c. Here the Land lies low and the Water high dam'd up for the Publick Service and conveniency of Travel The Air is thick foul and unwholsom we fortified our selves with a good Dose of old Hock every Day we liv'd as the better sort of Dutch do and the common with a Cup of Nantz We arrived to the Dooly-House a noted Tavern where many of the Train'd-Band Officers are very well drawn in good Paint in a great drinking Rome the Wine is generally good at their Publick Houses but the best was at the Heer-Logiment but then the Price is higher This is a noble House fit to receive and lodge a Prince as it often does the lesser Potentates of Germany who frequently travel thither especially in their Minority when they never fail to make the Tour of these Provinces which well merit their Time and Expence informing their Judgments as well as gratifying their Curiosities The Accounts and Descriptions of Places and Things well made being indeed very delightful to read but much more to view the Eye being in matters of that kind much to be prefer'd to the Ear The mighty Figure this Republick has and still does make in the World her Wealth Power and Reputation both at home and abroad her Numerous Armies Formidable Navies and Foreign Alliances are all well worth seeing and knowing 'T is very observable here more Women are found in the Shops and Business in general than Men they have the Conduct of the Purse and Commerce and manage it rarely well they are Careful and Diligent capable of Affairs besides Domestick having an Education suitable and a Genius wholly adapted to it The Men take all the Pleasure they go to Coffee-Houses Taverns and Treats walk or ride in Chases abroad play much at Cards sit up Gaming and Fudling greatest part of Night and all is well the good Wife gets and the Husband spends the Money but this Compensation the Woman has for all her Toil and Care That at her Death if she drops before her Husband she can give away half the Estate The Women of these Parts are all for making their Daughters and Nieces or Grand-Children great Fortunes they let the Boys shift for themselves they say they can best do it We met abundance of French in this Place both Ministers and others most of the Reform'd Religion the Dutch are very generous to them in their Alms for their Support here are many Thousands ten for one in England or Ireland This Remark we made not once but often when we or any others occasionally spoke against the French King they seem'd concern'd tho' he has so bitterly persecuted them and as we were inform'd by those who knew it well they us'd to rejoyce at his former Successes in Flanders Piedmont and Catalina and say upon all Occasions Nôtre Grand Monarque est invincible which Note now is chang'd the Dutch were offended at their Vanity and Weakness because from them they receiv'd their Bread We went to the Butter Cheese Poultry and Dog-Market the three first were well-stor'd but the last which is every Monday Morning had but about twenty Curs in it and those very ugly but every Woman must have one the ordinary as well as extraordinary and good round Prizes they for these hairy Companions Thence to the Market for green and dried Herbs Seeds of all sorts and Roots for Apothecaries another of very fine Flowers in Pots in great quantities Here is a Rag-market and another for Tobacco Pipes of which they have very fine ones curiously glaz'd and wrought and great variety of Sorts and Prizes for Sea and Land short ones with large Bowls for the Skippers and Tarpaulins who keep them on board their Vessels and sell them to the Passengers Markets of Baskets Chairs Tubs and Pails all very pretty Grain Bisket Cakes Eggs c. Two large Flesh-Markets or Halls being in handsome Houses great store of Flesh in both and very good indifferently cheap and would be very reasonable but for the great and lasting Excise the Butchers and their Wives are neatly dressed and cleanlier than ours Here is also a Sawcidge Hogs-face and Tripe-Market they sell in their Cheesemongers Shops Bologna Sawcidges and dried Salmon both which they dress well boiling in part then frying the first and eating it with Spinage over which they scrape Nutmeg We hired a Yacht again and sailed for several Hours up and down the River to divert our selves Upon a small Island overagainst the City is their standing Gallows the Scaffold I mention'd before being set up only at particular times all of Free-Stone Triangular Pillars with Iron cross them with carv'd Work a Lion at the top of each they first hang or strangle the Criminals on the foresaid Scaffold erected close to the Stadthouse and those sentenced to hang in Iron are brought hither The Wheel or Cross is seldom us'd here tho' often in France The Scotch Man that many Years ago attempted to burn their Fleet of Men of War is here laid upon a Wheel set upon a high Post Also a French Man that kill'd a Whore who being bid by the Parson to pray for the City and Magistrates said The Devil take 'em all and one or two more hanging in Chains as we in England call it We had the Curiosity to go to see the Navy or Admiralty Office which is a well-built House with good large Rooms well painted and fitly accommodated to the Business they have a Court of Justice within themselves from which is no Appeal they hang or shoot their Sea-Officers or Men for Cowardize or neglect of Duty and reward them roundly if they burn sink or take a Flag-Ship or any Ship of War great or small or do any considerable Service they give them ready Money and Pensions when disabled great Care is taken of their Sea-men their Wages punctually and justly paid and their Widows and Children consider'd and themselves largely provided for in Hospitals c. In this House are several Trophies hung up taken from the several Enemies of this State We hir'd each a Chaise which is a small Chariot on two Wheels drawn by one Horse which runs very swift the Roads being sandy and generally good can travel sixty Miles a day and each got a Companion and went to NAERDEN Naerden the Frontier of the Province of Holland about ten Miles from Amsterdam in our way we past through Muyden a small City which has no Vote among the States because neither they nor Wesep another small City nor Naerden sent any Deputies to the Hague when the Foundation of the Union was laid This Town of Naerden was almost destroy'd by Fire in the Fourteenth Century and the remainder of it drown'd by the Sea soon after but Anno 1455 it was re-built by William the Third of Bavaia then Earl of Holland The Citizens of Vtrecht made themselves Masters of it in the Year 1481 by a pretty Stratagem putting their Soldiers in the Habit of Country Women
a Chamber at the further end the High Court of Justice from which no Appeals are granted and to which all are made The Civil or Roman Law is in practise all over these Countries This Village has no Vote among the States not because 't is a Village for there are several Cities have no Votes but because they did not send Deputies to Vtrecht when the Union was upon the Anvil The Hague paies more Excise for Wine and other Liquors than Amsterdam Rotterdam and Dort three great Cities put together as they told us and it has the face of Truth for here is the great concourse of Travellers Nobility Gentry Foreign Embassadors Envoys Residents c. And now and for some Years past of the Congress these are the Wine-Bibbers for the common Dutch are satisfied with a sopie of Brandy-Wine a Dram of that Liquor does their Business better it keeps out the Cold and the Fogs quickens them and makes them fitter for Action and indeed they seem to have some occasion for it for they are naturally slow and heavy but then very diligent and constant else 't would have been impossible to have finish'd such great Works as they to their Honour and the Safety of their Country have happily atchiev'd And indeed strong and spirituous Liquors seem to me to be more necessary for as well as natural to this Nation conducing mightily to the conservation of their Health which must needs be fluctuating where the Air is so foul Their Country is a Bog a Marsh full of Vapours and Fogs which are Earthy and Sulphureous and send forth unpleasant and unwholsom Scents and therefore their frequent Tippling ought not to be charg'd on them as a Crime especially by a Neighbour-Nation the English who have a better Country and a better Air and are in their own Natures more lively brisk and pert having more Heat more Fire within are as Cholerick as the t'other Flegmatick drudge not like them therefore want not the like Supports being lazy and idle People chusing rather some of 'em to starve than work Besides they Bumper it but seldom and at set and upon solemn Occasions and then forbear a good while or at least some time but my Country-men to their shame are always Sotting and Drunkening toiling at it and valuing themselves upon making one another Drunk indeed 't is a noble Atchievement to Fuddle the whole Company 'T is a glorious Conquest to leave 'em all slain upon the Floor as they call it Now the bearing of much strong Liquor is an argument of a thick Skull rather than otherwise which I find few very fond of at least none would have it if they could help it In the Afternoon we hired a Coach a very genteel one and the Coach-Man in a good Habit of grey resembling a Livery with a pair of handsom fat well-kept Horses we agreed with him to wait upon us the whole Afternoon which he did for about Eight Shillings Sterling and first carried us to the Prince's House in the Bosch or Wood about two Miles from the Hague 't is a very pretty well-built tho' old Box as we call small Seats in England with good Gardens tho' not now very well kept at the Entrance of this House stand Four whole Marble Effigies of William the First Maurice his Brother Henry and William the Second the present King of Great Britain's Father all Princes of Orange very curiously done Directly forwards is a lofty well-painted well-guilt well-floor'd small Hall with a Gallery for Musick all round the top of it and three or four small lodging Rooms below and several very good ones above one Closet of all true Indian Japan made of Cabinets or Chests taken in pieces 't is three Yards long and one and a half broad The Wall and Cielings all round beautified with curious Paintings representing the Actions of Frederick Henry Prince of Orange The Wood in which this little House fit only for Banqueting or a Supper in the cool of a Summer's Evening or indeed a retreat with a Mistress stands is very pleasant and with cost might be made much more delightful There is a pretty deal of Ground about it and well wooded but has no Deer or any other Game As we came back we rid by the Mall or Mell much like that in St. James's Park but not so neat or well kept being not so much frequented Then we were drove back through part of the Hague to Schevelin upon a fine smooth way pav'd all with Bricks and planted on each side with Trees to make it pleasant which was done at vast Expence being before all sandy Hills a little Village about two Miles from thence fam'd in Story for the Embarkation of Charles the Second King of England when he went to take Possession of his Three Crowns from which he had been long kept by the Usurper Oliver Cromwell 'T is a little Fisher-Place we rid along the shoar two or three Hours in view of the Ocean or Main-Sea where we observ'd some Wrecks on that Coast Between Schevelin and the Hague is a House of Myn Heer Bentink's now Earl of Portland it is but an ordinary old Piece of Building tho' his Lordship has lately added some new Lodgings to it but the Gardens are new and very extraordinary there is a very fine Orangerie and a new well-built Room or Green-house to preserve them in Winter and in the middle and at each end a great Stove in which great Fires are kept during the extreme cold Weather In the middle of the new Garden is a fine Oval Fountain The Garden is made up like a Half-Moon full of fine Flower-Pots In the old Garden is a neat Aviary and a small Moat with Fowl in it fine Walks and Figures and a Summer-House built upon an Artificial Rock Amongst the Principal Buildings in the Hague the House built by Prince Maurice claims the first Rank for 't is a stately One of Modern Structure Here Charles the Second King of Great Britain was lodged and treated by the States when his Majesty came from Breda to embark for England Anno 1660. The Dukes of Brandenburg Saxony and others of the Illustrious German Princes when they come to the Hague on Visit or Business are conducted hither and remain here during their stay In this House are the Pictures of most of the European Kings and a great many American Rarities In the Years 1672 and 1673 the Inhabitants were in great Pain lest the French who were then very near them shou'd have made 'em a Visit because there 's no Fortifications only a Ditch of Water The Trees round about it were order'd to be cut down to impede the French in their march who like very civil Gentlemen came not to give them the least Disturbance young Trees are since planted in the room of the old The Confusion then was such that they sent several Waggons laden with Money and the Publick Accompts to be secur'd in the Stadt-House
of Amsterdam And much about this time was the fatal and sudden Tragedy acted on the two unhappy Brothers John and Cornelis de Wit the one said to be the greatest States-man in the World the other an Admiral who had also serv'd in an eminent Post in the Civil Government The Populace rose and cut them both in Pieces without suffering them to speak one Word for themselves they always oppos'd the Interest of the House of Orange which was the true Interest of their State to which they were believ'd to be Enemies And thus fell John de Wit who was allow'd by all to have been a very extraordinary Man after a long Administration of the great and principal Affairs of this Republick Here are a great many English French Scots Germans and some of most Nations in Europe but more Germans and French than any Near the Town stands an Iron Cage seldom us'd in which are put notorious Criminals to be expos'd to the Scorn and Contempt of the Rabble We went to the new Church built not many Years since upon the very Spot where the common Bawdy-Houses stood which were pull'd down to make way for this noble Structure A happy Conversion Houses of Filth and Uncleanness turn'd into a House of Prayer 'T is adorn'd with Officers Arms and Escutcheons of the Nobility and Gentry They call it an Oval Building but I think it almost round it has no Pillars within so that all the People may see as well as hear the Minister 'T is a large Church and as they told us there is not so fine a one in all the Seventeen Pronvinces behind it is the Rag-street where there is kept a great Rag-Market abundance of Money is got by buying and selling that sort of mean Merchandize We went hence to view the great Church which is a good old Piece of Building with a very high square Brick Steeple seen afar off here is Admiral Opdam's Monument 't is very Magnificent he commanded the Dutch Fleet in an Engagement with the English he was blown up Ship and all he had the Folly and Vanity to carry a Broom in his Main-top as much as to say he would sweep the Sea of the English but they made a shift to send him and his Broom to take the Air he was a bold fighting Fellow but a Man of no great Conduct Then we were shew'd the Cloister-Church which is a large Pile built Anno 1399. And so to the French Church which was formerly the Chappel of the Earls of Holland they say 't is bigger than the French Church in London but we thought not so Here is an English Church or Chappel rather for 't is a small one very plain and ordinary The Germans preach there early in the Morning then the English who have the English Liturgy read to 'em the Auditors are but few we counted about Seventy Here are a great many fine Buildings fit for Petty Princes they are fill'd with Embassadors Envoys Residents c. We hir'd a Coach to carry us to Honslayerdyke one of King William's Houses in our way thither we past through Ryswick a little Village with a good Church a Mile from the Hague and a little farther another Village call'd Watringe as also the Seats of many Country Gentlemen pleasantly situated with long Rows of Trees on each side the Walk which leads to the House Honslaerdyke is about eight or nine Miles from the Hague almost the same Distance as Hampton-Court from London it is a very neat Piece of Building Founded by Henry Prince of Orange the King's Grand-Father about sixty or seventy Years ago 't is a pretty Square with a Bass-Court and very handsom Moat all round it King William has lately added some new Lodgings to it Here was always a Guard of Horse and Foot Soldiers without and Switzers within Doors who are lusty swinging Fellows with black frizzing Hair and great Whiskers they wear flat Caps and Cloaks and look big and handsomly for a Guard when the King was here The Gardens that belong to this House are not extraordinary they are well made up and neatly kept in the middle stands a Fountain eight Leaden gilt Statues and three or four Stone Images about it Here are many and long Walks adorn'd with Trees which front the House and make it very pleasant Two small Parks with low Pails and shallow Ditches about them a few Deer we observ'd no difference between them and the English here are above ten or twelve Couple of Hounds and a very large Aviary with great variety of Birds It was our fortune to converse but seldom with the Dutch tho' many of themspeak prompt French however we engag'd in Discourse with three or four Gentlemen led by Curiosity to see this House who amongst other things told us as their Observation That we had in England where they said they had been three sorts of Vermin we were glad to hear we had no more but demanding what they were they answer'd Parsons Physicians and Lawyers who devour all the good Things of this World they told us they kept their Ministers in due Bounds and upon the Level there were none rich but none poor they had no Archbishopricks Bishopricks Deanaries Prebendaries and fat Livings the States paid their Parsons their Stipend usually about One hundred and fifty or two hundred Pounds Sterling per Annum they kept to their Texts and never meddled with their Affairs of State or any Secular Matters but contented themselves with Admonishing the People from their Pulpits to lead good Lives which they themselves were good Examples of no sawcy Priests there to thrust their Noses into and intermeddle with other Mens Business if any of their Preachers happen'd at any time to make any Sallies of Zeal and touch the States never so tenderly they had a Staff and a clean pair of Shooes sent and were told they must troop off These Gentlemen also gave us their Sentiments of the English and Scotch Soldiers they own'd they were both Brave that the Scots wou'd and the English wou'd not work that the first cou'd fare hard but not the t'other the English Man must be well fed good powder'd Beef and Pudding and good Ale was his fare and if he had that nothing cou'd wrong him We went to the Place where they cast Cannon and Mortars 't is a handsome well-built House there were several Pieces in the Mold and a great many newly cast as also Mortars all fit for the Field thence to the Magazine where they lay up their Cannon Mortars c. with the Harness and other Tackle belonging to Carriages and Waggons The Streets of the Hague are very broad and clean Houses large and spruce without and very neat within even to a nicety which is often troublesome which chiefly arises from the Pride of being thought to be and admir'd for a good Housewife This Place is populous abounding with Gentry and rich Citizens many of which keep Coaches in a word the Hague is
Possession of our Renown'd and Glorious Queen Elizabeth as a Mortgage for Money lent the States when Poor and Distressed 'T is an old fashion'd Fort and guards the Mouth or Entrance of the River which leads to Middleburgh and is but a sorry feeble Thing But thence we went to FLVSHING Flushing where we lay all Night and next Morning early walk'd round all their Fortifications which are modern strong in good repair and command the River and a pretty way to Sea Here is a large old and a very great new Dock to build in and to lay up their biggest Ships of War which this Province furnishes to their Quota there were several new Frigats and Ships of great Force on the Stocks which will be ready early the next Spring Here they build and hence they send out a great many Capers that Plague the French and return rich as they us'd to do from Us when in War with England they have always forty or fifty abroad they chiefly live by that Trade and by re-taking their own Countrymens and Allies Ships having Salvage for the same if within the Benefit of the Law Marine or else all to themselves Flushing is a fine City and noble Port one of the Cautionary Places deliver'd to the English It stands at the Mouth of the River Scheld where is a very convenient Haven but a League from Middleburg which is bigger than this but not so populous Here are a great many Fisher-Boats and small Craft belong to both Places but most to this Hence is the Passage to Flanders whose Banks are in sight and Bruges is but twenty-two Miles off This is the Key of the Sea of the Low-Countries and is a handsome cleanly well-built Place but not very modern It was in vain attempted by the Dukes of Alva and Palma but now thought almost impregnable This poor Province has been mightily expos'd to Inundations and been almost ruin'd by those prodigious ones An. 1304 and 1509. TERVEER is the next considerable Town Yerveer to which we went and where we made but a short stay it being far inferior to the t'other two tho' this is the Third in the Province the rest being but inconsiderable and rather Villages Here is a good Stadthouse and and a good Church or two the Houses are older and nothing near so Magnificent as in the t'other two Towns nor is their Commerce to be compar'd tho' they have a Snack in the East-India Company 's Stock and have some other small Trade and some Fishermen King William as Prince of Orange possesses most of the Lordships and Baronies in this Province and my Lord Odyke some of the rest who keeps a kind of a Court and makes some small Figure when at Middleburg we visited his Palace which stands pleasantly but affords no extraordinary Remarks The Weather began to be cold some Snow fell and Ice was fear'd which would have pent us in this famous Island which has fifteen or sixteen little ones within it so we resolv'd to take our Leaves of it and accordingly took Boat for Hevoet sluice where we arriv'd in a lucky Minute the English Packet-Boat being within two Hours after to sail and had a very fair Gail presented so we went ashoar refresh'd our selves bought Provisions good store there being no Halfway-House at Sea and laid in some good old Hock and Brandy and so embark'd about nine that Morning and next Morning early landed at Harwich being glad we were once more got on English Ground in our Opinion the best in the World where we rested a few Hours took Coach and came to Colchester where we lay that Night and furnish'd our selves with Eringo or Sea Holy-Root canded and the best done in England at four Shillings the Pound and fill'd our Bellies with large fat white firm Oysters and bought some to bring home and next Day in the Evening being the 19th of November 1695 arriv'd safe and sound in London whence we had been absent three Months and five Days FINIS Advertisement THE Reports of divers Special Cases in the Courts of Common-Pleas and King's-Bench in the Reign of King Charles the Second By Sir Thomas Jones Knight late Lord Chief Justice of the Common-Pleas Printed for Sam. Keble and Sold by A. Bosvile at the Dial over-against St. Dunstan 's Church in Fleet-street AN Help and Exhortation to Worthy Communicating Or a Treatise describing the Meaning Worthy Reception Duty and Benefits of the Holy Sacrament And Answering the Doubts of Conscience and other Reasons which most generally detain Men from it Together with suitable Devotions added By John Kettlewell late Vicar of Coles-Hill in Warwickshire Sold by Alexander Bosvile at the Dial over-against St. Dunstan 's Church in Fleet-street
these Hangings as if looking over Galleries which when the Room is a little darkned which is done by the Servant that shows it the better to represent it appears as if they were all alive nodding of their Heads and talking to one another The Cieling it self is painted very finely by an Italian Master as also the Two Chimney-Pieces in which are represented Peace and War very curiously the first is Venus a very beautiful Woman with a pure white Dove on her Lap with other Emblems of Peace about her the second is Mars or a Soldier compleatly armed with a Plume of Feathers on his Head-piece trampling on a great open Book all bloody on which is writ in large Letter PRIVELEGIA The Seats are all rail'd in that of the Princes is an Elbow-chair at the upper-end of the Table about which on Chairs with Backs sits the Knighthood of Holland who have but one Vote which each City that sends Deputies has and at the lower-end sits the Pensioner who is Keeper of the Great Seal and Secretary as they told us before whom lies a small wooden Hammer which when he knocks with is that their Debates cease and they be silent The Seats of the Deputies of the several Cities are on Benches or Forms every Seat has a Cushion of green Cloth with which the Seats and Table is cover'd with the Arms of that City or Town on it for which they serve or which they represent At the upper-end of this noble Room on each side of that Chimney is a distinct Place for the two Secretaries on which lie great Books to take the Minutes The Vnited-Provinces are so call'd from their Union at Vtrecht Anno 1579. They are commonly but confusedly and improperly all call'd Holland that being the richest and most populous Province of them all and indeed worth them all and therefore for its Excellency it swallows up in its Name the t'other six and indeed it contributes to the charge of the War and the support of the State and the preservation of their Lands from the Sea by vast and expensive Dykes or Banks far beyond what all the other do put together of a Hundred Livers it pays Fifty nine and a half which is very considerable but then it is the great Trading Province These Provinces which before own'd Subjection to the King of Spain and were wonderfully Loyal to their Prince Lovers of his Person and Zealous for his Interest till he fell in upon their Establishments their Religious and Civil Rights have since been Independent of one another or to speak strictly and more properly are Seven Commonwealths which altogether now make but one under the Name of The States General of the United-Provinces of the Low-Countries The Dignity of this Republick residing in the States General but the absolute Authority in and over all Things reserv'd by reason of the Alliance has remained in the States of each Province and this is that which they call the Sovereignty The Seal of this formidable Commonwealth is a Lion holding a bundle of seven bound Arrows alluding to as many confederated Provinces There is no State in being of so small an extent which has so great a Number of Fortresses and which seems better defended by the Nature of the Places than this It has the Sea and several Rivers to secure it The Rhine the Maese the Waal and the Issell Of these seven Vnited-Provinces there are four towards the West Holland Zealand Vtrecht and Guelderland three towards the East Over-Yssel Friesland and Groninghen In their Assemblies the Provinces thus give their Votes Guelderland first of all then Holland Zealand Vtrecht Friesland Over-Yssel last Groninghen Each of 'em sends its Deputies to this Place viz. the Hague where are form'd three Colleges or Assemblies of them the States General the Council of State and the Chamber of Accompts In the Assemblies of the States General all the Provinces above-mention'd must consent in general and in particular to the Resolutions that are taken therein and do not follow the Plurality of Voices Each Province may send thither one two three four or five Deputies but all these Deputies have together but one Voice and have right to preside therein but one Week That of Guelderland begins because it is the most ancient and its Plenipotentiaries were the first who propos'd the Union This Province Anno 1674 offer'd the Sovereignty to the Prince of Orange now King of England it being the time the French King invaded them with mighty Armies which like a Torrent over-run all and made such surprising Conquests that in a very short time they reduced three Provinces and between fifty and sixty considerable Towns but their Progress was stopt and they repell'd by the Bravery and Conduct of the Prince of Orange who new modell'd the States Armies and from raw inexpert and undisciplin'd Soldiers and bad Officers rais'd by the Favour and Interest of the Burgo-Masters and Principal Magistrates made them very formidable to their Enemies and snatch'd the Lawrels from the greatest Generals of the Age at the Head of the best Troops and recover'd part of their Losses and had the rest resign'd by the Peace Anno 1678. The Admiralty has five Sessions and as many Magazines which are those of Rotterdam Amsterdam Enkuysen Midleburg and Harlingen The three first in Holland the fourth in Zealand and the fifth in Friesland The whole Care and Management of these several Admiralties is committed to Men of great Ability and Integrity conversant in Maritime Affairs and of great Experience in Matters relating to their Office viz. building of Ships buying of Stores and Naval Provisions equipping single Ships Squadrons or Fleets appointing Convoys c. These Officers as indeed all others throughout their whole Government have but small Pensions or Salaries the States being very sparing of the Publick Monies but however the Servants and Ministers of this Commonwealth live accordingly that is are prudent and thrifty in the Management of their private Fortune modest and plain in their Habit without the Pomp of Coaches or great Trains or large Houses or costly feeding or high drinking complying with the custom of their Country and contenting themselves with simple Diet no Fricassee's Ragou's or Grilliades but a good Dish of Cabilliau Cod-Fish of which the Dutch in general are great Admirers There seems to be a natural and habitual Probity amongst the Officers of this State Here are some Remains of their ancient Nobility some Branches of the Bredreodes the Wassenaers and the Egmonts this Nobility has ever voted there the first tho' as I said before it has but one Voice together whereas the Eighteen Cities of the same Provinces have there each one with the Sovereignty bound by Alliance Most of the Towns in this Province are beautiful and pleasant having been built in the last Age. Fronting the Prince's House stands a great Hall resembling tho' not so big as Westminster-Hall full like that of Booksellers and Toy-Shops Here is kept in
Willem The Hip-bone of a Giant given by Sam. Mussenbrook The Arteries of the Lungs of a Pig Two strong Idols given by David de Willem A Cruse wrought in pollish'd Marble A Triangular Fish given by Mr. Husenbrook The Mummy of an Egyptian Prince above thirteen hundred Years old given by Dr. Jo. Baptist Bartoliti A Pair of Sandals or Slippers from the Kingdom of Siam in the East-Indies The Skin of an Indian Lizard A Pair of Russian Shooes The Skin of a Molucca Woman above one hundred and fifty Years old by Richard Snock A Lion's Head Two Images of the Japaneses given by Adrian Pauwe. A Cheeck-bone of a Dog-Fish A Flying Dragon An Urn call'd Vrna Ferulis Romana wherein the Romans preserv'd the Ashes of burnt Bodies the gift of Dr. Daniel Gyffus A Woman 's Pudenda with Hair of a great length An Indian Lamprey A Roman Earthen Vessel given by Dr. Dan. Gyfius A gilded Copper Idol from Siam A Roman Bean. A China Pot the Gift of Dr. Ja. Speck A Box of white Powder with which the Indians and Italians use to make the Hair fall off The Bough of a Tree fenced with Stone given by Dr. Harrewiin A Pair of Shooes made of Man's Leather A Pair of Egyptian Sandals the Gift of Dr. Ja. Leuven A Sea-Horse out of the East-Indies Some strange Indian Fish and a flying Fish A Roman Lamp which burns eternally given by Dr. Dan. Ghisis An Indian Sea-Spider A piece of Rhubarb grown in the shape of a Dog's Head A Basket wherein are Crocadile's Eggs the Gift of Pr. Maurice A Lizard The Liver of a Man in which is grown a Stone like a Ball. The Rib of a Sheep with three Branches sprouting out The Hearing-Organ of a Man China Figgs A Basket in which is Moscovian and other Country Money The Arteria Magna of a Man Some Egyptian Glassing or Cupping Vessels The Sceleton of a Serpent the Gift of Adam Bornius A Dish of Lapis Ossifragus or fine Bone-stone the Gift of John Boumanno An Indian Knife A Stone which was found in the Os Sacrum or the great Bone upon which the Ridge-bone resteth A Ball call'd Mansa found in a Cows Stomach A great Cassia Fistula from Brazil given by Prince Maurice A great deal of very large Amber the Gift of Daniel Beckler An American Bean. An Indian guilded Wooden Cup the Gift of Dr. Jam. Stellingworf A black Fly call'd a Beetle brought from the Cape of good Hope Some grown Coral A Cup made of a double Brain-pan given by Dr. de Bills The Brain-pan of an Ostrich A Puff or Mushroom of a vast greatness A Sceleton of a Child newly born A Sceleton of a Child but four Months old in the Womb. The Image of the Goddess Fortune the Gift of D. Gyfius A great Bone found in the Body of a Woman of Vlarding being ninety Years old A Sword-Fish All the Muscles of a Man very curiously done by Professor Stulpent Vander Wiel All the Muscles of a Child A young Hangman married under the Gallows Two new-born Children very curiously anatomis'd The Physick Garden is a square but small piece of ground very well stock'd with almost all sorts of Medicinal Herbs Roots Plants c. and other Curiosities the choicest Things are kept in Glass-Cases on the left-hand is a Room full of Foreign Rarities both of Sea and Land very neatly kept Then we saw the Printing-Press in the University Yard famous for the fine Characters of Monsieur Jean Elseviers then the University which is a neat oldish Building it has three Halls for Publick Lectures several Chambers where they take their Degrees upon the Table of one of 'em we saw Aristotle's Works and some Civil Law-Books the Professor's Closets are full of extraordinrry Curiosities The Students have no Colleges or Halls to lodge and diet in as in Oxford and Cambridge but board in the Citizens Houses their Tutors are very careful of them and diligent in keeping them close to their Exercises both at Publick Lectures and in their Private Examinations for which they have appointed Hours and at which they are very punctual 'T is a celebrated Accademy having continually in it about two Thousand half Natives and the rest Hungarians Grecians Germans Polanders French English Scots and Irish of which three last are computed about one hundred Here they take their Degrees easier and cheaper and without that Pomp and extravagant Expence in practice in England Here are but two Colleges and those very small not to be mention'd at the same time with the meanest in Oxford or Cambridge nor are they endow'd they receive their Maintenance from the Charity-Collections of the Dutch Ministers nor can any Students remain longer here than till they attain the Degree of Batchelors of Art Here is a high very Tower where they keep their Astronomical Instruments and whence they make their Observations and Calculations of the Motions of the Celestial Bodies This Place was built for the Use and Service of the Astronomers an Astrologers of the first they have some pretty Eminent tho' of the latter none that we could hear of that Learning is not in much esteem with them tho' if it were divided into proper Parts viz. into Mundane or General Affairs of the World Genitures or Particular Nativities with their Revolutions Directions Profections Transits c. Horary Questions with their Solutions and lastly into the Weather with its great variety and sudden alterations I say if these four Parts or Divisions were to be studied and improv'd by as many several Professors with a College and Endowment for that very Purpose set apart it might prove of vast benefit and advantage to Mankind there being many excellent Things in Astrology and very great Truths to be found out by a due application But Priestcraft is every where so prevalent that 't is oppos'd by those Gentlemen who think their Interest would hereby be lessen'd Here is an old Burgh built by the Romans or Saxons formerly a Castle belonging to the Prince of Liege some Years since repair'd and made a good Fortification of great Use and Service against the Spaniards in the renown'd Defence the City of Leyden made against them who besieg'd it Anno 1544 or rather Anno 1573 presently after Easter which by a Stratagem was rais'd the third of October following by the Prince of Orange who letting loose the Waters which were before restrain'd by great Dykes reliev'd the City and ruin'd the Spanish Army who by this means suffer'd an entire Defeat but now this Burgh is converted into a Garden with a very pretty Labyrinth in it newly made up and neatly kept It belongs to a Tavern and has drinking Arbors in it we went up by a very steep ascent of near a hundred Steps whence we took a view of the Country round about The English have part of a Church here Their Stadthouse is a good old Building and stands in a handsome broad Street This City is very Populous abounding with
who entring the Place on the Market-Day easily took it but the Inhabitants soon recover'd it and put them all to the Sword Anno 1486 this Place was reduced to Ashes and soon re-built but it met with a severer Fate at least in the Persons of the Burghers from Frederick de Toledo Duke D'Alva who came before it with a Body of an Army upon which some of the Citizens open'd their Gates to let him in notwithstanding which he fell upon the Inhabitants and barbarously murder'd them It is now a modern Regular Fortification and made prodigiously strong capable of receiving a Garison of eight or ten thousand Men it was begun Anno 1677 and perfected since the beginning of this War it cost above three or rather six hundred thousand Pounds Sterling Here are six Bulwarks four Ravelins two Half-Moons two Gates and double Ditches deep with strong Counterscarps The Town is but small and ordinary but this is the Frontier and principal Security of the whole Province which is not the richest only of the Seven but of the Seventeen In the Year 1672 the French with Ease and by Treachery took it but the Prince of Orange now King of England re-took it in eight Days time there being then no Fortification but what the French had thrown up while they possess'd it The States depending upon their Armies in the Field took the less Care of this Place now they have made it very formidable Here is a small Woollen Manufacture good Beer brew'd fine and but little inferior to the English in pleasantness of taste We rid round about the Country which is Downy almost like Epsom the Air pretty wholsom and pleasant We were at a Country-House of the late Admiral Trump's a pretty Box fine Gardens Walks and Rows of Trees with a good Moat about it We past by another of his Houses which the French burnt in the former War Anno 1673 or 1674 much bigger than t'other In our return we past through Wesep a small and inconsiderable City where they brew good Beer The Weather being pleasant we made another Sally from Amsterdam and visited Vtrecht twenty seven Miles off we past by Overkirk a small Village which gives Title to a Lord a Favourite and possess'd of the Revenues hereof We went through Opcow another small Village four Miles further near which Place are the Ruines of an old Castle Then we came to Liona a great Town seven Miles off Thence to New Sluice where we din'd upon roasted Eels which is very good Victuals and well dress'd here and is always ready at set times for Travellers A Mile and half further is Brutil a small Village where young De Rutter has a House We past Maersem and Soulandt two small Places and about three in the Afternoon we arriv'd at Vtrecht a great populous but weak City Capital of the Province of that Name one of the Seven United formerly and Archbishoprick in the Circle of Westphalia and Imperial but now subject to the States It is seated on a Branch of the Rhine in a very convenient and fruitful Place We walk'd about the Walls which are pretty high and of Brick but weak and out of repair surrounded with a deep and broad Ditch we past one of the Gates and were ferried over to see the Pall-Mall which is kept very neatly shaded with several Rows of Trees on each side preserv'd by the present French King's immediate Command who was there with his Army An. 1673 when he took this City without any Resistance Here is an University erected by the States Anno 1636 but not so full as that at Leyden tho' this in our Opinion is a pleasanter Place having better Air and a finer Country about it for we almost phansied our selves in England this being like some of our old Cities Here many of the Nobility and Gentry live because of the pleasantness of the Place being as it were a Retirement from the noise and hurry of Business and Bustle constant in great trading populous Places The better sort of People here affect the French Mode and in some measure their way of living whereas the Dutch in most other Parts are fixt to their Fashion as the Spaniards never changing it We had the Curiosity to turn over the Manuscripts lately found out and now deposited in the Clerks House adjoyning to the English Church where besides many very ancient Bibles and other curious Books fairly written flourish'd and adorn'd with Golden Letters we saw five Unicorn's Horns as they call'd 'em three long and thick two small and slender like those we have elsewhere seen said to be such too Here are two small brasen Images suppos'd to be Heathen Gods and by them worshipp'd On Sunday in most decent manner we went to the English Church which is a good old Piece of Building the Chancel is let for a Joyners Shop so little do they value what was once consecrated because after the Popish manner to God the Congregation was small between one and two hundred zealous Parson and People no English Liturgy read here all Presbyterians we view'd the Dutch Cathedral Church it was once so tho' not now 't is very capacious built Abby manner and after the old Fashion half of it fell in some years since is not repair'd because the People are poor here is a very lofty old Steeple which we ascended and whence we took a view of this good great old City and of several Churches and old Buildings formerly Monasteries and Nunneries In the chief is Van Ghent's Monument not so splendid as elsewhere he was De Rutter's Vice-Admiral and slain by the English in the Naval Engagement Anno 1672 he was of a noble Family of the Province of Guelderland which is contiguous to this and Colonel of a Marine Regiment train'd up to the Sea Service and ready at all times for that as also the Land Service and in a scarcity of Sea-men of great Use to supply that Defect being Amphibious The Streets are broad and clean and the Stadthouse a small neat old Building with a fair Piazza or Market-Place They take great Liberty here on Sundays playing at Tables Dice and other Games with Cowries or Blackmoors Teeth as the Children call 'em at the Coffee-Houses and Taverns and have Musick in the Publick-Houses the same is indeed practis'd at the Hague and Amsterdam tho' in other Places they are a little more strict particularly in Zealand but they live very loosly in the Provinces of Holland and Vtrecht buy and sell frequently on this Day and especially Provisions which is the more reasonable because of Travellers passing and re-passing and they must not starve on this tho' the Lord's-Day The next Day we hir'd a Waggon to carry us to Soestdike nine Miles from Vtrecht 't is oue of King William's Hunting-Houses formerly much frequented by him there being abundance of Game about it especially Pheasant and Partridge it is a very pretty Box and lately that is some Years since