LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. — pS 3| O UNITED States of ameejca. LEGE^NDS OF THE NETHERLANDS TO WHICH ARE ADDED SOME LEGENDS OF MANHATTAN ISLAND. BY GIDEON J. TUCKER, A.M., I.I..D. Brave old Fatherland! over the sea Thy distant descendants dwell proudly on thee ! Thy homely virtues, thy love for toil Thy sons have transplanted to other soil. And they will maintain, wherever they be. Religion tolerant, and Government free. PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR BY THE CONCORD COOPERATIVE PRINTING COMPANY New York, 1892. \, JUL 6 J 892 These Volkslieds of our forefathers I dedicate to the millions of native born Americans who are descended from Holland Dutch ancestry. Gideon J. Tucker. July, 1892. Entered according to Act of Congress, by Gideon J. Tucker, of New York, in the year 1892, In the office of the Librarian of Congress, Washington, D. C. THE TECTOSAGES. B. c. 390—280. Who shall sing of the Tectosages, Sons of marshy Belgian soil, Foremost where the battle rages, Seeking conquest, loving spoil ? Gaul has seen their roving legions. Of resistance making mock. Occupy her choicest regions, Settling in fair Languedoc. Not yet are their wanderings ended, Down the Danube pour their hordes, Macedonia, undefended. Heeds their summons, dreads their swords. Swim they next the deep Bosphorus, Timid Asia fears the fray, Hears their wild, barbaric chorus. Yields to their imperious sway. Famed for valorous doings, no man Braves the Belgic lion's whelp, Pyrrlius leads them 'gainst the Koman, Carthage buys their willing help: Through dark scenes of blood and pillage, Conflict brave and plunder base, Euined town and smoking village. Early history marks their trace. Theirs is Toulouse, heaped with treasure. Spoils of Asia and Greece, Gold and silver beyond measure, Prize of war and pride of peace : When her foe his victim swallowed. And the town betrayed and sold. Fearful was the curse that followed On Tolosa's stolen gold. Sing the tale of the Tectosages, Siii. 1137. Utreclit's Bishop demanded Friesland As his owu province, subject and liege, Count Theodore did the claim withstand, And shut up Utrecht with sudden siege. Closer and closer the lines were pressed, liight Beverend Heribert's garrison quailed, Not even his prayers, though he prayed at his best, Nor fastings, processions nor relics availed. The day had come for the final assault, The Hollanders massed for mounting the wall, Unless there be somewhere a falter, or fault. Old Utrecht is surely about to fall ! 13 Lo, the city's portal is opening itself : What is issuing forth — an armed sortie ? The Ritterband fighters for plunder and pelf Recoil astounded at what they see. In full canonicals, mitre and gown, Escorted by priest and by alcolyte, With monks in black robe and friars in brown, And crosiers and crosses paraded in sight, With solemn ritual and anthem loud. With a bearing free from alarm or doubt, With a lofty mien and attitude proud. The Bishop of Utrecht passes out. That lighted candle, full well they know^ An excommunication portends ; The soldiers away their weapons throw. The Bishop advances — resistance ends. 14 Spiritual power the victory gains, Banners droop and the shoutings still, Psalmody stifles the warlike strains, And his enemies bow to the Bishop's will. The penitent Count is humbly shriven, Of Utrecht and Friesland rests Heribert lord ; The realm is saved that devotion had given ; So does the crosier subdue the sword. 15 COUNT WILLEM S CRUSADE. A. D. 1218. Count Willem of Holland Lad piously vowed To cross his sword with the Paynim afar ; With stalwart yeomen and cavaliers proud, In twelve great ships he sailed for the war. Long they tossed on the heaving sea, Those brave Dutch sailors who feared for naught, And a weary man was Willem, when he One day cast anchor in Lisbon port. " O, tarry and help! " cried the Portuguese King, "For the cursed followers of false Ma- hound Have seized Alczar, and they force us to bring A tribute of Christian captives bound." 16 Down from their vessels, with sword in hand, The Dutchmen leaped, and retook Alczar, The slaves were restored to the grateful land, And Willem sailed for the distant war. Then steered he East, for the cross to fight^ Where the swelling floods of the Nile come down. Where shone the domes and minarets bright O'er the walls of Damietta town. Girt was that city with lofty towers, Strong and brave were the men within; The foul fiend summoned his utmost powers To baffle the Christians' attempt to win. Demoniac faces mock from the wall, Sounds as from Hell break the calm of night. Fiendish enchantments the Christians ap- pal, And devils seize on the fallen in fight. 17 Across the channel was stretched and tied To the opposite bank a great iron chain, Below it the good Dutch ships could ride, But the upper river they could not gain. The chain is severed — the towers fall ! 'Twas the Haarlem men the attack began; The Dafcchmen clamber the bristling wall, 'Twas Haarlem burghers who led the van ! The turbaned foemen sullenly yield. The suppliant city is at his feet. Impatient Willem lays by his shield And hurries his booty aboard the fleet. "Ho, for our homes by the Northern Sea! We have fought the fight and have kept our vows ; We have proven our faith and our chivalry — Hasten, and homeward turn our prows." 18 Home they come with their marvellous tales, Tales which a thousand additions en- hance, Beside Count Willem's crusade pales The strangest story of old romance. And Haarlem — old Haarlem — still keeps the day Whereon that Paynim city was won, And honors the fallen crusaders who lay Where their bones were bleached by the torrid sun. Then Willem, good Willem, to Middelburgh gave A charter which rendered her citizens free: He rests in a blessed and honored grave ; — God send us others as worthy as he ! 19 THE COUNTESS JANE. A. D. 1223. I tell the tale of a frightful deed, Of a hapless sire by his daughter slain, • Slain for a wicked woman's greed — The terrible crime of the Countess Jane. Baldwin, Emperor, lord of the East, Escaped from the wild Bulgarian horde, Hoping to find a refuge at least, All things lost but his honor and sword, Back to Flanders returned, to find His place usurped and his claims decried. For his daughter Jane, with words unkind. His very person and face denied. '* Shameless imposter, who mocks the dead, Hence to a prison and scafi'old! " she cried, " For he, who was of this state the head, In far Bulgarian deserts died." 20 But Flanders spoke with a single voice, 'A welcome home to our feudal lord! We see our Count, and we al^ rejoice To pledge to him every loyal sword! " The wicked Countess besought the aid. Of the King of France, her throne to gain, And Louis promptly the call obeyed. And his knights brought back the haugh- ty Jane. * Her husband lies in the Louvre tower, Her father died by the headsman's hand. The Countess sits in her lonely bower And rules, with an iron rule, the land. But long as Merit must yield to Fate, And long as sin brings lasting shame. The bard will sing and the scribe relate The terrible crime of the Countess Jane. 21 GUY DAMPIEKBE AND HIS DAUGH- TER A. D. 1300. When tlie countship of Flanders was held by Guy Dampierre, He sought to wed his daughter to the English monarch's heir ; Phillipina was a damsel quite worthy of a prince, For beauty none surpassed her then and none exceed her since ; But because the French King Philip was Flanders' feudal lord, The marriage was suspended to await his royal word. " Far be it from me to insist upon my feudal right. By which I could forbid the bans, and work ye such despite, 22 But, because I am godfather to such a charming maid, I fain would see and bless her in her bridal robes arrayed; So, pay me now the visit I so many years have sought. See Paris and its splendors and the pleasures of my court." They trusted the false monarch : he got them in his power, He locked them safe in dungeons in the famous Louvre tower, And vainly did Pope Benedict, with all the world, protest. Since Philip only answered all remon- strance with a jest ; So the beauteous Phillipina, of the Vlaen- derland the pride. Perhaps from long imprisonment, perhaps by poison, died. 23 THE CIVIL WAE OF THE CODS AND THE HOOKS. A. D. 1300—1500. The banquet in the town hall had been set, Nobles and citizens together met ; The feast had reached the phase of drink and toast, When some vain lordling made a wanton boast — " We nobles eat you commoners as we wish. You are the bait, and we the swallowing fish ! " A burgher blurted forth — " 'tis very odd, The baited hook so often takes the cod ! " The quick retort awoke responsive sound. And with loud echo went the laugh around. The names of factions rise from feud or feast, Some happy answer, or some sneering jest. And for two centuries in Holland raged The war this festive play of words presaged. 24 The commune men deliberately took From their response the vaunting name of Hook, While those who would a prouder station claim In the Cod found an emblematic name ; And ere the warfare ended, many a plain Was cursed and cumbered with red heaps of slain. 25 THE BATTLE OF COURTEAI. A. D. 1302. O fearful was the slaughter at the battle of Courtrai, When before our Flemish burghers the knights of France gave way, When was gathered in the harvest of hate that had been sown, And full revenge was taken on the tyrant Chatillon. Their Queen against our people maintained a bitter spite, To her alone belongs the provocation of that figtt; As if she had the purpose our manhood to arouse, She said, "Kill me these Flemish boars, and do not spare the sows ! " 26 When slie came to visit Flanders, the jewels, silks and gold. Worn by our dames, revealed to her a mine of wealth untold, Inflamed by ire and jealousy she sneered a royal sneer — " I thought myself the only Queen ; I see six hundred here ! " And Ohatillon, our Governor, with our poor town was wroth. And decreed that every workman from his wages pay one-fourth ; And when Philippe commanded that certain goods be made, He punished those who made them for clam- oring to be paid. Our commune he abolished, and denied our burgher right ; Then good old Pieter Koning roused our people to the fight — 27 " Awake, brave Bruges, liaste and seize thy targe, and torch, and brand. For there's a bloody rising throughout the Vlaenderland ! " To Courtrai the flower of French chivalry was sent. To Courtrai we burghers marched-our motto " Scilt en vriendt ! " At Courtrai on that July day we slaughter- ed them like curs, And hung up, as our trophies, four thousand gilded spurs. O patriot town of Bruges, which waited not for Ghent ! Thine was the stern rebuke that to that wicked Queen was sent ! Thy fierce revolt had wakened up but slow- ly through the land. But when it struck, the blow was dealt as with an iron hand ! 28 Philippe lost all his Barons upon that fate- ful day, And the Holy Father cursed him, and the Bishops fell away ; And Courtrai taught a lesson worth the pon- dering of a King — Beware how you disturb our hives, for work- ing bees can sting ! 29 THE BURNING ALIVE OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAK. At Paris, a. d. 1314. Through the Christian realms there went forth the cry, " The accursed Paynim bear rule and sway In the Holy Land where our Lord did die. O'er the sepulchre where his body lay ; — The Moslem are trampling our sacred things; Arouse, Oh nations, and arm. Oh Kings ! " From cot and castle, from bourg and court. Swarmed forth crusaders, pious and brave. By myriads they marched, and prayed and fought. The Land of the Cross to redeem and save; And they won back by valor the sacred sod, Where Solomon builded the temple of God. 30 Where the crucified Saviour's body had lain The Templar Knights were guards of the tomb, Till the hosts of the Moslem prevailed again, And the Christian Kingdom sank to its doom ; For it seemed good in the sight of the Lord That the land should revert to the Infidel horde. The Templar Knights, from their Palestine driven, Brought back their scanty and shattered bands ; Their prayers the poor to their aid had given. The rich had given them manors and lands; And great and wealthy their Order became And hate and envy attended its fame. For Europe was suffering, and gaunt with, despair. With greed and ambition its rulers were drunk, 31 Its towns were in ruins, its acres were bare, And all were in want but the Jew and the monk ; So the Pope and the King, in the depth of their need, To divide the spoil of the Templars agreed. Horrible things to their charge were brought, Sorcery, sodomy, heresies. Fiendish rites by the demons taught, Self-absolution, and blasphemies : And Clement and Philip their conscience ap- peased, By having both Templars and treasure seized. Crippled and crushed, from their torture den. With broken joint and dismembered frame, Twisted and racked out of shape of men, Before the tribunal the Templars came. 32 Kevoking what paltry and shameful lies Were wrung from their lips by their ag- onies. The sickening tale of their awful doom, Dragged by the score to a death of fire, Is told by the scribe of a rare old tome Who saw the last of the Templars expire: With them died Knighthood, its romance and pride ; With them the age of the Crusades died. When the Grand Master the charges repelled. And made to the Holy Father appeal, King Philip his manly protest quelled And hastened his fiery fate to seal : The Parliament gardens were wide and fair. And he burned the Master to ashes there. From the seething flames came a summons loud, In the voice of the sufferer, Jacques Molay — 33 " Ho, Pontiff the mighty, ho, King the proud, I summon ye both, ere a year pass away, For avarice, cruelty, crime, to atone. Meet me, and answer, before God's throne!" Then Philip's sister and his wicked Queen Both died, and their deaths were a mys- tery ; Then the awful shame of his daughters was seen ; Then, suddenly, Philip himself did die ; And Clement's abandoned corpse long lay XJnburied; — all, ere a year passed away ! 34 THE EXILE OF PIETER DU BOIS FROM GHENT. A. D. 1386. "The Duke has pardoned our noble Ghent, He will not fail of his knightly word ; Faith with the town is surely meant; 'Tis won by treaty, and not by sword." To Pieter Du Bois thus Atreman spake ; Gallantly each had fought for the town, Vainly, for Ghent must submission make. And the great city was quieted down. " For me," said Pieter, " I trust him not ; Pardon is naught but a spoken word ; The Duke our warfare has not forgot ; Commons never can trust a lord. 35 " I am a man of but lowly birth, Freely for Ghent have I risked my life ; Dear to me is this spot of earth, Dearer are freedom, and child, and wife. " I will go to the Council straight, My frank request it will not withstand, I will ask for an exile's fate, For leave to dwell in a foreign land." So Pieter sailed to a stranger shore, Safely escaping with life and limb. His kin, his goods, his fortune he bore ; But Atreman tarried — they murdered him! 36 THE LOEDS OF MAESTRICHT. A. D. 1400. The Liege Bishop and the Duke of Brabant Together have governed our Maestricht town, Both can be rulers, but one of them can't. They have two heads, but they wear but one crown. For one lord is no lord, And two lords but one lord. Een heer — geen heer, Twen heeren — een heer ! When the Bishop is absent, the Duke can- not act, When the Duke is away, the Bishop is naught, If perchance the two an agreement have lacked, (As is often the case), confusion is wrought. 37 For one lord is no lord, And two lords but one lord. Een heer — geen heer, Twen heeren — een heer! 38 HOW ARNOLD BEILING DIED. A. D. 1424 Brave old Arnold Beiling ! My very soul is stirred, As I read in ancient story, How lie kept his plighted word. The Hooks had been besieging The old Schoonhoven Fort, Defended by some nobles, And some of the baser sort ; And when at last it yielded, Though hot from recent strife. The nobles spared the nobles. And granted grace and life. Chief of the burgher party, Arnold, they would not spare ; The sins of his associates, Arnold alone must bear ; 39 And him alone their vengeance Would of his life deprive, And they passed the dreadful sentence To bury him alive. Pale, but with resolution, He asked for brief delay, To embrace his friends and kindred, Until a certain day. Such the man's faith and courage That they allowed him free. For they knew his promise sacred. Without a surety. Upon the day appointed, Before the sun was high. Calmly returned old Arnold, And yielded him to die. Naught but a simple burgher, Without a titled name, Yet where is King or noble But would envy him his fame ? 40 THE DAYS OF THE DUKES OF BUK- GUNDY. A. D. 1419—1477. In the days of Philip and Charles the Bold, Such extravagance reigned as cannot be told. Rich were the Netherlands, reckless were they, And their flaunt of magnificence shamed the day: With a profligate suite and a crowded court. Days given to feastings and nights to sport, A gorgeous display within palace walls, Of jewels, and costumes, and jousts and balls. Where a thousand fashions the sovereign would set. And courtiers follow, though crippled with debt. When Philip was sick, and his head must shave. An order that all must be shaven, he gave. And five hundred noblemen, little and big, Employed each a barber, and bought each a wig. 41 It was boasted that bo other ruler could wring From his people an income befitting a King. Did the Duke visit Paris? all Paris, agape, Was crazed o'er his costumes and charmed with his shape : His horses, his table, his equipage fine, Court ladies decided to be just divine. He seemed, as by the old scribe 'tis ex- pressed. Of an inexhaustible treasure possessed. How did the realm such expenses bear ? How did the commoner classes fare ? The people were laboring with right good wills ; The winds turned the sails of a thousand mills ; Each acre, reclaimed from the Northern Sea, Was tilled with a patient industry ; And myriads of cattle rich pastures found On the waving fields of the rescued ground, 42 The forges roared and the ship yards rang, And with tireless humming the cloth looms sang; A thousand trade ships explored every sea, And the land was as busy as it could be. Each burgher good in the Netherlands Worked, honest and well, with his head and hands, And, living on Industry's well-earned wage, Was a notable man in that idle Age. The rest of Europe was suffering and sad, But each Dutchman an air of jollity had, The rest of Europe was wretched and poor. But plenty sat at each Dutchman's door ; The rest of Europe was ruled by the sword Of the tyrant King, or the robber lord ; And the plains of Europe scant harvests could yield, For the peasants were swept to the battle field, (Where knights, clad in armor from heel to crown, Courageously rode naked yeomen down ; ) 43 And whatever tlie laboring hind might make The gentry, by right of their birth, might take : But the Dutchman was ruled by his equals and mates, And his laws were made by his own Estates. The rest of Europe had little of skill, For the commons were taught but to ravage and kill, And man upon man heaped unuttered woes, Who no quarrel had with his so-called foes. The rest of Europe knew little of art, Of a building plan or a mariner's chart ; While the Dutchman reared church and pal- ace and hall, With pinnacle, tower and steeple tall. Whose lofty arches and porticoes wide. Proved the architect's skill and the citizens' pride ; And dykes, and bridges, and roads and canals. And high and defiant city walls. u With impartial palette the Dutchman could paint The revel of boor or the rapture of saint, And his matchless pictures will always be found Wherever the lovers of art abound. While the rest of Europe was filled with alarm, The Dutchman remained without fear of harm; While the rest of Europe was chilled by the storm, The Dutchman's houses were dry and warm; While the rest of Europe in rags was clad. The Dutchman furs and thick woolens had ; While the rest of Europe was scanty of food. The Dutchman had plenty, both cheap and good; The German feasted on hogs and dried geese, The Englishman fattened on tripe and cheese. The Spaniard swaggered on garlic and bread. The Italian upon maccaroni was fed. 45 But the Dutchman, who sailed the ocean through, All manner of fish from its bosom drew, And f)n the canals one had very poor luck, Who could not for dinner have a roast duck. With rabbits his barrenest sandhills teemed, And clouds of wild fowl in inlets screamed ; Dutch beeves were famous for size and fat, And pigeons in clouds upon rooftrees sat : And every root and fruit that was known. Each kitchen garden could call its own. While the rest of Europe was empty and starved, Tlie Dutchman his ample dinner carved, Nor failed to bring, from the banks of the Rhine, Or Burgundy hill sides, the choicest of wine. True, there were outrages weighty and sad, AVhich the Dutch from the Dukes of Bur- gundy had. The money drain of those feudal chiefs, To their thrifty souls were perpetual griefs ; 46 But the obstinate burghers rarely paid Their taxes unless some grievance was stayed ; More independent in their walled towns, Than Philip or Charles, who wore ducal crowns. Did the prince want cash ? the cash he could find, The moment some charter or franchise was signed. And glad were the Dukes to barter such grants. For means to tide over their frequent wants; And shrewd and wise in their peaceful might Were the burghers, who cheaper could buy than fight. So dealt they with Philip and Charles the Bold, And won their freedom by patience and gold. 47 HOW BURGUNDY GOT LUXEM- BOURG. A. D. 14G2. Said Louis the King to the Seigneur Chinay, " Your Duke of Bourgogne gives me trouble each day, In what does he differ from other lords That he vexes my patience with peevish words ? Is he made of other metal, that he Should thus presume with impunity ? " Said the Seigneur Chinay to Louis the King, " The Duke is a very different thing From the holiday lords who in swarms re- sort To your Royal Majesty's gilded court ; Of another metal he surely is made. For of Kings of France he was never afraid. " There was a desperate day, long since. When a French King exiled his son, a Prince, 48 • And a certain Duke the exile received, His cause sustained and his state retrieved ; That Duke could none but my master be, And that exiled Prince was — Your Majesty !" The wise King heeded the bold rebuke, And Luxembourg gave to his friend, the Duke. 49 CHARLES OF GUELDERLAND. A. D. 1500. Old Duke Arnold of Guelderland, With a palsied tongue and a shaking hand, Sold to Burgundy's Duke his crown, — But the money agreed on was not paid down. Duke Arnold died without getting the cash, Which showed his bargain with Burgundy rash ; But Burgundy, doffing his gauntlets and helm, Imperial homage did for the realm. The usurper, further pursuing his game. Bought the Berg and Juliers outlawed claim. And, with a force they could not withstand. Subjected the freemen of Guelderland. But soon he lay in a gory bed, And his daughter Mary reigned in his stead ; And Mary confirmed all the charters old. For love of the people, or gift of their gold, 50 And new ones granted to town and state, That their vested rights might never abate. But Mary fell from her horse and died, So fell the Burgundy power and pride ! And Philip was Count of Holland, and he Also would Duke of Guelderland be. Old Duke Arnold a grandson had left. Who of his dukedom appeared bereft, But, brave as a lion and shrewd as a fox, Charles Van Egmond dealt in hard knocks. Or in subtle craft, as the case might demand. And soon he was master of Guelderland. Sad to think of the maimed and dead. Of the blood so freely, so uselessly shed ; Sad to picture the ruin and waste The works of labor and art effaced, The burning town and the murderous field, The besieged, who slowly to famine yield, The war on the helpless, the deeds of shame, Which heroes denominate glory and fame ; The eye grows dim and the heart beats with pain, In reviewing these horrors over again. 51 And all these miseries, losses and fears, The land endured for full fifty years. Little of mercy had Charles, be sure, For starving peasant and homeless boor, For power and rank in that hapless time Were the prizes of cruelty, craft and crime. So, with the aid of Frenchmen and Dane, He reddened full many a battle plain, With his people's blood, for what he could call His rights — though they had no rights at alL At Amsterdam's gates his banners flew And seas and rivers his cruisers knew, On ocean and land he made equal war, 'Gainst the Spanish king and the emperor, (For Philip the Count, in his turn, was dead, And Carlos reigned in his father's stead :) Friesland he took with his own good sword, And Groeningen acknowledged him lord, And Friedrich, Bishop of Utrecht, his friend, Both carnal and spiritual aid could lend. 52 Next, being by popular feeling so backed, The Hague he captured and terribly sacked. And Charles Van Egmond of Guelderland Was the popular idol throughout the land. But Holland aroused when the Hague was burned, And swiftly and sternly the tide had turned, And Charles was so soon of his spoils bereft. That he had nothing but Guelderland left ; Yet half a century wasted in war Had given him never a hurt nor a scar ! His people, praying that war would cease. Denied his demands and insisted on peace, And Guelderland was not slow to refuse As a ruler the King of France to choose. Lost were his conquests and fallen his pride. And with broken heart the veteran died. Long has his name, or alive or dead, Been dreaded because of the blood he shed, Yet Charles, on behalf of Guelderland, broke The detested weight of a foreign yoke : And many a monarch with lesser claims The pen of History a hero names. 53 CHAELES QUINT IN HIS CBADLE. A. D. 1500. Watching a baby's cradle, Soft as the summer wind blows Imperial Margot of Flanders Sings, as she watches, and sews. Who is the infant that slumbers ? Son of Philip the Fair, Son of Juana the Foolish, 'Tis he who lies sleeping there. Womanlike wonders the watcher What his fortunes shall be. Heir to mighty dominions, Continents, isles of the sea ; Grandson of Burgundy's Mary, Of Isabella of Spain, Who shall measure his empire, Who can limit his reign? 54 Soft and blithe is her singing, For how can she read his fate ? Know the curse of his power, Grieve that it is so great ? Foresee the time when his reason Under the load shall have sunk, Till he flee from human contact. To die the death of a monk? Not in the thoughts of the watcher Such dark fancies abide. But her woman-love for an infant, And her Austrian princess' pride And in the summer breezes Sews she, and sings with glee. Proud that the boy in the cradle, Master of millions must be. 55 THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY DELUGE. A. D. 1524. In the days that we now call the Middle Ages There were no philosophers, very few sages, But plenty of clericals, soldiers and lords, Plenty astrologers— all of them frauds. There were horoscopes cast, and really be- lieved in, Prophecies uttered — to be deceived in; People then credited all they were told, Needless to say that they often got sold ; And the strangest deception the histories own As the Sixteenth Century Deluge is known. A much learned Dutchman, Steffler by name, Should be handed down to immortal fame. By investigation this man had found That the human race would again be drowned, 56 In the year, as revealed by his magic lore, Of fifteen hundred and twenty-four. That the world its peril might understand The announcement was made known to every land. And all were advised to be wise and wary For the flood would be due in February. Nor did he fail of a calculation To account for the frightful precipitation ; A conjunction of Jupiter, Saturn and Mars Would be the caper cut out by the stars, In the sign of the Fishes — the very quarter To which you would look for plenty of water. Throughout the Low Countries spread great alarm : What should men do to be saved from harm? Many proposed bad acquaintance to drop And betake themselves to some steeple top, Others began long-deferred repenting. While others gave themselves to lamenting. Husbands rejoiced that their wives could not swim. And wives said, " drowning is too good for him ! " 57 And the very few wlio expressed a doubt By sneers and reproaches were put to rout. Yet some there were, unlike the rest, Who, having some cash they wished to in- vest, And in the delusion taking no stock, Set coolly to work to shear the whole flock. For the mass were ready and eager to sell, And sellers came seeking the buyers, pell- mell, Till the whole population, with terror mad, Sold out at dead loss almost all they had. Up went the cost of tarpaulin clothes. And the price of salted provisions rose ; Boat builders came into great demand, And were eagerly sought for on every hand ; And every craft that could sail or swim Was engaged for passengers up to the brim. Even a savage with a rude canoe Would have been welcomed with much ado. 58 A revival of knowledge the epoch marks, For men rediscovered how to build arks. One, who'd determined he would not drown, Was a wealthy burgher of Amsterdam town, One Vandervoort, whose yacht was so great That he was considered proof against fate; So filled with comforts and luxuries rare That Noah's ark could in nothing compare. January slowly glided along, One could purchase a village for a mere song; And careful observers, watching the sky, Remarked that it was unusually dry. The deluge would come, people said, that was plain, For the clerk of the weather was storing up rain. February arrived ; still the sun shone bright. But the popular agony rose to its height; The churches were crowded; all hastened to pray. Except the boat builders, who worked night and day. 59 It was hard to decide which engrossed the most cares, The building of boats or the saying of prayers ; Yet, day by day, as the month hurried by, Perpetual sunshine poured from the sky. That year was a leap year, the calendar says. And the second month had twenty-nine days; Yet, while all Holland with panic was cowed, Not one of the twenty-nine brought forth a cloud ! Not a drop of rain nor a flake of snow Fell from the skies to the earth below, Although the conjunction duly took place. And clouds of dismay were on Steffler's face. 'Twas a blow to the whole soothsayer race, Who since have been held in deserved dis- grace. 60 But the loss, by the deluge which did not come, Was great to many and total to some ; For, having invested in boats and arks, They had nothing now but these useless barks, And multitudes were so wholly bereft That nothing at all but their lives was left ; But, having escaped from a watery fate, Like Noah, the Dutchmen could celebrate ! 61 COMMISSIONEE SMYTER AT HOORN. A. D. 1550. Complaint was made by Father Dirck, That heresy did foully lurk Within the town of Hoorn, and so The Council sought the facts to know, And sent Commissioner Smyter. The burgomaster of the town, Fearing the mighty Council's frown. Conceived a most consummate plan To pacify this dangerous man. This same Commissioner Smyter. The town authorities went out. Accompanied by the burghers stout, Encountered him upon his road, And most respectful courtesy showed, Which pleased Commissioner Smyter, 62 Escorted into Hoorn, they fain Their worthy guest would entertain, And long and loud the revel roared, That night, around the generous board Where supped Commissioner Smyter. At last, when broke the rosy morn, And the sun's beams the town adorn. Commissioner Smyter was — well, drunk ! And so was carried to his bunk, A tired Commissioner Smyter. That day came many a snijfifling saint 'Gainst other men to make complaint, But the Commissioner was deep In the embrace of a sound sleep, So slept Commissioner Smyter. No sooner did they Smyter rouse Than there began a fresh carouse, And the Commissioner, full and fed, Went from his table to his bed. So went Commissioner Smyter. 63 Then each great burgher took his turn, And gave their guest a chance to learn Hoorn's hospitality, and he Passed every night in revelry — So did Commissioner Smyter. And so, for seven mortal days, Secluded from the common gaze. He was to all petitions blind. Nor could the sour complainants find The lost Commissioner Smyter. The day arrived when he must leave, Whereat the town professed to grieve. And one more rousing feast was made. To throw all others in the shade, And throw Commissioner Smyter. When Smyter mounted on his horse, And tore himself away by force. They really had to stay him up To take his parting stirrup-cup, So reeled Commissioner Smyter. 64 Back to the Council Smyter went Olaimmg that Hoorn did well repent ; Such men on pious duties set, Such godly men, he ne'er had met, Said good Commissioner Smyter. He flat denied to Dirck's own face That a heretic was in the place; And as his story well appeared Old Hoorn was from the charges cleared, Thanks to Commissioner Smyter. 65 CHIRLES V. AND THE SIEGE OF METZ. A. D. 1552. The Kaiser Karl is miglity and proud, The sun on his empire never sets, And his wrath was high and his vow was vowed To retake tlie valiant city of Metz. Master of Mexico and of Peru, Of mountains of treasure beyond the sea, Yet with empty coffers, lie humbly drew A loan from Cosmo de Medici. Splendid and strong, Ms warlike array Had marched, at the Emperor's word, to seize The town which snug by its towers lay. Where flew tbe flag of the Duke of Guise. 66 And now at tlie end of seventy days, With nearly half of his army slain, The Kaiser resolves the siege to raise, And Metz breathes freely and safe again. And he defeated ! of millions the lord, Of slaves and subjects of every hue, With broken army and broken sword, Brave Metz has broken his spirit too. They say his words are sullen and few, That his glance is vague and his brain for- gets, That his family madness came to view At his luckless siege of the citv of Metz. They say he intends a last retreat From a world whose greatness is dross and dust, That he may his daily prayers repeat And sing his anthems at lone St. Just. 67 VIVENT LES GUEUX! (Hurrah for the Beggars !) A. D. 1566. In Kuitemberg palace the revel was high, The Lord Breclenrode gave banquet that night, And what rank could furnish, or treasure could buy Shone brilliant and proud beneath flood- ings of light. And crowds of the reckless young nobles were there. Who squandered their rentals on tables of chance, And graybeards, who lived an old age of despair. Since fortune on graybeards looks ever askance. 68 And some were insolvent, and all were in debt, Some hated the Regent, some hated the law. And some upon change and disturbance were set, And all were discordant, impatient and sore. Their "Noble's Petition" to Margaret had prayed That worship be free from the axe, stake and cord ; But Margaret the Regent her answer del-ayed. And while she debated, they revelled and roared. Then up rose a spokesman; " O, have ye not learned What words to the Regent Count Barlai- mont said, When she our petition half welcomed, half spurned, And at its bold language blushed sudden- ly red, 69 " Then trembled, and stammered, in anger and fear. And the woman revealed in the puppet of state ? Then Barlaimont whispered soft words in her ear — ' These are but as beggars who swarm at your gate ! ' " Broke forth a loud jeer from the throat of each guest ; "Long life to the Beggars !" was shouted and said, And Brussels at midnight was startled from rest, And turned every slumbering burgher in bed. " The Beggars!" by that modest name are they known, With it they will live, and for it they will die. Long life to the Beggars ! The King on his throne, Shall tremble and shrink at that ominous cry! 70 THE THREE ORANGES. A. D. 1568— Hd47. William the Silent was hero and ssi^e, The hope of his people, the stay of the State, And, far in advance of his bigoted age. His tolerance stamped him deservedly great; The fame of story, the praises of song, To the martyr prince as of right belong. Maurice of Orange was selfish and fierce. In youth over gay, but in age severe, No plea for pity his bosom could pierce He knew no mercy, and felt no fear : His vices he vailed 'neath Religion's hood, And he stained his name with Barneveldt's blood. 71 Frederick Henry, the third of the race, The second of William's sons who ruled, Had ne'er a thought but for power and place, And his people alternately bullied and fooled. Thus the great hero shall live in his fame, With his sons' ill deeds remembered with shame. 72 THE RESCUE OF LEYDEN. A. D. 1574. Five months^ the cruel Spaniards lay Beleaguering Leyden's wall, Within, grim famine held its sway, Portending Leyden's fall. Long since, upon our first alarm, We swore to never yield, While a single famine-wasted arm Could any weapon wield. Starvation was our direst foe — No flesh, no fish, no corn — And weakness checked each earnest blow, And made defense forlorn. Though every house with dead was filled, And every street ran blood, The most who died were hunger-killed, Their last words, " Give us food ! " 73 Our loved ones starved before our eyes- Parent, and child, and wife — More hapless who from hunger dies, Than he who falls in strife. Still no relief : all hope we lose, When, in these desperate straits, Our carrier pigeons bring us news From the Council of the States : — " The dykes are cut, and on the flood Two hundred vessels ride ; To bring you men, and arms, and food, They wait but wind and tide." Still blew the bitter North-east gale, And, adverse, swept the coast, We could discern nor mast nor sail Of the relieving host. Hour after hour that wind prevailed — East to North-east its range — It seemed our promised hope had failed, We ne'er should see it change ! 74 At last! the vane lias veered around, And with tremendous roar, High surging o'er the level ground The ocean's waters pour. The sea, as though in haste and wrath, Sweeps onward in its might, O'erbears the Spaniards in its path ' Or scatters them in flight ; And, riding on the crested wave, A cloud of ships we see Press onward, Leyden town to snve In its extremity. Close to our walls their course is stayed, There moor they, safe and free, For Leyden is an island made, Girt with a boundless sea. Leyden is saved ! the rescuing hosts Can best the tale relate. How like we were to pallid ghosts Who opened Leyden's gate. 75 PHILIP'S SOLILOQUY ON HIS BROTHER. A. D. 1578. Of England you would be King, Don John, And fancied you could betray me ! But I will punish your plotting, Don John, For the spy and poisoner obey me. To England's queen you've made love, Don John, Tour ambition from duty wanders ! And her royal favor to move, Don John, You have offered her Spanish Flanders ! A skillful agent I'll send, Don John, Who will of a brother bereave me, And bring your plots to an end, Don John: So perish all who deceive me. 76 SONG OF THE ARTISANS OF ANTWERP. A. D. 1580. Free artisans we, who no master own, We safely dwell in our guarded town, We kneel at the foot of no earthly throne, And tremble before no tyrant's frown. Our walls are kept with good watch and ward. Our schepens' patrol any riot would quell, And our trained battalions of burgher guard Are roused at the tap of the stadt huis bell. Our craft-guilds settle our labor's price. That an equal stipend each workman may draw, The young woik under the elders' advice, And our hours of labor are fixed by law. 77 Our votes are our own, our Council to choose. And he would be a fool and a dolt, Who dared our chartered rights to refuse. And risk the protest of stern revolt. Proud are we of each lofty spire. Of our city's towers and church's dome. But prouder far that each can acquire A happy spot he can call a home. The tramp of thousands of hurrying feet. Steadily plodding, each morn and night, Reechoes loud on the busy street. And the men who labor can also fight! 78 THE SPANISH SOLDIEE. (From the Spanish.) 16th Century. Long shall the page of history tell of the Spanish invader, Of Netherland cities the scourge, of Nether- land coffers the raider ; If Philip delay my pay, he does not forbid me to plunder, And to leave these rebels their wealth would be a palpable blunder. Wo to the high-walled city, when we under- take the leaguer; Wo to the rich, fat burghers, if the spoil be scant and meager ; When women and children are shrieking, and men for mercy are roaring, As over the ruined ramparts our disciplined phalanx is pourirg! 79 Our captain, Alva, commanding, this stub- born people subduing, Calls eacli Spanish soldier to rise and be ac- tive and doing ; To every Dutchman a foe, to every Dutch lass a lover, "With a sword thrust ready for one, and a kiss and embrace for the other. 80 THE FLESHEES OF ANTWEEP. A. D. 1584. Peaceful feed at Bergen twice ten thousand cattle, While from Antwerp rises fierce the din of battle, Euddj runs the Scheldt with the stains of slaughter, Parma's Spaniards never give nor ask for quarter ! Peaceful feed the oxen, slow their cuds a chewing. While around the town the devil's work is doing, Where each Antwerp artisan is a brave de- fender, Eich men flee, but poor men dare not to sur- render. Peaceful feed the oxen, 'mid the thyme and daisy, Mid the growing grasses waxing fat and lazy. While their city owners loudly are out- spoken, As the burgomaster urged the dykes be broken. " Why break down the dykes, why set the sea in motion. Flooding Bergen pastures with the rushing ocean? All our fattening beeves will for food be needed. And the fleshers' protest, shall it be unheed- ed? "Strong are Antwerp's walls, brave are Antwerp's freemen. We have need of neither Zeeland's fleet nor seamen; 82 On our good roast viands well onr troops are faring, And these starving Spaniards must depart despairing." Evil was the hour when, such advice, pre- vailing. Saved the dykes, but filled the proud old town with wailing; Antwerp now has fallen — more's the shame and pity ! And proud Parma lords it over field and city. 83 THE TRAGEDY AT DELFT. (Assassination of William of Orange.") A. D. 1584. In the Museum, at the Hague, is seen An ancient fire-arm, with two bullets nigh, You ask, what may these rusty relics mean? And the custodian, reverent, makes reply: " These were the agents of an awful crime, The tale whereof endureth through all time." Armed with this weapon, Balthazar Gerard, With Philip's ducats heavy in his purse, Journeyed to Delft from Burgundy afar, To earn his title to a nation's curse; And hid himself beside a certain wall, Where the grand staircase leaves the din^ ing hall. 84 A ringing shot, a fall, a rush, a scream, The deadly charge with fatal aim has sped, Slow trickles down the steps a crimson stream, William of Orange slumbers with the dead! These are the bullets through his heart that passed, When Philip gained his mean revenge at last. The title of a martyr he may claim : From royal rank and title saved by fate, Uncrowned he died, and left a patriot's name. As the first citizen of a free state ! His fame shall flourish until time shall end. His people's leader and his people's friend! 85 GEESHAM'S DEAFT ON GENOA. A. D. 1587. In London town one Greslaam plied his trade, An Englisli merchant, dealing far and wide In goods and wares by foreign countries made, And which to English markets he supplied; A man imbued with patriotic pride, Shrewd in his dealings, mighty in his wealth; A school he built, and an exchange beside. And did what good he could, and not by stealth. At the Escurial lived that cruel King, Whom history names Philip, King of Spain, Passing a long bad life in compassing 111 to his fellow men, and woe and pain To those he called his subjects; for his brain Evolved but plans of bigotry and hate. And he ruled by the sword and rack and chain, Yet failed to subjugate the Holland State. 86 Now Philip, plotting harm to all the world, And much enraged by many a sore defeat Since Holland's flag was on the seas un- furled Resolved upon a great and startling feat. And caused to be prepared a mighty fleet, Calling his soldiers out of many lands. Who at the Spanish ports should quickly meet. And sail for Albion's cliffs and Holland's sands. The old world gave him myriads of brave men, The new world filled his coffers with her gold, For Spain was mistress of the Indies then. Her sailors skillful and her soldiers bold, Her ships equipped with all that they could hold Of provender and engines of fierce war ; Churchmen had blessed and soothsayers foretold A crowning victory for Philip's star. 87 Now Genoa was the centre of exchange, And Philip kept his moneys there in store ; For, as his varying purposes did change, France, Flanders, Italy, by turns he tore. Upheaving Europe to its very core With civil wars; and for convenience, there His ready funds were, whether less or more: And so, it chanced, the merchant Gresham's were. At Cadiz gathered crowds of Spanish craft, The news through Europe ran with ready fame; Then Gresham drew on Genoa a draft For all the gold his balances could claim, Which drained the banks and thwarted Philip's game. For the King's drafts most pitifully fared ; Six months elapsed before his money came. And Holland for the struggle was prepared. 88 QUEEN ELIZABETH AEEAIGNED. A. D. 1588. And now has Queen Elizabeth Again broke out in rage, Unbecoming to her station, And indecent at her age ; Of course 'tis her misfortune That she is growing old, But surely 'tis her own fault That she becomes a scold. She sent her lover, Leicester. With promise of support. He brought us many pompous airs. But nothing else he brought: Besure, he had some soldiers, But they did the foe no hurt. For they had the alternative To starve, or to desert. 89 Of the Irish that she sent us, 8he wanted to be rid, And her swaggering English footmen No service to ns did: And of her earls, and lords, and knights, Our people sore complain, For they idled, and they revelled, And they sold our towns to Spain. And all the while Her Majesty, Our freedom to betray, With Philip and with Parma, Has been treating day by day: But all her secret plottings. With these congenial mates, Thanks to our careful watchings. Have been known to our Estates. Now everything, with blasphemy, And imprecations high, This Queen has the audacity To publicly deny: 90 All Europe has her faithlessness Most clearly seen and felt, And her boisterous tongue could never Deceive old Barneveldt. Our envoys, sent to England, Her abuse has never spared; Now the great Armada, coming. Finds her but half prepared. For us, our ships are ready . And bide the approaching host, And, careless of her queenly spite, Will guard our Holland coast. 91 THE SUEKENDER OF DEVENTEK A. D. 1591. It was old Herman Yandenberg, tipsy and vain, Who lield Deventer for Philip of Spain, And swore that while he a weapon could wield, He never to Maurice the city would yield; Yet the City of Deventer In ten days did surrender. For the Spaniard's distrust and the Dutch- men's hate Had placed traitor Herman in desperate strait; The one his fidelity loudly accused, And to yield to the other he sternly refused; Yet the City of Deventer In ten days did surrender. 92 In the breach, of the wall, by day and by night, Just able to stand on his legs and fight, "With a glass in one hand, in the other his sword. As brave as a lion and drunk as a lord; Yet the City of Deventer In ten days did surrender. And when Vorst Maurice his mines had sunk. The town surrendered, with old Herman drunk; His vaunts and his threatenings were held in disdain. And Deventer became a Dutch town again. For the City of Deventer In ten days did surrender. 93 PHILIP'S HATRED. A. D. 1598. Deep and bitter was Philip's hate, For those who dwelled in the Netherlands, Yet — so perverse and stern was fate — We despised his power and escaped his hands. He hated us because we were free. Because he never could be our King, For to him the assertion of liberty Was a most unholy, infamous thing. He hated us for our faith and creed. And doomed us all, in his pious wrath. At the stake to burn, by the axe to bleed, To be crushed as an insect in his path. But not to man does the issue belong Of the follies wrought by his hate and pride; He lived to see us grow great and strong. And his heart was broken — and so he died. 94 THE BATTLE OF TIEL. A. D. 1600. Vorst Maurice marched across Brabant, The Cardinal Archduke to taunt: Eight hundred men he took along; The King's troops were two thousand strong, Victors on many a hard-fought plain, Veterans of many a long campaign. In Brabant, on the heath of Tiel, With the Archduke's force we crossed our steel; Soon, mute in death, their bravest lie. And the remainder wildly fly, Spaniards, Italians, Walloons, all, Before our onset flee or fall. Though swift did the survivors run, We captured nearly every one — 95 Five hundred prisoners in a row, The value of our victory show; Vorst Maurice wrote to the Archduke then, For he was apt with sword or pen: "There comes report of your commands. To spare no lives of rebel bands. And I must know if this be true, That I may do as you will do." No word the Archduke deigned reply; Vorst Maurice bade his prisoners die. Then we prepared five hundred graves. And ropes to hang five hundred knaves; But, in the hour they deemed their last, Lo! came a courier, speeding fast. And letters to Vorst Maurice brought. Wherein was the reply he sought: " No such an order have I made, Nor on my soul such sin have laid; 96 I pray you, then, to ransom hold Your prisoners, till I send the gold; And let us now a compact make That both will quarter give and take." So Brabant, ruined, plundered, poor. Must one exaction more endure, And must a heavy ransom give. For those who on her vitals live; But since that day the war has been More worthy brave and Christian men. 97 KLAASZOON'S POWDER MAGAZINE. A. D. 1606. Our valiant Rear Admiral, Reiquier Klaas- zoon, All alone, near Cape Vincent, was able to count Five galleons approaching, one early fore- noon. And each bore more guns than old Klaas- zoon could mount. But his decks are soon cleared for the un- equal fight: To their guns his sixty good mariners stand; When down bore the Spaniards — that gal- lant old Knight, Don Luis de Fasciardo, in command. 98 '' Strike, dog of a Dutchman, that insolent flag; Each officer promptly prepare him to die : Tour sailors to slave in our galleys we'll drag ! " A broadside was sturdy old Klaaszoon's reply. He fought two long summer days, one against five, 'Till every one living was wounded, on board, And scarce half a score of his men left alive. And none but he able to wield pike or sword. " The good ship is sinking, my brave fellows all, Our last gun is silenced, and struck our last blow; Let us fire our magazine, rather than fall In the hands of a hated and triumphing foe!" 99 A faiut cheer replied from the slippery deck, Where mangled forms quivered in death's agony: Klaaszoon seized a match — and the stagger- ing wreck In fragments was strewn on the waves of the sea. Forever remembered, beloved and revered. Shall our brave old Admiral's memory be: His name and his fate to his land are en- deared, For he died that the land which he loved might be free ! 100 DISCOVEKY OF THE NIEUW NEDER- LAND BY HENDRICK HUDSON. A. D. 1609. O, brave old Hendrick Hudson, bold ex- plorer of tlie Nortli ! Through seas beset by storm and ice he traveled back and forth, Seeking abroad the fame and gain one's country oft denies. He to a foreign land had brought his skill and enterprise. At the rich port of Amsterdam the English- man arrived Where every risk was ventured and every venture thrived. Brave old Hendrick Hudson! Our war with cruel Spain, which cost such floods of blood and tears, Had been suspended by a truce, to last a dozen years. 101 And the Dutch East India Company had every effort made, In many a distant land to seek returns of peaceful trade. So on the Amsterdam Exchange it promptly chanced that he Was hired by the Company again to tempt the sea. Brave old Hendrick Hudson! 'Twas on the sixth of April, in his yacht, the Half Moon good. He at the Texel squared his sails and to the Westward stood. But half July was gone before his little ves- sel lay In a Gulf of North America, now called Pe- nobscot Bay, And, in view of boastful claims since made, it is a trifle odd. That he was the first of white men who ever saw Cape Cod. Brave old Hendrick Hudson! 102 Then, in his saucy little eraft, he skirted all the shore, And looked upon an empire no man had found before; As far as Henlopen and May he ventured to the South, And then returning entered a broad river at its mouth; He traced the mighty Hudson from its sour- ces to the sea, And while its stately current runs his name shall honored be. Brave old Hendrick Hudson! Then hail to Hendrick Hudson, the merry old sea-dog, Who never blenched from storm or tide, from tempest or from fog, A mariner who trimmed his sails and took his glass of grog, And a capital good trencherman at provender and prog; As brave and true a seaman as ever kept a log, And a discoverer who has set old Europe all agog! Brave old Hendrick Hudson! 103 THE BROWNISTS IN HOLLAND. A. D. 1604—1620. Some English Brownists — Eobinson, Smith, Johnson and Ainsworth, and some others — Set themselves down in Amsterdam, And scarce behaved like Christian brothers. A separatist church they framed. An absolutely fresh and new one. Which, most complacently they claimed, Should be the sole correct and true one. But, falling together by the ears. They passed their time in strife and wrang- ling, And scandalized our peaceful Dutch With shameful quarrelling and Jangling; 104 For on his brother and his sire Johnson laid excommunication, And doomed them to eternal fire, With requisite vituperation. Ainsworth to Johnson did the same, With all formalities required, Johnson the favor quick returned, With a promptness that was much admired. Vainly our preachers sought to stay The fearful war among them raging. And vainly to our guests did pray They'd cease the combat they were waging. So that their church was scattered; then Smith took a new idea surprising. Became an Anabaptist, and Determined upon self-baptizing. His conscience could not fix on one To dip him, so, with all disgusted. He plunged into a pond alone As though none but himself he trusted. 105 Now Robinson, sole preacher left, Hied him to Leyden, where, more rational, He organized his exile church. Which bears the name of Congregational, But Holland's soil contented not These people, nor their bold exhorter, And Robinson two ships has got And they have sailed across the water. 106 THE ENGLISH PUEITANS AT LEYDEN: A. D. 1620. Tliese Brownist English exiles who to our town have come, Who censure all the rest of us and deem themselves so pure, With countenances lengthy and with utter- ances glum, Have more peculiar notions than our peo- ple can endure. Because of their Reformed faith we gave them cordial cheer, And welcomed every Puritan as fellow, guest and friend, But ere they had sojourned with us a quarter of a year, We saw that their fault-findings were truly without end. 107 They are scandalized extremely by the music and the dance In which our youth and children take an innocent delight, With direful exclamations and sour looks askance They turn away in pious indignation from the sight. And they appear, moreover, very much dis- satisfied With the way in which we Hollanders ob- serve the Sabbath day; And religious toleration, every honest Dutch- man's pride. Is a heresy which they renounce with hor- ror and dismay. So, 'tis with joy that we have learned they have permission asked To settle in Nieuw Nederland, to enjoy their own belief. For to keep our patience with them we have been sorely tasked. And their departure hence will be a gen- eral relief. 108 THE FIELD OF TUENIPS. A. D. 1628. A refugee at the Hague was dwelling the King of Bohemia, Welcome enough to the people, quiet and fairly respected. But restless and ill-content with the peace- ful life of a citizen, Crownless, idle and wearing out tedious days of exile. Light lay the fog on the fields, fit for a hunt- ing morning, When to the open country passed the King and his hunters, Down through the even roadways, bordered by trees and hedges. Leaving behind the city, with all its busi- ness and bustle. 109 Slipped from the leasli, the honnds sniff on the trail of a rabbit, Horses and riders pell-mell follow the yelp- ing chorus, Fast and furious chase ends in quick disap- pointment, And the pursuit is lost in midst of a field of turnips. Issues from neighboring cottage a stout and angry yeoman, Owner of field and turnips, raises a mighty cudgel, Cries "O King of Bohemia, get thee forth from my garden ! Why dost trample the field I had such pains in sowing? " To whom the astonished King made a most courteous answer — " Nay, 'twas these errant hounds led me into the trespass. 110 Surely, unwilling am I to invade the lands of a freeman. Sacred to every one should be the fruit of his labor." Back, through the even roadways, bordered with trees and hedges, Wend they their homeward steps, the royal hunting procession; Back to his hired mansion, in the depths of the city, Trots the discomfited king, cursing all Dutch- men and turnips. Anywhere else in Europe, the peasant would have been punished, In France he would be sent for life to toil in the galleys. And in England his carcase would by the dogs be eaten: In Holland he and his turnips thrived 'neath the law's protection. Ill "LUCTFEE" (The original of the poem of "Paradise Lost.") A. D. 1640. Vondell, the Dutcliman, the first of all, Wrote the tale of the angels' fall; Noble his myth and sacred the theme, Faultless and lofty his measured verse. And Sin and Death, in his pious dream, Descend upon Man as the Demon's curse. Then, by the Englishman, Milton, was sung The self-same song in a world-wide tongue. And so entrancing the story proved That Paradise Lost is a household name. And men to its faith were strongly moved, And the grand romance a creed became. Thus it may chance that a modest word Is softly uttered and little heard — It may to an unknown speech belong. With purport at first obscurely caught; Yet its repetition be bold and strong, And worlds be filled with an awful thought. 112 LORD KEEPER FINCH AT THE HAGUE. A. D. 1641. An English lord is an exile here, Escaped from home in a panic of fear. Well for him that he quickly sped, For a brief delay would have cost his head: He managed from London by night to steal, But he left behind him the King's Great Seal. Tyrant and knave in the day of his power, He fell from greatness in one brief hour, Of Parliament's anger he took good heed, And never stayed to demur or plead. His pride will gall him, and poverty pinch The exiled Englishman, Lord Keeper Finch. 113 GKOTIUS. A. D. 1G45. They brought his body back to Delft From the exile land in which he died; His native town redeemed itself By showing forth its tardy pride. They brought him back beloved of fame, With many years and a mighty name. O, madness of these quarrelling creeds, Begot of senseless, chattering pride, By it how oft the patriot bleeds, And the philanthropist has died ! Great Grotius it defamed and cursed, Where now his name is prized and nursed. 114 THE PEACE OF MUNSTEB. A. D. 1648. The embassies at last have met, The hope of peace at last appears, Their conference may terminate Our long fierce war of eighty years. Each blow we strike for native land Our native land the more endears; Against the tyrant Spain we stand. As we have stood for eighty years. Each man clings to his native soil, Its very name with joy he hears, But few endure the pain and toil Throughout a war of eighty years. 115 On bloody field and blazing town, Men's agony and women's tears, We've seen the weary suns go down Tlirougliout a war of eighty years. Of all these awful years of fight, We've paid them back the long arrears; With freedom, unity and might, We triumph, after eighty years ! 116 DUTCH TOLEKATION IN THE SEVEN- TEENTH CENTURY. To Amsterdam, on one occasion, came Two foreigners, attracted by its fame, Florentine merchants they, and strangers there, In search of merchandise unique and rare; Their errand was to purchase works of art, Whereof that town the workshop was, and mart. No sooner had they rested at their inn. Than forth they hied, impatient to begin. And see those artists whose extended fame Had reached the distant land from which they came; And they agreed that, first of all, they wished To call upon the painter Vandergrist. 117 Their greeting o'er, his easels they review, Praise all his works, and designate a few. And, after long discourse on art and trade, The price is settled and the bargain made. In casual talk the artist somehow saith: "For me, I am a Calvinist in faith ! " Next, to Melanius they take their way, And to his labors equal tribute pay; Again their purses they most gladly ope, For canvas worthy of a Prince or Pope; But startle, when by chance this artist man Complacent, boasts, " I am a Lutheran ! " Van Antwerp next they visit; still they buy; Yan Antwerp says "A Catholic am I ! " They buy of Yan Dall, and they almost faint To learn he is an Anabaptist saint. They buy of Moses, and — a wonder new ! Moses is undeniably a Jew ! 118 With clanging bells tlie hour for 'Change arrives, The Italians scamper for their very lives; Breathless they reach their inn, the door they bar. And tremblingly expect approaching war, " For, in a town where five religions meet. There must," say they, " be bloodshed in the street ! " They list in vain for sounds of fight or fear. Then draw the casement and with caution peer. In the broad streets, vast, busy crowds are seen. With friendly gestures and a peaceful mien; The strangers view the scene with deep sur- prise. Nor find it easy to believe their eyes. Returned to home, their tale with wonders fraught, Divided interest with the goods they brought; 119 They told tliat, 'mongst the Dutch — 'twas very sad! Each man a different religion had; And how those Dutchmen managed to main- tain The peace, was something they could not explain ! 120 MADAME." A. D. 1670. Born in a palace, reared near a throne, Beautiful beyond everything known, Graceful and gentle, laughing yet shy. Conquering all with her melting eye. In her England and France had met, "Madame " of Orleans, fair Henriette. What though " Monsieur " be haughty and chill. Morose of temper, infirm of will ? The King himself had royally deigned To extend to " Madame " a love unfeigned ; And all night long, as the courtiers know, They strolled in the woods of Fontainebleau. 121 Now Louis the aid of Charles would buy, For lie had sworn that Holland should die, And " Madame " goes, with her witching lips, To beg of her brother the English ships; Grand was her progress from court to court; Peace or War in her hands she brought. Mutual interest will buy and sell, Bargains are brief when all goes well, Louis and Charles became allied friends, Ruin to Holland their love portends; But Charles refused, as a thing of course. To sanction "Madame's " proposed divorce. Beautiful Henriette homeward hies, Smiles on her lips, tears in her eyes. And France is smitten with horror, to see Her sudden demise in agony. Venom of poison had caused her death, Paris whispered it 'neath its breath. 122 Base Lorraine the poison could send To avenge " Monsieur" his lord and friend, And the trembling monarch did not dare To lay the crime of his brother bare; 'Tis hid, with thousands of guilty things, In the dark archives of Courts and Kings. 123 HOW LOUIS XIV. INVADED HOLLAND. A. D. 1672. A prey to emotions bitter and dark He mused in his palace, the Grand Monarque; Not all the delights of his peerless court Could drive from memory the galling thought That the feeble folk of a petty State Had checked his ambition and changed his fate. And His Christian Majesty's anger was lit At the merest mention of John De Witt, And, with an outburst of rage, he would dwell. On the harsh treaty of Aix la Chapelle. And scarce had the ink on that parchment dried. Scarce to their homes had the diplomats hied, When Louis imagined that Holland may Be as promptly conquered as Franche Comte. 124 From end to end of his martial realm He summoned the hosts which should over- whelm The foes who had thwarted his policy, And drive the Hollanders into the sea! Horsemen, artillery, footmen, were they, All drilled by the drill master, Martinet. Easy for Louis to Europe to show What an absolute King in his realm can do, But Charles of England, by Parliament tied, Was subsidy-seeking on every side: The best of his fleet, by Dutch enterprise, Was burned in the Thames before his eyes: So, his wants unmet, and his pride unhealed, When Louis for his assistance appealed, Charles took the new ally, to vex the old. And their bond of friendship was gold — French gold. Gold, for controlling the English Court, For with it can lords and courtiers be bought; 125 Gold, for providing tlie pomp and display, Wherein Ms most royal enjoyments lay; Gold, to remunerate minion and dame, With guerdons of honor for deeds of shame; Wrested from starving Frenchmen's toil. To be spent and squandered on foreign soil; For peoples must suffer when Kings com- bine. To govern God's footstool by right divine. Saint George's red banners dance on the sea, Along with the Bourbonisty?ewr de lis; The united fleets in the Channel ride. To bring an end to the Hollanders' pride: Subjects embrace, who were trained by their States, For hundreds of years, into mutual hates. And monarchs are banded to trample down These " burgher folk, who obey no crown." There were English frigates one hundred and ten, French soldiers two hundred thousand men. 126 All gaily the Frenclimen crossed our frontier, In gallant array, in the spring of the year; Such trains of cannon, an army so great Had never in Europe invaded a State. The selected troops of the King's household Shone brilliant in crimson, and white, and gold; And fantassin, light horse and mousquetaire, And body guard, French and Switzer, were there; And their marshals, the first in France were they — Vauban, and Turenne, and the great Oonde. Town after town soon succumbed to its fate, Yielded submission and opened its gate. Captains were routed and captains were bought. With never a serious battle fought; And Tssel and Utrecht and Guelderland Lay prostrate beneath the invaders' hand: 127 While greatly the panic and discontent To the Orange faction new courage lent, And their partisans shouted in every town, "Put Orange up and put De Witts down! " Stained is the record and dark the page Which tells of that faction's violent rage; The law was reversed in that desperate hour. And, selfish and reckless, they seized on power. Both John and Cornells De Witt had died. Enshrined in the Fatherland's love and pride; As patriot freemen they met their fates; And William, from the reluctant Estates, The coveted Stadtholdership could wring. And be, in all but the title, a King. Meanwhile De Euyter, in fierce, long fight, Had put the war fleets of both Kings to flight. And dealt a stern and terrific rebuke To the insolence of the English Duke; 128 While the Channel was swept, as in days of yore, And each Dutch ship nailed a broom to the fore: Our rich laden India fleet, home bound, At the Texel anchored, all safe and sound. Though few and weak on the land we may be The Hollanders still were lords of the sea! But how should our city escape the blow Aimed by her quickly approaching foe? That city, Amsterdam, centre of trade. Where the wealth of the world was stored and laid: The first and chiefest in Europe was she. The queen of the arts and of industry. Not higher did the Roman pulses beat After Lake Thrasymene's dire defeat. Than the Dutch resolve at that moment rose, When 'twixt submission and exile they chose. 129 Amsterdam threatened, the crisis was near, The dykes must be cut, the land disappear, Leaving the conquering foemen to reign O'er the seething waves of a watery plain. And the Holland name would exist no more. Unless 'twere renewed on some distant shore. The Farther Indies could furnish a seat Where a genial clime could the exiles greet; And the list of intending refugees Counted fifty thousand full families. Ho! for this journey of thousands of leagues, With a welcome peace after war's fatigues. The tropical seas with their pearls of price, And the perfumed groves of their isles of spice. And the glowing sun, and the painted skies. And the balmy airs of a paradise ! Firm in their purpose, the burghers began To prepare the ships and mature the plan, That, though old Amsterdam all should be lost, A new one might rise on a fairer coast. 130 Already Leydeii and Delft were submerged, And the waves o'er the lowlands swirled and surged, When Louis, who came so blithely in May, Made haste in July to betake him away. And sought his grand palace of Saint Germain, Right glad in his heart to be there again; Leaving his army in sad jeopardy. Chased and beset by the fast rising sea, Their camps under water, their finery soiled. All their campaign and their uniforms spoiled. Ere his Paris Arch of Triuriiph was done. All had been lost that King Louis had won. And the burning a village, or sacking a farm. Or murdering children, at Swannerdam, Were all the further exploits in that war. Which over our borders retreated afar. And as, in his palace, the Grand Monarque Was nursing his anger, bitter and dark, Turenne was surrendering each Holland town To " the burgher folk who obey no crown." 131 THE DYING WOEDS OF CORNELIS DE WITT. A. D. 1673. Serene in his torments, Cornelis De Witt Recited the sentiments Horace hath writ — " Not the wild rush of the popular will, Not the anger of kings, that can kill, !^ot the strong hurricane's howl and dash, Not the gleam of the lightning's flash Can shake that man, who, resolved and just, Has in uprightness reposed his trust." And Holland remembered the saying when She needed devoted and resolute men. 132 A GLASS TO DE RUYTER. A. D. 1673. A glass to the memory of Tromp the bold ! And a glass to the bold De Ruyter ! Since the Vikings roamed the Channel of old, There has been no such gallant fighter. Should we strike to the flag of the English king? Should we cringe to the Stuart's pre- tension ? No, rather to sea, and encounter the fleet Which he built with the French king's pension All stranded and fired upon the shore, King Charles' ships are consuming. While one by one, with an impotent roar, Their abandoned cannon are booming. 133 On the Thames, in the sight of London, aghast, In the sight of their King they are burning ; While, with new broom at every topmast, De Buyter is homeward returning. Then fill to the memory of Tromp the brave ! And fill to the brave De Ruyter! And while Orange colors float on the wave, Their fame will grow brighter and brighter. 134 SHAFTESBURY IN LONDON AND IN AMSTERDAM. 1. London. — a. d. 1673. The Earl of Shaftesbury arose, wearing his robes and wig, Lord Chancellor of England, none in Par- liament so big. And freely forth upon the Dutch his noble censure poured. And vented all the enmity with which his mind was stored. " These Hollanders," quoth he, " I rate the common enemy Of all divine-right governments — of every monarchy — Especially our English realm they rival and annoy, ' Delenda est Carthago ! ' we must the Dutch destroy ! " 135 2. Amsterdam. — a. d. 1682. The Earl has fallen in disgrace, has fled from kin and home, And to our town of Amsterdam, an exile, he has come. He asks our city to protect a helpless refugee. And begs us not to render him unto his enemy. Let all his errors be forgot, and let him here abide, And let us show that tolerance which is our nation's pride. He is welcome to our peaceful town, where hostile steps ne'er come ; Nay, hang his portrait on the wall, beneath the stadthuis dome ! 136 BALTHAZAR BEKKEK'S " WOKLD ENCHANTED." A. D. 1694. When witchcraft nonsense was in greatest credit, And Satan's sorceries most deeply dreaded, (Set forth, at direful length, with brief apology, By James of England, in his "Demonology "j; When each beheld his neighbor with sus- picion. Lest he might prove an agent of perdition, And all with superstitious dread were haunted, Balthazar Bekker wrote his " World En- chanted." He was a man of letters, and of station, A minister of the Dutch Reformed per- suasion ; Not polished nor refined by art or nature — Ugly as Belzebub in form and feature — 137 But, with a wealth of Scriptural search and learning, And with a zeal 'gainst fraud and falsehood burning. He wrote his book in Europe's darkest hour, Wherein he dared deny the Devil's power. The gownsmen of all creeds were deeply stirred ; Rome, Augsburg and Geneva all concurred ; Each to its clergy was the warning giving, To kill the Devil would destroy their living. With all the warmth that interest engen- ders, The Devil's foes appeared as his defenders ; Of Pastor Bekker's bold attack complained. And Satan's power to harm mankind main- tained. Condemned by all the ministerial crew (Though few had patience to peruse it through), 138 His volume was declared to faith opposed, And Bekker by his synod was deposed. Lengthy it is, and writ in tiresome prose. Pedantic was the author and verbose, But that he dared condemn the " witch- craft" craze Commends his name in more enlightened days. 139 BAAS PIETEB IN HOLLAND. A. D. 1697. Czar Peter of Russia to Saardam came — Not as an idler, not as a King, But as an artisan, learning a trade. To work in the shipyard, the shop and the forge, To learn how vessels are builded and sailed, To learn how iron is hammered and cast. To learn how spars and rigging are trimmed, To learn how cordage is twisted and wove. To learn how sails are shifted and spread. To learn how rudders are worked and hung, To learn how compass and sextant are used. To learn how cargoes are loaded and shipped, To learn how Holland has drawn her wealth, And floated her flag upon every sea. 140 This brawny man with the keen blue eye, The giant hand and the iron frame, Labored each day for the workman's wage. Pored over books at the noonday hour, Kested at night on a workman's couch, And, when the Sunday holiday came, Kept, with his fellows, a wild carouse. Not disguising his station and rank, But sharing freely the artisan's life ; Known to his comrades as Pieter de Baas, Always their equal in workshop or games. So did he compass the knowledge he sought. Parted he thence, to return to his realm. To found an Empire and shapen a State, To civilize wandering and savage hordes. Soften the manners and habits of men. Build up a power colossal in height. And make his Russia the terror of earth. 141 TOECY AT THE HAGUE. A. D. 1790. The Pensioner Hensius from Holland went To plead with Louis for the Orange right, But not to him the royal brow unbent, Nor deigned the King an answer to indite. " Mercy for thine own subjects," Hensius asked, But naught obtained he by that strong appeal. Though all his lore and eloquence he tasked ; Louvois e'en threatened him with the Bastile! Years passed, in which the French King, vain and mad. Had covered Europe with his martial dead. For Fortune was his foe, and stern and sad Blow after blow had fallen on his head ; 142 And his young Princes all were in the grave, And profligate corruption cursed his Court ; Louvois was gone : to France, though fierce and brave, Each coming day still fresh reverses brought. And Holland was his unrelenting foe, Eugene and Marlborough had served her well. Never had insolence been brought so low Nor history had such swift revenge to tell. And now, to Pensioner Hensius, in the gloom Of evening, at the Hague, the name was brought Of one who waited in his ante-room : 'Twas Torcy, who an interview had sought. His armies lost, and squandered all his wealth, Louis was seized with overpowering fright, 143 And Torcy, leaving scared Versailles by stealth, Had crossed the frontiers secretly by night, To beg peace from the Burgher Man of State — Once spurned, insulted, placid through- out all — To crave forgetfulness for pride and hate : Did ever a Grand Monarch have such fall? I^BGENDS Olf MANHATTAN ISLAND. 147 THE ONE-MAN POWER IN NEW AMSTERDAM. A. D. 1641. In the good days of old New York Her freedom was no sham, For freedom-loying were the Dutch Who built New Amsterdam ; And when, in sixteen-forty-one, An Indian war broke out, The people clamored to elect Their Schepens and their Schout. At first the Dutch Director, Kieft, (Who was Governor, or Mayor,) By the " better element " controlled, Refused their earnest prayer. Such and so resolute the men Who lived here in that day. That straightway they determined No further tax to pay. 148 When Kieft perceived no way to win, By force, or craft, or wit. He laid his one-man power aside. And hastened to submit. And the freemen of New Amsterdam Elected their "Twelve Men," As the immemorial usage In the Netherlands had been. And that first City Council, Which was chosen in that way. Is a pattern for self-government Down to the present day. Long the Director strove for power, And to put the people down. Yet "Eight Men," then " Nine Men," Were chosen from the town. An arbitrary one-man power The Dutch would not concede, And their patriot example With us should strongly plead ; 149 For this sound precept then was taught, That justice may be done, If power be held by many men. But not, if given to one. 150 HOW THE YANKEES TEADED TO THE DELAWAEE. A. D. 1642. One Lamberton, New Haven man, Contrived the Dutch some harm ; He was a godly Puritan As ever sang a psalm. A vessel full of Yankee goods To the Delaware he sent, For the glory of the Lord — and his Own special betterment. And when the valiant Willem Kieft, The Dutch Director here, Advised him not to traffic there, But somewhere else to steer ; Because the great South Eiver was By Dutchmen long possessed, Who would not brook a rival. Though they'd welcome any guest ; 151 The captain, Herrick, swore to do As our Director bade, And to make mere friendly visit, With no intent to trade. Bat when he reached the Delaware He landed at Hog's Creek, And having broken cargo. Began for trade to seek. The Yankees made the red man drunk, And bought his pelts and skins, They gave him little wampum, but They told him of his sins. Predestination and free will, Foreknowledge and free grace. They preached to him, and made him Dumbfounded for a space. While he was told his sins were great, His income proved but small; He got a stock of doctrine. But that was almost all. 152 Their exhortations puzzled him, Their hymns were loud and long, And the benighted savage sold His peltries for a song. And now in wrath the Dutch came down. And scattered store and post, And brought this Herrick and his furs To the North Eiver coast. Next caught they pious Lamberton, The author of the raid. And fined him the amount of all The profits he had made. These went their way, declaring They never had seen such An irreligious people As they found these Holland Dutch ! 153 PEACE WITH VIRGINIA FOEBIDDEN A. D. 1660. Virginia and Nieuw Netherland A friendly treaty made That their respective people Might have liberty of trade, And that all courts of justice, In adjudging law and fact. Between the Dutch and English, Be impartial and exact. But though Stuyvesant and Berkeley Agreed that strife should cease, Yet the stupid laws of Britain Have forbid to keep the peace ; And Charles, the King, a warning. To his colonies has sent : "Treaties and laws are only made By King and Parliament." 154 THE CAPTUEE OF NIEUW AMSTER- DAM. A. D. 1690. It was in the month of August In sixteen sixty-four, Four mighty ships of war appeared Off Staaten Island shore. The hateful flag of England Flew from their Admiral's mast, And their cannon, from the port-holes. Sent forth a thunderous blast. Then from each tile-roofed dwelling, And from each narrow street, Came pouring forth our people. To view the stranger fleet ; The shopman left his counter, The wife her kitchen fire. And the children left their playground To tremble and admire. 155 The Kings throughout old Europe Had sworn to sheathe the sword, Though well the Dutch Kepublic knew How faithless is their word. The Kings throughout old Europe Have neA'er ceased to hate The freedom and the tolerance Of the Batavian State. And Charles, the King of England, Was hired by the French, And Louis of France was plotting Europe with blood to drench ; And to the Duke, his brother, (Who now has lost his crown,) The reckless Charles had given Our colony and town. Ours was a prosperous settlement — Oar sfcadt huis has the proofs — Nearly two thousand people. Nearly five hundred roofs ; 156 And, on a Sunday afternoon, Gay was the festive scene, 'Neath the walls of old Fort Amsterdam And on the Bowling Green. Our trials and our triumphs Had made us proud and free ; Our town school was already taught, And we loved liberty ; And 'round our hearths brave tales were told When evening fires were lit, Of Civilis and of Barneveldt, And Grotius and De Witt. But the Dutch West India Company Had played the tyrant here, And had denied the equal rights To freeborn men so dear ; And Stuyvesant, their governor. His privilege abused, To enforce the laws and taxes Which freeborn men refused. 157 And so there was a deep resolve, Among both rich and poor, That anything were better Than that this should endure ; And on this summer morning Affairs were in such plight, While Stuyvesant was pondering- Capitulate or fight ? Now was our doughty Governor Determined to resist, And he smote the Council-table With his dictatorial fist : — " Ho ! man our fort's defenses, And man our city wall. For never shall Nieuw Amsterdam, Without a battle, fall ! " But our sagacious burghers, The fathers of the town. Maintained that his impotent fire Would bring bombardment down. 158 " Upon our homes and families, Now here without defense, Your harmless volleys would invite Revengeful violence ! " The good ship ' Gideon ' lies astream. And a determined band Will leave these forfeited domains And sail for Fatherland ! Those who remain have seen their rights Denied and reft away, And need now fear no harsher rule Beneath the English sway! " The Governor looked to seaward, At the ships of the English Duke, He looked upon his people. And heard their bold rebuke ; Heart-broken and despairing And with an oath and frown, He dashed away a manly tear, And hauled his colors down. 159 Woe for the flag of Orange, That had humbled England's pomp, When from the seas her fleets were driven, By Admiral Van Tromp ! Woe to the sorrowing city. Whose choice could only be Between a foreign conquest And a home tyranny ! And woe, too, to that royal Duke Who did this treacherous deed. In exile now he eats his bread — The lesson all may read ! A quarter of a century Has since passed o'er our town ; We shall regain our liberties, But never he his crown ! For, to Dutch as well as English, The future is to bring A century of struggles with The Governors of the King ; And when the good time cometh For kingly rule to fall, We Dutch will stand for liberty With the foremost of them all ! 160 A LEGEND OF HELL GATE. A. D. 1675. A saucy boat was ike Annetje Block, Periauga-built was the craft ; She carried at masthead a crowing cock, And an Orange streamer abaft. Her gay young skipper was Hans van Loon, From the Wallabout shore he hailed. And all eyes followed his bounding boat As up the East Eiver she sailed. Who was there, among the Breukelen girls. As fair as Lisbet van Pelt, With her blooming cheeks and her yellow curls, And her waist in a wampum belt? With her lover, Hans, she fled from her home, And they gained the river's side. Where the Annetje Block, with her streamers set. Swung on the restless tide. 161 With the southerly breeze that briskly blew, Up the East River they bore, Past Gouanes Kill and Point Bellevue, And the rocky Manhattan shore ; But a squall swooped down on the dancing boat. And the whirlpool raged about ; You may see the reef where they met their death, When the Hell Gate tide is out. 162 THE FIEST EMIGBA^^TS FKOM NEW ENGLAND. A. D. 1692-1697. Escaped from New England, tliey flock to our shore, All jail-worn and wasted, all quaking and sore ; Escaped from the doom of the stake and the cord — Poor victims of that most lamentable fraud, Which revels in murder, delusion and cant, Hysteric possessions and clerical rant ; The shame of the land and reproach of the time, And fills all New England with horror and crime ! Yes, these are the "witches! " The Mathers maintain That Satan at Salem has set up his reign ; 163 Where vicious young women, bewitched, fall in fits, And fright judge and jurymen out of their wits ; While malice and envy, and neighborhood hate, Drag down the accused ones, by scores, to their fate. 'Tis a crime to be old, to be odd, to be poor. And to own a black cat will conviction ensure ; 'Tis a crime to have gossips, a crime to have none, 'Tis the greatest of crimes "stated preach- ing " to shun. For, woe to the reprobate, mighty or small, Who under the ministers' censure may fall! Now, here have we young Philip English and wife, Who left lands and ships, and who fled with bare life. A neighbor sued English, and when the suit failed. On charges of sorcery his sick wife was jailed. 164 At Boston, in Arnold's dark prison she lay, And counted the time till the dread trial day. By some friendly aid to New York they were brought. And find here the refuge and safety they sought. Nathaniel Carey and wife, too, are here ; The wife was imprisoned at Cambridge, last year. Her trial for witchcraft at Salem was set, They fled, and New York's kindly shelter have met: He has wife and has freedom, and little he recks That his goods are sequestered in old Mid- dlesex. And here, too, are Mistress Benom and her child, Alleged to have been by the Devil beguiled ; At Hartford once tried, and acquitted, and then Through clerical outcry imprisoned again. 165 Enough, they are safe, for New York's not afraid Of the dire enchantments of matron or maid. Time comes, when the sons of New England shall seek Of their neighbor Manhattan's great wealth to partake ; Where, with modified zeal, the fierce Puritan race Shall strive, not for creed, but for greed and for place ; When Stoughtonsj and Sewells, and Cheevers, and Hales, And other high priests of the gallows and jails, Shall be pastors and masters in pulpit and court, Where our laws are defined or religion is taught. As the young and ambitious abandon her shores And escape, by their flight, her intolerant laws, 166 New York will receive them ; for welcome to all Will be ever her greeting to great and to small : "Recalling, as honors and favors she grants, The "witches" who came as their first emigrants. 167 EVACUATION DAT BALLAD. 25th November, a. d. 1783. Unmenaced now by Foreign Sword, But breathing Freedom's native Air, Let us, with patriot Accord, Meet Washington at Chatham Square. He comes from upper Hudson's banks. Through Harlem Heights and Bowerie — Let him receive the Heartfelt Thanks Of those whom he has rendered Free. He brings us Rescue, Rest and Peace ; Our long lost Freedom animates ; Compels King George his War to cease And recognise our thirteen States. Our Tyrants hurry to their Ships ; (They'd burn the Town if they but durst!) With frenzied oaths and stuttering lips They leave the land they long have cursed. 168 Te Patriots, now in liappy rest, Look from your Realms of Heavenly Bliss, Leister, Van Dam and Zenger, blest To witness such a Day as this ! We'll form a mighty cavalcade ; Each Son of Liberty be there ; And be our welcome greetings paid To Washington at Chatham Square ! 169 NEW YOKE'S FIRST DOCTOR. A. D. 1787. " As you ride up the road to the Bouwerie, But a little piece beyond Bayard's hill, A clump of towering elms you will see Across the way from Delancey's mill ; Where a peaked roof holds a creaking vane, Half hid by the boughs that interlace, And the traveler looks up a leafy lane And is told, 'tis "old Doctor Tucker's place." So reads a letter, yellow and old. Writ by a hand that has long been dust. And we only know, as tradition has told. That the grave old doctor was kind and just. When the fever-stricken rebels lay Dying in Sugar House Prison, 'tis said. The quaint old doctor, by night and day, Had tended the dying and buried the dead. 170 At the King's College, in fifty-three, Back where its graduates' records begin, He was the first to take the degree Which made him Doctor of Medicine. The street now known as Elizabeth Bounded the farm near the Bouwerie pike. Which fell to the doctor upon the death Of his mother, Elizabeth Wortendyke. 'Midst his stately elms they ran a street through, His mulberries gave to another its name. And the road to his spring, which the whole town knew, By time and usage Spring Street became. Near the spot where the old cathedral stands, He ended in peace his mortal race, And the mighty city swarms o'er the lands. Which once were " old Doctor Tucker's place." 171 THE OLD BREVOORT FARM. A. D. 1800. A snug little farm was the Old Brevoort, Where cabbages grew of the choicest sort ; Full-headed and generous, ample and fat, In a queenly way on their stems they sat ; And there was boqjst of their genuine breed, For from Old Utrecht had come their seed. These cabbages, made into sauer kraut, Were the pride of the country round about, And their flavor was praised at each farmer feast, Among the Stuyvesants, far to the East, Delanceys, that in the Soilth meadows lay, And Strykers, perched up at Stryker's Bay. The Brevoorts had lived, as the record ap- pears. On the farm for almost a hundred years. 172 From Brevoort in Holland at first they came, From that parent village they took their name ; Whence the head of the family — his name, was Rip — To New Netherlands came in an Amsterdam ship, The farm itself was by no means great Alongside the Stuyvesants' splendid estatej But its pumpkins were golden, its apples round, And buckwheat grew on its upland ground ; For a rule of diet the family had — To eat buckwheat cakes from green-corn to shad. Some mulberries, quinces and Dordrecht pears Grew where Grace Church its new steeple rears ; 173 Some creeping grape vines on trellis had run Where beckons the statue of Washington ; On the spot where Brevoort House proudly towers Were clumps of orange-hued Uoempje flowers. The homestead stood at the end of the lands Where Grace Memorial House now stands ; In its garden, Dutch tulips of every shade, Their beautiful form and color displayed : A low-roofed and unpretentious abode, The homestead confronted a dusty road. A merry old Dutchman was Uncle Brevoort, Who had not lived eighty odd years for naught ; With abundant waist and laughing blue eye. And nose of a color a trifle high, A gouty foot, and long silvery hair. And a forehead free as a child's from care. 174 Ybu saw, just through his half-opened doot, The well-scoured planks of a sanded floor ; And within the cupboard was ranged on a shelf Old-fashioned crockery brought from Delft. The roof o'er his porch for shade was a boon In the heat of a summer afternoon. In front of the spot where his tulips grew Ran the road now known as Fourth Avenue ; Thence a lane to East River, through fields of wheat, It now goes by the name of Eleventh Street. And as the old gentleman sat in his porch He looked down the lane to the Bouwerie Church. To him, thus enjoying his leisure and cheer, One fine afternoon, some surveyors drew near ; He offered a glass of old Holland schnapps They accepted with thanks, but produced him some maps, 175 Which showed that a project was well under way To open Eleventh Street through, to Broad- way. The red lines and blue they duly explained, The land this one owned, the bounds that one claimed; An assessment put here and there an award, To run curb and gutter through garden and sward. He listened in patifence as long as he could, And then he remarked '* he'd be blanked if they should ! " He fought all their maps, and he fought their reports, Corporation, surveyors, commissioners, courts ; He hired his lawyers, well learned in the law ; The plans and the projects to fragments they tore. 176 But Uncle Brevoort, ere the law suit, expires, And calmly he sleeps at St. Mark's with his sires. The city abandoned the contest at last; He knew not his triumph, his struggle was past His cabbage plot's built on, his tulips are gone, Where his old homestead stood is a palace of stone. But this of the old Dutchman's pluck we can say — Eleventh Street's not opened through, to this day ! NOTBS. Legends of the Netherlands. Page I. The Tectosages.— See Michelet's History of France, Volume i, Chapter i, for the extra- ordinary wanderings of the Tectosages. Page 4. C1V11.1S Standing on the Broken Bridge. — Tacitus (History, Book v., Chapter xxvi.) relates the revolt of the Batavians under Civilis. These inhabited the country now called Holland. A parley is asked by the Roman Con- sul Cerealis. The two leaders meet to confer, upon a broken bridge. Here the manuscript of Tacitus is torn ; the rest of the tale is lost, and we know not the result of the conference, or of the rebellion. Page 13. Ritterband. — Free Lances. Page 18. Haarlem is a contraction of Heer Lem, "Lord William." Page 19. The Countess Jane. — The common people believed that Count Baudouine returned from the Bast, and was put to death by his daughter. 178 Page 32. "With them died Knighthood." — Seven- teen of the Knights were of Flanders. Page 36. MaestrichT. — The sovereignty of Maes- tricht could only be exercised by the joint action of the Bishop and Duke. This situation gave rise to many satirical and popular ballads. Page 47. How Burgundy Got Luxembourg. — ' ' Re- pondit que oui, que le Due estoit d'aultre metail, car il I'avoit garde, porte et soutenu." Page 66. "That his family madness came to view." — The Emperor's mother was insane, and his own contemporaries believed him to have been, when he resigned the imperial crown at the age of 56, and retired to the Convent of St. Just. Page 69. "These are but as beggars" — De Geuzen. Page 75. " For the spy and poisoner obey me." — The poisoning of Don Juan followed Philip's dis- covery of his secret treaty with Elizabeth. Page 76. Schepen : Esquire or City Sergeant. Stadt- huis : City Hall. Page 88. Queen Elizabeth Arraigned. — Eliza- beth insulted the Dutch Ambassadors on the very eve of the sailing of the Great Spanish Armada. Page loi. "A Gulf of North America." — The Dutch writers denied Gosnold's alleged discovery in 1602. 179 Page 103. The Brownists in Hoi,i,and.— See Neal's History of the Puritans, Part II., chapter i. Page 107. "Permission Asked to Settle in Nieuw Nederland." — The States-General refused this ap- plication, but the King of England then gave them permission to sail for New England. Page 108. The F1E1.D of Turnips. — This story is related by Michelet. Page 114. The Peace OK MunsTER. — The rebellion of the Netherlands lasted eighty-two years — from the signing of the petition for Religious Freedom, loth February, 1596, to the acknowl- edgement of Dutch Independence by the King of Spain by the Treaty of Munster, 15th May, 1648. Page 116. Dutch Toleration in the 17TH Cen- tury. — This story is told by Voltaire. Page 120. "Madame" — Wife of the Duke of Or- leans and sister of Charles II. of England. Page 121. "Venom of poison caused her death." — It was then so believed, but late writers, as M. Mignet, have maintained that "Madame" died of an intestinal inflammation. Page 131. "The Sentiments Horace hath Writ." — See Horace, ode 3, book 3. 180 Page 132. "Fired Upon the Shore."— The burning of the English fleet in the Thames is not a favorite subject for English historians. Page 136. "World Enchanted." — " Betooverde Wereld. Page 138. Baas PieTER.— "While the Czar sojourned at Saardam, he led the life of a common work- man, although his name and rank were known to his employers and to many of his associates. Page 141. Torcy was Ivouis XIV. 's Minister of For- eign Affairs. Legends of Manhattan Island. Page 154. The Capture of Nieuw Amsterdam.-^ This is the narrative as told among the Dutch people of New York, in the time of Governor Jacob Leisler, about A. D. 1690. Page 162. The First Emigrants from New Engi^and. — Many persons accused of witchcraft fled in these years from New England to New York, where they were received and protected. These remarks are supposed to be addressed by one New Yorker to another, perhaps during 4 "Vvalk by the river side, or on the battery. 181 Page 162. "The Mathers." — Clergymen who insti- gated prosecutions for so-called withcraft in New England. Page 165. "Stoughtons, and Sewells, and Cheevers and Hales." — Prosecutors of witches in' Massa- chusetts. Page 167. Evacuation Day BaIvLAD.— As supposed to have been sung by New Yorkers on the day of the British evacuation of their city, on the 25th of November, 1783. Page 169. Nbw York's First Doctor.— The first physician graduated in America was Dr. Robert Tucker, of New York City, who received his degree of M. D. at King's (now Columbia) College in 1753- Page 170. "They ran a street " : Elm Street. Page 170. " Mulberries gave to another its najne " ; Mulberrj^ Street. CONXKNTS. Legends of the Netherlands. PAGE The Tectosages B. C. 300 i Civilis Standing on the Broken Bridge A. D. 70 4 Augustus Carausius 250 7 Friesland and Zealand 850 11 How the Bishop Saved Utrecht 1137 12 Count Willem's Crusade 1218 15 The Countess Jane 1223 19 Guy Dampierre and His Daughter . . . 1300 21 The Cods and the Hooks 1300-1500 23 The Battle of Courtrai . . 1302 25 The Burning Alive of the Knights Templars 1314 29 The Exile of Peter Du Bois from Ghent . 1386 34 The Lords of Maestricht 1400 36 How Arnold Beiling Died 1424 38 The Days of the Dukes of Burgundy . . 1425 40 How Burgundy got Luxembourg .... 1462 47 Charles of Guelderland 1500 49 Charles Quint in His Cradle 1500 53 The Sixteenth Century Deluge 1524 55 Commissioner Smyter at Hoorn .... 1550 61 184 PAGE The Siege of Metz 1552 65 "Viventles Gueux ! " 1566 67 The Three Oranges 1 568-1 647 70 The Rescue of Iveyden 1574 72 Philip's Soliloquy on His Brother .... 1578 75 Song of the Artisans of Antwerp .... 1580 76 The Spanish Soldier 1580 78 The Fleshers of Antwerp 1584 80 The Tragedy at Delft 1584 83 Gresham's Draft on Genoa 1587 85 Queen Elizabeth Arraigned 1588 88 The Surrender of Deventer . 1591 gi Philip's Hatred 1600 93 The Battle of Tiel 1600 94 Klaaszoon's Powder Magazine 1606 97 Discovery of the Nieuw Nederland. . . . 1609 100 The Brownists in Holland i6o4-]62o 103 The Puritans at Leyden 1620 106 The Field of Turnips 1628 108 "Lucifer," the Original of "Paradise Lost" 1640 III Lord Keeper Finch at the Hague . . . .1641 112 Grotius 1645 113 The Peace of Munster 1648 114 Dutch Toleration in the 17th Century . . 1650 116 "Madame" 1670 120 How Louis XVI. Invaded Holland . . . 1672 123 The Dying Words of Cornelius DeWitt 1672 131 185 PAGE A Glass to De Ruyter ! 1673 132 Shaftesbury in London and in Amster- dam 1673-1682 134 Balthazar Bekker's " World Enchanted " 1694 136 Baas Pieter in Holland 1697 139 Torcy at the Hague 1709 141 Legends of Manhattan Island. The One-Man Power in Nieuw Amster- dam A. D. 1641 147 How the Yankees Traded to the Dela- ware River 1642 150 Peace with Virginia Forbidden 1660 153 The Capture of Nieuw Amsterdam . . . 1664 154 A Legend of Hell Gate 1675 160 The First Emigrants from New England 1692-1697 162 Evacuation Day Ballad of 25th November 1783 167 New York's First Doctor 1787 169 The Old Brevoort Farm 1800 171 THE END. ,^^ iiiiiiS"' » 018 604 129 A