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Young Americans Abroad

<h2>Letter 36.</h2> Hague. Dear Charley:— I assure you we felt sorry to leave Antwerp; it is such a thoroughly fine old place, has so much of old Spanish history still bound up with its present aspect, and is so decidedly foreign in its appearance, language, &c. I have only time left to say a word about the docks of Antwerp, which were a favorite project of Napoleon Bonaparte. They were constructed at an enormous outlay; and the emperor expected to make this place the great rival of London. At the peace of 1814, the dock yards were demolished; but the great basins still exist, and are used for purposes of commerce. They are useful in winter, to preserve vessels from the ice which floats in the Scheldt. It was a lovely morning when, having parted with our English friends, who proceeded to Bruges, we entered on board an iron steamer for a passage of about eight hours to Rotterdam. The boat was neat and clean, though small, and the cabin was adorned with baskets and pots of flowers of various kinds. The view of the city and its fortifications was fine, as the boat receded from the shore. On our way we passed Dort, one of the finest towns of Holland, and from appearances, I think, one of much trade. Its population is twenty thousand. Here, in 1618, was held the famous Synod of Dort, the great labor of which was to settle the claims of the rival systems of Calvin and Arminius. At this synod, Bishop Hall was a delegate from the English church; and he, good man, never dreamed of denying the validity of the ordination of his brethren in that council. We felt interested, as we sailed along this town, in remembering that here, in 1421, seventy-two villages and more than one hundred thousand persons were drowned by the incursion of water from the dike. The river stretches far away, and looks much like a lake. If any one looks at the face of the country, he will at once understand why these regions have been termed the Low Countries. We passed, as you may see on the map, Gravendeel, Willeinstadt, and the far-famed fortress of Bergen op Zoom, which is one of the strongest places in Holland. You know that Antwerp stood a long siege in 1831, when it suffered severely; and, as we passed Fort St. Laurent, we were pointed out the spot where a most gallant occurrence happened at that time. A gun boat, belonging to Holland, got on shore, and the Belgians hastened to capture her, when her captain, a young man named Van Speyk, rushed into the magazine, put his cigar upon an open keg of powder, and, in the explosion, perished, with twenty-eight of his crew out of thirty-one. He was an orphan, who had been educated at Amsterdam. He has a fine monument next to Admiral De Ruyter's, and a fine ship of the Dutch navy bears his name. On board our boat we found two young gentlemen, of about fifteen or sixteen, belonging to Rotterdam, who were going home for vacation.. They are pupils at a boarding school in Brussels. They spoke English very well, and gave us a great deal of pleasing information. The dinner on the boat was very excellent. On reaching Rotterdam, we merely rode through it to take the cars for the Hague. It is a fine-looking town, has seventy-five thousand inhabitants, and some noble East Indiamen were lying at the wharves. Many of the houses were like those at Antwerp, and told a Spanish origin. I here noticed looking-glasses at the windows, so that any one in the parlor can see the reflection up and down the streets. I was glad to be able to see the bronze statue of Erasmus, who was born here in 1467. We were delayed by the absence of the authorities to sign our passports, but were in time to reach the ears, and then started for the Hague, which is thirteen miles from Rotterdam; and we were forty minutes on the way. The road is excellent. We passed through Delft, and here we could not fail to admire the gardens and country-houses. It was dark as we entered the town; and we took up our quarters at the Doelen, which is a name indicating that archers have resorted thither. Whoever goes to this house will be sure to do well. We obtained capital rooms. Early next morning we called on Mr. George Folsom, our chargé d'affaires. This gentleman is an old friend of mine; and he gave us a most cordial welcome, taking entire possession of our party for the day. Mr. Folsom resides in very handsome style upon the Voorhout, the best street of the city, and which, like every other part of the place, is adorned with noble trees. It seems strange to call this place a city, it is so thoroughly rural in its appearance. It hardly shows like a town of sixty-five thousand people on account of being concealed in shrubbery, cut up by canals, and overshadowed with forest-trees. Very early in the day we were kindly provided with carriages, and taken to Scheveningen, a village about three miles off. Our road lay through a fine avenue of trees. This is a great fishing-place, and a great watering-place. It has a large hotel, which we went to for lunch. It is the great rendezvous of the fashionable part of society in Germany during the heat of summer. We could not help drawing a contrast between Scheveningen and Newport, and not much to the advantage of the Dutch beach. This spot has some celebrity, as the port whence Charles II. embarked for England at his restoration. On our way back we saw the residence of the queen dowager, sister to the Emperor of Russia, and of whom Mr. Folsom speaks highly, as a very excellent and sensible lady. Mrs. Folsom and the ladies of our party had visited the queen the day before. The house looked quite snug, and very unpretending. On returning, we at once repaired to the Museum, which is supposed to be, in many respects, the finest in Europe. Here, too, is the famous picture gallery, in which are the best productions of the Flemish and Dutch schools. You are aware that Holland has had extensive trade with China and Japan, through her colonies; hence the richness of this museum, which, so far as Japan is concerned, is unrivalled. I have a catalogue of this wonderful collection, and to that I must refer you; for, as to description of what I saw, it would be impossible to tell you a hundredth part. The Oriental curiosities are very rich and fine. A plan of Jeddo, the capital of Japan, is very curious—made by natives. The historical treasures are rich and numerous. Here we saw the armor of De Ruyter, and that of Van Tromp, well scored with bullets; the sword of Van Speyk; a part of Czar Peter's bed; the dress of William of Orange when he was murdered at Delft; the pistol and bullets by which he fell, &c., &c. We all expected much pleasure from the gallery of paintings, and I believe we experienced no disappointment; and how could we, with such treasures of art and genius? Here we noticed with most interest Rembrandt's Surgeon and Pupils dissecting a dead Body. This is No. 127. The body is admirable, and the legs are thrown into shadow. The portraits are lifelike. The portraits of Rembrandt's wives are fine specimens of coloring. No. 123 is the world-renowned Bull, by Paul Potter. The glory of this work is its minute adherence to nature. The leaves and plants, and every appearance of vegetation, impresses the spectator with the idea of reality. This was carried off to the Louvre, although the Dutch offered twenty thousand pounds sterling to redeem it. I liked the pictures of De Ruyter and Van Tromp; but the treat of all to me was the show of small Dutch pictures, by Gerard Dow, thirty-five in number; a Battle Field and Hay Cart, by Wouvermans, and many others from his studio; Flight into Egypt, by Vanderwerp; Fruits and Flowers, by Breughels; Interiors of Cottages, by A.V. Ostades; a Kitchen, by Teniers; and a very large Hunting-piece by Snyders, whom I greatly admire. As to portraits, they are in any number, and some are very fine. One of Laurence Coster, by Durer, is curious. We went to see the late King's Palace, and here we found only the relics of the splendid gallery which was once to be seen. An auction had recently disposed of more than half the paintings. The late monarch was a man of taste, but had sadly involved himself in its gratification. Many of the paintings here are exceedingly fine, and will be disposed of in a public sale next October. After leaving this palace, we went with Mr. Folsom to see the Brimenhoff. This is the place where the Dutch parliament meets. We went into the second chamber and heard the debates, which were not very edifying. The appearance of the members was very much like that of a New England assembly of legislators. The fine Gothic Hall here is said to be the oldest building in the city. It was on a scaffolding in front of it that Barneveldt, the grand pensionary of Holland, was beheaded, in 1618, at the age of seventy-two. We also saw the gateway of the tower in which Cornelius De Witt was confined, in 1672, on the ridiculous charge of conspiracy against the Prince of Orange. The populace feared his acquittal, and they by a manœuvre induced his brother John De Witt, the grand pensionary, to visit him in prison. They then broke in, dragged them forth, and tore them to pieces under the gateway. We went to look at De Witt's residence, which is plain and unpretending. I do wish you could have been with us in our ride through the Bosch, a fine park of forest-trees near to the town. The forest never looked more pleasant to me than here. May is a sweet month, and especially when, with all her verdant beauty, she is just about to rush into the arms of June. We all talked of you in the charming drive, and Mr. Folsom made kind inquiries after you. On reaching home, we went with our kind guide to see the house which was occupied by John Adams when he was at this court negotiating a treaty with Holland in aid of our independence. We are to spend to-morrow and next day at Harlem, on our way to Amsterdam; and the boys will tell you what we see there. Affectionately yours, j.o.c. <hr style="width: 65%;" /> <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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