NOTES ON THE NETHERLANDS. BY CALEB CUSHING. LEYDEN PASSAGE FROM LEYDEN TO HAARLEM. WHETHER Leyden was constructed originally upon the site of the ancient Lugdunium Batavorum, or only near it, is a matter of dispute among the Hollanders. The present city, however, dates back its origin to the time of the invasion of the Normans, who plundered and destroyed Lugdunium and Forum Adriani, in consequence of which the inhabitants of these places removed their habitations to the shelter of the Burg, or ancient castle, which still towers above the city. This monument of other days consists of an artificial hill, or mound, of considerable height, whose summit is levelled, and enclosed within a lofty embattled wall, of great strength and thickness. To ascend this hill, which is now environed by houses at its base, but is uncovered from them up to the old walls, you enter a low building which is used as a tavern, and pass through into the garden behind it, where you find a flight of stone steps leading up to the castle. Ascending the glacis, you gain a perfect idea of the construction of the Burg itself, and enjoy a beautiful prospect over Leyden and the whole of the surrounding country. Most of the wall is evidently of comparatively modern work; but it is built precisely in the place and form of the old one, as appears from the fragments of the latter which still remain entire, and are distinguishable by the great size and irregular form of the bricks. It would seem that the Saxons, to whom the structure is ascribed, did not take pains to make their bricks all of the same size or shape; but left this in part to chance or caprice, adapting them together as they would unhammered stones. From this elevated position, you distinctly perceive the sand-hills of Katwyk, the Haarlem-meer, and a multitude of villages sprinkled over the populous region of the Rhynland. In Leyden itself the close wall of buildings prevents your seeing objects with so much discrimination as you otherwise would; but among many buildings which strike the eye, you cannot fail to admire the steeples of the Stadhuis and of the Church of St. Pancras. Descending from the covered way, I entered the area within the castle walls, which is now planted with a grove of trees, but formerly contained a kind of labyrinth. The large deep well of the castle still remains. Around this fortress, in the progress of time, the city as we now see it was gradually built. It is traversed by the Rhine and four other small rivers, while many canals branch off into the streets, having stone bridges, to the number of about one hundred and fifty, to unite the opposite sides of the canals and rivers. A broad and deep canal surrounds the whole city as a fosse, within which are the ramparts, no longer bristling with cannon, or manned with armed citizens, but formed into beautiful wooded promenades, of the most picturesque appearance. Of the streets of Leyden, that called the Rapenburg is greatly celebrated, as well for its intrinsic beauty, as for the public disaster of which it was the scene in 1807. Previous to that time, the Rapenburg presented to the eye, as it does now, a noble avenue, shaded as usual with trees, with a canal extending lengthwise through it, and many of the handsomest private buildings on each side overlooking the water and the trees. In 1807, a boat loaded with gunpowder took fire and exploded, as it lay in the canal, destroying a considerable number of houses, and burying under the ruins more than one hundred and fifty of the inhabitants. The spot on which the houses stood was cleared of the rubbish, and on one side planted with trees, to form a public promenade, and on the other converted into a military parade-ground. Other streets are sightly, regular, and extensive, but none equally so with the Rapenburg. The number of rivers which flow through the city, afford great facilities for maintaining that cleanliness, which in so wet a country as Holland is as much a dictate of necessity, as it is the result of taste. Trapdoors sometimes open over the sewers, which are extensive and curious; and one of them, of a mile in length, is so large as to admit of a boat's entering it when it requires to be purified. Leyden rose to wealth and consequence by reason of its flourishing fabrics of cloths and other woollen goods, of various kinds, which have always possessed high repute; enjoying at the same time a very considerable trade in soap and indigo, and in the agricultural products of the Rhynland. Its woollen manufactories have very much declined, in consequence of the competition of the English and the Germans; and with that decline, its population and riches have decreased. It is better known abroad, as the seat of the most celebrated university in Holland; but in this respect, also, the fame of the universities of Germany, and the establishment of so many places of scientific education in other countries, have operated most injuriously on the prosperity of Leyden. Owing to the liberal principles on which education was here conducted, when religious tests were exacted elsewhere, to the cheapness of living in the city, and the economical mode in which instruction was imparted, and to the preeminent reputation of the professors attached to the institution, the university of Leyden acquired a wide reputation, and was resorted to by students from various parts of Europe. It was, of course, very injuriously affected by the political troubles of the country; but it is rapidly regaining its usefulness, and now contains more than seven hundred students. The university occupies the buildings of an old cloister, and is a plain brick edifice, containing only the public halls required for the examinations and the meetings of the faculty. The chamber of the Senatus Academicus, in which also the private degrees are taken, is ornamented with a series of the portraits of the professors, but is otherwise quite plain. The public hall for degrees is plainer still; and the rest of the apartments are only common examination rooms. In general, rooms are not provided for the professors, who lecture in apartments of their own, and often at their dwelling houses. Every thing about the library is in the same style of simplicity and frugality with the other buildings. The number of volumes is not large, compared with the great literary riches possessed by many of the universities in Europe. It is highly esteemed, however, on account of the manuscripts it possesses, particularly the collections of Scaliger, Vossius, and other celebrated professors, whose labors have also enriched the cabinets of anatomy, natural history, and natural philosophy. A most extensive and invaluable botanic garden, enriched with a vast variety of exotic plants, is attached to the university, and contains many things to gratify curiosity. It occupies a space of seven acres, contiguous to the city wall, and extending out upon the ramparts so far, that one of the bastions is made into a beautiful arbor, from which you see the broad fosse, and the delightful walks which extend around without the city. What adds to the attractiveness of the garden, is the principle on which the plants are arranged, it being the system of Jussieu, instead of that of Linnæus, and of course giving a more national and interesting appearance to the whole, as the plants of each family are grouped together. You are shown a large tree which was planted by the hand of Boerhaave; and among the decorations of the garden are busts of Linnæus, of Clusius and Rombertus Dodonæus, early professors in the university; and of Bregmans, who recently enlarged and beautified it. On Of the churches, that of St. Peter's is the most interesting, being considered in fact one of the finest in all Holland. The vaulted roof, sustained by three rows of large pillars, is distinguished for its height. Its organ is comparatively small, but not unbecoming to the church. It contains various monuments which deserve to be mentioned. the left side of the organ is a brass plate in memory of Clusius, and a stone tablet for Joseph Scaliger. They were buried at the time of their death in an old French church, which having fallen into ruins, these tablets were transferred hither, and placed in a conspicuous situation upon the wall. The monuments of many other eminent scholars are also seen here, among which, those of P. Camper and of Brugmans, are in particularly fine taste, consisting each of a bust, with a simple inscription. That of Boerhaave is very beautiful. Six figures, representing the seven ages of man, and the sciences of medicine and chemistry, are grouped around an urn, which stands upon a pedestal of black marble, bearing a medallion of Boerhaave, with his motto: SIMPLEX SIGILLUM VERI. Beneath is the brief, and somewhat quaint inscription: SALUTIFERO BOErhavii genio sacrum. On the other side of the organ are very beautiful marble monuments, erected in memory of the two Meermans, father and son. That of the son, erected in 1820, exhibits a statue of his widow sitting upon a cenotaph, and holding a medallion with his bust carved upon it; that of the father consists of an obelisk. In the church of St. Pancras, you see the tomb of Vander Werf, the heroic burgomaster, who defended the city in 1574, during the memorable siege by the Spaniards under Francisco Valder. Other memorials of this remarkable individual, and of the siege, are pointed out at the Stadhuis, an ancient structure, with a small steeple, and an ornamented balustrade in front of the roof. On the pavement in the street before this building, is a circle, like that which I have before described at Delft, made by means of stones of different colors, in imitation of mosaic, with the words NIETS SOUDEr Godt, 1586.' In one of the apartments is a fine portrait of the king by Vander Kooy, together with seven portraits of the house of Orange, and a celebrated picture of the Last Judgment, by Lucas Van Leyden. In another are some fine pictures, illustrative of incidents during the siege. A large one by Van Bree, representing the Self-devotion of Vander Werf, is exceeded by few historical paintings of the contemporary masters, either in the selection of a subject, or in splendor of execution. I made diligent inquiry here for the shop-board and other relics of John of Leyden, the ferocious leader of the Anabaptists in the sixteenth century, which are said to be preserved in the Stadhuis of his native city; but I did not succeed in finding them, if indeed they still exist. The female who exhibits the curiosities of the Stadhuis, told me that she and her mother had together been in charge of it half a century; and although strangers often inquired for these things, she had never been able to discover where they were. My guide, a very intelligent man, who had attended strangers in this capacity for five years, confirmed this statement; adding that Germans who visited Leyden were particularly curious on this subject. He had often conducted them to the house in which the tailor-king had lived; but all their researches for any relics of him at the Stadhuis had proved unsuccessful. Leyden contains of course many other public buildings, but none of very great interest to the traveller. In going from this city to Haarlem, I took the diligence, which differs in form somewhat from our stage-coach. It contains, like our public coaches, but one apartment, in which the seats are so arranged that every passenger faces the horses. The sides and seats are all neatly stuffed and covered; but the carriage has not the light and tasteful aspect of ours, although it is equally removed from the heavy bulk of the French diligence. It was drawn by three horses abreast, and managed as usual by two persons, the postillion and a conductor. Each place is numbered, and of course you buy a seat to which you have an exclusive right for the journey, there being no privileged places for ladies, as in this country. It starts precisely at the hour fixed, with undeviating punctuality; and therefore a stranger need be acquainted with the absurd usage which prevails in Holland, of causing the hour to be struck more than once. Thus, at every half hour it is customary to strike the hour which is coming, in defiance of convenience and commor. sense. But if the diligence is exact in setting out, it is equally faithful to the hour of arrival; and therefore in both respects the punctuality deserves to be commended. The post road from Leyden to Haarlem passes through the villages of Sassenheim, of Lisse, and of Hillegom, and shows to the traveller some of the best parts of the Rhynland. In pleasant weather, it forms a ride altogether enchanting. Near Leyden there is a vast number of pretty villas and farm-houses of the better sort; and farther on, the country is rich with cultivation. The road is not so wide nor so straight as the avenues in the vicinity of the Hague; but it is more natural in appearance, and quite as pretty, winding just enough to be diversified. Tracts of meadow and pasturage are seen covered with large herds of cows, or fields of waving grain, ripe for the sickle. Generally the fields are separated from the road and from one another by verdant hedges, which are seldom left to grow naturally, but are trained and clipped into every variety which fancy can invent. Occasionally a wide ditch forms the boundary of the road, or divides the lands of different proprietors; in which case a row of trees generally extends along the line of the ditch. Indeed, trees are planted by the wayside nearly the whole distance, and sometimes, where the road is narrow, their branches meet over the middle, so as to cover it with a beautiful green canopy of leaves. As you approach the small towns or villages, you find the rows of trees more carefully planted, with a well-trodden foot-path under them; and so it is near the country-seats of wealthy individuals. Sometimes you pass amid extensive fields of wheat or barley, or of potatoes and various garden vegetables, contiguous to the very road; at others a long range of meadow ends in a grove of trees, with here and there buildings, and perhaps an antique looking steeple peeping out from the bosoms of the dense foliage. As we came nearer to Haarlem, the beauty of the grounds and the number of villas and neat country-seats increased. The Haarlemmeer, or lake, was visible on the right, animated with small vessels or boats. Nothing, indeed, in a champaign country, can be more beautiful than the environs of Haarlem. Charming villages lie on all sides of it; Heemstede, on the borders of the lake; Bennebroek, near which is the estate of Hartekamp, where Linnæus lived when he devised his botanical system; Overveen, and especially Bloemendaal, in the downs to the eastward of the city, affording fine views of the North Sea, and the rich lands extending from thence to the Haarlem-meer and the Y. Just without the city is the famous Wood of Haarlem, before entering which, you pass the various grounds of Meerburg, Groenendaal, Bosch en Hoven, Eynden Hout, with its two beautiful sphinxes, and other villas, but all yielding to the palace called Hope's Pavilion. This princely residence stands on the right of the road, among the gay walks of the wood. It was built by Mr. Hope, the head of the great banking house at Amsterdam, and sold by him to Louis Bonaparte; since which it has become a domain of the state, and is now occupied by the princess dowager of Orange. Proceeding a little farther, you cross the extensive walks which have been laid out around the ramparts, and passing a handsome gate, find yourself in the city of Haarlem, which I shall endeavor to place before the reader in another number. MEMORY. A FRAGMENT FROM AN UNPUBLISHED POEM. As the soft shower at summer eve descends, |