I fV, I ^ / c I p,. A m TOUR THROUGH THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC DVRINO THE LATTER PART OF THE YEAR ] 800. CONTAINING JN ACCOUNT OF THE REVOLUTION AND RECENT . E VENTS IN THA T COUNTUV. By R. fell. Quid verum, atque decens euro et rogo, Et omnis in hoc fum. Horat. Epist. LONDON: Printed for R. PHILLIPS, St. Paul’s Cburch-yard. SOLD BY T. HURST, AND WEST AND HUGHES, PATERNOSTER- ROW ; CAR^PENTER AND CO. OLD BOND-STREET J E. BALFOUR, EDINBURGH J AND j. ARCHER, DUBLIN. 1801. [T. Davifon, White-Friars, j ; li O T -r ■' r * ' •" ■■' ,■• ■'. ■ . . / ' ??vr • '.«! i5-SA”'=' i r -irTx- o^zi'IUwTao: V ■'■ • > . T T '•£*^ .51 .wi- .t-x ^ i> *JA J / ' ^\'v, C“'.a ADVERTISEMENT. TThE following letters' were, In part, written during the Tour which they defcribe, with a view to publication. They were addrefled to my Brother, and to that circumftance mull be attributed the ufe of the word you^ wherever it incongruoufly ap- pears. To many of my ftatements, I have avoided giving the authority of the Names of the Perfons from whom I derived them ; in all fuch cafes I have been influenced by this motive; — ^recently eftablifhed and feeble governments are often tyran- nical, and were I to name the perfons from whom I had my information, when I fpeak of the Ba- tavian Government with cenfure, I might pro- bably expofe to difagreeable confequences mofl: deferving individuals. March 31,, 1800. ’ Digitized by the Internet Archive .. , - in 2015 https://archive.org/details/tourthroughbatav00fell_0 CONTENTS. LETTER I, Capture of the Author on the Coaft of Yorkflilre, by a French privateer. Character of the prize-mafter and his crew : their ignorance of navigation. The Dutch pilot : his advice. Arrival off the Briel. Politenefs and hofpitality of the Dutch commodore. Account of the Briel. The tree of liberty. The face of the country. r r - • , I LETTER II. Civility of the Dutch Commodore : fingular learning of his chief Officer. A Batavian patriot: his fufpicions and rudenefs. Dutch tardinefs. The unpleafantnefs of detentioii. The great influence of the French in Holland. ^ - - ... 17 LETTER III. End of the Author’s detention through the means of Ge^ neral Chorie. Impoverlflied ftate of Maaflandfluys. Road to Delft. The Artillery of General Chorie’s brigade. Character of the General, The environs of Rotterdam, State-houfe ‘of that city. George the Second, - • t 26 LETTER IV, Rotterdam-T-Its convenient fituation for trade — ^The Inr- poveriffied ftate of its commerce, A fingular prefer ence given to cloth of Englifh manufacture. Arnica., ble fyftem of privateering, Corfairs belonging to Britifti. fubjeCts which failed under the French flag, Abufe^ corrected by Bonaparte, The ft.reets of Rot- fa terdam. VI CONTENTS. terdam. Architedlural tafte of the Dutch. Statue of Erafmus. Confternation with which the progrefs of the French armies was vieved at Rotterdam. Flight of the Englifh fervants. Arrival of the French. The municipality. Anecdotes of marigolds and oranges. The concert. The theatre. Religion. Public cha- xities. - - - 36 letti;r Y. A ftorm. The village of Overfehie — Its miferable ac- commodations. Delft. The mifehiefs of the ftorm. Beauties of the road. The flague — Its elegant build- ings. Removal of armorial bearings. Palace of the di» re 61 :ory. Firft chamber of reprefentatives. Tree of li- berty. Storks. Houfe in the wood* Catalogue of pic- tures. The portraits of the Stadtholder and his family not to be feen. Gardens belonging to the Houfe in the Wood. - - - - 60 LETTER VI. The prince’s cabinet of curiofities removed to Paris. What would probably have been its fate had it been tranfported to England. Scheveling. Diftrefs of the 'fifcrmen of Scheveling on the departure of the Prince of Orange — Rejoicings at the Hague on the fame oc- cafion. Sketch of the hiftory of the Stadtholders. Reports to the difadvantage of the prefent Prince of Orange. Difeontents in Holland. Imprudence of the Princefs of Orange. Effe£ls of the French revolution in the United Provinces. Animofity of the Dutch towards the Britifh troops. Moderation of the French. Some account of General Daendals. The revolution of Holland effe£led without blood. French emigrants. What contents; fli What would be the reception of an Ehglifhman in £hc French army. A citizen of the world. - 88 LETTER Vli. The road from the Hague to Scheveling. Deftru&ioa occafioned by the late ftorm. The beach at Scheveling. Averfion of the Dutch to the , air of the fea. The fifheries of Holland. Theatre at the Hague. A mem- ber of the Batavian directory. Impoverifliment of the Hague. Thoughts concerning the reftoration of the Stadtholder.’ Character of lils dec’eafed fon. Account of the prefent King of Pruflia. Literary traffic of the Hague. Great diminution of its magnificence. French troops. Their pay. - - - 113 LETTER Vllf. Departure from the Hague. Defcriptlon of a treckfchuyt. Cuftom of fmoking in Holland. Exchange between London and Rotterdam. Depreciation of the notes of the Bank of England. Forgeries. Delft. Decay of its potteries. Treatment of the fick and wounded of the Britifli army in 1795 by the burghers of Delfti Breweries.' Folitenefs of a French foldier. Leyden. Dutch houfes. Streets of Leyden. Stadthoufe. Pic- tures. Vigorous defence of the inhabitants of Leyden againft the Spaniards in 1573* Noble fenfiments of a bufgomafter. Univerfity of Leyden. Number of ftudents. - - - - 140 LETTER IX. The botanic garden. Palm-tree. Antiques. Theatre of anatomy. Public library. Portraits of illuftrious Dutchmen. Medallions of Engliffi republicans. St. tetcr’s church, a place of confinement for the Eng- b 2 lifh Viii CONTENTS, lidi and Ruffian prifoners. The gazette of LeyJcn^ t)utch newfpapers. Woollen manufadlures of Leyden. Probable (late of the univerfity when peace fhail be reftoredi - - - ^ - j6z LETTER X. Departure from Leyden. Haerlem. Dutch cleanMnefs. Cuftom of fmoldng. Prevalency of the ufe of to- .bacco in Holland. Famous organ of Haerlem. The revolution has not altered the drefs or manners of the Dutch. Coins the fame as before the revolution. Houfe of Mr. Hope. Haerlem claims the honour of having invented the art of printings Laurence Goftar. Defence of Haerlem againft the Spaniards. Violation of the articles of capitulation by Frederic of Toledo* The infancy of the republic the brlghteft period in its annals. Guefes. Mufeum of natural hlftory. Its fclentific arrangement* Teylerian inftitution. Bleach- cries of Haerlem. - - • lyg LETTER XT. Arrival at Amfterdam. Politenefs of a' Dutch lady. The Englifli Bible. Servants of hotels in Holland. Con- dition of fervants in general throughout the United Provinces. The French theatre. Profufion of diamonds worn by the ladies. A Hedge coach* Examination of paffports. General d’Henifdal. The Doele hotel ftadthoufe of Amfterdam. Apartment in which fen*' tence of death is pronounced on criminals. Baffo* relievos. Great hall of the ftadthoufe. Pictures. Ca- rillons. Prifon for felons and debtors. Humane laws of the republic refpe when you expefted us fafe arrived in London. Scarcely twelve hours of favourable wind had wafted us from your port, \yhen we perceiv- ed, at about the diftance of two miles, a B ' French TOUR THROUGH French corlalr,* in the aft of capturing an Engliih veffel. The fight, you may believe, alarmed us, who were unfurniihed with any means of defence, and could not hope to cfcape by flight from a veflel built for purpofes of fwiftnefs and fight. At this time there were perhaps thirty fhips in fight, any of which it was in the corfair’s power to capture ; and I indulged the hope that in his feleftion of a prize, we might have the good fortune not to be the objeft of his choice. Appearances for fome time flattered this hope : there was a brig near us, which car- ried more external marks of opulence about her than we bore, and it was this veffel, rather -^than ours, which the Frenchman chafed. There was fomething in this ftate of fufpenfe and uncertainty peculiarly dif- trefiing : as we might hope to efcape, every one, I believe, thought himfelf privileged to reprefent the evils of capture in the worft poffible light ; whereas, the moment it be- came inevitable we fhould be taken, with fuch facility does the human mind accommo- date itfelf to circumftances, every perfon became ' THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, 3 became endowed with a large portion of fullen refignation^ w^hieh anfwered all the purpofes of fortitude, and is indeed, in men of ordinary habits of thinking, a fubftitute qua- lity for that virtue. Poor felt almoft nothing for herfelf ; but her fympathy Was deeply excited for Captain j whofe lhare of the veffe]> purchafed by the accumulations of many years of induftrious frugality^ was un- infured* His was the lofs of property which it had been the labour of his life to obtain ; it was a little llore for the winter of his days> to provide for the wants of exiftence, when age and infirmities de- mand the quiets of indolent eafe. The crew alfo claimed a large tribute of her forrow : each eagerly told* his hiftory, and received his fhare of pity. They were all of them men who ' maintained large families by their induftry ; and I was pleafed to find, that the concern which they felt for the diftrelTes which their wives and children would fuffer from their abfence, in this feafon of awful fcarcity, was unfpeakably fuperior to any feeling of a,perfonal confideration. I can B 2 love 4 tOUR THROUGH lo\*e with all the partial aiFedlion of friend- fhip the fudeft of Nature’s Tons, when I perceive in him. thofe delicate charities of affiance, which bind the individual to his fa- mily; and I confider thofe afts of public virtue which are founded upon violations of pa- rental and private affedtion, as criminal of- fences againft the hclieft laws of nature. Our flag' was flruck on the firing of a mujfket, the only gun I ever heard (as the failors term it) fired in anger, the found of w^hich yet tingles in my ear ; and a boat from the corlair immediately took pofTeffion of our velTel. The captain and crew, with the little baggage which they were allowed to take aw^ay with them, were then carried on board the Frenchman ; and it was in con- templation that the paffengers, confiding of three females * and myfelf, fhould follow them ; but as I was perfuaded we fhould be expofed to much inconvenience and diftrefs on board a vefTel that was crowded with men, * The wife of the Writer of thefe Letters, to whom, with the'fmcereft affedlion, he infcribes them; their* fer- vant ; and a poor woman who was returning from the country to her family in London. and THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 5 and devoid of accommodations, and I had an opportunity of remonftrating with the cap- tain of the republican on the fubjeft, I pre- vailed on him, though not without difficulty, to permit us to remain in the prize. I nov/ learned that the name of the corfair was The Chaffeur, Captain Blackman, of Dun- kirk, and that her depredations on the Eng- liffi coaft had been uncommonly fuccefsful. The whole bufinefs of our capture was over in little more than half an hour, and with un- fpeakable forenefs a.nd oppreffion of heart, I faw the veffel fteer from the Englifli coaft. The high lands of Yorkffiire, towering in the clouds, were in fight, and with eager eyes I gazed on them till they appeared to fink in the water. What, under other cir- cumftances, would have been a fpeftacle which I ftiould have admired, chilled my foul. There is fomething congenial to an ardent mind in whatever dilplays the fpirit of adventure and courage. On former occafions my departure from land, and rufiiing on the broad bofom of the deep, have filled me with fublime and folemn emotions ; the receding B 3 hills. TOUR THROUGH hills, the vaft expanfe of water, which the veffel proudly ploughed, have feemed to me a fcene of triumph—the triurnph of man over an hoftile element. But now I was torn from my connexions, my home, and my country ; and in the power of men whofe charaXer it has been to aggravate the infeli- cities of w^r. Though I gained in all the finer feelings of the heart, I loft fomething of the independence of manhood, by having for the companion of my misfortune that perfon with whofe pleafures and fqrrows mirre are fo intimately blended, that I feel the evil with tenfold weight in which Ihe parti- cipates. Alone, if I could not have been a hero, I could have been a ftoic, but there was not a fear which ftie fuggefted, fuch is the eleXricity of affeXion, and the blind re- fpeX we pay to the feelings of thofe we love, that I did not view with horror which almoft amounted to the torture of real fuffering. The Frenchmen who had charge of the yeflel, confifted of a pri^e-mafter and three failors. I have rarely feen perfons of worfe countenances: I enquired, and found they were THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, f w-ere all natives of Dunkirk, and had never been at Paris, or I fliould have conceived they had been aftive in fome of thofe fcenes which, in the early ftages of the revolution, outraged humanity, and difgraced that city. But that charadler of features which alarmed me, might eafily be attributed to locaL cir- cumftances, Dunkirk is the refort of des- peradoes and outlaws from various nations, who in peace fubfift by carrying on a contra- band trade with England, in v/ar by capturing velTels ; and the occupations of fmuggling and privateering being invariably attended with a very conliderable degree of danger, and often with little concern for the claims of humanity, the perfons fo engaged acquire a caft of countenance, which I cannot other- wife diftinguifh than by faying, it partakes of the affaffin and the robber. Neither the countenance, however, of my prize -mafter, nor his failors, gave me half the alarm that I felt at the difcovery of their utter ignorance of navigation, and the art of managing a fhip, The evening was iformy, and at midnight it blew a fevere B 4 gale S TOUR THROUGH gale of wind, with a. rough dangerous fea. The terms which I fhould ufe, were I de- fcribing our fituation to a naval perfon, would be unintelligible to you ; nor indeed can I boaft of much facility in difplaying my nauti- cal knowledge. I fhall therefore (horten my detail by limply obferving, that for thirty hours the vellel was in the laft degree of danger, merely through the unlkilfulnefs and ignorance of the Frenchman. We were within two leagues of the coaft of Holland, and in fix fathoms of water, before thev' thought of heaving the lead, nor would it then have occurred to them as a thing that was necelTary, had I not fucceeded in perfuad- ing them they were' not far from land. Such an inftance of ftupidity rarely occurs, on a fhore fo proverbially dangerous as the coaft of Holland ; where innumerable ftioals, lurking under water, long before the land is vifible, threaten with deftruition the incautious ma^ riner. Cleanlinefs, I believe, is not a virtue for which the failors of any nation are to be commended^ there is generally fomething about THE BATAVIA^^ REPUBLIC. 9 about them to offend more than one fenfe, and no clafs of men are lefs attentive to per- fonal delicacy. Our Frenchmen were the moft difgufting as well as the moft ignorant of their profeffion The Dutch pilot who came on board, at the mouth of the Maefe, gave me at firft no very favourable idea of the reception we fhould meet with, in his country. A fifhing velfel belonging to him had been deftroyed the preceding year by the fleet under admiral Mitchel, and his fon was a prifoner in Eng- land. He was offended at an orangfe-coloured O fliawl, which unfortunately wore, and he reprefented himfelf and his countrymen as the bittereft enemies of the Englifh name. This converfation paffed, it is proper to inform you, in the prefence of the prize-mafter. The pilot had indeed fuffered by the Englifh, and his fon was a prifoner ; but his animoflty againft our nation was of the mildeft kind, it was the cordiality of friendfhip, compared with the averfion which he expreffed to the French. Speaking of the ignorance of the prize- 10 TOUR THROUGH prize-mafter and his crew, he alTured me that our danger had been infinitely greater than I fufpefted ; many vefifels had lately been loft near where the Frenchmen ventured without any of the ufual precautions of navi- gation. He fpoke good Englifh, and was of great fervice to us by pointing out the mea-^ fures necelfary to be taken to preferve our property from the rapacity of the republican failors. We came to anchor off Briel (or the Briel, as it is called^ though for what reafon I know not) in the afternoon, and were im- mediately vifited by boats from the Ihore and guard-rfhips. I was informed we fliould not be permitted to land, till an order for that purpofe had been received from the govern- ment -y but I immediately waited on the Dutch commodore, and on reprefenting to him how ill we were accommodated, he promifed to take us on board his own flfip the next day. I obtained alfo from him a guard for the fecurity of our perfons and property, and he politely fent us fuch refrefti- ments THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 11 ments as he judged would be moft agreeable to us, after the fatigues of our pafFage, and the indifpofition which perfons generally feel from the fea, who are unaccuftomed to the motion of the waves. My Frenchmen were extremely Indignant that we fhould be thus under the protection of the Batavian government, for they confi- dered us in fome fort as exclufively their property, and had, after the fafhion of their rulers, determined to levy on us a contri- bution either in fpecie or apparel. But the prefence of two robuft Hollanders defeated their intentions, and their refentment was confined to idle menaces and impotent threats.” It is the cuftom of private vefiels of war, of other nations as well as the French, to pillage the paffengers who are fo unfortunate ^s to fall into their hands ; but complaints of this kind v^^ould be lefs frequently made, were the perfons fo taken to apply imme- diately for protection to the conftituted au- thorities of the place whither they are carried; men who have obtained a certain rank and character in life, are rarely difpofed to per- mit TOUR THROUGH 12 mit open violations of juftice, however they may be inclined to connive at private injuries to the rights of individuals. We are now with commodore , pri- foners of war, till paflports arrive from the Hague, either remanding us to our own country, or granting us permiffion to fee whatever is moil remarkable in the Batavian republic. Since the fortune of war has con- dudled me hither, and it is little probable that bufinefs, neceffity, or pleafure, fhould ever lead me again to this part of the con- tinent of Europe, I am refolved, if I can obtain permiffion, to profit by the occafion, and make the tour of the United Provinces. I fay the United Provinces, becaufe the Batavian republic has not yet obtained a place in our maps and gazetters; and to the one I affociate fomething that is great and heroic, whereas the other conveys to my mind no favourable ideas. I fhall therefore probably when I meet with objedls which pleafe me, fpeak of them as belonging to the United Provinces, or the contrary as belonging to the Batavian republic. I have no difinclination to THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 13 to admit that the latter appellation is the moft claffical; but I am forry that name fliould be abolifhed, which was beftowed on this country by thofe heroes who moft yigor- oufly defended their liberties againft the gigantic forces of the Spanifh monarchy, and eftabliftied a wife and falutary fyftem of freedom, which became the admiration of furrounding nations. By the indulgence of commodore we have been on (hore about two hours at the Briel. It is a fortified place, but of incon- fiderable ftrength^. Since the Englilli ex- pedition laft year, they have repaired the ramparts, and conftrufted new batteries. I ouofht to mention that a chain of fortifica- o tions extends from the mouth of the Maefe to this town, v/hich would render it ex- tremely difficult and dangerous for an enemy to effedt a landing, and fignal pofts, beacons, and telegraphs, are thickly fcattered over the * The Briel was the fir ft town which revolted from the authority of Philip the Second, and its inhabitants are, with jufticc, proud that their anceftors led the way to the independence of the United Provinces. country. TOUR through ' 14 * country, fo that an alarm would inftantly be given and widely circulated, on the ap- pearance of an hoftile fleet* Near the great church ftands the tree of liberty, furmounted with a huge tin hat> which is decorated with the tricoloured ribbon. Various emblematic figures, painted more wretchedly than the hopes and angels on the fign-boards of our hedge ale-houfes, are attached to the branches ; and long fcrolls of Dutch verfes, to the merits of which I am not competent to fpeak. But, alas! the tree is withered and dead. I fliould imitate the folly of the perfons who planted and ri- diculoufly nicknamed the tree, were I to fay more than I believe that few trees, of a certain age and growth, furvive tranfplanta- tion, and that the death of this tree was nothing more* than the natural confequence of its removal. I congratulate myfelf that I do not belong to a nation which can be amufed with fuch infipidities. The face of the country, the appearance of the people, and what I have feen of their houfes, are quite as different as I expeded to THF BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. u to find them, from what I have feen in England or abroad. The country exhibits a wonderful difplay of the mighty effects which human in- duftry is capable of achieving. It is an exten- five territory, rich in agriculture, and crowded with cities, refcued by the vaft efforts of man from the dominion of the fea^'. From the deck of the veffel, on board of which I write this letter, the profpeft of cultivated and pafture * GoldfmitK's defcriptlon of Holland, in his Traveller, is equally to be admired for the beauty of the poetry, and the fidelity of the piQure. — To men of other minds my fancy flies, Embofomed in the deep where Holland lies. Methinks her patient fons before me (land. Where the broad ocean leans againll the land, And, fedulous to flop the coming tide. Lift the tall rampires’ artificial pride. Onward, methinks, and diligently flow, The firm, conne of doing prodigious execution in the clofe ranks of an enemy. The fuc- ceffes of the French in Germany and Italy are pretty confidently attributed to the vaft fuperiority of their artillery; but, though they have brought that branch of military fcience to a high degree of perfedlion, I am perfuaded they are lefs indebted to it for their vidtories, than to the fuperior numbers which they have always brought into the field, and the extraordinary genius of their military leaders. Chorie is a lively Frenchman from Lan- guedoc, though I fliould rather have fup- pofed from Gafcony, who has feen much fervice in various quarters of the globe, and is firmly attached to the revolution. I know not how to reconcile the afliduous attention which he pays us, and the many civilities we receive at his hands, with the rooted animofity which he bears to the Englilh nation. We are a people again ft whom he could wage eternal war. Yet there are many individuals of our nation, for whom he either entertains a perfonal THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 31 pcrfonal efteem, or values for the reputation which they enjoy by the united fuffrages of Europe. He would have apologifed to me for a fentiment which I was fhccked at, by transferring his odium from the nation to the government ; (the practice of the Jaco- bins and revolutionary committees) ; but I admire the conftitution of my country, and the legal, wife, and falutary government which emanates from it, too cordially to be flattered by the fophiftry which perfuades me to feparate myfelf from the confhitution- ally-eftabliflied government of my country; and however I may diflike corrupt and feeble adminiftrations, my attachment to the con- ftitution of my country remains unim- paired. From Delft to Rotterdam the road is agree- ably diverfified with neat villages, and a vari- ety of country feats and houfes of retirement in the truefl: Dutch tafte. It is, like the road fromMaaflandfluys to Delft, on the dyke of the canal, fo that the careleflhefs of the driver might throw his carriage into the water, or precipitate it into the fields, which in fome 52 TOUR THROUGH places are between five and fix feet below the level of the road. This I believe never happens, but the apparent danger is fiifficient to excite the anxiety of timorous travellers^ and the badnefs of the road, which is made without gravel and abounds in deep ruts, keeps alive their fears. At a diftance, Rotterdam appears a well- built and extenfive city, and the approach to it difplays the opulence and induftry of its inhabitants. The number of mills, princi- pally for fawing timber, in the fuburbs, is prodigious ; but few of them were at work, though the weather was extremely favour- able, and fome were in a ftate fo ruinous, that they muft have long been unemployed. The fawing-mills are inventions of the greateft utility, both for abridging the la- bour of man, and performing work with the neatefl: accuracy. They are lofty and fome- what agreeable eredlions, the mill generally rifing from the top of a fubftantial building two or three ftories high, and of a fiifficient altitude to give its neceflary rotundity a light and airy appearance. Some of them are painted TIIE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. S3 painted in a whimfical tafte, and others adorned with grotefque figures, according to the fancy or wealth of their refpedlive proprietors. We are lodged at prcfent at General Chorie’s head-quarters, formerly the State- houfe, at prefent the Central-bureau, where the French commander refides, and the mu- nicipality of Rotterdam hold their fittings. It is a fpacious,folid, but ill-conftru6led building. As an Englifhman, it poflefles a fecret recom- mendation to me, which I fhould be forry not to mention. It was the occafional refidence of George the Second, when he vifited his Ha- noverian dominions, and has been dignified by the prefence of other of our princes of the blood. Time, the impartial analyfer of re- putations, has fet his feal on the charadler of George the Second. We may praife him, without the fufpicion of venality ; or cenfiire, uninfluenced by the prejudices of party. He was a fovereign endowed with many prince- ly virtues : — he was brave in the field, pru- dent in the cabinet, frugal of the public reve- nue, and jealous of the national honour. Dur- V ing TOUR THROUGH ing his long reign, juftice adrninlftered \\dth impartial equity in his courts ; nor did the prerogatives of the fovereign ever inter- fere wdth the rights of the fubje(3:. His at- tachment to his German polTeffion has been cenfured by thofe who repined at the profpe- rity which the nation enjoyed under his go- ^ vernment ; ’ but this attachment was the na- * tural refult of early affociation and partiality: and I admire, rather than reproach, the mo- narch for blending with the exercife of his high authority the feelings and fympathies of a man. The chamber we flept in, was for- merly called Koning Kamer, or the King’s chamber ; but this appellation being incom- patible with republican fimplicity, it is no longer diftinguifhed from the other apart- ments of the houfe. Since our arrival here, we have undergone a flight examination, f>ro formUy before the French conful of the place. General Chorie, and the Batavian commiflary ; 'and paflports have been granted us, with equal readinefs and politenefs, for three decades, which will aifbid us a fufficient time to fee whatever is moft THE BAtAVlAN REPUBLIC. 35 inoil remarkable in the United Provinces. We quit General Chorie’s quarters to- hiorrow, to lodge at the Swine’s Hoof, a re- fpedable inn in the great market-place, where the conful has obligingly hired apartments for us. It is neceflary, I am informed, in this country, if you intend to relide for any length of time in a place, to make a previous agreement with the innkeeper for the price which you mufh pay for your apartments ; for otherwife he will be inclined to charge you at an exorbitant rate, and as no redrets can be obtained, their demands niuft be paid without abatement; D’C LETTER S6 TOUR THROUGH LETTER IV, Rotterdam^ Its conxenient Jitmtion for trade~ The impoxerijhed fiate of its commerce. — A Jin* gular prference given to cloth of E7iglijh ma- nvfaRure. — Arnicahle fpjlein of privateering.^ Corfairs belonging to Rritifi fubjedts u'hich failed under the French flag. — Abufes correBed by Bonaparte. —The flreets of Rotterdam . — ArchiteBural tafle of the Dutch. — Statue of Frafmus.—Conflernation zoith zvhich the pro* gyvfs of the French armies was viewed at RoU ter dam. — Flight of the Englijh fervants.— Arrival of the French. — The municipality . — Anecdotes of ynarigolds and oranges. — The concert. — dFhe theatre. — •Religion. — •Public charities* Odlober, i8oo. JVOTTERDAM is the fecond commer- cial city in the republic, and has fufFered leaft in the general calamities of the country. It is well lituated for commercial purpofes, being placed on the bank of the Maefe, a river THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 37 river competent to all the ufes of naviga- tion, and of a magnificent breadth. The principal ftreets are interfered with canals, of a fufficient depth to receive vefTels of from two to three hundred tons burthen, which greatly facilitates the trade of the place, as fhips are enabled immediately to ‘deliver their cargoes into the warehoufes appointed to receive them, and at an incon- fiderable expence of time and labour, com- pared with the obftru6Hons of trade in the port of London and elfewhere. The mer- chant alfo enjoys the advantage of having the fhips, which either belong to or are con- ligned to him, delivered under his direft eye ; fo that he can at the fame time attend to the "concerns of his office, and vigilantly obferve that he does mot fufFer through the Indolence or embezzlement of his fervants. According to the report of a very intelli- gent and judicious merchant, whofe acquaint- ance I have had the good fortune to obtain, Rotterdam does not at prefent enjoy a tenth part of the commerce which fhe pofTefTed before the French invafion, and the inter- B 3 ' ruptioa 3S . TOUR THROUGH ruptioii of her iatercourfe with Great firi« tain. Before the war, it fometimes happen-^ ed, that three hundred Englith veffels were feen at one time within the port of Rotter- dam; and this number was certainly exceeded by the fhips belonging to the place and thofe of other nations. At prefent the number of neutral veffels in the harbour do not exceed fifty, and trade is at this time more than iifually adive, if the retrofpeft be taken from their late circumftances, If I were to judge from the bufirle and confufion occafioned in ftreets by the tranfport of merchandife from one part of the town to another, J fhould fay the place enjoyed a thriving commerce; for in the morning it is fcarcely poffiblc to walk in the ftreets, where no paths are^ exclufively appropriated to foot-paffengers, as in England, without having your fafety endangered, or your clothes dirtied, by the numerous fledges laden with hogfheads and bales which are continually paffing. I have been prevented for ten minutes from paffing over a draw-bridge by a train of thefe ve- hicles, all of them perhaps carrying as great a quantity THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 39 a quantity of valuable commodities as one, two, or three horfes could draw. But the canals of Rotterdam are covered with difmantled veilels, and whole ftreets of warehoufes are unoccupied. This decay of the trade of Rotterdam is not to be attri- buted folely to the war with Great Britain, .but to a variety of caufes. The moft ftriking, perhaps, are the emigration of their opulent capitalifts, and the oppreffion and ridiculous ordinances of the Batavian government. By the emigration of the rich and refpeftable merchants of the Britifh nation, the trade which Rotterdam at prefent carries on with England has fallen into the hands of men with whom the independent and honeft trader of moft nations would be averfe to deal ; and the government, according to the temper and prejudices of the times, has impofed thofe vexatious reftricftions on the export and import trade, which are always peculiarly injurious to commerce. It is a curious faft, deferving to be known, that at the time when the government rigoroully prohibited the importation of Englifli ma- D 4 nufadtures 40 TOUR THROUGH nufadures into the ports of the republic, a contradl was agreed upon between fome members of the executive body and a mer- cantile houfe in Rotterdam to furnifh the requifition of clothing for the French army by an importation of cloth from England ; and accordingly eight thoufand French fol^ diers were clothed from the looms of York- fhire ; when, if a fingle yard had been dif- covered on board a private trader’s vefTel, he would have been liable to the fevereft penalties and confifcations. Shortly after the commencement of hofti- lities with England, a fingular iyftem of depredation was fuccefsfnlly praftifed againft the underwriters of London and Amfter- dam, by merchants of wealth and reputa^ tion ill this place. They were the real, though of courfe not the nominal, owners of privateers which failed under the flag of the French republic, and having infured veflTels in Amfterdam and London, the fhips fo fe^ cured and the privateers failed from the Maefe together, and an amicable capture enfued. The condemnation of property fb taken THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 41 taken was readily obtained, and the under- writers were obliged to make good the ideal lofs. A more innocent fpccies of -warfare, I believe, was never pradiifed ! Some difco- veries of their frauds gave the firft check to this curious lyftem of peculation ; and its ruin has fince been achieved by the excel- lent regulations which the chief conful has introduced into the maritime code of France. About the time to which I have alluded, privateers under the French flag, but ac* tually the property of Britilh fubjedts refi- dent in Holland, and fome of them in Eng- land, failed from the ports of the Batavian republic, and made captures of Britifh veffels to a Gonfiderable amount. This was attack- ing the lives and liberties, as well as the property, of their countrymen; and I fhould hefitate to record fo difgraceful a fadl, could I doubt the authority from whence I derive it. To the lafting infamy of thefe men, it mull: be confidered, that they had none of thofe excufes for parricidally preying on their country, with which the French and Dutch refugees are furnilhed, by the un- happy 4 ^ TOUR THROUGH happy fpirit of the times, and the violence of revolutionary governments. They could not allege in palliation that their country had profcribed their perfons, and confifcated their property. Some of them enjoyed the proteftion of the Britifli government ; and thofe whom the vidorious arms of the enemy feparated from their country, might reafonably exped, and fqffibly defire, to pafs the evening of their lives in the bofom of their native land. It is worthy of obferva- tion, that the privateers belonging to thefe perfons committed more depredations than any other, on the veffels and property of neutral nations, and the crews with which they were manned treated with lefs huma- nity the perfons who unfortunately fell into their hands. Thefe abufes, however, have been carefully attended to by the confular government, and I am not competent to ftate that they have any longer an ex- iftence. It is the policy of Bonaparte to conciliate the efteem of the neutral powers; andfince' this great man has held the reins of go- vernment. TIIE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, 43 yernment, the complaints of neutral owners^^ of the detention of their veffels .by French privateers, have been fpeedily and exem- plarlly redrelTed, No privateer can now fail under the French flag, the owners of which are not a6lually refident -in France or her dependencies, and have given fufficient bail to indemnify the damage that may be done to neutral property. It is not now, as was formerly the cafe, permitted to every infig-^ pificant commercial conful of the republic to condemn the veflels which are brought under his jurifdidtion; from whence, as thefe agents were generally venal and rapacious, a thou- fand abufes originated : but the papers and documents neceffary to prove the capture to be a legal prize, muft be tranfmitted to the office of the minifter of the marine, from whofe deciflon there is an appeal to a court of admiralty. This laft tribunal is in high repute with neutral merchants; and I have heard many invidious comparifons between its decifions and thofe of Dodlors Commons, but with what juftice I will not pretend to determine. By wife and falutary meafures like TOUR THROUGH u like thefe, Bonaparte will confolidate his authority, and acquire more real glory than is to be purchafed with an hundred vic- tories. Rotterdam is not a place to be diftin- guifhed for the elegance of Its buildings, or the tafte of its inhabitants. The bomb quay,, which is fituated along the Maefe, is the principal ftreet, and extends almoft a mile in length. The houfes in general are five or fix ftories high, ftrong and capacious, but inelegant, buildings. On account of the inundations to which the place is fubjeft, none of the houfes have what can be called a ground-floor ; and the bafement Is gene- rally disfigured by ponderous gates, like thofe of barrier towns, which open to the ware- houfes that are attached to the back part • of each houfe. It is curious to fee the or-^ naments of the Corinthian order fluck againft the upper ftory, without the column to fupport them. Such attempts at archi- teftural decoration are inconceivably ridi- culous : and in the interior arrangement of the houfes, miftakes are made, which a very THE EATAVIA^T REPUBLIC. 45 very moderate portion of tafte would have avoided. It frequently happens, that apart- ments which would grace the manfion of a prince, have no other views from their windows than the dead walls of a ware- houfe, ufed for-the vilefl: purpofes of trade, as a magazine for ftock-fiih, ikins, to- bacco, and the like. I met with a ftriking inftance of this at the houfe of Mr. — — , a gentleman whofe colleftion of paintings does equal honour to his liberality and tafte. An apartment of almoft regal magnificence looks immediately into his warehoufe, and the eye turns with horror from the works of Titian and Rubens, to cranes, bales, cafks, &c. the appendages of commerce. In the colleftion of this gentleman, a Holy Family by Rubens, a Venus couchant by Titian, and a St. John by Rembrant, are pieces of exquifite merit. That they fliould be placed in a room fo unfortunately fituated is the more to be cenfured, as the front of his houfe commands a noble view of the Maefe, and an uninterrupted profpefl: of the country on the oppofitc fide of the river. ^ - The 46 * tOUR THROUGH The principal ftreets of Rotterdam ar^ thickly, planted with trees, which, together with the canals which flow in the middle of them, and the draw-bridges in excellent re- pair and neatly painted that every-where meet the eye, give them an agreeable ap- pearance, The windows and doors of the houfes are in general painted green, which has a lively efltdl, and this is much iricrealed by the fcrupulous cleanlinefs which is uni- verfally pradifed. Not only the windows^j but the whole front of the houfe, is generally wafhed two or three times a week by engines for that purpofe, which are abundantly fup- plied with w'ater from the canals, and the fame care is extended to the pavement of the ftreets in which the more opulent inhabi- tants reflde. Rotterdam has nothing to boaft of the fplendour of its public buildings. The ca- thedral of St. Laurence is a dull, heavy pile, in which it would-be eafier to difcover niuch to find fault with, than any thing to com-^ mend. An organ is eredting in this church of aftonifliing magnitude, which Jt is fup- THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC 47 pofed will furpafs the famous inftrument of Haarlem ; but, as the times are unfavourable for fuch unddrtakings, many years will pro- bably elapfe before it is completed. The Exchange is a neat building, and perfectly adapted to the purpofes for which it was erefted. . , , . An affemblage of ill-featured people, tainted with the love of gain, meet here fix times a week between the hours of one and three, and on Sundays it is the rendezvous of the militia of the town. In the market-place is the ftatue of Eraf- mus *, a name ftill cherifiied in the place * ' of ^ It Is the third ftatue which the gratitude- of his townfmen has eredled in honour of their illuftrious fellow-citizen. The firfl: in wood was raifed to his memory in 1549, thirteen years after hi^ deceafe, and a f^w years afterwatds this was removed for a more elegant and fubftantial ,hg-iire in ftone. Inftigated by a bigotted monk, to whom the rational piety, the profound genius, and extenfive learning, of Erafmus, v/ere ofFenfive, the Spaniards in 1572, being mafters of Rotterdam, deftroyed this ftatue. The prefent one in bronze was ereded in 1662, and is of good execution. The figure, which ilahds on a pedeftal ornamented with infcriptions and furrounded with iron rails, is larger than life, and repre- fents Erafmus clad in his ecclefiaftical habit, with an open *48 tOUR tHROUGH of hIs birth ^ and not far from the venerable figure of this great man, the hat of liberty is erefted on a pole of enormous height. The death of three or more trees, fucceflively con- fecrated to liberty, made it neceflary to fublH- tute a pole to difplay the emblem of Batavian freedom ; but its llightnefs promifes a duration fcarcely longer than that of its predeceflbrs, and it is probable that the municipality, when the love of the fantafies of freedom fliall have departed from them, will not trouble them- felves to eredt another. In the fifh-market and elfewhere are fimilar ereftions, but thefe are fcarcely fuperior to barbers’ poles, or the flag-ftaffs which we fee in the tea-gardens near London. - A weak and recently eftablilhed govern- ment is generally more arbitrary in the exer- cife of its power, than thofe authorities which have derived ftability from the length of theif duration; and to this caufe I attribute the open book in his hand. On republican fedivals the fuge is decorated with tricoloured ribbons ; and before the re- volution on particular occafions he was made to pay a fimilar compliment to tlie houfe of Orange. reludtance THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 49 reludtance which I find in perfons to deliver their genuine fentiments refpefting the pre- fent condition of the republic. Complaints of paft abufes are frequent and copious ; but no approbation accompanies the meafiires of the prefent adminiftration of the country ; their edidts, or rather the edidts of the French minifter, are obeyed in filence: the clamours of the fadlious are not heard ; — but w^here are the acclamations of a grateful people ? • In no town within the territory of the United Provinces was the progrefs of the French arms, in ninety-four and ninety-five, viewed with more alarm than in Rotterdam. It was a feafen of general mourning and dif- may. The moft refpedlable inhabitants of the town were connedted with England either by defeent or intermarriage, and all claffes of fociety experienced the benefits of an extenfive commerce with the Britifii em- pire. To this partiality for the enemies of the French republic, they joined a ftrong attachment to the fladtholderian government, as it was eftablifhed by the influence of Eng- land and Pruflia in 1787, and a loyal refpedl E foi 50 TOUR THROUGH for the perfon of the prince of Orange. With thefe’ partialities and attachments, the ad- vance of the .French into the republic, and the abfolute impoflibility of refiftance, caufed an univerfal fenfatlon of terror and grief. The moft refpedable Englifh families fled from the town, and their example in fome cafes was followed by the Dutch. To the honour of a numerous and ufeful clafs of perfons, I have to relate, that when it became certain that all intercourfe with England would be fufpended, not a female fervant of the Britilh nation was to be found in Rotterdam, who would confent to remain there after the French were in pofleflion of the place. Many of them had lived in the fame fituation fo. long, that the charadler of a fervant was, melted into that of an individual of the family; but no perfonal or local attachments could prevail over the ftrong affeftion which they retained for their country ; and the amplefl: increafe of wages to induce them to remain in their places, in every inftance, was offered without efted:. Their condud: is the more to be admired, when the quantity of refolutioa THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC* 51 refolutloil and energy is eftimated, which enabled thefe poor women to gratify their patriotic feelings. The refledtion probably did not occur to them,' that they were fe- parating themfelves, perhaps for ever, from the moft valuable friends they could hope to form during their lives* but the feafon of their departure was rigorous beyond the in- clemency of former years, and few were the accommodations which fell to the lot of the moft opulent refugees. The navigation of the Maefe, as well as the canals, being in- terruped by the froft, the ordinary modes of conveyance were fufpended'^ and fo great was the demand for carnages, that happy were thofe, even the wealthy and delicate, who could obtain a place in an open waggon. The perfons who were not thus accommo- dated, purfued their melancholy route over frozen rivers and fnows, from Rotterdam to Helvoetfluys, where they* found fliipping for England ; and they have carried v/ith them the regret and efteem of the place; On the 22d of January the divilion of General Bonneau took polTeffion of Rotter- E 2 dam. TOUR THROUGH dam. The French troops, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, marched to this conqueft on the folid waters of the Maefe, as if nature favour- ed their enterprife, and prefented a fpedlacle which has not often occurred in the hiftory of war. The folidity which the river had ac- however, an ailor of difcrimination, and pofleffes feme powers of conception : his de- lineation of grief is a chafte and accurate performance. The amufements of the theatre generally terminate with a ballet, which is performed by young perfons ; and thefe fpeftacles, with the affiftance oT good feenery and cheerful mufic, are lively and agreeable reprefentations. Adjoining to the theatre is a room where refrefliments are to be fold, and here the lovers of tobacco refort to fmoke their pipes between the ads of the performance. It is highly to the credit of the morals of the place, that the ear or eye of modefty is not offended by the prefence of a lingle proftitute at the theatre : they are not excluded by any orders of the police or the interpolition of the managers, but the public fenfe of decency and chaftity prohibits their appearance. The number of unfortunate women pf this defeription, who frequent the theatres TOUR THROUGH theatres of the Britifh metropolis, is an into- lerable abufe. In Rotterdam, as in all the great cities of Europe, there are brothel’s for the reception of licentious women ; but thefe perfons feclude themfelves from the public eye, and it requires fome acquaintance with vice to difcover their retreats. The Rate of religion at Rotterdam is nearly the fame as before the revolution. On Sundays the churches are well attended ; and though the minifters in general are fuf- pected of being attached to the ftadtholder’s party, I could not learn that they were treated even by the moft violent republicans with difrefpe6I, much lefs with perfonal indignity, or any feverity that bordered the leaft on perfecution. The pallor of one of the churches, a zealous ftadtholderian, who, ap- prehenlive for his fafety, fled from Holland on the approach of the French, returned to Rotterdam a few days ago (with the per- miffion of the government), on the invitation- of his parilhioners, and preached his rellora- tlon fermon, which was faid to contain more politics than religion, and thofe by no means m THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, 59 In favour of the prelent order of things, to a very numerous congregation. Holland is diftinguifhedfor the munificence of its public charities ; but, unhappily for humanity, they have partaken largely of the misfortunes of the republic. The Weefe- houfe, or afylum for orphans and the deftitute children of indigent parents, fcarcely maln« tains two thirds of the objefts pf charity .which before the war it benevolently Ihel- tered ; and other eleemofynary inflitutions have fuffered in a limilar proportion. LETTER 60 TOUR THROUGH LETTER V. ^ Jlorm.^The tillage of Oterfchic — Its mifer- able accommodations, — Delft, — The mifchifs of the form, — Beauties of the road, — The Hague — Its elegant buildings, — Removal of armorial . hearings, — Palace of the dircBory, — Pinft chamber of reprefentaiives,—Tree of liberty , — Storks, — Houfe in the xcood, — Catalogue of pictures, — The portraits of the Stadtholder and kisfa7iiily not to be feen, — Gai'dens belongbig to the houfe in the •’wood. W November, 1800; E quitted Rotterdam about five in the afternoon of the 9th of November, in the treckschuyt, or palfage-boat, for Delft, on our way to the Hague, The weather was unpleafant and tempeftuous, but nothing in- dicated the furious hurricane which overtook us at the diftance of a mile from Rotterdam. It refembled in violence rather the tornadoes which defolate the tropics, than an European tcmpeft. The rage of the wind, and the ' heavy THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 61 heavy rain which accompanied it, the agita- tion of the water, the darknefs of the night, and the alarms of the palTengers, confpired to render our lituation dreadful. The oldeft perfon did not remember a more tremendous ftorm, and no hurricane that I ever witnefled in the Weft Indies could be compared with it for violence. The elevation of the canal, fome feet above the level of the earth, ex- pofed the boat to the whole force of the wind, and it was abfolutely impradticable either to advance or return. In this dan- gerous lituation we muft have remained all night, but fortunately towards nine in the evening the ftorm was fo much abated, as to permit us to reach Overfchie, a miferable village about the diftance of three miles from Rotterdam. Here we landed, happy at our efcapc from the treckschuyt, to pafs the night. The canal was overflowed, and half the village inundated with water : at every ftep we were wet to the knees, and torrents of rain completely drenched our upper gar- ments. The tempeftuoufnefs of -the night bad 62 TOUR THROUGH had crowded Overfchie with ftrangers, and moft of the cabarets or ale-houfcs were filled with guefts. We were repulfed from two houfes, notwithftanding all our endeavours to excite the avarice or the humanity of the landlords^ and it added to our chao-rin, that the boors, who fat fmoking their pipes over a comfortable turf fire, feemed to enjoy with great fatisfa£lion our diftrefs. At length we were received into a miferable cabin ; and fortunately procured an apartment for ourfelves. But there w^as no fire-place in it, and the rain defcended, and the wind entered through various chinks. Coffee and gin were the only refrefhments which the houfe afforded, and neither ,of thefe very excellent in their kind. A damp bed com- pleted the fum of our misfortunes, and after a fleeplefs night, we fet off eaily in the morning in a voiture for the* Hague. Every-where from Overfchie to Delft, and from thence to the Hague, the deflruc- tion of the preceding evening met the eye. Trees, the growth of an age, were torn up by the roots', houfes thrown down, and - others THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. ' 63 ethers totally unroofed. The country for many miles was under water, owing to the overflowing of the canals ; and at Delft the ftreets were covered *with the wreck of public and private buildings. The old church, in which national gratitude has erefted monuments to the memory of Ad- miral Van Trump and Peter Heyne, was unroofed, and many chimneys of the Mili- tary Inftitute, a modern eredion, were blown down. Not a private houfe that I could perceive had efcaped without fome damage to its windows or roof ; and the deftrudion had been particularly fevere among the flight fantaftic temples and fummer-houfes which adorn the gardens of the Dutch. The overthrow of temples and ftatues might afflld their pofleffors, but I regretted the fruit and foreft trees that were deftroyed : the ingenuity of man could repair the one^ but time only re-eftablifii the other. . The great charadter which the Hague has obtained for the elegance of its buildings, and the delightfulnefs of its fituation, made me fo impatient to vifit it, particularly as I had 64 TOUR THROUGH had recommendations to perfons every way qualified to ftiew its beauties, that I abridged the ftay I intended to make in Rotter- dam fome days, and pafTed through Delft, fcarcely bellowing an hour on its curiofi- ties. / From Delft to the Hague the road is magnificently grand, Notwithftanding the advanced period of the feafon, and the re- cent ftorm, the profpefts and road are extremely delightful. It is of a fufiicient breadth to admit four or five carriasres abreaft, fhaded on both fides by lofty rows of trees, kept in excellent repair, and fo level that not the leafl inequality of ground is to be perceived. The country, though the fad; is otherwife, appears, from the man- ner in which the trees are planted, to be excellently flocked with wood ; and the lummer-retreats of the opulent, which are thickly fcattered over the country, diverfify the feene. On one fide of the road flows the clear and tranquil canal, on which boats of bufinefs or pleafure continually pafs and repafs, giving an inconceivable nterefl to the THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC: 65 the landfcape. Diredly before him the lofty edifices of the Hague raife the expe6tations of the traveller, and the wood, as it is emphatically called, on the right of the town, prefen ts a fcene of foreft grandeur. We alighted at the Parliament of Eng- land, a refpedtable hotel in the Hague^ which, before the interruption of our inter- courfe with Holland, was much frequented by Britifh families of diftindtion. The ac* commodations here are goodj and the mafter and fervants politely attentive, though not equal to what fame reports of them. The trade of innkeepers has declined in the fame proportion as the other branches of Dutch commerce ; and therefore the folution is eafy, why the hotel is inferior to the repu- tation which it beats. The perfon who for* merly conduced the Parliament of England^ with fo much honour to himfelf and fatif- faftion to his guefts, was an Englifhman ; but he retired from bufinefs ftiortly after the expulfion of the ftadtholder, and the con- fequent removal of Britifli fubjedts from the Hague. His fucceffor, with every poffible F difpofition 65 •TOUR THROUGH difpofitlon to gratify thofe who frequent hiS houfe, has not the ability ; for, alas ! the Hague is no longer the refort of the wealthy and luxurious from all parts of Europe, and by fuch guefts alone is an inn to be main- tained in fplendour. I conjedured from the name of the hotel, and its having been much frequented by perfons of the Britifh nation, that I fhould find fome one who could fpeak Englifh, but I was difapgointed, and to add to my mortification, the waiters fpeak French moft barbaroufly. Geographers and travellers have perfifted ill calling the Hague a village, becaufe it is not furrounded with walls or fortifications, which are iiecelTary in their opinions to confiitute a town or a city ; but probably it is indebted for this humble appellation to the fignification of its name in the Dutch lan- guage, s" Graven Haag^ or. the Count's Hedge, it forming fome centuries ago a part of the domains of the counts of Holland. I will not difputc or vindicate the propriety of a term which is of fo little confequence to fettle. Village THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 67 ' Village or town, the Hague is a place of wonderful magnificencei The Voorhout, which I deem the principal ftreet, contains many elegant and claffical buildings^ in the pureft ftyle of archite6lure ^ and none of the monftrous, unnatural defefts are to be per- ceived, which diftinguifli the mercantile eredionS of Rotterdam* Walking in the mail* which is in the middle of this ftreet, I could have conceived myfelf to be in one of the moft elegant towns of Italy, but for the murky atmofphere^ furchargcd with foggy vapours, which hung over my head, and never permitted one genial ray of the fun to blefs me with its warmth j and the grotefque figures of Dutch milk-maids, fifli^carriers, &c. bawling moft inharmonioufly their va- rious commodities to fell. In this ftreet the houfe of the prince of Wielburgh, who is allied to the ftadtholder's family, and that of the ambalfador of the French republic, which was formerly the refidence of the Britifli minifter, are buildings of uncommon elegance j but, either from a want of tafte, or a love of fimplicity, I preferred the houfe T z which es TOUR THROUGH which belongs to the head* of the Bentinck family in Holland. On the abolition of the ancient conftitution of the United Provinces, this gentleman was confined in prifon up- wards of two years, and his property fequel- trated ; he is at prefent at liberty, and his eftates have been reftored. The Vyverburg is the next ftreet which claims the\attention' of a ftranorer. It is in o the form of an oblong fquare, with fpacious walks fliaded vnth trees, and a broad canal, or rather bafon of water. The ftreets of the Hague are paved with .a fpecies oflight-* coloured 'bricks, , which have a gay appear- ance; and thefejoin fo clofely together, that no interfaces are to be perceived which can harbour dirt. Hence the ftreets are kept extremely clean ; and in the worft weather a perfon may walk in them with little incon- venience. I have mentioned the Vyverburg and the Voorhout as the ftreets . in the Ha2;ue to which I alftgn the pre-eminence ; but there are many of great elegance I cannot parti- cularife, which fully entitle this magnificent village THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, village to the high reputation for the fplen- dour of its buildings which it enjoys. Theft are decorated with trees, bridges of tafteful conftru£iion, and canals ; and the meaneft of them poffefles the recommendation of ex- treme cleannefs. Before’ the conqiieft of Holland by the French, and the changes which fucceeded that event, the houfes of the nobility and perfons of rank were orna- mented with the armorial enfigns of their families ; but fuch remnants of chivalry and nobility are no longer permitted to be exhi- bited ; and where their removal would have deformed the building, the Ihields remain defpoiled of their quarterings. The arms which are affixed to the houfes where the deputies of the ftates formerly relided, being the armorial diftinftions of the different pro-^ vinces, are not fubjedt to this ordinance, and confequently remain ; an exception alfo is to be feen at the Danlffi minider’s houfe, where the arms of his mafter are fo painted as to remind me of thofe exhibitions of heraldry which many of the public-houfes of London difplay ; but if the ambaffador, iu departing F 3 from ■ ? 70 TOUR THROUGH 1 from general ufage, meant only to affert the prerogatives of his character, his wooden efcutcheon and its wretched blazonry are honourable to him, The palace of the fladtholder, now the national palace, in which the members of the Batavian directory Refide, and the two chambers of reprefentatives hold their meet-<» ings, is chiefly formed of old buildings, erefted at different periods, and without any regularity of defign. They are furrounded by a canal, over which are drawrbridges, and their external appearance is rather pleat- ing. The exiled prince intended to^have built a new palace, and fhortly after the epnelufion of the American war, one fide of a quadrangle was erefted of tolerable archi- tediure. But the troubles which quickly followed in Holland, prevented the comple-- tion of this plan ; and at prefent there is not any probability that the defign will be carried into execution. In the new building, the lirft chamber of reprefentatives hold their fittings. The hall appropriated to their ufe was the Stadtholder’s concert room,’ and it is THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 7I is furnlfhed in a manner worthy of the legi- flature of a wealthy nation. The feats of the members are covered with green baize, and rife amphitheatrically, with delks for the implements of writing. In tha centre, on an elevated platform covered with a rich car- pet, is the prefident’s chair, of crimfon velvet, adorned with the hat, the fafees, and other emblems of freedom. At each end of the hall are galleries for the accommodation of fpedlajtors, and no money is permitted to be taken for admittance. I was prefen t at a debate, which excited more than ufual inte- reft at the Hague. The fubjeft under confL- deration was, whether corn and other ar- ticles of provifion fhould be allowed to be exported from the republic in neutral veflels to Great Britain. This reftriclion was pro- pofed by the party moft hoftile to England, and carried by a large majority. But the debate was conduced with the utmoft tem- perance and moderation, and I was afllired the members rarely indulged in virulent abufe of the Britifli nation or government. The ftadt- holder is already configiied to conternptuous F 4 ^ oblivion, 72 TOUR THROUGH oblivion, or if his name is mentioned in their debates, he is fpoken of with frigid indifference. This is undoubtedly the wifefl: procedure, for the abdicated prince cer- tainly has many partifans warmly attach- ed to his caufe, whofe indignation it would be dangerous to excite, and difficult to allay. In a fquare near the palace is the fixth tree of liberty, as I was informed, which the municipality of the Hague have fruitlefsly planted in honour of the goddefs of freedom. It was dead, but whether of a natural or a violent death I could not determine ; the latter feemed probable, for fome envious hand had lopped off its branches, and dif- figured its bark. What nymph could fur- vive a profanation fo cruel ? I did not learn that any perfon had been punifhed for this indignity to the fymbpl of national freedom, nor were there any indications that another would be fpeedily planted. In the fifh market, near the great church, attrafted by the offals of the place, which furnifh them with a ready and plentiful fuC- ^ tenance^ THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 73 tenance, and protected by the prejudices of the people in their favour, are to be feen a number of ftorks moft familiarly tame. This bird is the peculiar protegee of republics, and if popular opinion is to be believed, the at- tachment it bears to liberty will not permit it to inhabit the dominions of a monarch. I will not vouch for the truth of this opinion ; but certain it is, that the plumed favourite of the republic has /or ages enjoyed the re- fpeftand protedfion of mankind. Plutarch ^ informs us, that in fuch honour ftorks were held in Theflaly, that the punlfliment of exile was denounced againft the man who fliould unfortunately deftroy one of thefe facred birds ; and the Greek language has a word expreffive of filial gratitude (amTrc Aapyiiv), which, literally tranflated, fignifies to adl'like a ftork. The veneration with which Greece regarded this bird was adopt- ed by the Roman commonwealth. The vir- tuous Antoninus ftamped on the reverfe of a medal which bore his head the imagfe of a o ftork, and beneath the word pie^as was in- * De liide et Ofn lde. fcribed ; 74 TOUR THROUGH fcribed ; and a poet who laflied the worft profligacy of a debauched age ftyles it/^ Pieta- ticultrix^ gracilipesy crdalijiriaJ' The atten- tion of this bird to its aged parents, in defend- ing them againft attack, and furnifhing them with food, is a fa6t too well eftablifhed to be doubted ; but I cannot bear teftimony to the elegance of its form, or the harmony of its voice. Its legs are longj and, though ad- mirably fitted for its modes of life, extremely difproportionate to the fize of its body ; and the only founds which I heard it emit were_ piercing and dilTonant fereams. I, however, regard the ftork with favour, and am pleafed with the prejudice which protects the pia avis of Greece and Rome. At the diftance of a mile from the Hague, is the houfe in the wood ; a place of retire- ment which belonged to the ftadtholder, but is now converted into a receptacle for the national cabinet of pidlures, except a fuite of apartments which are occupied by the keeper of a tavern of no very decent charadler. It refiefts little credit on thofe who are charged with the care of the national domains, and from their fundtions muft in fome meafure be THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. *75 be confidered as the guardians of public mo- rals, that they permit a brothel to be efta- blifhed within the facred precindls of a na- tional palace. Yet, to the dlfhonour of the Batavian government, fuch is the purpofe to which a part of the houfe in the wood is infamoufly proftituted. On thg confifcatioii of the property of the exiled ftadtholder, the Dutch government, with laudable zeal for the encouragement of the polite arts, formed his colleftion of pic- tures, then efteemed one of the moft valu- able in Europe, into a national gallery, and fet apart an annual fum for the augmentation of this cabinet by purchafe. A noble fuite of apartments in the houfe in the wood was provided for their reception, and a dired:or of tafte and genius, with proper affiftants, appointed to fuperintend this national col- Ic61ion. To the politenefs of Mr. J. G. Waldorp, the keeper of this cabinet, a perfon of great intelligence and merit, I am highly indebted for the diftinguifhed attention which at va- tipus times he (hewed me. He is himfelf a painter 7 ^ TOUR THUOVrrH painter of merit, and therefore qualified to judge critically of the performances of others; for though an amateur may have the higheft poffible relilh for this art, it is probable beau- ties will efcape him, which a painter alone can difgover and appreciate. The firfl: chamber of this .collefHon is allotted to pidures and portraits illuftrative of the hiftory of the United Provinces, and contains a fuccefiion of the princes of Orange from William the Firft to William the Third, William I. prince of Orange, and Maurice, by Miervelt ; Frederic-Henry, and V/il- iiam II, by Hondhorn ; and Frederic-Henry by Palamedes ; are portraits of uncommon merit : thofe of Maurice and his brother William I, are perhaps the beft. The portrait of M. de Ruyter, by Ferdi- nand Bol, cannot be fufiiciently admired; and the fame praife is due to Admiral Van Nefs and his wife, two exquifite pictures by B. Vander Helll. The Duke of Alva, by D. Barns, is a moft charafteriftic likenefs of that cruel man. He THE BATAVIAIS- REPUBLIC. 77 is painted in armour, and every feature bears marks of a ferocious and fanguinary difpoii- tion. He is the general of an army of exe- cutioners, deliberating in cold blood the de- population of provinces, the fack of towns, and the maflacre of defencelefs women and children. It is impoflible to look at this portrait without feeling .an emotion of in- voluntary 'horror ; and the heart turns with ficknefs from this faithful reprefen ta tion of a human monfter. The virtuous republican Barneveldt, an enlightened ftatefman, and ftrenuous ‘ de- fender of Dutch freedom, by Paul Mo- reelfe, affords the fpe moll of THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. Ill of the officers with whom he had ferved cor- dially joined, and there were few republicans of integrity and refledton who were not of the fame opinion. I was amufed at the, houfe of a citizen of the world (fuch w^’as the appellation which he beftowed on himfelf ), where we dined — whofe country you cannot miftake when I inform you, that he aflured me Sir John Pringle was the mofk Ikilful phyfician that had appeared lince the days of Hippocrates or Celfus — v/ith the contrail of a man coldly appreciating the merits and defedls of dif- ferent nations, and pretending an equal at- tachment to all, and two or three French- men fo partial to their own, as to affirm all excellence was confined to the territories of their republic. The warm enthufiafm of the Frenchmen was an agreeable vanity which it was impoffible not to admire, and efpeci- ally as it was oppofed to the frigid, cold- hearted fyftem of the North Briton. One of the Frenchmen had been a planter in Saint Domingo, where he had valuable eftates, which, as tranquillity is pow in a great meafure TOUR THROUGH ^ meafurc reftored to that ifland, he hopes to recover. He defcribed with great fenfibility his feelings on feeing the coaft of France, from the deck of the veffel which brought him to Europe, after an abfence oFlixteen years. He had fuffered much from the re-^ volution both in the -Weft-Indies and in France, where his patrimonial fortune was feqiieftrated; but ftill he loved his country with unabated fervour, and was moft deeply interefted in its welfare. This gentleman is promifed by Bonaparte a high appointment in Saint Domingo, whenever the French goyernment {hail turn its attention to that ifland, and this he intimated was now in contemplation. LETTER THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. # \ IVJ LETTER VII. The road f rom the Hague to Schemling , — Z)e- ft ruction occajioned by the late form, — The beach at Scheveling, — Averfion of the Dutch to the air of the fea. — The ffheries of Holland, — Theatre at the Hague, — A member of the Batavian direEtory, — Impoverifhment of the Hague.— Thoughts concerning the ref oration of the Stadtholder. — CharaEter of his deceafed fon.— Account of the prefent King of Pruffia, —Literary traffic of the Hague, — Great dimU nut ion of its magnificence,— Trench troops,— Their pay. The Hague, November, i8c», X HE fifliermen of Scheveling, and the de- parture of the chiefs of the houfe of Orange from that village, led me into a digreffion from which I return with pleafure. If it af- forded amufement or information, an apology is unnecelTary j if the contrary, the beft is to I be 114 TOUR THROUGH be found in my intentions, which were to contribute, as far as my limited powers would permit, to both. The road from the Hague to Scheveling is fo juftly praifed by the Dutch, and pointed out as an objedt of admiration to ftrangers, that I fhould be liable to well-founded cenfure did I not attempt to defcribe it. The length of this avenue is near two miles, and its breadth about twenty paces, or rather more. It is a perfectly ftraight line, fo that the en- trance of the road commands a view of the whole ; and happily a pidlurefque objed:, the ^church of Scheveling, terminates the pro- fped. On each fide it is fhaded by beeches, limes, and ‘oaks of an aftonifhing growth, which are fo clofely and Ikilfully planted, at the fame time without incommoding each other, that they form to appearance an im- pervious foreft. Great care, but certainly not more than it deferves, is taken to prefervc this magnificent grove from injury or depre- dation. Here the fond lover may brood in folitude over his paffion, but mull not wound the bark of a tree with the initials of his miftrefs’s THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 115 miftrefs’s name ; nor muft the fnifchievous boy exercife his agility at climbing in this confecrated wood. Woe be to the miferable wretch who is detedled here picking a few flicks to light her fire ; the fpin-houfe or bridewell would be the pimifhment of her offence. At fhort diftances, cautions are fixed up, like thofe in England, offering re- wards to informers, and denouncing the fevereft penalties againfl offenders; and that the mofl illiterate may not be ignorant of thefe regulations, pidures of indifferent ex- ecution, deferibing the flory of a boy tranf- grefling and chaflifed, are exhibited in con- fpicuous fituations. But it is probable that the veneration which the Dutch have for trees in general, and in particular for thefe, on account of their peculiar beauty, are the befl fafeguards of this delightful wood. The merit of planning this avenue, ac- cording to our va/et de place ^ whofe authority I believe may be relied upon in this cafe, fince I find it is fupported by the printed account of the Hague, belongs to Conftan- tine Huygens, the brother of the celebrated • ' 12 mathematician 116 'roufi tii ROUGH mathematician and mechanifl: of that name j and the age of the ftatelieft trees is near a century and a half. The late ftorm has committed moft deplorable ravages here. The perfon whom I have juft mentioned, with that accurate attention which is a cha- radleriftic feature of the Dutch nation, counted fifty-fix noble trees torn up from their roots by the violence of the wind, and / the deftrudlibn of branches and underwood was proportionally great. The poor fellow, when he pointed out the.beauties of the road, lamented the defolation of the ftorm with* much feeling, and heaved a figh at every tree of more than ordinary magnitude (and they were numerous) which had been levelled to the earth. The ocean, which wafties the village of Scheveling, is concealed from view by fand- hills, until you approach it fo near as thirty or forty yards: it then burfts upon your fight with inconceivable grandeur ; and though you are acquainted with its proximity, its fudden appearance produces an indefcribable cifedt. The beach here is extremely fine, and THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC- 117 and forms a beautiful femi-cirde of about fix miles extent. On this beach was tried the famous flying chariot of Stevinus^, which my uncle Toby has introduced to the ac- quaintance of moft readers ; and I doubt whether the engineer could have found in Europe another plain better fuited to his pur- pofe. But, fuch is the unaccountable preju- dice of the Dutch, this beach, which were it in any part of England would create an extenfive town in its neighborhood, and be yearly the refort of the gay, the luxurious, the debilitated and infirm, is negledled and avoided by all perfons here. We met on the road to Schevding three or four carriages with company, and expefted to find as many on the fand; but neither feeing equipages, nor any marks of wheels on the beech where we wandered, which was as firm and folid as a garden walk, I enquired the caufe, and learnt that the Dutch have a ftrong antipathy to the air of the fea. They equally diflike * I could obtain no account of this famous machine,’ jind fome perfons doubted whether it ever exifted but in the fertile imagination of the engineer. J 3 the 118 /lOUR THROUGH the ufe of falt-water for a bath, and confe- quently there are no machines for that de- lightful and invigorating exercife. This averlion to the fea air and water is not merely a vulgar prejudice, but obtains the fupport of their leading phyficians; and on this ac- count, though moft delightful houfes of plea- fure might be built on the coaft, command- ing an exquifite marine profpedt, not a villa or even a hovel is to be feen, three or four houfes at Scheveling excepted, which fronts the ocean. The ruddy countenances of the Dutch fifliermen, and their athletic limbs, might feem to afford an irrefiftible refutation of this idle prejudice; but perfons who have a violent attachment to old opinions, generally overlook fafts, and dwell upon theories. It is dangerous for veflels to anchor off Scheveling, on account of the expofed pofi- tion of the coaft, and the want of fand-banks to break the force of the fea ; the fifhermen therefore, when they return from their labours, drag their 'veflels on rollers up the beach, beyond the reach of the tide. In this manner on the fand were upwards of thirty boats, THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. U9 boats, from twenty to five-and*thlrty tons burthen ; but one half of them were dif- mantled, and a number of perfons thereby deprived of employment. Our appearance drew a crowd of clamorous beggars about us, chiefly of the fiflierman tribe, whofe looks and geftures befpoke extreme wretchednefs : fome endeavoured to excite our compaffion by offering for fale a few fhells which the fea had caft on the beach, others by loudly proclaiming their wants, and all by forrowful and dejedled countenances. The ruin of the great filheries of Holland was the inevitable confequence of a war with Great Britain ; but as, by the efta- blifhed ufage of nations, in former times, fifhermen were permitted, notwithftanding hoftilities, to follow unmolelfed their avoca^ tion, for the regular fupply of the domeftic confumption of their country, I was fur- prifed to find fea-fifh fcarce, and many boats unemployed. The reafon I underftood is, that the Englifh government, contrary to its* pradtice in former wars, will not permit the Dutch to fi(h at a greater diftance than five I 4 miles TOUR THROUGH l'£0 miles from their own coaft; which is in reality an ufelefs indulgence, for the only banks in the North-fea on which fifh is to be caught in any quantities are beyond the allowed lir mits, and therefore if the fiiherman, to follow his trade, goes out fo far to fea, he incurs the rifque of being taken ; a rifque which few are difpofed to hazard, from the number and vigilance of our cruifers which are on the coaft of Holland. In its more aufpicious days, the Hague maintained a troop of French comedians and the performers of the Dutch theatre. It could alfo boaft of an elegant concert, with good Italian voices, and other amufements fuitable to the princely and wealthy inhabi- tants of a great city. At prefent its public entertainments are reduced to the Dutch theatre, the adtors of which, inftead of being ftationary at the Hague, perform only twice a week, and on the remaining days exhibit their talents to the citizens of Delft and Rotter- dam. We therefore faw the fame troop of aftors which on a former occafion I introduced to your accquaintance, and to our mortification ' we THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 1^1 we had alfo feen the drama which they re- prefented. The farce, however, was new to us, and diverting from excefs of ridiculous abfurdity. It was the produdlion of a Dutch author, and I fhall flightly detail the ftory to you, not as a fpecimen of national wit, but of the outrageous fooleries which a Dutch audience can tolerate. A chimney-fweeper makes his appearance on the ftage from a fire-place, and perceiving a fine fuit of - clothes, he ftrips off his own fpoty garments, and drefles himfelf in a laced coat, embroidered waiftcoat, bag-v/ig, , When he is thus equipped, the fervants of the houfe enter, and miftake him for the perfon wfiofe drefs he wears. Imagining him to be my lord, they bring him a variety of refrefhments, which, to the great delight of the audience, he fwallows with voracious gluttony, making between every mouthful a hideous grimace, and loudly expreffing his fatisfadtion at the dainties on which he feeds. After the fervants retire, the mafter of the houfe vifitshisgueft^ and alfo miftaking him for a nobleman, offers him his daughter in marri- age / TOUR THROUGH age with a large fortune. A bargain is concluded, the daughter appears, and the fa- ther gives her hand to the metamorphofed fweepen At this critical moment the real lord enters, the cheat is accordingly dif- covered, and the knave in his finery makes his efcape up the chimney. The theatre is fmaller than that at Rotter- dam, and the decorations inferior. It was impoffible to fee the fcene, which was dropt between the a£ts, without finding. It reprefented cupids hovering over the altar of Love. The cupids were chubby Dutch child- ren, formed in nature's homeliell: mould ; the graces were roun h faced damfels, with flaxen hair, and the goddefs of love an antidote to that paflion. .The centre-box, which formerly was ap- propriated to the ufe of the ftadtholder, now belongs to the Batavian diredtory, one of the members of which body, with his family, was at the theatre. Nothing in the appearance or reception of this perfon indicated his rank. He was drelTed in a plain fuit of black clothes, and appeared to be about fifty years of THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. of age. The diredtorial box has no orna- ments to diftinguifh it from others, and I fhould not have known to whom it belonged, had I not feen on entering the theatre, a piece of' paper pafted on a box-door, on which was writen in an almoft illegible hand, Le logis de direBoire Batave " — The box of the Batavian directory. The theatre v/as miferably attended. I am confident I fpeak within bounds, when I fay, the whole au- dience did not amount to one hundred per- fons. So trifling a colledtion of fpedlators at the theatre of a town whofe population certainly exceeds thirty thoufand inhabi- tants, either thews that- the tatle of the people for dramatic exhibitions is feeble, or their poverty extreme. With fuch receipts, the managers cannot afford to light many candles in their houfe; and, that none may be unneceffarily confumed, whenever the mu- ficians quit the orcheftra, the lights which enable them to read their fcores are carefully extinguifhed until they return. The price of admiflion to the boxes is rather more than halfia-crown Engliih money, and to the ' other 124 TOUR THHOUCH Other parts of the theatre in an equitable proportion. The gallery part of the audi- ence, I was informed, was chiefly compofed of French foldiers^ whofe partiality to fcenic re- prefentations was fo ftrong, as to bring them to a theatre where a language was Ipoken of which they fcarcely underftood a Angle word. The Hague has certainly fuftained a great diminution of wealth and fplendour, from the flight of its "princes, the difperfion of its nobles, and the general diftrefs in which all piaffes of fociety have been involved. Before the revolution, there were to be feen, in almoft every ftreet, elegant carriages v/ith valuable horfes, fcotmeq with rich liveries, and all the fumptuous trappings of polifhed opulence and refined luxury. But now few carriages are to be feen except hackney- coaches, which are of the meaneft defcrip- tion; and fervantsare prohibited by law from wearing any ornaments on their drefs which ihall mark their fituation in life. The foreign minifters at the Hague formerly vied with each other in magnificence and expence; but fince the republic has ceafed to be an efficient THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 125 efficient ftate among the potentates of Europe, the grandeur, as well as the number, of the corps diplomatique has been greatly diminiffied. M. Semonville, the French minifter, lives in a princely ftyle^ but his eftabliffiment, and that of the Spanifh em- baffador, are the only ones deferving of notice. Before the revolution which precipitated the French direftors from their feats, and placed Bonaparte at the head of the republic, the Batavian diredory fometime amufed the public with ftate pageants in imitation of their Gallic brethren. Since that event, fuch difplays of vanity have been rarely indulged in. Some weeks ago there were illlumina- tions and other public rejoicings at the Hague, in commemoration of the anniverfary of the convention laft year between General Brune and the Duke of York : the diredors appeared with little oftentatious ftate, and were received with few teftimonies of popu- lar favour. It is expeded, that the change which has taken place in France will ulti- ;nately produce an alteration in the Batavian government; 126 TOUR THROUGH government ; therefore the "direflors wifely withdraw themfelves, as much as their func- tions will permit, from public obfervationj and the envy concomitant on exalted rank* It is the opinion here, both of his friends and enemies, that the ftadtholder will never be reftored to the government of the United Provinces ; but the former confidently ex- pedl that fome indemnification will be given him for the lofs of his hereditary offices, and the confifcation of his eftates. The pen- fioners of the houfe of Orange, whofe yearly allowance was earned by the merit of adlual fervices, now receive with regularity their falaries from the landed or other poffeffions of the prince. This humane and benevolent grant of fupport, which refeued a number of deferving individuals from the fevere gripe of poverty, did not take place till two or three years after the fettlement of the new government ; but to render this adl of mag- nanimous juftice complete, each penfioner was paid with intereft the arrears of his . falary, and he was not, like other perfons who tafted the bounty of the republic, obliged to take THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. H7 take an oath of hatred to the ftadtholder. Delicacy, and a fine fenfe of religion and honour, would ddubtlefs have prevented many perfons from deriving advantage from this national liberality, had conditions been required of them which they could not in confcience fubmit ; to the compaffion of the government which provided for their wants, with a tender re2:ard at the fame time for their fcruples, cannot therefore be fufficiently admired and praifed. Whatever change takes place in the go- vernment of Holland, it muft firft receive the approbation of the rulers of France ; but it is not probable that any alteration will be attempted, which fhall affimikte the exe- cutive adminiftration of the Batavian to that of the French republic. The confular go- vernment, as it at prefent exifts in France, is entirely repugnant to the cautious and referved genius of the Dutch nation, and would be highly ofFenfive to the patriotic party. On the dilfolution of the prefent conftitution of the Batavian republic, which can fcarcely fail to happen in the courfe of a few 128 TOUR THROUGH a few years, from its defeds and infiiffi-* ciency, a government refembling the ftates- general, but of a more republican charadter, will probably be eftabliflied under the au- fpices of France. Until the reftoration of peace, however, it is not likely that any alterations of magnitude will be attempted. Had the fon of the ftadtholder furvived, who died about two years ago a general in the imperial fervice, a powerful party would probably have been formed in Holland in his favour, which would have endeavoured, had circumftances arifen to promote their defign, to recal him to his country, and inveft him with the dignities which his ancellors enjoyed in the republic. He w’^as a young man of lingular courage, and engaging manners ; his perfon and talents were thought to refemble thofe of his great uncle the illuftrious Fre- deric of Pruffia * 5 and the Dutch beheld I ufe the word illuftrious, not in its common fenfe, to fignify eminent for excellence, hut to denote a man better known than any king of the fame name. I think by no means favourably of Frederic either as a man or a monarch, and the reputation which he enjoys is difgrace- ful to the difeernment of the age. with THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 129 With partial affedllon in this prince qualities which reminded him of the heroic actions of Maurice and Frederic-Henry of Naflku. At the time when the party moft hoftile to the houfe of Orange viewed the other branches of his family with hatred or contempt, this prince was the objedt of their jealoufy and efteem : they faw with pleafure that the meafures of the ftadtholder were calculated to increafe the popular odium which he had already incurred; and the virtues and fplen-. did abilities of his fon excited their fears, left they fliould revive in the people their ancient attachment to the houfe of Orange. It is fome proof of the regard with which his memory is cheriilaed, that his piftui*e is ex- hibited With impunity at moft of the print- /hops of the Flague and Rotterdam, while a very fevere punifliment would be inflidled on the print-feller who {hould be bold enough to fell portraits of the ftadtholder or his fur- viving family ; and the moft violent repub- licans with whom I have converfed con- curred in bearing teftimony to his charadlen [ faw an elegant engraving of him at the' K houfe 150 TOUR THROUGH houfe of a gentleman whofe prejudice would not permit a marigold to blow in his garden. Had this young man, the hopes of the houfe of Orange, lived, he might have per- haps in time obtained the ftadtholderate, *or fome honourable eftablifhment in the coun- try, where his perfon was beloved, and his abilities admired. But the furvivors of his' family poffefs none of the qualities requilite to create in their favour a party fufficiently powerful to overthrow the prefent fyftem, and procure their recal. They may indeed recover the territorial eftates and rights v/hich belong to the houfe of Orange, but they can never hope, with any rational profpect of fuccefs, to regain that plenitude of power and extenlive authority which formerly ap- pertained to their family. The zealous partifans of the ftadtholder, whofe inclinations lead them to extol with rapture every fliadow which promifes to fa- vour their caufe, flatter themfelves with the hope, that whenever a general peace is made, the King of Pruffia, w’ho according to their notions THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC 131 notions holds in his hands the balance of Eu- rope, and can reftore or dethrone, will at- tend to the interefts of his kinfman, and oblige the French and Batavian republics to reinftate him in his offices. This opinion is fo wild and bafelefs, that I fhould mifem- ploy my time were I elaborately to com- bat it. ■ Since the year 1787, when the arms of Pruffia overran Holland, and crufhed the party which oppofed the ftadtholder, the charadter and views of the court of Berlin have been regarded with much attention and anxiety by the Dutch. The patriots, and all true Hollanders in whofe bofoms glowed one fpark of remembrance of the ancient feats of their countrymen, beheld with in- dignation a power which had arifen , in Eu- rope within the century, giving laws to, and impofing a mafler on the republic. Since that period, as their interefts or partialities have inclined them, Pruffia has been viewed by , the Dutch with jealoufy, fear, or hope. The charadler of the prefent King of Pruffia ex- cites no alarms in the patriots, and confe- K 2 132 ’* TOUr. THROUGH *quently furni'fhes little hope, that he wifi efpoufe their caufe, to the ftadtholderian party. He is faid to inherit the talents which have diftinguifhed the houfe of Brandenburg - for a century and a half, withodt much of that dangerous paffion for military glory which fignalifed the reigns of fome of his predeceffors. His minifters differ in their principles and views from thofe’ whom his father employed, and he himfelf is indefati- gable in his attention to the cares of govern- ment. His chief ambition is to continue to his fubjedls the bleffings of peace, and to promote in his dominions agriculture, com- merce, and manufaftures. He pofleffes the hereditary diflike of his family to the houfe of Auflria, and is thought to entertain fenti- ments unfavourable to Great Britain, on ac- count of her intimate connexion with that power. When the Englifh and Ruffian troops mvaded Holland, large offers, amount- ing to a difmemberment of the United Pro- vinces in his favour, as a reward for his fer— vices, were made him, if he would affift to expel the French from the territories of the republic. THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. :133 republic. Had he joined to the Anglo- Ruffian forces an army equal to that which his father fent into Holland in 1787, or' made a diverfion .in favour of the invaders, the French muft have been driven out of the republic, and the Batavians fubdued. But he maintained the moft cautious neutrality, and thereby loft the beft opportunity probably which will ever occur, of reinftating his relatives ^ in their pofleffions. — In private life he is regular and economical, having neither miftrelTes nor favourites to diffipate his treafures; and though his reign has yet been undiftinguiftied by any fplendid aftions, no monarch that ever fat on the throiie pf Pruffia was more refpeiled and beloved by ^his fubjedts than Frederic- William III. From this prince it is apparent that the friends of the ftadtholder have not much to expedl. The , prefent government of Holland is fully recognifed by the court of Berlin, and a * The Princefs of Orange is his aunt, ana the heredi- tary prince his brother-in-law. K 3 I Pruffiaa 134 TOUR THROUGH- Pruflian minifter refides at the Hagu^. The little trade which remains to the republic is chiefly carried on under the proteftion of , the Pruflian flag, and commercial confuls of that nation are eftablilhed at every confider- able port. — As I /hall have occalion to fpeak at large hereafter on the prefent /late of the commerce of Holland, I /hall now return to what is /Iridlly connefted with- the Hague. During that bright period of French li- terature, when the writings of Voltaire, D’Alembert, Helvetius, Rou/Teau, See. were eagerly fought after by the learned and cu- rious of Europe, the bookfellers at the Hague and Am/lerdam with great fpirit multiplied the editions of thefe authors, and carried on a lucrative trade with their works, in all parts where they have been permitted to vend them. Of late, however, not a Angle book above the fize of a pamphlet has ap- peared from the Hague prefs,-and the book- fellers venture on few of the collly publica- tions which have lately been printed at Paris. The THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 135 The decay of this trade, the only one of confequence which was ever carried on at the Hague, arifes more from the caufes which have involved in ruin the commerce of the United Provinces, than from the circum- ftance that France has not of late years produced literary 'works of much reputation. At the principal (hop in the Hague, that of , Du Four, who is alfo a bookfeller at Am- flerdam, I faw a catalogue of recent French publications, and fome of them I was de- firous to purchafe, but they could not fur- nijQi me with a Angle book which I wanted : thofe with which chiefly they were fupplied, were the voyages of French navigators, and fome novels tranflated from the Englifli, amongft which I recognifed, with fincere pleafure, in a new garb, the produ6lions of fome valuable and efteemed friends. The extindlion of the literary traffic of the Hague is fcarcely felt, and little lamented by any perfons except thofe immediately concerned in it. But the v/ant of the court, and of the opulent flrangers which it attracfled K 4 to 136 TOUR THROUGH to this place, is feverely felt by numbers. Before the revolution, the Hague not only contained its own princes of the houfe of Orange, but feveral petty princes of the German empire, who fpent here the revenues which accrued to them from their territories. Thefe perfonages are all fled, and the fame frugality and fimplicity of manners begin to prevail at the Hague, which diftinguifh other parts of Holland, to the utter ruin of all thofe whofe livelihood depended on the fuperfluous wants of the great. As the feat of the executive government, and of the re- prefentative bodies, the Hague enjoys advan- tages which other towns of the republic do not poflefs ; but , thefe advantages are vaftly inferior to the benefits which it derived from the ftadtholder and his court, and mofl: per- fons, even republicans, forrowfully complain of its ftriking and rapid decay. Refped:able families, which before the arrival of the French lived in elegant houfes cheerfully fituated, now retire to lodgings, or inhabit narrow, uncomfortable ftreets where houfe- rent THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 137 rent is cheap, and the abodes which they have quitted are generally without tenants. We vifited, in an obfcure ftreet, a widow lady of an advanced age, whofe fortune the revolution had dreadfully impaired. She re- membered the Hague in its happieft days, and dilated on the magnificence and fplen- dour fhe had formerly witnefled and enjoyed. Her hufband had been tutor to the Prince of Orange, of whom fhe fpoke in terms of almoft idolatrous admiration ; and therefore her partialities probably led her to exaggerate the former affluent and gay, the prefen t de- cayed and impoverifhed, ftate of the Hague. But it is a general complaint that this beauti-. ful place has fuffered much by the revolu- tion, and few believe that it will ever recov.er its priftine grandeur. The French troops which are quartered in the Hague amount to about -twelve hun- dred men ; and are under the command of General Viclor, who diftinguiflied himfelf greatly at the battle of Marengo. General Vi6lor is commander in chief of the French forces in the fervice of the Batavian republic, and TOUR THROUGH and is out of corhparifon more refpe<9:ed than his predeceffor, notwithftanding the important fervices which General Brune ren- dered to the republic. The French troops, which do not exceed at prefent eight thoufand men, receive their pay from, and are wholly maintained by, the Batavian government. The pay of a French foldier is difficult to afcertain, becaufe it varies according to cir- cumftances, the nature of the fervice on which he is employed, the quarters he in- habits, and the provifions with which he is fupplied 3 but the average of his daily pay is from fix pence to ten pence. The delicacy of the fubjeft prevented me from enquiring, of the perfons.befl: able to give me informa- tion, what pay is allowed to the fuperior officers ; but I learnt with confiderable fur- prife from an officer of high rank, that the third military fiation in the republic produces only a revenue of fix hundred florins a month to the perlon who holds it^, and yet is ac- counted a very defirable command*!'. Eco- * About fifty pounds Englifh money, f Un tres beau commandement. nomy THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 139 nomy was always' a prevailing feature of the Dutch government, and the recent calamities which have fallen fo heavy on the ftate, have probably caufed a more than ordinarily vigi- lant attention to be paid to the difburfemeiits of the public purfe. LETTER uo TOUR THROUGH LETTER VIII. Departure from the Hague. — Defcription of a ti'cckfchuyt. — Cufiom of fmoking in Holland* — Exchange between London and Rotterdam, ■ — Depreciation of the notes of the Bank of England. — Forgeries, — Delft. — Decay of its potteries.— Treatment of the fick and icounded of the Britijh army in 179^ by the burgers of Delft. — Breweries. — •‘PoUtenfs of a French foldier. — Leyden. — Dutch houfes. — Streets of Leyden,— Stadthoufe — Pictures. — Vigorous de- fence of the inhabitants of Leyden againft the Spanuu^ds in \ 57 3. —Noble fentiments of a hurgomafer.—Univerfty of Leyden. — Numlwr of ftudents. U Leyden, November, i8oo, NDER the impreffion that we fhould never vifit it again, and delighted with its beauties, we quitted the Hague with feelings cf regret. None of the expedtations raifed in THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, 141 in our minds by the report of the magnifi- cence of that charming village had been diC^ appointed, and we had derived unlooked-for pleafure and advantage, from agreeable fo- ciety and curious information. The difafters of our former voyage did not intimidate us from again embarking in a tfcckfchuyt ; and I lhall now deferibe to you a mode of travelling which has three excellent qualities to recommend it*— *cheapnefs, re- gularity, and fecurity. I fay fecurity, for fuch ftorms as that to the violence' of which we were expofed, do not perhaps occur above once in a century, and unlefs it blows a hurricane there is no danger to be appre- hended in thefe boats. A treckfehuyt is a covered barge, divided into two apartments ; the after one, called the roof, which is fuperior in point of accommodations, contains from eight to a dozen perfons, and the other from forty to fifty, according to the fize of the boat. This veflel is drawn by a fingle horfe, and moves fo precifely at the rate of four miles an hour, that people in Holland uni- verfally compute the diftance from place to place 142 TOUR THROUGH place by the time which the pafTage occupies, not by miles as in England. The price for a feat in the roof, or cabin, is about three pence' an hour ; and, if it is not crowded with paflengers, fcarcely any mode of travel- ling can be more agreeable, unlefs expedition is required. In this apartment there arc generally four windows, a table in the mid- dle, with feats on each fide of it covered with handfome culhions ; and, according to the fancy of the Ikipper, or maflier, of the boat, this little cabin is otherwife ornamented with pi(flures or looking-glaflTes. The motion of a treckfehuyt is fo fteady, that a perfon may read or write at his eafe; or from the win- dows he can enjoy a pleafant profpedl of the country, of numerous villages and feats which ikirt the canals, or of velTels for the purpofes of pleafure or bufinefs, which are conftantly paffing and repafling. Treckfehuyts are the ftage-coaches of Holland : they depart every hour, in various diredlions, from mofl: of the confiderable towns of the republic ; and ar- riving at the appointed time at the place of their deftination; palfengers who wifh to pro- ceed THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 143 ceed further find boats ready to fet out im- mediately. By means of thefe ufeful veffels, an eafy intercourfe exifts between the moft diftant parts of the republic, and the cheap- nefs of the conveyance allows its benefits to be felt by the poorefl; people. To a Dutch- man, a treckfchuyt is the mofi: agreeable con- veyance imaginable. He fmokes in it or deeps in it, as his inclination leads him ; and Is neither fliook by the agitation of the veflel, nor difiurbed by the velocity of its motion. He knows to the eighth part of a penny the fum which his journey will coft him, and he can calculate with equal accuracy the mo- ment when he fhall arrive at the end of it. If his journey is long, he either carries with him a little ftore of provifions, or purchafes a frugal dinner at the place where the boat ufually flops for a few minutes at the hour of that meal. He does not then go on fhore to eat his dinner, but a fteak is expeditioufly brought to him, with fuch other refreihments as the houlc affords, or he choofes to have; and when that matter is arranged, which never occupies more than five minutes, the treckfchuyt 144 TOUR THROUGH trcckfchuyt immediately proceeds. Some of thefe advantages may be enjoyed in common by an Engliftiman, but he is occafionally ex- pofed to difagieeable circumftances in thefe veffels, which detradt much from their ad- vantages. We left the Hague at three in the after- noon for Delft, having previoufly, which is a necelTary precaution, taken places in the roof of the treckfcbuyt. Two ladies and a gentleman were our fellow palTengers to that place, where we quitted the boat to walk through the town to a canal from whence a treckfchuyt was ready to fet off for Rotter- dam. * . i The cabin of this boat, to our extreme mortification, was fo crowded, that we could not obtain feats in it, and therefore we were obliged to take our places with the common paflTengers. It was now dark, and one mi- ferable candle only illuminated a long apart- ment, which contained five-and-twenty or thirty people. On our departure, all the window^s of this place were fhut, to exclude the air, except that, near which we fat, which _ was the BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 145 nvas permitted to remain open, though not without violent oppohtion, out of courtcly to us ftrangers, who particularly requefted it fhould. The heat arifing from the chaufFc- pies, or foot-ftoves,of the women, the tobacco- pipes of the men, and the air vitiated by the refpiration of fo many human beings, was intolerable. The cuftom of fmoking Is fo prevalent in Holland, that a genuine Dutch boor, inftead of defcribing the diftances of places by miles or hours, fays they are fo many pipes afunder. Thus a man may reach Delft from Rotter- dam in four pipes ; but if he goes on to the Hague, the journey will coft him feven. Of our fellow-pafiengers, fifteen at leaf! were refolute fmokers. Shall I defcribe the effeds produced on us by the fuliginous vapours of fo many pipes, or by the faliva they caufed, •which almoft covered the floor of the cabin ? No ! No ! It is fufficient to fay we arrived at Rotterdam, with aching heads, and dif- eafed ftomachs. A treckfchuyt is neverthe- lefs an excellent conveyance, • The buhnefs which called us to Rotterdarn L ‘ was 146 TOUR THROUGH was to procure ca(h for bills on London, I was readily accommodated by two gentle- men, to whofc politenefs and attention I am otherwife much indebted. The exchange between Rotterdam and London on bills payable three days after fight, is at the dif- ference of the enormous fum of twelve per cent in favour of the former city. This difference is not fo much caufed by the ba- lance of trade, which is to the advantage of Rotterdam, as by the ideas which prevail on the continent of the financial embarraffments of the Brithh nation, and the depreciation which the notes of the Bank of England have undergone, fince that Body has ceafed toiffue eafh for their paper. Could I have given bills on Hamburgh, I could have had cafh for them almofi: at par ; or could I have en- gaged that my drafts fhould be paid in Lon- don with fpecie, the difference in the ex- change would have been confiderably lefs. It is the opinion of very intelligent merchants at Rotterdam, that whenever peace is're.- ilored to Europe, fhould the bank of Eng.- land not refume paying. its notes in cafh, the exchange THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 147 exchange with London will be ftlll more unfavourable to that city, for then in every commercial fenfe the bank muft be ac- counted infolvent, and its paper of no more value than French affio;nats. One caufe which tends to depreciate the notes of the bank' of England on the continent is, the great quantities of forged ones which are circulated in the north of Germany, the Netherlands, Brabant, and Holland, and the immenfe Ioffes .which the merchants have thereby fuftained. Thefe notes are’ princi- pally of the denomination of five or ten pounds, and .Ikilfully executed. The en- graving of the forged notes is faid to be neater than that of the real ones, and the ink of a brighter black. But on the w'hole the imperfedlions of th.e genuine notes are well imitated. I could gain no information where thefe forgeries are fuppofed to be fabricated, and I will not hazard any conjedures of my own.' The jews are charged wdth ulhering them into circulation, but this accufation, like many other calumnies which have been L 2 invented 148 TOUR THROUGH invented againft this defpifed race, is proba«» bly devoid of foundation. We travelled from Rotterdam to this city by the canals, without any of the dif- agreeable circumftances which attended our former excurfions by water. The weather was pleafant ; we had feats in the roof of the treckfchuyt, and the company were polite and asfreeable. As we had hitherto had but o an imperfect view of Delft, we ftaid fome tjme in that city to furvcy its buildings and euriofities. Delft is a neat, well built town, abound- ing, like all places in Holland, with canals, \bridges, and trees^. In the new church is fliewn a monument of indifferent execution, which was eredted by the ftates-o;eneral in honour of William I. Prince of Orange, who was affaffinated here by an emiffary of * Delft is the birth-place of Hugo .Grotius, and its in- habitants are reproached that they have not eredted a flatue in honour of their fellow-citizen, as the burghers' of Rotterdam have done to the memory of Erafmus. Philip THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. U5 Philip II. in 1584: and there are alfo mo- numents to the memory of Prince Maurice and Frederic-Henry. Delft was formerly famous for its manufadures of earthen-ware, which rivalled the porcelain of China, and' was generally fought after and efteemed throughout Europe, for its elegance and beauty. At prefent fcarcely five hundred perfons are employed in the potteries of this place, which in their moft flourifliing days gave fubfiftence to upwards of ten thoufand labourers. The fame jealoufy, however, towards firangers is ftill obferved here ; and unlefs a traveller is well recommended, he cannot obtain a fight of their manufaftures. The decay of this branch of commerce doubt- lefs arifes in part from the fame caufes which have enfeebled the republic, as the diflen- fions of domeftic parties, the expenfive wars In which the fiate has been involved, and the dreadful termination of its hoftilities with France ; but the more prominent caufes of this aftonilhing decay are, the immenfc quantities of porcelain which for a century and a half have been imported into Europe L 2 ' from I 150 TOUR THROUGH from China, and the rival manufadlures which in that time have been eflabliflied in Germany and England. The earthen-ware of Stafrordlliire was fome years ago fo much approved of in Holland, that the flates-gene- ” ral, in order to protedl the manufafeurers of I'jtlit from abfolute rain, were obliged to lay duties on its importation into the republic, which were fo fevere as to amount almoft to an entire prohibition. It is perhaps becaufe they have rivalled and furpaffed them in their ftaple manufac- ture, that the citizens of Delft bear a rooted animohty to the natives of Great Britain. In an inclement feafon of the year, the brave fick and wounded of the Britifh army, which defended Holland, were refufed admiflion into this town, v/here they thought to find faccour and relief * ; their wounds and dif- * Before the revolution, every confiderable town in the republic was poffeiTed to a certain degree of an inde- pendent jurifdiclion, by means of which it could refufe the admiffion of foreign troops into it, unlefs the orders of the ftatcs-gcneral were peremptory to the contrary effeff . The diflike of the city of Delft to the Englifh was llightly alluded to in letter the fixth. cafes THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 151 eafes procured them no pity, though their blood had been fhed, and their health' wafted (but inefteftually), for the prefervation of the republic. The gates of the place were Ihut agauift them, and the armed 'burghers of the town harfhly repulfed the miferable wretches, who folicited fhelter, warmth, and food. Thefe unhappy beings were expofed, with their fores and difeafes, to the aggra- vated evils of hunger and cold, experiencing at the hand of their allies a treatment more fevere, than would have been their lot had they fallen into the power of the enenny. Delft is famous in Holland for its beer breweries, as well as for its manufactures of porcelain ; and I muft: acknowledge that Lon- don porter is imitated with tolerable fuccefs. If, however, it is drank out of the cafk: it is very inferior, but after it has been in bottles fome time its tafte is nearly as agreeable -as London bottled porter, from which it is diffi- cult to diftinguifh it. I fhould not mention that we were de- tained about half an hour, in a mean cabaret, on the canal which leads to Leyden, waiting L 4 for 153 TOUR THROUGH for the departure of the treckfchuyt, but to relate an incident which happened to us. The turf-fire of the room in which we fat was fo furrounded by t)utch foldiers, fmok- ing and drinking gin, that neither of us received any heat from it ; and though the evening was cold, they kept their places with frigid unconcern. We had not been feated long before a French foldier came into the apartment, and feeling for our - uncom- fortable fituation, he immediately infifted that the Dutch fhould make room for us near the fire. This the boors reludlantly com- plied with, and our obliging Frenchman feated himfelf befide us : drinking a glafs of Bourdeaux wine, which perhaps he ordered for the occafion, he faid, with a politenefs and gallantry which certainly belonged to the old fchool, moving at the fame time his hat with a very ariftocratical grace, Ma- dame et monfieur, tout ce qui vous puis faire plaifir ^ f ’ and when the boat was ready to Sir, madam, I wifh you every thing that can give you pleafure, ' fet ( THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, 153 Vet off, he efcorted us to it, and cordially wiflied ns a good voyage. Leyden is the fecond city in magnitude of the United Provinces, and inferior to none in the fpacioufnefs and elegance of its build- ings, the utility of its public inftitutions, and the agreeable manners of its inhabitants. It is htuated on the ancient bed of the Rhine, the diminiflied waters of Vv^hich river fill an inconfiderable canal that bears its name, and at a very fhort diftance from the city, mingling with larger ftreams, it is no longer known by its claffical appellation. ' The houfes of Leyden are built with their gable ends to the ftreets, in the old Dutch tafte ; which is infinitely more pleafant to the fight in a town where every thing elfe is Dutch, than clumfy attempts at Grecian or Ita- lian architeclure. A ' Dutch houfe in the old ftyle of building is generally fix fto- ries high, the three firft of which are of an equal breadth, but of unequal heights ; from the third ftory the roof rifes to a point, and the room's of this part of the houfe ne- ceffarily diminilh in fize as they approach to the 154 TOURTHROUGH^ the apex of the building. The front wall of the upper apartments projefts fo from the roof as nearly to hide it, unlefs viewed in profile ; and the exterior of each room dimi- nifhes till that of the attic ftory is two thirds lefs than the bafement. To the aperture of the upper room, which is clofed with a W'ood fhutter, is commonly fixed a fmall crane, for the purpofe of hoifting up w'ood and turf; and thefe cranes fometimes have grotefque heads carved upon them. The windows and doors of moft houfes are painted green, and the brick- work often white or black, where there are projedbions or diverfity of mafonry. The principal ftreets of Leyden are broad, long, and well paved, rifing in the middle, fo that no w’ater can remain upon them, and the fame rigid cleanlinefs prevails here as in other parts of Holland. The ftreet in W'hich the ftadthoufe is placed, is accounted by the inhabitants of this city one of the finell in Europe. It extends, with an incon- fiderable curve, from one extremity of Ley- den to the other,, and is about two miles in length. THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 155 length. All the houfes in it are elegant and neat ; and belide the ftadthoufe, which is a magnificent building, it is ornamented with an hofpital of fine appearance and great ex- tent, and other public eredlions. In the halls of the ftadthoufe are preferved ■ fome good pictures, which are well deferving the notice of a traveller. The principal one reprefenting the Laft Judgment, is a pifture of great antiquity, painted on wood by Lucas Van Leyden. It is divided into three com- partments, which fold by means oLhinges together, and fo protect the piece from the injuries of the air. The contraft between the angels and devils, the joy of the bleffed, and the defpair of the damned, is fkilfully ma- naged. But the pidure to which your at- tention Is peculiarly called by the perfon who conduds you over the ftadihou e, de- icribes a ftory of great intereft in the annals of this city. It reprefents the famiftied inha- bitants of Leyden, after they had by their valour and conftancy obliged the Spaniards to raife thje fiege of their town, eagerly devour- ing the relief which was brought them by their countrymen. The 1:56 To’ur through ^ ■ The memory of this fiege is flill preferved by the citizens of Leyden, with annual re- joicings and feftivities ; • and once in feven years a kind of jubilee is held in honour of that great event. In confequence of the gallant defence made by its inhabitants, and the dreadful miferies which they fuffered, the ftates- general, to reward their bravery and patience, founded in Leyden the noble univerfity which has fince refledled fo much honour on that city, and been attended with important benefits to philofophy and fcience. In 1573, the Spaniards, fluflied with the 'conqueft of Haarlem, laid fiege to Alkmaer j but finding the place too flrong for their forces, they turned their arms againfi: Ley- den. The approach of Prince Frederic of NalTau, with a confiderable body of men, drove them for a fliort time from their trenches ^ but having -procured re-inforce- ments, they returned, and, according to the practice of the age, being apprehenfive they fhould not be able to take the city by force, they turned the fiege into a blockade. The Spanifli miE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. Spa'nifli general, Frederic of Toledo, fon of the Duke of Alva, repulfed a body of Englifli auxiliaries which were coming to the relief of the befieged, and otherwife fo vigilantly conducted the blockade, that the inhabitants of Leyden were reduced by famine to the moit deplorable diftrefs. Difheartened by their miferable fituation, and hopelefs of re- lief, the burghers of the town aflembled in great numbers about the houfe of Peter Adrian de Werf, a man of much influence and authority in the place, and loudly and mutinoufly exclaimed, that the town muft furrender, or its inhabitants would perifli of hunger. But this man, who poflefled the firm- nefsofCato, and preferred to die rather than fee his country under the dominion of a ty- rant, expoftulated with the mob, and faid. It is indifterent to me, whether I perifli' by means of the enemy, or the hands of my fellow-^citizens. ’ Kill me then, if you have the courage, and appeafe your hunger with my miferable carcafe.'* The firmnefs of Adrian Jnfpired his fellow-citizens with pa- tience 158 ' tOlJR tHR0U6H tience and refolution j they returned to theif duties with cheerfulnefs, and endured the moft preffing extremities of famine with he- roic fortitude. When every article of fub- fiftence was confumed, the bodies of the dead furniilied a horrid food for, the fupport of the living, and ftill the citizens of Leyden defended wdth invincible refolution their town. At length the Dutch confederates, having no other means of relieving their dif- trelTed countrymen, broke down the dykes -of the Maefe and the Yflel, and inundated the Spanifh camp, and the beautiful country which furrounds Leyden. This defperate meafure obliged the Spaniili general to eva- cuate his camp ; and the befieged town, after having fuffered the moft terrible diftrefs, was relieved. This fiege, which commenced Ihortly after Eafter, was raifed the third of October, and the fame day a fupply of provi- lions was brought to the famifhed inhabitants of the place,' who for upwards of five months had fuffered uhfpeakable diftrefs. The univerfity of Leyden, wdiich is the moft THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 159 moft ancient in the United Provinces, and has enjoyed the greateft fliare of reputation, was founded the year following this dreadful liege, by the ftates-general and Prince Wil- liam of Orange, .to reward the citizens for the unparalleled bravery and conftancy with which they defended their town. This in- llltution has had the good fortune to number among its profeffors and fcholars fome of the moft learned men and excellent phyli- cians that Europe has produced.'' In its in- fancy, the younger Scallger, Heinfius, and Salmafius, profecuted the ftudy of the an- cient languages in this univerftty, with a fuccefs which has not fince been furpafled; and after their times^ Boerhaave, in the phyfical chair, filled Leyden with medical ftudents from all parts of Europe. To mention all the great fcholars and phyficians whom this univerftty has produced would be a laborious employment. There is perhaps no fcience which the profeftbrs of Leyden have not eminently contributed to illuftrate^ no branch of polite literature in which they- have not excelled. The TOtrit THROUGH 160 The prefent profeflbrs in the univerfity of Leyden are perfons of refpedlable talents and merit ; but I am prevented from gaining all the information refpedling the univerfity which I hoped to obtain, by the unfortunate abfence of the gentleman to whom we had letters of recommendation. The fchools of Leyden have fuffered in the general calami- ties which have befallen the republic ; and the number of ftudents in the univerfity^ particularly of foreigners, is greatly reduced. The names of ftudents at prefent on the books of the univerfity do not exceed a hundred and fifty, and of thefe how many enrol themfelves on the academical lifts from no very laudable motives, it is difficult to afcertain. What I allude to is this; fince the eftablifhment of liberty and equality in the United Provinces, every perfon eligible to the militia is oblig-ed adluallv to ferve in O the corps of the diftrid: to which he belongs ; whereas before the revolution, fuch as could afford to furnifh a fubftitute were exempt ' from perfonal fervice. The ingenuous youth, who attend the univerfities of the republic to THE BATAVIAN_REPUBLIC. . l6l to purfue their ftudies, are free from this dangerous and difagreeable fervice, and there- fore many enter themfelves as ftudents with no other view than that they rhay enjoy this privilege. This clafs of ftudents I am in- clined to believe is more numerous than that^ of the youth who attend the univerfity ac- cording to the fpirit. of the inftitutionr ,, LETTER 162 tour through LETTER IX. - The botanic garden,— Palm-tree, — Antiques,— Theatre of anatomy, — Public library^ — Por- traits of illujirious Dutchmen, — Medallions of — Antiques , — EngUjh republicans. — St. Peter's churchy a place of confinement for the EngUfh and Rufjian prifoners, — The gazette of Leyden, — Dutch nextfpapers. — Woollen manifaBures of Leyden. Probable fate of the unvverfty when peace jhall be reftored. HE botanic garden of Leyden, which belongs to the univerfity, has enjoyed for a century and a half a diftinguiflied reputation throughout Europe. It occupies about four acres of ground, and is in excellent order. Many of the trees and plants (thofe pro- bably which are the rareft), have fcrolls of parchment attached to them, on which L written, for the ufe of ftudents, a defcrip- Leyden, November, i8oo. tioti *fH£ BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. J6S tioti of them according to the Linnean fyftem. The gardener fliewed us a palm-tree which -was -in exiftence when the Spaniards were mafters of the United Provinces; and this afforded him an opportunity, which no citizen of Leyden ever lofes, of defcanting on the courage, conftancy, and fufterings, of the old inhabitants of the town.- In the garden is an apartment for the re- ception of ftatues, altars, and other antiques, which wei**e prefented to-the univerfity by a burgomafter of the town. Many of the ftatues are confiderably mutilated. Of thofe which are in a tolerable ftate of preferva- tion, a bacchus and a bacchinal, Servilius, a full figure of a Roman conful, and the bufts of Nero and Agrippina, were the beft. From this apartment, the ftranger is con- dufted into another, which contains a fmall collection of natural hiftory. The birds and beafts of this colledlion, and particularly the latter, which have not the advantage of being kept in glafs frames, are fo wretchedly prefervxd, that it is impoffible for "a perfon M 2 unac- 164 TOUR THROUGH unaccuftomcd to fucb fights, to look upon them without extreme difguft. Half the face of the -Hippopotamus, which holds a con- fpicuous place among thefe rarities, is con- fumed or disfigured by the animalculse which it has produced ; and limilar depredations "have been committed to a greater extent on moft of the quadrupeds in the colleftion. The fpecimens of the mineral kingdom, which are numerous and elegant, are well arranged in this apartment in handfome ma- hogany cafes, and to the moft remarkable of them is affixed a technical defcription. W e faw both thefe halls and their contents to great difadvantage, for a number of car- penters vvere at work . in . them/ making alterations and improvements / and, confe- quently, the ftatues, beafts, &c. were in diforder and confufion. When the improve- ments are finilhed, which are to a laudable extent, and will be attended with a confi- derable expence, the colledlion of natural hiftory and antiques will appear to much more advantage tha'n they at prefcnt do, and particularly if proper pains be taken to clean the THE'BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 165 the animals, and fnpply the parts of -them which have been dcftroyed or disfigured through want of care. But whatever em~ bellifhments the liberality of the univcrfity may beftow on. this colleftion, it will be found far inferior to the rare aflemblage of curiofities which was formed by the zeal, induftry, and talle, of a .private individual of our own times and nation ' At a fhort diftance frorh the botanic gar- den, is the ' theatre of anatomy, which has fupplied the . world with fo many excellent phyficians. It contains a numerous and valuable colle61:ion of fubjefls relative to anatomy and pathology, and the whole is arranged with admirable neatnefs and care. The aifemblage of lufus naturce . in this theatre is extremely curious, and abounds in * Sir Afhton Lever. The mufeum which bears the name of this gentleman is an honour to the Englifh na- tion. It is perhaps the beft collection of natural hiftory in Europe ; and is equally to be praifed for the variety of its articles, the excellence of their prefervation, and the judgment with which they are arranged. M 3 everv rOVK THR0UC5H 165 every imaginable fpecies 6f deformity. A child with two heads, the unhappy offspring of a peafant’s wife in Frielland, who fur^ vived this monftrous delivery many years, claims particular attention. I have feen a conception of a fimilar kind, in the anatomii- cal preparations of Mr. Ingham of Newcaftle Jii Northumberland, a gentleman of great erudition and fciencc, whofe profeffional char* racier and extenfive medical knowledge are above any eulogium of mine. The mention of this perfon recals to my mind his fon, whofe premature death, about a twelve- month ago, excited univerfal regret. He was a youth of moft promifing talents,' and uncommon goodnefs of heart. To a powerr ful and ready genius, he united unwearied application in the purfult of knowledge ^ qualities for which rninds of fingular vigour are rarely diftinguifhed : and perhaps his early lofs to fociety, which he was fo adr mirably fitted to adorn and Improve, may in a great meafure be attributed to that indefa- tigable diligence which, enlarging the mind, difables THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 16/ difables the body from rcfiftiag the attacks of difeafe. The public library of Leyden is chiefly celebrated for the ftores of oriental literature which it contains. Jofeph Sc^liger be- queathed to it a valuable qolledtion of He- brew books; and Golius, who filled for many years with great reputation the Arabic pro- felTorfhip of the univerfity, enriched it with the rare Perfian, Chaldee, Arabic, Turkifti, and other manufcripts, which he brought with him from the eaft. The manufcripts which repofe in this library amount to eight " thoufand, and form its pringipal treafyres. The heavy volumes of contrpverfiaj divinity, which crowd the fhelves, far exceed the proportion which they contain of elegant and valuable literature. But thefe dull remains of a bigotted and unenlightened age do not appear to be much looked into, and the good fenfe of the approaching century may perhaps difpoflefs them of the places which they fo unworthily fill. Among the publica- tions of a recent date, 1 favv the hiftories of Hume, Robertfon, and Gibbon, and the M 4 Tranfa6lions - TOUR THROUGH • 16S Tranfadions of the Royal and Antiquarian focieties of London; but no Englifli books fince the commencement of the prefent war 'with Holland.' The laft addition to the •library, w^ere fome magnificent folios, de- Icribing- the antiquities of Herculaneum, which were a prefen t from the king of Spain, The books are principally bound in parch- Imeiit, which is extremely white and pleaf- ing to the eye ; and they are moftly gilded and ornamented with much elegance and tafte, the decorations being fuitablc to -the fubjeft of the book. The library contains fome good portraits of eminent Dutchmen : of Erafmus, at va- 'rious periods of his life ; of Grotius ; and Janus Doufe, who diftinguifhed himfelf equally in arms and letters. During the -fiege of Leyden he was one of its braveft defenders, and his conduct on that occafioii 'was fo highly approved of by the Prince of Orange, that the government of the city was afterwards entrnfted to his care. A por- trait of Daniel Heinfius, and a miniature of Sir Thomas More, by Hans Holbein, whofe patronage THE BAT AVIAN kEPT?BLIC. 169 patronage of- Erafmus probably procured his head the honour of a place among the Dutch favansy are ^deferving'of peculiar fpeciHca- tion. But the moft ftriking portrait 'is that of Hugo Donellus, which was painted after death. • The clay-cold palenefs of the coun- tenance, and that expreffion which the agonies of death have given to the 'features^ are moft exquifitely defcribed. It is painted on wood, and in excellent prefervation. I arri ferioufly mortified that I could not learn tlie name of the artift. • There are alfo in the library, carved in ivory to refemble medallions, the likenelTes of fome Englifhmen diftinguifhed for their attachment to civil and religious liberty, as Wickliff, Harrington, Milton, Marvel, Lud- low, &c. They were executed, 1 under- ftood, by an Englifli refugee, who took ftielter in Holland from the cruelties of James II. after the failure of the Duke of Monmouth’s unhappy expedition, in which he bore a fhare, and continued to refide at Leyden till his death. The carvings are 170 TOUR THROUGH are neat, and certainly no difgrace to the library. The church of St. Peter, the principal one in Leyden, is a large heavy building, in the Gothic ftyle of architcftiire. Like other Dutch churches, it is without .pews, and the congregation are feated on chairs. It is heated by two or more large ftoves, and we found its warmth very agreeable ; but, notwithftanding, the Dutch ladies inva-»i riably ufe chauffepies. Near the pulpit is an half-hour glafs, which the preacher turns when he begins his fermon, and the congre- gatlon are fatisfied. (probably with reafon) if his difeourfe laft no longer than till the fand is run out. In this church were confined the Englifh and Ruffian foldiers which were taken pri- foners laft year at Alkmaer. The Ruffians were imprefted with the belief that they were preferved from immediate flaughter, to be guillotined or hanged, and perceiving three large brafs chandeliers, fufpended by chains from the roof of this church, they imagined a Ruffian THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC- 17 1 a Ruffian foldier was to be huno; from each branch of the chandeliers. Their joy was extravagant when ,they found their fears were ill founded, and they embraced their French and Dutch guards as faviours and proteftors. It added to their happinefs, that tl\ey were well fed, comfortably fheltered from the inclemencies of the weather, and abundantly furnifhed with Jftraw for beds* The church of Leyden, both in point of ac- . the treafury, the fecretary’s office, the hall for petty eaufes, the great hall of juftice, the chamber of domains, of infurance, of orphans, the counfel-room, the offices of the bank, the citizens'-hall, &c. &c- — were a talk of too great magnitude for a tourift to undertake, with any reafonable expedation that he could competently exe^ cute it. A few apartments, however, may without impropriety be noticed. The hall where criminals are brought to receive fen- tence is on the bafement floor of the ftadt- houfe, and is decorated with baflb-relievos analogous to the ufe to which it is dedicated. In one compartment is reprefented the ftory of TOUR TllROUGH of Junius Brutus putting his fons to death / in another, Zaleucus, the Locrian king; tearing out an eye to preferve one for his foil, who by his father’s law was condemned to lofe both for the crime of adultery ; and in a third; the judgment of Solomon. The head of Bellona beneath the Roman ftory is of fculpture that would do honour to a Gre- cian chiffeL I muft not omit to mention a figure of filerice; reprefented as a womail feated on the ground^ with a finger on hef mouth, and two children weeping over a death’s head. This chamber contains aho allegorical figures of punifhment, and axes; fafces,- and chains, the inftruments pf tyranny or juftice. When fentcnee of death is to be pronounced oh a criminal, he is* brought warded into this hall; the mao;ifirates of the city appear in a gallery above, drefled in their tobes of ceremony, and nothing is neglefted which can contribute to the folemnity of the aweful fcene. I am fatisfied of the inexpe- diency of the puniiliment of death, if I may life the term, of its unlawfulnefs ;• wheiiy hovvever, nothing but the death ofacrimina! will THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 209 ' will appeafe the tribunal which arraigns him, every Gircumftance of folemnity Ihould be given to this dreadful aft of legiflative Vengeance. If the intention of punifhments be, what lawyers maintain it is*, not to in- fiift pain on the criminal, but to provide for the public fecurity by ftiewing the confe- quences of offending, no auxiliary ought to be wanting to the fpeftacle which can in- Ipire the fpeftators with awe. The manner of palling fentence of death in Holland is dignified, folemn, and impreffive : it muft on refleftioii appear ftrikingly fo to a perlbn. who has feen condemnations at the Old Bailey, where fometimes a dozen wretches are crowded into a box to be told, in a ftyle little reverent or awful, that the law fen- tences them to be hanged. * Ut poena ad paucos, metus ad omnes perveniat. , 2, Cicero: Tully, with his generous love of liberty, was too often an advocate. Lawyers conftantly declare that punilhments are not mflivho has not been regularly fummoned three times, with the interval of fourteen days between each fummons ; and fix weeks fur- ther mufi: elapfe from the laft official noti- fication and demand of the debt, before the creditor is permitted to arreft, or feize the cffefts of, the infolvent perfon,. By this indulgent mode of procedure, debtors are generally enabled either fully to fettle their affairs. THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. ^17 afFaIrs, or liberally, to compromiferwith their ' creditors, fo that few are fent to prifon on account of the embarraffmeut of their cir-r cumftances. A man may not be arrefted in his own houfe in Holland, or even ftanding at the door of it, though all the previous citations fhould have been madej; and fliould his wife be lying-in, he is humanely privileged, during the period of her illnefs, to go abroad without any m.oleftation from his creditors jor bailiffs. There are fome exceptions to thefe be- nevolent rules, regarding bills of exchange ; debts due to the government, as taxes, du- ties, or fines ; and houfe-rent, when the arrears exceed four quarters. It appears, however, from the fmall number of debtors confined in Amfterdam, that in few cafes are the laws againfl: infolvent perfons very rigoroufly applied. An inferior court, com- pofed of intelligent and upright citizens, has a power to determine fmall claims ; and by means of this tribunal much expenlive litiga- tion is prevented, . Its decifions are abfolute, and 218 TOUR THROUGH and they are merciful and equitable. It would be found, I believe, on examination, that nearly one third of the amount of the fums for which perfons are confined in the various prifons of England, has arifeii from the dreadful expence of law proceedings ; — an evil of deftruffive magnitude, which the wife policy of the Dutch has carefully guarded againft. The number of criminals in the prifon of the ftadthoufe of Amfterdam, forms a pleaf- ing panegyric on the morals of the inhabi- tants of that great city, or the vigilance of the police. Since the year ninety-fix, a pe- riod of the greateft national calamity, which has been moft feverely felt by the lower orders of fociety, only three criminals have fufFered by the hand of the executioner. The yearly average of executions for Lon- don and Middlefex exceeds forty * : a la- mentable * From December 1783, to December 1788 (vide Howard’s Works, vol. 2.)> the number of executions in London and Middlefex amounted to 324, which gives THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 219 mentable proof of the fanguinary fpirit of the Englifli laws, or the diffolute manners of the 'nation. In fome of the United Pro- vinces, the barbarous fpeftacle of a public execution has not occurred within a century; and the average of malefa61ors who in that period have fufFered at Amfterdam, is Icfs than one viftim a year devoted to appeafe the indignation of offended laws. How amiable and enlightened is this policy, com- pared with the profufe wafte of human life by the Englifh courts of juftice ! At different times, the Britifh legiflature has deliberately pronounced one hundred and fixty crimes gives an average of about fixty-five perfons yearly fufFer- ing by the hand of the executioner. The average of the twelve'pfeceding years gives thirty-nine convi<^s an- nually hanged. If the amount be taken for feventeen years, from 1771 to 1788, the average is rather more than forty-feven executions a year.^ Since that period the number of perfons annually hanged may fafely be averaged at forty. The war, by furnifhing a number of turbulent, ill-difpofed, or neceflltous perfons, with employment in the army or navy, has abridged the yearly labours of the public executioner. t® TOUR THROUGH to be worthy of the punifhment of death It may fafdy be affirmed, that fo fanguinary a code does not difgrace the inftitutions of any other nation or period. On the ground-floor of the ftadthoufe alfa are the ilrong apartments which formerly contained the imimenfe treafures of the bank of Amfterdam, and the offices for condudling' the concerns of that opulent eftablifhment. I fnall hereafter more particularly notice the bank of Amfterdam, and its condition to fulfil its engagement with its creditors, when the French became mafters of Holland, and cifcovered to the world the pecuniary re- fources of this celebrated commercial infti- tutlon. A fmall number of clerks are ftill * Such was the eftimate of Blackftone, a taan by no means difpofed to reprefent the laws of England in an unfavourable light, in 1 769. Since that period, fcarcely a feflions of parliament has been held, in which the pu- niftiment of death has not been enacted againft offences, which, before, a flighter puniihment was thought fuflicient to coerce. The number has therefore been much in- creafed, and it is greatly to be feared that not lefs than two hundred crimes are enrolled on this bloody cata- Jogue. employed THE HATAVIAX REPUBLIC. iemploj^ed in the offices of the bank, to re- ceive the Voluminous claims of its creditors. On the reftoration of peace, its advantages to the' mercantile world will probably caufc it, with proper modifications, ' to be re- vived, and under hoiiefl: and upright direc* tion, it may again become an ufeful 'aiid re- fpeftable inftitution. The external appearance of the ftadthoufc is noble and grand ; and' certainly it is’ in every refpeft worthy 'of the opulent city, for the accommodation of which it was erected. The entrance, by feven fmall gates, has been cenfured as mean for fo magni- ficent a buildine, and undoubtedly an ele*- gant portal would have been more conge;- nial to the architefture of the whole. But here fecurity was preferred to beauty. The burgomafters who ffiperintended - 'the build- ing of the ftadthoufc, confidering that the treafures of the bank, the archives of the city, and the documents of the public of- fices, would be lodged in it ; and knowing the turbulence and inftability of the popu- lace 222 tOUR THROtJGIt lace of Amfterdam ; thought that fevcn fmail gates could be more eafily defended than a large one, if, in cafe of a popular fedition, the mob attacked the ftadthoufe with a view •to plunder its treafures, or by the deftruftion of the records which it contained, to involve the country in ruin and confufio'n* The top of the ftadthoufe is ornamented with feveral noble ftatucs, one of which, a colofTal figure of Atlas, with a copper globe of immenfe fize on his fhoulders, is of remarkably fine execution. The attitude of the figure is ftriking, and the whole conception of the piece grand. It may not be improper in this place to mention, that the fineli pieces of fculpture which orna- ment the ftadthoufe of Amfterdam, are from the chilTel of Artus Queilinus, a fta- tuary of Antwerp, a city more eminent for the celebrated artifts which it has produced, than for the riches and commerce which it formerly enjoyed. In the fquare before the ftadthoufe, is ele- vated pn a. pole, pr 'rather maft, almoft an hundred THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 2SJ hundred feet high,, the hat of Batavian li- berty, The maft is painted with the na- tional colours, red, white, and blue ; and towards the top it is ornamented with artifi- cial foliage of the palm-tree. The bafe of the pole alTumes fomewhat the form of a column, and figures, painted on boards, of Liberty, Juftice, Independence, &c. are at- tached to it. As in other places of Holland, the tree of liberty was found not to flourifii here, and therefore it was thought neceffary to rear a maft, confpicuoufly to dilplay the emblem of Dutch freedom. The fpace before the ftadthoufe, or the dam as it is called, is difgraced with a mean eredlion, the cuftom-houfe of the city. It is a fmall, miferable building, and furniihes a ftranger, who has feen the fpacious and magnificent edifices for the colledtion of re- venue in London, with very humble ideas of the commerce of Amfterdam. There was not a throng of perfons about it, though at a time of the day when bufinefs is ufually tranfafted : but I faw a confiderable quantity of merchandife, which was brought to be examined. 'fHflOUGrf S124 examined, and weighed. I fhould meiitioti that this is the principal, but there are two inore cuftom-houfes in Amftefdam, at con« venient diftances, for the facility of trade. / ■ - I t LETTER The BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. C)0 LETTER XIII. Streets of A mfterdam . — Canals. — Shopkeepers . — Begging prohibited in Amfterdam. — A little pedlar boy. — The Exchange. — A literary fociety., the Felix Meritis. — Extent of 'A?nfterdam . — Number of houfes. — Population. — Police . — IV atchmen. — Fire centinels. — City militia . — - The Rafp’-houfe of Amfterdam, — Labour of the criminals confined in it. -^Expedient for' . merly ufed to oblige refractory criminals to u'ork. — General appearance of the prifoners . — Terms of confinement. ’-^Account of a man fentenced to perpetual imprifonment. — Exemp- tion from labour to be piirchafed. — Figui'e oxer the gate of the Rafp-houfe. — The Spin-houfe or Bridewell for women. — Licenfed brothels of Amfterdam. T Amfterdam, i8co. HE ftreets of i\mfterdam are not to be compared for neatnefs or cleanlinefs with thofe of Leyden or Hacrlem. With the . ' exception* lOUR IHKOUGH e<:G exception of a few (Ireets in the beft quar-^ ter of the town, they are in general ex'-^ tremely dirty, and the canals abound with pu- trid offals of every defeription. During the heats of fummer, the noxious effluvia which proceed from the ftagnate waters of the ca- nals, corrupted with the moil offenfive ani- mal and vegetable fubftances, muft be highly pernicious to the health, and deftruftive of the comforts, of the inhabitants of this city. To purify the canals, there are eredted at the extremities of the town, mills to pump out the foul water, and caufe the ftagnate pools to circulate. Every day the gates and fliiices* are opened, and a number of barges are em- ployed to collecl the dirt that floats on the farface of the canals, or raife the mud from the bottom. Thefe boats, when they are full, tranfport their cargoes to Brabant, and the price which is given there for the ma- nure defrays the expence of the voyage. Notwlthftanding all the care that is taken, to cleanfe the canals of Amfterdam, they are moft difguftingly impure. In moft of them are to be feen the offals of flaughter-houfes, putrified The baTavIan republic. 227 putrlfied fifli, and the refufe of the vege- table markets. Dead dogs and cats float about without number, and in one canal I faw a horfe in a horrid ilate of corruption. The water of the canals is generally a yard below the pavement of the flreet, and about eight or nine feet deep, with perhaps a yard o'f foft mud at the bottom,' fo that when an animal or a man tumbles in, unlefs afiifliance is at hand, his deftiny is Angularly fortunate if he efcapes drowning. Th^brink of very few of the canals is guarded with rails or a chain, but there are a fufficient number of lamps, at convenient diilances, to fliow the proximity of the canals in the darkeft nights; and as flrangers are cautious how they walk, from a proper fenfe of danger, and the inha- bitants of the town are v/ell acquainted with the Atuation of the canals, few accidents occur. The ftreets of Amflerdam, and indeed of all Holland, have no path for the excluAve accommodation of foot pafTengers, as in Eng- land. Flag-Aones, the beft kind of pave- ment for this purpofe, are not to be ex- ' 0^2 pedted CCS TOUR THROUGH peflcd in a country where there are no quar-» lies (though if I recolledt right London is principally paved with ftones from Scotland), but fome attention fhould furely be paid to the fecurity and comforts of the multi- tude. The ftreets of x^rnfterdam are paved with bricks • and in the trading part of the town are as dirty as Wapping or Thames- ftreet. Contrary to the prafticc of fhopkeepers in England, the traders of Amfterdam make no oftentatious difplay of their commodities in the windows of their fhops, and indeed they are generally unfit for exhibitions of that na- ' ture. A few of the coarfefl: articles which they fell, and leaft likely to be damaged by expofure are placed with little regularity or attention in their windows, and barely ferve to announce the nature of their dealings. We found in the fliops which we had occa- fion to vifit, the men polite and intelligent ; if they could not fpeak Englifli or French, which frequently happened, we rarely had much difficulty in making them underftand what w^e wanted, and they never in the leaft impofed THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. £29 impofed upon us becauie we were foreigners/ or unacquainted with the value of the ar- ticles which we purchafed. I cannot, how- ever, commend the female fhopkeers vuth whom we had dealings, either for civility, intelligence, or honefty : when the difliculty of making known our wants to them was fubdued, which often was a violent exercife of patience and ingenuity, we were repulfed by the exorbitance of their charges. A fe- male fhopkeeper alked me for a fmall bud of Bonaparte, which cn the recommendation of General d'Henifdale as a faithful like- nefs I was defirous to purchafe, iixteen florins : being perfuaded that her demand was unreafonable, I went elfewhere, and purchafed at a fhop, not under female ma- nap-ement, a fimllar caft at a redudtion of price little Ihort of ten florins. — , unlefs ilie was accompanied by fome Dutch lady, had equal reafon to complain of the merchande des modes, Thefe bad qualities in Dutch women who keep fhops, which I record with great reludlance, probably proceed from fome defedls in their educations, and the 0^ 3 fubordinate 230 TOUR THROUGH fubordinate rank, corrupting their minds, and weakening their feelings of moral equity, to which women are condemned in Holland, and I may add, in feven eighths of the world. Begging is fo rigoroufly prohibited in the ftreets of Amfterdam, that, ftridlly fpeaking, not a mendicant is to be feen. A number of poor wretches, however, are to be found in the moft frequented ftreets, who carry with them cheap toys for fale, and they loudly entreat paflengers for charity fake and chrif- tian compaffion to purchafe fome of their little articles, A little pedlar boy of this defeription, not feven years of age, alked me in three different languages (French, Englifh, and Dutch) to become a purehafer of his wares ; and if the phyfiognomy of the youthful linguifi: was to be relied on as a proof of his extradlion, a competent ac- quaintance with the Flebrew tongue might be added to his acquihtions in modern dia- lefts. Knowledge fo premature was not likely to be extenfive. His acquirements* in Englifh and French were barely fufEcient to recommend his commodities, and pi- teoufly 231 THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. teoufly to ftate his claims on benevolence. His inftraftions in the art of foliciting cha- rity had, however, been ample, and ho had digelled his leffons with a fagacity and acute- nels vaftly fuperior to his years. It may readily be believed, I did not turn a deaf ear to the entreaties of a child, clad in the habiliments of want and mifery, thus fin- gulariy endowed ; and from a grateful fpi- rit, or perhaps to fhow himfelf mafter of his profeflion (which fuppofition I would rather adopt), prayers for my welfare were offered to Heaven through the diftin6i and articulate medium of three feparate lan- guages. The affociatlon of ideas when I was con- verfing with this little urchin, brought to mv mind the fiiory of Prince Maurice of Oran'ge, and the parrot that converfed with him in the Brazils, as it is told by Sir William Temple, and adopted, v/ith a cre- dulity ' worthy of the goflTiping bifiiop of Sarum, Dr. Burnet, by Locke in his Efiay concerning Human- U.nderftanding, At the Hague, and Rotterdam, where Q 4 they TOUR THROUGH they are permitted, I have met with beggars who could afk charity in the French and Englilh tongues, as well as their native lan- guage ; but they were perfons advanced 'in life, and confequently my wonder was di- minifhed. I mull here remark, that through- out the towns of Holland which 1 have feen, none of thofe fqualid and difgufting objedls obtrude themfelves on the corripaf- fion of the public, which are to be met with, and offend the eye, in the flreets and on the highways of England. In the great cities of Holland there are munificent foundations for the reception of all kinds of lazars, where their treatment is tender, and their mainte- nance comfortable. Notwithftanding the decayed ftate of the commerce of Amflerdam, at the hours of bufinefs the exchange is filled with mer- chants and traders. It is a fmaller building than the Royal Exchange of London, and lefs neat and commodious. Like the Ex- change of Rotterdam, it ferves alfo as a ren- dezvous for the militia of the city, who af- femble once a week to be exercifed in the ufe THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 233 tife of arms. It can only be the force of habit, now that their trade is nearly extinft, which leads the merchants of Amflerdam to aflemble as ufual on their exchange. The hours of bufincfs are from twelve to two, and the exchange then exhibits a fingular o o affemblage of men of various nations drelfed in the peculiar habits of their countries, and to appearance all ardently engaged in one common purfuit — the accumulation of money. I haften with pleafure from a fcene where the energies of the human mind are difgrace- fully employed, to mention an inftitution honourable to the citizens of Amflerdam, and advantageous to fcience. In 1777 a fociety, compofed of forty opu- lent and enlightened individuals, was form- ed at Amfterdam for the laudable purpofe of promoting knowledge and the elegant arts. In the profecution of their defigns, the fociety experienced at firft much oppo- htion from the ftadtholderian party, the or- thodox clergy of Holland, and the frugal merchants of the old fchool, who regarded as TOUR THROUGH 254 as dangerous innovations all purfuits which were net immediately and diftindtly con- nefted with trade. Notwithftanding the diladvantages againft which the fociety had to ftruggle, from this powerful combination, animated by political rancour, religious fears, and inveterate prejudices, its condition foon became more flourifhing than the mofl ianguine hopes of its projectors had led them to expeCt. In a fhort time the funds of the inftitution amounted to a million florins, and a noble edifice was built for its ufe in one of the principal ftreets of Amfterdam. This building was opened for public inftruCtion, with a fuitable difeourfe by ProfeiTor Van Swinden, the firfl: of November, 1788. The title which this fociety has adopted is Felix Mentis^ implying perhaps the hap- pinefs which refults to the human fpecies from the fuccefsful cultivation of fcience ^ and the number of its members is increafed from forty to upwards of twelve hundred. The refearches of this fociety are compre-*. hended under five general heads. Phyfics, v/hich embrace natural hiflory, medicine, and THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. and chemiftry ; commerce, which includes whatever relates to navigation, agriculture, or manufaftures ; the imitative arts, paint-» ing and fculpture ; mufic ; and laftly, literal ture. » Each of thefe dalles is furnifhed with an apartment lor its exclufive ufe, and proper inftruments for experiments, or to facilitate the communication of knowledge. The chamber of phyfics contains a fmall mufeum of natural hiftory, and fome anatomical pre- parations. Their arrangement is neat and fcicntific. In the hall of commerce arc various models of ufeful inventions. The mufic room is admired for the happy difpo- fition of its orcheftra, but in what its pecu- liar merit confifts I could not perfeflly learn, nor had I an opportunity of judging, as we were unfortunately prev.ented by an engage- ment from attending the concert, which, is weekly held at this room. In the apartment •facred to literature is a good colleilion of books : the ledurer’s pulpit of mahogany is ornamented v/ith carvings emblematical of learning, of the moft beautiful execution. The 236 TOUR THROUGH The hall of painting afforded us no favour-* able ideas of the prefent ftate of that art in Holland. It contained only two pidlures, one of which was the front elevation of the building, the other a group of ftudents (por- traits) attending to the lecture of a profeATor. There w^ere, however, a tolerable affemblage of cafts from the antique, for the inftruction of young painters, and I was told that feveral pupils of refpeciable promife attended almolf daily to profit by them. From the top of the building we had a good profpe6l of the city of Amfterdam. The day was remarkably fine, which is rather unufual at iVmfterdam in the month of November, and as the town is built on a perfeft level, we enjoyed from our elevation a complete view of it. To all appearance, the capital of Holland does not cover one third of the fpace of ground which is occu- pied by the buildings_of London, Weftmin- ftcr, and Southwark^. Many of the ftreets, however, * I mean only the connected buildings of London, Weftminfter, and Southwark, and do not take into my ftimate The BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 257 however, through which canals do not run, are narrow, and there are no extenfive fquares, fo that the number of houfes in Amfterdam, for the fpace of ground on which it ftands, is great. The appearance of the ftadthoufe from the top of the Felix Meritis (for the name of the fociety is given to the houfe where it holds its fittings, and inferibed in large letters of gold on the front) is noble ; but the churches and other public buildings of the city are not much to be commended either ’ for elegance or grandeur. Accordins: to an accurate eftimate made O in 1783, the number of houfes in Amfterdam amounted to thirty thouland feven hundred and fifty, and it was then fuppofed to receive a yearly increafe of fifty dwellings. The calamitous circumftances of the times, fmcc that period, have not prevented the eredlion of new buildings to a greater amount an- eftimate the extenfive villages, which v/ithin a few years, to the depopulation of the country, have been created in the vicinity of the Britilh metropolis. nuallv TOUR through nually than that which I have ftated, and therefore it is probable that the number of habitations in Amfterdam exceeds rather than otherwife thirty-two thoufand houfes* This, at an average of feven and a half per- fons to each houfe, which has been ufed by eminent calculators to eftimate the population of London, and may with confidence be ap- plied to Amfterdam, where the houfes in general are fpacious and lofty, and accom- modate three or four families, makes the number of inhabitants in the Dutch metro- polis to amount to two hundred and forty thoufand perfons. The ftrangers who re- fort to Amfterdam are not included in this calculation, but they cannot with probability be-eftimated at lefs than ten thoufand; fo that it may fafely be concluded, two hundred and fifty thoufand fouls inhabit this great city. With a population fo large, compofed of various nations and languages, where the extremes of opulence and mifery are to be found, it is to beftow the higheft praife on the difcipline, regularity, and good order of Amfterdam, THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 239 Amfterdam, on the excellence of its munici- pal inftitiitions, and the humanity of the laws by which it is governed, fimply to re- peat, what I before mentioned, that not more than one criminal a year, in this great city, fufFers by the hand of the public exe- cutioner, and the number of perfons confin- ed in prifon for infolvency rarely exceeds thirty^. The police of Amfterdam remains almoft the fame as it was before the revolution. * Colquhoun (in Ills Treatlfe on the Police of the Britifh Metropolis, edit. 4th. p. 393) eflimates the num- ber of perfons who are annually arrefted in Middlefex alone at between fix and feven thoufand. He does not give us the number of debtors confined In London, but on an average I believe they exceed eight hundred.. For the honour of the Britifii metropolis, 1 hope, and am moft firmly perfuaded, that many of the flatements of this writer are unfounded or exaggerated. In a cafe where eafy and corredt information might be obtained (as the annual number of arrefts in Middlefex) I fhould how- ever fuppofe his authority was to be relied upon ; but where his calculations are built upon conjecture, he fwells his catalogues of the vicious or unfortunate to a mercilefs extent. except g40 TOUR THROUGH except that the names of the maglitrateS are changed for modern republican appella- tions ; and certainly to have attempted any alterations of magnitude in a lyftem which fo effectually provided for the fecurity of the public, by protecting the peaceful, and co- ercing the criminal, would have been dan- geroufly prefumptuous. The watchmen of the night are not, as in London, decrepid infirm old men, but flout vigorous fellows, who conflantly walk two together, the more readily to apprehend offenders, or to report any negligence in each other’s conduCt, or breach of trufl. Thefe men are armed with a fword, and a flick like a conftable’s flaff with a hook at the end of it. They are, however, feverely prohibited, unlefs in cafes of obftinate and dangerous refiflance, to ufe their fwords, and I conjecture it feldom happens that their ftaffs are not found fuffi- cient weapons of terror and offence. They^ alfo carry with them a wooden clapper, with which they make a fearful noife during the whole of the night, to fhew that they are attentive to their duty ; and if any diflurbance happens THE iiATAVlAN REPUBLIC. 241 happens which makes it ncceflary to* give an alarm, this inftrument is ufed to call affift- ance. ,Toi prevent the mifchiefs of fire, and for other ufeful purpofes, fentinels are nightly placed on the fteeples and principal towers of the city, who found the half hours with a trumpet, and if a houfe is difeovered to be on fire, give an alarra, which is foon Ipread over the city, by hanging out a large lantern from the fide where the conflagration is per- ceived. Fires feldom do much damage in Amfterdam, from the abundant fupply of water which is every-where to be obtained, and the celerity with which an alarm is criven and affiftance received. In addition O to the watchmen and fire fentinels, four companies of the city militia mount guard nightly in Amfterdam.- The city militia is ‘ divided into five battalions of twelve com- panies each, fo that the rotation of duty comes in fifteen days. Before the revolution, any perfon who chofe to provide a fubftitute, which could be done at a reafonable price, was exempt from ferving in this corps ; K but 242 TOUR THROUGlI but fince the overthrow of ariftocracy, the wealthieft individuals, as well as the pooreft, have been obliged to contribute their fer-^ •vices to the general fecurity. This regula- tion has not affedted fo many as might be fuppofed ; for, before, it was in force, ava- rice, which reigns in Amfterdam in its moft difgufling forms, induced many rather to, ferve perfonally in the militia, than be at the expence of furnilhing a fubftitute ; and fome wealthy and refpedtable individuals of patriotic feelings, from public fpirit and a right fenfe of their duty, enrolled themfelves in this ufeful body. Thefe different guards abundantly pro- vide for the nightly fecurity of Amfterdam, and are the means of preventing many depre* dations and atrocities. The Rafp-houfe and Spin-houfe, places of confinement for the reformation and correc- 'tion of male and female offenders, are open to every one’s infpedtion, on the payment of ah inconfiderable fee for admiffion * Two ftivers, or about two pence. which THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 243 ivhich goes to the emolument of the keeper ^of the prifon. In the Rafp-houfe, the em- ployment of the prifoners is to Taw or rafp log- wood and other woods for the dyers ; and the quantity of labour daily required of them amounts to fifty pounds of rafpings, which, if the men are ftrong and chligent, 'they complete early in the afternoon. The Rafp-houfe is a quadrangular building, three Rories high, with a court-yard in the middle, which I found extremely dirty, and much incommoded with piles of wood. It contains only men prifoners, and the number of per- fons in confinement did not exceed feventy. The moft atrocious criminals are confined on the ground-floor, two in a cell, with an open window guarded with iron bars, where they fleep and work ; and notwithftanding the labour they had to perform, they were in general heavily fettered. All the men worked without their fhirts, and I bbferved that fome of their backs were marked with ftripes, which hacl been infliefted with no fparinghand. When I fiy that their labours are concluded early in the afternoon, I do not R 2 244 TOUR THROUGit not mean thence to infinuate that their work is light : the contrary is the cafe. But the pri- foners work hard in the early part of the day, in order to procure themfelves in the afternoon an intermiffion from toil. Formerly, thofe who would not work were confined in an apartment into which water was caufed to flow in fuch quantities, that inceflant pump-^ ing was neceflfary to preferve the perfons fo fhut up from drowning ; and they thereby became reconciled to the lefs perilous and, difagreeable labour of rafping wood. But this barbarous mode of obliging criminals to work has been difcontinued, fince an un* happy wretch, driven to defperation by his fituation, permitted the water to overflow him, and was drowned; Corporal punifh- ment, folitary confinement, and abridgement of food, are the methods which are now ufed to fubdue the refrailory ; and I fear they are exercifed with a rigour which never fails fpeedily to produce the intended effed:. The prifoners in general appeared ema- ciated through confinement, unwholefome air. THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 245 air, fcanty diet, harfli treatment, and fevere labour. Their cells were extremely dirty, and their bedding, Teamen’s hammocks, in a iniferable condition. The length of their confinement varies according to the complexion of their crimes, from one month . to five years ; or in cafes of peculiar atrocity, and hardened offenders, the period of imprifonment is extended to feven, fourteen, or more years ; and fometimes, though it rarely happens, a criminal is fen— tenced to confinement here for life. Of this lall: defcription of prifoners, the Rafp-houfe contained only one. The moral turpitude of this man’s crime was great ; but, reafoning from human principles and weaknefs, I am inclined to fufped: the ri- gour of his punifliment exceeded the mea- fure of his offence. He was once a mer- chant of charadler and reputation, and guar-, dian of the funds for the maintenance and relief of orphans in the city of Amfterdam, In this office he betrayed his truft, and em- bezzled the fum of lixty thoufand florins. His offence was difcovered^ a profecution > . ^ R 3 was 2T45 TQVR THROUGH was inftituted againft him, and the fadt being clearly proved, he was for this breach of confidence, to the general fatisfadlion of the public, condemned to perpetual imprifon- ment. In England his crime would have amounted tO' no more than a felony, within the benefit of xlergy, punifhable with tranf- portation or' imprifonment for a definite term of years. The violation of a truft which fhould ha\x bee-n held peculiarly fa- cred, was ‘certainly' a moral aggravation of his guilt ; but it fhould have been confidered, that in proportion as confidence was repofed in him, fo were his temptations to' abufe that confidence increafed ; and that circumftance, which, on a defultory view of the fubjedt, feems ' to magnify the crime, will on cool refledtion be found moft effentially to dimi- nifh it. The countenance of this plunderer of the fuftenance of orphans was that of a very ordinary villain. He was at large in the court-yard, without irons, and did not feem much depreffed by his fituation, though his fellow-prifoners treated him as a criminal whofe guilt fo flagrantly furpaffed theirs, that THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 247' ’ that they pointed him out to me, through the medium of the ^alet de .place , who a(fled the part of an interpreter, as a wretch deferving the ftrongeft execration. Many of the prifoners in the Rafp-houfe were not at- work ; and I learnt that this ex- emption from labour was to be purchafed. On the whole, I was greatly difappointed in this prifon. The Rafp-houfe of Amfterdam had been mentioned to me, by feveral per- fons in Holland, as an almoft perfeft model for a houfe of corredlion ; and I had read in various books, relative to .the United Pro- vinces, a favourable account of it. But in every particular my expeftations were de- ceived. The place was dirty, and its dif- cipline cruel. Thofe indeed who could af- ford to bribe the humanity of the keeper were treated with tendernefs, but the indi- gent prifoner, a wretch probably whom ex- treme want and pinching famine had driven to the commiffion of crimes, was wafted - with fevere toil, and jaundiced with conti- nual feverity. R 4 Over ' S48 TOUR THROUGH Over the gate which' leads to the Rafp-? houfe, is an ill-executed wooden figure pf Chaftifement, brandifliing a whip in her hand, with two offenders chained at her feet, and various inftrujnents of punifhment and torture within her reach. The in- fcription in Latin beneath expreffes the nc- ceffity and virtue of coercing and punifhing the criminal The Spin-houfe, or Bridewell, for the cor- reftion of female offenders, is an inftitution fimilar to the Rafp-houfe, and contains an equal number of prifonprs, or I believe ge- nerally rather more. The employments of the women vary according to thpir abilities, or the pleafure of the magiflrates. Difagree- able talks, as picking oakham, &c. are af- ligned to the moft profligate and hardened offenders, while thofe who have been com- mitted for flighter caufes are employed on needle-work. The fuperintendance of the Spin-houfe is properly entrufted to a matron, * Virtutis eft domare quae cun6ti pavent. with THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 249 v/ith' female afliftants ; and, on the whole, it appears to be under good regulations. The prifoners are chiefly compofed of women who live by proftitution ; and they are clears and neat in their perfons ; thofe who have not decent clothes of their own, wearing a kind of prifon uniform. A woman rnay be confined for life in the Spin-houfe, but it is not te- nanted at prefent by any one for fp dreadful a period. Few are fentenced for more than a twelvemonth’s imprifonment ; and on repre- fentations to the magiftrates of their good behaviour, they are frec^uently liberated be- fore the expiration of that term. A fmall fee is paid at this place for admiffion, as at the Rafp-houfe ; but I believe it is appro- priated here to the benefit of the prifoners. The female cpnvidls are healthier and more cheerful in their lopks than the male, and their treatment and accommodations are al-r together better. From the prifons of Amfterdam the tran- fition is eafy to the licenfed brothels of the city, the nurferies and ' hot-beds which bring 250 TOUR THROUGH bring vice to maturity. Proftitutes are not permitted to walk in the ftreets of Amfter- dam, for the purpofes of their wretched trade, but there are in various parts of the city mufic rooms, as they are called, under the fandlion of the magiftrates, who draw an annual revenue from them, which a!re nightly open for the reception of the diffolute of both fexes.' At thefe places of licentious refort, lingular as it may be deemed,* the fedate and the innocent mingle with' the wanton and the depraved. A reputable tradefman takes his family to one of thefe places of amufement, as readily as a per- fon of the fame clafs in London would do to the theatres or any other public enter- tainment. The early part of the evening is fpent in fmoking, drinking, or dancing to the found of three or four miferable fiddles, and towards midnight the carou- fals begin, when the moft flagrant inde- cencies are permitted and encouraged. I cannot comment on fuch inftitutions. It Ihould, however, be Hated, that the number THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, B5l of proftitutes in Amfterdam is fmall when compared with the population of the place, and the eftimate of females who live by proftitution in moft of the great cities of Europe, - \ i . • * » . i ‘ ^ ^ LETTER TOUR THROUaH LETTER XIII Places of rdigiotis worjklp in AmJierdam.-^Thc new and old churclies.-^Tlie Portuguefe fyna- gogue. — Number of Jexcs in Amfterdam.--^ State of religion, — Toleration.^Quakers . — Charitable mfitutions in Amfterdam. — Vaccine inoculation,-^-- Dutch theatre, — Account of the principal female performer.— r-State of the Dutch Jiage.- — Oldfajhioned female drfs.-^JVomen of Holland, — Inebriety imputed to the fadtholder —To his majefy.-^A caricature print, ^Ideas entertained in Holland refpedting the perfon xvho attempted to affafinate the king.^Drefs of children, — Cuftoms obferced with regard to lyingdn xvomau T ^mfterdam, November, 1800. HE temples of religious worfhip in Am- fterdam are numerous, and belong to all fedts and perfuafions. The new church of the reformed religion, near the ftadthoufe, is vifited THE BATAVIAN RE^tJBLIC, £53 Vifited by ftrangers, as being the maufoleum where Dutchmen diftinguifhed for their va- lour or endowments repofe.' In it are mo- numents creeled by national gratitude to the memory of Admiral de Ruyter, of whom it is infcribed with truth, “ intaminatis fulget honoribus to the memory of Van Galen> an admiral who fell in a combat againft the Englifh ; and among other erections to record the fervices of naval officers, is a monument in honour of .Captain Bentinck, who died in confequence of the wounds which he re- ceived in the engagement off the Dogger Bank* Vondel, a Dutch poet who flouriffi- ed in the feventeenth century, is interred here, and a handfome monument proclaims the eflimation in which he is held by his countrymen. He was a voluminous writer, and few kinds of poetry efcaped his pen. He lived to the great age of ninety-one years, and experienced during his life-time a poet’s fate- — indigence and negled:. In the old church is an organ little inferior in fize to the famous inftrument of Haerlem, and almoft equal to it for the power and harmony 254 TOUR THROUGH harmony of its tones. The pulpit is ad« mired for its carving, and the windows for their ftained glafs reprefenting various hif- torical and religious ftories* One of them^ perhaps the ^beft, and certainly the moft interefting, defcribes Philip IV. of Spain, in the habiliments of his regal dignity^ pre- fenting to the deputies of Holland the treaty by which he acknowledges the independence of the United Provinces. This church alfo contains monuments erefled by the city of . Amfterdam> or the ftates-general, in honour of various naval and military commanders, iwhofe fervices have thus called forth the gratitude of the republic. Such is the wife and liberal toleration al- lowed by the government of Holland, that fcarcely a* religious community is to be named, which has not fome place of public affembly or wprfhip in Amfterdam. The Portuguefe fynagogue is perhaps the nobleft temple in which the jewiflpworfliip has been celebrated^ fince thedifperfion of that fanatic" people. It is a lofty, fpacious building, fitted for the purpofes of religion, according to , THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. '255 to the ordinances of the Mofaic law, and containing alfo apartments for the ufe of the rabbins, who daily attend to expound the Hebrew law and the Thalmud* The Jews of Germany and Holland, whofe creed varies from that of their Portuguefe brethren, have alfo a noble fynagogue, and in different quar- ters of the city there are other temples where the fuperftitions of the Hebrew worfhip are celebrated. The number of Jews m Am- fterdam is fuppofed to amount to eighty thoufand fouls : I know not on what calcula^ tion this eftimate is founded, but I am in- clined to believe, it rather exceeds, than falls lliort of, reality. Befide. their commodious temples of wor- fliip, the Jews of Amfterdam have a theatre, where dramatic pieces -are performed in the Hebrew language. -This place of entertaiii- rnent unfortunately was not open, or I fhould have vifited it with much curiofity; nor could I obtain any information refpedling cither the nature of the pieces which are aited in it, or the performers* The external appearance of the building is as mean as can ' be £55 TOUR THROUGH be imagined,' and I fliould fuppofe it was forted to only by the loweft dafles of .the Jewifh race. The revolution has not produced any changes in the ecclefiaftical policy of the United Provinces.- The mihifters of the eftablifhed church, - that of the reformer of Geneva, though they are almoft without exception attached to the old government, and eonfequently hoftile to the new, continue to receive their regular falaries from- the ftate, and perform unmolefied the duties of their facred fundion. The churches and other places dedicated to pious ufes,- are well attended on days of public worfhip. That day which the chriftian world has peculiarly appropriated to the fervice of religion, h kept in Amfterdam with becoming folemnity . and obfervance ; and I believe thefe is, in general, lefs indifference On religious fubjeds in Holland, than in any part of Europe. There is not,- however, much zeal. The happy toleration which all the fedaries en- joy, and the wife feclufion of the miniffers' of the eftablifhed church from any concern in I THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 257 in the government of the republic, which would give them a dangerous influence as well as an invidious diftindlion, are the pre- ponderating caufes which have checked the growth of religious diflenfions in Holland. Since the firft eftablifliment of the inde- pendence of the United Provinces, the re- pofe of the republic has fcarcely ever been difturbed by difputes concerning religion. The fynods of Dort have not indeed often been diftinguiflied for the moderation of their fentiments, but the reludlance of the govern- ment to adopt their religious animofities, reprefled the fpirit of perlecution and theo- logical rancour which they evinced. The republic early derived manifold ad- vantages from the liberal fyftem of toleration which it adopted. That they might enjoy in tranquillity their religious opinions, and ferve God after the didlates of their own hearts, multitudes, haralTed by perfecution in France, the Netherlands, Germany, and England, fled into Holland, where they were hofpitably received, and materially pontributed by their induftry and virtues to s advance £58 TOUR THROUGH advance the profperity of the republic. They brought with them a large portion of liberality of -fentiment, and, from perfonal fuftering and experience, a determined aver- iion to every Ipecies of religious perfecution.. The fentiip.ents of moderation, which per- haps they at firft adopted through neceffity,. or to place in a difadvantageous view the condudl of their triumphant adverfaries, be- came in courfe of time fundamental maxims, increafing in lolidity and firmnefs as the lapfe of years wore away the afperities of perfonal rcfentments. The rcfpedfable fed: of Quakers is lefs nu- merous in Holland than I fhould have ex- peded for a religious community whofe manners and habits fcem fo fuitable to the genius of the Dutch nation. The Anabaptift congregations are large, and difperfed over all parts of the republic. The members of this pcrluation have always fhewn them- felves warmly attached to civil and religious liberty, and the weight of their influence has conftantjy been thrown into the patriotic fcale. Arnfterdam THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 259 Amfterdam abounds in charitable inftitu- tions for the indifcriminate benefit of the indigent of all religious perfuafions. Into the Foundling-holpital are equally received the unhappy offspring of Chriftians and Jews ; but they are all educated in the cal- viniftic faith. This hofpital for the re- ception and maintenance of deftitute child- ren, ufualiy afforded before the revolution an afvlum to near two thoufand deferted in- fants, but its funds have futfered confider- ably from that event, and the number of objedfs which it fupports is confequenly re- duced. The Roman-catholics, the Lu- therans, the Anabaptifls, and even the Jews, have orphan-houfes for the deftitute children of their fe6ts : that which belongs ’ to the. Roman-catholics is the nobleft buildings and enjoys the ampleft revenues. As a fubjed; conneded with hofpitals and charitable foundations, it may not be im- proper here to mention, that the cow-pox, which time will probably prove to be one of the moft valuable difcoveries in the art of preventing difeafe ever made, has met s 2 ' with 260 TOUR THROUGH with as favourable a reception in Holland from the faculty, as it has in England. A few bigotted perfons, with whom fuperfti- tious women and weak men join, objedt to the cow-pox inoculation, becaufe they fay it introduces a beftial diforder into the hu- man fvRem ; but the liberal and enlightened part of the medical tribe efpoule with warmth this new method of avoiding a loathfome and dangerous diftemper, and their praftice has been uniformly fuccefsful. The difeafe has been known for time immemorial to the peafants of Friefland, in which province the greateft quantities of butter and cheefe are yearly produced, and the refult of various enquiries among them have been uniformly in favour of the cow-pox. The belief of its utility and efficacy is fo thoroughly eftabliffied in Holland, that in the Foundling-hofpital of Amfterdam, and other charitable inftitutions where young children are received, the old mode of ino- culation is exploded, and the vaccine infec- tion fubflituted in its Read. This departure from the old practice of furgery was not made* THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 26i made, until the content and approbation of the governors and curators of thefe bene- volent ellablifhments had been previoufly obtained, and therefore it may be concluded that the vaccine inoculation is extenfively adopted in private families. The Dutch theatre in Amfterdarh is a building about the fize of tjie fummer play- houfe in the Haymarket. It can feldom boaft of a numerous audience ; but whether this proceeds from a want of tafte in the Dutch for dramatic reprefentations, or the ■calamities of the republic have injured public Ipeftacles and entertainments as well as the fortunes of individuals, I cannot determine. Though plays are only performed in the Dutch theatre three times a week, and a favourite piece was a6led on the evening ! attended it, fcarcely half a dozen of boxes were occupied by company, nor was the audience in the pit and gallery proportion- ably much more numerous. The houfe was ill lighted ; and it did not appear to have been painted for fome confiderable time. On one fide of the ftage is a figure of the s 3 * tragic.. ^62 TOUR THROUGH tragic, and on the other of the comic mufe, which are fpiritedly executed, and produce a good efFedt. The play was a tragedy founded on a domeftic ftory, and by no means deftitute of ftriking incident or feeling, though per- haps fometimes too declamatory for the ge- nuine march of paflion. The performance of the adors in general was highly refped- able, and we were much gratified in par- ticular with the ading of Madame Kap- huyze, the Mrs. Siddons of the Dutch ftage, who was the heroine of the piece. This lady polTelfes moft of the requifites which are neceffary to form an excellent ac-- trefs. She is tall and well formed in her perfon ; and her features are beautiful and exprefiive. Her voice is powerful, and ca- ■ pable of all the .variety of tones which dif- ferent paffions require. She is fpoken of as a woman not only of great judgment in whatever relates to her profeffion, but with refpcct to literature in general as a perfon of fingular acquirements and knowledge. Ma- dame Kaphuyze is thought by her admirers equally THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 2,63 i equally to excel in the difplay of violent and pathetic emotions, to feign with equal corredl- nefs the wild phrenfies of madnefs, and the fo- ber melancholy of defpair. She was happieft, I thought, in the delivei*y of thofe fentiments j where tendernefs and delicate feeling prevail ; and of fuch a cafl: chiefly was the character in which we favv her perform. Her adlioii is chafte, but never languid, and always cor- reA, without any appearance of ftudy or conftraint. On her firfl: entrance on the • ftage, fhe was welcomed with univerfal ap- plaufe, a teftimony of public favour which was beftowed on no other performer, and every paflfage which Ihe delivered with more than common energy was as flatteringly re- ceived. Madame Kaphuyze does not ex- ceed the age of thirty, and for feveral years flhe has been the favourite of the Amftcrdam ftage. A Dutch lady, who accompanied us to the theatre, preferred her to Mrs. Sid- dons, whom fhe had feen in her principal ' charadlers, and of wdiofe merits fhe fpoke with juft and critical admiration ; but we ■ thought her obvioully inferior to the great s 4 aClreft 264 TOUK THROUGH aflrefs of the Englifli ftage, though undoubt- edly pofTefled, of a, high degree of excel- lence. One feene of the tragedy would have ex- cited the indignation or laughter of an Eng- lifli audience. A charafter of confiderable confequence in the piece is difeovered on the ftage with a lighted pipe of tobacco in his mouth, which he fmokes at his eafe, delivering, in the' interval between each puff, a foliloquy. The Dutch audience not only tolerated, but applauded this incident. Nearly all the plays which have appeared in Germany or England, from the rapid pen of Kotzebue, have been exhibited on the Dutch ftage ; and the theatres of Holland are alfo enriched with faithful tranflations of the beft dramatic pieces which exift in the Englifli or French languages. Nor have there been wanting dramatic authors of the Dutch nation, whofe works have been fa- vourably received on the ftage. The public tafte for dramatic reprefentation in Holland has, like the public tafte in England, been vitiated by the numerous pieces which have been THE B^VTAVIAN REPUBLIC. Q(55 been borrowed from the German ftage, pieces the moral tendency of which is bad, the feel- ing that they exhibit forced, and in which the place of nature is ufurped by a creature of the poet’s imagination, which he denominates fenfibility As at Rotte’* *dam, which remark I had before occafion to make, the concerts are the belt attended places of amufcments in the capital of Holland. They are ufually performed either at the Feh'x Meriiis^ or the French theatre. At the latter place, on a Sunday evening, which is the falliionable day in Amfterdam for this entertainment, we heard a good concert of vocal and inllru- mental mulic. The company was nume- rous, and compofed of the molt opulent and polite perfons of both fexes in the city. The performances of the evening, the fingers, and ,^he muficians, were fuitable to the audience. We were dazzled, as on a former occafion I / * This fenfibility is a kind of defenfive armour for the delicate fibres of the heart, which, true to nature, fhrinfc from the flighteft hoftile contact. Ill '266 TOUR THROUGH id the ‘fame place, and afterwards at the Dutch theatre, with the profufion of dia- monds which the ladies wore. Some girls clad in the drefs which prevail- ed in Holland a century or two ago, with their hair bound clofe to their heads, and covered with a fcanty unornamented cap, fuch as the female qnakers wear in England ; with large plates of thin gold projefting from each fide of their foreheads, and a plate on the middle; with ponderous ear-rings and necklaces of the fame metal ; with gowns of thick lilk, heavily embroidered, and waifts. of unnatural length and rotundity ; formed a ftriking contraft with the females arrayed in the tafteful elegancies of modern fafhion. They were daughters of the ancient ftock of burghers, and adhered, probably with fome tindure of affedation, uninfluenced by mo- dern refinements , and variations of female drefs, to the uncouth habiliments of their anceftors. The women of Holland in general are lovely rather than beautiful. For the moft part they are well formed in their perfons ; THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 267 their complexions are fair, their eyes full and fparkling, and their features bold and re- gular. But their countenances are inani- mate ; they want that caft and expreflion of feature, ^ without which, to iny ideas, no high degree of beauty can exift, and with which an ordinary face charms. I fpeak, I fhould obferve, of women whofe graces the heats of five-and-twenty fummers, or the rigors of as many winters, have not im- paired, for after that period of life the Dutch ladies lof^ their attra£Hons ; the roly blufh of youth forfakes them, and their fine cornplexions alTume a fallow autumnal hue. Women are (horter lived in Holland than men, but from what caufe I cannot pretend to account : the contrary is the cafe in Eng- land ; . and the reafon is obvious, becaufe women lead more regular and temperate lives. There are few, perhaps ' no in- ftances of what can be called extreme lon- gevity in Holland ; and the fault is rather in the unwholefomenefs of the climate, than in any w^ant of precautions in the Dutch to protra6l their lives to the utmoft date. They are 268 TOUR THROUGH are in general temperate in their diet, and the ufe of fpirituous liquors and wines does not prevail to near fo great an extent in Holland as in England. A drunken perfon is rarely to be feen ; and that vice is ac- counted infamoufly diflionourable, if fre- quently pra<5lifed. Among the perfonal faults which I have heard imputed to the ftadtholder, after im- becility of underftanding, he has ufually been accufed of a paffion for the plealures of intoxication ; and it is faid that during the latter part of his government he was feldom fober. Much credit, however, is not to be attached to fuch rumours, and certainly the Prince of Orange does not carry marks of inebriety on his face. The lethargic dilpo- lition of the ftadtholder has not been feized by the wit or malice of party in Holland, as a fubjeft of ridicule againft the fugitive prince. His perfonal infirmities difappear before more hibftantial objeds of irritation and reientment. The Dutch in general are well acquainted with anecdotes of the court and domeftic parties THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 269 parties in England : but they confidently attribute to the king a vice fo well known to be contrary to his difpofition and habits, that calumny only could have invented, and the moft virulent animofity received, the accufation. They maintain that his majefty indulges fo freely in the pleafures of the bottle, as frequently to be incapable of at- tending to public affairs ; and the aefts of the Britifh government which they moft loudly condemn, they fuppofe to originate from this pernicious propenfity in the chief magiftrate of the empire. The only caricature print which I faw in Holland, refpe6Hng Britifh perfonages (except an obfolete one relative to Lord Malmfbury’s fruitlefs journies to Paris and Lifle, and the rout of the Englifh and Ruflian troops in North Holland), re- prefented the king afleep, apparently in the laft ftage of intoxication, with bottles and glafles before him, and at a diftance Mr. Pitt, the Emperor of Germany, and other potentates and princes, in hoftile array againft Bonaparte. Mr. Pitt is made to 'encourage the confederates, by faying, Fight on: — ^ George 270 • TOUR THROUGH ‘ George will pay for alJ.” — It may be ga- thered from hence, that inebriety is account- ed by the Dutch a vice highly pernicious and diihonourable. I had frequently to anfwer enquiries, par- ticularly of French officers, reljpedling the attempt made by Hadfield on the life of the king. The accounts of that tranfadfion which had reached Holland were imperfedl ; and from the acquittal of the culprit it was concluded, that the king’s life had been in lefs imminent danger than it really was. The conduft of the Englifh court of juftice dur- ing the trial of Hadfield had given extremely favourable impreffions of its equity, and his acquitment was regarded fomething like a phenomenon in the hiftory of modern tri- bunals. It was confidered as a confummate ad: of juftice. The fubfequent confinement of Hadfield they regarded in a proper view, not as an ad of punifhment or revenge, but' as- a neceflary precaution againft any future rnifehiefs tyhich his infanity might lead him to attempt. The Dutch, in general, are to be praifed for THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 271 for their temperance, and the extreme im- propriety which they attach to the vice of drmikennefs. A woman who fhould be guilty of this fault, did fhe belong to the higher walks of life, would be (hunned and defpifed by her acquaintance; and if (he moved in a lower fphere, the magiftrates would think her a lit objedt for the cor- redlion and difcipllne of the Spin-houle. As a fubjedl not unconnedled with the foregoing obfervations refpedling health and temperance, I may be permitted to animad- vert on the prepofterous management of children in Holland. The air of the country is confidered fo prejudicial to tender infants, that for the firft two or three months of their exiftence they are not fuffered to be taken abroad; and during the period of their confinement, the windows of their apart- ments are kept inviolably Ihut. Their drefs chiefly confifts of flannel rollers, which are girt fo tightly about their bodies, that the infant has not the power to move its limbs ; and thefe ligatures are further covered with an ample flannel wrapper, which is bound three 27 £ TOUR THROUGH ' three or four times round the body of the child, and fecurely faftened with pins at its feet. Thefe ligatures are removed, and the flannels changed, according to the circum- ftances of the parents ; but whether the ofi- Ipring of opulent perfons or poor, the ufe of water and ablutions are rigoroufly denied to infants. For many months the under drefs ,y of children confifts entirely of woollen gar- ments ; and when they are permitted to go abroad, the greateft care is taken, by wrap- ping them up in a flannel mantle, which covers their heads, to prevent them from refpiring the free air. Thus abfurdly managed, Dutch infants are fickly, fqualid objefts; and the ruddy tints ©f health never appear on their cheeks till they are liberated from the reftraints of the nurfery. Children, particularly females, are frequently indulged in the pernicious ufe of chaufFepies or ftoves, and this cuftom inva- riably gives them an unwholefomej difeafed appearance; I mufl: not omit to mention a pradlice which I believe is peculiar to Holland; When a wo- THE BATAVIAN’ REPUBLIC. 273 a woman is brought to bed, a bulletin is daily fixed to her houfe for a fortnight, or longer if fhe continues fo ill as to excite the folicitude of her friends, which contains a ftatement of the health of the mother and the child. This bulletin is faftened to a board ornamented with lace, according to the cir- cumftances of the perfon lying in, and ferves to anfwer the enquiries of her friends, and to prevent any unneceifary noife being made near the door of the indifpofed perfon. ' We faw at Leyden the moft of thefe boards or- namented with lace, and there learnt their meaning. When a perfon of confequence is dangeroufly ill, a bulletin of health is generally affixed to their houfe, to fatisfy the numerous enquiries that are, or are fup- pofed to .be, made after them ; but, unlefs it is a child-bed cafe, the board, to which the bulletin is parted, is unornamented with lace. T LETTER 274 *. TOUR THROUGH LETTER XIV. Attachment of Amfierdam to the caufe oflibey'ty. — The patriots dfcharged froin their employ ^ merits in 17 "^7,— Emigrations from Holland,— The majority of the Dutch nation averfe to the ivar with France. — Meafures to fupprfs po- pular meetings. — An inundation of the country propofed. — The citizens of Amferdam remon- Jiratc againft that defign. — Iniprifonment of the patriots, — The fadtholderian party fruck xvith confernation at the pr'ogrefs of the French,— Entrance of General Pichegru into Arnfter- dam. — Proclamations from the remlutionary committee of Amferdam, and from the repre- fentatives of the French people, — The regents of Amfierdam di [placed. — Proeifional repr fen- tatives of Holland. — P. Paulas chofen prefi- dent. — Declaration of the rights of man. F Amfierdam, November, i8oo. ROM the^earlieft periods of the republic to the prefent times, the city of Amfterdam has THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 275 has been diftinejuiflied for its invariable and faithful attachment to the caufe of liberty. This paffion has neither been enfeebled by commerce, nor debauched by wealth. It glowed with equal ardour when, in 1650, • the burghers of Amfterdam repulfed' Wil- liam II. one of the moft ambitious princes of the houfe of Orange, from the gates of their city; and when, in 1787, their defcen- dants reludlantly fubmitted, obliged by im- perious ^nece^^ity, to the terms impofed oa them by William V. fupported by the arms of Pruflia, and the intrigues and menaces of Great Britain. The fuccefsful termination for the Orange party of the troubles which agitated Hol- land in 1787, fubdued for a feafon the fpi- rit of liberty in Amfterdam. The moft eminent patriots were difcharged from their employments, and declared incapable of ever ferving the ftate ^ ; and their offices were filled The Princefs of Orange, who directed the negocia- tlons between the city of Amfterdam and the Duke of Brunfwick, who commanded the Pruffian army, declared, T 2 in TOUR THROUGH i270 filled with men entirely devoted to the ftadtholder. On the ruin of their caufe, many perfons of great abilities and integrity, who had diftinguifhed them fe Ives by their refolute oppofition to the ambitious meafures of the Prince of Orange, fearing that their perfonal fafeties would be endangered if they remained in Holland, or unable to brook the triumph of their adverfaries, from whofe rcfentments they had much to apprehend, and nothing to hope from their modera- in a tone rather of infult than of clemency, that the fpared the lives of the guilty through the generofity of her difpofition, but required that they fhould be for ever incapable of holding any public employment. Among the perfons thus difmiffed were, Meflrs. Block, Cammer- ling, De Witt, Toulon, and Van Foreeft, deputies of Holland; Cofherus, burgomafter of Woerden ; De Lange, regent of Gonda •, Giflaer, a man of uncommon elo- quence and abilities, penfioner of Dort ; Zeeberg and Van Cafteelen, penficners of Haerlem ; Van Berkel and Vifleher, penfioners of Amfterdam ; Kempenaar, coun- fellor of Alkmaer ; Abbema, Bicker, Van Leyden, and De Jonge, members of the regency of Amfterdam. Moft of thefe citizens, who have furvived the revolution, oc- cupy diftinguifhed fituations under the new government, a]id enjoy the confidence and approbation of their coun- trymen. tioil. THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 277 tion, quitted their country, and fled into . France The voluntary exile of fome of their rnoft determined, adlive, and enlight- ened opponents, facilitated the views of the ftadtholderian party ; and magiflrates were appointed throughout the republic, and par- ticularlv in Amflerdam, on whofe devotion to its interefts the houfe of Orange could fecurely rely. The. government of the United Provinces was foon modelled ac- cording to the wiflics of the ftadtholder; and the fuccefs with which he had van- quifhed his enemies, procured him, among the illiterate and unthinking, a fliort-lived popularity. The events of the French revolution materially changed the fituation of affairs in Holland, The Dutch patriots had always * Among other fugitives of rank and confideration who at this period qui^ed Holland, wxre General Daendals and Admiml de Winter. On the breaking-out of the French revolution, they were employed in the republican armies ; and Daendals bore the rank of general of divi- fion, and De Winter that of general of brigade, in the ^rmy which conquered Holland. T 3 looked 578 TOUE THROUGH looked to the French government, whether monarchical or republican, for fupport againfl: the encroachments of the ftadtholder, and the m.aliga influence which the cabinet of Great Britain pofleifed in the councils of the United Provinces. A firm and inti- mate alliance with France was confidered by that party as the only means by which the honour of the republic could be retriev- ed, and its affairs extricated from the perni- cious adminiftration of an individual, under the immediate control and direction of a .rival government. On the other hand, the ftadtholder, who had invariably been averfe to any connexion with France, beheld with increafed fenti- ments of averfion the old government of that country aboliftied, and a fyftem from which he had more to apprehend eftabiifhedi in its place. The ftates-general, the fove- reigns of the republic, though much at the devotion of the Prince of Orange, did not entirely enter into his views on this fubjeci, and cautioufly avoided a war with France, until the arrogance and imprudence of the convention THE BATAVIAX REPUBLIC. 279 convention had rendered hoftilitics inevit- able. The partifans of the lladtholder, and the creatures of the government, entered with alacrity into a war, which favoured their views, and promifed to gratify their re- fentments. But the majority of the Dutch nation, unperfuaded of the neceffity of ho- ftilities, or fearful of the confequences, coolly acquiefced in, rather than approved of, the violent meafures of the government. The more numerous part of the citizens of Amfterdam were decidedly averfe, from animolity to the ftadtholder, and other caufes connedted with their diflike of the Prince of Orange, to the war with France; and be- held firfl: with fecret fatisfaftion, and after- wards with open exultation, the vidlorious progrefs of the' armies of that republic. But the magiftrates were entirely devoted to the ftadtholder 5 and their authority was em- ployed to fupprefs the public voice. To prevent popular meetings, at which the wifhes of the people might have been loudly expreffed, an obfolete law was revived, by T 4 which TOUR THROUpH 2 SO which the citizens were forbid to affemble for the difcnffion of public affairs, in a fea- fon of national diftrefs. This ordinance was ilTued when the French were on the frontiers of the republic, and at a time when the mod: defperate meafures; for the fecurity of the United Provinces, were deliberated on by the ftadtholder and his party. In the month of Oefober, 1794, when affairs were drawing near to a crifis, the ftadtholder, accompanied by the Duke of York, repaired to Amfterdam, to concert, it was thought, with the regency of that city, the terrible meafure of preventing the further progrefs of the French arms by an inundation of the country, as had been exe- cuted with fuccefs in 1672, when Lewis XIV. with a numerous and well-appointed army, was mafter of Utrecht, and threaten- ed Amfterdam. The regency of the city, alarmed at the progrefs of the French, and corrupted or intimidated by the ftadtholder, would probably have acceded to the inun- dation propofed,had not the burghers of Am- fterdam received intimation that fuch a mea- ^ ' fure THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 281 iure was in agitation, and expreffed their relolute determinaticn to oppole its execution by force, (hould the government raflily pro- ceed wi^h their defi^n. In dehance of the proclamation by which popular meetings were prohibited, a nume- rous and formidable body of the citizens of Amfterdam affembled to take into conli- deration the fituation of the country, and to prefent a petition, or rather remonftrance, to the council of regency againft the pro- pofed inundation, and the admiffion of fo- reign troops into Amfterdam, which was a plan connefted with the former meafure. The remonftrants, in fpite of the endeavours of the military, and civil maglftrates, to dif. perfe them, alfembied with great regularity and order in the Iquare before the ftadt- houfc, and deputed three perfons, one of whom was Viflcher, the difmiflcd pen- fioner to prefent their ftrong, but re- fpe6tful petition to the regents. The magi- * Difmiffed In 1787. See note, p. * 27 ( 5 . ftrates 282 TOUR THROUGH ftrates refufed at firft to receive the petition, as it was contrary to their ordinance for the people to alTemble ; but the fear of exafpe- rating the immenfe and irrehftible multi- tude — which filled the avenues of the ftadt- houfe, the fquare, and the adjacent ftreets, and maintained, during the conference of their deputies with the regents, a profound and terrible filence — by any unfeafonable aft of authority, fubdued the legal fcruples of the magiftrates, and the remonftrance was read. The anfwer to the petitioners briefly ftated, that the queflion of the expediency of inundating the country, to prevent the fur- ther progrefs of the French army, had not yet been difeufled in the council, and no meafures were taken refpefting the ad- miflion of foreign troops into Amfterdam. With this reply the citizens were fatif- fied,^ and quietly difperfed, leaving, how- ever, on the minds of the magiftrates an impreffion of danger and refiftance, which probably materially influenced their future operations. The regents of Amfterdam, finding them- fclves THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC- 2S3 feives too weak for the execution of the important mealures which they propofed, difplayed the extent of their difappointmeiit •and indignation by the rigorous llcps which they adopted towards the pe! fons who had taken aiT adlive part refpefiing the petition. Viffeher and his colleagues who prefented the remonftrance were privately apprehend- ed, and fentenced to fix years’ imprifonment in the Rafp-houfe, with felons and malefac - tors. This was the lafi: vindidlive meafure which was executed by the ancient magi- ftracy of Amfterdam. - The citizens, undilmayed by the impri- -fonment of their leaders, and encouraged by the advances of the French, continued to aflemble, and now, without moleftation, though their objefl: was notorioufly hoftile to the ftadtholderian party, formed them- felves into regular corps for the protedlioii of the city of Amfterdam. The officers commanding thefe corps were for the moft part men who had been adfive in their op- pofition to the ftadtholder in 1787,. or were diftinguiflied 2Si TOUK TIIROUGU diftingulfhed for their attachment to French principles. From the capture of Nimeguen, and the fubfequent palTage of the Waal, extreme confternatioii feems to have ^pallied all the movements of the ftadtholderian party. The Britifh and German auxiliaries, though la- bouring under unfpeakable difadvantages from the inferiority of their numbers, and the rigour of the feafon, which deprived Holland of its natural means of defence, made a 2;all3nt refiftance on the frontiers of the republic ; but far from receiving any fupport from the interior, it was dubious whether they, would not have to fuftain on one fide ^the attacks of an enraged people, while on the other they were prefled by a viftorious enemv. - In vain the ftadtholder • • ^ •/ * and the hereditary prince ilfued proclama- tion after proclamation, exhorting the Dutch to rife in a mafs for the defence of their dear country \*their religion,’ liberties, and an^ * I borrow this expreflion from one of the proclama- tions to which I allude. cient THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 285 I dent laws. Thefe pathetic addrefles to the / nation were ridiculed or difregarded; and wherever torpor and inadivity did not pof- fefs men’s minds, the fpirit which prevailed was hoftile to the government and its al- lies. — The difaftrous retreat of the Britifli army is too well known to be dwelt on here ! On the 1 6th of January, 1795, the Eng- lifh troops precipitately evacuated the pro- vince of Utrecht, the capital of which had capitulated the day before ; and on the 20th of the fame month a deputation of ci- tizens from Amfterdam conducted General Pichegru with five thoufand French troops into that city. Early in the morning of this Important day, the patriotic corps of Amfterdam took pofiefiion of the ftadthpufe, and mounted guard in the principal parts of the city. The tri-coloured flag was difplayed from all the fteeples of the town ; the French cockade was univerfally worn ; and the tree of liberty folemnly planted in the fquare before the ftadthoufe. So admirably had the whole 1 bufinefs TOUR THROUGH bufinefs been arranged, that not the flighteft tumult or confufion occurred ; and, to ufe the words of an intelligent eye-witnefs which give a clearer idea than twenty fen- tenccs could do — it feemed on this oc- cafion at Amflerdam as if it were fair- time/’ On the day that the French entered Am- fterdam two proclamations were iifued ; one from the patriots, ftyling themfelves the revolutionary committee of Amfterdam, tend- ing to tranquillife the minds of the citizens, and recommending feveral individuals to be chofen as provifional reprefentatives ; the other a proclamation of the reprefentatives of the French people, afliiring the Dutch that they fliouki be treated as an indepen- dent nation, that perfons and property fhould be prote6led, that the ftrideft military dif- cipllne fhould be obferved by the republican army, and that the freedom of religious worfhip fhould fufFer no reftraint. They * A merchant refiding at Amfterdam, to whom I am nnder various obligatioxis. promifed THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 287 promifed that the laws and cuftoms of Hol- land (hould be provifionally maintained ; and that the Batavian people alone, exer- clfing that, fovereignty which belonged to them, fliould have the power to alter and modify the conftitutlon of their country The regents of Amfterdam refigned their o o offices, or were difplaced, and Vilfcher, who fcarcely two months before was fen- tenced to fix years’ imprifonment in the Rafp-houfe, was triumphantly liberated from his confinement, and placed, with the title of mayor, at the head of the magiftracy of the city. For this arduous office he was well qualified by the fituations which he had formerly filled with honour, and for the unimpeached integrity and patriotifm of his charaftcr. At this time a proclamation was iflued to the French army by General Pichegru, pro« hibiting the troops, under pain of death, from committing any a£ts of plunder or dit * Sec in the Appendix, the paper marked A. order, 288 TOUR THROUGH order, and ordering them to treat the Dutch foldiers no longer as enemies, but as allies and brethren. The officers of the army were commanded to maintain the ftrideft difcipline in their corps, and red refs was freely promifed to all individuals who ffiould think themfelves aggrieved by the republi- can troops. The French foldiers werp im- partially quartered on the inhabitants of Amfterdam ; but it was permitted to thofe who did not choofe to have the military in their own houfes, to furniffi them wdth lodgings elfcwhere, provided (a moft falu- tary regulation !) the foldiers, fo difpofed of, were not quartered in taverns *or public houfes. In a few days, the provifional Vcprefen- tatives of Holland commenced their fittings ' at the Hague. Peter Paulus, a man of , great abilities and diflinguiffied patriotifm, who had rendered himfelf, in 1787, highly obnoxious to the ftadtholderian party, was chofen prefident of the aflembly, and com- menced the meeting with a fpeech, re- plete with rational piety, candour, and mo- deration THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 289 deration^. He congratulated the repre- fentatives on the event of the campaign, and in a ftraiii of becoming humility and devo- tion, called their attention to the ftriking interpofition of Divine Providence in behalf of the arms of France. He recommended a cordial union among themfelves, and an oblivion of all former animofities and party dilTenfions, as the likelieft methods to en- fure the profperity of the country, and con- cluded with pioufly fupplicating the bleffing of Heaven on their counfels and meafures. The provifional reprefentatives then pro- ceeded to frame a declaration of the rights of men and citizens. The natural rights of man were defined to be, equality, liberty, fafety, property, and refiflance to oppreffion. Under thefe heads were feverally included, the freedom of the prefs and of religious' wor- fhip, the peaceful enjoyment of property legally acquired, and the right of fufFrage either perfonally or by reprefentatlon. The fovereignty was declared to refide in the en- * See in the Appendix the paper marked B. V tire 290 TOUR THROUGH tire people ; and their right at all times to change their government, to reform it, or to eftablifh another, was folemnly aflerted. The offices of hereditary ftadtholder, captain-, general, and admiral-general of the republic, as contrary to the rights of man, were abo- liflied ; and all hereditary diftin6tions, as thofe of nobility or the equeftrian order, were promifcuoufly abolifhed. Various colleges of magiftracy and finance were fuppreffed ; and a committee of public fafety, a commit- tee of finance, a military committee, and a committee of accounts, were provifionally appointed, until a definitive arrangement could be made on thefe fubjedls by reprefen- tativcs chofen by the whole nation. LETTER THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. LETTER XV. Conduct of the provifional reprefentatives of Am* Jierdam. — Inquiries re/pedimg the folvenci/ of the bank, — Official import on the fubjcB, — De- fciency of cajlu — Nature of bank credits and receipts. — Indignation againfi the members of the old government, — Violent meafures flrongly recommended, — Wife proclamation of the reprc- fentatives of Anifierdam,—Its beneficial effects, -"^Abolition of the fiadtholderate, — Expreffions of public joy at Amferdam on that cccafon,-^ The French 7'eprefentatives and generals occu^ pied comparatively but little attention during thefe revolutionary movements. Character of General Pichegrii in Holland. — The inhabi- tants of the United Provinces I'equh'cd to de^ liver up their plate for the ufe of the nation , — - This ordinance chearfully complied xvith through animofity to Great Britain. — Attention of the Dutch to their marine, — Removal of large bo- dies of the French troops. — Effimate of the amount of the contributions paid to the French. Amfterdam, 1 8oo. UURING this arduous period, the provi- fional reprefentatives of Amfterdam laboured ' u 2 incelfantly TOUR THROUGH *292 inceflantly to preferve the tranquillity of the city, and their patriotic endeavours were attended with the happielt fuccefs. Some flight difturbances were attempted by an in- conliderable number of milled or ill-dlfpofed perfons, who thinking the reign of liberty and equality was to bring an exemption front taxes, refufed to pay the taxes and duties required by the government. This tendency to riot was, without difficulty, fuppreffed, and a proclamation appeared commanding all per- ions to pay in every cafe the fame contribu- tions and impofts as formerly. At the fame time the officers of the excife and culloms, and all public funftionaries employed in the colleftion of revenue, were commanded to remain at their poll ; and it was ordered that no magiftrate or officer under the old f}*ll;em of police ffiould quit Amfterdam, without having previoufly obtained a paff- port from the committee of infpedllon. Some weeks before the arrival of the French, a deputation of merchants in the patriotic intereft waited on the diredlors of the bank of Amfterdam, to afeertain the truth THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 293 truth or falfehood of fome rumours highly prejudicial to the credit of that inftitution, which were circulated with confidence in the city. The* merchants refpedlfully ap- plied to the dirediors for information on the fubjedl, but inftead of receiving the fatisfac- tory anfwers to their enquiries which they had a right to expeft, they were afTured in a general way of the folvency of the bank ; and it was intimafed-' to them, that their enquiries were made only for the purpofes of exciting alarm* and adding to the public em- harraffments. ' '' ^ - ' A few years ago, the bank of Amfterdam was fiippofed to contain the greateft quan- 'tity of accumulated treafures in the world. It was accounted the ftore-houfe of Europe for the precious metals : and various efti- mates have been formed of its wealth, from the incredible fum of forty millions fterling*, ’to the equally fufpicious eftimate of three hundred thoufand pounds. ' The bank of * Nothing but the moft abfurd credulity could ever have adopted this fuppofition. u 3 Amftcr- 1294 - tour THROUGH Amfterdam was a bank of depofit, and the credit on its books was fhought to be rigor- pufly proportioned with the treafures in its coffers. This was indeed the fpirit of thp inftitution ; for though the vulgar idea was unfounded, that no rnoney once depofited in this bankcouldever afterwards be withdrawn, ;t invariably profefTed tp keep in its repofito- rie$ a quantity of mpney or bullion equal tp the fums for which credit was given on its books. In 1 672, when the fprees of Lewis XIV. almofl: thundered at the gates of Anir fterdam, and the republic was filled with confternation, all demands on the bank were honourably ^nd inftantaneoufly dif]- charged, and the proofs of its folvency often- tatioufly difplayed. From that period, till again in 1795 the arrnies of France hoyered on the frontiers of the republic, the bank of Amfterdam enjoyed an almoft uninterrupted epurfe of commer^ cial confidence. The magiftrates of various parties, to whofe integrity the dirc6iion of the bank was fucceffively intrufted, never accufed their predeceflbrs of any improper THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 295 t?fc of its treafures ; and, therefore, though fome fufpicions were entertained and propa- gated that the bank occafionally accommo- .dated the government with fpecie, , theft fufpicions, being diftountenanced by the perfons pofTefled of. the beft information on the fubjecSt, were difregarded as the effedts of party malice. It was alfo a kind of com- ■ mercial herefy to doubt the liability of the bank of Amfterdam ; and therefore all ru- mours to its difadvantage were not only received by the mercantile world with coldi- iiefs, but repreffed with acrimony. The arrival of the French in Amfterdam, and the eftablifhment of the patriotic party • in power, at length produced a complete inveftigation of the affairs of the bank. It appeared from the official report, publifhed by order of the provifional repreftntatives of Amfterdam, on this fubjcdl *, that for the laft fifty years the bank bad occafionally ad- vanced on bond to the India company. • See Appendix, paper C. U 4 under 296 TOUR THROUGH under guarantee of the city of Amfterdam, various fums, amounting on the whole to upwards of fix million florins. In a fimilar way the provinces of Holland andWeft Friefi- land were indebted to the bank nearly a mil- lion florins. The loan-office of Amfterdain had contracted with the bank a debt of one million feven hundred and fifty thoufand florins, and the city was otherwife in arrears with the bank upwards of four hundred thoufand florins. The whole amounting to upwards of nine million florins, or rather more than eight hundred thoufand 'pounds fterling. For the whole of this fum there had originally been ihveftments' of Cafli or bullion in the bank, to remove one florin of which, by way of loan, was a violation of the compact between the bank and its creditors. But if the money fo difpofed of, inftead of being hoarded up in the coffers of the bank, in a duplicate ratio increafed the circulating medium’ of the country, efficiently 'by the eafli fo iffued from the ftrong chefts of the bank, and virtually by the credit which it pofiefled from the imaginary treafure lodged THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 297 in it, giving confidence and aftivity to com-* merce, and facilitating all the operations of trade, in a mercantile point of view, the condu6t of the direftors, in thus depart- ing from the letter of their eftablifhment, was to be applauded rather than con- demned. The merchants of Amfterdam, however^ thought otherwife. This deficiency in the facred depofits of the bank excited the moft vivid indignation againft all who had been concerned in the management of that infti- tution, and the fpirit of party tended to keep alive and heighten the flames of commercial refentment. The money thus taken from the coffers of the bank could at no time have been claimed by its creditors, being an accumulation of treafure for which the receipts were ex- pired, by which alone payment could be de- manded. The nature of thefe receipts, by which alone cafh could be drawn from the bank of Amfterdam, may be briefly ex- plained. When a perfon depofited cafh or bullion 5^98 TOUR THROUGH bullion in the bank, he obtained credit in its books for the fum which he fo invefted, and a receipt, by which, within the period of fix months, after cancelling the credit that he bad obtained, he could draw his calh or bullion from the bank. Thefc re- ceipts were renewable on payment of a fmall per centage to the bank, as warehoufe rent for the cafli lodged in it. If they were per- mitted to expire, the money or bullion, for which they were granted, could not be with- drawn from the bank, but the perfon who had fo invefted it, poiTclTed an equivalent bank credit; which, however, he could con- vert into cafli, by purchafing a receipt for the fum that he wanted in the flock- market, where they were generally to be fold. Of the cafli and bullion which had fallen to the bank, or rather was become, or ought to have been, locked up in it, from the expiration of thefe receipts, not a fingle florin remained ; and the amount of this mighty and boafted treafure, had it been carefully flored THE BATAVIAN REPUBUC, 1299 ftored in the vaults and caves of the bank, would not have reached the fum of one million fterling. This deficiency, however, of the cafh of the bank of Amfterdam, related only to the ^ bank credit, the cafh receipts of which were expired. According to the ftatement of the provifional reprefentatives of Amfterdam, the quantity of cafh in the bank was equal to the payment of the fums for which receipts were in force; and the holders of' bank credit, in the pofTeflion of fuch receipts, were at liberty to withdraw their money from the bank whenever they thought pro- per. The circumftances of the bank confe- quently only were bad, according to the proportion that the bank credit, for which there- were receipts, bore to the debts of the bank for which there were no receipts. On the whole, the accounts of the bank, from the report made by the provifional re- prefentafives, were in a better ftate than was generally expefted ; but, neverthelefs, .the - public indignation was ftrong, that any part of its treafures fhbuld have been taken from Its 300 TOUR THROUGH its repofitories, contrary to 'the univerfally-. received engagement between the bank and its creditors. Enquiries took place at the fame time into the affairs and conduft of the Eaft and Weft India Companies, and other public bodies ; various abufes were difeovered; and in moft cafes it was judged expedient to difmifs the principal officers and fervants of the companies, &c. from their employ- ments. Thefe difeoveries of maladminiftration in' various branches of the public fervice, toge- ther with the memory of former injuries, which rankled in the breafts of many, exciting a ftrong defire for revenge, produced much fermentation. Addrefles, powerfully fup- ported, were prefented to the provifional re- prefentatives, demanding that all the mem- bers of the old government, and other perfons concerned in the management of the bank and public companies, fhould be put under arreft ; and that the moft rigorous enquiry fhould be made into their delinquencies, in , order that public juftice, and the vengeance of THE BATAVIAN HEPUBLIC. SOI of an outraged nation, might overtake the guilty. The coiidu6l of the French to- wards their ftate criminals was hinted at as an example not unworthy of imitation, and the iieceffity of fevere meafures was loudly afferted. This inclination of an adive, and, under the new fyltem, of a weighty and formi- dable part of the public, towards fanguin- ' ary, or at leaft violent, proceedings againfl the members of the old government, would probably have been matured by the animo- fity of faction into adtual execution, had not the provifonal reprefentatives of Am- fterdam wifely checked in its infancy the growth of this fj^irit of revolutionary ven- geance. In a proclamation addreffed'to the people of Amfterdam, relative to the vindiftive meafures recommended to be purfued with the members of the old government, and other obnoxious perfons, the provifional re- prefentatives, in a tone of the moft admirable moderation and humanity, expreflTed their difapprobation of fuch fentiments. No ftatc papei TOUR THROUGH paper ever breathed a purer fplrit of equity and conciliation. After noticing, with pro- per cenfure, the fuggeftions that had been made to them of the neceffity of violent meafures againft theproftrate and vanquiflh- ed agents of the fubverted government, thefe enlightened and virtuous republicans proceeded to ftate the noble fentiments with which they were animated. He deferves not to triumph,” they faid, who bafely abufes his viftory.” The exercife of re- venge/’ continue they, may afford a traniitory pleafure in the moments of paffion and delirium, but its coufequences are com- monly fad and fatal, while the exercife of equity and of generofity leaves nothing but agreeable fenfations/’ Unanimity and obli- vion of part animofities were energetically and perfualively recommended, as the mofl probable and laudable means to promote the welfare and profperity of the republic. In anfwer to the recommendation, that meafures of precaution and feverity,likethofe which the French revolution had given birth to, fhould be ufed with.regard to all fufpefted perfons, THE BATAVIAK republic. 503 perfons> the great difference between the revolution of Holland and that of France was clearly pointed out, and the relatively happy lituation of the Batavian patriots obvioufly demonft rated. It was the Dutch nation, and not a faftion, which triumphed ; it was the caufe of liberty and equality, not " the fpirit of deflruftion and revenge. The people were exhorted to make a cordial offer of the right hand of fellowlhip to fuch of their brethren as were deluded or milled, and to attach them to riie new fyftem of govcrnm.ent, not by terror, but by jufliccj, moderation, and generofity This proclamation calmed the fears of many who had taken an adiive part under the old government, and confequently ex- pelled, as had happened in the courl'e of * In the Appendix (paper D), I have given a few ex- tradls from this interefting proclamation. It was puh- liflied about the time when General Daendals and fome other patriots, who had fled from Holland in 1787, and returned with the French army, were anxious to promote violent meafures againft their adverfaries the members of the old government. for- 304 TOUR THROUGH former revolutions in Holland, to be perfe- cuted by the vidorious party. At the fame time it extinguifhed in the more violent pa- triots, whofe refentments were inflamed by a variety of caufes, the fentiments of revenge which they harboured. About the fame time an ordinance, tending further totranquillife the minds of the people, wasiffued by the provifional reprefentatives of Holland, concerning the circulation of French affignats, of which mention had been made in ,one of the proclamations of General Pichegru, and in another of General Daen- dais to his countrymen. By this ordinance, all fhopkeepers and dealers in the necejfaries qf lifcy were obliged to take as payment for their articles, from. French foldiers and other perfons employed in the French army, at a Itipulated rate, affignats ; and on delivering to the municipality a weekly account of the affignats which they thus received, they were to be paid by the municipality the amount in fpecie, or paper, for which the government was refponfible. At the fame time, the fum to be taken frorh a French ' ^ foldier THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. SOi /bldier in affignats on one oceafion was limit- ed to ten livres ; and further, to prevent frauds, and circumfcribc the circulation of affignats, no foldier was permitted to tender affignats for any purchafe he might make^ without a written fanftion to that effed: from his officer ; and the officers of the French army, to whom the ufe of affignats was permitted, in proportion to their rank and pay, were not allowed to pafs them without a written leave from the general of their divifion. All other circulation of af^ fignats was forbidden. To relieve the preffing neceffities of the French army, a requifition was made by the reprefen tatives of the French people for a fupply of clothing and provifions to be de- livered in the fpace of one month The * At Nimeguen, Bois le Due, and Thiel. 200,000 quintals of wheat averdupois weight, 5 millions of ra- tions of hay, 200,000 rations of draw, 150,000 pair of (hoes, 20,000 pair of boots, 2o,0oo coats and waiftcoats, 40,ooi pair of breeches, 150,000 pair of pantaloons, 200,000 fhirts, 50,000 hats, and 12,000 oxen. The va- lue of the whole was eftimated, probably with much ex- aggeration, at a million and a half fterling. X /lates*^ S06 TOUR THROUGH ftates-general, to whom the requifitioti was addrefled, in a proclamation which betrayed their fears or their imbecility, commanded that the articles required by the French fliould be furnifhed with the prompteft obe- dience : all perfoas in poiTeflion of any of the articles wanted, were ordered to deliver them up to commiffioners appointed for that purpofe 5 and the provincial admini- ftrations were diredled to furnhh with all poffible difpatch their feveral quota towards defraying the expence of the requifition. Shortly afterwards, the inhabitants of the United Provinces were called upon to con- tribute voluntarily to the relief of the French army. Perfoas foliciting affiftance went from houfe to houfe throughout the republic; and as few chofe by their want of generofity to be fufpeded of being hoftile to the French, and many endeavoured to extenuate their faults under the old {yftem, by a more than ordinary zeal for the new government and its allies, the contributions fo levied amount- ed to a confiderablc fum. A large revenue is yearly collefted in this manner. THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 307 manner, by voluntary contributions, for the i*e]ief and maintenance of the poor, and the fupport of the charitable inftitutions’ of Hol- land. In Amfterdam, a fewMays after the arrlvahof the French, the fum of near forty thoufand florins was thus collefted for the relief of the indigent of that city ; a circum- ftance not unworthy of being known, as it ftrongly marks the tranquillity of the place, at a time when it could only be confidered as a captured town. ^ . On the fixteenth oFFebrnary, 1795, a fo- lemn aflembly of the deputies from all the provinces was held at the Hague, and at this meeting the jiadiholderate '^^doas formally clared to be aboliOoed for ever. The fame day a republican feftival was celebrated, at which the French reprefentativcs and thfe leaders of the army afiifted with the Dutch legiflators. . ^At Amfterdam -the folemn,promulgatioii of the abolition of, the ftadtholderfliip was received with the wnldeft teftimonies of public joy. All bufinefs w^as fufpended, to celebrate with proper exultation lo aufpicious X -2 ■ an 308 TOUR THROUGH an event. On every fteeple the tri-coloured flag was dlfplayed ; falutes of artillery were fired from the men-of-war and baflions, and all the clocks of the city chimed patriotic airs*. In the evening the town was illu- minated, and in the fquare before the ftadt- houfe fire-works were exhibited. — The re- prefentatives of the French people on this OGcafion re-affured the Dutch of their inde- pendence. By refigning almofl: entirely into the hands of the Dutch the management of their own affairs, the French reprefentatives and gene- rals during this period of revolutionary movement occupied comparatively , but an inconfiderable proportion of the public at- tention. Of the reprefentatives I learnt no particulars which deferve to be preferved ; but General Pichegru, notwithftanding the * The Dutch patriotic airs poflefs much of that plaintivenefs for which the Irifn melodies are diftin- gulftied. — cannot refrain from mentioning in this place, that when the Britilh army entered Alkmaer, the carillans or chimes of that town regaled the ears of the troops with ‘‘ God fave the king.” ' clouds L THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 309 clouds which have of late obfcured his for- tunes, and the treafons that have tainted his chara6ter, is ftill fpoken of in Holland with fentiments of refpecl and efteem. I have heard his military talents queftioned by per- fons well qualified to pronounce on the lub- jeft ; but the aftonilhing fuccefs of his cam- paigns has always made me receive fuch re- ports with Icepticifm. If he is -not to be ranked with the firft generals whom the prefent conteft has produced, he undoubtedly defefves to hold a diftinguilhed place among the leaders, who have covered with laurels the arms of the French republic. His con- du6l as general of the army which conquer- ed Holland, is reprefented by the Dutch as extremely amiable. ‘ It was moderate, hu- mane, and unafluming. The vaft authority which was lodged in his hands, was fullied by no a6ls of oppreffion or injuftice ; and laftly, he quitted Holland unenriched by the plunder of the people whom he proted:ed. The financial embarraffments of the re- ‘ public early in the new order of things de- manded the attention of the provifioiial re- X 3 prelematives 310 TOUfl THROUGH prefentativcs of Holland, and an ordinance was publifhed requiring that every perfon fhould deliver up all the uncoined gold and fiiver, or plate (except fpoons or forks), in his poireffion. For the precious metals thus furnifhed a receipt was granted, which was taken as a part of the further contributions which the holder was bound to pay to the •ftate ; or if the quantity of plate furniflied exceeded the amount of the taxes otherwife to be paid by the perfon fo furnifhing, he received at his option government currency, or the obligation was funded. In this ordi- nance were. included perfonal ornaments, if they exceeded the value of three hundred florins, and all medals and foreign coins not current in the republic. This meafure of terrible ftate-neceffity and embarraflment, far from exciting murmurs or difeontents, was obeyed throughout the United Provinces with the utmofl: alacrity and cheerfulnefs ; and in this inftance perhaps the love of country prevailed -over avarice, for from the quantity of plate received, which was con- fiderably more than the eftimate that had been THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. SIl been formed of this refource, it was pre- fumed that none had been withheld. The leading caufe of this promptitude in the Dutch to affift their new government, was the animofity which the nation enter- tained againft Great Britain, with whom a war was now become inevitable. The de- tention of Dutch fhips and property in Eng- land, the contemptuous treatment of the de- puties fent to reclaim them, and the hoftile meafures obvioully intended to be purfued againft the colonial polTeffions of the re- public, confpired to increafe in Holland the flame of hatred that had long gone forth againft the Britifh nation. Every meafurc was embraced with avidity that tended to ftrengthen the republic againft its odious and ancient rival ; and the government, profiting by this enthufiafm of the people, ventured on expedients for the reftoration of public cre- dit which would not have been attempted 'at a period of lefs national fpirit and ardour. The utmoft activity reigned in all the naval arfcnals of the republic, and large fums were voted to place the marine forces X 4 of TOUR THROUGH , of the ftatc in a refpedable condition^ Scarcely any thing tended more to exafperate the people againft the old government than the negled: into which it had permitted the navy of the republic to fall. One of the principal accufations againft the ftadtholder was, that, ^liftening to the fuggeftions of England, which dreaded to fee the marine of Holland in a profperous condition, the wants of the navy were not only unattended to, but every q,rtifice was ufed further to enfeeble it. The meafures adopted by the provifional government relative to the navy, were the moft popular fteps that could have been purfued. The enthufiafm of the peo-^ pie was kept alive by conftant alluiions to the bright annals of the republic, to the days of Ruyter, Tromp, and Van Brakel, when the fleets of Holland proudly infulted the coafts of England, or, audacioufly forcing the narrow pafs of the Baltic, gave laws to the north*. As ^ In 1659 the Dutch fent a fleet to the relief of the king of Penmark, their ally, then beflegefl in his capital, Copenhagen, THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 313 As the fpring advanced, large bodies of the French troops, which had been cantoned in the United Provinces, were, to the great relief of the inhabitants, marched out of the territories of the republic. In requifitions, contributions of various kinds, -forced and voluntary, the French were thought to have levied in a fhort period a fum amounting to near four millions fterling. This, with the exertions that the Dutch were makino; to put their navy on a refpeftable footing, and the fevere Ioffes they fuftained by the de- tention of their fhips and property in Eng- land, would have occalioned confiderable financial embarraffments, and confequently much difeontent, had not the nation ap- proved of the new government, and feconded Copenhagen, by the Swedes. The caftles of Cronenburg and Elfineur, which were thought to command the paf- fage of the Sound, were garrifoned by Swedifh troops ; but, notwithftanding the vigorous oppofition which they made, the Dutch fleet failed triumphantly through the Sound, and defeating the Swedifh navy before Copen- hagen, obliged Sweden to grant a peace to Denmark on equitable terms. with TOUR THROUGH SI4- with zeal* its meafures. The large advances made to the French were paid with lefs re- luctance, as they were confidered as a kind of ranfom for the public arfenals and ftores, and the price paid by the nation for liberty to make what alterations it pleafcd in its conftltution, without the degrading interven- tion of the conqueror. The admirable difcipline of the French army> and the juftice and humanity of its leaders, alfo^^’ j materially tended to reconcile the people to the heavy impofts laid upon them for the fupport of their new allies. LETTER THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 315 LETTER XVI. Progrefs of the revolution, — Emigrations,— Treaty between the French and Batavian re- publics, — Severe terms hnjwfedoji the Dutch , — Eftablijhment of a directorial government.— Opinions of the Dutch concerning 'their Iqfes abroad.Sea fight of the Wthof OEtober, 1797, —Account of Admiral De Winter,— Violent meafares purfuedwith the legijlators, — Further extortions of the French. — Treatment of the Dutch foldiers in the fervice of France.— Difcontents in Holland.' — Reprefentations of the fadtholdeidan party. — The Englijh expe- dition.— Oppoft ion to the landing of the Britifi forces. — Surrender of the Dutch feet. — Cul- pable inactivity of the Englifh forces.- — Opinion of a French officer concerning the merit of the Britifi generals.' — Proclamation of the here- ditary Prince of Orange.— Succefes of the Britifi and Riifian troops. — Unexpected re- treat of the army under the Duke of Fork. — A convention concluded with General Brtine . — The I 315 tour through The terms difpleajing to the Batavian dlreclory, — Sufpicions attached to General Brune . — Report of the Trench of the behaviour of the Englijh during the campaign. — Prince William of Gloucefter. — Treatment of the Britijli and Ruffian prifoners. — Honourable conduct of the Englifh army in Holland. — The petty ivarfare carried on by the navy. — Refections on the e.v- pcdition. H Amfterdam, 1800. ITHERTO the revolution of Holland had been happily conduced, and the world faw with aftonilhment a nation, under the eyes of its conquerors, tranquilly proceeding to reform the abufes of its government. This fpedlacle was the more grand and de- lightful, as it occurred at a period when Europe was (haken to its centre, by civil contentions, and almoft univerfal hoftilities. Hoftilities not grounded on the ordinary ' caufes of war, but growing out of oppofite principles, which imbittered the animofities of nations beyond the example of all former times. It occurred at a period when the term revolution feemed defignated to exprefs feeues of atrocity and horror, outrageous perfecutions THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 317 perfecutions againft virtue, integrity, and talents ; violations of morality, and all the focial duties of life ; a difregard for the claims of humanity; factions fucceeding to fadtions, each more terrible in their meafures than their predecelTors ; the elevation of the blood- thirfty and flagitious, and the depreffion of the virtuous and humane ! It has already been ftated that not one drop of human blood was judicially fpilt on account of the revolution of Holland ! The emigrations which took place prior to the arrival of the French were con- fiderable, but no fevere laws were enadled againft the perfons who fb fled, and the tranquillity and good .order maintained by the new government induced multitudes to return to their country. A nobleman who alked permiffion of the prefident of the pro- vifional reprefentatives, for his brother, who had accompanied the ftadtholder to England, to return to Holland, received for anfwer, that there were laws againft emigrations, but none againft returns. The condudt of the French towards the Dutch - SIS TOUR THROUGH Dutch nation was regarded by the latter with fentiments of gratitude and efteem, until, in the month of May, 1795, the' articles of the treaty of peace between the two re- publics were made known. The conditions granted by France to Holland excited throughout the United Provinces thelivelieft difeontent. They were fuch as even the moft zealous partifans of the new fyftem, and the firmeft adherents of the French, could not vindicate. But how were they to be rejeded ? Holland, completely in the power and at the mercy of France, had no alternative but to accept the conditions of- fered her, or fee her cities given up to fpoliation and rapine. Befide the heavy contributions which had already been levied on the Dutch, a further fum, to the immenfe amount of one hundred millions of livres, was required by one of the articles of the treaty to be paid,^ either in fpecie or in bills upon foreign powers, as fhould afterwards be agreed upon, as an indemnification to the French republic for the expences of the war. Antwerp THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 319 Antwerp being incorporated with France^ the navigation of the Scheldt was declared to be free for the veffels of both republics ; and dock-yards and ftore-houfes were af- ligned in the port of Flufliing, where the _vvaters of the Scheldt meet the ocean, for' the ufe of the French. Though at peace with Aufiria and the powers of Germany, the Dutch were com- pelled to aflift, the French w^ith half their difpofable military force : the enemies of the French republic were acknowledged and declared to be the enemies of Holland ; and twelve (hips of the line, and eighteen frigates (the article probably of the treaty to which the Dutch affented with moft cordiality) were agreed to be furnifhed for the North Sea^. The deep difcontent occafioned by tliis treaty, was afterwards further increafed by the adoption of a government for the United Provinces, copied after that of the French republic. The moderate party were defirom * This tresity is given in the Appendix, p-^per of 320 TOUR THROUGH of the old conftitution of the United States, with fome modifications and changes fa- vourable to the popular caufe, as t\\e perpe- tual abolition of the ftadtholderate and here- ditary nobility, and an extenfiorr of the right of fuffrage. But the influence of France, too weighty to be relifted, and the love of innovation, too ardent for fober refledlion, prevailed over thefe fentiments,. The ve- nerable ftate edifice of the Seven Confede- rated Provinces of Belgium was overthrown, and a Gallic ftrufture, airy, light, and un- fubftantial, was eredled in its place. 'The weaknefs and_crimes of the French directory, facilitating the enlightened views of the great man who, happily for Europe, at pre- fent guides the deftinies of France, proved its overthrow ; and the Batavian govern- ment, its offspring, is verging faft, through imbecility, to diftbiution; May it quietly expire ! On the eftablifhment of a directorial go- vernment in Holland, many virtuous and enlightened patriots, dilgufted at the new fyftem of things, and not being able, under the hiE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, Skl the circumftance of an irrefiftible foreign influence, to render their country further fervices, withdrew themfelves from public affairs, to the infinite lofs of the nation; Their places wbre occupied by another de-» feription of patriots, men who owed their confequcnce to the revolution; and fupported it more from perfbnal intereft and feeling, than from any fettled eonvidion of its ex- pediency or value men of weak under- ftandings, but ardent difpofitions, who mif- took a defire for innovation^ for an inclina- tion to do good. The IdlTes of the Dutch abroad, the cap- ture of their important colony the Gape of Good Hope; and the difgraceful furrendef of the fleet fent to its relief; confpired to augment the unpopularity of the new go- I wifh the Englifh language had a fynohyme to the Greek verb vscors^si^'iyy which fo happily exprefles the turbulence of the Grecian commonwealth ; and I wonder that the refinements of modern language, and the troubles of modern times, have not produced fome term by which a love of changes in governments could be at once briefly ^nd forcibly expreflTed. . ' r rerntnent i 5212 TOUR THROUGH vernment ; and ftrong fufpicions were enter- tained, that in the bofom of the diredlory and of the councils there was a party in the pay of England, which, like the ftadthol- der’s, betrayed the interefts of the republic, and ferved the caufe of its moft dangerous rival. In particular it was thought that the fleet fent to the Cape of Good Hope was deftined to fall an eafy to the Englifli ; and rumours of this treafon were afloat before the armament failed from the ports of Holland. To afcertain the foundation on which fuch a' report refted would probably be no eaiy talk, but the mention • that it was widely circulated and 'believed, ferves to (hew the opinion that was entertained of the government ; and that men, in places of authority and truft, were thought to be bafe enough, for mercenary conliderations, to betray their country. The naval combat of the i ith of Oftober, 1797, though it ended in the total defeat of their fleet, raifed for a period the (pirits of the Dutch nation, and was of fome advan- tage to the government. The conteft was honourably THE BATAVIAN REI^lTBtlC. 2^3 honourably and courageoufly maintained by the Dutch, and no one was fufpefted of having negleded his duty, or ferved the caufe of the enemy. As I remembered to have heard in England fome reports to the difadvantage of Admiral Story, who com- manded a divifion of the Batavian fleet on^ that day, I made particular enquiries con- ^ cerning him; and by Captain *•< — , who commanded a frigate on the iith of O 6 lo- ber, and faw the whole of the engagement, I was alTured that Admiral Storey’s conduct was that of a brave and honourable feaman. Towards the end of the aftion he loft a leg ; and it was not until he was fo difabled, that his (hip quitted the line of battle. He has fince been impeached for his behaviour on another occalion j but certainly his con- du the French inevit- ably muft foon have become mafters of it again. The -delay of the Britifh army af- forded time to the French .to colleft their , forces; and about the period that the Duke of York arrived with a reinforcement of Englifh and Ruffian troops. General Brune, with a large body of French auxiliaries, took the command of the Gallo -Batavian army, ^ The hereditary Prince of Orange arrived in., the army about the fame time with the Duke of York, and, probably elated with the fuccefs that had been obtained, addreffed a proclamation to the Dutch people,- couch-^ ed in terms fcarcely lefs' peremptory than might have been ufed had the Orange colours been flying on the ftadthoufe of Amfterdam. 334 TOUR THROUGH Amfterdam. It formed a ftriking contraft with the proclamations publifhed by the re- prefentativcs of the French people four years before. But where power is unlimited, mo- deration is more frequently to be found, than where weaknefs predominates, unlefs power is lodged in the hands of Alvas or Philips. Afteraferies of bloody and well-contefted aftions, the Britifli and Ruffian forces ob- tained pofleffion of Alkmaer, and the hopes of the friends of the houfe of Orange, which the tardy movements of the army had dampt, began to revive. The citizens of Amfterdam, attached to the new order of things, again trembled for the fecurity of the capital, and, throughout the republic, the partifans of the ftadtholder were filled with the moft extra- vagant joy. But thefe fentiments of depreffion on the one hand, and of exultation on the other, were of no long duration. After a defpe- jate engagement, in which the Britifh forces were vid:orious, but with great lofs, it was judged neceflary by the commander- in- chief for the army to retreat. So THE BATAVIAN REPVBLIC, 353 • So unexpedted was fuch a meafure by General Brune, and, in confequence of his defeat, believing that further offenlive operations would immediately be purfued by the Englllh, that, deiigning himfelf to retreat, he had fent his baggage, with part of hi§ artillery, acrofs the Y. Favoured by the obfcurity of a tempellu- ous night, and the enemy’s ignorance of their defign, the retreat of the Britifh army was effedted with little lofs. By day-light in the morning they were at a diftance of thirty miles from the French forces, and in a po- fition of confiderable ftrength, where they had formerly been eftablifhed. It was now determined that the Britifti and Ruffian troops ffiould evacuate Holland ; and to ac- compliffi this without further efFulion of blood, a negociation was entered into by the Duke of York with General Brune. The conditions at firft propofed by the French general, on which the Duke of York’s army fhould be permitted to re-imbark without moleftation, were fo exorbitant, as* to be inftantly rejedled, Brune required that. the SS6 TOUR THHOU^ the Dutch fleetfliould .be rellored^ and fif- teen thoufand French'and Batavian prifoners releafed> without conditions, from the prifdns ©f England. The demand of the refliitutiori of the fleet was foon abandoned,, though the Batavian diredtory^ in their ' inflrudlions to General Brune, infifted that the reftitution of the fleet fliould form the leading article in any convention that might be concluded by him with the Duke of York ; and the number'of prifoners required to be releafed without exchange, was reduced to eight thoufand. The other articles of the eonven-* tion flipulated, that the Britifh and Ruflian forces fliould quit the territories of the Bata-^ vian republic before the 30th of November^ and that no injury fliould be done to the dikes, canals, or navigation of the Texel. The eafy terms on which the Britifli and Ruflian troops were permitted to evacuate Holland were loudly compldned of by the Batavian diredtory, and ftrong infinuations againfl: the integrity of General Brune* were circulated throughout the republic by the party inimical to the Engliihy Thefe fufpi-- cions THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 337 cions were countenanced by the known cha- radler of the general for rapacity, and the belief that he had obtained the* command of the French army in Holland by corruption, confequently would not fcruple to reimburfe himfelf by the moft nefarious means. But moft probably the ftrength of the Britifli army, the means of defence which it poC- feffed, and perhaps a humane defire to pre- vent a further wafte of human life, were the real motives that induced General Brune to grant the terms alluded to. The French who ferved againfl: the Eng- lifli during this campaign Ipeak in the higheft terms of the bravery of the British foldiers ; but their report of the generals is lefs favourable. There is one exception, however, to this. The conduit of Prince William of Gloucefter excited particular ad- miration in the French ; and he is mentioned with much refpedt and praife, as a general , who will one day be an honour to the Britifli nation, if the early propfs which he has given of his courage and military ta- z lents 338 TOUR THROUGflj lents arc to be relied on as prognoftics of thd future. The treatment of the Britifh and Rufliaii troops who were taken prifoners, was An- gularly humane and generous. A party of women and children, belonging to the Eng- lilh army, having fallen into the hands of the enemy, they were fent to Amfterdam ; a colledtion was made in that city for their relief 5 and after having been hofpitably en- tertained for fome days, they were reftored to their hufbands and fathers, all of them comfortably furnifhed by the benevolence of the enemy with new clothing. The condudl and difeipline of the Britifh army, while they remained in Holland, gave great fatisfaftion to the peaceful, inoffenfive inhabitants of the parts where hoftilities had been carried on. Every article taken for the ufe of the troops was paid for with the utmoft regularity and pundluality ; and where unavoidable damage was done to the property of individuals, for purpofes of defence or attack, compenfation was liberally made. But THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. §39 Blit a lefs honourable warfare was waged by the navy. A flotilla of gun-boats and fmall veflelsj inadequate to any fpleridid or tifeful conquefts, coafled the Ihores of the Zuider Zee, dellroying fifliing fmacks, and firing on the miferable villages that did not difplay the Orange flag^ Where, through fear, they were received as friends, their bu- finefs was to difmifs^the petty municipalities, cut down the trees of liberty, and diftribute Orange cockades to all who chofe to accept of them. On their departure, the former order of things were invariably re-eftabliflied ; and thus frequently in the courfe of a few hours a village was revolutionifed^ and coun- ter-revolutionifed, with the mofl: perfedl indifference on the part of its inhabitants. Had the expedition againfl: Holland been attempted at an earlier period of the year, or had the army advanced after its firft fucceffes, before the French, and Dutch had time to concentrate their forces, it is highly probable that polfeflion might have been gained of Amfterdam, and a great part of the republic reduced to obedience to the ftadtholder. But perhaps z 2 340 TOUR THROUGri perhaps it'was fortunate for humanity that the campaign terminated otherwife. Had Amfterdam been taken, and the ftadtholder rellcred to his offices, the patriots and the French would dill have remained in poffei^ fion of the frontier places of the republic, from whence no force that the houfe of Orange could have raifed, or the Engllfh fupplied, 'would have expelled them ; and France, rather than permit fo important a conqueft as Holland to be wrefted from her hands, would, from thefe commanding points, have poured innumerable and irrefiftible bo- dies of troops into the country. The Britifli army might again, at an inclement feafon of the year, have been obliged to make a dif- aftrous retreat, through a- dreary and inhofpi- table country, with an aeftive and vigilant enemy in their rear, and the Prince of Orange might again have been compelled to feek his perfonal fafety in a precipitate flight from his government. The complete failure of the expedition, undertaken at their fiiggeftion, and for their Relief, extinguiffied the lalt hopes of the dadtholderian THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 341 ftadtholderian party, and firmly efiabllflied , the power of the new government. The repulfe of a powerful army of invaders, ex- alted the fpirit of the nation, . and the mur- murs of difcontent again ft the directory and the legiflatures were loft in the ftioats of triumph that refoundcd throughout , the re- public. ’ S i ■ 2 3 LETTER 342 TOUR THROUGH LETTER Xyil Commerce of Amjierdam.^ Number of Jhips df mantled, — The Dutch Eaft-India Company. Account of Colonel Gordon^ gocernor of the Cape of Good Hope.—Intercourfe with Bata^ via by means of American vefels, — The fenti- ments entertained in Holland rfpeBing Bona-* parte,*^Some account of that great man,*y^ Madame Bonaparte,— Affarances of the Firft Conful of the French republic to the Batavian government.— Lqf requifition made by the French to the Dutch,— Ffimate of the contri- butions levied in Holland by the French,—, Meafures to be pmfiied by the Dutch at the conclufon of the zvar. HE mighty commerce which Amfter- the quarters of the globe, is now, by the inaufpicious circumftances of the times, re- duced to a petty inland traffic, and an in-? Amfterdam, 1800. dam, in former periods, carried on with all confiderable THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 343 confiderable trade with foreign parts by the means of neutral veffels. The immenfc number of difmantled fhips with which the harbour is crowded befpeaks the former commercial profperity of Amfterdam, and its prefent impoverifhed Hate. The greater part of the fhips are in the worft condition imaginable, and would, were peace to 'bid the commerce of Holland revive, be found unfit for the purpofes of navigation. I per- ceived that the fmall veflels were generally in a more difabled and decayed condition than the large ones ; probably from the cir- cumftance that their owners, perfons in the middle walks of life, had fufFered more by the war than the wealthier clafTes concerned in fhipping, and confequently were unable to be at fufficient expence for the preferva-' tion of their property. At an early period of the revolution, the circumftauces of the Dutch Eafl-India Com- pany, the greatefi: commercial inftitution in the United Provinces, underwent a rigorous inveftigation. The ftadtholder, by virtue of an agreement made in 17S7, was go** ^ 4 vernor 544 TOUR THROUGH vernor of this company, and enjoyed. In confequence of his fituation, the lucrative patronage of many valuable offices. In the difpofal of the offices In his gift, It appeared that the ftadtholder, or his minifters, had not often confulted the interefts of the com- pany ; and the fubfequcnt lofs of the Dutch fettlements In the Eaft, which fell an eafy prey to the Englifh, was attributed in a great mcafure to the treachery or luke- warmnefs of the perfons appointed to high fituations of confidence and truft in the colonies by the -Prince of Orange. The honour of Colonel Gordon, the go- vernor of the Cape of Good Hope at the time of its capture, is, however, unim- peached, and his memory is cheriffied with fentiments of efteem and regret. He was unfortunate, but not culpable. Having made an unfkilful dilpofition of his forces, they were repul fed by the invading army, and he was obliged to furrender the colony entruiled to his command. A fine fenfe of feeling, honourable to bis heart as a foldier, prevented him from fiirviving this misfor- tune. THE BATAVIAN REPtJBLlC. 345 tune, and after he had reUiftantly confeiited to the capitulation, he put a'-period to his exiftence with a plftoL His death atoned for his rTiiftake, and Gordon may rank with the commandants of Longwi and Verdun. The finances of the Eaft-India Company were found in a difordered ftate, and it had coot rafted a heavv debt with the bank of j Amfterdam. Corruption and diforder pre- vailed in the fettlernents abroad, and neg- left and abufes in all the departments at home. A multiplicity of ufelefs offices had been created for the purpole of penfioning the friends of the ftadtholder, and of the expenditure of large fums no reafonable ac- count could be given. But the extenfive warchoufes of the com- pany were full of the precious commodities of theEaft; and the people had the fatisfaftion to learn, that ffiould their inlercourfe with India be fufpended for feven years, there would ftill remain in the ftore-houfes of the company an ample- provifion of the fpices and drugs of Afia. An intercourfe is kept up with the fettlemeixt of Batavia, chiefly through 346 ‘TOUR TilROUGIi through the means of American vcffels, three or four of which arrive annually at Amfterdam laden \vith the produce of that colony; and notwithftanding it is probable it will be attacked by the Englifli, the Dutch do not appear to entertain any fears for the fafety of this, their moft valuable eftablifhment in India. The lofs of their other colonies and illands affefts them more for the difgrace which their capture has brought on the Dutch arms, than for any effential injury which the nation has thereby fuftained. The fuperiority of the Englifli at fea muft of neceffity have fufpendedl their intercourfe with thefe foreign poffef- fions; and they believe with great confidence, that whenever peace is concluded, their colonies, without exception, will be reftored. The late revolution of France, which has placed at the head of the government of that country one of the greateft generals, one of the moll: profound ftatefmen and enlightened legiflators, that the world ever fgw, is re«» garded in Holland as an event Angularly fortunate for the republic. The charafter of THE BATAVJAN REPUBLIC. 347 pf Bonapfirte is confidered in Holland with the higheft fentiments of veneration and at- tachment. His military talentS;» the mor derate ufe he hag invariably made of vidory, the clemency of his difpofition, his lincere endeavours to reftore peace to Europe, and his munificent encouragement of arts and fciences, are fubjefts of loud and general panegyric. The piftures and bufts of this great man that are exhibited for fale in Holland are innumerable,; and from the avidity of the people to poffefs likeneifes of fo diftinguiihed a character, they are readily difpofed of. At every table where toafts are given, the health of Bonaparte is always enthufiafl-ically drank ; and at French tables, the health of the firft conful of the republic is conftantly given in the fame manner as that of the kinsf is in England. I had the happinefs to meet with more than one perfon who was well acquainted with Bonaparte, and had feen him fince his elevation to the nrft magiftracy of the French republic. The exalted fituation which he fills has fcarcely produced any change 548 TOUR THROUGH change in his charafter or manners. He is, as formerly, referved with ftrangers, but affable, condefeending, and familiar, with his friends. When a perfoO with whom he is acquainted is admitted to an audience with him, it is ufual for the conful to walk up and down the room, holding with the engaging eafe of fricndfhip or perfonal kind- nefs the arm or fleeve of the man with whom he converfes. His memory is fo un- commonly retentive, that he minutely re- members places, times, and circumftances, however obfeure or remote ; and when re- viewing the troops, he frequently notices, with expreffions of commendation, indivi- duals in the ranks who, at difFerent periods of the war, have ferved under him and diftin- guifhed themfelves. To be noticed by the conful is a diftindion highly flattering to a French foldier, and particularly as this ap- probation always proceeds from a clear and diftind recolledion of the adions w'hich give birth to it. Bonaparte is equally be- loved by the foldiers and ofRcers of the army ; and betw^een the two there exifts a kind THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 349 kind of emulation which fhall fhew him the ftrongeft marks of affection and attachment. I never heard him fpoken of by a French officer but in terms of almoll idolatrous ad- miration, and the fame fentiments pervade the loweft ranks of the army. In private life, Bonaparte is reprefented to be temperate, regular, and abftemious : in* dulging in no expenfive pleafures, and flernly difcountenancing all irregularity of man- ners. I was curious to know what were his religious opinions, if aay^ and the idea I found which generally prevailed on this fubjed was, that the exiftence of a Supreme Being was a belief firmly eftabliffied on his mind. ■ Madame Bonaparte is fpoken of as a woman of uncommonly vigorous powers of mind, and moft amiable manners. Her tafte for, and patronage of, the fine arts arc equally to be commended, and indigent merit of every kind finds in her a liberal benefac- trefs. She does not want the difpofition for intriguiiio; in ftate affairs, which under the old government diftinguiffied the ladies of the 35D touR tHkouGit the French court ; but wherever her in-i fluence is thought to be exerted^ it is for the profperity of the nation, and the glory of the hero to whom fhe has the happinefs to be allied. She is lefs beautiful than Madame Tallien, who continues to enjoy the admira- tion of Paris, and part the period of life for having children, but neverthelefs a womaii of great perfonal charms. Her daughters by a former marriage are reprefented as fome of the moft beautiful and graceful women in France* When Bonaparte officially notified to the Batavian government his elevation to the firft confiilfhip of the French republic, he repeated the affuranees made by the pre-^ ceding rulers of France, that the independ- ence of Holland ffiould at all times be an ob- jeft of the peculiar care of the French nation; and it was afterwards communicated to the direcftory^ that the interefts of the Batavian republic would be faithfully attended to, in Siny negociations that might be carried on between the governments of France and Great Britain. Since ^IIE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. S5 1 Since Bonaparte’s acceflion to the go- vernment of France^ the Dutch have been lefs haralfed than formerly with contribu- tions and exaftions. A loan was indeed attempted to be negociated at Amfterdam in favour of France, but without the fuccefs that was expedled. It did not entirely fail* but only an incohfiderable fum was fub- fcribed. The laft requifition made to the Dutch was for a quantity of cheefe and butter, for the ufe of the French fleet at Tou- lon ; and five large fwift-^failing cutters* laden with thefe commodities, for the above- mentioned deftination, failed from the Maefe on the day that we entered that river. Other vefiels of a fimilar conftrudion, and with the fame cargoes, had put to fea a few days before. The amount of the contributions, under various forms, levied by the French on the Dutch, it would be difficult, if not impof- fible, to afcertain. A merchant of the greateft refpeftability, whofe accuracy and informa- tion I have every reafon to confide in, coii- verfing S52 TOUR THFwOUGH verfing with me on the fubje£t, eftimated his lolFes from the Fieiich, in the various ways of requifitiorib, loans, voluntary con- tributions, the cxpence of keeping, or fur- nilhing quarters for foldiers, and other items too long for enumeration, at five-and-forty per cent on his capital. The circumftances of his traffic perhaps made the quota of his contributions heavier than was felt by the generality of the inhabitants of the United Provinces, and this he admitted himfelf ; but he contended, that the general lofs fuf- tained by Holland from rhe French could not be far flrort of forty per cent on the whole capital of the country. The amount of the Ioffes fuftained by the republic from Other caufes, he could not pretend to afeer- tain. He urged with great plaufibility, that England had fuffered an equal, if not a more ferious diminution of its capital, from the enormous debt incurred by the war, and the profligate expenditure of its minifters. No opinion prevails in Holland more generally than that, v/henever peace is reftored to Europe, THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. * 353 Europe, , a national bankruptcy will take place in Great Britain ; and this perfuaflon is fo firmly eftabliflied, that many of the Dutch who have property in the EnglilK funds, account it of no more value than their French aflignats. I fhall now conclude my remarks oU the revolution of Holland, with a fhort de- tail of the probable future ftate of the country, according to the ideas of well-in- formed perfons in it, whenever a general peace fhall take' place. Greatly as the Dutch nation has fufFered by the war, as well before as fince its con- quefls by the French, its condition is not yet defperate, or its falvation hopelefs. Its opulence is wafted, but the fources from whence that opulence was derived, though impoverifhed, are not dried up. The heavy- calamities that have fallen on Holland, have in fome degree produced a beneficial eiFe6t ; they have opened the eyes of the nation to a true fenfe of its condition, and obliged the people to the exercife of thofe virtues — fruga- lity, temperance, and fimplicityof manners — • A A which TOUR THltOUGH which formerly contributed fo largely to the profperity of the republic. By the overthrow of the old government, the nation is exonerated frorn a vaft mafs of corruption, feeblenefs, and abufes ; and how- ever defective the prefent fyftem may be, it is, for moft uleful purpofes, lels faulty than the fubverted conftitutioiu The abolition of the ariftocracy of Holland, though that body was neither numerous nor powerful, ought to be regarded as an event fortunate for the. republic ; and ftill more muft its deliverance from the authority of the ftadholder, as it was increafed and eftablifhed in 1787, be confidered as a change favourable to the in- terefts of Hollandi At no diftant period,- the faults of the prefent government of Holland -may be ob- viated, and ' a lalutary Iv^ftem eftablifhed, which fliall conduii the republic to its former profperity and greatnefs. The principal ob- jcdlion to the prefent Ivftem is, that the commercial part of the republic has not an influence, in the deliberations and proceed- ings of the legiflature, equal to its im- portance. THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 355 portance. Were 'peace to be reftored, this evil, imlefs fpeedily remedied, would produce the moft mifchievous confequences. ’ To reftore the commerce of Holland, en* coura^ement muft be given to the old 'mer- cantile fyftem and intereft: the rich capi- talifts of the country, who have emigrated in confequence of the revolution, muft be invited and allured to return; and the great trading companies of Amfterdam, and the other, cities of the republic, muft be re-efta- blifhed with all their former immunities and privileges. This is contrary to the {yftem recommended by eminent writers in France and England, who contend for free trade, and difclaim againft exclufive privileges, but by fuch-a fyftem alone can the commerce of Holland be revived. Should the wife policy be purfued, of placing the commerce of the republic, as far as poflible, on its former footing, the in* duftry, frugality, and unwearied perfeve* ranee, of the Dutch nation, will, in a few years of tranquillity, with fuch encourage* pnent as a legiflature well verfed in mcr- A A 2 - cantile S56 TOUR THROUGH cantlle affairs may further beftotV-, not only recover from its misfortunes, but probably arrive at a ftate of opulence, little infe- rior to the moft flourifhing days of the re- public. ‘ • LETTER THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. LETTER XVIII. Climate of Amjieriam. — Dutch phyjio gnomics,'^ The »jillage of JBroek. — Cujlom of having two doors to each houfe in North Holland^—Carv^ ings over the doors. — The hoiifes and gardens (f Broek.' — Dxtreme cleanlinefs of its freets. — Phlegm of the inhabitants of Broek. — Saar- dam, — Number of windmills. — Decay of trade, — Hoife where Peter the Great refided. — A funeral.— Departure from Amfterdam. — The canal from Amjierdam to Utrecht, — Utrecht , — Its furrender to Lewis XIV, in and to the PruJJians in 1787. — The univerfity of Utrecht.— Nimeguen, — Return to Rotterdam. — Departure for England. — Detention at Ala- ajlandfuys. T Maaflandfluys^ December, 1800. HE atmofphere of x^mllerdam, from its marfhy fituation, is at all periods of the year loaded with, humid vapours ^ and I believe we had not the good fortune, during a re- A A 3 fidence TOUR THROUGH 35 S fidencc of about a week in that city, to catch one glimpfe of the fun. I will not venture to ha?:ard any conjefture what effe6l the air has on the inhabitants of the place, but for the moft part they are a dull and heavy- looking race, with countenances full of cares and concerns of bufinefs, I muft, however, obferve here, that I have not feen in Hol- land one Dutch face which had the leaft expreffion of that defpicable quality, cun- ning, in it, either on the Exchange, in ihops, or in the ftreets ; and,- on the con- trary, I do not, think I ever faw a fliop- keeper in England, on whofe countenance that quality was not moft legibly written. A Dutchman’s countenance, whatever his avo- cations may be, is honeft, frank, and can- did ; and the only expreffion which ever ap- . pears in it that is difpleafing, is an expreffion of caution which borders on fufpicion. Moft Dutch merchants, from education, example, and habit, are tainted more or lefs with the vice of avarice, or rather a ftrong paffion for accumulation'; but, I believe, the merchants of no nation in the world are more to be praifed . THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 359 praifed for their fcrupulous hoiiefty and in- flexible integrity; and let me add too, for their patriotifm, public fpirit, and munifi- cence. What city in Europe can boaft of charitable foundations more fplendidly en- dowed than thofe of Amfterdam ? Its infti- tution * for the increafe of knowledge and the encouragement of the fine arts is yet in its infancy, but its utility has already been proved, and in a few years it may vie with the oldeft eftablifhed and moft opulent fo- cieties in Europe. During our flay at Amfterdam, we croflTed the Y, to vifit the pleafant villages of Broek and Saardam in North Holland. The one celebrated for its fingular neatnefs, the other for its mills and extenfive yards for the building of fhips. • The village ot Broek is at the eafy diftance of fix miles from Amfterdam, and inhabited chiefly by merchants of overgrown wealth, who, when the hours of bufinefs are over, * The Felix Mentis. A A 4 retire 360 TOUR THROUGH retire from the tumult and confulion of the city, to enjoy the tranquillity of a fecluded village. Broek contains about an hundred houfes, each of which is decorated and paint- ed with the niceft care. To every houfe, as is the cafe throughout North Holland, there are two doors; one of which is never opened but when a corpfe or a chriftening is carried from the houfe, and the other fervcs the ordinary purpofes of the family. I could not learn the nature of the fuperftitioii from whence this cuftom is fuppofed to have originated ; and I believe it is peculiar to North Holland. To a ftranger, there is fomething folemn in the cuftom ; and we could not help contemplating thefe doors, opened only for fepulchral rites, or to intro- duce a new-born infant into the chriftiaa community, with a fort of religious awe and refpedl. Over fome of thefe doors were carvings, deferiptive of the lives of fome of the former poffeflbrs of the houfes. One of thefe at- tracted a confiderable portion of our notice. It was divided into four compartments. The firft THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 36l firft defcribed the embarkation of a yoimg man on fhip-board, and his relatives on the quay, weeping on account of his departure* The fecond reprefented his arrival in a fo^ reign part, where a number of Indians were waiting to receive him. The third defcribed him as a planter, furrounded by his flaves, and the produdions of the tropics. The laft related the ftory of his return to his country., advanced in life, and blefled with wealth. The date affixed to it was i66i. Another of thefe carvings defcribed the hiftory of a ffiopkeeper’s life; and a third, that of a man who had acquired his riches by the whale- fifhery. The houfes of Broek are painted with different colours, but chiefly with green and white, and fome of them in addition arc gilded. They are fmall, few of them con- taining more than eight rooms, and none of them above two (lories high. Before moft of the houfes is a fmall garden, dreffed out in a fantaftic ftyle with (hells, pieces of ftained glafs, bits of broken china, and the like; and the (hrubs and trees are tortured into all TOUR THROUGH ail manner of fliapes. In one garden, a tree was cut into the fliape of a table, with bottles and glaffes on it ; another tree was lopped and bent to rcfemble a fhip; and a bed of box-wood deferibed the chace of a hare. This ridiculcdus tafte of horticulture began to prevail in Holland about the time when the Dutch, having thaken off the yoke of the Spaniards, applied themfelves almoft wholly to commerce, confequently neglected all elegant and agreeable purfuits ; and it continues to prevail at Broek in its ori- ginal ftyle, two centuries old, unaltered and unimproved. In the ftreets of Broek, cleanlinels feem^ to nave obtained its ne p/us ultra. They are clofely paved with fmall bricks, the in- terftices of which are frequently feraped, and not a fpeck of dirt or blade of grafs is any-wherc to be perceived. No animal is permitted with unhallow^ed fteps to profane the ftreets of Broek. The dogs and cats of the place are rigoroufly confined in the houfes of their refpedive owners, and never per**- mitted to breathe abroad the delicious air THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 363 of freedom. Even the birds of the air are chafed away, from this abode of cleanlinefs, left, like the obfcene harpies which Virgil tells ns of, they fhonld defile with their excre- ments the ftreets or the houfes. ' The virtue of cleanlinefs is carried in Broek to a painful extreme. I never faw a more joylefs, uncomfortable, and melan- chply place. The houfes and gardens were fit only to amufe the infancy or the dotage of life, to gratify the vanities of childhood, or to give employment to the caprices of old age. ' . . • The inhabitants of Broek, even children, partake of the melancholy of the place. We faw a group of boys, of an age when gaiety and playfulnefs are qualities almoft inherent in youth, foberiy feated by the fide of one of the canals, with countenances as contem- plative and fedate as could have been expect- ed in old men ; and we paffed them without exciting fo much of their curiolity, as to make them turn their heads to fee which way we went. If any women were at the t windows. 564 - tour THROUGH windows, they haftily withdrew as wc ap« proached ; and if the door of a houfe was open, it was fhut with inhofpitable rude- nefs. Want of curiofity is, I believe, a quality charafleriftic of the Dutch nation, and it certainly reigns with fovereign dull- nefs in the village of Broek From Broek, we drove in our voiture to Saardam. Part of the road is on the dyke which defends North Holland from the wa- ters of the Y, At different commanding points of this road, there were batteries, mounting three or four large guns, which had been creeled the year before, to oppofe the progrefs of the Englifh, had they advanced againft Amfterdam. The guns of fome of thefc batteries were removing by Dutch foldiers ; and we were told, that in fo fecure a ftatc was the country fuppofed to be, that it was intended the whole fliould be razed. * The bark of the tree of liberty at Broek, according to the tafte of its inhabitants, is painted with the national colours. It is a young tree, and alive ! In THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. SSS ! In Saardam and its environs there arc about two thoufand windmills, which at a diftance form fomething like the appearance I of a foreft. The trade of the place is fo greatly impoverifhed, that fcarcely two hun- dred of thefe mills were at work, and a large proportion of the number unemployed feem- ed in a ruinous and decayed condition. The war has moft materially affefted the profperity of Saardam, by putting a flop to the navigation of Holland, and confequently to the demand for fhips, the conftruftion of which was the principal fource of the opu- lence of Saardam. I did not fee a Angle fhip upon the ftocks at Saardam, but there were two or three large men-of-war in a wet dock, which I underftood had been lately launched, and fome frigates were re- pairing. In the different yards for fhip building which we palTed, there was a great abundance of excellent timber for the con- ftru6lion of veflels, but very few carpenters were at work in any of the yards. In fome of them it did not appear that the lead: work 366 TOUR THROUGH work had been done for a confiderable period of time, and rank grafs was growing on many of the fpots where mighty fleets had been created. We vifited the hut where' Peter the Great of Ruffia refided, when, to acquire a pra6tical knowledge in the art of fliip-building, he laid afide his imperial dignity, and worked for fome time as a common, carpenter in the dock-yards and naval arfenals of Saardam. The cottage in which this prince [lived is one of the meaneft in the town, and with- out other accommodations than what might have fuited the circumftances of the humbleft mechanic. The hut was full of,. children, and abominably dirty, a fault that is not to be charged on the generality of Dutch cot- tages. A nitche was Ihe^vn us in the room which contained the emperor’s bed, an execrable engraving of him by a French artift, and a copper coin on which his head was imprelTed. The woman of the houfe alfo (hewed us two wine-gla(fes, which were given her fome years ago by the prefent Emperor of Ruflia, then the Archduke Paul, when THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 367 when he .vifited the - hut where his anceftor refided : a fingular prefent for a young prince on fuch an occafion ! A funeral was 'performing in the church- yard of Saardam as we paffed, and we ftopt to obferve the ceremony. It was the inter- ment of an indigent perfon, and the obfequics were performed without the affiflance of a prleft. The coffin was of plain fir, unvar- nifliqd and unornamented, and the grave in which It was depofited was "a large i hole, containing about a dozen coffins, and capable of receiving perhaps as ^ many more. After the corpfe was put into this populous grave, it was covered with boards, and the mourn- ers, departed.; The, fi ugality of the Dutch is fcarCely more remarkable in any thing, than the economy -of their funerals. A per- ibn would be defpifed by his neighbours as a profligate fpendthrift who ffiould beftow on a deceafed relation a', niagnificent interment, and there are fumptuary laws againft expen- five burials. Prayers at the grave, or the tolling of a bell, are confidered as idle fupei- ftirions. 56s TOUil THROUGH ftitions, nor do female mourners ever attend thefe laft fad offices of humanity, to weep with decent and pious forrow over the re* mains of their departed friends. The day after our return from our excur- fion to Broek and Saardam, we took our leave, probably for ever, of 'the capital of Holland.- — Let me here perform the pro- mife which I made to the good miftrefs of our hotel, that on my return to England I would fpeak of her houfe in the terms which I thought it deferved. — The civilities and highly ufeful attentions of Mrs. Oofterlinck during our ftay in Amfterdam, entitle her to my moft refpedful acknowledgements ; and I can fafely recommend her hotel, the Doele^ , on the Cingel, as one of' the moft pleafant and agreeable houfes of accommodation to be met with in Holland. The Cingel is one of the principal ftreets in Amfterdarn^ and near the centre of the town. It may not be improper to add, ‘that our charges at the Doele were extremely reafonablc ; a full third lefs, I am fatisfied, than, under fimilar circumftances, THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 369 circumftances, we fhould have paid in Eng- land. We travelled from Amfterdam to Utrecht in treckfchuyts, and were fo fortunate on our pafTage as to obtain in all the boats places in the roof. Our journey occupied about nine hours, and we arrived at Utrecht much fatigued and exhaufted. On each fide of , the canal, from Amllerdarh to Utrecht, there is, with little intermifilon, a continuation of pleafant houfes, country feats, and gardens adorned, in the Dutch tafte, with grotefque temples, ftatues, ftagnate pools, Chinefe bridges, and trees planted in a ftraight line, or tortured into a thoufand lhapes. The country through which we pafied feemed ex- tremely populous and Vv^ell cultivated ; and there was lefs w'ater on the lands than we had obferved elfewhere, not becaufe it was higher, but becaufe the mills for pumping it off into the canals are more numerous, and ferve better to drain the land. Utrecht is one of the moft agreeable cities in the Batavian republic, * and fomewhat larger than the Hague. On account of the B B ; pleafantnefs S70 TOUR THROUGH pleafantnefs of its fituation, and the ima- gined or real falubrity of the air, Utrecht is chofen by many perfons who have made a fortune by commerce, and have the good lenfe, in the evening of their lives, to quit the buftle of trade for the tranquil pleafures of retirement, as the place of their retreat. A more eligible one could fcarcely be chofen. The ftreets of Utrecht are large and fpa- cious, and the fame cleanlinefs reigns in the town which diftinguifhes the mofl: fa- voured cities of Holland. It was formerly a poft of confiderable military ftrength and importance ; but, happily for its inhabitants, its fortifications are no longer in a condition to provoke or refill: the attack of the enemy. In 1672 it furrendered to Lewis the Four- teenth without oppofition, and for upwards of a year Utrecht was the theatre of the triumphs of that magnificent monarch. He commanded his foldiers to fpare the beauti- ful mall, which extends near a mile from the town, fhaded with three rows of trees, and his clemency was celebrated by the venal poets of times ; but for this mo- deration, THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 371 deration, or aft of forbearance, he levied a contribution of two hundred thoufand pounds on the inhabitants of the 'place. In 1787 Utrecht furrendered to the arms of Pruffia without making any refiftance, though the regular forces in the town amounted to feven thoufand men, and its in- habitants, were animated with the moft vio- lent animofity againft the Prince of Orange, whofe caufe the Pruffian army fnpported. On this occalion, treachery was Imputed to the governor, the rhingrave of Salm ; for though it was not fuppofed that the town could have held out long againft the Pruffian forces, it was contended that, with the ftrength which It contained, and the difpofi- tion of the ' inhabitants, it was bafe and cowardly to furrender the place without fome oppofition. The charafter of the prince -who commanded the garrifon juftified the fufpicions of his treachery. On the approach of the French army in 1795, the city of Utrecht threw open its gates, and the republican troops were receiv- ed as friends and deliverers. No -where throughout B B 2 572 TOUR THROUGH throughout the United Provinces was the diipofidon of the people more favourable to the French than that at Utrecht; and, not- withflanding the fevere impofitions that have been laid on them, the inhabitants of the place ftill continue to entertain the ftrongelh attachment to France. The univerfitv of Utrecht has fuffered more by the war than that of Leyden, and fcarcely contains at prefent fifty ftudents. It has at all periods, I believe, been inferior to the celebrated academy of the latter city, whether for the learning and reputation of its profefibrs, the number of ftudents which they attracted, or the afiiftance afforded to pupils by public libraries, botanical gardens, or anatomical preparations. As people are led by their partialities in favour of certain opinions, the univerfitv of Utrecht is cen- furcd or praifed for its attachment to, and cultivation of, French principles; while, on the contrary, though early in the new order of things a deputation of ftudents congra- tulated the provilional reprefcntatives of Hol- land on the revolution in the government that THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC, 373 that had happily taken place, the univerfity of Leyden is fuppofe'd ifrongly to favour the old lyf!:em. Before we left Rotterdam, our friend Ge- neral Chorie expefled daily to be appointed to the command of Nimeguen, and we then promifed him that we would extend our tour to that fortrefs, in order that we might have ' the pleafure of feeing him again, before we quitted the Batavian republic. At Utrecht I found, from the advanced period of the feafon and other circumftances, that could not make the excurfion with- out confiderable inconvenience, and therefore, leaving her at the Chateau d' Anvers y I took a feat in the pofl; chariot for Nimeguen. My companions were a French officer and his lady, and their politenefs and agreeable con- verfation beguiled the tediouinefs of the journey. On my arrival at Nimeguen, I was great- ly difappointed to find, that the appointment of General Chorie to the command of that fortrefs had not yet been confirmed, and confequently the pleafure which I promifed B B 3 myfelf 374f TOUR THROUGH rnylelf from meeting with a perfon to whofe civilities and attentions I was fo deeply in- debted, was prevented. Every part of Nimeguen exhibits the me- lancholy effe61;s of the late fiege. Houles deftroycd and rebuilt, public edifices in ruins, trees fhattered, and the pavement of the ftreets torn up to prevent the rebound- ing of balls and (hells, and yet un replaced. The fortifications of Nimeguen, at the time when it was attacked, were in good condi- tion ; the Dutch garrifon in the town was ftrong, and an army of thirty thoufand Eng- li(h lay encamped on the other fide of the Waal, from whence, by means of a flying bridge, they could throw fuccours into the towm. It was therefore expedled to fuftain, a fiege of confiderable length, if not to dif- appoint the views of the affailants. Befides its ordinary fortifications, it was ftrengthened with additional outworks, and its garrifon was compofed of the flower of the Dutch army. But all its means of defence were ineffedual againft the ardour of the befieg- ing army. After Nimeguen had been bom- barded f I THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. 375 barded fome days, preparations were made by the French for a general affault. Thefc' meafures alarmed the Englifh, and they withdrew their forces from the town. The I Dutch troops would have followed them,' j but the bridge was broken down by the ene- my’s artillery, and being too weak for refift- ance now that they were deferted by their allies, they were obliged to furrender to the' French without conditions. The town was' indeed taken by affault, but the humanity of General Souham, who commanded the . French, preferved the garrifon and inhabi- tants of the place from the exercife of thofe feverities which the ufage of war autho- rifes in towns that are .taken by ftorm. The inhabitants of Nimeguen difeourfe of this calamitous period with the moft vivid emotions, and a general air of melancholy and dejedlion reigns throughout the place. Beggars are numerous, and many of them appear as if they^had enjoyed happier days. The French garrifon in Nimeguen con- fifled of .about eight hundred men, moft of whom had received wounds in the fer- B B 4 vice. r 376 TOUR THROUGH vice.. Were tte fortrefs to be befieged, it would require a force of between fix and feven thoufand men to defend the works; but happily fuch an event is improbable* The fortifications of Nimeguen have been repaired fince the fiege, and are in a good condition ; but the out-works are defl;royed, and the cultivated garden now fmiles where the hideous battery appeared, Nimeguen is one of the principal depots of the ftores of the French army in the Batavian repub- lic; and probably will continue, though a general peace fiiould be made, and by the treaty between the two republics it is then to be reftored to the Dutch, to be garrifon- ed by French troops. Difappointed of feeing General Chorie, I ftopt but a fingle day at Nimeguen, and re- turned to Utrecht by night. We quitted that city early in the morning in a treckfchuyt, and arrived in the evening at Rotterdam, Our wilhes now anxioufly turned towards England. Our tour had been produdlive of much pleafure, and we continued to experi- ence at Rotterdam the fame hofpitable treat- ment THE BATAVIAN -REPUBLIC. 377 ment that we had before met with ; but the objeds of curiofity to intereft us being dimi- nifhed, the defire of returning home almofl: entirely poflefTed our thoughts. Unterrified with the profpeft of encountering the tur- bulence and dangers of the North Sea at ati advanced period of the year, — - preferred that we (hould fail for London in fome veflel from Rotterdam, rather than return by the route of Calais, as we once propofed and intended; and a floop belonging to Mr. being on the eve of departure, we agreed for our paflage on board of it. — From this gentle- man and Mrs. we received during our ftay in Rotterdam attentions and civilities which can never be effaced from our minds. The accommodations of our veflel (which fails under the Pruflian flag, but is Englifh property) are much on a par with thofp of the floop in which we were captured ; but the captain and his crew, Pruflians or Dutch, cultivate the virtue of cleanlinefs out of com- parifon more carefully than our Englifli cap- tain and his failors did. Change of wind obliged our veflel to come to 578 TOUR THROUGH to anchor off Maaflandfluys, and the fame caufe has detained us fome days. Our time has been agreeably employed. The fhort dif- tance between the Briel and Maafland- lluys, has afforded us an opportunity of re- newing our intercourfe with Commodore and Captain . The better we are acquainted with thefe excellent per- fons, the more reafon we have to love and admire them; Generous, brave, and bene- volent men ! may they long live, an honour and a defence to their country, an orna- ment and examples to humanity ! May they live to fee, and long enjoy, the full comple- tion of their patriotic wifhes — to fee the com- merce of their country revive, and its inde- pendence and liberty eftablifhed on a fure and folid bafis i — the extindlion of party feuds and violence, and the reftoration of domeftic harmony and tranquillity to the bofom of their native land ! Whatever changes the revolution may have produced in the manners and habits of the Dutch, I am perfuaded that there re- mains in the nation a rich fund of old Bata- vian THE BATAVIAN REPUBLIC. S79 vian virtue, integrity, and honour : that the genuine principles of liberty are no- where better underftood, or more fervently admired, though, by the unhappy circum- ftanccs of the tiunes, perverted or neg- lected: that no-where are the domeftic and fucial duties of life more feduloufly cul- tivated. — May the exercife of tbefe virtues fpeedily be encouraged by the reftoratioa of peace ! APPENDIX, C 380 ) APPENDIX. A. I -proclamation of the Reprefentatives of the French 'Nation to the People of Batavia. Amfierdamy ijl of Pluviofe (^January 20),' 1795, the third Year of the French Republic one and indi- vifible. The reprefentatives of the French nation with the armies of the North, the Sambre, and the Maefe, to the people of Batavia. The tyrants who have combined againft the freedom of nations, declared war againft ns, and tlireatened to conquer and fubjugate us. The treacherous ftadtholder^ having reduced your government under his power, entered into the bafe confederacy formed by tyrants, to force a great people to fubmit to the yoke of ftavery. Your blood, your treafures, were laviihed for this ; but the fuccefs of our arms has made ma- nifeft the juftice of our caufe, and our all-con- quering armies have entered into your country. Batavians.] APPINDIX^ SSI Batavians ! we know you too well to imagine you would be accomplices in fo abominable a confpiracy. Our enemies arealfo yours. The blood of the founders of the United Netherlands frill flows in your veins ; and in the midft of the con- fufion of war we confider you as our friends and allies. It is under this name that we enter your country. We feek not to terrify, but to infpire you with confidence, it is but a few years fince a tyrannic conqueror prefcribed you laws ; we have abolifhed them, and reftore you to free- dom. We come not to make you flaves ; the French nation fliall prcferve to you your independence. The armies of the republic lliall obferve the flrifteft military difcipline. .All crimes and civil offences, of citizens againft citizens, fhall be punifhed w’ith the molt rigid juftice. Perfonal fafety fliall be fecured, and property protected. The freedom of religious worfhip fhall fuffer no reflraint. The laws and cufloms of the country fhall be, provifionally, m.aintained. The people of Batavia, exercifing that fove- reignty which is their right, fhall alone poffefs the 382 APPENDIX, the power to alter or modify the form of their government. ' Gillet, Bellegarde, J. B. Lacoste, JOUBERT, PoRTiEz de L’Oise. B. speech of P. Pauhs, P ref dent of the AJfemhly of the Provifional Reprefentatives of the free People of Holland, at the Opening of its Sit- tings , Jan. 2 7 1795. Behold, citizens, at length the grand bafis of your liberty founded, and the ariftocratic edifice of your ancient government overthrown. Doubtlefs this bafis will prove durable, having been. fixed by the exprefs will, and under the fupreme direftion, of the Almighty, whofe all-powerful hand has been fo manifefi: in the events which have lately happened to us. D uring one of the mofi: glorious campaigns of which the annals of the world fpeak, the French army had already approached our frontier, when, the natural force of our country, its rivers, its waters APPENDIX. 385 waters of every kind, appeared to retard in fomc degree, and daring a certain period, their pro- grefs ; — for experience has fliewn, that nothing can refifl the courage, the activity, and the in- defatigable perfeverance, of the French nation ; and that frontier towns, fortreffes, and (trong holds of every kind, fall before their zeal and inconceiveable efforts ; — but at a moment, how- ever, when it was lead expe6ted, and when the campaign was thought to be at an end, a froft, the molt intenfe which almoft ever was known, transformed at once our rivers, our canals, and our inundation, into roads and bridges, and what was efteemed in former times the ftrenq^th of our country, and the fecurity of our govern- ment, became the means of accelerating the progrefs of the arms of a nation which has folemnly and publicly declared, that they re- gard us not as enemies, but as brethren and al- lies. This ftriking event ought to lead us to contemplate with refpeQful admiration the adorable ways of the Almighty, who, when the profpe61: of the freedom of our country was otherwife diftant and uncertain, thus faved the effufion of fo much blood, and fnatched fo many cities and countries from deflruftion. Let us, our hearts being filled with gratitude, reader ■ 3^4 APPENDIX. render thanks to God for this wonderful inter- ference of his Providence ; and fince our liberty has fo manifeftly been founded by his will, let us keep his divine example before our eyes, and with all humility endeavour to make it the ob- je6t of our imitation. Let juftice, equity, and hu- manity, be the beginning and the end of all our aftions and refolutions; and, laying afide all hatreds, all fpirit of party, and of' vengeance for former wrongs, let us remember that it was he who taught us to blefs thofe who curfe us. Then will a bleffing attend our labours ; then and then alone will union fpring up among us ; — union, without which we have feen this country cannot exifl:, but with the aid of which we have a bright example in our annals that we are invincible. Then tranquillity and calm will reign in every bread ; and the foundation being thus happily laid, the edifice of our liberty wifi be gradually reared, amid the influence of virtue, of reafon, and of philofophy. When the fovereignty of the people fliall have been acknowledged ; when the inalienable rights of man, without diftinftion of religious or political opinions, fliall have been folemnly ‘declared s we may expe6l that peace, liberty, and APPENDIX. - 385 and fecurity, which have fo long been bahifli* ed from our land, will again take up their abode with us, and form the fource of our common felicity. » It is for thefe mod defirable ends that I of- fer up my prayers to the Almighty, that ' he may grant us his divine bleffing; that he may afford us all, and particularly to me whom this alfembly has favoured with fuch a mark of its confidence, his paternal affiflance ; and that he may turn the . efforts which we are about to make to the happinefs of a people fo long out* raged, influenced, and oppreflTed. C. BANK OF AMSTERDAM. Gazette Ejitraordinctry of Amjlerdam, Feh, 5, 1795, LIBERTY, EQ.UALITY, FRATERNITY. The provifional reprefentatives of the people of Amfterdam, deeming it of the lafi: impor- tance to the commerce of this city that the public fhould be informed, of the ftate, of its bank, ftyled the Bank of Exchange, and that the credit of the faid bank fhould not be im- c c peached. 386 APPENDIX. peached, or fufFer any diminution by crrone* ous opinions, by artful infinuations, or by the firfl: falfe impreffions which rumours circulated relating to it might occafion, have deemed it advifable, and have refolved to declare by this prefent writing, that according to the reports made on this fubjefl: by the' committee of com- merce and marine, duly authorifed by the pro- vifional reprefentatives to examine into the ftate of the faid bank, it appeared, that if the in- formation given by the clerks in the bank, in anfwer to the enquiries of the committee, and if the balance laft ftruck, are correft, which ultimately will be minutely examined, no dtji^ cicncy whatever will exijl in the faid bank, and the debits and credits will precifely balance, with this exception, that, infead of fpecie, there have been received into the faid bank from time to time, as fecurities for large fums ad- vanced by it within the laft fifty years, a very confiderable number of bonds, viz. Seventy bonds of the India company of Am- flerdam, guaranteed by the ftates of that pro- vince, being each for 1 00,000 florins banco, at, three per cent inierefl ; befides a fimilar one of 50,000 banco ; on which there will be due, ac- cording to the calculation of thq faid clerks, the APPENDIX. 387 the film of 249,000 florins hancOy for intereft. On account of which bonds, the treafurer of the faid city is debited in the aforefaid balance 6.273.000 florins banco, Befides thefe, there are fifty bonds, each for 24.000 florins, on account of the provinces of Holland ^and Weft Friefland, belonging to the loan-office of this city, on which, according to the information of the clerks, the bank has ad- vanced, agreeably to the aforefaid balance, the fum of 838,857 florins hancOy on which there will be due for intereft 30,000 florins. In addition to which, the loan-office owes the bank, conformable to the fame information, the fum of 1,715,000 florins banco. That further, if every thing fliall appear as has been ftated by the faid clerks, and fterling being converted into ftock, the treafurer of the city will, in addition, owe to the bank, and for which it was made debtor at the clofing of the accounts above alluded to, the fum of i?'. 38,358 2 o And what it owed at the ac- tual clofing of the accounts, 155,314 6 8 Mjffeing together, banco y F. 193,672 8 8 There is alfo due, from the faid bank, 227,264 2 S, for which bonds were origi- c c 2 nally 58B APPENDIX. nally given, but according to the clerks' (late- ment are burnt, but for which the city notwitlv Handing paid intereft annually to the bank. That it is neverthelefs obvious, that the city IS refponfible for this fum as well as for the whole, as it ought to be confidered with refpe6l to it, not only as guarantee, but as a6lual debtor, to the bank. That moreover, among other things in the faid bank, there has been found in fubftance all 'the fpecie for which accountable receipts have been given, agreeable to the lift made out and delivered to the committee of commerce and marine by the cafhiers of the bank, and which can, in confequence, be at all times drawn out by the holders of the faid receipts, in exchange for them, when it fhall pleafe them fo to do. The aforefaid provifional reprefentatives have, "therefore, not only taken the requifite and moft 'efficacious meafures, that henceforward there ffiall not be delivered from, nor advanced by, the faid bank, contrary to its original inflitu- tion, any fpecie whatfoever, by any authority, either as a loan or in any other illegal man- ner; but alfo that the faid bonds, lodged in the faid bank as fecurities, as aforefaid, fliall be liquidated as foon as poffible ; and generally that APFENPIX. 389 that this city, as debtor to the bank, fhall, with all pra6licable difpatch, difcharge in cafli the balance of its account with the faid bank; which being done, the provifional reprefenta- lives declare that there can exift no deficiency of any kind foever, and that they will, without delay, take into their ferious ccnfideration, and will carry into immediate effeft, the means to obtain this end. The provifional reprefentatives, neverthelefs, declare, that this notification is only made to maintain duly the credit of the bank of this city, and to tranquillife the minds of foreigners and the commercial part of its inhabitants. But they dejire hy no means to be conjidcred as approve ing ofy or confirming, the uje that may have been made of the depofits of the bank, and much lefs of difcharging, by any thing in this proclamation, thofe who may be reprehenfible on that fubjed. Given and publilhed Feb. 5th, 1795, firft year of Batavian liberty. By order of the aforefaid reprefentatives. G. Brender. A. Brandis, Secretary* c c 3 ExtraBs 390 APPENDIX* D. ExiraBs from a Proclamation of the Provifional Reprefentatives of the Commune * of Amjlerdam. Philosophers of all nations and ages have invariably judged, that when civil diffenfions are over, the conquering party has always been guilty of injuftice when it has thought worthy of punifhment aftions which the chiefs of the conquered party have done to maintain their caufe, and has in confequence of thefe princi- ples fet on foot a general perfecution. Aftions which are at all times criminal ; aftions which are morally bad, independent of all political rela* tions, and confequently always punifhable ; are then the only ones that can, according to the principles of juftice be taken into confideration ; are alfo the only aflions which a righteous judge, whofe judgment ought not to be dire£t- ed by any influence. of political paflGons, will efteem criminal and worthy of punifliment j and not thofe a£tions which we at prefen t confider as highly pernicious, but which have been com- mitted ' * They before ftyled themfelves provifional reprefentatives of the people of Amfterdam : the phrafe commune was probably adopted in compliance with French forms, which now begin in fome meafure to prevail. APPENDIX. mitted under the eye, and with the plenary ap^ probation of the preceding government.*' If we rejeft thefe principles, there is no longer fecurity for any human aflion ; and let it not be diffenibled, that he who broaches a con* trary doflrine, proclaims in effeft the right of the ftrongeft, and confequently the favourite right of tyrants,*’ It is a great miHake to compare the clr- cumftances of France in the courfe of her revo- volution with ours, It was not in France a fpirit of revenge for the crimes committed un- der the old government, which occafioned the tepeated feenes of terror that were exhibited 5 but the violent oppofition to the revolution'll felf, which occafioned the necefiity of a propor- tionable vigilance to crufli all confpiracies. But what oppofition have we to expe£l ?** All political diflenfions, all the revolutions that have taken place in this fiate fince its ori- gin, vanifh before fo interefting a revolution as the prefent. They were only difputes between party and party; ftruggles for power, between unprincipled men, in which the petTple were conftantly duped. To-day it is the caufe of the people itfelf in which we labour, in which you all ought to labour. To-day it is not a faflion, but the nation herfelf, who is viftori- ou«. 592 APPENDIX. ous. We muft direft, therefore^, our view, not to the welfare of a few defpots, but to the happinefs of the whole nation.” The whole of the proclamation breathes a fpirit of conciliation and generofity exa£lly con- formable with the above extrafts ; and for noble- nefs of fentiment, found and liberal policy, and humane, enlightened views, was perhaps never exceeded, by any ftate ordinance that has ap- peared in the world. E. Treaty of Alliance, offenfive and defenfive, con^ eluded between the Republic of France, and the Republic of the Seven United Provinces, ' Art. I. The republic of France acknowledges and guarantees the independence of the republic of the United Provinces, and the abolition of the ftadtholderate. 2. There lhall be a lafting peace, amity, and good underftanding, between the two republics. 3. There (hall alfo be an alliance, ofFenfive and defenfive, againft all the enemies of the refpec- tive republics, during the prefent war. 4. There (hall be an alliance, ofFenfive and de- fenfive, againft Great Britain for ever. 5. No . APPENBIX. S95 5. No treaty fhall be entered into with Great Britain, without the confent of the two republics. 6. The French republic fhall make no peace with any power whatever, without comprifing in it the republic of the United Provinces. 7. The republic of the United Provinces fliall furnifh for the prefent campaign, twelve fhips of the line, and eighteen frigates, for the North- fea and Baltic. '8. The republic of the United Provinces fhall furnifh for the prefent campaign half the num- ber of troops which the republic fhall have on foot. 9. All the forces employed in aftual ' fervice fliall be under the command of French generals. The arrangements for the campaign fliall be made in concert : the flates- general may fend a deputy, who fhall fit and have a deliberative voice in the committee of public fafety at Paris. 10. All arfenals and ammunition belonging to ‘the republic of the United Provinces fhall be reflored. 1 1. From the ratification of the prefent treaty, reflitution fliall be made of all the countries and places belonging to the United Provinces, with the exceptions contained in the following ar- ticles. \ 12. Dutch 594 AfPXNDIX. 12. Dutch Fianders, and the right fide of the Hondt, Maeftricht, Venloo, and their depen- dencies, fhall be referved by the French republic as indemnities* 13. A French garrifon fliall be admitted, in peace and war, into the town of Flufhing, un- til other arrangements fhall have been decided. 14. The port of Flufliing fhall.be open to the two republics, 'conformably to the rules laid downinthefeparate articles attached to this treaiy. 15. In cafe of hoftilities on the fide of the Rhine, or of Zealand, French garrifons fhall be admitted into Breda, Bois le Due, and Bergen- op-Zoom. 16. At the epoch of a general peace, ceffion fiiall be made to the United Provinces of por- tions of territory equivalent in extent to the ceffion contained in the 12th article, and in a. pofition mofl convenient to the republic of the United Provinces. 17. Until the general peace, fuch a number of French troops ffiall be ftationed in the nc- cefTary places as fliali be deemed adequate to the defence of them. 18. The navigation of the Scheldt and the Hondt fhall be open to the two republics: French and Dutch veflels fhall be indiferimi- nately admitted, under the fame conditions. 19. The APPENDIX. 3SS 19/ The French republic gives up to the re- public of the United IVovinces all the immove- able efFefts belonging to the houfe of Orange, and all the moveable property not yet difpofed of. 20. As indemnification for the expences of the war, the republic of the United Provinces fhall pay to the republic of France one hundred mil- lions of livres j either in fpecie, or in bills upon foreign powers, as fhall be agreed upon. 21. The French republic fiiall ufe their good offices with foreign powers in favour of the United Provinces, in order that they may ob- tain the payment of the fums due to them be- fore the war. 22. No afylum fhall be given by the republic of the United Provinces to the French emi- grants, and no afylum fhall be given by the re- public of France to the Orange emigrants. 23. The prefent treaty fhall be ratified with- 411 two decades, or fooner if poffible. Concluded at the Hague, on the 15th of May, 1795; afterwards ratified by both the contrafting parties. FINIS. T. Davlfon, Whitc*Friars. TahiaMe Hoohs lately puhitjhed hy R. Phillips. In One large Volume, Duodecimo, price Six Shillings in Boards, TRAVELS IN FRANCE. Ccnti.ining a circumfianrial View of the PRESENT STATE OF LEARN- ING, the Arts, Manufadlures, learned Societies, Manners, &c. By THOMAS BYGGE, Profeflbr of Aftronomy in the Univeiftty of Copenhagen, and late Envoy from the Danilh Government for confulting with the Commiffioners for the National Inftitute, relative to the univerfal Bafis of Weights and Meafures. Tranllated by JOHN JONES, LL. D. In Two Volumes Oflavo, Price las. in Boards, .An Authentic Account of the EmbalTy of the Dutch Eaft-India Company To the Court of the Emperor of China, Containing- a Defeription of many Parts of that Empire hitherto unknown to Europeans. In the Years 1794-5 (fubfequent to that of the Earl of Ma- cartney). By A. E. VAN BRA AM, Secretary to the EmbafTy. In One Vol. 8vo. Price 8s. 6d. in Boards (illuftrated by two Charts of th» Lake of Menzaleh, and of the Natron Lakes, drawn on the fpot by Ge- neral Andieoffv), MEMOIRS RELATIVE TO EGYPT. Publiihed in Paris by Authority. "Written by the Learned and Scientific Men who accompanied the French Expedition to that Country, and publiihed at Paris, by the National luftitutc under the Direction of the Chief Conful BONAPARTE. With Notes by Lang.es, &c. In Two Volumes Odavo, Price 14s. in Boards, TRAVELS IN ITALY, Between the Y'ears 1792 and 1798 j By MARIANA STARKE, Author of 'Tke tViuow of Malabar y The Tournament^ &c. Critical Opinions on this IVork. This entertaining work is the production of an ingenious and fenlible writer. The account of the excavations in Pompeii is the meft ample in our language ; and the difcovcrics in Herculaneum alfo, are well detailed. Mils Starke has very judicioufly given inltru£tions for vlfiting the curiofitics of Italy, with routes, inns, prices of provifions, carriages, £cc. which will ren- der the work a very ufeful publication to future Travellers ; indeed, it forms the bed Vade-mecum and Lxvre de /iojit which we recolledt to have fecn. — Mo^thiy Re'vieiv. This Work pofftlTes confiderable merit; and when the long-expcAcd hour of peace lhall fet at liberty the gay, the relflefs, the fpendthrifts, and the invalids, who pant after Voyages and Travels to the oelightful regions of France, Switzerland, and Italy, it will be one of the moft ufetul Com- panions they can take with them. The fubjefts are arranged with Judgment, Tafte, and Precifion, and calculated to fparc the Eritilh Traveller the trouble, cxocngr, and inconvenience of incumbering his baggage with ten or twelve duodecimo volumes of Vade-mecums, the contents of which Mifs Starke has ilexteroufly engrafted on her own genuine flock of knowledge and obfervation. The refult of a careful examination of her hiflorical narratives enables us to declare, ihat her work contains a fund of information entirely new, and a perufal of her judicious remarks on the late Revolutions in Italy may ferve as a lelfon of infliudlion to Miiiiflers of State. European Magazine, f- ■ Q<’3 qoi