they have waged War Their Council Chambers are admired by all that see them Many fair Libraries they have belonging to particular Men. The Princes Palace is a most superb Building and there are many costly Gardens adjoyning to the Hague together with that to the Princes House in the Wood in which House are in a large Hall the most rare and costly Pictures of Europe there also are those Magnificent and Unparalell'd Gardens of the â—â—eer Bentham of Amesland and others I might here speak of the splendor of His Majesties Court in Holland of his Noble Virtues and Valour of the most Virtuous and Beautiful Princess his Royal Consort but I dare not least I should infinitely fall short of what ought to be and which others have already done before me And therefore leaving the Hague I shall only tell you that from thence you may for seven Stivers have a Boat to bring you to Leyden Leyden is a fair and great City and the University is very Famous there being continually in it 1000 Students from all parts as Hungary Poland Germany yea from the Ottomans Empire it self who pretend to be Grecians besides the English Scots and Irish who this year were numbred to be above 80. The most remarkable Things here to be seen I shall summarily set down As the place called the Bergh formerly a Castle belonging to the Prince of Liege in Flanders The Stadt-house the University Schools especially that of the Anatomy which excels all the Anatomy Schools in the World a Book of the Rarities whereof you may have for six Stivers their Physick Garden and the Professors Closet are all Ravishing in rare Curiosities But as to their Colleges they are but two and very small not to be compared with the smallest Halls in Oxford neither have they any Endowments their maintenance being only from the Charitable Collections of the Ministers of Holland neither are any Students to remain longer there than till they attain the Degree of Batchelors of Art One of the Curators being demanded by me Why so Rich a Commonwealth as Holland is did not Build and Endow Colleges after the manner of Oxford and Cambridge answered They had not so many able and publick spirited Men as are in England and to deal plainly with you said he had we such Colleges our Burghermasters and Magistrates would fill them with their own and their Friends Sons who by leading a lazie and idle Life would never become capable to serve the Commonwealth and therefore he judged it much better to put them to Pension in Burghers-Houses leaving them to the care of the Professors who are very diligent in keeping the Students at their Exercises both at publick Lectures and in their private Houses also where they cause them punctually at their appointed Hours to come to their Examinations and Lectures besides those they have in publick Their Churches are rare so are their Walks round the City and the Fortifications very pleasing to behold Here you have the River Rhine running through the City and falling into it from Catwyck op Zee Leyden is very Famous in History for the long Siege it held out against the Spaniard From hence for 12 Stivers and an half you are brought to Haerlem by Water being 12 English Miles Harlem is Famous in that Costor one of their Burghers first Invented the Art of Printing This Costor being suspected to be a Conjurer was fain to flee from Haerlem to Cologne in Germany and there perfected his Invention having in Haerlem only found out the way of Printing on one side of the Paper The first Book he ever Printed is kept in the Stadt-house for those that are curious to see it Here is one of the fairest and largest Churches of the Seventeen Provinces in the Walls whereof there remain to this day sticking Cannon Bullets shot by the Spaniards during the Siege thereof In this Church are three Organs as also the model of the three Ships that Sailed from Haerlem to Damiater seizing the Castle in which the Earl of Holland was kept a Prisoner and brought him away to Holland In the Tower of this Church hang two Silver Bells which they also brought from thence and now Ring them every Night at nine a Clock Haerlem is Renowned for making the finest Linnen Cloth Tyffinies Damasks and Silk Stuffs also Ribands and Tapes They have Mills by which they can Weave 40 or 50 pieces at a time they make the finest white Thread and Tapes for Lace in the whole World their Bleacheries surpass all other whatsoever their Waters whitening Cloth better than any in the Seventeen Provinces They have a most pleasant Grove like a little Wood divided into Walks where on Sundays and Holy-days the Citizens of Amsterdam and other places come to take their pleasure Haerlem is the Second City of Holland and sends in Deputies unto all the Colleges of the Government From hence you have a passage by Boat to Amsterdam for six Stivers but when you are come half way you must step out of one Boat to go into another where you see a stately Palace where the Lords called Dykgraves sit every one of these Lords hath his Apartment when he comes for the Concerns of the Sea-dykes and Banks Here are also two large Sluces having Gates to let in or out Water from the Haerlemmer Meer Near this place about Anno 1672 a part of the Sea-Bank was broken by a strong North-West Wind drowning all the Land betwixt Amsterdam and Haerlem which cost an incredible vast Sum to have it repaired They sunk in this Breach 400 small Vessels fil'd with Earth and Stones for a Foundation to rebuild the Wall upon and by unspeakable Industry and Charges at last repaired the Bank I come now to speak of Amsterdam which having been the place of my abode for several years I shall give a more large and punctual account thereof then I do of other Places It is esteemed by Intelligent Men the Second City in the World for Trade and not inferiour to any in Wealth Certainly Amsterdam is one of the Beautifullest Cities in the World their Buildings are large their Streets for the most part pleasantly Planted with Trees and Paved so neatly as is to be found no where else in any Country save in some of the Seventeen Provinces And although as I have already said Amsterdam may justly be taken for the Second or Third City after London and Paris yet it hath neither Court nor University as they have And now in treating of all the Excellences and Virtues of Amsterdam I shall not hyperbolize or flatter for before I have done you shall see I shall also faithfully declaim against the Evils Mistakes and Vices in it Amsterdam stands upon 1000 Morgans of Land encompassed with a very strong Wall and Bastions most pleasant to behold with a very large Gracht or Ditch for the defence of three parts of the City the fourth being secured by an Arm of the Sea called the River Y or as the English Men corruptly call it the Ty. There are 13 Churches in this City for
their Industry and Art in Trading are become so excessive Rich and Potent that they began to Insult and would needs be Arbitrators to their Neighbouring Princes and States and encroach upon their Territories and Dominions This drew upon them that fatal War before-mentioned by which they were sorely weaken'd and brought so low that except GOD by a more than ordinary Providence had protected and appeared for them they had certainly been ruinated and never able to recover themselves again however their Pride hereby was much abated And as Luxury and Lasciviousness are the sad Effects of Prosperity as well as Pride so such Vices in a Body Politick and Commonwealth as do corrupt the Radical Humours by abating the Vigour of the Vital Parts do insensibly tend to the Consumption and Decay of the whole That this Commonwealth hath much recovered its Strength may clearly appear if we consider what great Things they have effected since the little time they have enjoyed Peace They have in less than 7 Years built about 40 gallant Ships of War They have laid out vast Sums of Treasure in refortifying Narden Maestricht Breda the Grave and many other Places They have paid vast Sums of Money to their Allies for their Auxiliary Troops as also 200000 l. Sterling to the King of England to Enjoy their Peace with him And besides all this their Encrease in Riches and Power may be guessed at by the many stately Houses built within these 5 Years in Amsterdam Rotterdam and other Places to all which we may add to what excessive height the Actions of the East and West-India Company are risen and the Obligations from the States are so esteemed as to Security that they can get as much Mony as they please at 2 per Cent. Not to speak of the exceeding Encrease of their Subjects occasioned by the French King's Tyranny against the distressed Protestants in France Alsace and other parts of his Conquests neither will we speak of other Signs of the Encrease of this Commonwealth as not judging it convenient to commit them to Paper but will now proceed to shew the Method of Living and Travelling in the Dominions and Places of the States which if you do well consider you may see how happy and easy the Government of England is above that of other Nations The Briell in Holland is the usual place where the Pacquet and King's Pleasure-boats bring on such as come to see the United Provinces but of late Helvoet-Sluys is the place the Pacquet comes to as being the more convenient Port Here be sure to furnish your self well with Money From hence you take a Boat to Maesland-Sluys or Rotterdam which if you go in Company with others will only cost you 5 Stivers but if you take one for your self will cost 25 Stivers for Maeseland-Sluce and a Ducatoon to Rotterdam The fifth part of which goes to the States for a Tax they call Passagie Gelt and the other four parts are for the Boat-Men or Schippers who also out of their Gains must pay a Tax to the States so that by Computation you pay a fifth Penny to the States for your Travelling either in Boats by Water or in Wagons by Land As you pass by Maseland-Sluce you will see a very fair Fishing Village to which belong near Two hundred Herring Busses but if you go by the way of Rotterdam you Sail by two old Towns called Flardin and Schiedam Yet let me advise you before you depart from the Briell to take a serious view of it as being the City which in Queen Elizabeth's time was one of the Cautionary Towns Pawned to England The Briell had a Voice among the States but by reason Rotterdam hath got away their Trade by which having lost its former Lustre is now become a Fishing Town only Rotterdam is the Second City for Trade in Holland and by some is called Little London as having vast Traffick with England insomuch that many of the Citizens Speak good English There are in this City two considerable Churches of English and Scotch And how great a Trade they drive with the King of England's Subjects is evident for in the year 1674 at the opening of the Waters after a great Frost there departed out of Rotterdam 300. Sail of English Scotch and Irish Ships at once with an Easterly Wind And if a Reason should be demanded how it comes to pass that so many English Ships should frequently come to that Haven It is easily answered because they can ordinarily Load and Unload and make returns to England from Rotterdam before a Ship can get clear from Amsterdam and the Texel And therefore your English Merchants find it Cheaper and more Commodious for Trade that after their Goods are arrived at Rotterdam to send their Goods in Boats Landward into Amsterdam This City is Famous as being the place where great Erasmus was Born whose Statue of Brass stands erected in the Market-place And although the Buildings here are not so superb as those of Amsterdam Leyden or Haerlem yet the places worth the seeing are first the great Church where several Admirals lie stately Entombed here you see their Admiralty East-India and Stadt-Houses together with that called Het Gemeen Lands Huis From Rotterdam you may for five Stivers have a Boat to bring you to Delft but before you come thither you pass through a fair Village called Overschie where the French and English Youths are trained up in Litterature as to the Latin and Dutch Tongue Book-keeping c. From thence in the same Boat you come to Delft which is Famous for making of Porceline to that degree that it much resembles the China but only it is not Transparent In Delft is the great Magazin of Arms for the whole Province of Holland Their Churches are very large in one of which are Tombs of the Princes of Orange Admiral Tromp and General Morgans Lady and in the Cloister over against the Church you have an Inscription in a Pillar of Brass shewing after what manner William the First that Famous Prince of Orange was shot to Death by a Miscreant Jesuit with his deserved Punishment Delft hath the third Voice in the States of Holland and sends its Deputies unto the College of the States General and to all other Colleges of the Commonwealth They have also a Chamber in the East-India Company as shall be more largely spoken to when we shall come to Treat of the State of the said Company From Delft you may by Boat be brought to the Hague for two Stivers and an half which is accounted the fairest Village in the World both for pompous Buildings and the largeness thereof here the Princes of Orange hold their Residence as also the States General and the Council of State here you have the Courts of Justice Chancery and other Courts of Law Here you see that great Hall in which many Hundreds of Colours are hung up in Trophy taken from the Emperor Spaniard and other Potentates with whom
those of the Reformed Religion called Dutch Presbyterians to meet and worship in with two French one High-Dutch and one English all Presbyterian Churches who only are allowed Bells and whose Ministers are maintained by the Magistrate All these Churches or Congregations make up only a third part of the Inhabitants of the City The Papists who have 85 Houses or Chapels to meet in for their Worship make another third part and have a long Square of Houses for their Nuns to live in who are not shut up in Cloisters as in Papist Countries they are wont to do but may go in and out at their pleasure yea and Marry also if they grow weary of a Nunnish Life These Churches of the Papists have no Bells allow'd them being look'd upon as Conventicles and are many times shut up and again opened at the Scout's pleasure The other third part of the City is made up by Jews Lutherans Armenians Brownists or English Independants Anabaptists and the Quakers None of which as was also said of the Papists have Bells allowed them but are accounted Conventicles and all that Marry amongst them must first be married by the Magistrate and then if they please among themselves in their own Assemblies neither are any of them admitted unto any Office in the Government but such only as are of the Reformed or Presbiterian Profession The Jews who are very considerable in the Trade of this City have two Synagogues one whereof is the largest in Christendom and as some say in the World sure I am it far exceeds those in Rome Venice and all other places where I have been Within the Court-yard where their Synagogue stands they have several Rooms or Schools where their Children are taught Hebrew and very carefully to the shame of Christians negligence brought up and instructed in the Jewish Principles Amsterdam for the wise Statesmen it hath produced is said to be a second Athens others make it the Storehouse or Magazine of Europe for that it hath such great store of Corn wherewith it furnishes many other Nations And secondly for the exceeding great Magazine of Spices which in ancient times the Venetians brought by Land furnishing all Parts of Europe but now is done by the East-India Company which not only supplies Europe therewith but many places in the Indies also Thirdly It hath inconceivable Store of all manner of Provisions for War insomuch that England and divers other Nations send to Amsterdam to buy Arms Buff-Coats Belts Match c. Yea here are several Shop-keepers who can deliver Arms for four or five Thousand Men and at a cheaper rate than can be got any where else and this they can do by reason of their great Industry in the Ingrossing most of the Iron Works on the Rhine and other Rivers which run into Holland Fourthly Amsterdam hath more store of sawed and prepared Timber for Shipping than can be found in any one Nation in the World and this is the Reason why her Neighbor Town Sardam is made capable of Building Ships 20 per Cent. cheaper than they can do in England or France So that both France and Spain do many times buy them in Holland As lately the King of Spain bought Ten Capital Ships of the two Brothers the Melts Merchants in this City Fifthly Amsterdam is the Staple where the Emperor sells his Quick-silver not only to the Spaniard to use in his Mines in the Indies but for the making of Cinoprium or Vermillion with which Amsterdam furnisheth not only Europe but many places in the Indies THE STADT HOUSE OF AMSTERDAM The Stadthouse or Guild-hall of Amsterdam is deservedly admired and talked of by all the World it is in Truth a most neat and splendid Pile of Building and the Reader will not be displeased I believe if I enlarge 〈◊〉 little in its Description This Noble Town-House then is Built all of Free-Stone according to the Modern Architecture of the Corinthian Order Adorned with Statues in Brass and Carving in Marble by the best Masters of the Age. A Prospect whereof see in the following Figure It is 282 Foot wide 232 Foot deep and 116 Foot high besides the Tower The Foundation is laid upon 13659 Piles of Wood driven into the Ground the first Stone of it was laid October 28. 1648. In the middle over the Cornish and just before the Tower is a very handsome piece of Carving in Marble of 82 Foot long and 18 Foot high wherein the City of Amsterdam is represented by a Woman on whose Right Hand sits the God Neptune with his Trident and two Sea-Goddesses bring her the Fruits of the Earth On her Left two Naïdes present her with Laurels and Palms and before her two Tritons Dance and Sound their Horns On the top of this stands an Image of Brass representing Peace and one on each side representing Providence and Justice each Figure being 12 Foot high And on the back part of the Building to answer is such another piece of Carving in Marble also shewing the Grandeur and Commerce of the City in the middle sits a Woman having on her Head the Hat with Wings of Mercury behind her is seen the Masts and Sails of a Ship and round about her lies all sorts of Mathematical Instruments used in Sailing at her Feet lie the two Rivers Y and Amstel and on each side the Inhabitants of the Four Parts of the World bring her their Fruits Here likewise are placed three Images of Brass of the same bigness with the other that on the top is an Atlas bearing a very large Globe of Copper on the right Hand one representing Temperance and on the left Justice On each of the four Corners of the Building over the Cornish stand four Eagles of Brass supporting an Imperial Crown all finely Gilt. In the middle is erected a very handsom round Tower advanced about 50 Foot above the rest of the Building the Roof supported by Pillars and adorned with Images in it hang a very curious Chime of Bells which at certain times being played on by a Person maintained for that purpose afford a very agreeable Musick So much for the out side And now let us enter which you may by Seven little Arched Doors which let you into the Porch from whence you enter the House by two large Gates between which opening by Windows with Bars of Cast-Brass to the Street stands the Justice-Hall for Trial of Criminals which is Adorned with many curious Carvings in Marble of Ingenious Devices which would be too long to describe particularly Below Stairs within side is kept the Office of the Bank where the Merchants write off their Money the Prisons both for Debtors and Criminals the Guard Chamber where the Citizens keep the Head-Watch and where the Keys of the City Gates are kept lockt up in a Chest every Night and some other Offices From hence you ascend by
a handsome broad pair of Stairs though not very light into the Burghers-Hall which is 120 Foot long 57 Foot broad and 98 Foot high in the Floor whereof are inlaid in Marble the two Faces of the Terrestrial Globe and that of the Coelestial which ingeniously shews as in a Map the Situation of the Countries of the Earth and the Constellations in the Heavens Each of which Maps is 22 Foot Diameter At the end of this Hall is the Scheepens Chamber where are Tryed all Civil Causes between Man and Man and in the Galleries which go round two square Courts on each side the Hall for convenience of Light are the several Chambers or Offices belonging to the Government as the Council Chamber where 〈◊〉 the Common Council of the City who make Laws choose the Burghermasters and Scheepens Deputies for the States c. The Burghermasters Chamber who sit there daily to Administer the Government The Burghermasters withdrawing Room The Scheepens Extraordinary Chamber The Treasury Chambers Ordinary and Extraordinary The Chamber of Accounts That of the Commissioners for Bankrupts Another for the Commissioners for Tryal of small Causes like our Court of Conscience And one for the Commissioners of the Hospitals with two or three more belonging to the several Secretaries all which are beautified with fine Paintings and ingenious Devices carved in Marble over the Door of each Chamber to give a particular Description of which would take up a Volume which is not agreeable to what I here pretend these being only short Remarks to put young Travallers in mind of what is most worthy their Observation I shall only therefore say in general that it is already a very noble beautiful and costly Building and is a sufficient intimation of the Richness of the City but should they finish it within side as they pretend by Painting the Ceilings and Facing the Walls with Marble c. it would make it incomparably the finest and costliest in the World Over these Chambers in the second Story is kept a large Magazine of Arms which takes up one Angle of the Building and is very compleatly Furnished the Arms are all kept in Presses shut up to avoid the injury of the Weather the rest of the House above is not used or Furnished at all One thing I must not omit and that is That there are Eight Cisterns of Water kept always full at the top of the House which by Pipes may be let down into every Room to quench any accidental Fire and the Chimneys are all lined with Copper the former Stadthouse having been Burnt down by Accident I shall now proceed and speak of their Alms-houses and of the Government of the Poor of their Prisons and Houses of Correction This City is said to have 20000 Poor every day at Bed and Board The Alms-houses are many and look more like Princes Palaces than Lodgings for Poor People First there are Houses for Poor old Men and Women then a large square Palace for 300 Widows then there are Hospitals for Boys and Girls for Burghers Children and for Strangers Children or those called Foundlings all these Boys and Girls have every Sunday and other days of Worship two Doites given them by the Fathers of these Houses the which the Children put into the Deacons Bag when they gather for the Poor in the Churches Then there is an Hospital for Fools and a Bedlam There are Houses where common Beggers and Gamesters and frequenters of Tap-houses are kept hard at Work There is also a House called the Rasp-house where petty Thieves and such as flash one another with Knives such as beg with cheating Devices Women with fained great Bellies Men pretending to have been taken by the Turks others that pretend Wreck at Sea and such as Beg with a Clapper or a Bell as if they could not Speak or Hear such as these are kept hard at Work Rasping every day 50 pounds between two of them or else are beaten with a Bulls Pissel and if yet they Rebel and wont Work they are set in a Tub where if they do not Pump the Water will swell over their Heads Then there is a House where Whores are kept to Work as also dis-Obedient Children who live Idle and take no Course to maintain themselves likewise Women commonly drinking themselves Drunk and Scolds all these sorts of Hospitals and Alms-houses are stately Buildings richly Adorned with Pictures and their Lodgings very neat and clean In some of the Boys and Girls Hospitals there are 1500 in some 800 and in some 500 in a House then they have Houses where a Man or a Woman may have their Diet Washing and Lodging for his Life giving a small Sum of Money these are called Brouders Houses The Alms Children of this City are held in such Veneration and Respect that a Man had as good strike a Burghermasters Child as one of them These Children are permitted to Travel in any of the Treckscuts or Passage-Boats freely without Money These Hospitals are Governed by Men and Women as are of an unspotted Life and reputed to be Rich Devout and Pious It is very observable that the Women govern their Women Hospitals better than the Men do theirs yea it is a general Observation in this Country that where the Women have the direction of the Purse and Trade the Husband seldom prove Bankrupts it being the property of a true Born Holland-Wife presently after Marriage to apply her self wholly to her Business but I forbear to say any more of the Dutch-housewives for fear of displeasing our English Dames not so much addicted at least not so generally bred up to Industry But to return to the Acts of Charity of Amsterdam the which is so extraordinary that they surpass all other Cities in the World for they are daily and hourly giving to the Poor every House in Amsterdam hath a Box hanging in a Chain on which is Written Think on the Poor so that when any Merchant sells Goods they commonly conclude no Bargain but more or less is put in the Poors Box these Boxes are lockt up by the Deacons who once a quarter go round the City and take the Money out of the Boxes Then twice a Week there are Men belonging to the Hospitals that go round the City and ring a Bell at every House to know what the Master or Mistriss of the House will give to the Box who generally give not less than two Stivers Then every first Wednesday of the Month the Deacons in their turn go round the City from House to House to receive what every House-keeper will give to the Poor then on the Week before the Sacrament is given a Minister with an Elder goes round the City to every House where any Members of the Presbiterian Religion live and there ask if any differences be in the Family offering their Service to reconcile them also to instruct and prepare such as are to receive the Sacrament At this time a Minister may be seen
to go into a Tap-house or Tavern for which at another time he would be counted a Wine-Bibber and the worst of Reprobates At this time while these Ministers and Elders go about the City on their Visitations the People take an occasion to give to the Poor And here I ought not to omit telling you of their great Charity to the distressed French Protestants who are here in great Numbers They maintain no less than 60 French Ministers and unto many Handicraft Tradesmen and makers of Stuffs and Cloth they lend Sums of Money without Interest to buy Working Tools and Materials for their Work but this is no other then they formerly did to the Poor distressed Protestants of Ireland and Piemont and their Charity was not a little that they gave to Geneva towards the Building their Fortifications and here give me leave to tell you what King Charles II. said of the Charity of Amsterdam when the Duke of Lotherdal hearing that the Prince of Orange's Army was not able to oppose the French from advancing so near to Amsterdam the Duke jearingly said That Oranges would be very scarce in Holland after Amsterdam should fall into the French Hands to plunder To which His Majesty said That he was of Opinion that God would preserve Amsterdam from being destroyed if it were only for the great Charity they have for the Poor the which put the Duke out of Countenance I will say no more of their Charity only this that they leave no Stone unturned to bring Monies into the Poors Stock they make the Stage-players pay 80000 Gilders a year to the Poor there is not a Rope-Dancer Poppet-Player or any of that sort of unnecessary Vermin which frequent Fairs but pay the third Penny to the Poor which is carefully looked after by placing an Alms-man at the Door of the Booths to see that they cheat not the Poor of their share I shall now in the next place say something of the Clergy I mean those called The States Clergy for the States are absolutely Head of their Church and when any Synod of Divines meet two of the States are always present to hear that they debate nothing relating or reflecting on the Government or Governors if they do presently the States cry Ho la mijâ— Heeren Predicanten and if their Ministers meddle with any thing relating to the Government in their Pulpits they send them a Brief which some call a pair of Shooes to quit the City and sometimes Imprison them to Boot but if they behave themselves quietly and well as they ought to do they then are respected by the People as Gods upon Earth They have a Form of Prayer sent them how they shall Pray for the States and Stadholder nor must they meddle with any other Religion in the Country because all sorts are Tollerated at least Connived at by the Magistrates All those called the Presbiterian Ministers or States Clergy are obliged under a Forfeiture to have done Preaching and Praying by Eleven of the Clock in the Forenoon on Sundays because then the Scheepens go to the Stadthouse to Marry the Jews Papists and Lutherans and others that may not marry after the Calvinistical Form and the reason why the States thus marry them first according to Law is to render their Children Legitimate but they may marry again afterwards as they please themselves None may marry until they have made their appearance at the Stadthouse before the Lords where if the Parties be agreed the Preachers marry the Calvinists and the Scheepens marry all the rest who differ from the Religion established by Law When one dies the Friends dare not bury the Corps until it hath lain three days open in the Coffin that the Friends and Relations of the deceased may be satisfied that the Party hath not been murdered or reported to be dead when alive after three days the Corps must be brought to the Church before the Bell ceaseth tolling which is at two for if you keep the Body untill half three then the Church Doors are lock'd and for the first half hour must be paid 25 Gilders and for the second 50 and so until six then they may amerse you as much as they please There are many rich people who make that default on purpose that they may have solemn occasion of giving to the Poor as I knew once an English Merchant did The next thing I shall speak of is the method which the States observe in ordering their Maritime Affairs one of the greatest Mysteries in their Government The States General divide their Admiralty into Five Courts which they call Chambers The First is Rotterdam which is the Chamber call'd the Maese and hath the Admirals Flag Then Amsterdam which hath the Vice-Admiral's Flag and Zealand hath the Rear-Admiral's Flag the other Two Chambers are those in North-Holland and Fricsland Each of these Five Chambers have their Admirals Vice-Admirals and Rear-Admirals apart from the States-Generals Flags so that when the States have occasion to set out a Fleet of an Hundred Ships more or less every Chamber knows the number they must provide for their proportion though in regard of its Opulency Amsterdam frequently helps her Neighbours and adds two or more Ships than their share comes to These Chambers have lately built 36 Men of War and now are building of 7 more and all this is done without noise every one building their proportion And they have admirable methods in preserving their Ships when built and their Magazines are in good order every Ship having an Apartment to lay up all its Equipage in and at the top of their Magazines are vast Cisterns which are kept constantly full of Water having Pipes into every Apartment to let it down upon any accident of Fire And there is in their Magazines a Nursery Room where a Woman keeps an Office to feed at certain hours of the day a great number of Cats which afterward hunt among the Stores for Mice and Rats This great Magazine in Amsterdam was built in the time of Cromwell in the space of 9 months and 14 days in which time the Lords of the Admiralty gave the Workmen drinkgelt as they call it to incourage them to work more than at an ordinary rate At this time the biggest Man of War the States had was the Amelia in which the famous Admiral Trump was kill'd she was a Ship of no more than 56 Guns afterward made a Fire-ship But the States quickly discovered their want of great Ships and therefore built the same year 20 Men of War from 50 to 80 Guns But the great Ships built at Amsterdam had like to have proved of no use had not the ingenious Pensionary de Wit found out a device to carry them over the Pampus betwixt those they call Water Ships The Admiralty have an excellent method in setting out their Fleets they neither press Soldiers nor Seamen all go voluntary at the beating of a Drum each Captain providing Men and Provisions for his Ship
who after they have received Orders from the Lords to the Equipage-Master to equip out their Ships and receive the Provisions of War then the States send aboard each Ship a Chaplain and Check-master who take care of the provision of War and see that the Seamen have the States Allowance and wholesom Food And great care is taken by the Lords that both Captains and Seamen receive their Pay punctually for the time they are in the States Service And for the incouraging their Seamen there is plaistred on a Board hanging by the Foremast the several Rewards to such as either take or fire a Flag-ship or take or sink any other Ship of the Enemies Also what Pensions a wounded Seaman shall have if maim'd or disabled in the States Service c. The Lords of the Admiralty follow the same methods which the States-General observe as to their Land Obligations and go through this great Charge by the good Management of their Credit for though it be true that they are indebted great Sums of Money yet they never want a Supply nay Moneys are often forced upon them by rich Merchants who send in their Moneys and only take the Admiralties Obligations with which they afterward pay their Customs when their Ships arrive at which time the Admiralty allows them Interest for the time they have had their Money And this is it that makes the Admiralties Obligations more valued than ready Money for it saves the trouble of telling And such is the Credit of the Admiralty that when they have occasion for any Goods the People strive to furnish them and rather take their Obligations than Money because they get Interest and all other Assignments upon the Admiralty are very punctually paid and without Exchequer Fees no they are Sworn Officers who are forbid to receive any Monies for Fees being contented with the Sallery they have of the States And their methods used at the Custom-house for loading or unloading Ships are very easie insomuch that the Women generally have the charging and discharging the Ships at the Custom-house which is a great Policy in the States to make Trade easie for the Encouragement of the Merchants And the Admiralty are very grateful and generous unto their Commanders if any of their Admirals or Captains are kill'd at Sea and have done any considerable Service they then Eternize their Memories with lasting Trophies of Honour as you may see by those Stately Monuments of Trump Updam de Ruiter the Eversons and others nor are they sparing in bestowing large Gifts and Pensions on the Widows and Children of those as have served them Faithfully and Valiantly in the Wars whilst the Treacherous and Cowards meet with the severity they deserve I might here in the next place inlarge and tell you of the excellent methods they have in Building and preserving their Ships when Built but I shall refer you to that excellent Peice written by the Heer Witsen on that Subject And shall now in the next place say something of their Famous Company called the East-India Company of the Netherlands this Company is said to be a Commonwealth within a Commonwealth and it is true if you consider the Soveraign Power and Privileges they have granted them by the States General and likewise consider their Riches and vast number of Subjects and the many Territories and Colonies they possess in the East-Indies they are said to have 30000 Men in constant Pay and above 200 Capital Ships besides Sloops Ketches and Yachts This Company hath by their Politick Contrivances and Sedulous Industry possessed themselves of many Colonies formerly belonging unto the Spaniards Portuguises and divers Indian Princes and as good Christians have been at great Charge in Planting the Gospel of Christ in many parts there Printing in the Indian Language Bibles and Prayer Books and Catechisms for the Instruction of the Indians maintaining Ministers and School-masters to inform those that are Converted to the Christian Faith And now because I have said that this Company is so considerable and as it were a Common-wealth apart I will demonstrate it to be so first by their Power Riches and Strength in the Indies secondly what Figure they make in Europe and this very briefly for if I should speak of every particular as to their Possessions in the Indies it would swell into many Volumes but I will only begin with them at the Cape de bonne Esperance where they have built a Royal Fort in which they maintain a Garison of Soldiers to defend their Ships which come there to take in fresh Water From thence let us take a view of them in the Island of Java where they have built a fair City called Battavia and Fortified it with Bastions after the mode of Amsterdam This City is the place of Residence of their grand Minister of State called the General of the Indies he hath allowed him Six Privy Counsellors in Ordinary and Two Extraordinary these govern the Concerns of the Company throughout the Indies and they make Peace and War send their Ambassadors to all parts thereof as occasion requireth This General hath his Guards of Horse and Foot and all sorts of Officers and Servants as if he were a Soveraign Prince the whole Expence whereof is defrayed out of the Companies Stock This General hath much of the direction of Bantam and other parts of the Island of Java From whence let us take a view of them in their great Possessions in the Molucca Islands and those of Banda where they are become so formidable that they look as if they aimed at the Soveraignty of the South Seas They have also a great Trade in China and Japan from whence let us return to the Islands of Sumatra and on the Coast of Bengale where they have several Lodges In Persia they have likewise great Commerce and are so considerable that they wage War with that mighty Monarch if he wrongs them in their Trade They also have several Colonies and Lodges on the Coast of Malabar and Cormandel and in the Country of the Great Mogul and King of Galcanda but principally let us behold them in the rich Island of Zeylon where they are Masters of the plain Country so that the Emperor or King of that Island is forced to live in the Mountains whilst this Company possess the City of Colomba and other the most considerable Garisons of that Island It is said that the Company hath there in their pay 3600 Soldiers and at least 300 Guns Planted in their Forts and Garisons in a word they are not only Masters of the Cinnamon but of all other Spices except Pepper and that they would also have had it been for their Interest to Ingross but they wisely foresaw that the English would be a block in their way therefore they contented themselves to be Masters of the Mace Cinnamon Cloves and Nutmegs with which they not only serve Europe but many places in the Indies I will say no more of them in
But upon removing away the Plates another Dish of Poetry appeared which acquainted them That after that modest and sober way of living they might keep what they had got and lay up something for their Children Then comes in the Third Course made up of all the Rarities of the Season as Partridges Pheasants and all sorts of Fowl and English Pasties with plenty of Rhenish and other sorts of Wine to moisten them this put the Ladies in a Frolick and jolly Humour but under their Plates was found the Use and Application in Verses telling them That to feed after that manner was Voluptuous and Luxurious and would impair their Health and waste their Estates make them neglect their Trade and so in time reduce their stately and new built flourishing City to their old Fishing Town again After this was brought in a Banquet of all sorts of Sweat Meats piled up in Pyramids and delicate Fruit with plenty of delicious Wines and to conclude all a set of Musick and Maskers who Danced with the young Ladies but at parting like the hand writing to Belteshazzar upon the Wall every one had a Printed Paper of Moralities put into their Hand shewing them the Causes of the Ruin of the Roman Commonwealth according to that of the Poet Nullum crimen abest facinusque libidinis ex quo Paupertas Romana perit with an excellent Advice to them That if they did not quit the Buffoonries and Apish Modes of the French and return to the Simplicity Plainness and Modesty of their Ancestors and Founders their Commonwealth could not long last but all the Thanks the good old Burghermaster had for his kind and chargeable Entertainment in thus Feasting his Country-Men was to be Floutted at and Pasquild the Sparks of Amsterdam saying in all places That the old Man being now past the years of Pleasure himself would have none others to take theirs And here I shall put a period to what I thought fit to observe of the States of the United Provinces only I will beg leave to say something to the Hollander by way of Advice viz. That now they are in a prosperous Condition Rich and at Ease they would look back and remember what God in his infinite Goodness and Mercy did for them in the days of their greatest Calamities For my own part I cannot but admire the great Providence of God in preserving them from being devoured by their many Enemies they had in the last War besides their Enemies at home some of which particulars as they then happened give me leave to relate At the time when the French came to Invade the Territories of the States General it then looked as if God had mark'd out the way for the French to March by sending such a wonderful dry Season that the Rivers of the Rhine Beta Wall and other Rivers were Fordable so that the French only waded throw and became so Victorious that in a little space of time what by the Treasons of some and the Ignorance and Cowardise of others intrusted with the Militia and Garisons the French became Masters of above Forty Cities and Garisons at which time there was nothing to be heard of in the States Dominions but Confusion and Misery even in the strong and rich City of Amsterdam it self who at this time beheld the French Army like a mighty Torrent coming within sight of the City and at the same time wanting Water in their Canals and Burghwalls to ply their Sluces and such was the scarcity of Rain that a Pail of fresh Water was worth Six Pence Thus Heaven seemed to frown on them as well as the French Army by the shutting up as it were the Conduits of Heaven and yet a worse thing had like to have fallen out for at the same time the Divisions grew so high amongst the Magistrates in the Stadthouse that it was putting to the Question Whether or no they should not go and meet the French King with the Keys of their City to save it from Fire and Plunder now nothing in all probability could save this rich City from falling into the hands of the French but an immediate hand from Heaven and it had undoubtedly come to pass had not Providence caused the French to make a stand at Muyden two hours from Amsterdam at what time the valiant Roman of Amsterdam Scout Hasselaer like a true Father of his Country opposed the French Party in the Counsel calling out to the Burghers from the Stadthouse to take Courage and rather chuse to die like old Battavians with their Swords in their hands than tamely and treacherously to yield up their City to the Mercy of the French as some of the Magistrates were about to do this so incouraged the Burghers that with great Courage they mann'd the Walls and Heaven then assisting them with a sudden and plentiful Rain that they ply'd their Sluces and dround the Lands round the City three or four Foot high in some places which caus'd the victorious French Army to make a quick retreat as far as Utrecht else they had paid dear for seeing of Amsterdam thus was Amsterdam delivered by the hand of Heaven A Second was when that bloody Duke of Luxemburg who gloried and thanked GOD that he was born without pity or remorse of Conscience took the opportunity of an exceeding hard Frost to march his Army over the Ice as it had been dry ground burning in his way the three fair Villages of Bodygrave Swammerdam and Goudse-sluys acting there a more cruel Tragedy and worse than ever did Turk for they generally save the Country People for Ransom but this cruel Prince caused strong Guards to surround the Villages and burnt Men Women and Children together Thus he began his march with a design to burn Leyden Hague Rotterdam Delft and all the rich Country of Rhineland And this he might have done in all probability for first the Governor of New-sluce who commanded the Post that should have stopt the French treacherously delivered up the Fort without firing a Gun and the handful of Troops then under General Koningsmark were so inconsiderable that they joyned to the Soldiers under Pain and Vin the Governor of New-sluce were not able to make head as could oppose Laxemburg's Army and at the same time the Prince of Orange was with the States Army at Charleroy Now was Leyden ready to meet the French with the Keys of their City and other Cities too for they had neither Fortifications nor Soldiers to man their Walls Thus the whole Country and Cities of Rhineland were like to fall under the Cruelties and Tyrany of the French but GOD a second time sent these People Relief from Heaven first by giving such undaunted Courage to that Great States-man Pensionary Fagel that he forced Coningsmark to rally his Troops together and to make a stand near Leyden offering himself to die at the head of them if there were occasion but GOD reserved him for a further Good to the Commonwealth
by sending such a sudden Thaw as was never seen before for in less than ten hours the Ice so sunk and such Floods of Snow came down from the Highlands that the French were fain to make a very disorderly retreat marching up to the middle for haste because on the Banks there could not march above four Men a-breast so they were constrained to leave behind them the greatest part of the Plunder they had robb'd from the Innocent Country People and the nimble Dutch-men on their Scates so long as the Ice would bear them did shoot down the French like Ducks diving under Water so that it cost Luxemburg's Army dear though they had the pleasure to burn the poor People of which the French afterward wickedly made their boast The third was as wonderful as the two others and although I do not believe Miracles as do the Papists yet I say nothing I ever observed looked more like a Miracle than this to wit when the English and French Fleet lay before Scheveling with a design to land and the French ready on their March to joyn with the English and other French as soon as they should land at the same time the Bishop of Munster lying before Groeningen and the French before Gorcom so that now all things looked with a dreadful face for the States yet at this very time God sent a third relief by sending such Mists and wonderful sorts of Tydes as so separated the two Fleets that the English were forced to quit Scheveling Shore and were driven on the side of the Texel Road from whence they were constrained by the season of the Year to retire home And such were the sudden and great Showers of Rain that the Bishop of Munster was forced in disorder to raise his Siege at Groeningen and the French to quit Gorcom I could add many more Observations of the Providences of God to these People as the preserving the Prince of Orange His present Majesty of Great Britain from the many treacherous Designs contrived against him from his Cradle but Moses must be preserved to go in and out before his People Certainly never young Prince endured so many Fatigues as did his Highness in his tender Years of which I was an Eye-witness and had his Highness had the Years and Experience and such a good Disciplined Army as now he hath in the Year 1671. when the French entred the Country his Highness had given them as good a Welcom as he did at Bergen I will say no more of this Subject only this That the Peace at Nimeguen was also a very wonderful thing for that not above eight Days before the Peace was signed most of the Plenipotentiaries did believe the War would have continued another Year first because the King of Denmark and Duke of Brandenburg prospered exceedingly against Sweedland and totally refused the Propositions of France and secondly because the French King writ such bitter Letters against the States-General Yet eight Days after drest a Letter unto the States in which he calls them his Good Friends and Old Alleys offering them not only Maestricht but every Foot of Ground they could lay claim to in the World also giving them new Terms and Conditions as to their Privileges in France by way of Trade Neither can I forget how speedily and as strangely the French King did quit his Conquered Towns after the Valiant Prince of Orange took Naerden which was the first step to the French's Ruine in the States Dominions I come now according to promise in the beginning of this Book to give the Reader some Remarks I made in other Countries where I have been during my Sixteen Years Travels To give a full account of all that might be observed in so many Countries is not a Task for one Man nor a Subject for so small a Book I shall only therefore briefly take notice of some remarkable Matters which may in some measure satisfie the Curiosity of my Country-men who have not been in the said places and convince if possible all of them that no Country that ever I was in affords so great Conveniencies for the generality of People to live in as the Kingdom of England doth Though I have twice made the grand tour of Germany Hungary Italy and France and after my return back to England travelling a third time through Holland as far as Strasbourg and so back by Francfort to Denmark and Sueden yet the Reader is not to expect I should follow a Geographical Method and Order in speaking of the Places I have been in that is to be lookt for in the Map and not in Travels but only that I mention Places as I found them on my Road according as Business or Curiosity led me to Travel THE first considerable Place I then met with after I was out of the Dominions of the States-General was Cleave the Capital City of the Province so called a fair and lovely City standing upon the Rhine and the Rivers Wall and Leck This Province much resembles England in rich Soil and pleasantness of its Rivers The Inhabitants of the Country would have me believe that they were Originally descended of those Saxons who made a descent into England and conquered it and to convince the truth of this they shew'd me a Cloyster standing on a Hill called Eltham from which they say our Eltham in Kent had its Name I was made to observe also two places standing upon the Rhine near Emmerick called Doadford and Gronewich which according to them gave the Names to Dedford and Greenwich in England But many such Analogies and Similitudes of Names are to be found in other places of Germany but especially in upper Saxony and Denmark The greatest part of this Province of Cleave and part of the Dutchies of Juliers and Berg and of the Provinces of Marke and Ravensbourg belongs to the Elector of Brandenbourg the rest belonging to the Duke of Newbourg now Elector Palatine and the Elector of Cologne The Inhabitants are partly Roman Catholicks partly Lutherans and partly Calvinists who all live promiscuously and peaceably together both in City and Country The City of Cleave is the utmost Limit of the Territories of the Elector of Brandenbourg on this side of Germany from whence his Electoral Highness can Travel Two Hundred Dutch Miles out-right in his own Dominions and never sleep out of his own Country but one Night in the Territories of the Bishop of Osnabrug FRom Cleave I went to a small Town called Rhinberg but a very strong Fortification belonging to the Elector of Cologne which lies at two Miles distance from the City of Wesel that belongs to the Elector of Brandenbourg Through Dusseldorpe situated on the Rhine and the Residence of the Duke of Newbourg I went next to Cologne a very large City called by the Romans Colonia Agrippina and the French Rome d'Allemagne Cologne is an Imperial City and a Republick though for some things it does Homage to the Elector of that Name
and receives an Oath from him It is much decayed within these Hundred Years having been much Priest-ridden a Misfortune that hath undone many other great Cities The Jesuits have had so great Influence upon the Magistrates that they prevailed with them to banish all Protestants who removed to Hambourg and Amsterdam so that Cologne is become so dispeopled that the Houses daily fall to ruine for want of Inhabitants and a great deal of Corn and Wine now grows within the Walls upon Ground where Houses formerly stood I dare be bold to affirm that there is twice the Number of Inhabitants in the Parish of St. Martins in the Fields as there is in Cologne and yet it contains as many Parish-Churches Monasteries and Chappels as there are days in the Year The Streets are very large and so are the Houses also in many of which one may drive a Coach or Wagon into the first Room from the Streets But the Streets are so thin of People that one may pass some of them and not meet Ten Men or Women unless it be Church-Men or Religious Sisters The most considerable Inhabitants of the City are Protestant Merchants though but few in Number and they not allowed a Church neither but at a place called Woullin a Mile without the City the rest of the Inhabitants who are Lay-men are miserably poor There are no less than 3000 Students in Cologne taught by the Jesuits gratis who have the privilege to beg in Musical Notes in the Day-time and take to themselves the liberty of borrowing Hats and Cloaks in the Night But if in the Jesuits Schools there be any Rich Burghermasters Sons who have Parts they are sure to be snapt up and adopted into the Society Formerly before the Matter was otherwise adjusted in the Dyet of Ratubonne there have been Designs of Voting Protestant Magistrates into the Government again but so soon as the Jesuits came to discover who of the Magistrates were for that they immediately preferred their Sons or Daughters and made them Canons Abbots or Canonesses and so diverted them by Interest It 's pity to see a City so famous for Traffick in former times now brought to so great a decay that were it not for the Trade of Rhenish-Wine it would be utterly forsaken and left wholly to the Church-Men The continual Alarms the Magistrates have had by Foreign Designs upon their Liberty and the Jealousies fomented among themselves as it is thought by the Agents and Favourers of France and especially the Bishop of Strasbourg have for several years kept them in continual disquiet and necessitated them to raise great Taxes which hath not a little contributed to the impoverishing of the People especially the Boars round about who tho' the Country they live in be one of the most pleasant and fertile Plains of Germany yet are so wretchedly poor that Canvas Cloaths Wooden Shoes and Straw to sleep on in the same room with their Beasts is the greatest worldly Happiness that most of them can attain unto The Elector of Cologne is Bishop of four great Bishopricks viz. Cologne Prince of Liege Munster and Heldershime To speak of all the Miracles of the three Kings of Cologne and the vast number of Saints who were removed out of England and interred there would be but tedious and perhaps incredible to the Reader as well as wide of my design I shall therefore proceed FRom Cologne I took Water on the Rhine and advanced to the City of Bon and so forward to Coblentz the Residence of the Elector of Trier Over-against this City on the other side of the Rhine stands that impregnable Fort called Herminshine built on a high rocky Hill as high again as Windsor-Castle and on the North-side of it the River Moselle falls into the Rhine over which there is a stately Stone-Bridge This Prince governs his Subjects as the other Spiritual Electors do that is both by Temporal and Spiritual Authority which in that Country is pretty absolute The chief Trade of this Country is in Wine Corn Wood and Iron THE next Country I came to was that of the Elector of Mayence or Mentz who is likewise both a Secular and Ecclesiastical Prince and governs his Subjects accordingly He is reckoned to be wholly for the Interests of the French King who notwithstanding of that pretends a Title to the Cittadel of Mayence As I was upon my Journey to Mayence by Land I made a turn down the Rhine to visit the famous little City of Backrack and some Towns belonging to the Landtgrave of Hesse but especially Backrack because Travellers say it much resembles Jerusalem in its Situation and manner of Buildings The Burghermaster of this City told me that the whole Country about Backrack does not yield above 200 Fouders of Wine a year and yet the Merchants of Dort by an Art of Multiplication which they have used some years furnish England with several thousand of Fouders Here I shall take the Liberty to relate a strange Story which I found recorded in this Country tho' I know it to be mentioned in History There was a certain cruel and inhuman Bishop of Mayence who in a year of great scarcity and Famine when a great number of poor People came to his Gates begging for Bread caused the poor Wretches Men Women and Children to be put into a Barn under pretext of relieving their Necessities but so soon as they were got in caused the Barn Doors to be shut Fire set to it and so burnt them all alive And whil'st the poor Wretches cried and shrieked out for Horror and Pain the barbarous Miscreant said to those that were about him Hark how the Rats and Mice do cry But the just Judgment of GOD suffered not the Fact to pass unpunished for not long after the cruel Bishop was so haunted with Rats and Mice that all the Guards he kept about him could not secure him from them neither at Table nor in Bed at length he resolved to flee for Safety into a Tower that stood in the middle of the Rhine but the Rats pursued him got into his Chamber and devoured him alive so that the Justice of the Almighty made him a Prey to Vermin who had inhumanly reckoned his Fellow-Christians to be such The Tower which I saw to this day is call'd the Rats-Tower and the Story is upon Record in the City of Mayence On my Journey from thence I came to the little Village of Hockom not far distant famous for our Hockomore-Wine of which though the place does not produce above 150 Fouders a year yet the ingenious Hollanders of Dort make some thousand Fouders of it go off in England and the Indies FRom Hockom I proceeded to Francfort a pleasant City upon the River of Maine called formerly Teutoburgum and Helenopâ—lis and since Francfort because here the Franconians who came out of the Province of Franconia foarded over when they went upon their Expedition into Gallia which they conquered and named it France
And I thought it might very well deserve the Name of Petty-London because of its Privileges and the Humour of the Citizens It is a Hansiatick and Imperial Town and Commonwealth the Magistrates being Lutherans which is the publick established Religion though the Cathedral Church belongs to the Roman Catholicks who also have several Monasteries there The City is populous and frequented by all sorts of Merchants from most parts of Europe and part of Asia also because of the two great Fairs that are yearly kept there Many Jews live in this City and the richest Merchants are Calvinists who are not suffered to have a Church in the Town but half an hours Journey out of it at a place called Bucknam where I have told Seventy four Coaches at a time all belonging to Merchants of the City It was in ancient times much enrich'd by Charlemain and hath been since by the Constitution of the Golden-Bull Amongst other Honours and Privileges it 's appointed to be the place of the Emperor's Election where many of the Ornaments belonging to that August Ceremony are to be seen It is strongly fortified having a stately Stone-bridge over the Mayne that joyns it to Saxe-housen the Quarter of the Great Master of the Teutonick-Order The Government is easie to the People they not being taxed as other Cities are and had it not been for the Alarms the French gave them during the last War they had not been much troubled but being forced to keep 3 or 4000 Men in constant Pay to defend their Fortifications the Magistrates were constrained to raise Money by a Tax Besides that of the Emperor they are under the Protection of some Neighbouring Princes as of the Landtgrave of Hesse-Cassel Landtgrave of Armstadt the Count of Solmes and the Count of Hanau who are either Lutherans or Calvinists amongst whom the late Elector Palatine was also one but whether the present who is a Roman Catholick be so or not I cannot tell This City takes great care of their Poor and in their Charity to poor Travellers exceed Holland I have seen a List of Seven thousand whom they relieved in one year Their great Hospital is a large Court or Palace where the English Merchants formerly lived in the time of Queen Mary's Persecution of the Protestants who when they were recalled by Queen Elizabeth were so generous as to give the whole Court with all their Pack-houses and Lands to the Poor of the City It was my fortune to be there in that cold Winter in the year 1683 and saw a Ceremony performed by the Wine-Coopers of the City who are obliged by Law that when ever the Maine lies fast frozen over for 8 days together to make a great Fouder Fat Hoops and Staves and set it up compleat upon the Ice It was very good diversion to see so many Hands at Work and to observe the jollity and mirth of the many Thousands of Spectators who wanted not plenty of Rhenish Wine to Carouse in I had the curiosity afterward to go to the Court of the Landtgrave of Armestadt a Lutheran Prince who lives in part of the richest Soil in Germany His Highness is a very courteous and obliging Prince to Strangers and his Subjects are in a pretty good Condition again though they have been great Sufferers by the last War between the Landtgrave of Hesse and this Family FRom thence I went to Heidleberg a City I had been formerly in in the Life time of that Wise though unfortunate Prince Elector Elder Brother to Prince Rupert Here I had the Honour to pay my Dutiful Respects to the Elector the Son of that great Prince whose Commissary I had the Honour to be for two years together in Amsterdam This Prince since my being there is Dead and left behind him the Reputation of having been a zealous thorough paced Calvinist and so constant a frequenter of the Church that some Sundays he went thrice a day to Sermon but never failed if in Health to be once a day at least at the Garison Church where he took particular notice of such Officers as were absent He was Married to a most Virtuous Lady the Royal Sister of the King of Denmark and his Brother Prince George During his Life time the University of Heidleberg flourished exceedingly so that the number of Students was so great that Chambers and Lodgings in the City were scarce and Spanhemius was about quitting Leyden to return to his Professors place in Heidleberg but how matters stand since his Death I am as yet ignorant This Country is called the Paradise of Germany for its fruitfulness in Wine Corn and all sorts of Fruit. I my self have seen growing in one Plain at the same time Vines Corn Chestnuts Almonds Dates Figs Cherries besides several other sorts of Fruit. And as the Country is fertile in yielding the Fruits of the Earth so the People are careful in providing Store Room for them This I take notice of because of the prodigious Rhenish Wine Fat 's which are to be seen there amongst which there are Seven the least whereof holds the quantity of 250 Barils of Beer as I calculated but the large and most celebrated Fat is that which goes by the name of the great Tun of Heidleberg and holds 204 Fouders of Wine and cost 705 l. Sterling in Building for which one may have a very good House built This Fat I have seen twice and the first time was when the Elector Treated the French Ambassadors that came to conclude the Match betwixt his Daughter and Monsieur the French Kings Brother who Married her after the Death of Henrietta his first Wife at which Treat there happened an adventure that I shall here please the Reader with In a Gallery that is over this Fat the Elector caused a Table to be placed in the middle exactly above the Bunghole of this Monstrous Vessel and to be covered with a costly Banquet of all sorts of Sweat-Meats The day before all the Wine being emptied out of this Tun into other Fat 's a little before the Ambassadors with other Foreign Ministers and Persons of Quality mounted the Stairs to come to the place of Entertainment the Elector caused twelve Drummers with as many Trumpeters some Kettle-Drums and other Musick to be lodged in the Belly of the Tun with orders to strike up upon a signal given when the Elector drank the French Kings Health All being sat down at Table and merrily Feeding the Elector drank the Health and the Signal was given whereupon the Musick began to play its part with such a roaring and uncouth Noise out of that vast Cavity below that the French and other Persons of Quality who were unacquainted with the design looking upon it to be an infernal and ominous Sound in great astonishment began to cry out Jesu Maria The Worlds at an end and to shift every one for himself in so great Disorder and Confusion that for haste to be gone they tumbled down Stairs one over
the Princess Elizabeth eldest Sister of the late Elector Palatine and Prince Rupert Notwithstanding the late 〈◊〉 with Sweden and that by the prevalency 〈◊〉 France in that hasty Treaty of Peace coâ—â—â—â—ded at Nimâ—guen his late Electoral 〈…〉 was obliged to give back what he had 〈…〉 taken from that Crown yet his 〈…〉 flourished in Wealth and Trade his 〈…〉 having encouraged Manufactures of 〈…〉 by inviting Artizans into his Dominâ—â—◠〈◊〉 established a Company of Trading 〈…〉 to the West-Indies which will 〈◊〉 advance Navigation amongst his Subâ—â—â—â—â— And in all humane probability they are 〈◊〉 to continue in a happy condition seeing by the Alliances his Highness hath made with the Protestant Princes of the Empire and especially the House of Lunenbourg they are in no danger of being disturbed by their Neighbours I told you before that the Elector of Brandenbourg was Married to the Daughter of the Duke of Hanouer so that as long as that Alliance holds the Families of Brandenbourg and Lunenbourg will be in a condition to cast the Balance of the Empire they both together being able to bring into the Field 80000 as good Men as any are in Europe WHen I parted from Berlin I made a turn back to Lunenbourg in my way to Swedeland where I found several of my Countrymen Officers in the Garison who shewed me what was most remarkable in the City as the Saltworks which bring in considerable Sums of Money to the Duke of Lunenbourg the Stadthouse and Churches in one of which I saw a Communion-Table of pure Ducat-Gold From thence I went into the Province of Holstein and at a small Sea-port called Termond of which I spake before I embarked for Sweden HE that hath read in the Histories of this last Age the great Exploits of Gustavus Adolphus and his Swedes perhaps may have a fancy that it must be an excellent Country which hath bred such Warriors but if he approach it he will soon find himself undeceived Entering into Swedeland at a place called Landsort we sail'd forward amongst high Rocks having no other prospect from Land but Mountains till we came to Dollers which is about four Swedish that is twenty four English Miles from Stockholm the Capital City of the Kingdom Upon my coming ashore I confess I was a little surprized to see the Poverty of the People and the little Wooden Houses they lived in not unlike Soldiers Huts in a Leaguer but much more when I discovered little else in the Country but Mountainous Rocks and standing Lakes of Water The Reader will excuse me I hope if I remark not all that I may have taken notice of in this Country seeing by what I have already written he may perceive that my Design is rather to observe the Manner of the Inhabitants living than to give a full Description of every thing that may be seen in the Country they live in However I shall say somewhat of that too having premised once for all that the ordinary People are wretchedly poor yet not so much occasioned by the Publick Taxes as the Barronness of their Country and the Oppression of the Nobles their Landlordâ— and immediate Superiours who till the preâ—â—â—t King put a stop to their Violences tyâ—â—â—nically domineered over the Lives and 〈◊〉 of the poor Peasants 〈◊〉 Dâ—llers I took Waggon to Stockholm 〈…〉 Horses three times by the way 〈…〉 of the badness of the Rode on all 〈…〉 with Rocks that hardly 〈…〉 as here and there to leave a 〈…〉 Ground At two Miles distance upon that Road the City of Stockholm looks great because of the King's Palace the Houses of Noblemen and some Churches which are seated upon Rocks And indeed the whole City and Suburbs stand upon Rocks unless it be some few Houses built upon Ground gained from the Rivers that run through the Town Stockholm has its Name from a Stock or Log of Wood which three Brothers threw into the Water five Miles above the City making a Vow that where-ever that Stock should stop they would build a Castle to dwell in The Stock stopt at the Holm or Rock where the Palace of the King now stands And the Brothers to be as good as their word there built their Castle which invited others to do the like so that in process of time the other Rocks or Holms were covered with Buildings which at length became the Capital City of the Kingdom It is now embelished with a great many stately Houses and much improved from what it was 400 Years ago as indeed most Cities are for the Stadthouse then built is so contemptible and low that in Holland or England it would not be suffered to stand to disgrace the Nation The Council-Chamber where the Burghmasters and Raedt sit is two Rooms cast into one not above nine Foot high and the two Rooms where the Sheriffs and the Erve College which is a Judicature like to the Doctors Commons in England sit are not above eight Foot and a half high The King's Palace is a large Square of Stone-building in some places very high but an old and irregular Fabrick without a sufficient quantity of Ground about it for Gardens and Walks It was anciently surrounded with Water but some Years since part of it was filled up to make a Way from the Castle-Gate down into the old Town In this Palace there are large Rooms but the Lodgings of the King Queen and Royal Family are three Pair of Stairs high the Rooms in the first and second Stories being destin'd for the Senate-Chamber and other Courts of Judicature The King's Library is four Pair of Stairs high being a Room about forty six Foot square with a Closet adjoyning to it not half the Dimensions When I considered the Apartments and Furniture of this Court I began to think that the French Author wrote Truth who in his Remarks upon Swedeland says That when Queen Christina resigned the Crown to Carolus Gustavus the Father of this present King she disposed of the best of the Furniture of the Court and gave away a large share of the Crown-Lands to her Favorites in so much that the King considering the poor Condition she had left the Kingdom in and seeing the Court so meanly furnished said That had he known before he accepted the Crown what then he did he would have taken other Measures There are many other stately Palaces in Stockholm belonging to the Nobility but many of them for want of Repairs and not being inhabited run to ruine several of the Nobles who lived in them formerly having lost the Estates that maintained their ancient Splendor as we shall see hereafter being retired unto a Country Life There are also some other Magnificent Structures begun but not finished as that stately Building intended for a Parliament-House for the Nobles and two or three Churches But what I most wonder at is the Vault wherein the late King lies buried is not as yet covered but with Boards for it is to be observed that the
Rubbish that remained was thrown together into a Corner which made up Sweden and Norway And indeed the French seem to have no great liking to the Country whatever kindness they may have for the People for a French Ambassador as an Author of that Country relates being by order of Queen Christina Treated in a Country House four Swedish Miles from Stockholme and upon the rode going and coming with all the Varieties and Pleasures that the Country could afford on purpose to make him have a good Opinion of the same made answer to the Queen who asked him upon his return What he thought of Sweden That were he Master of the whole Country he would presently Sell it and Buy a Farm in France or England which under Favour I think was a little Tart and Sawcy Having stayed a considerable time in Swedeland and most part at Stockholme I set out from thence to go to Elsenbourg by Land and went a little out of my way to see a small City called Eubrone Famous for a Coat of Arms which it got in this manner A certain Masculine Queen of Denmark who had Conquered a great part of Sweden coming to this City asked the Magistrates What was the Arms of their City Who having her that they had none she plucked up her Coats and squatting upon the Snow bid them take the mark she left there for their Arms its pity she did not give them a suitable Motto to it also What that Figure is called in Blazonery I know not but to this Day the City uses it in their Arms and for marking their Commodities This Queen came purposely into Sweden to pay a visit to a brave Woman that opposed a King of Swedeland who in a time of Famine would have put to Death all the Men and Women in his Country above 60 years of Age. The Country all the way I travelled in Swedeland is much of the same quality of the Land about Stockholme until I came near the Province of Schonen which is called the Store-house and Kitchin of Sweden where the Country is far better It was formerly very dangerous to Travel in this Province of Schonen because of the Snaphances who were a kind of Bloody Robbers now utterly destroyed by the King so that it is safe enough Travelling there Entering into Schonen I saw 29 of these Rogues upon Wheels and elsewhere in the Country ten and twenty at several places The King used great severity in destroying of them some he caused to be broken upon the Wheel others Spitted in at the Fundament and out at the Shoulders many had the Flesh pinched off of their Breasts and so were fastened to Stakes till they Died and others again had their Noses and both Hands cut off and being seared with a hot Iron were let go to acquaint their Comrades how they had been served The King is very severe against Highway-Men and Duellers In above a 100 Miles Travelling we found not a House where there was either French Wine or Brandy which made me tell a Swede of our Company who was Travelling to Denmark that I would undertake to shew any Man 500 Houses wherein a Traveller might have Wine and other good Accommodation in the space of an Hundred Miles upon any rode from London There are several small Towns and fertile Land in this Country of Schonen lying upon the Sâ—undt at the narrowest part whereof lies Elsenbourg burnt down by the Danes in the last War Here I crost over to Elsenore the passage being but a League broad The King of Denmark has a Castle at Elsenore which commands the narrow passage of the Soundt where all Ships that enter into or come out of the Baltick Sea must pay Toll Having visited this Castle and staid about a Fortnight with the English Consul and Sir John Paul late Resident at the Court of Swedeland I went to the Danish Court at Copenhagen COpenhagen is the Capital City of Zecland Jutland or Denmark and place of Residence of the King It stands on a Flat encompassed with a pleasant and delightful Country much resembling England The Streets of the City are kept very neat and clean with Lights in the Night time for the convenience and safety of those who are then abroad a Custom not as yet introduced into Stockholme where it is dangerous to be abroad when it is dark The Kings Men of War lie hear very conveniently being orderly ranged betwixt Booms after the manner of Amsterdam and near the Admiralty House which is a large pile of Building well furnished with Stores and Magazins secured by a Cittadel that not only commands the City but also the Haven and entry into it The Court of Denmark is splendid and makes a far greater figure in the World than that of Sweden though not many years ago in the time of Carolus Gustavus the Father of the present King of Swedeland it was almost reduced to its last when the Walls of Copenhagen saved that Crown and Kingdom That Siege was Famous carried on with great vigour by the Swede and as bravely maintained by the Danes The Monuments whereof are to be seen in the Cannon Bullets gilt that still remain in the Walls of some Houses and in the Steeple of the great Church of the Town The Royal Palace in Copenhagen is but small and a very ancient Building but his Majesties House Fredenburg is a stately Fabrick of Modern Architecture and very richly Furnished Denmark is at present a flourishing Kingdom and the King who hath now made it Hereditary surpasses most of his Predecessors in Power and Wealth He hath much enlarged his Dominions as well as Authority and by his Personal and Royal Virtues no less than the eminent qualities of a great many able Ministers of State he hath gained the Universal Love of his Subjects and the esteem of all Foreign Princes and States The Court is much frequented every day but especially on Sundays where about Eleven of the Clock in the Morning the Nobility Foreign Ministers and Officers of the Army assemble and make a glorious Appearance There one may see many Knights of the Order of the Elephant of Malto but I never saw any Order of the like Nature as that of Sweden that King rarely appearing in his George and Garter but on days of publick Audience I have observed at one time above 150 Coaches attending at the Court of Denmark which are ten times more than ever I saw together at that of Sweden The King is affable and of easie access to Strangers seen often abroad by his Subjects in his Gardens and Stables which are very large and well furnished with all sorts of Horses He is a great lover of English Horses and Dogs and delights much in Hunting as his Eldest Son the Prince with his Brothers do in Cock-â—ighting insomuch much that the English Merchants cannot make a more acceptable present to those Princes than of English Game-Cocks The standing Forces of Denmark are
the City but at a place called Altena a Village belonging to the King of Denmark a quarter of an hours walk distant from Hambourg This Commonwealth is Lutheran and governed by 4 Burghermasters 24 Radts-heers and a Common-Council of all the Burghers who have above 40 Shillings per Annum Freehold The Symbol or Motto under their Arms is Da Pacem Domine in Diebus nostris and in their Standards are these Letters S. P. Q. H. The People here groan under heavy Taxes and Impositions The State because of continual Alarms they have from the King of Denmark or other Neighbours and the Intestine Broils that frequently happen here as well as at Colâ—gne where the Burghermasters are often in danger of their Lives from the mutinous Mobile being forced to maintain 6 or 7000 Men in Pay besides 2 or 3 Men of War to guard their Havens from Pirats I shall not name all the ways of imposing Taxes which this Commonwealth uses because in most they imitate the Methods of the States-General as to that which have been mentioned before I shall only take notice of some peculiar Customs they have wherein they differ from Holland When a Barber Shoemaker or any other Artizan dies leaving a Widow and Children another of the same Trade is not admitted to set up for himself as a Master unless he compound with the Widow for a piece of Money or else marry her or a Daughter of hers with her consent If any Man cause another to be Arrested for Debt or upon any other Suit the Plaintiff must go along with the Officer who Arrests the Party and stay by him until the Prisoner be examined by the Sheriff so that if the Sheriff be not to be spoken with that night the Plaintiff must tarry with the Prisoner all night until the Sheriff examin the matter and see cause of discharging or committing the Party but this a Plaintiff may do by a Procuration Notarial If a Prisoner be committed for Debt the Plaintiff must maintain him in Prison according to his Quality and if the Party lie in Prison during the space of 6 Years at the expiration of that time the Prisoner is discharged and if during the time of his Imprisonment the Plaintiff do not punctually pay the Prisoner's Allowance at the Months end the Prisoner is set at liberty and nevertheless the Plaintiff must pay the Gaoler the last Month's Allowance This State is severe in the execution of Justice against Thieves Murderers and Cheats There is no Pardon to be expected for Murder and a Burghermaster himself if Guilty cannot escape The Punishment for Murder is here as in Sweden breaking Malefactors on the Wheel pinching their Breasts and Arms with hot Pincers spitting them in at the Fundament and out at the Shoulder They have also cruel ways of Torturing to make Prisoners confess and are very careful not to be cheated in their Publick Revenue their Excise-men and Collectors being Punished as in Holland They take a very good course not to be cheated in their Excise for all the Mills of the Country are in the hands of the State so that no Baker nor Brewer can grind his own Corn but must have it ground at the States Mills where they pay the Excise There is a General Tax upon all Houses and that is the Eighth Penny which nevertheless does not excuse them from Chimney-money The States here as at Genoua in Italy are the Publick Vintners of whom all People must buy their Wine which they buy from the Merchant or otherwise import it in their own Ships In their Ceremonies of Burying and Christening they are ridiculously Prodigal as for Instance If one invite a Burghermaster he must give him a Ducat in Gold if a Radts-heer that is an Alderman a Rixdollar to every Preacher Doctor of Physick Advocate or Secretary half a Rixdollar and to every Schoolmaster the third part of a Rixdollar The Women are the Inviters to Burials Weddings and Christenings who wear an Antick kind of a Dress having Mitred Caps as high again as the Mitre of a Bishop The Churches here are rich in Revenues and Ornaments as Images and stately Organs wherein they much delight They are great Lovers of Musick insomuch that I have told 75 Masters of several sorts of Musick in one Church besides those who were in the Organ-Gallery Their Organs are extraordinary large I measured the great Pipes in the Organs of St. Catherine's and St. James's Churches and found them to be 3 Foot and 3 quarters in circumference and 32 Foot long in each of which Organs there are two Pipes 5 Foot and 8 Inches round The Wealth and Trade of this City encreases daily they send one Year with another 70 Ships to Greenland and have wonderfully Engrossed that Trade from England and Holland and it 's believed that small and great there are belonging to this Commonwealth five thousand Sail of Ships After Amsterdam Genoua and Venice their Bank is reckoned the chief in Credit but in Trade they are accounted the third in Europe and come next to London and Amsterdam Hambourg is now become the Magazine of Germany and of the Baltick and Northern Seas They give great Privileges to the Jews and to all Strangers whatsoever especially the English Company of Merchant Adventurers whom they allow a large Building where they have a Church and where the Deputy-Governour Secretary Minister and the other Officers of the Company live to whom they yearly make Presents of Wine Beer Sheep Salmond and Sturgeon in their seasons And so much of Hambourg FRom Hambourg I went to Lubeck which is also a Commonwealth and Imperial Town It is a large well-built City containing ten Parish-Churches the Cathedral dedicated to St. Peter being in length 500 Foot with two high Spires all covered with Brass as the rest of the Churches of that City are In former times this City was the place where the Deputies of all the Hansiatick Towns assembled and was once so powerful as to make War against Denmark and Sweden and to conquer several places and Islands belonging to those two Crowns nay and to lend Ships to England and other Potentates without any prejudice to their own Trade wherein they vyed in all parts with their Neighbours but it is now exceedingly run into decay not only in Territories but in Wealth and Trade also And the reason of that was chiefly the Inconsiderate Zeal of their Lutheran Ministers who perswaded the Magistrates to banish all Roman Catholicks Calvinists Jews and all that dissented from them in matter of Religion even the English Company too who all went and setled in Hambourg to the great Advantage of that City and almost ruine of Lubeck which hath not now above 200 Ships belonging to it nor more Territories to the State than the City it self and a small part called Termond about eight Miles distant from it The rest of their Territories are now in the possession of the Danes and Swedes by whom the
Burghers are so continually alarmed that they are quite tired out with keeping Guard and paying of Taxes The City is indeed well fortified but the Government not being able to maintain above 1500 Soldiers in pay 400 Burghers in two Companies are obliged to watch every Day They have a large well-built Stadthouse and an Exchange covered on the top whereof the Globes of the World are painted This Exchange is about 50 Yards in the length and but 15 in breadth Over it there is a Room where the Skins of five Lyons which the Burghers killed at the City-Gates in the Year 1252. are kept stuft The great Market-place is very large where a Monumental-Stone is to be seen on which one of their Burghermasters was beheaded for running away without fighting in a Sea-Engagement The People here spend much time in their Churches at Devotion which consists chiefly in Singing The Women are beautiful but disfigured with a kind of Antick Dress they wearing Cloaks like Men. It is cheap living in this Town For one may hire a Palace for a matter of 20 l. a Year and have Provisions at very reasonable Rates besides the Air and Water is very good the City being supplied with Fountains of Excellent Fresh Water which Hambourg wants and good Ground for Celleridge there being Cellars here 40 or 50 Foot deep I Had the Curiosity to go from Lubeck to see the Ancient City of Magdeburg but found it so ruined and decayed by the Swedish War that I had no Encouragement to stay there I therefore hastened to Berlin the chief Residence of the Elector of Brandenburg at whose Court I met with a very Ingenuous French Merchant who told me that he and divers other Merchants were designed to have lived in England but were discouraged by a Letter sent from London by a French-Man that was removing from thence to Amsterdam for these following Reasons which I Copied out of his Letter First Because the Reformed Religion is persecuted in England as it is France the which I told him was a great Untruth for it is apparent that they have been all along graciously admitted and received into his Majesties Dominions without interruption and allowed the free Exercise of their own Form of Worship according to the Doctrine and Discipline of the Churches of France Nor can they who converse with the French Ministers either in France or Holland be ignorant that the chiefest part if not all those Ministers are willing to comply with the Church of England and it is evident that most of the Dutch and French Protestants so called in Holland make use of Organs in their Churches A second thing was that both the Bank at London and the Bankers Goldsmiths were all broak the which I told this Frenchman was not true altogether for there are many able Bankers whom I named Neither was the Bank as he called the Chamber of London broak only it had been under the management of a bad Person whose design was to bring it into disgrace Besides there is the East-India-Company an unquestionable Security for those as have Money to dispose of together with another undeniable Security which is Land Thirdly he saith That in England there is no Register and therefore many Frauds in Purchases and Morgages which beget tedious Suits and renders both dangerous to trust Fourthly That if a Man would purchase Land he cannot being an Alien until Naturalized Fifthly That in England there are so many Plots and Confusions in Government that the Kingdom is hardly quiet 20 Years together Sixthly that false Witnesses were so common in England and the Crime of Perjury so slightly punished that no Man could be safe in Life or Estate if he chanced to be in Trouble Lastly he said that the English are so restless and quarelsom that they not only foment and cherish Animosities amongst one another but are every foot contriving and plotting against their Lawful Sovereign and the Government By such Surmises and Insinuations as these the French and Germans are scared from trusting themselves and Fortunes in England and therefore settle in Amsterdam Hamburgh and other Cities where there are Banks and Registers This I say is one cause why there are now to be seen at Amsterdam such vast numbers of French and Germans who have much enrich'd that City and raised the Rents of the Houses 20 per Cent. And the Silk-weavers grow also very rich keeping so many Alms-Children to do their Work and having all their Labour without any Charge only for the teaching them their Trades which hath lessened the Revenues of the French Crown and will in time greatly increase the number of the States Subjects and advance their publick Incomes Having made this Digression I return to Berlin It is a City enlarged with fair Streets and Palaces The Magistrates of the place are Lutherans which is the publick established Religion in all the Electors Dominions though he himself and his Children be Calvinists He is look'd upon to be so true to that Persuasion that he is reckoned the Protector of the Calvinists and indeed he sollicited the Emperor very hard for a Toleration of the Protestants in Hungary His Chaplains as most of the Lutheran Ministers also endeavour to imitate the English in their way of Preaching And his Highness is so much taken with English Divinity that he entertains Divines for translating English Books into the German Tongue as The Whole Duty of Man and several others He has a large and stately Palace at Berlin and therein a copious Library enriched with many Manuscripts Medals and Rarities of Antiquity He may compare with most Princes for handsom Guards being all of them proper well-bodied Men and most part Officers who ride in his Guards of Horse As he is known in the World to be a Valiant and Warlike Prince so he maintains in Pay an Army of 36000 Men besides five or six thousand Horsemen who in time of War are modelled into Troops with which Body during the late War with Sweden his Highness's Father in Person beat the Swedes out of his Country He keeps his Forces in strict Discipline obliging all the Officers if Protestants on Sundays and Holy-days to march their several Companies in order to Church but if a Superiour Officer be of a contrary Perswasion then the next in Commission supplies his place This custom is Religiously observed by all his Highnesses Garisons whilst he himself goes constantly to the Calvinist Church adjoyning to the Court with his Children being five Sons two Daughters and two Daughters-in-Law Amongst other Acts of Publick Piety and Charity this Prince hath established and endowed some Religious Houses or Nunneries for Protestant young Ladies where they may live virtuously and spend their time in Devotion as long as they please or otherwise Marry if they think fit but then they lose the benefit of the Monastery There is one of these at Hertford in Westphalia where I was and had the Honour to wait upon the Lady Abbess