Streams, and to draw the moll ugly Pidiures. — Speaking of King Charles the Firft's Queen, who was to bring over the Princefs her Daughter to cfpouk JVilliam II. Prince of Orange, Wicquefort lays, That Voyage is the more uncer- tain, as it depends on three of the moft incon- ftant Things in the World ; a Woman, the Wind, and the Pariiament of England. Pr^cipue quod totum hoc negotium pendeat a trihus inconjiantia Jymholis ; fcemina^ vento, &' parliament 0. Of the Ingenuity and Learning of the Dutch I fhall treat hereafter. In general it were to be wifhed, that the learned Foreigners, who refide in t\\t United Provinces, did ijot give fo much into Colleftions, Didionaries, Biography, and Things of that kind. Not that thofe Works are without their Utility : But how many are there, who are more intent upon writing the Life of a learned Man, than of becoming learned themfelves ! The Englijh had O 3 the J98 A D E 6 C R I ?>T J QN the good Senfe to ftand longer out agalnft thefe kind of Books, than other Nations; but of late they feem as fond of them as any 5 and it will be Well, if we know when to flop, and to fet Bounds to our Avidity this Way. Perhaps the General Didllonary, which includes Bdyle^ Chambers^ ttie PiftiSnafy of Arts and Sciences, with Harris, voluminous Compila- tions, and indeed excellent of their kirid, ifia^f fuffice us for Books of this Sort, and prevent us from giving into endiels Repetitions, and ^rifling CoUedions, into which the Learning of feveral of our neighbouring , Nations has very much dwindled. Hitherto the Englijh hive been in great Reputation all over J?a- rope, for applying themfelves to what is noble and folid in Learning. The Novels amongft them are foreign Produfliohs. 1'elemachus, Von ^lixote, and Ci^foe, are the only Pieces that ftand their ground •, whilft Romances, and fiich kind of Writings, are little regarded, and fooh |:hrown afide. The fpelling and mifplacing of a Word, the various Readings of the various Readings of an ancient Author, Cplle(5cions of the Thoughts of learned Men upon Nothing, are Refinements In the Commonwealth of Letters, which have hitherto gained little or no ground amongft ps. We have not yet had a Diflionary of Diftioiiaries ; a Didionary of the Learned of every County, Town, and Village in England {Britain is too barren for that ) a Dictionary of ' "^"^ Tricky Om L L A N D. 199 Tricks and Frauds, in which we are alfo not very fruitful; or if we were, we fhould not thu]^ them important enough to be propa- gated in Volumes. We do not conceive our- felves obliged to write the Life of every Par^. fon, Lawyer, and Phyfician that dies ; or to trace long Genealogies for them, and give learn- ed Analyfes of every filly Treatife or Pam- phlet they publifhed in their Lives. Nor Ihall we ever dream, I hope, of accompanying thefe very curious Pieces of private Hiftory with Notes in the firft Edition, Notes upon Notes in the fecond, cum notis variorum in the third. That I do not exaggerate here, all, J believe, who are acquainted with the prefent State of Letters in Europe^ will own : And one might compile a Didionary of Inftances to |)rove it, were the Task as ufeful as it is eafy, and it could be done without a kind of natio- nal Rcfledions. It cannot however be taken amiis to obferve here in refped to the Germans^ that tho' they have wrote Genealogies innume- rable, and publifhed fb many Diploma ta. Ads, Rules, and Ufages, not* only of every State or Province, but of every petty Seigniory, Di. ftrid. Village, School, Convent, Univerfity, l^c. enough, colleded together, to compofe a Body of 5 or 600 Folio's ; yet have not thefe laborious Germans been fo kind to favour the World with an Hiftory of Germany^ tho* in only one Volume. Thus the immenfe Colle- vi;...-. .:. O 4 dions 2(50 X'I>%^ C?R^I i^ i^i O N (5lions of Materials for that Hiftory pubii?fiecl by Menck, Leibniiz, Ludewig^ Eccard^ &c. have hitherto remained without their intended Ufe. Neither have any of their Philofophers given us a Natural Hiftory of Gennan^, the* ho Na- tion abounds with fo many - Societies ' of Vir- tuofi, whofe Members have publifhed detach'd Pieces and loofe Scraps upon their little Diftricls. But as to a Part of an old Medal ,■ or t Lake remotely hinted at in an ancient Poet, Thefe muft be cleared up with the utmoft PafTion, Pains, and Prolixity, as Matters of infiriitely more Importance, than to know the Hiftory of their Forefathers, and the "Virtues of thofe Waters, Plants, . Fruits, Food, and Air, fo neceflary to their Country and themfelves. "-'-■f'^ The Learned of Ilafy have had the likelfHi- portant Avocations from compiling an Hiftory, whether civil or natural, of their Country. It as however to be hoped, that Time will piro- dnce both ; for fome very important Difcove- ries have been made towards them -, the Learn- ing and Enquiries of liaiy having been very well empbyed during the three laft Centuries. It is now found out, and demonftrated beyond the Pofiibility of Contradiftion,. that the Coro^ pa Rqdialis had twelve Rays in it, and not fix or eight, as was fondly believed before . That Juno Sofpitah Feet were always bare, tho' the Generality of Antiquaries and Sculptors have been fo ignorant, as to wrap them up in cm-^^ i* \: Buskins Ci H L L A N D. iot Buskins or Stockings. It is alfo fully made but, that the T'fc, or Flajoki, had more Stops than it has hitherto been defcribed to have 5 and this the laft Pope but one, who was a Very profound Scholar, declared to be his Opi- |ii6ri, tho* Ke would not take upon him to af^ certain their Number. Several other Virtuofi, of more Prefumption, though perhaps not more Learning, have ventured to give their Con- jefhires upon this nice Point in very curious and elaborate Diilertations. And for two hun- dred and fifty Years pall, not only lialy, but the greatefl Part of Europe, have been in a Very grols Error concerning the particular prels of Priapus', whereas now there is no- thing clearer, than that the aforefaid God had feveral Preffes, which feveral eminent Men arc jiow adlually employed in making out. Plifrfs two floating Iflands are not yet found ; but what has not been, may in Time be effedted. The learned Perfons, who are at preient in purfuit of them, conceive they have made a greater Progrefs towards that Difcovery, than the moft diligent of their Predeceflbrs. But to be ferious : The Italians are fb intirely taken up with what the People and Country were feyehteen hundred Years ago, that they iiegle6t the prefent Condition of both. Their Cities are now thin of Inhabitants, their Soil bg,rren and uncultivated, and themfclves a pu- fillanimous. 20A A p E 5 C^ I P T I O N fillanimous, enervate, lazy People. No matter for that : in the Days of yore the Romans were a brave and noble People, the Conquer- ors of the Worlds, the Country was fertile and delicious, and (o full of Inhabitants, that Roman Colonies were ^ent to fettle in all the Pro. vinces of Europe^ Aa4 fo much . for them and , . _ , ■ . -^ i:jrrjV30 riJOlii'.rr'L ''I'Hit i :■; t their Learning. ■ - t- 2;.: JitO:) ""jtST Ai inic ' .. _^ 3Xid <'^ft^^ jon piL'. xftS i?tt« bofb j: ni nosri :ii«ii j^^i.'Vj'ii i<^- i>^ifi :^ . ;■ " )\im ...^ „ „. -:--- :-' ■, ^-- -;.:1 l^dw fii JnsiBiq JiJ'm oiiv/ ./r'fj^nMf atfX m;fij . ' ';" 'isfft E&iiiY r • i .... .. ., ...li:- C H A P* Oi H O L L A N D, 203 CHAP. V. Tie Manner m 'which Strangers live at the Ha Gv^. TH E Inhabitants of the Hague are more genteel, converfible, and civil to Stran- gers, than thofe of the other Cities of the Pro- vinces. It muft however be owned, that they areas defedive in Point of Hofpitality, as thofe of the other Cities, They hardly know what it is to invite a Stranger to drink a Glafs of Wine, or a Difh of Tea, and much lefs to a Dinner. They excufe this Excefs of Parfimony, by lay- ing, that were they to give into the Cuftom of Entertainments, as pradifed in other Countries, they ftiould foon be undone, in effedt of being vifited by fo great a Number of Strangers. Their Cafe in this refped is indeed different from that of all other Nations. As for the reft. People are treated with many outward Marks of Civility in this Country. I never faw Inferiors treated with fo much Complaifance. The Nobleman, the Minifter of State, plain and modeft by Na- ture, Education, or Policy, return the Salute of the meaneft of the People with great Kindnefs and Affability. In that they imitate miliam I. Prince of Orange^ the Founder of the Republick. That 204 A D E S C R I P T I O N That great and wife Prince, who rendered him- fclf fo dear to the People by thofe little Conde- fcenfions, ufed to fay, Hominem bene emi, quijalu- tatione conjlaret : A Man was bought cheap, that cofl no more than a Bow or Salute. ' The remarkable Equality among the Men of this Country is no lels conlpicuous among the Women, who are, if polTible, more upon the Level, and more condefcending than the former. Pun6lilio*s, Place, and falfe Points of Honour are as little regarded here, as they are afFedted and prevail in moft other Countries. And we need not go to Italy, Germany, or France for Examples of this kind. Flanders is no left fa- mous for the high Spirits of her Women, than the Bravery of her Men. I remember a pretty Story, upon this Occafion, of the Emperor Charles v.- who for his Wifdom and Integrity, efpe- cially in deciding dubious and intricate Cafes, has been compared to King Solomon. ■■'■ That great Prince was once at Brujfels, when a great Difpute arofe between two Ladies of the higheft Diftinftion about Precedency, or taking Place, which was very near occafioning a fatal X)ivifion between the principal Families of that Province. The indignant Ladies were at length with great Difficulty prevailed upon to leave the Determination of an Affair io highly affe(fting their Honour, or their Pride, to . the Emperor. His Majefty accepted the Office of Arbitrator, and having fixed a Day for the Decifion, declared, ' tfiat Of H O L L A N D. -205 that he would p^fs Judgfnent in the great Hall of Audienceil ^11.4 ^^ the fefence of the whole ^•:, When jhe Important Day arrived, never was the Hall of Audience more crowded. The fair Sex flocked thither in great Numbers, to hear a ^Decifion, in which they were fo highly concerned. •Never was the Emperor's Prelence expedted with .^greater Impatience ; whilft confiderable Wagers J were laid, on which Side the Judgment would fall. .;, At length the Emperor came; and being .feated on the Throne, with a ferious and grave .Tone and Countenance, he fald, lb as to be heard by every body : We have well and duly .weighed the Difpute between thefe two Ladies y and .our Commands are^ that Jhe^ who is the prettiejl and .moji beautiful of the two, Jhall upon all Occajions '^ive Place and Precedency to the other. ^ This unexpefled Decifion gave Things a quite : different Turn : Neither of the Ladies would in- .iift upon her Rank on liich Conditions. The Queftion now was not who fhould go firfl:, but who fliould go la{lj and had there not been two Doors to the Hall, it would have been very /difficult to have perluaded either of them to have gone home. However this Decifion had fo good ;an Effeft, that there was no luch' Thing as a ; Difpute about taking place in Brujfels, or all yFlanderSf for many Years afterwards. The Judg- 'jfSi to whom Appeals Ihould have been made in fuch Cafes, would in all Probability have made CW3 Charles ,^^ AD E S G R I P T I ON Cbarks the Fifth*s Judgment the Rule of theirt^ and thereby given the Emperor's Regulation the Force of a Law in fuch Controverfies. Some ^&ch Law as this might be of no Imall Utility in lialy and feveral other Countries. '^^ ^ ''^'*'^ ^# « But to return to our Subjedt. The Butch are io far from exceflive Ceremony, that fome think they give into the contrary extreme. However it little concerns the Stranger to regard that, or their Manner of living in general ; becaufe, as .to himfelf, he may live in what Way, and al- moft in what Company he pleafes. He may liave here his own Countrymen, his own Lan- guage, his own Place of Worfhip and Religion, unlels he happens to be of a very extraordinary one mdeed, or of none at all : for all here have one kind or another. He may alfo lodge with his own Nation, and put up in Inns, and ufe CofFee-houfes kept by them. If this be the Cafe with regard to raoft of the People of Europe in geiieral, it is in a particular manner fo with re- gard to the Britijh Nation. l^p The Expences of living here are almofl on a par with thofe of Paris, and rather greater than at any other Capital in Europe^ but far lels than -:2XL'^ndon. >woH .^rAUi\ 3fK)jj j: z^\i& Parlement D^Angleterre, or Parliament of Engkmd, is a principal Inn of the Hague, atW anfwers the King's Arms in Pall-mall, or Pontac's in the City. It requires good Oeconomy to come off for 15 Shillings, or a Guinea a Day at the ■"••'•) " two af BO z L A N n: ao/ iwo laft ; but the Auherge, or Ordinary of the Hague, cofts only five or fix Shillings. The Dinner is a Florin^ or 20 Pence of our Money, and the Bottle of Wine anodier (or the Pint 10 Pence) {q that one may difie here for half a Crown as elegantly as at the two Englijh Houfes for half a .Guinea, or fifteen Shillings. There is always very good Company of fcveral Nations here, much. Decency and ■ Politenefs obferved, and twelve or fifteen Difhes of Meat on the Table. They: are well drefs'd, and moft of them nice and delicate according to the Scafon ; as Hares, wild Fowl, tame Fowl, which are brought as far as from Guelderkmd, Brabant, and the Country about Breda ; befides Soups, Cuftards, Filh of all Sorts, and always two or three kinds of Butcher's Meat for thofe who chufe it, with good Deferts. One is at a Lois to know how the People can afibrd to cover a Table with io coflly a Variety for the Money. The Inns of the Hague arc undoubtedly the beft in the World. This is kept by Dutch People, but they make a fliift to underfbnd Englijh. French is the Lan- guage commonly fpoke at Table, and on every other Occafion. As to their Meat, and Manner of dreffing it, they obferve a Medium between the French Kick-lhaws and Hotch-potch, and the EngUJJj Plainnefs, and fmall Number of Difhes. This Houfe, as well as all the Dutch Inns, is far more cleanly in cooking than the French, and does not bring upon the Table a third or fourth !ZoS A D E S CR I P T I O N fourth Time the fame thing metamorphofed into different Shapes. In > the French Hotels tlic Vidtuals often comes three or four Times thro* the dirty Cook's Hands ; and that too perhaps after having been fet before flraghng Guefts, or on the Table of the Family, where every on6 has pick'd what he pleafed. I mufl own, after having feen fuch rafcally doings in thefe Houfes^ I have always as indufb-ioufly avoided, as others have enquired after them. Befides which, they have not Heart to provide handfbmly for their Guefts, and are lb faving and penurious, the Foible and Habit of their Nation, that they count every Bit one puts into one's Mouth. They are as well pleafed to fee their Difhes not touched, as an hearty Englijh Landlord is difpleafed, when he thinks his Gueft does not like his Vidiuals. V Not far from the Parliament of England there IS ?in Englijh Houfe, whither thofe who fpeak no Language but their own, may refort. It Is a good Houfe, and the Prices of Things the fame as at the former. li ?' 'T On the Spuy is a good Dutch Inn, called the Hoffvan Utrecht. The Price is a Gilder a Day, or a Shilling for the Dinner only. There is zU ways good Company here, particularly of the Gentlemen of the Army, who come to the Hague, either for Pleafure or Bufinefs. As theif. Pay will not admit them to.be extravagant, they make choice of this Houfe, becaufe they are not obliged to drink Wine, there being none fold at Oi H L L A N Ds 209 at it; befides which, the Eating is very good, and the Houfe handfom. Such as chufe a Glafs of Wine, may have it fetched from the Cellars at the rate of ten Pence a Bottle. There are no Taverns either at the Hague^ or in the Province, which does not a little difconcert the Englijhj who in their own Country enjoy themfelves no where fo well as in thofe Houfes* All here, whether Natives or Strangers, lay in a certain Quantity of Wine at their Houfes or Lodgings. They bring it frorri Rotterdam, where that Liquor is cheapeft. It is to be had of all Prices. The Dutch, who are a faving People, drink a Sort at the rate of fix or feven Pence a * Bottle, which is a fweet white Wine, very lufcious to a Stranger's Palate* It is believed to be worked up with Lime, being hot and heady, and confequcntly well enough fuited to the cold. phlegmatick Conftitutions of thofe that drink it. The Generality of the Dutch drink only whita Wines, fo that in moft of the Inns of the Pro- vinces no other is to be had : Neither is there any other ufed at the Communion. Were red Wine prefented to the Communicants^ thoufands would not receive, having never been ufed to it. I French Claret is to be had from fix, or feven, to eighteen Pence a Bottle, and Champagne and * Some even drink a cheaper Sort> for which they give nine or ten Florins an Anchor, containing 48 Bottles, or Quarts, fo that it comes to four or five Pence a Bottle. At this Price, the Strength of the two Liquors confider'd, Wine is cheaper than the common ilrong Beer, three Pence a Quart. P Burgundy aio A D E S C R I P T I O N Burgundy at two Shillings, and half a CrowOk Rhenijh and Mofelle Wines are much drank by the better Sort of People, which are fold from iS Pence to half a Crown a Bottle. Thofe "Wines are brought down the Rhine and Maes to Rotter- dam, which City and Dort are the Staples for them. In (hort, all Sorts of Wine that grow upon the Face of the Earth, are to be had in Holland for half, or rather one third of the Price they are drank at in England. The Rent of private Lodgings at the Hague bear much the fame Proportion with thofe at London. The latter however are more com- pletely fumilhed, and more comfortable in the Winter. The Englijh have the beft Bedding in the World. The Stranger at the Hague may generally board in the Houfe where he lodges, which is no fmall Conveniency to fuch as are not obliged to drefs, and go abroad every Day. He pays a Shilling for his Dinner, or Midmal, as "they call it, and is fure of two or three good DiUhes: Such as are Lovers of Fifh, dreft in various and delicate Manners, may regale at a Dutch Table^ He finds his own Wine, and drinks his own Tea, Coffee, and Chocolate, which he buys equal in Goodnefs for about a third cheaper than at London. The better Sort of Citizens make ufe of Tea at four Shillings a Pound, of which the Excife only comes to as much in England, .Moft Of H O L L A N Tf. '211 Moft Sort of wearing Apparel is to be had here in the fame Proportion of Price ; as Linen, Cambrick, Laces, ^^r. A Butch Gentleman makes as good a Figure in Cloth of a Ducat, Or half a Guinea a Yard, as we do in that of a Guinea. The Englijh Cloth is finer, and more bare ; the Dutch coarfer, thicker, and more woolly, and therefore better luited to their Climate. «' There are no Chairs at tht Hague, but very handfom Hackney-coaches. They do not ply in the Streets, but People fend for them to cer- tain Houfes ; and often before they come, the Rain is over, and they are not wanted. A Shilling is their Fare for every Set-down. The Beauty and Cleanlinefs of the Streets are (o ex^ traordinary, that Perfons of all Ranks do not jfcruple, but even leem to take pleafure in walk- ing them. The Women ufe only Slippers. The Streets are paved with Bricks (or more pro- perly fpeaking, a kind of Clinkers) laid fo clofe together, that they are as clean as any Chamber Floor. Every Inhabitant once a Week wafhes the Pavement before his Door, and the Outfide of his Houfe, with Water-engines ; fo that both are kept furprizingly clean and neat. r. The Fuel of the Country is what Strangers can leaft reconcile themfelves to. It is Turf, made of a bituminous Earth, dug out of Pits ; which in dry Years burns clear like Coal ; only it does not caft fo much Heat, and therefore is P 2 not aze ADESCRIPTION not fo good for roaftlng Viduals ; which may be one reafon why the Dutch fend their Meat fo much to the Oven. On the other hand this Fuel has no Smoke to fet aflhmatick People a coughing, fully good Furniture, and blacken the Walls of the Houfes without Doors, as the Smoke of Sea-coal does in London. Between Leyden and Haarlem, Rotterdam and Gonda, Utrecht and Rhenen, and in many other Parts of the Country there are fuch vaft Pits and Caverns, that fome have thought, the Dutch, inftead of being drown'd by Inundations, would confume their whole Country in Firing -, but it is obferv'd, that the Earth from whence they dig this Fuel, fills up again in a few Years. In fome Places this Earth is fo undhious and fulphureous, that Guicciardin fays, it formerly took fire of itfelf in the Province of Friejland near the Zuyder Sea, and could not be extinguilh'd by Art or Induftry, till it had burnt two Leagues in Length, and as much in Breadth, when the lubterraneous Waters broke in upon it, put it out, and formed the Lake now called Jonker Meer. Becanus alio tells us, that the like happened in Brabant in 1541. and in the Province of Utrecht in 1567. In fome Places they rake up Mud from the Bottom of the Water, which they carry away in Boats, fpread upon the Ground as even as poffible, lay Boards upon it, and (o tread it down. When the Water is fqueez*d out, they cut it in the Form of Bricks, and dry it for Fuel, The poor Q" - ^- People Oi H L L A N B. 215 People in fome Places burn Cow-dung, which they dry in the fame Manner. As there are no Forefts in Holland, nor indeed of any Extent in the other fix Provinces, Wood is exceflively dear at the Hague, and is burnt only by the foreign Minifters, and perhaps fome few more, who cannot endure Turf. But the Natives of the firft Rank content themlelves with the Product and Manufadure of their own Coun- ' try. Even in the Apartments of the States one fees no other Fuel, where the Turf is piled up in Form of a Pyramid. The Englijh, and jlbme others, ufe Sunderland and Scotch Coal. Many Veflels laden with thole Coals arrive every Year in the leveral Ports of Holland and Zealand for the Ufe of Brewers and Black^fmiths ; that kind of Firing being properer than any other for their Purpofes. The portable Stoves univerfally ufed both by' the Men and Women of thefe Provinces, are ex^ tremely convenient. It is a litde fquare wooden Box, within which there is a fmall earthen Pan with a Bit gf lighted Turf in it. The Stove has a Door, which is fhut when the Pan is put in it, and Holes on the Top, on which People place their Feet by way of a Foot-ftool. 3y this Con- trivance they keep themfelves gently warm the whole Winter's Day either by Land or Water ; for with this little portable Equipage they travel, fit behind their Counters, and at Church, from which the coldeft Day in Winter does not de- P 3 tain ^14. A DESCRIPTION tain them. If the Turf be good, it keeps in two or three Hours, and when it is burnt out, they renew it. Strangers do not like Stoves at firft, and complain, that they give them the Head-ach ; but a little Time, and. cold Weather reconciles them to the Ufe of them. They allb diflike the Stove-rooms, and perhaps with more Reafon, tho' their Heat may be increafed or diminiih'd to any Degree they pleafc. We have already laid fomething of the Di^ verfions and Entertainments of the Hague, as the Play-houfe, Concerts, Aflemblies, and Gaming •, and therefore to avoid Repetitions, refer the Reader to what he may find before concerning them. A few Years ago there was a very grand Scene of Pleafure opened to the Inhabitants of the ijlagtie. The opulent and magnificent M* Lopez, a Jew, was the Perfon, who conceived, and adually executed, the vaft Defign of enter- taining the Town with a kind of Opera. With that View he brought from foreign Countries the fineft Voices, and beft Performers that were to be had, with every Thing elfe that could con- tribute to the Perfedion and Grandeur of his Entertainment, The moft illuflrious Strangers, the Minifters of State, the foreign Minifters, ^nd others of the higheft Quality reforted to \m ff oufe, to partake of the elegant Pleafure that generous Perfon at infinite Expences provided for |i)em, They wer? repeiye^ ther^ i|i a Hall, of larjge Of H L L A N D, 215 large Room, magnificently adorned and illumi^ nated. The Mufick was judicioufly dilpofed in an adjoining Apartment, Icarce inferior to the other in Beauty. Refrefhments of all kinds were ferved about by Footmen in fplendid Live- ries. Whole Operas were not lung ; but only fcled: Parts, and French Cantatas. This new Entertainment, whilft it lafted, fo intirely ruined the Play-houfe, that it was Ihut up, and the Adors were reduced to feek their Bread elfe- where. The Nobility had loft all Tafte for any Diverfion, except that given them once a Week by the Magnificent Jew. But as the Palate is fooneft cloy'd with the richeft Meats, the Mind -of Man prelently forfeits with the moft exquifite Pleafures. The Tafte of the Aflembly changed, and the Number that went to the Entertainment, decreafed exceedingly. Ij)pez*^ Spirit was too great to ftay till he faw himfelf quite abandoned ; and with the Politenefs, which accompanies all his Adions, he did that, which the Company in general ought in Gratitude to have done in regard to him. He thank'd the remaining few for the Honour they had done him, and clofed the Scene. The Jews live more Iplendidly here than any where elfe. Meflrs. Swarizo, Dulis, B*AcoJia (whofe Brother died laft Year in London im- menfely rich) and "Texgra^ would do Honour to Chriftianity in fome Senfe, and almoft force us to envy the Synjigogue the PofTefTion of fuch ex- P 4 traordinary ii6 A D E S C-R i P T I O N traordinary Merit. Their every Day produced fomething great and good, without refpedl to Perfons, or Religions. Humane and liberal to their Domefticks ; charitable and beneficent to profufion to the Poor ; generous and open-handed to the unhappy and difconfolate •, pompous and princely in their Manner of living ; beloved and honoured by all Orders of Men ; they make and receive Vifits, frequent the Aflemblies, and are j*eal Ornaments to all the Places in which they appear. There are two Synagogues here, and two at Amjlerdam ; of which the worft is finer than thole at Rome apd Venice. The Jews live in one of the fineft Quarters of the Hague, and have a Walk peculiar to themfelves on the Exchange, and Schools, where their Youth are educated in their Language and Religion. They have lately had feveral learned Men, and Perfons of Note here •, as Ben Israel, Moses di Pas, Oro- Bio, ap eminent Phyfician, and Juda Leo, who with great Pains and Application formed ^ Model of Solomon's Temple, the Tabernacle, the Camp of the Ifraelifes, and other Hebrew Curiofities. I don't know, whether the Temple lately Ihewn in London, and other Capitals of Europe, was done by him, or an ingenious Gen- tleman at Hamhurgh. The Jews are very nume- rous in the United Provinces, and have a Syna- gogue in every Town of them. Their Num- |)er in Amjlerdam only is reckon'd to be 2p,ooo' They O^ H L L A N D, 217 They are diftinguifli'd in all the Nations of Eu- rope under the two Denominations of Portugueze and German Jews, of which the former are the richeft, and of greatcft Note. When they cele- brate their Feftivals, and circumcife Infants, there is no fmall crowding about their Synagogues ; and it is worth a Stranger's Curiofity to be pre- ient on thofe Occafions. The Kermis, or Fair of the Hague, is held in the Month of May, and lafts a Week. The Beau Monde ufed formerly to go in Malqueradc about the Streets, during it, and to divert them- fclves feveral other Ways, as is done during the Carnaval at Venice. The Dutch, who are natu- rally grave, love to give into the Follies and En- tertainments of thefe Times, when diiguifed and jLindiftinguifhed ; and indeed they are under a Neceflity of finding out Diverfions to elevate and enliven them,, in order to balance their fedentary Manner of Life, and the Heavinels of their Air. Every Town and Village of the feven Provinces have thefe Kermifes : In the latter they laft three Days ; Sunday, Monday, and Tuefday ; and in the former a Week, or a Fortnight. At Am' fterdam there are two every Year, of which each continues fourteen Days. Anciently thele Times were obferved out of Religion, as being infti- tuted to commemorate the building of the Pa- rilh Church •, and afterwards in the darker Ages, ipn the rebuilding of the Church, thefe Sealbns were fii§ A D E S C R I P T I ON were kept in * honour of the Saint to whom it was dedicated. At length they degenerated into fuch Riot and Diforders of all kinds, that the Emperor Charles V. and King Philip II. ordered that they Ihould hold but one Day. But Feaft- ing and Merry-making are of the Nature of thofe * Things, which are not to be aboli{h*d by Edids. They are called Kermis, or Kerkmefs {mijja eccle- fide) becaufe the firft Mafs or Worfliip was faid in the rebuilt Church on that Day. In the ^middle and Southern Counties of England, where thefe Feafts are ftill kept up in every Parilh, they are called Wakes ; becaufe the People waked all Night, and kept the Vigils on the Eve of the Saint or Patron of the Church : Or perhaps it might come from the old Saxon Word Wake^ which fignifies Drunkennefii becaufe thofe An- niverfaries were become the Hated Sealbns for drinking and caroufmg. During thefe Feafts the Clergy of the Diocefe of Utrecht, which included the whole Netherlands, had their charitas, charitas vini, or pcula chari- tatis, which they took off in Memory of the Patron of the Cathedral of Utrecht : They even drank to the good Health of the deceafed Saints This puts me in mind of a merry Fraternity in Spain, who at the Interment of a Brother ufed * Accordingly at this time the Fairs in all the great Towns of Europe are kept on Saint's Days ; as Michaelmas, Mar- tinmas, Allhallow-tide, or All Saints. to O^ H L L 'A N D, 219 to tols off a Glafs with a, ?^iw el muerto^ Long live the dead. Many Diforders happen during the Kermifes at Amflerdam \ fo that a Stranger at fuch Times ought either to keep good Hours, or not to be there at all. Merchants and others refort to them from all Parts of Europe^ but efpecially from the Em- pire, and expofe to Sale a thoufand rich Curio- fities and Pieces of Art, with which in a Day or two one might furnifh a pretty Cabinet of Rarities. " The Month of May is diftinguilhed at the JJaguCy as in mofl other Cities and Countries of Europe^ from all the Months of the Year. The Beau Monde begin to creep out of their Stove- rooms, to mount their Chailes, and form Parties of Pleafure. May-poles adorned with Garlands are planted in the Court, before the Apartments of the States General, of the Provincial States, the other fovereign Courts and Colleges, and one before the Door of each of the great Officers of the State. Thefe Enfigns of Mirth and Sove- reignty are fet up by the Servants of the Govern- ment on the firft Day of the Month, and ftand till the laft. One of the principal Diverfions of this Place is. riding out in Chaifes, or, as they are properly ' enough called. Phaetons, from their Lightnefs and Rapidity, which are furprizing. The Roads are as level and fmooth as any Garden-walk ; and tjie Dutch Horfes, tho* they don*t gaUop, trot at 220 A D E S C R I P T I O N at the rate of ten or twelve Miles an Hour in thofe Machines, with two in them. And yet they are far excelled in Swiftnefs by the Horfes of New England and Virginia^ which I have feen in a kind of Pace or Amble (for they can't gallop) make 1 6 or 1 8 Miles an Hour. I once law two of them tried, which were valued at 20 1. each. Their Motion, notwithftanding their extreme Speed, was fo eafy, that they were thought fit only for Ladies Pads, and that it was Effeminacy for Men to ufe them. The deadeft Sealbn of the Year in other Coun- tries is the moft lively in Holland. In Winter the 'Dutch divert themfelves upon the Ice with their Scates, on which they glide, or rather fly with amazing Rapidity. The Vulgar, and many of the better Sort can withlland the Charms of the fineft Day in Summer, and keep at home to mind their Work ; but a cold Win- ter's Day has irrefiftible Attra(5l:ions. All Work n then thrown afide, and out they go to the Canals and Meadows, which for two or three Months in the Year are cover'd with Water. Thoufands of Spedators refort thither, fo that the Towns and Villages are in a manner aban- doned by their Inhabitants. It is a kind of tjniverfal Fair or Jubile. Booths are ereded \jpon the Ice with good Fires in them, where warm Wine, Beer, Tea, and Coffee are fold. Strangers, efpecially thofe who come from warm Climates, and never faw any Thing of the kind, are ' Of HOLLAND. 221 are aftonifh'd at the endlefs Wonders of this Scene. Evert the Natives of colder Countries are fo taken with thefe Diverfions, that they learn to fcate, in order to pra6lile it on their re- turn home. Men, Women, and Children are equally expert at it in Holland. A Boorime, or Country Girl, fcates to Town with her Milk- pail -, and many Merchants and others make their longeft Journies on their Scates. You may fometimes fee a String of twenty or five and twenty young Folks of both Sexes holding each other by their Handkerchiefs, Ihoot by you with almoft the Rapidity of Lightning. Perfons of Diftindion alfo take their Diverfion at this Time in Sleds, which a Man, that fcates be- hind, pufhes forward with a long Pole: and fome- times they imitate the High Dutch. At the Imperial^ Saxon, and other Courts the Ice and Snow afford a great Variety of Diverfions, and Ibme of a very pompous kind. The Lords and Ladies run Races in Sleds, and many other Machines con- trived in the Shape of Lions, Griffins, Tigers, Swans, Dolphins, Peacocks, and the like De- vices, well curved, painted, and gilt. The Lady fits in one of thefe, dreft in Velvet, lined with fine Furs, and adorned with Lace and Jewels, with a Velvet Cap on her Head, faced and lined with Sables. The Machine is drawn by an Horfe, finely let off with Feathers and Ribans, and with Bells hanging about him, and a Stag's Horns on his Head, One or more :.../ . Pages 222 ADESCRIPTION Pages on Horfeback ride on each Side with Torches in their Hands ; and in this manner they perform the Courfe upon the frozen Snow about the Streets of Vienm and Drefden in the Night, driving full fpeed one after another. In the Malls, pardcularly in that of Leyden^ the Students and others bowl with wooden Bowls through an iron Ring. At Utrecht this Diverfion, which is none of the moft lively, is in difgrace. ■^ The Vulgar have a Game or two not unlike this, which we Ihall not take the Pains to de- fcribe. The curious Stranger may however be- llow a Quarter of an Hour in obferving them. The Genius and Difpofition of a People difcover themfelves no where more perhaps, than in their Diverfions, or menus pkifirs, as the French phrafe them. A Traveller indeed ought to look into every Thing that falls in his Way : What is not good for one Thing, is for another ; and the minuteft may often fuggeft fomething towards the Dil^ covery of the moft important, whether for Utility ©r Pleaiure. f The .Stranger Ihould by all means vifit the Dutch Gardens, which are fo famous. Sir William Hemple fays, that a Man had better lay out his Money on any Thing than on a Gar- den in a moift Soil ; but that great Man, who wrote his Treatife on Epicurus'^ Gardens at Sheen in 1685. feems to have forgot the Country he had fo lately quitted, and whofe natural as ,• ■ . well -Of HOLLA N D, 223 well as civil State he had ftudied fb much. It is certain, ^hat the Dutch, thro' their extraordinary Induftry ^nd Riches, have many fine Gardens, tho' their Earth, as well as the other three Elements, which have alfo their Share in the Produdion of Plants, are very indifferent. They however commit fome Errors in their manner of laying out their Gardens, thro' an ill-judged Imitation of thofe of France and ' Italy. In thofe hotter Climates Plenty of Greens and Water are extremely proper, as they afford re- frefhing Scenes, delightful Profpeds, and cooling Bowers, to retire to. But in Holland there is too much Water naturally. The Gardens are generally on the Banks of Canals, and moated about on the other Sides with deep Ditches full of Water ; fo that it is a grols Error to in- creafe the great Humidity occafioned by the other Waters, by making iiew Canals and •Bafbns within the Gardens. As to Hedges Trees, and green Bowers, thefe are no Rari- ties in a Country, that every where abounds with Plants, and which, in fijch a wet light Soil, fpring up like Mufhrooms in a Night. Befides which, thefe do but augment the Moi- ifture, that indeed is fo great, the Duub them- felves dare not venture to flay long in their Gardens. The French, who took the firfl Plans of theirs from Italy, but who now far excel the Originals, do not crowd them too much with Trees, Plants, and Pieces of Water, tho! 424 A D E S C R I P T I N tho' thofe kinds of Things are far more orna- mental and neceflary in the Gardens of France^ than in thofe of Holland. I ^ If a Perfon thinks fit, he may pais an Hour here in a Bookfeller's Shop to Advantage. He may inform himfelf there of what is carrying on in the Learned World : For the Bookfellers of Holland correfpond with moft Parts of Eu-- rope. Tho' they are not obliged to be bred, and rhatriculated in an Univerfity, as the Book- fellers of Germany are ; yet many of them have had fbme Education, and fpeak Latin, or at leaft French. Formerly there was one Jobnfon, an Englijh Bookfeller here; but he removed to Rotterdam, where he died. His Shop was a very agreeable Place to the Englijh ; and the more, becaufe the Man knew the World well. r Mr. Scheurleer, who lives near the Court, tho' a Native of the Country, fpeaks our Lan- guage very well, and deals in Englijh Books. He has juft printed a very beautiful Edition of ^uanus in French : It exceeds any Thing that has hitherto appeared on that great Writer. His Edition of Father Du HaWs Defcription of China is magnificent, and the Copper-plates cxquifitely fine. The Butch print vaft Numbers of Books, which they vend to the better half of Europe ; fo that this Merchandize (for it may properly be called fo) brings in a confiderable annual Re- turn OF H O L L 2i N D. 225 turn to the Country. And yet it was lately moved, that a Tax.fhould be laid upon Paper^ It would be bad for the Perfon who propofed it, if the old Law was in force, "^bai whoever pro- pofed any thing to the manifeji Prejudice of the Com- monwealth'i fhould he deemed an Enemy to it, and punifhed accordingly. Was Paper to be taxed here, the Prefies of PdriSi Bruffels, Francfort, and London would not fail to make great Rejoicings on the News. And this naturally leads us to fay fomething of the Genius and Learning of the Dutch, T --- Of H O L L J N D. 227 Can any one that enters the Judgment-hall irl the Stathoule of Amjierdam, be unmoved,' when he cads his Eyes on the fine Marble Statues, as large as the Life, that hang down their Heads in a mournful Poflure, as if they were bewailing thd Fate of the unhappy ? And who in pafling the Spm-houle is not ftruckj when he fees two Lionar bridled, with this Infcription : Virtutis eft doimre^ qua cunSIi pavenf. A fit Emblem fot* a Place intended for curbing the Vices of thofe, who refufe juft Obedience td their Parents or Matters, and lead diforderly Lives. On the Town-houfe in 'fer-veer In Zealand are two lines in Dutch, of which the Senfe is, 37?ai Obedience to God and the Magiftrate p-eventi all Calamities. We cannot but exprefs our Suf-* prize here, that the Zealanders do not obliterate thofe lines, and that they Ihould fuffer the vefy Walls of their Council-houfe to cry Out againft them. Thofe Words fhould found ill in the Ears of a People, who have withdrawn their Allegiance! from their rightful Magiftrate, and committed an Aft of unheard of Violence againft him. The Motto's on their Stin-dials afe mofal and entertaining. That on the Dial of the Stathoufe of Middkhurg cannot be read without Emotion i Pratereunt & imputantur : \ ■ ^v* 0^2 Alluding an A DESCRIPTION Alluding to the Hours of human Life, which tho' they pafs fwiftly and unheeded away, mult all be accounted for. On the Dial of the Cathedral of Bruges the Sun is reprefented diredting the Hours, with this pretty Motto, Non rego, nifi regar : fignifying, that the Sun could not rule the Day, if it was not firft ruled itfelf. Had the Pagan World knowa this Truth, the greateft Part of it had not fallen into Idolatry. The fublimeft Motto I have met with, is on the Dial of St. Neots in England: Lux Umbra Dei, * Light is the Shadow of God ; allud- ing perhaps to thofe two beautiful Paflages in the Scripture, which reprefent the Divinity as dwelling in JJght •, and covering himfelf with Light as with a Garment. On the other Side of the lame DiaL are thefe Words, 2«w, *h7imy Sk/w. Ufe is a Vo/^ j)or and a Shadow. On a large Pidure, reprefenting the Provini^ cial States aflembled in a very dangerous Con- jundure, you find thefe Words, § Valeant, qui inter nos difcordiarri volunt: Let thofe be gone, whoarft for fowing Difcord amongft us. The well known Motto of the States infcribed on their Coin, fays agreeably to this, Concordia res. parv^e crefcunt, difcordid dilabuntur ; and the Em- « Pl A T o has the fame Expreffion literatim. Speaking of. God, he fays, Truth is his Body, and Light is his Shadow . § Perhaps it is, Valeant, qui inter nos dejidiam 'vohinf, wWch may be rendered, Fy upon tbtm, 'wbo an for having us conti^ nut neutral and uaa^ive, blem 0£ H L L A N D. 22^ blcm of the feven Rods faft bound together, which reprefent the ftridt Union of the feven Provinces. Separate thofe Rods, and take one after another, and they are eafily broken -, but to break them all together, requires far greater Strength. The Senfe of the other Motto is much the fame : Frangemur, ft collidamur : We fhall be broke to pieces, if we dafh againft one another. On a Coin that was ftruck in the Infancy of the Republick, we find a Lion, with one half of his Body under Water, and the other half above it, beating the Waves with his Paws, and ftriving to get out, with this apt Legend, Lu^or ^ Emergo, It alludes to the noble Struggle made by a brave and opprefled People for their Lives and Liber- ties. I remember to have read the Words, Fa- tientia Gf Jpes^ on a Wind-mill ; which are very pretty, and fignificant fo applied. We have occafionally mentioned feveral Things of the like nature in the Courfe of this Narrative ; and it were eafy to add many more Examples of this People's Ingenuity, but that were dwelling too long on this Point. We will therefore con- clude it with an Account of a Farce, or Panto- mimical Entertainment, performed before Charles V. at Ghent ^ the Capital of FlanderSy in the In- fancy of the Reformation, when hot Contefts and Broils concerning Religion fubfifted every where. Authors relate diis Fa6t with fome, but no mate- rial. Difference. Q.3 Tiie ^30 A D E S C R I P T I O N ,- The Curtain being drawn up, a great many crooked Rods or Sticks were feen lying on the Stage. A Perfon of a lively air, with a Sword by his Side, enter'd firft, and Hooping, took up one of the Sticks, and lai4 it down again. He was in the Habit of a Canon, and as he walked off, the Speftators read on his Back * Zuinglius. The fecond Perfoa that appeared, wore the Habit of fi Doftor of Divinity. He feemed a bold Man, and full of Fire. After he had taken up a Stick jind laid it by itfelf, he fpurnM at the other Sticks, and in going off was known by his Name to be XjUT«er. Next came a Perfon of a mild Alped, ^ho made towards the Rods, and after having dropt a Tear over them, took up two of them, and tried to make them meet in all Parts ; but pQt fuGceeding* he gently laid them down again, and in retiring ihewed that he was Ca lvin, Aftej* ,jhiim appeared an Adlor in a grave Habit. He went haflily to the Sticks, and taking them up iDns after another, endeavoured to make them pven, in order to bind them tqgether •, but they were ail fo crooked, that he could not effecSt it. As he retired, he difcovered on his Back § C A L 1 X T u s. One with a long Beard, in a dirty Itind of Garb, fucceeded him. As ibon as he faft his Eyes upon the Sticks, he looked fiercely, f He was Canon of Zftrich. in Siujfzerland, and about a yeaf Wore Luther was Icilled in a Battle againft one of the ^atjjoljck Cantons. 4 iip was for ^ CoinprehenSpii. i r' " Ihorted, Of H L L ^ N D. 23i Ihorted, and grinned. In walking off he was known tobeA Capuchin. The Perfon that ap- peared next, had a malignant, fierce, and hide- ous Caft of Countenance. He made up to the Sticks, and immediately taking out a Flint and Tinder-box, ftruck Fire, and ftooping down, took up the whole Heap of Rods, and was going to burn them all in the Flames he had kindled ; but was prevented by a Perfon in the Habit of a Ma- giftrate, who feemed to expoftulate with him, and to be glad when he retired in a great Fury. The Spectators faw on his Back the Word Inqui- sitor. Two old Perfons clothed in red appeared next. They handled fome of the Sticks, confi- dered them attentively, and then feemed to enter into deep Deliberation. As they went off, they fhook their Heads, and difcovered The Con- clave on their Backs. They were flopt in go- ing out by a Perfon of great Age, clothed in Purple, with three Crowns upon his Head. He did not vouchfafe to caft a fingle Regard towards the Sticks s but after a lliort Conference with the other two, feveral large Parchments were pro- duced, upon which was infcribed in large Cha- racters of Gold, Bull /e. He then retired, fol- lowed by the other two, and the Spectators per- ceived it was His Holiness. Prefently after enter*d feveral Perfons of a noble Mein, richly clothed, and well armed. After they had confulted together fome time, two Scrolls were fcen in their JE^ands : On the one was the Word :.'} 0^4 Prote- ?32 APE § C Ri FT J O N PjioTESTATiON, and OH ithg Other Thi Aus* ^URGH Concession. On going off, they dig. jcovered their N^n^es, Saxony, Hess Cassej,^ ^RUNS^fCp. LuNENPUil.GH, MePPJ-EN- jgURGH, 3RANDENBURGH, WjRTEMpURGH, and Pome RANI A. The Emperor and pourt were all this while ii) i a jcind of Amazement, but feemed however %9 ijNC pleafed with what was reprefentecj. rY-.-rr . ; At laft enter*d a Perfon of a middle Stature, ^bout 36 Years of Age, ^ho with a majeftick Air walked up to the Sticks, and viewed then; one by one, but did not ofibr to makp thern ilraight : He even feparated them, and turned their crooked Sidps towards one another : After which he fmiled, put his Hand to his Sword, and walk'4 off. On his Back was infcribed Charles V. The Emperor, feeing . himfelf expofed on th« 3tage, and reprefented as taking a fecret Pleafure in the Pivifions of Religion, and in the publick Diforders, was in a Rage ; and as loon as he got fo his Palace, ordered that the Adors Ihould be brought before him next Morning ; but they had taken to their Heels immediately after the Play« gfld were never heard of more, • • ^ "^-^ '■>■■'■ r From thefe and other Inftances ojf exquifito Wit and Genius, which we fhall hereafter repeat, ft is apparent, how little applicable the Juris Ba* faya pf Martial {Epig. 82. lib, v.) is to the prefent Inhabitants of thefe Provinces, g^ASMys pn that Adage reflates the Juflnefs : y " pf C^ H L L A N D. 233 of it with great Vivacity, but he is himfelf the beft Confutation of it that can be employed. It was for the Glory of the Baiavi, that they de- fpifed Martial's Verfes, which he himfelf calls Nequitia. Nations, out of Vanity or Prejudice, ibmetimes form very odd Criterions for the Genius of each other. Becaufe the Germans could not relilh the immoderate Panegyrick, with which the French in their Madrigals flattered Lewis XIV. th^ Monfieurs of Paris called their Wit in queftion, and made this Propofition, Whether a German could be a Bel Efprit, Matter of folemn Difputation. This weighty Point they determined in the Ne* gative ; and not without realbn, according to the Rule by which they tried it ; for I really believe no German could write fuch enormous fine Enco- miums on their Grand Monarch. With regard to the Dutch, Strada fays very truly Lib. i. BelJ. Belg. Bjira hodie admiramur machinamenta, qwe Belgica non invenerit, aut non abjoherit. Let the French, or indeed any other Nation of Europe^ confider with Candor and Impartiality, whether any fuch Charader can be applied to them ; and then, whether they can, denominate the Dutch J)uHces, ^ndthemklves Beau}( EJprits. Scaliger, a Man of great Wit, and a very free Speaker, who was never fufpeded of delighting in Panegyrick, has exhaufted all his Eloquence in praife of this Jie^vy People, as follows ; J^orat0 234 ADESCRIPTION Ignorata tua refer am miracula terra ^ Doufa, peregrinis non haUtura fidem, Omtia lanitium lajfat textrina Minerv perfedly finilh'd ajs the Hutch^ in confequencc of which it is more apt to fink. riiUvQi ;.... .- There is greater Chsice of Aftronomical, Geometrical, and other Mathematical Inftru- jpents ifi Holland, than any where elfe in the World, Pjcrhaps Paris is the next in this refpedl: : Tho' within thefe twenty Years London has car- ried all thefe Things to great Perfeftion, with very Bne and curious Additions of its own, which has been owing to the Pains of Mr. Graham, that excellent Mechanick, and other very ingenious Artizans, who have worked under the Diredion of our Society. Hamburgh has of late made great Advances in this Art, and ferves the Northern JJations with thole Inftruments. The Dutch are the moll expert Founders in the World, and furnilh moft Countries with Ord- nance. The German, Spanijh, Italian, Afatan^ and 'Turkijh Troops have their Arms principally from Arnfierdam 5 as alio their Cannon, Mortars, Powder, and Lead. And what is more, during the two laft general Wars, Lewis XIV. who thought to carry every Art and Manufafture to its higheft Perfeftion, and pardcularly all that appertained to the Art Military, was however obliged to the Gunfmiths and Founders of Amjlerdam, the Me- tropolis of an Enemy, for Arms and Ammuni- tion for his Troops, Th€ ' Oi H L L A N D, isf The Fowling-pieces made at Utrecht, are all tried before the Magiftrate, or one deputed by him ; and on their being found fufficient proof,- have a certain Mark ftampt upon them. They are pretty long and light -, the Iron and Brafa Work handfomly carved, and are fold for 3 /, a Piece : Such as have much "Workmanfhip be- ftowed on them, coft more j but they are all equally true, and of proof. Our Gunfmiths and Founders have carried their refpedtive Arts great Lengths, The King of Portugal, in Gratitude for our fending a Fleet to defend him againft the Spaniards, laid out great Sums of Money for Arms. As we have a confi* derable Advantage over the Dutch in our Medi' ierranean and Levant Pafles, it were to be wifhed that our Taxes were reduced, or in the mean time that our Workmen would contrive to live lower, and work as cheap as the Dutch j in e&hBi of which the whole Trade would fall into ouf Hands, and we fhould furnilh the Armies of th« Grand Seignior, the Algerines, Tripli, the Empe- ror of Morocco, and the reft of the States on the African Coaft, with Arms, Ordnance, PoW^ der, and Lead, of our own Manufa6ture« The Dutch excel moft other Nations in dpng^ efpecially in their black and blue Colours. Their black Cloth is like Velvet to the Sight ; and is capable of a deeper Dye, as the Dutch do noC Iheer their Cloth fo clofe as the Enghjh, They igS A D E S C R I P T I Ol^ They are expert at making Mufical Inftru- ments, efpecially Organs; and their Bell-found* crs are famous. Their Mufical Bells or Chimes are fo fweet and melodious, that they have been imitated with good Succefe in Flanders y the Empire, arid amongft ourfelves* Their Jewellers are at prfefent fb rtiuch excelled by the Engli/h^ that there is fcarce any Wares but Englijh to be feen in their Shops : Even the Arti- zans of Paris in this Way are inferior to thofe of London. Englijh Gold and Silver Watches are in prime Requeft, and vended all over Europe. The Dutch Watch-makers do nothing comparable to the fine Work of London. At Augjburg in Ger- many good Goldfmithps Wares are flill made^ with which that City furnifhes the Empire ^ Po^ landy and almoft all the North. But the Wares of London are now known in thofe Countries, and if they could be afforded cheaper (which is only to be done by lowering the Price of Workman- (hip by the Methods hinted at above) they would foon be preferred to all others in all the Markets of Europe. We have the Advantage of Sea Carriage, which cofls a Trifle not worth men*- doning ; whereas the Wares of Augjhurg mufl be carried over vafl Tradts of Land to moft Parts of Germany^ and pay Cuflom at every City and Town they enter. The Dutch have very ingenious Potters, as alfb Carvers and Sculptors; which every body mufl own. '^ or H O L L A N D, 239 own, who has feen and cohfidered the Work iii the Infide of the Stadhoufe of Amjierdam, in which a great Felicity of Invention, as well as Corrednels of Execution, is evident. Statuary is cultivated with Succefs in Holland. But Painting and Engraving have attained their final Maturity there. One would think it hardly poflible to carry thofe beautiful Arts to a higher D^igree of Perfed:ion. London and Taris are at this Day, as formerly, obliged to Holland for almoft all their good En- gravers. A greater Variety of good Prints arc no where to be leen. Few Books are printed there without a fine Copper Plate for the Frontilpiece. The Dutch have {o great a Tafte and Pafiion for good Prints and Cuts, that they do not care what Money they * bellow upon them ; {o that many * The Generality of the Gentry have fplendid Libraries, Cabinets of Rarities, and good CoUeftions of Piftures, Prints, Statues, and Coins. They alfo delight in Gardens on their Canals, with Pleafure-houfes in them. The Ladies take care to have their Tea-tables, Cabinets, and even the Walls of their Rooms plentifully embellifhed with China, which laft Article is perhaps the only one wherein the Dutch can be charged with Extravagance. The French Nobility expend the greateft Part of their In- comes in gilt Coaches, numerous Liveries, fine Clothes, Gaming, Affemblies, and Balls. The more pious of them are always fending Provifions of all Sorts, Clothes, Linen, Medicines, ^c. to the Hofpitals and Convents, amongft which laft the Capuchins, who are in great Efteem for their Jjove of Poverty, and not intermeddling with other People's Affairs, are not forgot. The French Nobility and Gentry live in Cities, the proper Places for making a Figure j ana their Houfes in the Country are gone to decay.. The 240 A D E S GR I P T I ON many Books are thrown into the Form of Folios or Quartos, only for the fake of adorning them with Copper Plates. The Engiyh are beginning to come into this fine Tafte. Hogarth's Burlefques have been very well received for feveral Years pad by a great Part of the Nation j and the Heads of the Kings, Queens, and moft eminent Perfonages of Great Britain and Ireland, taken from original Paint- ings and other authentick Monuments, with ad- mirable Judgment and Art, fhew how agreeable ferther Improvements of that kind would be. But hiriierto the ingenious Engraver is no where in (o great Efteem as in the United Provinces. The fame may be faid of the Painter. There is not an ordinary Burgher's Houfe, that is not plen- tifully furnifhed with fuch good Piftures, as would adorn theHoufesof the Gentry in other Countries. The Dutch excel in every part of this noble Art : In Flower, Fruit, and Fifh-pieces; Infefts, and Flies, which have a6tually deceived Spiders ; Ships, the Sea, Storms, and Shipwrecks; the Sealbns, and particularly the Winter, and the piverfions upon the Ice ; Tables Ipread with a The Italians employ themfelves In building fuperb Palaces, SHid making Gardens, and adorning them with Piftures, Statues, Buftos, Vafes, antique Coin5, Medals, and other Rarities. The Germans are charmed with Mufaeums, as alfo with the Luxuries and Refinements of the two laft men- tioned Nations. But as for the Britons, they content them- felves with a moderate Share of all thefe fine Things, and con- venient Houfes in Town and Country, with Gardens, Stables, aad good Houfe-keeping, are what they have moft at Heart. Dutch Of H O L LAND. z^i patch Dinner of Fifh^ Hung - beef, Batter, Cheefe, Grapesj other Fruits, and a Glafs of Wine; burlefque Pieces; as a jovial Company at their . Cups, a Country Wedding, a Quaker's Meeting ; Night-pieces, in which they have followed Baffin^ but are now Models for others to imitate.- • None^ ifi rny Opinion, have come up to them in Drapery. Some have thought, that the Butch ■ Schools have copied Nature and tiie Humours and Foibles of Men with great Succefs, b|ut| that they have failed in the Grand and Sublime of Painting. : It muft however be;owqed, that none have exceeded them in Battle-pieces, and- very few in Portraits and Hiftories. If their Works have any Fault, it is perhaps in their being too much laboured. The , minuteft . Part of their Paintings is aa much finifhed as the principal Figure; where-- as other Mafters ufually exhauft their whole Art and Genius on the principal Figure, leaving the reft negledled and unfinifhed. The Duich Colouring in general is very beautiful, and the Painting fo fmooth, that it will bear a very near View. At the Auftions, which are very numerous here, good Bargains of Books and Pi<5hires may be picked up, for furnifhing an Houfe or Library. Holland has produced many eminent Men in the Sciences and Languages, as well as in the Arts. No Country has produced fuch Numbers of able Philologers, particularly in the Greek, HebreWy^ Sjriac, and OnV«/^/ Tongues. R I do ^0 A DESCRIPTION , I do not know, whether the Uagui has prdS duced any Men of the firft Rank in the Com- monwealth of Letters; but its NeighbourhoocJ has. An Erasmus of Roiterdamy a GRo- T i u s of Delft^ and aBoiRHAAVE of Leyden'^ form a Triumvirate not to be excelled perhaps by* three Perfons of any other Nation in the World. To the firft the whole Commonwealth of Letterr is indebted for its Re-eftablilhmcnt, and a new ISm of Glory. Erafinus cut out new Canals for the* rich V6in of good Senfe, which began to appear in his Time, to flow in. He refoied the Sciences^ out of the ' Barbarity and Obfcurity, with whicJt the Schools had {o long involved and debafei them, and fiiewcd them in fo amiable and ihin- ing a Light, as brought over Princes, Popesi' Kings, Emperors, ahd even the School-men them- felves, to love, encourage, and Cultivate them;' All Ranks, whole Nations, rejcMced in the ne\^' Light. The Reformation owed its Birth andt- AdVancebient to his incomparable Writings ; and- his inimitable Wit and good Senfe did more- hart, and gave a deeper Wound, to the Sec of Rofhe^ than Ml the Edi(fh of the Proteftant' I'owferS, or the numerous Volumes wrote by their Divines. With ifefpedl to his Religion, about which there has been fuch long and warm Contefts between the Roman Catholicks and Proteftants^ each challenging him for their own, the Cha- raftcr that Grotius gives Thuanus, may with no kfi Juftnefe be applied to Erajmm, Qrotius ufed to '^/pf BO It 4 N jy, y^i to %, That ^hwnm was a Rom^wi Catliolkk 5 but with thirty Exceptions, ^hudtmm Pmt.^cum efi, fed cum trigima. exceptmikus, The Datwniog of Learning in Enghmd particularly iai to he, dat-e4 from that great Man's coming over in 1497*4 when he read Ledhjres at Camh'i(^e. Jt woylcji not havic been too aiTuming, if Emjnm ha4 ma4)^ his Country's Motto his own, lMf<: in ietfekis* G ROT I u s did honour not oiily %q hi^ Cou9ri try, but to human Nature. He was of a gog^ Family, and firft Syndick of Rotten^dam, Nq body hitherto has taken upon him to pronounce, whether he was the greater Lawyer, Hiftorianj or Div4fte ; Grammarian, Linguift, or Poet; lacred and profane Cfitick, or Statefman. Hi$ Commentaries on the Holy Scriptures are a Staji* dard to the Xjearned, and (q noble, that thofe, v|io have fmcc commented on the divine Writ? ings, hayp only either copied him, cm- at m^ can only be confidered as Supplements to him^ The Mirfortunes of the Times, and the Party he cfpoufed, occafioned his being fbmewhat roughly ufed in his own Country j but his Exile redounded highly €0 his Honour, by affording him a more ample Theatre to appear upon. Whilft he wat in FrofKCy he was confolted by the moft learned Men of i^at Kation, as the Oracle of Science and Letters. iLewk XIII. and his Court, ho* Roared him highly 5 and Cbriflinay that greaS Queen of Sweden, invited him to Stockbolnty and fent him OS iplencUd Embaffie? to the greatcft ^'^'**'^ R 2 Courtf 'U4 A^b £ $ C 11 1 I^ T 1 ON Courts of Europe. His Letters, which treat chiefly* of Criticifm and the Belles Lettres^ and hisPbems^' •^are highly efteemed by all Men of Senfe. His^ 'Treatife De jure' belli Cs? pacts y and facred Com- mentaries were principally compofed and publilhed iXi Paris ; which perhaps fubjedted the incompa- . jfable Author to fome Reftriftions. In the firftr of thofe great Works he inclines perhaps morei in favour of Monarchy, than one would expe6t from a Native df a free Commonwealth: And^ it is certain, 'that Writers even in limited Monar- chies do not treat thePrerogatlve of the Crown with; ^ much Depcncy -and Tendernds, zsGrotius, He ihewed the /ame.Reipedt to the Governfnent of. • the Church, as to that of ; the State, under which he then lived;' -crln; his .'.Commentaries he had .jnany fair Opportunities.. of difplaying his vaft Ehiditioh' and critical. Talent in Controverfyy .Ifirhich- perhaps lie would Jiot- have let flip, had he wrote in a Prote^antlStatfe.,. It mufl however be cwned, itbalt Qr lars reiigiOiis, "dt the famt tittife 'that 'he miadfi them knowing an^ learned ; and 'he ufually con- cluded his Letters (on being confiilteii) with 4 Ihort Prayer, that die Divine Si^fTing might attend his Endeavoufs. I have obferved in another Place, that iiifc T)o<5lor told me, 'the l^yflcraits of Great Britain made too mil^h ufe df the Bark in the Gafe of Agues; but a Mediiine, that may be prop^ and fuGcefsful in fome Climates ^nd Gonftitutions, inay not be fo in bthers. Phyficians of difFerem: Countries therefore oughtto be moderate Jn their tenfures of each Other. Soth Theory and Pra- 'ftice have demonftr^ted the Bark to bea fovereigti "Keniedy for many 'Conftitutions in the Iflands of Greht Britain and Ireland ; and I have known It to have the fame 'Effeft in leveral Parts of thfe . * t) u F u Y was Scholar and Succeflbr of Lipfiuiy as Pro- 'Wflbr of Eloquence at Louvain. His grcateft Care was to iorp\. the Manners of his Difciples, and to make their Studies fubfervient to the Exercrfe of Virtue. In one of his Letters lie fays, Honnuths etiam bac no^a indujlrta mta cntciabit, -^d 4d virtuttm litcrat tramfiram^ Continent, Continent, tho' perhaps it is not fo in all, or moft Parts of it. The Dodor's Rationale of Agues, or intennitting Fevers, is perfedtly new, but fo fubtle, as not to be eafily underftood ; which may juftly be referred to the great Difficulty of accounting for the ftated Intermiffions and Re- turns of the Fits, rather than to any Perplexity in the Solver, who certainly had as clear an Head as any Man living. We were all furprized to find M. Schultens^ Profefibr of Hebrew and Oriental Languages, in the Roftrum, to pronounce Dr. Boerbaave's Fune- ral Oration. That Office (hould no doubt have been affigned to one of his Collegues of the Pro- fcffion, by whom the illuftrious deceafed was both beloved and honoured. At the lame time that they had done Juftice to his peribnal Cha- racter, they would not have failed to have given us an ample Account of his Difcoveries, his Me- thod of Pra<5tice and Teaching, and perhaps a jgood Analyfis of the immortal Works he has ''left behind him. The Curators of the Univerfity were therefore very much out in their Choice of the Orator, who, if I remember, expreffed his own Surprize, that they Ihould pitch upon him, ^be underftood neither Pharmacy^ Botany^ Chymiftry^ ^c. nor any Thing in the Doctor's Way. He has had no Succeflbr, nor is like to have any. Some of the Curators waited upon him in his laft Illnefs, and asked whom he thought pro- per to fucceedhim. Heanfwered, that he did R 4 not 248 A D E S C R I P T^I ON not think any Succeflbr neceffary'; theUniverfity having very ^ble Men at prefent, who might divide his Offices amonglf them j which has accordingly been done. .. . : A Perfon^ fays he, exceeding 'far from the Ci^om, and, in this Particular, from 4he I'empt^ion of telling Untruths, 'The greateft Ornament of Amflerdam, which 'Gity has in all Times cherilhed the Sciences ia much, was the iate celebrated Dr. Ruish. His -yaft Coileftions in Anatomy, and Foetus's of all ^* loQuarto, Undtn, 1661. Growths^ rsi A'^'fe ^ C R I P TU O'N Growths, have given wbnderfulSatisfadliort; "Sthd particularly thofe of Fifhes, Flies, and Infeds,^ of whfch perfed Draughts have 'been tak^q un^ der his own Infpedion with fingular Art, and exactly coloured, gilt,^ ^c. after' Nature. -Globes of extraordinary Magnitude, Workr inanfhip, and Beauty, are to be feen at all times in Amjlerdam. That made by Vinghomes was ieven Feet Diameter, and valued at 1600 1, Sterling. The Brals Meridian only coft 100 1. Tiie-Pafte-boards of thefe Globes are exquifitely well painted. The two Globes lately made by M. M u s c H E N B Ro E K, Under the Diredion of his Brother the Profefibr, are a great Curiofity: It is a pity they are not larger; for Machines of ; this kind made to fliew the Motions of the Planets, ' or the Solar Syftem, cannot be too large. Globes refemble Maps, which often, thro' the Smallnels of the Scale, give very imperfedt Notions of the Countries they are intended to reprefent. The Dutch in particular, one would think, fhould make large Globes, in order to have the Spot they inhabit vifible to them. > Formerly two Globes ftood in one of the Chambers of the State, in order, I fuppofe, for the Deputies to confult them occafionally for the Longitudes, Latitudes, Bearings, Diftance, Courfe, i^c. of Seas, Coafts, ' and Countries, for what other Ufe they could have, I know not : The Repubiick defires only to preferve what Ihe has •, and I dare fay, not one of their mgh - Miglu : Of iHiO LL A N D^ 253 ^lightinieflj^s ever regm^ttcji the narrow Extent of their Territory. .^hr\r\/.:. ^ The Republick has not wanted able Hiftorians. B R A N D T 's Hiftory of the Reformation of the Low Countries is a Piece fb much admired, that one of ,the Penfionaries ufed to fay, the Dutch JLanguage deferred to be learned by Foreigners, if it were only for the Pleafure of reading that f^'^oihn. . . . 1^ ' ,;,..., ...M. -, Van Loo.N has publiihed a large Work, and M][.5 R,i5,. a Painter of Leyden, another, on the Metallick Hiftory of die Republick. Fan Loon's is a yery noble Piece. Bizot had done one in French, but brought it down no. lower tthan King ^/7//«w. , Some Medals have, efcaped Loon, notwithftanding his Enquiries ; ButVe (hall not fupply. that Defedt. Perhaps he/ did not think them of a i^ature to be publifhed. V JBizot was of the Academy of Sciences at Paris, and therefore could, not do Juftice to His Subjedt, efpecially at the Time he compofed his Work. . ■ , , . . M . B XN K E R s H o E K j^ '' whom wc have had fre- quent Occalibn to mention, is" the inoft eminent political. Writer of the Republick. He was born at Middleburg in 1673, had his Education at the Univeffity of'Franeker, where he ftudied bivinity, biat afterwards took to the Law. The States of Zealand conferred the Dignity of Coun- sellor of the Great Council upon him^^ and he iss tS4 ADE&CRII'TIOM at prefent Prefident ^ the Sovereign Court ©F Holland, fFeft Friejlandy and Zealand, It b not fbrprizmg, that the Englifi have had no Metallick Hiftory. Ai they do not afFeft ftrik- ing Medals fo much as fome of their Neighbours^ hn jiiftory of that kind would make but a poor Figure amongft them i And indeed they feem ^ defpife thefe Things, ■ ^^ Met TE REM and Aitzema are twd diftinguilhed Hiftorians and political Writers of the Commonwealth, and both write in Dutch, Jtttzenia was a Knight of PrieJUmd^ and Refident at the Hague for the Hanjc Tov^ns. ,He is % candid and exa^ Writer. ' "'. j We Ihall not touch upon the liiftorians of older Date, and liich as wrote in Latin^ becaufe that would carry us too far : For the fame Reafon we pals over the numerous Grammarians and Commentators upon the Claflicks. '. The Tiutch are believed to have the ablcft Civilians in Europe ; and it is certain, that there is no Univerfity in Europe, where the Civil Law is taught with lb much Dignity as at Z,e^den and Vtrecht. VjNNius and Voet, the firft in particular upon the Inftitutes, and the latter oit the Pandedbs, are, 1 think, the Standards of that Law. It is a pity the Generality of their Law Writers are fo prolix. What has been long objeded to the Gentlemen of the Bar in general, nfiay be well applied to them : They overwhelm us with a Deluge of Words, and make or H l L A N D. 25^ make us lofe SigTit ef the mahr Point by thi Multiplicity with which they lorround it. But perhaps the fame Imputation will Ife wSdt full as miich Reafon againft the Dutch Diviiicsy the Frolijdty of whc^ Writings there is no De- gree of Patience capable of itipportin^. They will write a Volume of a good Size on aS. Hebrew Word,, and amothef^ by way of Supple- metiit, on the Pronunciation of that Word; lot that the Reader is amazed to fee fo fmall j^ Matter fweH to fo hugfe a Bblk. I would hot however urge this too far againft fo worthy a Body of Men. It is certain, that if a profound Knowledge of the Originals of the Bible, and Other learned Languages ; if being Well read in the Beft Commentators and lacred Criticks, a good Tafte of Eeclefiaftical Hiftory and Owitroverfie?^ joined with a l^^brious Difcharge of the palloFat Fun(5lioni be eflbitial Qualities in forming good Clergymen, there are few Churches in the World better provided with able Miniftcrs than th^t of Holkmd, Poets are as numerous here as elfewhere. The Belgi(^ Bards however fing in higher Keys than moft others. They will throW you off Lcftin^ Greeks and Hebrew Verfes as faft as one can count Peas. Barlausy Francius^ and Baudius arc much cftccmcd. The Latin Stile of the laft is admirable : and indeed few of the Butch Writerf are defeftive in that Point, when they treaC Subjects that ire capable of Sale. Modern Topicks 25& A D E 5 C H I P T 4 ON Topicks are not fufceptible of any great Purity of Language, from the many thou&nd Things, and Words in confequence, that have been in- troduced fince the Time of Cafar and Tulfy. -.The favourite modern Writer of the Latin here, and amongft other learned Nations, is: Buchanan, who is the only Author perhaps ' of the Moderns, whofe Works, whether in - Profe or Verfe, come up to the Purity of the Augujlan A^t, j (,i. {;;.: - The extreme Difficulty of excelling in a dead Language has made this difcerning People begin' to defift from exercifing their Youth, in compofing, Latin Verfes, being defirous that they fhould be^^ taught rather to fpeak good Senfe in Profe, thani Nonfenfe in Verfe. ' The Studies of Logick and Rhetorick are now preferred ; by which young Perfons are taught to. reafon juftly, and to exprefs themfelves well in Publick. By this Inftitution they propofe to render, their Children ufcful andr ornamental to their Country. ':w b:>bivcTq miad This is not becaufe good Poets have not due Regard paid them here. The great Pcnfio- nary Cotts, who wrote in, and improved, his Qwn Language, deferves all the Praifes his Coun- trymen have beftowed upon him. Correct, co- pious, affeding ; and for his Delicacy, and the Harmony of his Verfes, he is juftly enough ftiled. tht Dutch Ovi-D. . . : '"ibr: ;?;.¥;A'^DER GoES was a Poet of a rich and fublime Genius. His Poem on the JT, a fmall <./,j'.# the Dutch labours under a double Unhappinefi in this refped i It is as incapable of afting, as writing Tragedies. But they make Ibme amends for this Defedt in Comedy, which they ad to the Life i provided however, that the Senti- ments and Lines are lomewh at rough, and not ovpX fine fpun. Don ^iixote and the Windmills is a favourite Piece. A Play is no Play to them, if it does not excite continual Laughter. For which reafon the delicate Moliere is not of the Number of tl;e Writers they tranflate for the Theatres. The noble, Simplicity of Corneille ha3 alfo excluded that great Tragkk Poet. The Duich may however plead for themfelves their fedentary Life, and clofe Application to Bufinefs during the whole Day, which require, that their DiVerfions fhould be very lively, and not ob- & ligc -558 A D E S CRIP T I ON lige them to any great Attentiion of Mind, which' they go to the Theatre to unbend, and not to continue upon the Stretch. They do not con- demn thofe, who confider the Theatre as a School of Morality, the Number of whom perhaps is not great ; but they think the Pulpits want no fuch Supplement, from whence every Week the beft Leffons are given with iacred Authority, and without any corrupt Mixture. One M. RoTGANS has compofed an Epick Poem on King TVilliam, Thofe who have per- ufed it, affirm, that the Poet is equal to his Sub- je6t; in which they give a great Idea of his Performance. - J . But the Bard, who at prefent entertains the Publick molt, is one Poots, a plain Peafant,; who lives near Delft. He has had no Education,- little or no Reading, and underftands no Lan- guage but his own ; fo that it may be truly faid of him, what muft be the diftinguifhing Chara- €leriftick of all Poets, that he was born one,' fhus Greece of old had its Horner^ Hejiod^ &c,' France its Racan^ England its Shakefpear, and Scotland its Ramfc^. ■ It will not be amifs to fay fomethirig here upon the Dutch Language, eipecially to remove a national Error, or rather Prejudice, enter-' tained againft it. '^ h^^ •:.,:..,..;: {i.m a>.vu^^x .' ^ :c.a L. ■ -d i;lj*- -Of H O L L A N D. H9 • Of the Dutch La^StgIjage* TH E Britijh Naticm afe very apt to eehfure and deride this Language, without know^ ing, or af leaft corifidertng, that the Language themfelves ^eak, is no other than the Low Dutch. If we have Ibftened a few of the Dutch Terms, by the Refinement of our own, and haturahzing Abundance from the Latin and French^ the Diffe- rence is not fo great however, as to make us lofe Sight intirely of that upon which it is founded j and which is certainly our Mother Tongue. To convince the Reader of this, we have only to give a Specimen of the Low Dutch arid EngliJIi together^, for which the following may'ferve. tC.JVy heb gefeen ten Scbip op de See daerin We have feen one Ship upon the Sea wherein was ten Menjch ende /even Kinderen. Met was was ten Men and feven Children. It was mder vol Saile j de Wind was goodt ; de Sonn under full Sail ; the Wind was good ; the Sun Jhint claar op de Water. Defe Menu invite erd fhined clear upon the Water. Thefe Men invited gns in de Scbip te come^ ende tra5turde, ons well. us into the Ship to come, and treated us well. Sittende op de Deck, we had Mufyc, dranke een Sitting upon the Dick, we had Mufick, drank one 8 2 Clajs 26a A D E S C R I P T I O N Glajfe d' goode Wyn, Brandywyn, Beer. Wy woud Glafs of good Wine, Brandy, Beer. We woujd niet drink Water, as wy had fo right goode Wyn^ not drink Water, as we had fo right good Wine, t^c. Wy est een Sulaad, greene Herk, Apple^ &c. We eat a Sallad, green Herbs, Apples, Peeres, Vis, Fles, white Brood ende Buter. Achter Pears, Filh, Flefh, white Bread and Butter. After alle come de ^ee. Coffee, Chacoladg. In de Cam* all came the Tea, Coffee, Chocolate. In the Cham- hre doer was 'I'afley Vitir, twee Bede, whaerin wy ber there was Table, Fire, two Beds, wherein w§ Jlapt, Hehende bedankt de Schepery wy fet Foot 6p flept. Having. thank'd the Skipper, we {ct Foot oa Engelie Land, Engeland is een groot Kmi?^rick : Englijh Land, England is a great Kingdom: De Landt vrughtbarigh in Whet, de Natie ricjk. The Land fruit-bearing in Wheat, the Nation rich, jierck, De Koning, die is niet eud, heb twes Sons, ftrong. The King, who is not old, hath two Sons, tnde fif Doughtere, By is genoumd George IT. and five Daughters. He is named George II, De Koninginn is dood. Men reckonnerde aught Mil" The Queen is dead. Men reckon eight Mil- lione in Engeland, ende feven hunderd doufand in lion in England, and feven hundred thouland in * Lunden, twee honderd ende fiftich doufand in * London, two hundred and fifty thouland in Amfterdam» * Modern Writers have departed from the true Spelling^ of England and London ; fo that, it is probable, we are ob- liged to the PAA.i> for letaining the oiiginal Orthography. And O^ H L L A N D, 261 Amfterdam, ende vif honderd^ of op de meejie^ Amjlerdamy and five hundred, or upon the mofl:, fes honderd doufand in Parys. Lunden is de fix hundred thoufand in Paris, London is the grootjie Platz in de Wereld. Is het niet wonderliky greatefl Place in the World. Is it not wonderful, dat de voorfiandiete Engellie foi^d niet well that the underftanding Englifh Ihould not well kenne haer Vorfaders, ofte Moeder Taal^ ende know their Forefathers, or Mother Tongue, and de Landt waeruyt xey camt f Be Engelfe ende the Land whereout they came ? The Englijh and de Neder of Laghe Duytfh (xyn) de fame Volk the Nether or Low Dutch (are) the fame Folk ende fame Natic. and fame Nation. The Confideration of this Affinity, or rather Samenels of Language, probably gave the in- genious Mr. Howell Occafion to fay, " That *' take an EngUJhman cap a pied^ from Head to And indeed our Antiquaries in doubtful Cafes cannot do better ihan to have recourfe to the Dutch. The learned Spelmatt would perhaps have been more clear and corred in the Deri- vations of a great Number of modern Englijh Words, had he traced them firft from the Loiv Dutch, and the Low Dutch from the Saxon or GerrAan, which are now the fame. I fhall only add, that this Language is very expreiTive, and fo proper for Philofophical Subjefts, that an eminent Pro- feffor of Utrecht has lately wrote a compleat Tfeatife of Phy- ficks in it. This cannot furprize thofe, who confider, that this Language abounds with Compounds, a Property which ren- ders the Greek Tongue the moll comprehenfive in the World. It is true the Author is fometimes obliged to invent Terms ; But as long as Men have the Privilege to invent Things, fo long muft they be alloi\ved alfo to invent Names, by which to exprefs thcra. ^ I " Foot, 262 A D E S C R I P T I O N *' Foot, every Member be bath is Dutch** And in reality England was riot peopled dire6lly from Saxony, nor the fmall piftridt of \t called Engehnd. Some of pur befl "Writers on this Head perhaps exprefs themfelves with Ambi- guity, and not with thf:.Exfi6lnpfs that ipight be pxpefted from them. ^'.' --"^_-— -- q ,. The peopling of England with thefe foreign Colonies was undoubtedly in this Manner. Num- bers of the Saxons (including the People of En- geland) came down from the North of Germany at different Times into the Low Countries, and particularly Holland and Zealand, upon which they borderM. After having made fome Settler ments, and continued in them for Ibme Time, they paffed over into the South Part of Britain^ with a Mixture, no doubt, of the Natives of the Provinces from whence they {tt out, the Sea being narrow there. During their Abode in thofe Provinces, themfelves and their Children infenfibly fell into the Low Dutch Diale(5b (which jndeed did not eflentially differ from their own) and brought it over with them. They however ftill retained the Names of their Nation and Piflrift, thofe of Saxons and Engks. The firfl in Procefs of Time had the good Fortune to parcel the Country out into feven diftinft Saxon kingdoms-, and the latter, tho' no very conr fiderable Part of their own Country, had the Honour to unite thofe Kingdoms into one unr ^er Egbert, one of their Defcendants, about thg O^ H L L A n B: 263 the Year 800. He was the firft fole Monarch, and by an Edi6l ordered the whole Kingdom to be called Engeland. Sir WiUiam Temple fays, that Part of the Saxons, who conquerM England, came from Friejknd', yf\{\ch. is very probable, as that Pro- vince lies nearer Saxony, than either of the other two Maridme Provinces, Holland ^andi Zea- land. But as the Paffage into England is much nearer from the Coafts of the laft two Pro- vinces, we may reafonably believe, that the People chofe the Ihortell Cut in thofe early Times of Navigation. Thus the Realbn is manifeft, why the Low Dutch, properly fo called, is fpoken at this Day in England preferably to the Saxon, the High Dutch or German. The German is the Mother Tongue, but had as many Dialeds, as Germany had different Nations, or People, of which the Saxons and Lotv Dutch were amongft the mod confiderable, and border'd upon each other. And the former having fettled for fome Time amongft the latter, and at length fet out from their Coafts for England, they carried thither along with them the Language, or rather Dia- led of the People amongft whom they had laft inhabited. As the Saxon was only a Dialed of the German, fo the Englijh was no more than a Sub-dialeft of the Saxon. Some Learned Men 'iftdeed have pretended to make Diftindions be- tween the old E^nglijh Words, and the Saxon ', S 4 but 254 A D E S C R I P T I Q N but there muft be more of Cx>njedure than Ctt^ tainty in them. In the Colony of Georgia, and the other Settlements in Anerm, it will be very difRcult, feven or eight hundred Years hencej- to allign to each Perfon, ^rom his Language, the ^rticular County of Old England^ from which his Anceftors came. As Sa:iony was anciently of great Extent, there is reafon to believe, that Engeknd bore no greater Proportion to it, than perhaps one County of England bears to the whole. li-d \jl — I come now to {peak of the Dutch Coin. -'^ 1- ' ..1! ' I J. - J It is no hard Matter to underhand the Current Coin of Holland. The Doit is a Copper Coin, almoft as large as our Farthing : eight of them go for a Stiver. The Silver Coin is a Stiver^ or Peny, like our fmall Silver Penies. It has a Bundle of itwtn Rods bound together on one Side, and the Name of the refpeftive Province on the Reverfe 5 as Hollandia^ Zelandia^ Geldria, &c. The Princes and Free Cities of the Rhine having rccoined their 266 A iDE S C R I P. T. I O >N their Penies in 1737. the Duicb did the fame the Year following. -'"$'"wo Stivers make a Duhliky. This is reckon- ed the pureft Coin the Dutch have, tho' in my Opinion, it Js not to be .bragg'd of... .. ^^^ The Seflebalf anfwers to our Sixpence, but is however much larger, tho* never the better for that. It goes for five Stivers and a half. ^ The GooDE Skelling is worth fix Sti- vers, and is diftinguiflied from the former Piece only by the Bundle of Rods, which being repre- iented fmall,. are miftaken for a Star. On the one Side is a Cliampion on Horfeback at full Speed, with this Legend., Vigilate ^ orate. The Reverfe is the Arms of the particular Province where coined. The Gilder or Fkrin is the Piece beft: known. The German Florin is worth two of them. The Dutch reckon Sums by them, as we do by Pounds, and the French by Livres ; tho' neither we nor the French have any particular Species for thefe two laft Sums. The Gilder is twenty Stivers. On one Side is the Figure of a Man a l*antique, lean- ing upon the Bible with his Left Hand, and holding a Spear with his Right. On the Exergue of the Book are * thefe Words, Hac ni^imur, and ' Mw^;i 1^ -. *^-;i ^^ y. . '-^ irr-ih fhr^ * It Is not eafy to reconcile the Propriety of this Legend as they are placed upon the Coin. I have feen the fame Stamp on a German Piece of Money, with thefe apter Words, ^0 jus et gloria ducunt. Upon fome of their old Coins the Dutch had thefe Words, Imperator maris eft terr^ Dominus. But this lofty Motto wjas foon changed for lefs.offenfiveoiji®. on O^ H L L A N D.,\ 267 on that of the Spear, Hanc tuemur. The Senfe would be more perfe6b, if the two laft Words were ijiade to refer to the Bible, and the firft to the defenfive Weapon. I have fometimes lulpefted that thefe Mottos were milplaced ; but that can^ not well be fuppofed of a Thing of this Nature, fo that it is more probable that I may err in re- Iped: to the Coin. On the Reverfe is a Lion rampant, holding a Sword in one Hand, an4 the Bundle of Rods in the other, as if ready to ftrike luch as fhould offer to unbind the Rods, When extraordinary Exadlnels is not neceflary, 10 Gilders are commonly reckoned as a Pound Sterling, 100 as 10/. 1000 as 100/. 1,000,000 as 100,000/. and fo on. The Dutch fometimes reckon by Tons of Gold. A Ton is 100,000 Gilders, or 10,000/. . There are feveral other Silver Pieces current in Holland, of which fome are worn fo bare, that the Dukb themfelves are fometimes at a Lois to know them. Two and three Gilder Vieces are very rare ; but the Dollars, which go for 28 Stivers, are more common. The only Gold Coin the Dutch have of their own, is the Ducat : it is worth five Gilders five Stivers, and anfwers to our Half Guinea. None of the Dutch Cpin, and little of other Countries is milled, fo that it is both exceedingly disfigured and diminifhed, not by filing, but large Pieces dipt off the Sides. Thefe and many other Pf i€t A b £ 5 C R 1 P T I 6 N df the likfe t'raaices ire Idid b^hfeeh^rg^ 6f ih"^ Je\^rs 01* SMouces, ih they are called by way oF, Cbn tempt t Bat perhaps theh; ktc ii\?Lhy Smucss 6f this kind, that neither wear the 6eard, itdt frequent M Synagogue; ' -^^^"^ ^-'- -^-^ t Wt hlVe faid abovd that btif SHilllhg pifTes foF clfeV^ii S^ii-Sy biir Half Gr6Wh foi- 1?^ efur Ctb^h far ^Si and odi* Ouinei ddrfimcfflljrfof i i G//i?>-j l.-.iiiol £ Zii .'„r.aiD5T ^^noirrfnoa (yk.;.vt^\'D oi :'~ •"•-'* "•"'^ t. — ^u ,^,L^^ >-■..- -^ ^■iji^.^i :,iL .-.-iii ,i . -- ■•-"'i f--'- ■' V;,AVl -.r-- CHAP. ©f U Q I^ I 4 N D. jify CHAP. VII.^v-v\ NEj^GH^oufHgoi? (?^ />5^ IJague. ^"T^ HIS fine Place is furrounded on all Sides JL ^ith delightful Walks, Villages, Palaces, and every Thing elfe moft beautiful in Art or Nature, to a particular Defcription of which we now proceed. We Ihall begin with Schevelingy a Place ufually fi.rft vifited by the curious Tra- veller, not fo much on its own Account, as oil that of the celebrated Road that leads to it^ and lo r Vtlta^ ,i7o A D E S C R I P T I N Viildge of ScHEY ELinG, THE Road that leads to it is a low, ftraight^ paved Walk, cut thro' the Downs or j^ndy Hills at infinite Expence. It is adorned on each Side with double Rows of Trees, inter- iperfed with Yews cut in Pyramids. Sir William ^Temple admired the cutting of this Road fo much, that he faid it was a Work worthy of the ancient Romans : But this Compliment is ftrained and hyperbolical; for the Roads or Caufeways of the Romans were vaft and ftupendous Works, of many hundred Miles in Extent from one End of a Country to another. The Scheveling Way is however very pretty. The Way thither is by the Scheveling Gate, or Draw-bridge, where Waggons, Chaifes, or Coaches are always to be hired at a few Minutes WarniHgi but they do not deferve the Pleafure of (o charming a Walk, that could have ki wretched a Tafte, as to go to Scheveling in any of thofe Carriages. About a Quarter of a Mile from this Gate 13 the fine one that opens into the Road, at which all Paflengers, except ihtYiihtvmtnoi Scheveling^ '^y a fmall * Tax, towards keeping the Way * This Tax amounts to about 4000 Gilders, or 400 1. a Year. in in repair. "Between the two Gates is a little running Rivulet, that makes a murmuring Noile ; a Thing, which would not be regarded in other Countries, but in this is a great Rarity. On' the left hand are two handfom Houfes. The firfl has good Paintings in Frefco, and feveral moral Mottos upon it. The other is juft at the Gate, and is at prefent inhabited by Count Golofkiriy the Ruf/ian AmmmdoT. , . On entering the Walk, the'SteepIe of Scheve- ling Church is feen at the farther End. In a very hot Summer's Day coming out of the Sun, one is as cool here as in a Grotto, or Ihady Apartment. About half a Mile on the right lies Port- la n d 's Gardens, to which a fhort Avenue leads, and they are well worth' being feen, which may be done by giving the Keeper a Trifle. There is no Houfe here except the Gardener's. What is mofl remarkable to be ieen, or rather felt, is a thick Dew, that rifes out of the Ground, but to no great Height before it falls again, every Time thefe Gardens are vifited. There is alio a Seat here, where King William and Queen Mary ufed to reft themfelves, when they took a Walk without Attendants in the Gardens. The Stranger may if he pleafes do the fame without forfeiting any Thing to the Keeper, as thofe who unwarily fit in the Coronation Chair in Weflminjler Abbey are made to do. As the Phe-- nomenon of the Dew never fails to happen, the I^ra A D E S C HI Pf I ON the Stranger before )ie goes thither^ may dref^ fccordin^ly^ , n^J^rnr ^ ' tm- There is a very good Ofangery in this Gar* 4en, tjie Fruit of which, at leaft for its Colour, is not ^ferior to that of Spain ) tho* they fail very fhoft of them in Ripenefs and Tafte. Ift were an E;cperiment worth making perhaps to tranfport a few of thefe Oranges in a Ship^ in order to know whether the Sea Air would not do that which the Sun refufes. The Dutch Oranges here are very little inferior in Bignefs to thofe of Spain or Portugal. ., . ,;. o ' On, the oppofite Side of the Road amongft the Downs Hands the Scheveling Gibbet, which we only n^entioin to fhew, that this Village was for- merly a conliderable Town, of large Jurifdidior^ . and Privileges, before the Sea bro(te in, and made fuch a Wreck of it. ^ , '^„^^r This Way is exadly two 'EngUJh Miles, of abqut three Quarters of a French League in Length, There is a large round or oval Open- ing in (|ie middle, from whence Scheveling Steeple ftpkes the Eye in a bolder Manner. Ther^. are fome S.eats and high Benches, upon which the Fishermen of Scheveling reft their Bur- dens^ as they bring their Fifh to the Hague. '- The Village confifts of one pretty Street, with, the Church at the farther End of it. The Houfes, tho' htde, are fb neat, that one would fcarce take them to be inhabited by Fifhermen. The largeft of them Hands on the Downs, and has" Ol n L L A N D. 27^ has a Profped to the Sea. It wa? formerly an Inn, but is now empty j which lliould teach all the Innkeepers of the Country to make reafona- ble Bills. The Man that kept it kft, broke. He trefpals'd grievoufly upon the Stranger's Pocket, and in confequence came to nothing unlamented, after having made his Rapaciouf- nefs fufficiently known^ to keep every body frgm his Houie* From a very old Plan of the Hague ^ and the adjacent Country, which was to be feen in the Stadhoufe there, but is lately taken down, I know not why, it appears, that the Church of Scheveling flood in the middle of the Village. By a later Plan now before mCj but without Date, only it appears to have been taken before the Road was made, and when the Hague was one third lefs than it is now, there were above half as many Houfes between the Church and the Sea, as between the Church and the Road. The Church is now almoft the farthefl: Building towards the Sea. The Dutch Hillorians do not mention the precife Times, when the Inundations, § which have dellroyed Ip much of this famous Village, happened ; at leaft I do not remember to have met with any fuch Account in my reading. I may perhaps have overlook*d it; becaufe Plans, tho' not Maps, are, for ought § In the Year 1574. the Sea broke in, and carried away 121 Houfes, gs is to be feen upon a Table in the Church, Sut vvhec $he other Inundations happen'd, I do not find. T that 274 ADESCRIPTION that appears to the contrary, of modern Inven- tion, and have not been known above two or three hundred Years. During that Period this Country has not wanted many exaft Hiftorians, both Natives and Foreigners. Thefe Inunda- tions muft therefore have happen'd within that Time, or the two Plans juft mentioned muft have been wrong taken. The Spires of this Church, and that of Gravefande and Monjier three Leagues to the South, which are large, tho' neither of them very lofty, ferve for Land-marks to Veflfels at Sea. Yet the whole Coaft of the Province of Holland is fo very low, that thefe Spires are fel- dom difcernible above three or four Leagues off at Sea ; fo that in hazy or thick Weather it is a dangerous Coaft. * The Coaft of Flanders is not much better, being alio a Flat. On the contrary, the Britijh Coaft is bold and deep, and Ships of the greateft Burthen need not fear to approach it, and to fail almoft near enough for thofe on board to be heard when they Ipeak loud upon the Land. The Charity of t\it Dutch is fo univerfal, that many even of their Villages have Alms-houfes : There is a neat one here for old Men. During the fine Seafbn, there is a great Con- courfe of People, Ibme in Coaches, Ibme on Horfeback (which is an uncommon Sight in Holland) and others on Foot, to fee the Filher- boats out at Sea, and diverting themfelves, fome- one O^HOLLAISID. 27^ dht Way, and fome another, on the Sands. And indeed there is not a pleafanter, or more refrefhing Place any where for Coaches, Chaifes, or PcopJe on Foot, than thefe Sands, efpeciall)^ when the Sea is our. Bathing in the Salt Water of Scheveling has been thought uncommonly whol- fome and medicinal : But the Sea -water here has more Virtue than in other Places. Befides its Neighbourhood to the Hague^ there arb two or three other Things, which have ren- dered this Village famous, and occafioned it to be frequently mentioned in Hiflory. In 1672. the Dutch were laved here by an extraordinary Providence, at a Time when no- thing but the Intervention of Providence could have preferved them. In that memorable Year, when Lewis XIV. came down upon this Coun- try like a Land Flood or Torrent, he propofed, at the fame time he fhould enter the Pro- vince of Holland by Land, that his Fleet, in Conjunftion with that of Great Britain^ fhould make a Defcent on the Side of the Hague by Sea. When the united Fleets came up within Sight of Schevelingy and were preparing to land, the Tide changed its ufual Courfe, and ftopt for feveral Hours, tho' very regular at other Times, to the great Amazement of the Inhabitants j and next Morning the French and Englijh Fleets were difperfed by a Storm, and De Ruyter came up. Some, who hate the very Name of a Miracle (tho* in Reality, without perceiving it, they fiip- T 2 pofe 276 A D E S C R I P T I ON pofe the greateft oF all Miracles, that is, the tying up of the Hands of the Almighty from ruling and difpofing Events on extraordinary Occafions and Emergencies in this lower World according to his Will) fome, I fay, of thefe, who hate Miracles, and will admit of none here, pretend, that this Event happened at a great Ebb: but even admitting that, this very Ebb was an § extraordinary Providence, as the terri- ble Defcent, which muft have terminated in the Deftrudtion of the Republick, was to happen punc- tually at that and no other Time. But that this Retrogradation of the Ocean was no high or § Many Writers of unqueftionable Veracity might be pro- duced to confirm the Truth of this Fadl ; but as it happen'd in a manner only yefterday, we need go no farther for the Certainty of it, than general Tradition and verbal Information, tvhich any inquifitive reafonable Perfon may have from al- moft every body at the Hague, and in the Country. How- ever [ Ihall add the Words of an eminent Writer of our own, who was at the Hague but three Years after it happen'd. ■' There was one extraordinary Thing that happened near " the Hague this Summer (1672.) I had it from many Eye- ** witneffes, and no doubt was made of the Truth of it by •* any at the Hague. Soon after the Englijh Fleet had re-- ** fitted themfelves, they appeared in Sight of Sche-velingy " making up to the Shore. The Tide turned ; but they *' reckoned that with the next Flood they would certainly *' land the Forces that were on board, where they were like *< to meet with no Refiftance. The States fent to the ■** Prince for fome Regiments to hinder the Defcent. He *' could not fpare nuny Men, having the French near him. •* So between the two, the Country was given for Joft, un- .*' lefs De Ruyter fliould quickly come up. The Flood re- •' turned, which the People thought was to end in their *' Ruin. But to all their Amazement, after it had Sowed ** two or three Hours, an Ebb of many Hours fucceeded, ** which carried the Fleet again to Sea ; and before that was *' fpent, De Ruyter came in view. This they reckoned a Miracl« .*' wrought for their Prefervatioa. Bijhop BumetV Htjhry ofhis fwtt Times, Book II, ^ monthly O^ H O L L A N D. 277 monthly Ebb, is as certain as any Thing perhaps that ever happened in Nature. Not many Years before this amazing Event, King Charles II. during his long Exile, em- bark'd twice at Scheveling for his Kingdoms. The firft time was in 1650. when he was invited by his Scotch Subjeds, who engaged to acknow- ledge him as their Sovereign, and affift him in re- covering the reft of his Dominions. The King went from the Hague to Scheveling, where " the *' II States of Holland, at infinite Hazard to them- *' lelves from Cromwell and England, fufFer*d *' their Ships to tranlport him. They gave all ** Countenance to the Scotch Merchants and *' Fadlors, who lived in their Dominions; and *' Ibmc Credit, that they might fend Arms and *' Ammunition, and whatfoever elfe was neceflary *' for the King's Service, into that Kingdom.'* And this the States did, " when the King was *' at his loweft Ebb, and f was heartily weary *' of being in a Place (Paris) where he was *' very ill treated, and lived very uncomfortably, *' and from whence he forefaw he Ihould foon •' be driven." The fecond Time the King embarked at Scheveling was in 1660. on board his own Fleet, which came to fetch him over, of which we have given an Account already. II Clarendon's Hiftory, vol. 3. p. 287. t ibid. p. 393. T 3 This ^^S A P p S C fl I P T I O N : This Village is .fempus alfo for a Sailing Chariot belonging to Prince Maurice, and Icept here. It was made by Stevinus, a great Mathematician. The Form of it was fimple and plain. It refembled a Boat, moved upon four Wheels of an equal Bignefs, had two Sails, was iteered by a Rudder placed between the two hindmofl Wheels, and was ftopt either by letting down the Sails, or turning it from the Wind. This noble Machine has been celebrated by many great Authors, as one of the mofl ingenious Inventions later Ages have produced. Bifhop fFilkins, in his Treatife of Mechanical Motion's, mentions feveral great Men who had defcribed and admired it, § Walchius afHrms it to be of fuch pro^' digious Swiftnefs in its Motion, and yet of fo great a Capacity as to its Burthen, Ui in medio freto fecundis ventis commijfas naves vdocitate muU tis farafangis pojl fe relifiquat, et paucarum horarum (patio viginti aut triginta milliaria germanica con- tinue curfu emetiatur, concreditofque fihi plus minus ve^isres fex mt decern in petitum locum transferat^ factllimo illius ad clavum qui fedet nutu, quaquaver^ Jim minimo Idbore velis commijfum, mirahili hoc con-* finenti currus navigium dirigentis : That it far ex^ ceedecj any Ship under fail with ever fo fair ^ Wind in Swiftnefs, That in fome few Hours Space it would convey fix or ten Perfons twenty pr thirty German Miles 5 and that with little Labour Oi H L L J N D. 279 Labour to him who fits at the Helm, who may cafily guide the Courfe of it as he pleafes. That turious and eminent Perfon Peireskius tra- veird from Paris to Scbevelmg for the Sight of this Chariot, and frequently talk'd of the incre- dible Swiftnefs of its Motion with Aftonifhment. Commemorare folehat (Peireskius) Jiuporem^ quo cor- reptus fuerat^ cum vento tranjlatus citatijftmo non perjentifcere tamen-, nempe tarn citus erat^ qitam ventus, Tho' the Gale was ever fo brifk, it could not be perceived by thole in the Chariot, becaufe they went as fWift as the Wind itfelf. Men, who ran before it, feemed to go back- wards as it paffed them : Things feen at a great Diftance being prefently overtaken, and left be- hind. In two Hours it would go from Scheveling to Putien, which is fourteen hora milliariie, accord- ing to the fame Author, or 42 Miles, with 2 8 Perfons in it. Grotius is very copious and elegant in cele- brating this Invention, and the Author of it, in feveral of his Poems. Ventivolum fiphys deduxlt in , -285 down Mats of Rufhes and Flags, with which they form a kind of Paiilado-work for feveral Miles on thofe Hills. They line or fence the Dikes with the like Materials. The Seaweed faften'd with a fmall Mixture of Earth, gently gives way to the beating of the Sea, and refumes its Place when the Waves retire. Thofe Bikes are ufually about twenty Feet high, twenty five broad at Bottom, and eight or nine at Top. They are made of the tougheft Clay, fenc'd on the Land- fide with Wood and Stone, and on the other with the Mats of Rufhes and Flags juft men- tion'd, ftaked down as high as the Tide gene- rally rifes, which hinders the Water from fapping and undermining the Body of the Dikes. In North Holland, in violent Storms, they lay Sails on the Outfide of their Dikes, which they judge the beft Defence for them they can ufe. The Care which the GOD of Nature has taken for the Prefervation of this, as of all the other Lands he has made, in the beft manner according to their feveral Occafions, is very re- markable. All along the Coaft of Holland from the Hontz Bojfe near the I'exel, down to the Beer at the Mouth of the Maes, which is about twen- ty five Leagues, the Violence of the Waves is check'd and repelPd by continued Rows of Sand- hills between thirty and five and thirty Feet in Height. Without thefe Hills the whole Country muft long before now have been fwallowed up by the Ocean : " For Mathematicians, who have been 28^ A DESCRIPTION been employed by the Government to mealure the Height of the two Elements, have reported, that they found the Sea, even in a Calm, above half a Foot higher than the Land, efpeclally in the Neighbourhood of LeydeUy which is lower than elfewhere. Between thefe Hills of Sand and the Sea, as has been obferved before, lies the pleafanteft Way in the World ; and the Water all along the Shore is fo Ihallow, that in calm Weather a Man may go a great Way into it without being obliged to fwim. Upon this Shore many Ships are forced by contrary Winds, efpeclally in Win* ter, when the Nights are dark and long ; but trhen the Sea is calm, it is very plealant to fee the great Number of Ships under Sail on the Coaft, fome continually difappearing, whilft others are perpetually coming in Sight ; belides little Fleets of Fifher-boats about a Quarter of a League out at Sea, or returning with great Quan- tities erf" delicate Fllh for the Markets of the Hague, Delft, Leyden, and other Places. A pleafant Trip may be made here northward on the Sands towards Britairfs, Houfe, or Caftle, from thence over to Uyden, and fo back to the Hague: This may be done in a Chaife in a Summer's Afternoon. Brit A iN*s House is perhaps the moft curious Piece of Antiquity in thefe Parts. It is five Miles North-weft from Leyden, and above one North from Catwick op Zee, It was dli^ covered Of H L L A N "D, 2S7 cover'd above 300 Years ago, on the retiring of the Ocean from the old Mouth of the Rhine, but more in ifso. and 1552. when the Sands were left bare for twenty Days. It has been a Square of 950 Roman Feet in Circumference. At that time many large Stones, Bricks, antique Veflels, and Roman Coins of feveral Metals, were dug up, with this Infcription : Ex. Ger. Inf. Some think it was built by Caligula, for a Granary of Corn brought from Britain, ' . ' / "The 285 A D E S C R I P T I O N T^e WOOD, and the Prince of O R A N G e's Palace there, ON E of the greateft Ornaments of the Hague is this Wood. You enter into it over three handfbm Draw-bridges upon the Canal that fiirrounds the Hague, It is about a Mile and an half in Length, but not near lb broad ; and lies on the North of the Hague. More Deer, Hares, and other Game were for- merly to be feen in it, than it has at prefent. There are now fbme Spots railed in for the Pre- fcrvation of the few that remain. It is the only- Wood, except that at the Gates of Haerlem, m the Province. The Trees are chiefly Oak, and the Soil fandy, which makes walking in it ibme- thing heavy. There is however a Mall above half a Mile long, made by Art, and adorned with Rows of Trees on each Side, with Seats to reft on. When I firft came to the Hague, it was ufual for the foreign Minifters, or others, to give Concerts of Mufick by Turns in the Summer Evenings, when there was an handfom Appearance of Per- Ibns of the firft Rank of both Sexes. The Mu- fick was a Mixture of the rural and martial Kinds, confifting principally of Drums, Trum- pets, -Of ti fL 4 N'.D. a^9 pets, and French-hjorns. T^e Wqq^, the Gand^ and the Kom of $ihf:& qq t\\t.Pmcefs Qrmft, witich look Tin tp the ;WpPii, pcca/ioned ^ diy^ f- fififid Echo th^t reader*4 iks- fetertainwen^ much mor^ agr^ee^bje ; ^nd Care ^[^as tiiLlcen ,tp .place .the Performers .at A proper Pi|?:ance froip . t]j.e CQRipany . This , ini^qcent m^\ delightful Entertainnierit h^^ lie^ft IM afide ftf jate. fhp fliigue. h fallen off aimpft in ^fry-Jhifig frgrii its foriUfr .Gaiety and Ma^ificeJire, \wth whidi it captivated ,ev£ry body. I^l^ere are feyeral Rqads thro? the Wood, but .no -artiiicial .ones, ' except die Mall, which is of great iBmolument to tlie Inhahitar^ts for taking the A^, to Men of letters for IV^editation, and ^iStafelioen,. who here -may drive about in their IjGoachgs,. to unbend their Minds, and refr.elh lliear 'B9dies in the Quiet and Serenity of Solitude. MapylBiirds frequent. thefeSJiades, jR^hofe Mu- fick feems uncomnncjaly riielodious. Q,m .w, is to be feen in the Mufaum Regium at Copenhagen. JSrafmus, .Ludovkus Vives^ Camerarms, and Guic^ ciardin believed this Story, snd related it as true. It is alio mentioned by many other grave Writers. In the Church there is a Board or Table affixed to the Wall, with a long Infcrip- tjon, giving an Account of the whole Matter; and alfo the two brafs Bafons in which the Chil- dren were baptized, with this Dillich under them ; Mn tihi monjirofum nimis et memorahile fa^um^^t^ ^ak nee a mundi conditione datum. And indeed lb monftrous a Birth was never heatd of fince the Creation of the World. Hiftorians and Writers of Travels, who have cojjied the Infcription, vary with each other in the Terms of it. The Letters, which are of Gold, were lately renewed, when I took it; but it would be too long, neither is it material to ihfert it here, the Subllance of it being as juft related. On the whole there is little room to doubt, but that there was Ibme fuch § monftrous Birth, § An emment moderh Writtef is perhaps in the wtong for tiflferting abfolutely, Hanc partum toft aliquot fecula tonfiBunty ad fobulai pertincre aniles, placitifqiie phyficoruTn repughare. It would be difficult to prove fuch Births repug- nant to the Powers of Nature ; and great Phyficians have thought, that it is more to be \Vonder'd, that thefe Births toppten fo ieidgm, than that they happen at ajl. It is however qf p o I z 4 jy J). g?ichajritabIeQef^ ^d Contempt of the Poor. however ipr the Order ao(J Well->beanjg of fartvfli^s, ai^ confequently of the World, that Man^nd Ihould.bp ganf;- rjted according to the ordinary Cburfe -of Nature, the due Increafe and Peopling of the Earth being fu^fcief^tly aij» fwer'd in that Way. Prodigious Births however fometinjes haK>en, ^s if -ejcprefsly to awaken the Attention of Man- kind, and to teach thejn, ^a^turflm now ejfe Defim. For '^ the fupreme Difpofal of Things were left to Nature alqne, this WorJld wo\ild fpon bepoijie a Chaos of Confufions, and infinite Piforders, as well phyf^cal as njpral, en{iie.. Picii:S. MirandoU, a Prince no lefs eminent for his Learning and Ve- tacitj, than his Dignity, rpentipns a Woman, that had twenty Children at a Birth. An pnpent Natyra^ii: prpvfs, that (he may pbyfically be deliver'd of fix at a Birth. JI- kertus MamMs fpeaks of one, vyho hajd an hundred .ar\d fifty at once : but as we obferved before. Things of this N^.^tt^ are always exaggerated. The Origin of the prefent Royal Family of Great Britain from the Dukes pf B^ivarif. aod Saxony is remarkable enough. Hiilorians give this well^ ^now.n Account of it. Gsrmentrude, Countefs of Altorf'va. Swatin, having accufed a popr "V^oman of Adpk^ry, an4 caufed her to be punilhed for having twelve Children at a ^^^rth, was fopn after delivered of twelve Sons herfelf. Her Hufhand, Count Ifenherg, being then abfent, ^ avpi^ the feme Scandal, Ihe order'd the Midwife to c^rry opt, and kill eleven of them. The Count happening to <;ohi^ Jiome at the fame Inftant, afked the Midw^ what fhe h^^ in her Apron ; and fhe anfwered, Woelpen, that is. Whelps, pr Puppies. Upou his infiftipg to fee them, fhe cbnfeis'd thie whole Affair ; and the Count, in cpnfequepee, ^jijpinitvg h!?f Secrefy, put them out to nurfe. Six Years after he invit_ejj jnpfl of his own, and his lady's Jlclations to a Feafl, and jn the midft of their Jollity brought out his eleven Spijs ^ Jrcft alilfe. The Countefs upon this owned her Fault, an^ was pardoned. The Count, in Remembrance of their acci- dental Prefervatio;i, oi:der'd them to, Ipe called QMelphs,. From r ^^ A D E S CRJ PTION rrf? hrrr, ,;. — , — , IHje City of Delft. Tills City lying in tl>e Neighbourhood 1^ the Hague, a Day, or at leaft an Aft ternoon, c^n^iot t^ betjter ipent th^n in going tq fee k,'- , Tiie .Generality of Travellers indeecj pafi thxo' it on their Way froqi Rotterdam to the Hague ; but that is always done in an hurry^ in order to fecure the firft Boat that goes q% for the tii^gue, without allowing thernfelyes fuffi- cietiit Tjine fof yie^ving fo confiderable a City. Delft ; is but fiye Miles, pr a large Hour, from th§ M^gae; but ^ Chaife with a good JJorfe yyill r^n it in }ia|f that Time. The Ro^d is .^Q8^(VglM M^T T^ Village ^o^ Ryfwiqk i^ kft vft lii:$le on the ^ight, ^nd pr^e drives on to th^!Pm4i oyer which there is ^ Bridge, whicji being paQed, thie 6|ie Road copi:ii>;j§$_^}o;ig th§ Side of .the Canal .q\ii]Ce .to Delft. 'W.^ShQ^^ the Qa^e there i? a f?n? Grove of 5iJeefti Wider the 3ha^e pf w^ijch iPaifengera getieraUy t^ke a Turn, till the Boat fpr thp i^fie goes off. From the oppofite Gate tlie QlMli which goes to JRatUrdapj, is very broad » ftp whifih there is an handfQm Key, or Landing? ^Iftgc, .J^dqrned widi Trees. Here the Yachts, which bring the Deputies of the feveral Province^ (0 Of H 6 t-t. A N D. 305 to tfhe Aflem^lips of thq /%a^, have their Station. TkP Pieputies quit t;he Vefiels here^ and take Co^h for |:hg fiague. Tl^pfe Yachts are ex- quifitely bf^utifpl and rkh y the Provinces ^nd Cities vying with eac^i other, which fliall have «the fineft Yachts for the Accommodation of ^eir ReprefentativfiiS. Their Burden gcAerally is from abouC 30 to 5P Tons^ They are ftdorn*d with Streamer'^, and carry Guns^ with TTaim^ pels and other Mufick, which is very fweet €«i ^e Water. Colliers /froni Scotland alfp unload here, and furniih the: Inhabitants ^f Deft^ the iHii^i :and Leyikn^ with Coals* js .[JThisrCity, as indeed ail the; reft of th^e Pr<>* ivincei lies iri the tnidft of beautiful ^ep-dowa* !lt is. furroun^ed with a Wail, and a Trench -fiiil of Water; i? above twp ,M^Je§ in Circuni* -feednce^ is longer than if is br^ad, and confifta (Chiefly df twQ beautiful Streets, that lie jp^- i-aileL Th^ are almoll a Mile in Lehgth, adorned with Trees, and Canals, over which 4i;e imany handfom ftone Bridges. All here is aa calm and ftill as In the midft of the Country, Defi being inhabited chiefly by , rich People, iKfho have quitted Bufinefi for the J^k^ of Rje- ;Cirement. ; o The remarkable Buildings* and other Things •herej are, the old Palace, where Prince WiUia^n 'JlTof Orange^ the Founder of the St^te, and pf its Glory, was treacheroufly murder'd by ^n Emiffary of J^M^.ll. King sf §pm, .iJIe w^as X ihot 3C6 A D E S C R I P T I C N fhot with a Piftol charged with three Bulletlf]^ juft as he was rifing from Tabic, and ordering the Aflaflin a Paffport to go to a certain Place whither he was fending him. The Balls enter'd the Prince's Temples, and lodged in the Wall : the Holes they made in it are ftill fhewn to Strangers. After the Prince received the Wound, he died immediately, faying only, LORt) have Mercy ok my Soul, and on this poor People. The People lamented him as their common Father -, and never was a Funeral cele- brated with greater Pomp, and more real Sor- row. He was only one ind fifty Years old at ' his Death ; but lived long enough to humble a •proud lawjefs Tyrant, to aflcrt the liberty of his Country, to eftablilh a national Church, and found a glorious Commonwealth by his Wi(^ ■ dom and Valour. The Aflaflin, Balthazar Gbe- rard^ was loon after executed, and died {6 ■■ hardened i as to fay, He would da it^ if it were tQ be done again. That Villain is inroll'd by fome Roman Catholick Monafterics amongft their Martyrs. ' ^^ fihlm '%f|t m »h ' The Remains of this great Prince were in- terred in the new Church here; and the Repub- lick caufed a magnificent Maufoleum to be ereded over them, to perpetuate the Glory of her Founder, and her Gratitude for the inefli- ' mable Services ihe had received from him. The Effigies of the Prince is reprefented in Marble, with his Statue fl:anding by it in Brafs completely armed. O^ H O L L A N Di 307 aMfied, with this Motto, Te vindice tuta LiBERTAS; Tou were the Champion and Pre- feruer of our Liberty ; and another Emblem re- prelenting, the Prince going on fteadily in a Storm, with thele Words, S^m tranquillus in undis. At his Feet lies the Figure of a Dog, which is faid to have died of Grief, when he was murder'd. There are four other Princes and Princefles of his Family interred in this Monument. The laft of whom was a Princefs, Daughter of the prefent Prince and Princels of Orange^ that died at her Birth in 1735. The Corpfe was expofed upon a Bed of State during three Days to the View of the People. This Monument is excellently well adorned, and the whole executed with a maftcrly Tafte* The Infcription is very fine^ and worthy the Hero, whom it is intended to commemorate^ jD. 0. M ^ eterna mertioria Gulielmi Naffb' viae fupremi Auranftonenfium Principis, Patr. Paty. qui Belgii fortunis fuas pcfthabuit, 6? fuorum v vali^ drjjimts Cicercitus are plurimum privato his ctsnfcripjtty bis induxit \ Ordinum aufpiciis Hifpania tyrannidefn propulit ', ver^ religionii cultun^, avitas patfia legei revocavit, rejiituit ; ipfam denique lihertateM tdn^ iim non ajfeftam, Maufitio principi, paterna virtutls haredi filio^ Jlabiliendam reliqiiit. Herois veri piiy f^udentisi, invi^i, quern Philip. TI. Hifp. R. Eu- ropJE timor, timuit ; vcn dcmuit, non terruit ; fed tmpto pertuffore frau,de nefamla fujlulit -, Fcederat. Bwlgii provinc. perenni memor. monum. fee. L,. X a To 3o8 A D E S C R I P T I O N - To the nioft good and moft high GOD, ^nd to the immortal Memory of William of Nassau, fovereign Prince of Orange, the Father of his Country ; who preferred the Good of the Netherlands to that of himfelf and his Fa- mily ; twice levied, and brought in a ftrong Army principally at his own Expence ; repell'd the Tyranny of Spain, as General for the States 5 recover'd and reinftated true Religion, and the ancient Laws of his Country, and Jaftly not only afTerted the publick Liberty himfelf, but left it to be firmly eftablifh'd by his Son Prince , Maurice, the Heir of his great Father's Virtues. The United Provinces of the Di/Jch Netherlands ,have eredted this Monument, to perpetuate the Memory of this truly pious, wife, and invincible Hero, whom Philip U. of Spain, the Terror of Europe, dreaded, but not being able to terrify or conquer, hired an Aflaffin to murtligr trea- cheroully. ; ,: ^ .0 • ' r. The Church in which this Monument flands, is a very noble Building, its Steeple one of the highefl and fineft in the Low Countries, and the „ Chimes unufually harmonious. They play one Tune at the firft Quarter after every Hour, two at the half Hour, three at three Quarters, and four before the Hour ftrikes. -j^^-\ .^<^i^^ -^^^^^ ^y The Market-place, which is a fpacious Square, ', has this lofty Steeple on one Side, and oppofite to it the Town-houfe : on the two other Sides are Plouresjof the Citizens. _ The Town-houfe is oX c X an 0£ H L L A N D. ^o^ an oId-fafhion*d Gothick Stru6hire built about two hundred Years ago, but the Walls being new painted and gilt, it looks as frefh as if eredled but yefterday. It may be compared to chofe antiquated Beauties, who befmear them- felves over with Paints and Waflies, to conce^il the Wrinkles and Deformity of old Age. It is adorned with levcral Statues j as thofe of Juftice, Prudence, and Mercy ; Divinities, or Virtues, which ought to prefide in fovereign Courts. Over the Gate are thefe two Lines : yjliec domus edit, amai, punit, confervat, honorat, Nequitiam, pacem, crimina. Jura, boms. ' t'On the Town-houfe of Glafgow, a City of JTorth Britain, there is the fame Diftich; but vi(hich of the two have borrowed it, from the, otljer, I don't know. ^ ■? H n ? t ^ 4 In the old Church, which is alfo a lofty Pi^^ with an high Steeple, but inferior to the new, are the Monuments of the great Van Trump and V A N H E I N E, two Butch Admirals kill'd at Sea. "Van "Trump is reprefented repofing on a Cannon, fur rounded with Arms and Trophies. That Admiral defeated the Spaniards in two En. gagements, and ruined their Power at Sea. In CromweWs War with the Dutch, Van Trump fought Blake, and both fent an Account of their Vidory to their Principals, In^anodier Engage- ment ^e Englijh were obliged to retire into the X 3 Thames j 3IO A D E S C R I P T I O N ^mes^ but in a third, which lafted three Day§, the Dutch \yere defeated. In., 165 j. two other; cruel Battles happenM, in the laft of whiph the, ^ngiijh were vidorious, and l^rump kill'd. Not- wjthftanding th^fe Defeats, that Admiral was buried with great Pomp, and had the utrrjoft ppfthumous Honours done.fiim }>y his grateful Country. -, (i-^ui^ h-it^i^ i\i\:n b^-vb^m h ,The Dutch are excellent Mailers to ferve. 7"hey value their Servants for their Merit, and flrcnuous Endeavours to acquit themfelves well^} rather than for their Succefs. The former is in ■ ih^ Power of Man ; the latter depends finally on God, \y ho alone is the Giver of Victories. In this Spirit it is that they adorn their van- quifhM Admirals with Crowns of JL.awrel, and tranfmit their fajthfql Services ^nd^lorious Deaths to Pofterity. 37j;f?' o<*5l t-'^J' lo ffniflw Peter Heine the Admiral, took the i^k//2? Silver Fleet. ciXi. .. .,a) juj The principal Magazine and Armoly of the Province of Holland is kept here. The Houle, which is very large, was built in 1692. There is a terrible Difplay of Cannon and Mortars re- gularly piled up one above another without Doors^ Am,ongft the reft are two Pieces of Ordnance caft at l^Abeck in 1669, of. which e^ weigh^ 8 ODO Pounds. r ri:' ; .:,¥.'' 'r^'Wv . This City is alfo famous for its excellent earthen Ware jn Imitation of China. On tlie l^j^rket pays, jjr during the Wake, or Kerm^j^ " ^ ,. vaft C^ H L L 4 N D, jii vaft Quantities of that Commodity are expofed to Sale in the Streets. It is called Delfi "Vjfare from this City. They are arrived to fuch Perfedlion in making it, that it is hardly inferior to China in Finenefs; but they have not yet been able to make it tranfparent. It is probable, that they will attempt nothing farther that Way for want of Encouragement. The DuUh Eajl India Com* pany import fuch vaft Quantities of Porcelain from China^ and which is fold fo cheap, that there^ is hardly a Family in the Provinces, tho* ever fo poor, that is not tolerably well provided with this foreign Commodity, fo that their own Maniifaflure is in no fmall Meafurc of Difgrace. . . Formerly there was a confiderable Settlement of Britijh Merchants and Clothiers here, but they removed to Rotterdam^ as more copvenieiit for Trade, Ota; ' {Ij',lBni;"^-:'.v*5;.I '• X 4 ^'i.^, Luiii'w, 1 I I i I I III iiii -ii!^ii:i >J V! ■ ! J ' ' "J ' T "' . 1 •:-' ' V ■'" ••■ T^ -S this Cit?y i^ the moft confiderable Staple^ -/l^ that t)!it '^hfijh NatJbtt h^si upon Ifhfi Continent of jB«f^ir, jfcnd the tjfu^l Landing-plaCe cf Strangers, we will take a Tarn thither, and fee the princi|)ar Curiofities df the Place/ It i« ho inore than three Leagues fpom the Hague^ and iwo" •fponii)^//.,: i^ft- the Catntj ft-om which. laft Place" the Boat goes off e\^ery Hour. You ibon pais the Powder-houfe on the right, which how ftands about a Gannon- ihot out of the Town, to prevent fuch a Diikfter as happen- d in 1654^. whef^ the Staiies Magazine irt the City wab blown up by an unknown Accident, which beat down about 200 Ploufes, kill'd and wound- ed many People, and fome were miraculoufly l^ved under the Ruins. OvERSCHiE is above half "Way to Rotter- 4(im. The Boat palTes. thro' it. Jt is a large ^nd pieafant Village, and fo well built, as to ex- ceed many Market Towns in England 3X\^ France ; but much of it is not feen from the Water. On fhe right there is a large Canal diat extends to J)elfis-haven on the Maes, and carries Vefiels of confiderable Burthen to Delft, fo that it ferves X\i^ pty for a Port. A fine Avenue, above ^ Mile long, adorned with Rows of Tree^ Of H L L J N D. 313 on each Side of the Canal, leads to the Gates of Rotterdam. ., j ,- .. ,. ; This beautiful City is of a triangular ■ Forrtl^ . ^nd fo much enlarged of late, • that next to j^: Jlerdam and Leyden^ it is the greatefl: City in Hol- land. Its fine Buildings and fpacious Streets, adorned with lofty TreeSy and noble Canals, which are always full of Ships, ftrike the Stran- ger on landing with wonderful Pleafure, having never feen any Thing of that kind in his own Country. It lies on the North Side of the Maes^ ^hich is here about a Quarter of a Mile broad, £tnd about fifteen Miles diftant from the Sea. The Canals, which run into the Heart of the City, are fo very broad and deep, that Ships of great Burthen come into it, and lade and un- lade at the Merchants Doors. :, The Heeren- fleet is the finefl Street in RoUer^ dam. Mofl of the Houfes are new, and built of hewn Stone, (o that it has a finer Effed, tho* it is not fo large as the Street of the fame Name at Amfterdam. The Boom-quay lies delightfully along the Mnes. It is above half a Mile in length, and extends from the New to the Old Head, the two Places, where the Water of the River enters the City, and fills the Canals. On the one Side it has a magnificent Row of Trees and Houfes, or rather Palacesf and on the other the River with the Ships at Anchor. This Quay or Street is extremely clean, and &> broad^ |hat it has diftinft Walks for Coaches and Perr z:i^dl fons ^4^. AD E S*C R tP T I O N fons on Foot. It i? the ufual Reibrt of the , People of Condition, whom it ferves inftead of a. Mall ; and indeed for Variety of pleafing Ob- je retired abroad, and died in Spain. Lord £//'- Bank, if I am not miftaken, has married his Daughter, and in her Right has this Palace vs^ith i^-Jarge Eftate in the Provinces. ' The Englifl) Church here is an handfom Building. The private Contributions not fufficing to con^pleat it, the Britijh Parliament in 1712. gave 2500 1. for that Ufe. The Bifhop of Jjon- don is Ordinary of this, and the Churqh at Ann-' Jierdam. There is a neat Jeijoijh Synagogue lately built here, into which any one may go on a Satur- day to fee their Worlhip. '.^i 10 t&iro©iri.:bfC^ The famous Monfieur Bayle lived alfo in a little Houie on the Boom-quay, but did not much enjoy the Plealurev of tiie Place. His ii\^ Books or H L L J N D. 315 Books and Study conftituted his fupreme Delight.' Jrle knew no other, and led the Life of a true Philofopher. He was meanly provided with the Goods of Fortune, having nothing but what he received from his Bookfellers •, for the Penfion of 6qo Florins, or 60 1. which he had from the Town of Rotterdam, as honorary Profeflor of Philofophy, was loon taken from him, Monf. Jurieu, § and the Confiftory of the French Church not approving ibme Things in his Writings, reprefented him as a dangerous Man to the Ma<*^ giflrates, and got his Salary taken from him. He died in 1707. and left many Works be- hi^id him, of which the moft celebrated is his Hiftorical ^nd Critical Didjonary, which has long been the Entertainment and Delight of J^en of the moft different Taftes, and the com- mon Place of the fuperficial Scholar, the Wit, and the Libertine. One would indeed imagine it the Work nof of one, but of leveral different Pens. Jn it ^re feen the refined Critic, the ^ ^lonfieur Jurieu, who had a noble Zeal for Religion, and was befides a Perfon of very confiderable Intereft, ought to have endeavoured to bring over Mr. Bayte, if he err'd, and not have driven him to Poverty, and thereby reduced him to fupport himfelf by fuch Means as he could. On this Occafion the French Clergyman afted neither with the Subtlety of the Serpent, nor the Innocence of the Dove. He ought to have followed the Example of the Minifters of State, who, when they have to do with an able and enter- prizing Man, bring him over, and make him their own by good Qfage. It is evident, that Monfieur Bayle adapted all his Writings to the prevailing Tafle of the Age in which he wrote, and to all kinds of Readers ; jn pfFe^ of which there was not a Philofopher, Divine, Phyfician, Man of "Wit or Letters, or Libertine in Europe, that did not either puiph^fe, or read his Works. profound ^iS APE S C R.I P T I O N profound Philofbpher, the obfeene Trifter, and the dubious or difguis*d Atheift. Were a Perfon of fuffieknt Abilities, and as ftrongly inclined ta the Propagation of Virtue, as the Author was tof the Subverfion of it, to compile all that make for the firft into one Volume out of Bayle*9 four^ fuch a Colledion would be the richeft Piece of Hiftorical and Critical Literature in the World ; and its Weight in Gold were too, fmall 4: Price for it. Monfieur Saurin ii¥ fevefal Parts of his Writings has with great? Juftnefe, and but too niuCh to the Lifcj drawfit the Pbrtrait of this unaccountable great Man. II " He was, fays that excellent Author, one of " thofe extraordinary Men, whom k is difficult *') to reconcile with themfelves, and whofeoppo-^ *' fite Qualities give us room to doubt, whethei^ . *' we ought to confider him as the beft, or the *' worft of Men. On the one hand, he was a ** great Philofopher, who knew how to diftjn-' " guiih Truth from Falfhood j who could at *'. one View perceive all tlie Confequences of a *' Principle, and the Chain, or Series, in which ^' they were link'd together ; on the other, he ^* was a great Sophift, who undertook to con-* *^ found Truth with Falihood, and knew how' " to dedi^ce falfe Inferences from the Hypothefes " he advanced. On the one hand, he was a; *' Man of Learning and Knowledge, who had ^' read all that could be read, and remember 'd jJkiinSh fkMurin. ?■m.^^I. /rQf H L L J N D. 317 *' a3l that could be remember'd ; on the other, ** he was ignorant, or at leaft afFeded to be fOy *' of the moft common Things, in refpe£t to " which he propofed iiich Difficulties, as had *' been anfwer*d a thoufand Times, On the one " hand, he attack'd the moft eminent Meri, *' open'd a large Field of Labour for them, led ," them thro' the moft difficult Ways, and if ff' he did not get the better of them, at leaft " gave them great Trouble to get the better of " him ; on the other, he made ufe of the *' worft of Authors, to whom he was lavifh of *' his Praifes, frequently difgracing his Writings " by citing fuch Names, as no learned Man i*' ever mentioned. On the one hand, he was " free, at kaft in Appearance, from all the *' Paffions that do not confift with the Spirit " of Chriftianity ; grave m Difcourfe, temperate .*' in his Diet, and auftcre in his Manner of " Hving ; on the other, he employ'd the whoie ** Force of his Genius to fubvert the Funda- *^ mentals of Morality, and attack'd to the ut- i*' moft of his Power, Modefty^ Chaftity, and _f^ all the Chriftian Virtues. On the one Side, •' he appeals to the Tribunal of the moft fevere ** Orthodo3cy, has recourfe to the pureft Sources, *' and borrows his Arguments from the leaft *' fufpefted Authorities ; on the other, he treads •' in the Footftcps of Heretics, advances the " Objeftions of the ancient Herefiarchs over again, " lends them new Arms, and in the prefent m^ !' coUeaa 5i8 A DESCRIPTION *' colleds all the Errors of pad Ages. Ma^ *' this Man, who was endow'd with fo many ' *' Talents, be acquitted before God for the ill *' Ufe he made of them ! May that Jesus, " whom he (o often attack'd, have expiated ." his Sins! Near the great Church is the little obfcufC Houfe, where the great Erasmus was born, which is lignified by his Pi£turey and this Diftich over the Door : Mdihts his orius, ihundum decoravit Erasmus Artibus ingenuiSy reUgtone^ fide. That is, Erasmus, who adorned the World with Arts and Sciences, Religion and Virtue:, was born here. There are other Infcriptions of the fame Nature in Spanijh and Dutch. Hard .'by in the great Market-place ftands the Statiie of this great Matt. It is larger than the Life, of Brafs, but plain. It reprefents him ftanding 1ft the Habit of a Doftor, a Fur-gown and Cap, with a Book in one Hand, and the other upon •it, as gbing to turn over a Leaf. Little Chil- dren are fometimes feen waiting at this Statue, till the Clock of the great Church ftrikes the Houfj having been told that every Time Erdf- ■ ffjus heard it, he turned over a Leaf. On the -Pedeftal is a magnificent Lalin Iftfcription in •Praife of this great Man, and they have alio his Pidure, which was fent from ^a^l in Switzer- O^ H L L A N D, a»9 {and four Years before his Death. He was born in 1467. and died at Friburgh in Alface 1536. King Philip II. and his whole Court came to Rotterdam^ only to fee the Houfe where Erafmiis was born. His Countrymen in all Ages may quote him againft fuch as reproach them with the Epigrammatift's Auris Batava f : So great is the Honour, which fometimes redounds to whole Cities and Nations from one great Man's being born amongft them ! ;,, ^ On the Market-place, which is a large Bridge, or Arch, they talk of erefting a new Stadhoule : and indeed Rotterdam wants a better than it now has. It is probable however, that they will be in no hafte about this, but allow themfelves Ibme Time to breathe between linilhing their Exchange, an expenfive Work, which has lately been compleated, and entering upon another, which cannot be ereded but at far greater Char- ges. The Chemifty or Land-houle, is a lofty modern Stru<^ure. Its Front is of Free-ftone, adorned with Fret-work, and in particular a Ipread Eagle much larger than the Life. It is a bold Piece of Sculpture, and deferve(^ly cfteem'd. It is a pity the Dutch had not as good Archite6ts, as they have Statuaries and Carvers. The Statues and Groupes on the Fronts of their Buildings are like Ornaments to the deform'd, which only ferve to make their Uglinefs more confpicuous. The Admiralty of ..i'-'f See ivhat is /aid above on thefe Words ^Martiali p. 2? 2, ieq. ^0 A p £ S C R I P T 1 O N the Mzes is here,' and near it the Dock, whicfe is very large, and where they are always cither building or refitting Men of War. But the largeft Ships of this Jurifdidlion lie at Hehoet- Jluys, as the more commodious Station, that I J*lace being on the Ocean. It requires both Time and Trouble to work a large Ship from ii3ie Dock of Rotterdam to the Sea. The Gkfs- i>oufe here is one of the beft in the fcven Pro^ vinces : It makes Abundance of glals Toys, and enamell'd Bowls, which are fent to India, and exchang'd for China Ware, -and pther Oriental Commodities. >'' •\^>- Rotterdam has four Churches, to which there are twelve Minifters, each of whom has a Salary of an hundred and leventy Pounds paid out of the Revenues of the City. The largeft Church is that of St. Lawrence^ from the Steeple of which there is a fine Profped of Delft, Lsyden^ Bort, and without doubt, the greateft Part of South Holland, tho* I could never fee Amfierdam from it, the Weather being always thick, when I happen*d to be on the Tower. This Church is very large. A magnificent brafs Balluftrade of esquiftte Workmanlhip feparates the Choir from the I^aije. The Minifters catechife, marry, ^c. and the Prefbytery of the Town, and the Synod of the Province aflembie in the Choir, which is alfo ufed on feveral other Occafions. The Promotions made in the Schools here are oelcbrated with no ftnall Solemnity in the '"' Choirs, Oi H L L A 1^ D. 321 ChoIrSj thofe Seminaries of Learning being very much the Care of the Government of the United Provinces. ' The Scholars, with five or fix Ma-* fters or Profeflbrs, repair hither twice a Year at fixed Times. -The former perform certain Exercifes before the ' Deputies of the Senate, who are generally the •moft eminent Pefforis for their Learning, atterid^d-^by fome of the Clergy. The Reflor, or firft Profeflbr, opens the Aflem-' bly:>vlth a fhort Speech' in Praife of Literature and the Civil Magiftracy, under whole Pro*- te6lion and Encouragement it is made to flourifh. The Youth then, who are to remove to the tJniverfity, pronounce each an Oration of almoft half an Hour in length, on different Subjefls; as in Praife of William L Prince of Orange ^ and the other Princes of that illuftrious Houfe j of Henry IV. of France^ and Queen Eli-zabeth of England^ their Prote£lors -, of Erafmus, from whom the School is called Schola Erafmiana ; on the Dignity, Ornament, and Udlity of found Learning to a State ; in Praife of Commerce and Induflry, with fevere Invedlives againft Idlenels and Paffion -, on Fortitude, Patience, Concord, and the other moral Virtues. They conclude with a Compliment to their Mafters for their Care of them, and to the Magiftrates for honouring them with their Prefence on that Occafion •, and laftly they take leave of their School-fellows, whom they exhort to purfue their Studies, and to live in Love with each Y other. gz^ A D E S C R I P T I p N Qtber. The principal Magiftrate then prefents each of thpm with fome Clafficl^ Author, finely bound and gilt. The Juniors, who are removed to a,n higher Clafe^ or Form, advance into the piiddle, and make the Magiftrate and their Matters a Compliment in a Sentence or two cither of Verfe or Prole. The Organs, which are the largeft in the Country, play before and after this Solemnity. , rjAnd this brings us to the third and laft great City in the Neighbourhood of the Ha^ue, .tli;. tiih- o: ^V.-:p, ■ , : / 3. •3# 1 . J. .1 5^ft ,wi"iio %X H L L A If LI, 323 The City of L E Y p eh. LE Y D EN is rio more than three Hours, or about fifteen ]Vfiles, from the Hague^ and a^ many from Delft. To each of thofe Cities eight Soats let out every Day at certain Hours ; as alfb fo Haerletfi, artd from thence to Amjierdam, from whence JUyden is only fix Hours diftant; but crofting. the Lake ot Haerlem with a fair Wind, It' is only three. Ne>tt . f6 th6 four Capitals, which t call Rome^ 'laonddn, Paris, and Amfter^um, Leyden is one of tfte largeft and moil beautiful Cities in- Europe, It is Fortified, as are all the other Towns in the ih^en f^rovinces, with a ftrong Rampart of fiarth, and a very broad Fofle, or Canal, fo that it is capable of luilaining a Siege. The Citizens are able to lay the whole Country about them un- der Water, as was done by Advice of the Prince of Orange, during the famous Siege which they fuftained againft the Spanijh Army in 1574; They had Recourfe to the defperate Remedy of cutting the Banks of the Maes and IJJel, by which all the neighbouring Country was turn'ci into a kind of Sea, and 1500 Spaniards were drowned before they could retire. The befieged were reduced to extraordinary Straits, and jEbrced to make Paper Money, which was after- y 2 wards 3H A D; E S C R I P T I O N wards changed into two Pieces of Silver of diffe- rent Value. They had thefe Legends upon them, Hac lihertatis ergo^ and, Pugno pro patriae which is as much as to fay, alluding to the Oc- cafion, Thefe Miferies we fuffer for the fake of our Liberty^ and in defending our Country. And on the Reverfe are the Inirials, iV. 0. 17. L. S. G. J. P. A. C. that is, Nummus ohfe\fas been exceedingly enriched with new Plants by his SuccefTors, and particularly the incompa-- rable Boerhaave. Of all the different Branches of the Art of Phyfick, this is perhaps the Branch, in which that great Man took mofl Delight. It were endlels to enumerate all the eminent Men, who have adorned this,, and the other yriiveffitiea pf the United Provinces, of whom ieveral O^HOLLANB, 329 (everal were Foreigners. Scaliger^ Salmajius^ Dre^ lincourt, &c. were French-, and many Germans \ as Spanheim, Gr^evius, Gronovius, Gerhard, Joh, Vojftus, and Bockelman. The Credit of the Univerfity of Leyden is at this day well fuflained by a Vitriarius, who is now very old, for the Civil Law ; an S*Gravesande, for Philofophy and the Mathematicks ; a Bu r m a n, for Hiftory, and the Greek and Latin Tongues, or, as they are called, the Belles Lettres ; anO^TERDiCK and A L B I N u s, for Phyfick ; and aScHULTENS, for the Hebrew and Oriental Languages. Utrecht has loft Vander Ode, an eminent Civilian, who is gone to fettle at Bremen, as one of the Confiftorial Judges of that Imperial City. B a r- B E Y R A c, by Birth a Sivifs, is ftill at Groninghen. He is the Glory of that Univerfity, and attradts many Students to it, efpecially fuch as are de- firous to apply themfelves diligently to their Studies. And indeed die Amufements and Avo- cations of that cold, out of the way. Place are neither very numerous, nor very attradive. Bar- heyrac, in effed of his Knowledge of the French Literature, illuftrates and enriches fome Parts of the Science he profeffes, which are in their own Nature dry enough. He has juft made a very valuable Prefent to the Republick of Letters. It is a Colledlion of the Treaties of Peace of the Ancients from the Greek and Rg- pan Authors, illuftrated with learned and cu- rious 330 A DESCRIPTION rious Notes, in two Volumes in Folio. It 6 intituled, 2^5 Hijlory of ancient Treaties^ is in- fcribed to his moft Serene Highnels the Ptince of Orange, Statholder of the Pfovince, and may be confidef'd as the fii'ft Part of the Grand Corps Diplomatique^ in twenty one Volumes in Folio ; which laft Colleftion, vaft as it is, begins eo higher than Charlemagne's Time, Anno Chrijii 800. The Dutch ProfeiTors are much in the wrong to difparage the Learning of France, and to render it contemptible, as they affed to doy to their Scholars. There are folid Writers of that Nation, as well as of others; and it is a bad Sign, when any Body of Men, of Nation, begin to look upon themfelves as AIl-fufHcient, and above receiving the Aid of new Lights from another. It would have been incongruous, and contrary to Order, in the Conftitution of the World, that any Beings of the fame Species and Nature, and Inhabitants of the &me Earth, Ihould be all-fufficient, and independent of the Feft. Had it been (o, there had been room for an Alphonfus to ftep in, and reftify the Miftakes committed in forming the intelledlual and rational World, as well as the imaginary Inconfiftencies, which he thought he had dif. cover'd in the material World. The mutual Intercourfe and Dependency of every Indivi- dual of this great Family of Mankind, is one of the moft amiable and harmonious Syflems, ^nd \ OF H L L A N D, 331 and Matters for Contemplation, that can em- ploy the Mind of Man. As the Univerfities of the Netherlands are fa- mous, and much reforted to by the Youth of Great Britain and Ireland, it will not perhaps be unacceptable to the Reader, to give as full, but comprehenfive, an Account of them in this Place, as the Plan of our Pefign will admit. ^ SS2 ADESCRIPTIGN \y 77>e Universities of the United Provinces. Tn H E R E are five Univerfi- Their Number. I • - , ^^ . , ,, . \ JL. ties m the united Provinces. ^ They have all been inftituted fince the Refor- mation, and endow'd out of the Revenues of the old Monafleries. TheXJniverfity of Le y d e n Their Foundation. . . , ^^ . r tt u i IS in the Province or Hollandy and is the ancienteft, having been founded by the States in 1575. as has been mentioned be- fore, on a very honourable Occafion, to reward the Inhabitants for their Bravery in fuftaining a famous Siege of almofl half a Year againft the Spaniards. The Univerfity of Ut R e c h t, in the Pro- vince of the fame Name, was changed from a School into an Univerfity in 1636. but it has not all the Privileges of the other Univerfities, being intirely fubjed to the Magiltrates of the City. That of F R A N E K E R in the Province of Jtriejland, which is reckoned the third in Note, was founded in J584. That of G R o N I N G H E N, the Capital of the Province fo called, was founded in 1614, • And Of HO L L A N V: 3j^ And that of Harderwick was converted from a Schola Illujiris into An Univerfity in 1648. It is in the Province of Guelder land, and is an ancient < Building, which was formerly a Mck nailery. :-,^ ;:T • .'rt^ti-'. 01 irM'Mici . The Buildings of thefe Univef^ / ; * fities are old and mean. They confift only of fome .few Halls, which are ufed on publick Occafipns, and for Librarie?. Other Ufes were formerly made of them. .The Pre-; feflbrs, who hire Houfes in what Part of the Towns they pleafe, hold their private § Colleges at home. The Students alio lodge where they think fit in the Univerfity Towns. This very much diminiihes the beautiful Order and Grandeur,, that ought to adorn thefe noble Eitabliihments. But the Want of external Pomp is well made amends for by the great Variety of ufeful and iblid Learning taught in them. The Schools of Z-^den are rather better and more contiguous than the reil. Their Government The Government of thefe' and Jurifdiaion. Univerfities is not alike in all of them: but it would_be tedious to deicend to par-* The Re3or Mag- ^^culars on this Head. . In gene- nificuj. ^'^ ' . ral, the Re^or Magnificus is an- nually choien out of the feveral Faculties by turns, and with the Academical Senate has Cognizance of all Civil Caufes, and in ibme Univeriities,' § Courfes or LeHurts in the foreign Univeriities arc called ^alleges, ; Criminal 334 A D E S C R I P T I O N Criminal alio; in which the ReSior pafles Sen- tence without Appeal. The Re£lor of Leyden Tras formerly chofen out of three return'd to the Statholder^ and now to the States, who are re- prefented to the Curators, The CuraUtrs are i^fbns' of Rank and Character : They prefide at the Calls of new Profcflbrs, aflift at the Fu- neral Orations of thofe that die, and are inf a manner the Patrons and Sovereigns of the? Univerfity. The Academical Senate confiflrs '^Sena^^'^^^ of a certain Number of Profef- ;^'i ^ fbrs, chofen out of the feveral Fa- culties, with the Redor at their Head. On extra* ordinary Occafions- fome of the CuratOTs, or, i# theUniveriity befubjed to the City, of the Bur- gomallers, are called in by way of Collegues, or liiperior Afliftan^. The Profeffbrs, when they Habit of the Pro- j t n. r j • / fcffors and Students, ^ead Ledures, or prefide m pub^ lick Difputations, wear Gown*; but not otherwife. The Students wear no diftindU Habits: ib that the external Marks and Face of Learning are mor^ confpicuous eHewhere* Aan her£. ' ■ -Wa* -»tf?vS - All the Selences and learneJ' ^^ W: .1 ^ Languages are taught here with- extraordinary Care and Succefs. No Science has the Preference to another : they' afe all equally confider'd, encouraged, and culti- vated i fo that in refpedt to excenfive Learning- .„:i:rri.w thefe Of H L L ^ N D. S3$. thefe Univerfities far exceed thgfe of England^ which feem to be engroffed by Divinity. Tiiefe great Seminaries have each three or four Divinity ProfefTors, as many of Phyfick, and two or three of Law ; befides others o^ Hiflory, Languages, and Eloquence, or th(5 Belles Lettres ; Philolbphy, Mathematicks, the Greek and Roman Antiquides, and the Hekr-&m and OnV»/<^ Languages. .■" i.-y/' i^iou2[ c Formerly they called i» ProfefTors* fro;a wlvjnce _ r- ^i • t> r /i' r chofen. many oi their Profeflors from the Reform'd Churches of Fmnce^ who brought with them the Literary- Riches of their own Country ; now they chufe them either out of their own Clergy, or the Schole Ilkjires, and Univerfides, of Germany. As» the Encouragement is greater in the United Pro- vinces than the Empire, the Curators have or^ly to make choice of them. They are very rarely invited hither, till they have commenced Aur. thors, and given Specimens of their Learning and Abilities to the Publick. Hence we may reafon» ably admit, that thefe five Univerfities hav© _ , , . , r^ in each of them a kind o^ They form a kind of Con- . _ fteliation of the Learned Conftellation of great and Men of EurQpe. learned Men -, efpecially when we confider the Emulation that prevails between the States of the different Provinces, which fhali have the greateft Men to adorn their Univerfi^ ties, and attra6t Numbers of Students from alt Parts 336 A t) E S C R I P T I O N Parts of EuropCy to enrich their Towns. In ordef _ , , to engage an eminent Mart' Greatly encouraged. , to come to them, or to re- tain him when they have him, they do not fcru-i pie to double the ufual Salary. Thus the Maj." giftrates of Utrecht , to keep Otto their Profeflbr' of Law, advanced his Penfion from time to time, from 150I. to 300 1, and upwards; an handlbm Income, without reckoning what he had from his Pupils, and the Bookfellers for his excellent Works, in a State, where Prodiga- lity is in Difgrace, and Equipage of Coaches, Horfes, i£c, not known amongft thole whp pro- fels Letters, wot! ,-'^*rtn-«>0 rrwo ^ ?'?f'r.iy{ There are about fifteen or fixteen Prafeffbrs^t one with another, in each of thefe Univerfities ', near eighty in all. The Profeflbrs, one with ano-k- Thcir Salaries. , , , 1 ^^ ther, have about 150 1. a Year from their Sovereigns the States, or the Magi*i ftrates, according to their Foundation. This they have over and above what they make of the Students, and their learned Labours, when, they think fit to make them publick. ThuSi with an Oeconomy that becomes the "Wifdom of the Commonwealth, the Sciences are maintained in extraordinary Luflre in all the five Univerfities at the annual Expence of about 12,000 1. which Sum, to fpeak within Bounds, is. refunded twelve Times over to the State by the foreign Students, who come hither from all Parts Of H'Q L L A N D: j^y Parts o( Europe. In cpn&qntme^ Univerfities, which are a great Charge to the PubHck in bther Countries, in this bring in a great an- nual Revenue ; befides which, the Natives have the Education of their own Yoyth into the Bargain. The libraries are well furnilh'd,- and pafticu- larly rich in Manufcripts ; in which laft Jofepb Scaliger^ M. Wardner^ and Golius were great Benefadlors to the UniVerfity of heyden. The Anatomy Chamber is defervedly famous all ov€f ^urQp0^ as, is the Phyfick Garden for foreign Plants, brought from the Cape of Good Hope^ and the Eafi Indies by the Eafi India Company j which rpay be confider*d as a kind 6f Tribute paid by Commerce tci the Sciences. V The Number of Students, one Year with afto* ther, is feven Or eight hundred in each of the Univerfities of L^den and Utrecht ; in the other three, which lie more out of the way^ they arc not 9:i numerous. They all live in private Lodg* ings, except thirty or forty Poles and Hungarians^ who have a College in each of the Univerfities^ twhere they are maintained at the publick Ex* pence, which are the only endowed Founda* tions here. r; The Students, as above obferved^ have n(J diftinct Habits, but are almoft always in theif Morning Gowns, in which they attend the Col-* leges, and walk in the Streets and Mall without the City. Many do not drels once a Week, on % and / / ^38 A DESCRIPTION and fome hot once a Month. Drefs is not at all regarded at Leyden, and rich Clothes are in a kind of Contempt there. In Utrecht they afFed more Politenels, and always go abroad idreft. They all wear Swords, and the Students of Leyden, tho' in their Gowns, cannot refolve to leave their Rapiers at home j ib that were a flying Party of the Enemy to appear unawares before the Town, the Students are in fome meafure provided for their Defence^ if their Gowns did not embarrais them too much. In thofe loofe Gowns, with Swords on. Perukes, Hats, brown Slippers, and a Book or two often under their Arms, they make an odd grotefque Figure enough in the Eyes of Strangers, and re- femble Chrijlian Franks on their return from Con- ftantinople^ or Srnyrna^ in the fame Garb they carry thither. The Students, befides other Immunities, are exempted from Taxes on Wine and Beer; fb that every one lays in a Quantity of the for- mer, which, if the fame French Wine the Dutch drink, he has at the Rate of five or fix Pence a Botde. With this they entertain one another in their Chambers, for there are no Taverns here. The Students are fent hither by their Parents without Governors or Tutors of any kind, fo that they are left intirely to themfelves. They live as they pleale, and fludy as much, or as little as they think fit j and yet perhaps there are Jbna A no OF H L L J N D. 339 no Univerfities in the World, where Sobriety, and good Manners prevail lb much, and where filly Frolicks and Levity are fo little known. The Youth in general apply themfelves to their Studies with very great Afliduity and Succefs. Many of them carry this to an Excels, and hear too many Lefbures at the fame time. It is ufual, for Inftance, for a Student of Law to go thro* three or four Courfes of Ledlures at once ; as on the Inftitutes, Pandefts, Hillory, and Mathe- maticks ; fo that they pals three or four Hours every Day with the Profeflbrs, and as many more at home to digeft, and write out their Didlates in a fair hand. Thus they hardly allow them- felves Time to take a Turn in their delightful Walks, or a fecial Glals in the Evenings. The Students of Phyfick are no lels induftrious, and, to ule the Exprellion, Devourers of Learning* They often hear one Lefture in Phyfick, another in Anatomy, a third in Botany, and a fourth in Philofophy, Mathematicks, or Hillory, at the Xame Time. It is not eafy to account for the extraordinary Change made in Youth, and all Perfons in ge- neral, in efFc(5l,of refiding Ibme Time in thefe Provinces. The Force of Example was never more evident than in this Effed. Frugality in y^ Expencc, Order, a compofed Behaviour, Atten- tion to Study, and Afliduity in all Things, are the Charadlerifticks of the Natives ; and Stran- gers, who continue amongft them, foon fall into Z 2 their ^4d ADSSCRIPTION tiieir Manners and Forms of living. What the f hilolbphick Hiftorian faid of the Lacedemonian State, may in a great meafure be applied to this* *' § All Lacedamon was like a great Volume, of *' which every Leaf was fiU'd with fine Rules, *' and great Examples $ that prefenting them- *' felves at all Times, and in all Places to the *' Eyes of the People, made them infenfibly *' contrad the fame Way of thinkings and •* forced them to refemble what they could not but *' meet with every where." In the Leftures, as well as on every other Occafion, the Profeffors fhew great Care and Concern for the Improven^nt of their Pupils. iThey Ipeak very flow, and pronounce every Word very diftindly, in order that every one, who writes tolerably faft, may not lofe a Sylla* ble ; or at leaft, that two of them, by com- paring Notes in private, may make out the whole Difcourfe as perfeftly as it came from the Mouth of him who deliver'd it. This is of fin- gular Ufe, as well as Pleafure to the Student. Befides which, the Pains they take on fuch Oc- cafions,. imprints Things more ftrongly In their Memories •, and (hould thole fail, they may al- .ways have recourle to their Manulcripts, or written Books, which they carry with them when they quit the Univerfity, Thus, befidea the other Books, which the Profeffors recom- 5 Plutarch, in Vit. LjcUrg. mend 0£ H L L A N D. sA-t mend to their reading, they have the Difcourfes or Ledures of the Profeflbrs themfelves, to which they may turn, when they are not fatisfied with the Senfe of a dead Author, or defire a farther: Explanation of it. If any Difficulties occur to the Student, he may have private Conferences with the Profeflbrs, who are extremely pleafe(i t^J^ confulted upon iuch Occafions. f . . , . The intelligent Reader will naturally fup- pofe, that every Thing done here is in the Laiin Tongue ; and it is obferved, that the Natives and Foreigners, who are taught to ipeak and write that Language at the Gram- mar Schools here, are generally better prepared, than thofe who come hither from Britain and Ireland, To conclude, the Profeflbrs are treated with great Regard and Veneration by the Scholar?. They are in general very well-bred humane Men, and are quite Strangers to the Supercilioufnels and haughty Airs too much aflfumed in other Places. Such Condud and Behaviour have lb ftrong an EfFed: upon the Minds of ingenuous Youth, as to make them afliamed to fall fhort of it on their Side, and even fond of Occa- fions to fhew the highefl: Refped for their Tutors. There are Abundance of Youth of the pr^ij^- cipal Nobility, and Princes, from moll Countries of Europ at thefe Fountains of Literature. Axyd via Z3 »s y S42 A D E S C R I P T I O N as every one may live as he pleafes, without be- ing obliged to be profufe in his Expences, or fo much as quitting his Night-gown for Weeks or Months together ; Foreigners of all Ranks and Conditions are to be feen here. As there are few Places where Students live more regu- lar and retired, perhaps there are none, where they are under fo few Reftraints. No Oaths are impofed here, and not a Syllable faid about Religion. Roman Catbolkk, Greek, Jewi/b, &c. Parents fend their Children hither with as -little Scruple as Protefiants. Degrees are not fo much regarded here, nor in the other Pro- teftant Univerfities of Europe, as in thofe of Oxford and Cambridge, where they are effential *liri all the learned Prpfeflions, except the Com- mon Law. ^ ''Though 150 1. or 200 1. with what they re- ceive from their Pupils, is' a very tolerable Pro- vlfion for the ProfefTors, in' a Country, where Frugality is held in Honour ; they have three other Ways in their Power, not only of imprd- ' ving their Fortunes, but of becoming very rich. Either they have Eftates of their own, which is the Cafe of many ; or they may marry very advantageoufly. As there are few Nobility in the Country, Gentlemen of their Profeffion are Jield in fingular Honour. They may pretend to the Alliance of the richeft Families in the Com- monwealth. A confiderable Merchant, or Citi- zen, thinks his Daughter, with a Portion of '^ ^ ■* ' fifty 0£ H L L A N D. ^4^ fifty or fixty thoufand Florins, 5 or 6000 1. (I fpeak extremely within Compals) honourably diipofed of to one of them. Or laftly, they may apply to Writing. The World has fo high an Opinion of their Parts and Learning, that their Works are well received in moft Countries on the Continent of Europe. It is not to be doubted, but the States (many of whom are Perfbns of great Learning themfelves) would make an Addition of 50 or ipol. a Year to' their Salaries, if they thought there was any real Occafion for it, and were not defirous the ProfejGTors fhould fupply their Wants by writing for the Prels, and thereby augment the Reputa- tion of their refpeftive Univerfities. "'"' V/ It is certain, the Mufes may be too magnifi- cently lodged, and too much at their eafe -, of which two of the beft endow'd and richeft Urii-- verfities in Europe feem bad Proofs. Judicious' Foreigners have obferved, that very few Books come from them, but almoft all Works of Learn- ing, printed in their Country, from the Capital of the Kingdom. I fhall add here, that though the Provinces of Zealand and Overyjfel have no Univerfities, they have Academies, or, as they are called, Schola Illujlres, in their Capitals Middleburg and Deventer. There are five or fix Mafters, or ProfefTors, at each of thefe Schools, not only for the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew Tongues, but Hiftory, Philofophy, and the Belles Leiires, but Z 4 efpecially efpecia^Iy , Lo^ick and v Rhetpriqk. Two grea| Purpofes, in confe^uencej are anfwer'd by tjieiss^ feftablilhments^-. Such as -^e. ppt defigned fof, tjlie three learned Profeffions, pnte.nt themfelves wuh the good Tafte of the Sciences they imbibe here i upon which, and the Languages, they, b^ftow fixor feyen Years* frc^m nine or tenj till, about fixteen ^ or. . fevehteen ; iut.; thofe who pro?, pofe a farther Pro^refs, m^ay be in{tr46l€d beyond the Elements: and Foiindatioris in thefe, Acade^. mies, and , thqreby make the Lectures and Dilr; cipline o^,^ioFiiyefiifisi ^*f5^c^Pi.:^^M 'j|n raoft pf.tl^ie otjier Citie^ of the feyenPro?* vinces Academies of the. fame l^ind are efta-^ blilh'd* and at dmjierdam there is a very noble pncj wherf fix ProfefTors are employed to, read J^edhires in the feveral Faculties. The Houfe T^a^ formerly th^ Church of tiie Monaftery of St^ j^nes'^ and was converted^to\this Ufe in i6g,T, There is an equally nomerous and polite Audience, at thefe Lectures \ whence . it appears, that the Noife and Hurry of Trade do not prevent the. Duicb. from improving tliemfejves in the Culti- yatkia of JPhilofophy, and th^ other |>arts qf learning. ^ ^ Am.^>.-I\ wad;:vt... Thefe Seminaries for the Education of Youth are Inftitutions between the Grammar Schools ar.d y niverlities of other Countries, and are well adapted to the two Purpofes juft mention?d. : * ,. vm. 1 Country. vb^. O^ H L L A N D. ^45 Country Gentlemen in particular, who chufe to refide upon their Lands, and the Gentlemen of the Army, who ufually enter early into the Ser- vice as Voluntiers, in order to their more fpeedy Promotion, here lay in a Stock of Languages and polite Learning, that raifes them above the Vulgar, and with the }rencb Tongue qualifies them for the Gonverfation of Strangers, who ai^ my ^umerpus i^ tk^ I^fptyinqes, ,^}A.iH ban m: i rLi': •; ,,:ni;yhA ban i.'i^iliCI alsl -t^^. ibiw s'mr;! ni £o!';:>l iiwopmdrf 09 .gf^wo. • ' ::iT Dfii OJ ;^' )'-»^v!n TT CHAl^. 546 A D E S C R I P T I O N • jrr " - ' - 7^^ Tour of the Provinces. ON E" of the firft "things a Sftf anger is ask'd at the Hague is, whether he has made the Tour of the Provinces ; a Tour made with fo much Eafe, both to his Perfon and Pocket, with fuch exquifite Pleafure, from the great Va- riety of new and beautiful Objects which perpe- tually occur, and in fo fhort a Time, that there are very few who negled to make it ; but fome with far leis Delight and Advantage than others. This is owing to their own Negleft in not having prepared themfelves for it by a little Reading..a.Qd Informatbn. With thefe Helps it is almoft impofTible to fee h many diverfify'd Scenes and Objefts, without being agreeably en- tertained or improved, according to the Tra- veller's natural Turn of Mind, and the End he propofes to himfelf. The Province of Holland only has been often called the Compendium of the Univerfe : And indeed all the Nations of the Earth inhabit this fmall Spot ; all Languages are fpoke, and all the different Modes of Re- ligion are exercifed in it. The Roman Catholkk^ Mahometan, Perpan, Chinefe, and other Heathens are here to be fcen at their Worfliip, with their Habits, O^ H L L A N D. 347 Habits, Cufloms, and daily Intelligence from the remoteft Corners of the Globe. Here alia is the Seat of Politicks, and General Aflembly of all the crown'd Heads of the Weftern World in the Perfons of their Minifters and Ambafladors ; a well conftituted Government, wife Laws, and an excellent Miniftry, with clear Heads and clean Hands, for the Imitation of Statefmen ; an un- parallel*d Decency, Order, and Regularity in all Things, for Magiflrates ; Fleets, a bound- lefs Commerce, with inexhauftible Methods and Secrets of Trade, for the Improvement of Mer- chants; well-difciplin*d Troops, and regular * Fortifications, for the Soldier ; Univerfities, Li- braries, and a thoufand Curiofities for the En- tertainment of the Learned ; Works of amazing Art for the ingenious and mechanical; Manu- fadiires of all Sorts carried to the higheft Per- fefbion^ for the Imitation of Tradefmen : Flo- rifts cannot fail of being moft agreeably amufed here, where Flowers are of fuch exquifite Beauty, that a Tulip-root has often been Ibid for 150 1. Sterling: Cattle, and Country' Affairs, "Tor the Farmer ; in a Word, Objefts for the Adniiration, Imitation, and Improvement of Strangers of all Ranks and Conditions. The fortified Towns and Dykes, which are the Bulwarks of the Dutch againll the only two Powers they have to fear, viz. the French King, * Naerden, Woorden, the Brillj HelveetJIuySf all in the Province of Holland. '■^ and 348 A D E S C R I P^ T I 0:,N and the Ocean, are noble and flupendous Works.- A Lincolnjhirs Gentleman, who had feen the good Effedls of Dykes made in his own Country by Dutchmen^ obferved however fo many new Improvements in thofe of Holland^ that he thought the Sight of them only worth all the Trouble and Expence of his Journey. And indeed thele Dykes, with their Sluices, Water-mills, and other Inventions, are amazing Proofs, how far the Art and. Induflry of Man are capable of con- trouling, and in fbme Senfe of fubduing, Na* tuntvr P I T c A I R N has in fevcral Places cele* brated thefe § Works with a Sublimity that fuits their Grandeur, .-pr. BrowHy who wrote about {eventy Years ago, when the Face -of this Country was rude and unimproved to what it now is, upon his return from his Travels, fays, " Tho' I have ** ieen France and ltal\\ and the noble Cities "-thereof, which are worthily admired by all, "^jet I'ani much furprized upon the Sight of ^f the Xlmud Provinces ^ efpecially of /7<2//a«i, an4 "the adjoining Places. He who hath obferved ^l^ the eafy Accommodation for Travel therein, ff both by Land^ ^nd Water j their excellent ^* Order, and regular Courfe in all Things; *' the Number of learned Men ; the Abundance § Tellurem feftre Dei, fua littora Bah^Ci^i x: .J^ Immenfaque fatet molts uterque labor. ^ L'fjiyi Jyi 'vacuo Jparfas glom^rarunt tether e terras^ Nil ubi, quod coeptis pojfet ohejjfe, fuit : At Belgis maria, et terra, naturaque rerum Obftitit ', objlantis hi domuere Deos. U-. J! of Of H O L L A N D. 349 <* of Rarities of all kinds •, the Induflry, Fru- " gality, and Wealth of the People -, their nu- " merous good Towns -, the extraordinary NeaC- " nefs of their Buildings and Hoiifesv their «* proper Laws and Adminiftration of Jullice ; " and their incredible Numbers of Shipping V and Boats ; will think it an Omiffion to relt <• in the Sight of other Couatries without^' " View of this. A Country of little Extent, *' and foon traveled over, but fo replenifhed ♦' with People, moble Cities, fair Towns and " Villacres, as not to be met with upon fo little «« a Compafs oi Ground, except perhaps i» " China." \ The Province of Holland is of fo fmajl an Ex- tent, that, with a Part of Utrecht^ it may be travellM over in two Days in the common [). Pafifage-boats upon the Canals. From the Hague to Leyden is three Hours ; from thence to Haerlem fourj from Haerlem to Amfierdam two more;. from II Thefe Pafiage-boats, or Treck Schttyts, as they are called in the Language of the Country, go at the Rate of four Miles an Hour, flopping only about half a Quarter of an Hour at certain Villages, to give the Paffenger an Opportu- nity of ftretching himfelf, and taking a little Refrefhment in the Inns. The Fare is about three Farthings a Mile. Thus from Rotterdam to Delft one pays five Pence, thence to the Hague two Pence Halfpeny, from the Hague to Leyden, which is above ten Miles, feven Pence, to Haerlem twelve Pence, to Amfierdam fix Pence, to Utrecht thirteen Pence, Cffr. The Boat is drawn by an Horfe, and contains about twenty or five and twenry PafTengers. It is very clean, with a Deck over it, which covers them from Rain, ^c. fo that they are as much at their eafe, as in their own Houfes. They talk, read, few, knit, as each likes beft ; and do not know they are going by Water, e;£cept they look out, and fee they arp moving. 350 A D E S C R I P T I O N from Anjierdam to the City of XJtncht eight; fi*om Utrecht to Gonda fix ; from thence to Rotter-' dam in the Poft-waggon three ; from Rotterdam to Delft two ; and thence to the Hague one. Some have thought, that there is no great Occafion for vifiting all thefe Cities, their Uni- formity being fo great, that he who has feen one, has in a manner ittn them all. But this is a Miftake, and founded in Want of Obferva- tion. For befides the different Laws, Cuftoms, Manufadhires, Branches of Trade, ^c. peculiar to each City, there is a great Variety of Curio- fities and other Things difperfed amongft them, which are very well worth feeing. I intend xa make a comprehenfive Account of all thefe Par- ticulars the Subjed of the remaining Sheets ; but ihall not enter into a very circumflantial Detail, which would be injurious to the Traveller's Cu- riofity, in depriving its Objedts of the Charms of Novelty •, befides which, that would require a Work of many Volumes. We have already gone as far as Leyden, which we have particularly defcribed, as a Place in the moving, the Motion is Co infenfible. The Canals are deep, but not above thirty or forty Feet broad ; and there is no more Danger upon them, nor indeed lefs Pleafure, than upon Canals in Gardens. The Boat has Windows on the Sides to let in the Air ; from which alfo the Paffengers may fee the Country as they travel. The Boat goes off every Hour of the Day, on the ringing of a little Bell ; fo that one knows to a Minute, when he is to fet out, and to a few Minutes, when he fhall arrive at his Journey's End. Strangers are equally furprized, and charmed with this Way of travelling, as it is indeed fer theflXQjft commodious, bell regulated, and cheapeft in Europe. . ^^ 5 xw»5 r- Neighbour- 's :i;vG£a Of H L L J N D. J5t Neighbourhood of the Hague. The Canal be- tween that City and Haerlem has the fandy Downs, and Meadows on the left, and the Turf Pits, and the Lake of Haerlem on the right ; lb that this Stage is one of the moft barren of Ob- jeds in the United Provinces. Some natural and hiftorical Remarks may however be made even here, and the Pafiage, which is of four Hours, thereby render'd lefs tedious to the Traveller. The numerous Herds of black Cattle, which he fees in a manner covering all the Meadows, are not the Growth of the Country ; they arc brought more than an hundred Miles from Hol- ftein and Denmark. The Drover buys them there at about fifty Shillings per Head, and fells them again to the Boors or Farmers of Holland for four Pounds. After the Cattle have been fix Weeks or two Months in the rich Paftures here, the Butcher pays at the Rate of fix, feven, or eight Pounds an Head for them. It is remarkable, that the Flelh of thefe Oxen are neither io firm, nor their Hides fo ftrong, or io capable of mak- ing good Leather, as thofe of the Englijh Cattle, which is owing to the watery Feeding of the former. They are as large as the Englijh, but do not weigh fo heavy. Beef, the favourite Dilh in England, is in Difgrace here, and in moft other Countries of Europe. It is not j(b much as admitted to a Place on the Table in Holland, to the Surprize of the Englijh, who won- der to fee their ftanding Dilh treated with fq much 352 A D £ S C R I P T I d N much Negledt. All the ufe the Dutch make of Rjont*s Flejhy as they call Beef, is in the Month of November to fait and fmoke a Qua;ntity of it according xa the Number in Family, to cat in Summer with Butter orSallad. The Ships and Maji Indies alio confume great Quantities of \i fo prepared. The Dmch fometimes make Soopr pf two or three Pounds of frelh Beef, with as many of Mutton, which they lay makes it the better. The Haertem Meef, or Lake, of wfiich one has a Prolped from the Canal, is very large and navigable, and lies between Leyden^ Amjier- doiHy and Haerkm. It has Abundance of Fifh, sxid particularly breeds Eels of a prodigious Size, as all flimy Waters do. It is about four- Ijeen Miles long, and near as many broad. In hard Winters it is frozen over, and People travel on it either with Skates, or in Sleds. During the 3iege of Haerkm there was a naval Battle iipon it, in which xkiQ Dutch had i5ofmall Ships, and the Spaniards not many lefs* It is the only Water that gaiiis upon the I^nd, for every Year it eats av7ay fome on its Banks. The Reafon it has not been drained long ago, is not any natural Impediment (for the Wealth, Art, and Induftry of the Dutch can almoft do any Thing they pleafe with Nature) but political Realbns. The three trading Cities on its Banks, jealous of the Navigation which they have upon it, cannot agree amongft them<' felveaf- or H L L J N D. 35a fdves what to do with it. It is generally Gover'd with Boats going to and fro with Merchandizes* Before the Canal between Leyden and Haerkm was dug) which was not till the Year 1657. Travellers went between thefe Places by the Lake, as many ftill chufe to do, when the Wind is fair. I went on it from Leyden to Amjlerdam in three Hours, which by the Canal would have taken fev^en. Bad Accidents fometimes happen upon it. Tho' it is not above fix or feven Feet deep, it is fuhged: to Storms. One of the moil me- morable happened in 1629. , The King of Bohemia having been dethroned, and driven gut of the Palatinate by the Emperor, took Sanduary in Holland. He left Haerkm in November towards the Evening. The Night proved very dark, and the Lake tempeftuous, when a Boat ran foul of his, and funk it dire<5lly. The King fa ved himfelf by fwimming, but his eldeft Son was drown*d. The poor young Prince was heard to cry out. Ah Sir, dear Father, pray fave me! but in vain, the Darknels of the Night making it impoflible to diflinguifh Objeds. His Death was an inexprefllble Afflidion to his Royal Parents, and the Univerfity of Leyden, of which he was the Idol, on account of his fweet Tem- per, and the Progrefs he had made in the Arts and Sciences. The Veens, or Turf-pits, which the Traveller fees here, feem to him very unlikely to anfwer the Purpofes for which they arc intended, be- A 4 cauO ADESCRIPTION caufe the greateft Part of them is filled tvit'fe Water : It is however out of thofe very Waters,, that upwards of 400,000 People, who inhabit the three great Gties on the Lake,, have their' Fuel. i On thefe Canals one may obfervCy that almoft every Peafant and Gardener has the Convenience ©f a little Creek and Boat, for carrying his Com- modities to the neighbouring Markets. HAERLfiM, a large, handfom City, re- markable for Variety of Fortunes in War, and Inventions and Manufadures in Peace. Travellers generally hurry thro*^ it too fall, few Haying a Night here. There are two kinds of Curiofities in all the Countries and Cities of Europe, and thofe may be called ancient and modern. The former are lb embroiled with Fable and Legend,, that after much Trouble little or no Satisfadion is received from them. The other being of a frefher Date,, are more certain, and give a great deal of Pleafure to- thofe who have either heardJ them mentioned in Converfation, or read of them./ A Man can hardly go thro* a Street of Haerlem^ without feeing feme Obje(5l that purs him in mind of the Hiftory of the Country, or of Ibme amazing Inftance of Wit and Bravery. For this reaibn no curious Traveller will omit ob- ferving all that comes in his Way. The Ruins of the old Caftle, wherein the Burghers befieged the Lord of the Place for his Tyranny, are ftill to be feen.. This Siege had GOft Of H O L L J N D, SS5^ coll him his Life, if his Lady had not capitulated to furrender, on Condition that fhe fhould be allowed to briflg OQt ais fnuch of her moft valua- ble Goodsi as fhe could carry on het Back. Im confequence fhe brought her Hufband out upon her Shoulders, preferved him from their Fury^ and left the Palace to their Mercy. Whilft thefe Provinces were fighting for their Liberty, Haerlem fuftained a very long and me* morable Siege in 15^3. againfl the Spaniards under the Command of the Duke D*^lva*s Son> Hiftorians mention almoft . as many Heroines, as Heroes, who defended the City. Strada fays, that they held a Correfpondence with the Prince 6f Orange by Carrier Pigeons ; which being dif^ cover *d at length by the fettling of one of them upon a Tent of the Spanijh Camp, the Spaniards Ihot all the pigeons about the Town, and put an End to it. T^he befieged being at laft reduced to eat Leather, Gfafsj and evfery Animal that had Blood in it, furrendered the Town, and 2000 of them were put to death in cold Blood contrary to the Capitulation. Two Years aftef the City of Leyden held out a Siege againft the fame Enemy, not with more Bravery, though with better Succefs. Laurence Cofier^ the Inventef of Printing, the bed Art for perpetuating all others, had former- ly a Statue with this Infcription over the Gate of tlie Houfe he lived in : A a ;2i Memori^ '355 A D E S C R I P T I O N Memorise facrunt, TypographiAj ^rs artium optima ConferuairiXj Hie primufn imenta Circa annum M.CCCC.XL; The Magiftrates keep the firfl Book printed by Cofier, in the Town-houfe. It is in a filver Cafe wrapt up in Silk : but it is no very eafy Matter for a Stranger to get a Sight of that Curiofity. The great Church is worth feeing on different Accounts, which are too many to be enumerated. Of this kind are the three Ships hung up in it^ in Remembrance of the extraordinary Bravery of the Inhabitants of Haerlem in the Holy Land, at the Siege of Damiafa^ anciently Pelufium. For their Valour on that Occafion the following Arms were given them ; a Sword between four Stars with a Crofs over the Point of it, with this Motto, Vim vicit virtus^ Valour overcomes Force, Haerlem lies between Amjlerdam and the Sea, from the laft of which it is only four Miles diflant. The Inhabitants would fain have a Canal cut thither, but Amjierdam will not agree to it, becaufe that would bring the whole Trade thither ; which, with other Reafons, occafions no good Underftanding between the two Cities. The fame kind of Jealoufies prevail between all the 0£ H L L J N D, 357 the Towns, and indeed the whole feven Pro- vinces. But this wife People have hitherto been On their guard to prevent thole mutual Animo- fities from breaking out to the Prejudice of their Peace, and the Union. Haerkm therefore has fubfifted by its Manufa6hires only ; viz, Dam^ilks, Ydvtt^ Sattin, and other fiJk Stuffs, Thread, and above all whitening of Cloth, the flimy Water of their Lake being the beft for that purpofe of any in the Country. Moft of the Linens commonly called Holland and Cambrick, vended all over Europe, are adtually wove in Flanders^ but fent down to Haerkm to be bleach*d. Great Quantities of fine Linen made in North Britain and Ireland are alfo lent hither by Sea for the fame purpofe. The Charge of whiten- ing, and Carriage backwards and forwards, uliially amounts to nine or ten Pence a Yard. Nothing has been omitted for laving fo great a Charge. Bleachers, Natives of Holland^ with their Families, have been, brought over, and fettled at a confiderable Expence, and handfe)m Bleacheries made on the moft likely Spots ; but nothing will do, except thofe Artifts could have brought their Air and Water along with them. However what our home Manufadhire wants in Whitenefs, is abundandy made up in its Strength and Durablenefs, and it were to be wilhed, th^t' ^e could add alfo in Cheapnefs. The Soil of Leyden and Haerkm is reckoned the beft for Fbwers, and particularly Tulips, of Aa 3 which 35S A D E S C R^I f; T I O N which the Butch we.re formerly fond almoft to Madnefsi but their Tafte is now much altered. Without the Walls there is a plea^nt Wood. The Palace built here by Count Florence V. i;^ worth feeing, on account of -the fine Pictures in it ; particularly thofe of all the Counts or Earl^ of Holland ; feveral excellent Pieces done by Hemskirk and Qollzius -, but the beft are thofe of Cornelius of Haerkm, His Herod killing the In- nocents, his Feafl of the Gods, in which Vulcan^^ Foot is highly admired, and his Friar and Nun at a Collation, are very fine Paintings. In the Summer-houfe in the Garden is the Pifture of Laurence Cojler^ whofe Birth does indl^eci thj; greateft Honour to Haerkm. I cannot conclude this Article without men? tioning a very remarkable Thing that happened here, and which is attefted by good Writers. In 1403. a Mermaid w^s caft afhore by a Tempeft |iear this City, and was brought to eat Bread ^nd Milk, and to Ijpin, and lived many Years. She would frequently pull off her Clothes, and run towards the Water. She could npt ipeak, but made ^ confufed Noife j and having learned to make the Sign of the Crols, was buried in the Church-yard when Ihe died. Such amphi- Jjious and unnatural Spedacles are fo very rare, that they are fcarce credible. A Male of the fame Species is mentioned to have been taken near the, \^me Time in England, which was fuilen,. fed upon Q^ H L L A N 3, 359 upon Fifh, and for Want of due Care flole away to the Sea again. , It is above two Hours from Haerkm to Ani- Jierdam. About half way thither are prodigious Sluices, from which the Paffengers walk about half u Quarter of a Mile to change Boats. There are few Country Seats here for want of Room, the Canal having the Lake on the South, and the River T on the North. Amsterdam lies in North Latitude 52. 50. about one Degree North of London, It is about four liCagues, or twelve Miles, in Circum- ference, and lies on the T, at the Mouth of the ,Zuyder Sea, in the Form of a Crefcent. It is fortified with an exceeding broad and deep Foffe, and a Rampart of Earth faced with Brick in exquifite Order, and has eight Gates. It is juftly called the modern ^tyre^ as being the mofl beautiful, noble, opulent trading City in the World. Strangers are ftruck with Amaze- ment at the Sight of it. London is much larger, and more populous ; but is far excelled by it in .Cleanlinefs, Beauty, Magnificence, and Trade: I mean that kind of Trade, which is gainful, and truly beneficial to a State. Nay the "Dutch .Capital has more Ships and Trade in the Grols. The Number of Veflels in the Ports of London and Ainjlerdam perhaps appear equal to the Eye, but there are generally four or five hundred ( Colliers, that contribute to fill the former. For thefe twelve Years paft, 2000 Sail have annu- Aa 4 ally 36o A D E S C R I P T I O N ally enter'd the Port of Amjierdam^ one Year with another, and not lOO per Month the Port" of London, Fifteen Eaji India Men have enter'd Amflerdam every Year during that Term, and the valuable Cargoes of perhaps ten of them are re-exported to the other Nations of Europe in a great meafure for ready Money. Mod of the Cargoes of our India Ships are confumed at home in Luxury. The People of Amfterdam are more the Carriers of Europe^ than the Londoners^ the Cheapnefs of Freight of the former overbalancing the Advantages the latter have by their Pajfes. The chief Trade of Amjierdam is with Spain^ the Straits, and the Indies ; whereas London en- grofles the EaJi India Trade in all its Extent, to the Prejudice of the other trading Towns of the Kingdom. Amfterdam and Holland are Gainers by every Veflel they fend to Sea, except thofe to France for Wine, Brandy, and Salt. London and England are Lofers by every Veflel they freight, except thofe to the Plantations and Ireland (which may properly enough be reckon- ed Parts of England) and to Portugal and Guinea, But we will carry this difagreeable Parallel no farther at prefent. The Government of this City is fo excellent, fo well regulated, and exadl, that perfedl Peace and admirable Order prevail in all Things ; Bleflings not to be found in any other City in the World of liich Extent, and inhabited by {o m^ny different Nations : A Proof of which is. Oi H L L A N D, 361 that in fome Years there are not four Malefaftors executed. The Laws are no where better obey'dj nor the Magiftrates and their Subordinates more revered, than in Amjierdam -, and perhaps no where lels, which we are ibrry to fay, than in London. ' ■ ■*' ^' . This great City is extremely p(^ulous. Tho* laft Year, 1739. only 7507 Perfons, and the Year before 7562 died in it, yet at a Medium for fifteen Years 9000 have died in it annually. In H Paris^ for the like Term of Years, twice that Number, or 18,000, have died; from whence it is concluded, that the Capital of France contains about twice the Number of Souls of that of the IJnited Provinces. In London about 24,000 have died 5 but if the Villages and detached Houfes included within the Bills of Mortality are taken in, about 26,000 But had a Key, or Street, after the Fire of London, been made along the Banks of the l^bmnes, from th^ Bridge to Wejiminfter, it would have far exceeded any Thing of that, kind Amjierdarn has to fhewj and all the Canale Grande c^ Venice with their Gondolas put together. As the London Side of the 'Thames lies to the South, and the few Trees iji the Temple Walks flourifh well^ it is evident, that the moft magnificent Groapes and Rows of them might have been raifed on the Banks of that noble River. o'i^^ y . At the Extremity of the Key of Amfierdam are two vaft publick Buildings, which defervejl very nice Oblervation of the curious, |,,IX. The firHis. the Ad-mira'lty. The Contrivance of this Houfe is admirable. It is fituated almoft in the Water at the North-eaft End of the City near the Zuyder S&^. It confifts of three Sides of a Square, in the midft of which IS the Yard for building Men of War, the fourth being open tOj the Water. The Front is 7,20 Feet iongj and the Wings 200. The Arms and Stores belonging to the Ships, are kept in excellent Order in feveral Chambers, The Keep- ers are fliy of . fhewing the Houfe, though they need not be afhamed gf any Thing that belongs ■:m H L L A \^ D. ^ft toit, " The fb much boallcd Arfenal o^ Vmice is not comparable to it, though there are fo^r other Jefler Admiralties, or -Docks, (belonging to the Republick, befides this of Amfterdam. The Buildings and Docks of Wi^iwicb and Chathafn are indeed handfom, and well f^civided with flaval Stores; but their ^Situation will not ad- mit of the Negttfej&tandf Order ,coft^icuous in «he othen'-^-'' ''""^''nt>qc/i 'jfi! \Ux woi^i , There are now near feventy Men Of War lying herei ■ Uiii ,i» iThe wlwle Dutch Nav^ at th^ Bay confifts H^ almofl: feventy Men of War here, eight at Hehoetjluys^ eight at Flujhingy three at ^er-'ueer m Zmloftd^ and fifteen It Horn in Nc^th Holland and HarUngen in Guelderland. They have, befides thefe, fourteen or fifteen Sail at Sea on Convoys ; in all about ii 8 Sail of the Line, befides Galleys, <£^' 'X. A lir^k beyond the Admiralty ftands the ^afi India Company's Magazvne. It is a very large regular Building of feveral Stories. They keep the Stores and Wares, which they have -not room for in their other Warehoufes, here, and in the Eafi India Houfe, which is in the middle of the City. The very Air is fcented * This true Account of the prefent State of the Navy ijnay remove the vulgar Error, that the naval Strength of *the Republick is now very inconfiderable. The Dutch are -too wife a People to let their Navy go to ruin, or be re- duced even to a. low Condition, in Tillies of the moft pro- found Peace. B b 2 with 37t A D E S C R I P T I ON with the Spices J and other Aromaticks contained in this Place, and differs from that one breathes any where elfe in Europe -, fo that the Paflenger is apt to imagine himfelf in the remote odoriferous Climates of Arabia^ India, and Japan. The Water is fometimes feen covered a great Way, though not without Regret, with Spices, (^c. for the Company, in order to keep up the Markets, throw all the luperfluous Stores of that kind into the River. Behind the Houfe is the Yard, with Docks for building Ships, Work-houfes for Anchor- fmiths, and all other Conveniencie^ for building Veflels. \y This Company, notwithftanding the feveral Eaji India Companies of other Nations, fupports itfelf in a much envied Prolperity. The trite Refledions, that ufually occur on mentioning it, are, that it is a Republick within the Republick; that it has Kings and Princes tributary to it ; that it has a more ablblute Power, and greater Territories in thole remote Regions, than the State has in Europe; that its Wealth and military naval Strength are equal to that of fome Kingdoms j in fine, that the Go- vernor of Baiavia lives in greater Pomp and Grandeur, than his Mafters do at home, ^c. But the Englijh Reader will perhaps be better pleafed with Ibme Obfervatlons of a more ufeful Nature, and more affcfting his own Country ; for which reafon I iliall traofiently touch upon a few £ d a Matters, Oi H L L A ISl D. sys Matters, and leave him to improve upon them as he thinks fit. The DuUb Eaft India Company is undoubtedly richer, and more powerful than the Engli/hi which muft have arofe from the many Advan- feiges the former has over the latter. As firfl, the Dutch Company was eftabliflied many Years before the Englijh^ and had arrived to a Degree of Maturity, and fecured proper Setdements, before the other had its Birth. The 'Dutch Company navigate their Ships at a much eafier Rate than the Englijh can : They vidhial them cheaper \ they man them with fewer Hands, and give left Pay. Four Dutch Veflels make the Voyage at no greater Expence than three Englijh \ which is very confiderable Odds. The Situation of Holland^ not only with re- fpe6t to the Sea, but the many Rivers navigable into Flanders^ Switzerland, and from thence into the North of Italy, but efpecially into all Parts of Germany, gives the Exporters of the Dutch Commodities great Advantages ; not to mention its Vicinity to the Baltick, by which they ftill fupply in a great meafure the Norrii of Europe, Denmark, Sweden, Rujfia, Poland, and the North of Germany, The lexel, which is the Port of Amjlerdam, lies in a manner at the Mouth of the Baltick. Time and Experience are the beft Teachers of Wifdom i a Maxim, which holds good as * Bb 3 well ^74 A D E S C R I ^ T I Q3N well in coUeftive Bodies of Men, a^:, Individual?. The Butch Company have had the Space of an hundred and forty Years to make thenifcJves Mafters every where of ^11 the Secrer^-ip JradQ affecting their Intereftitl -jloir; ytpA fiijn^ But the greateft Advantage that : Cotinpany has over ours, is the extraordinary Care the Gor- vernment takes of it. Every three Years the Affairs and Accounts . of the Company arje laid; before the States General i, which is done by their. High MightinefTes, no^ wi^h the View of prying malicioufly into the Management and Secrets of its Trade, but in order to aid it with their Adr: vice when neceflary, to awe the overgrown Di-r redors, to afcertain the Fidelity of all the Ma^ nagers from the highcft to the loweft, and to give the Company fuch Lights and Hints, as i% may have Occafion for, in effeft of the Conjun' £tuYQ and State of the Affairs of Europe. In a word, the Dutch Company is as dear to the Re- publicjc, to tife the Expreffion, as the Apple of its Eye, and is fure of all the Favour in the Power of the Government. The Cafe is very different with refpeft to the Englijh Company. From the many enormous Duties which the Go* vernment feems to have perpetuated on their ^Merchandizes, and which amount to little le^ than an abfolute Prohibition ; it feems a Mattep pf Indifference to them, whether the Company (ink or fwim ; and yet it rhay be affirmed per- Jiaps with ^reat Truth,, that our Cpmpany have X,CZ . defervecl ex HOLLAND, 375 deferved more by exporting infinite Quantities of our Woollen, Linen, and other home-made Manu- fadlures, and by vaft Advances and Loans to the Government during the laft forty Years, than the Dutch fince its Commencement. In the Year 1698. the Englijh Company advanced no lefs than two Millions for the Monopoly of the Trade : The Commencement of the other Com- pany was rather expenfive to the State. But this Subject has already carried me too far ; befides which, we have drawn a Parallel be- tween the two great rival Companies elfewhere at large. XL After having contemplated this vaft Maga- zine of the Spices, Gums, and rich Perfumes of the Eaft, and been fufficiently fweeten*d, and in a manner embalmed alive in them, the next Step is to the Plantagie^ or Plantation^ where one breathes a very different Air. Such fine publick Walks, as this Grove, or Plantation, forms, is a no lels uncommon than beautiful Sight in a great City. It confifts of feveral fine Rows of Trees, one of which fome imagine to be fpread by Art in the Shape of a Fan; but I co^jld never have fo difcerning an Eye as to perceive fuch a Re- femblance. , , XII. The Phyfick Garden is reckon'd one of the beft in Europe for Exotic Plants, and any body may have Permlfllon to walk in it* M. Bb 4 John 376 A DESCRIPTION John * Burtmn, ProfefTor of Phyfick and Botany-, has the Care of it, and receives the c'uripus Stranger with great Politenefs and Humanity. A very able Botanift would be puzzled to know all the Plants he fees here, very many of them having been brought from the Eaji Indies in the Company's Ships. XIII. We have already mentioned the Schola Illufiris of this City, in which there are fix Pro- fefibrs in the fcveral Faculties. XIV. The publick Mufick-houfes have under* gone Diverfity of Fortunes. Sometimes they have ample Toleration j fbmetimes they have Infpedt- ors, to lee that no Indecencies are committed in them, in which Cafe all good Company aban- don them, except Strangers, whom Curiofity may excite to ftep in to fee the Humours of the Place : At other Times, in effe<5t of great Dif- orders, they are fhut up. Nothing is fb much to be cenfured in the Government of this City as the licens-d Houfes, which exceed any Thing of the kind even in Rome itfelf. What t\iQ State offers in its own Defence upon this Head, is too long to be repeated here, and amounts to a ftale Maxim (which has of late been revived, and fct in a full Light in a formal Treatife) viz. Ihat private Vices are ;puhlick Benefits. ? Tfiis ProfeHbr js at prefcnt preparing a new Edition of G. E. Rumpbii, M. D. {ff in jimhoina confulis. Herbarium' AMBoiNENsk, 45'f. The Work will make fuc Volijniei' ra FoHo, and be adorned with line Copper-plates taken on ):*ie Spot, k ?CV. TliQ Oi H L L A N T>. 377 ^ XV. The Dutch Playhoufe here is worth vifit- mg at leaft once by the curious. Here they may fee the Follies and Humours of human Life ini- mitably well a6ted by Perfons who are not Players by Profeflion. The Houfe is properly ^e Government's : Their Officers receive the Mo- ney, defray the Charges, pay the A6lors, and clear, all Expences paid, about 5000 1. Sterling a Year, for the Ufe of the Hofpitals, and other Poor. If fuch a Sum is raifed out of one Dutch Playhoufe, where the Prices are ^o moderate, what might not be raifed out of the three fine Theatres at London^ allowing the A(?:ors a reafon- at)le Provifion? No doubt a confiderable Sum towards eafing the Inhabitants of London and Wejiminjier of the Poor's Rate, and maintaining Ibme of the unendow'd charitable Foundations bandfomly. XVI. There ftill remains a Convent of re- Kgious Women, called * Beguines, in this City. * There are many fuch Eftablifhments amongft the Roman Catholicks. Thpir Life is a kind of Medium between a fecular and religious Life, which fuch chufe, as love a rc» gular, but fecial Retirement. There are two very large and ^eautifiil Convents of Beguin(s at Gbent and Br^JfeU. They are about a Mile in .Circumference, and confifl of neat little Streets, with the Church or Chapel in the Centre. Every Beguine has her little Apartment and Garden, or there is one Ipacious Garden for them all. They have a Chaplain : They take no Vows of Chaftity, ^e. They employ their Time in making JLace, vifiting the fick, or any other Manner they pkafe. They wear black, with a particular kind of xpund cover upon rhcir Heads plaited in the Form of a Rofe, apd about a Foot in Diameter. The reft of their Head-drefs is of Cambrick, like that of P Piles of Wood, no Coaches, except to Ibme Phy- ficians and Strangers of Note, were formerly aU lowed; inftead of which, Sleds made like Coaches, but flow, and uneafy in their Motion, were ufed, Howeyer at prefent they are much come into the Ufe of Coaches with Wheels, and drawn by Horfes. The great Defeat of this City is the Want of fpring Water, and if we may believe Travellers and others, the Want alfo of Converfation. As to the firft, the Inhabitants chiefly ule rain Wa- ter, which they have Cifl:erns to receive. The Air of the City is not wholfom, and it was fre- quently vifited by the Plague formerly, but not fince 1663. when they filled up their Wells, 3nd began to ufe rain Water. And indeed had- ^Jcrdam fomg Fountains of clear Water, a 0( H O L L A N, D. 379 little better Air, and perhaps we may add Con- verfatiorij it would be not only the fineft, as it is, but the moft agreeable City in the Wofld; But nothing can be, as Hsrace fays. Ex omui parte beatum, Happ^, or perfect in every refpe6i. XVIII. In almoft every Corner of Amjlerdam amazing Examples of Induftry are to be feen, even in thofe, whofe Age, Sicknefs, and bodily Infirmities would obtain a Difpenfation from working any where elfe. Thofe who thinki that the Dutch have more of Matter than Spirit in their Compofition, may here fufficiently un^ deceive themfelves. More furprizing Inflances of Art and Ingenuity are to be oblerved in Amfier- dam^ than in any other City of the World. And indeed other Cities of Europe have had the Mo- dels of moft of their ufeful Contrivances and Ma- chines of various Sorts from this: I ule the Term ufeful^ becaufe the Excellency of the Works of Art here confifts in their Utility, all being of real Ufe and Ornament in Life. Moft other Nations, and even thole who arro- gate all Wit and Art to themfelves, to the Ex- clufion of the reft of Mankind, excel generally in mere Bagatelles^ Things for which they have not been ingenious enough to invent another Name than Trifles. What can be more extraor- dinary, than to turn Prifons into Houfes of In- duftry. Sick-beds into Workfhops, aiid to emr ploy even the blind for the good of themfelves ^nd the Publick? The ancient Author's pretty ^jiuAuk Pefcriptioa ^ ADESCRIPTION Defcription of Alexandria, the Capital of Egypt} may with great Juftnefi be applied to Anjierdam. *' * A rich and opulent City, that abounds with ** every Thing, and where no body can be idle. *' Some are employed in making Paper, Ibme " Glafs, and others Linen : All are bufy in one " Thing or another. The lame have their *' Employments, the Blind their Work ; and *' even thofe, who have the Gout in their Hands, ** are not liiffered to be idle.** When a Stranger is at Amjlerdam, it is worth .Jiis while to crofs over to No rth Holland^ alias Wefi Friejkndy ar)d make the Tour of that {j fmall, but beautiful Spot. Formerly it was a perfed M^rfh, pompofed of many great Lakes, feparated from each other only by high Roads, or Dikes; but now nothing remains of them, except their Names and Dimenfions in § Maps : They are entirely drained, and metamorphofed into one of the moft delightful Countries in the World. \t is full of beautiful Towns and Vil- lages, in the midft of pleafant Gardens apd ricji • Civitas opulenta, dives, foecunda, in qua nemo vivat otiofus. Alii vitrum conflant, ab aliis charta conficitur, alii linyphiones funt : oipnes certe cujufcunque artis et videntor et habentur. Podagrofi, quod agant, habent : habent csci quod faciant : ne chiragrici quidem apud eos otiofi vivunt. Hadrian. De Alexandr. apud Vopifc. in Saturnin. c. 8. Ij In that excellent political Writer Aitzema, we find, if 100 1. be to be levied, South Holland fuTXiifhts 89, and North flo/Iandonly 11, according to Agreement in 1668. § The Beemjier, the Purmr, the Scbermer, th(^ Wormfr» the Zypiy and the Waeit. r^cdan^i;'/! Pafhires. Of H L L A N D. 381 Failures. With the Milk of their numerous Herds of Cows they make vaft Quantities of excellent Cheefe and Butter, which enrich the Country. Sir fFilliam Temple did not let this Corner efcape his Obfervation. He fays, the t Beemfler (formerly a rotten Marlh) is fo well planted with Gardens, Orchards, Rows of Trees, and fertile Inclofures, that it makes the pleafanteft Landfkip he ever faw. It was here, in the Ho- fpital for fuperannuated Seamen, he tells us, that he met with the only rich Man he ever iaw in his Life ; for when he ofFer'd him a Crown for having fhewn him the Hofpital and Church adjoining, and given him a pleafant Account of his Adventures by Sea, the Man refufed it, and told Sir PFilliant, that he had no need of Money, being plentifully fupplied with all Neceflaries in the Hofpital. Hegenitius mentions a difftrent kind of Wonder that he law in this Town. This was a Camelion, which was kept alive for fome Days, during which it appeared of all Co- lours except red and white. At Edam the Mer- maid, mentioned before in our Account of Haerkniy was caught in the Mud by fomc young Women going to milk their Cows in tli^ Purmer, f This Lake was drained in i6i2. after four Years La- bour. It contains 7090 Acres, befides the high Ways and Dikes, that furround and OfQk it in feveral Places, and makt; in all 10,000 Acres. They A^D E S C R I P T I O N They travel here on Canals, as in South Hd" hnd. The chief Towns are Momikendam^ Edams Purmerend, jUcmdar, H$om, Enchuyfen, and Me-- d&i^Bt' The 'Villages are, Saerdam over againll Af^fldrdam. It is populous and large, and lb t&- mafkabk for building of Ships, and Numbers of Ship Carpenters, tha^ it is commonly faid to be capable-of building as many every Year, as diere are Days in k. Schagen lies in the North £nd fSfj the Province i It is a good Village, and the adjajcent Country is reckoned the richeft Soil in Eur^pt. Egmont, a line Village, was the •Title of the Counts of that noble Family. It tiad formerly a fine JPalace or Caftle, and €h€ moft corifjderable Mofiatey in riie feveii J^rov-incesi' '-^-^^f* ^^ ^^.A ^u iuUj ' Befides^tfee ■t)uUdih'g'^ 'Ships, and exporting Vaft Quantities ef Batter and Cheefe, that vyes ^ Goodneis with t\iQfmt^Parmefan, this Pro- ■*ince drives a great Trade in I>anijh Cattle, and •the Herring Filhery ; but as to gener^ Trade, the Neighbour liood of jhifierdam dftdually pre- tvents that. The Dykes which fiirround this Province, are prodigioufly large and ftrong. 1' The Iflands * of 'I'atiel, Fleeland, and Scheming, which lie at the Mouth of the Zuyder Sea, be- long * The 'tioxel is the moft famous and confiderable of thefe Jilands. It is fix Miles long, and four broad, and. defended from the Sea by Sand-hills, and ftrong Banks. It contains fevexaj Villages, and a Town on the Eaft End called Burch. TPhe -Inhabitants apply themfelves chiefly to the Herring Fifhery, and grazing great Flocks of Sheep, of whole Milk they Of n L L A N V, 2h long to ]Slcrth Holland. This Sea, which iev^ for a large Port to Amjierdam, is jfo full of Shal- lows and flat Sands, that when I failed over it in a Veflel of only fburfcore Tons,- tve were fre- iqueiitly ftrand^d. It is highly probable, that it was formed by' ^KiAt^ great Inundation. An- cient Authors take no Notice of it, and tlie abovenrrentioned Iflswids lie like the brokeh lle- jrjains of a coaatiflued Coail. ^li^vom Emkhti^en there is a ihort Paflagcf df* thfee, Leagues io Sia^onn in 'Pmejland^ and frorh dieiice one travels by Canals to Lsuwardm aftd ¥rantksr^ t}as. two pincipal T<2>wns of that iPixDisrinte. .,i!-.Bbt Travellers rery rarely vifit the Provinces t>^ North "Holland and Friejknd. From Anifkr' dam Uhey generally go to Utreshl^ which. is -^ Pafiage of eight Hours on a Canal, that f6rt^ reckon the findft of the Province, for the l^il- kges. Seats, and Gardens upon it: Eut in my C^inion that, between Utreck iand L^m xx.* cceds it. : Ut re c h t, tho' it has not one remarkiblfc Stru^ture^ except the Steeple of t"he Cathedral, is however perhaps the moft beautiful Crty in Europe. It is lafger than the i/«?^., and mtx they "make citcellent Cheefe. The State, on aocotmt of th6 Importance of this little Ifland, which lies at the Mouth of the TLit^er Sea, have built a ftroBg Fort upon it, where th^ have ajways a good Garrifon. The Entrance here is no more than two Miles broad, and Part of that filled up with Sand. The Maps and S«a Chvts make it bjoade^r than it is. • >:* 3«4 A D E S C R I P T I O N to it, the pollteft Place in the (even Provinces^ Leyden is inhabited chiefly by Manufa6lurers and Tradefmen 5 Utrecht by a Iplendid Nobility, and others, who lead a quiet and elegant Life, and live upon their Eftates. Befides which, it is tha Capital of the Province, and hefe the fovereign Courts are held. It enjoys a fine Air^ and has a beautiful Country round it, with every other Bleffing that can render Life eafy and agreeable. The two principal Streets, which run the whole Length of the City, are the Oude Graaft, and the Niewe Gfaaft. Two fine Canals, of which the Waters are freflier than thofe of Lsyden^ and ebb and flow with the Sea, run through thofe Streets, and are adorned with handfom Bridges, and Rows of Trees on each Side. The Ouds Craaft is very fpacious and airy, full of VeflTels and Boats from moft: Parts of the Provinces'. The Niewe Graaft is inhabited by the Gentry^ The Grove round St. John*& Church is charm4 ing, and the Buildings magnificent. The greateft Part of the Cathedral lies in Ruins. Only one Ifle of it remains, in which Divine Service is performed. The Cloiflers are converted to the Ufe of the Univerfity, and ferve for Halls, where the Profefibrs read their publick Le<5tures.- The Steeple is very handfom, and fo high, that there is a vaft Profped: of great Part of five of the feven Provinces from its Top, and on the South* eaft all the Way to Cle^^^es in Germany ; not td mention fifty one wi'nenter are in the Neiglv bourhood of Lj3o : A Dcfcription of them may be found in the common Books of Gepgraphy. There is another Way to 1j)Q by Amersfort : It is twelve Leagues thro' a fandy unpleafant Coun" try ; wherefore I think the fine Road juft de- Ipribed by the Way of Rhenen and Arnheim liiuch tlie mqft eligible. Soefdyke^ another Pa- lafe Oi H L L A N D. 405 lace belonging to his Highnefs, is almoft four Leagues to the North of Utrecht^ and well worth feeing. ?i 3l Nimeguen, the Bulwark of the United Pro- vinces on this Side, is only two Leagues from Arnheim ; from thence to Ckves in Germany is four Hours more ; a fmall City, but famous for its fine Air, Plantations, and fhady Walks. The dired Road from the Hague to Brujfels and Paris is by the Poft-waggon, which fets out from Charloos, a Village on the other Side of the Maes over againft Rotterdam. That Machine carries you to Breda or Antwerp in a Day for a Piftole. But if the Wind ferves, it is better to take the Boat from Rotterdam, which arrives at Antwerp in twenty four Hours : the Paflage cofts one Gilder. From Antwerp to Brujfels take half a Day either in the Stage, or by Water, partly on the Scheld, and partly on a beautiful Canal. From this laft City the Diligence, or Flying Coach, goes in three Days to Paris: the Paflage cofts about two Guineas. Valenciennes is the moft confiderable Town on the Road. To go to Spaw, or Aix la Chapelle, the Me- thod is to take the Brujfels Stage for Louvain, which is four Leagues -, and from thence the Diligence goes in one Day to Maefiricht, or Uege, Moft Travellers take Maejlricht in their Way firft ; and indeed that City is well worth feeing, befides its being fo much celebrated in the milir tary Hiftories of the Low Countries^ A Boat D d 3 goes 40^ A D E S C R I P T I O N goes off every Morning from hence to IJege; which lies only, five Leagues higher on the Maes. It is drawn by four Horfes, which are obliged to fwim a confiderable Part of the Way with Men on their Backs. The Horfes being ufed to ity perform the Journey with no great Bifficulty.: When the Wind as well as the Stream is againft the Boat, the Paflage feems tedious to fome i though, I own, I never could think it fo ; the various Scenes on this fan^oui River being fo beautiful-., ;, .-:. ^ ;. J The Country of Li e g^e is large, pliftafantV and fruitful. No Bifhop and Clergy any where are more at their Eafie, or more, nobiy^ provided for than here. Almoft the whole Country belongs to them. The States are com- pofed indeed of the Bifhop, Clergy, and Gen- tleoaen. of the Country ; but tho* the latter de- feay one third Part of the Expences of the Go- vernment, they are not poflels*d of the twen-' tieth Part of the Territory. I travelled thro' the whole Country in 1739. viz. from Fenk ta Spaw, and faw only two new Houfes building; by Country Gentlemen. Two neighbouring Convents had a right, it feemed, to the Fruit of the Orchards, the Wooll, and Part of the Eleih of the Sheep that grazed in the Inclo- fures, the Fiih in the new-made Ponds, and the Ground, upon which thefe Gentlemen were building their Houfes, and making thefe Im- • ' ■ iprovements,' Of U O L L A N D. 407 provements. Upon this Occafion I could nol Forbear repeating to myfelf VirgWs - Sic vos non vobis velkra fertis oves. The Peafants are very poor and naked, tho' they live in a Paradife of Plenty and Pleafure. They are courteous, good-natur*d Creatures, and their Matters mutt have Hearts of Stone to ufe them as they do. The Gentry are a civil, open- hearted kind of Men, and give into the fame Complaints as the Peafants, but with more Vivacity. Liege is a vaft City : It lies in a delightful Valley on" the Banks of the Maes. It is fur- rounded with high Hills cultivated to the Top with fine Vineyards, and watered with feveral beautiful Rivulets that fall down into the River* The Epifcopal Palace, which was lately burnt down, is rebuilt in the moft exquifite Tafte, and with amazing Magnificence. The Infcription that is already put up over the grand Portal, fays, that the Palace was rebuilt at the Charges of the Bilhop, Clergy, and City of Liege. The Biihop, or Prince, for he is generally called by the laft Title, was chofe in 1724. by the Chapter, againft mighty Competitors. He was of the Chapter, and is a Native of Brujfels^ The Inns here are incomparable. The Wines excellent and cheap, as are all kinds of Pro- vifion i fo that few Strangers, who vifit this D d 4 Country 4oa A D E S C R I P T lO N Country and City, but think they could pa(s their whole Lives moft agreeably here ; and in- deed not a few have chofe to do fo. The only Inconvenience is the Language, which is neither High Dutch, Low Dutch, Flemijh, nor French, but a Mixture of all four, this Territory lying in the very middle of the Countries, where thofe Languages are fpoken. The Englijh Jefuits are well accommodated with an Houfe, which lies oft an Hill, and commands the fineft Views ; the City and River below, and the Vineyards on the oppofite Hills. Their Garden is defcribed by Mijfon perhaps to Advantage, tho' neither he nor any Author can iky too much, when they exprefs the Beauty and Grandeur of its Situation, and of the Convent. It is well worth the Stranger's while to vifit this Society, with whom no other Introdudion of Apology is neceflary, than the Curiofity of a Traveller. As they are all Gentlemen, and Perlbns, who have made a Figure in the polite W^orld, in the Days of their Vanity, they receive thofe who vifit them, with Abundance of Polite- nefs. One even finds an Opennefs in their Mari- ners, which is more the Character iftick of their Nation than of their Order. As feveral of them have been bred in the ProfefTion of Arms, and Employments foreign to the Study of Letters, their Library is but moderately furnilh*d, and they devote themfclves more to the Duties of Religion, than to writing, and abftrafted Eru- dition^ O^ H L L A N D. 409 dition. They are fo well-bred, as never to touch upon Controverfy •, and do not receive Perfons the worle for not bowing to the Crucifixes, which frequently occur in lurveying the Convent. To render one's felf the more agreeable to them, the Traveller would do well to have the frefhfft News from England^ and to relate it without Prejudice or Difguile. The Converfation gene- rally turns upon that Subjeft, the Country of Liege^ the Waters of the Spaw and Pyrmont, and upon theHappinefs of Retirement from the World. From Liege to Spaw is eight Leagues, and from thence to Aix la Cbapelk feven. . Thofe who chufc to return by theWay o( Calais^ where the Sea is only feven Leagues, or twenty one Miles over, may take a View in their Way of the ftrong Towns in Brabant and Flanders, The Route is on the River Maes to Namur, which is nine Leagues. Huy is half Way. To Mons ten Leagues. To 'Tournay five. To UJle four. To St, Omers eight, and from thence to Calais five. All thefe Stages may be gone either in the Stage Waggon, or Poft Chaifes. The PaflTage from Calais to Dover cofts a Crown j but if the Paflenger takes a Bark to himfelf, two Guineas. From Calais the lofty white din's, upon which Dover Caftle (lands, are feen. If the Wind be fair, the Pafiage is only three Hours, fo that one has Icarce Time to be Sea-fick. The ufual Manner of going from the Hague to London^ is either by the Packet Boat, or the Englijfj 4IO A DESCRIPTION 'Englijh Sloops at Rotterdam ; of which laft we have given an Account above. The other is the moft expeditious, and bed Paflage. You take Chaife at the Hi^ue for Maejkndjltdcey which is three Leagues, and where there is a good Inn. Here you crofs the Mouth of the Maes^ which is almoft half a League over to the Brill. The Packet Boat formerly came hither i but Helvoetjkys has been found to be more commo- ,dious, having a greater Depth of Water. Thofe who have an Hair to fpare here, may employ it in viewing the Fortifications of the BriU and Helvoetjlttys. As thofe Places are only a League and an half from each other, if the Weather be good, as the Road is, it is more Pleafure to walk it than go in the Stage Waggon, which is no-ve^fy agreeable Vehicle. There are Englijk Inns, here, but I can recommend none of them, and have always found it beft for a Stranger to take up his Quarters in the good Inns of the Country thro* which be travels. As to thofe of Holland m particular, which ondefervedly lie un- fier fa bad a Name, if you eat at the Ordinary, .^WEUNIVERJ/A AKlOSANCElfX^ o ^^HIBRARYOc, ^UIBRARYQr I>5 "« ^lOSANCELfx^ O ^/sa3AiNa-3WV^ ^OFCAllFOi?^ ^ V? ^;OFCAllF0f?^ ^OAyvaaiiv^ ^;..OFCAIIFO% AMEUfJIVERS//j o %il9AINfl-3WV^ ^lOSANGElfjv, ■Y/lr...- . ...» -.rt-'* -s,^illBRARYQ^ ^^tllBRARYG^, ,*r> ^v.:^ ^WEIINI\ •35'. ::^