_Wassenaars_, and the _Boetselaars_.[114] The former are divided into
several Branches, whereof that of _Obdam_ is the eldest. The Emperor
_Charles_ III. raised this Branch to the Dignity of Count of the Empire.
The present Count _d'Obdam_ is Grandson to the famous Admiral of that
Name, who delivered _Copenhagen_, and in Gratitude for whose Services, the
King of _Denmark_ conferred the Order of the Elephant upon him, which no
Foreigner had been honour'd with before, unless he were a Prince. After
this Admiral's Death, the same Order descended to his Son, who died a
Lieutenant-General, and Colonel of a Regiment of Horse in the Service of
the Republic. The present Count _d'Obdam_ is Knight of the Order of St.
_John_, and, together with his[115] Brother, is of distinguish'd Rank in
this Government. He spent Part of his Youth at the Court of _Berlin_,
where his Father was Envoy Extraordinary. At that Time nobody was so brisk
and gay; but he is thoroughly changed, and lives now very much retired,
and applies himself wholly to Devotion and Business.
Of the Blood of _Nassau Orange_, those Princes, Founders of the Republic,
there remains no more than one young Prince, besides the Counts
_d'Auverquerque_, _Zeist_ and _Laleck_, who are by the Left Venter. The
Prince is Hereditary Stadtholder of _Frieseland_, Stadtholder of
_Groningen_, Stadtholder and Captain General of the Province of
_Guelderland_, and the Country of _Drente_. He bids fair some Day or
other to be a worthy Possessor of the Station of the Princes whose Name he
bears[116].
_Maurice_, Count _d'Auverquerque_, is the Son of a Peer of _Great
Britain_, who was promoted to that Dignity by King _William_ III.[117] He
is a Major General, and Colonel of a Regiment of Dragoons. He is a
Nobleman of distinguished Merit, and signalized himself very much in the
last War.
M. _de Zeist_, one of the richest Nobles of this Province, is Deputy of
the Province of _Utrecht_, in which he has a great Estate.
The Count _de Laleck_ is the oldest Lieutenant General of Horse in the
Service of the States. He has a Regiment, and is Governor of _Menin_, one
of the Barrier Towns. The three last-mentioned Counts are Cousins, and
form three Branches. They are descended from Prince _Maurice_ of _Orange_,
and _Anne_ of _Mechlin_. My Grandmother was a Daughter of that Prince.
I am still to give you an Account of M. _Hogendorp_, Receiver General of
the State, an Office which in this Country, as well as elsewhere, is
liable to Envy, and exposes him that exercises it, to the Censure of the
Public. M. _Hogendorp_ has had his Share of both, for several Years: And
tho' his Enemies have not been wanting in any Thing to ruin him, yet he
stands his Ground, and the States approve of his Conduct. He lives with as
great Magnificence and Splendor almost as any Subject of the Republic.
In one of my former, I gave you an Account of two living Preachers at
_Amsterdam_; and here I cannot refrain the mention of a certain Minister
lately dead, whose Name is illustrious among those of his own Communion,
and ours too. The Person I mean, is M. _Saurin_, who was always reckoned
here, and in all the Provinces, one of the most eloquent Preachers, since
the Repeal of the Edict of _Nantes_.
A great Number of Epitaphs have been made for this famous Preacher; but as
they are all good for nothing, I content myself with sending you an
Epitaph on those very Epitaphs.
_EPITAPHE._
On the EPITAPHS made for
M. SAURIN.
_Sous ces tisons, sans titres, sans paraphes,
Incognito gisent vingt Epitaphes,
Qu'ont arraché de leurs maigres cerveaux,
Incognito vingt chétifs Pôetereaux;
Difaut vouloir par detestable rime
Loiier encor certain Esprit sublime,
Dont rien ne dis, savon qu'à ses talens,
Vivant trouva force contradisans.
Chantres grossiers du bourbeux Marecage,
Pour Dieu, cessez votre maudit ramage!
Si noblement chanter n'est votre fort,
Dires tont court, Le_ grand Saurin _est mort._
_It may be thus Engslish'd_:
_i. e._
Under these Firebrands
lie _incognito_, no less than a
Score of Epitaphs, without
Title or Subscription, rack'd
_incognito_ from the sterile Brains
of as many paltry Poetasters,
pretending by detestable Doggrel
to extol a certain sublime
Genius, of which I say nothing,
but that whilst he was
alive, he met with a great
many who contradicted his
Talents. But, for God's sake,
ye stupid Bards of the muddy
Fens, leave off your cursed
croaking! And as you have
not the Gift of noble Poetry,
say nothing more, than that the.
GREAT SAURIN is dead.
During my Stay at the _Hague_, I heard much Talk of one _Armand_ a
_Frenchman_, whose extraordinary Adventures were at that Time the
Discourse of all Companies. He did not want Understanding, but he was one
of the oddest and most extravagant Mortals breathing. His Passions, which
sometimes rose to a Degree of Fury, were the Cause of all his
Misfortunes. I have been promised the History of him, and if my Friend
keep his Word with me, I will not fail to send it to you[118].
_The History of_ John Barre, _called_ ARMAND.
_JOHN BARRE_, a Native of the Province of _Burgundy_, appeared at
_Amsterdam_ in 1720, by the Name of _Armand_. He was a handsome Man, in
the Prime of his Age, and seemed to have had a good Education. He said he
was come from _France_, because he had killed a Man in a Duel. Any other
Man besides himself, in a Case of the like Nature, would have been at a
terrible _Nonplus_ to find himself pursued by Justice, and forced to fly
from his native Country, and his Friends, without Money, into a strange
Land, of which he understood not the Language, and thrown into a great
City, in the midst of a numerous People, where a poor Man is so hard put
to it to make an Acquaintance. But _Armand_ was never at a Loss for
Stratagems to relieve him. Being a bold intriguing Man, an excellent
Tongue-pad, and a Poet into the Bargain, or at least very ready of making
Verses, he quickly found Means to get Acquaintance. He might even have
passed for a Man of Quality, if Necessity had not forced him to make use
of a Talent which was a plain Discovery of the contrary; for he shewed
himself a complete Writing-Master, and made excellent Scholars in a very
little Time.
With this Resource, _Armand_ might have lived very happy; but the Violence
of his Temper, and his satirical Humour, made him quickly lose his
Patrons and best Friends. Besides these Defects, of which he was beyond
all measure guilty, he was suspicious, haughty, self-will'd beyond
Comparison, fantastical in every Part of his Behaviour, and an extravagant
Admirer of his own Productions; so that a Person was sure of being thought
the worst Enemy he had, if he did not applaud every thing he did; and
'twas enough to put him into a Fury, if one did not think as well of his
Verses, as he did himself. Two or three Passages only are sufficient to
demonstrate this to be true.
He lodged at the House of a Burgher, who had so great an Opinion of him,
that he thought himself happy in having such Opportunities of Familiarity
with a Man who had won his Heart by his Wit and his Behaviour. As they
often eat and drank together, _Armand_ invited his Landlord one Day with
all his Family and some Relations to a Supper, when, according to his
usual Way, he had provided a magnificent Repast. When they were seated at
Table, a Lady of the Company thought fit to call for a particular Sort of
Bread, which she had been used to eat; whereupon the Landlord immediately
sent out of the Room for some; which _Armand_ perceiving, and mistrusting
that they thought he had not provided Bread enough, he rose nastily from
Table, and went out, but came back again in a Moment, with a Basket full
of Bread, which he turned topsy-turvy upon the Table: And as if this Piece
of Rudeness was not enough, he ran out of the House like a Madman, and
spent the rest of the Evening in walking up and down, at a great Rate,
before his Door.
Having heard, that M. _P----_, Agent for the Naval Affairs of _France_ at
_Rotterdam_, made Verses in a very pretty Manner; he went by the
Inspiration of _Apollo_, to pay him a Visit; and after having made him a
Compliment on his Quality of Poet, he presented him some Verses of his own
making, of which he earnestly desired that he would give him his Opinion.
M. _P----_, who was not so fond of Flattery as _Armand_, made him Answer,
That he had been misinformed; that he was far from being a good Judge of
Poetry, and therefore hoped he would not look upon him in that Light.
_Armand_ took his Answer for a downright Affront, and retired bluntly from
him, not without abusing him. Nor did Mr. _C----r_, to whom he paid a
Visit for the same Purpose, fare a whit better; and to be revenged of both
those Gentlemen, he wrote an Epigram against them, which he pasted up one
_Sunday_ at the Door of the _French_ Church.
_Armand_ being disgusted with the Reception he met with from the Wits at
_Rotterdam_, had recourse to the Merchants. He went to see M. _C----t_, a
Person of known Probity, either to present his Verses to him, or to offer
him his Service, in Quality of a Writing-Master. As M. _C----t_ was a
little hard of Hearing, he thought it proper to apprize our Poet of it in
the first Place; but he, imagining that 'twas only a Pretence to dismiss
him, turned his Back upon him, and went away very much incensed at the
Affront which he thought he had received. He had even the Rashness to fix
up a very offensive Paper some Days after, at the Exchange, to tarnish the
honest Man's Reputation; and the same being immediately torn down by M.
_C----t_'s Friends, _Armand_, as soon as he heard of it, put up another,
even more insulting than the former. M. _C----t_, to prevent his being
again exposed to such Insults, carried his Complaints to the chief
Magistrate of _Rotterdam_, who summoned the Author of the Advertisement
to appear before him. _Armand_ obeyed the Writ, and pleaded in his own
Defence, that being a Foreigner, he did not know he had done any thing
that was prohibited by the Laws of the Country; but that having been
lately informed of the contrary, he was willing to make the Person injured
any Amends that should be thought proper, and promised at the same Time to
depart the City forthwith. The Magistrate put up with his Reasons, and
only insisted, on the Performance of his Promise. Therefore he left the
City, and set out to his former Quarters at _Amsterdam_.
The ill Success of his Verses was so far from abating his versifying
Humour, that his Passion for Poetry was only become the stronger. At his
Return to _Amsterdam_, he began to write Satires against his Enemies at
_Rotterdam_, whom he accused of having ruined all his Projects. Then he
undertook to turn the tender Amours of _Abelard_ and _Eloisa_ into
Burlesque Verse. This Piece, full of Obscenities, and of satirical Lashes
of his Enemies, quickly ran thro' all the Coffee-houses; and when he
thought he had put the finishing Stroke to it, he met with a Bookseller,
who was willing to undertake the Printing of it, tho' it had been despised
by all good Judges.
While this Work was printing, _Armand_ contracted a Friendship with the
Count _de Bucquoy_, so well known for his Adventures and Extravagances.
This Count too pretended to write Verses, and was as great a Rattle as
_Armand_. Their Resemblance of each other so much in Temper, was judged at
first to be such a Cement as would have consolidated their Friendship for
a long Time: But a too great Freedom taken by the Count embroiled them
implacably, and gave Rise to a Scene which had like to have been tragical.
The Count, who was not yet perfectly acquainted with his Friend's
Blind-side, took it into his Head one Day, as he was in _Armand_'s
Chamber, to make a Criticism upon his Poetry, which was a little too
severe. _Armand_, to whom nobody had ever presumed before to talk at that
Rate, was in a furious Passion, and called his Censor an impudent Fool,
and a Fortune-Hunter. At last the two Poets fell to Blows; but _Armand_
being the strongest Man, he forced the Count out of his Chamber, kick'd
him down Stairs, and so drove him into the Street.
We proceed now to that fatal Accident of _Armand_'s Life, which was the
Cause of all his Misfortunes, and brought him at last to the Scaffold.
_Armand_ had contracted a Friendship of a long standing, with a Person of
_Bayonne_, one _B----_, a young Fellow, who tho' destitute of a Fortune,
had been so lucky as to marry a very rich Heiress. At the Time when the
Public believed there was the strictest Union subsisting betwixt them,
they were strangely surprized to hear that _B----_ had informed against
his Friend, for a horrible Outrage; and that upon this Accusation _Armand_
was arrested, and committed to Prison. _B----_ pretended that being one
Day in _Armand_'s Chamber, _Armand_ shut the Door upon him, and forced
him, with a Dagger at his Throat, to sign a Bond for a thousand Ducats.
_Armand_'s general Character was enough to condemn him; whereas _B----_,
on the contrary, passed for a young Man of an unblameable Behaviour; but,
to his Misfortune, the Affair was so circumstanced, that it could not be
duly prov'd; for, instead of calling out for Help, at least, as he went
out of the Room, he retired without saying one Word, and did not so much
as go and make his Complaint till two Days after: But for want of direct
Evidence against the Prisoner, he caused Inquiry to be made into his Life
and Conversation, and discovered, that _Armand_ was but a borrowed Name,
and that his true one was _John Barré_; that he had a Wife and four
Children; that he had been Receiver of the Salt-Office at _Vezelay_ in
_Burgundy_; in short, that he had kill'd his Brother-in-Law in the
Country, with a Fowling-Piece; and that having fled for it, he was
outlaw'd and condemn'd to be hang'd.
When _Armand_ appear'd before the Judges, he fairly own'd what his
Accusers had alledg'd against him, with regard to his Name, the Place of
his Residence, and the Cause of his Flight; but he deny'd his having
murder'd his Brother-in-Law, tho' he confessed that he had kill'd him in
his own Defence. As what he had done in _France_, was quite out of the
Question; the Judges were only for adhering to the Point in hand. _Armand_
said, that _B----_ had of his own Accord given him a Bond for a thousand
Ducats, in Acknowledgment for the Service he had done him, in lending him
some Money, and promoting his Marriage. He pleaded his own Cause very
courageously, without the least Trembling or Self-Contradiction. _B----_,
on the contrary, seemed to falter in every thing that he said, which made
it suspected by some, that he had only charg'd _Armand_, in order to have
a Pretext for not paying the Sum that he had promised him. Yet others,
with more Probability, ascribed _B----_'s Faint-heartedness upon this
Occasion to his natural Timorousness, and to the Confusion into which an
Accusation of this Nature, laid without any Proofs to support it, must
needs cast him.
_Armand_ being very urgent for an Issue of the Affair, the Judges, who
found nothing that could support _B----_'s Pretensions, passed a Sentence,
Whereby the latter was to pay the thousand Ducats, and the Defendant was
to be set at Liberty, after giving Security for the said Sum, in case of
an Appeal to the Court of _Holland_, saving to himself the Liberty of
prosecuting his Adversary for Costs, Damages, Interest, and Reparation of
Honour. _B----_ did not fail to appeal from that Sentence to the Court, as
did like wise _Armand_, who having given the Security required, and
received the thousand Ducats, shews himself thro' the whole Town, with a
long Beard, which he suffered to grow in Prison, and which he swore should
not be taken off till he had carried his Cause at the Court.
In order to hasten the Decision of the Affair, he repaired to the _Hague_,
where the Court at length passed a Sentence, which confirmed that of
_Amsterdam_; and then he sued for Repair of Honour, and for Damages and
Interests. _B----_ finding himself by this Means cast in all his Demands,
and fearing the Consequences of the Law-Suit, thought fit to set his
Affairs in Order, and withdrew to _France_. The Court immediately clapp'd
a Seal upon his Effects, summon'd him three times to appear, and 'tis
probable that he would have been condemned upon an Outlawry, if _Armand_'s
Misbehaviour had not put a sudden Stop to the Courte of Justice. The
Occasion of this Incident was as follows:
_Armand_ was so impatient for the Issue of his Process, that he went every
Day to teaze his Judges, who sometimes were not at Leisure to grant him
Audience. Upon a certain Day, as he came to the Door of the
Attorney-General, one of the Domestics told him, his Master was not at
home; and the Man was going to shut the Door against him, when _Armand_
said, _I know the contrary, and must needs speak with him_. Upon this they
fell to abusing one another, when _Armand_, losing all Patience, struck
the Domestic several Blows, and put the whole House in an Alarm, for which
he was carried to Prison; from whence however he might have had a speedy
Deliverance, if he would but have confessed his Fault, and made the
Attorney-General proper Satisfaction: But instead of doing this, he
behaved to Mr. Attorney in a strange Manner, and threatened to be revenged
of him. But he paid dear for his Insolence, and was sentenced to lie in
Prison twelve Years. He remained there till 1734, when the Court thought
fit to remove him to another Town, till the Expiration of the Term
mentioned in the Sentence. _Armand_ being acquainted with this Resolution,
imagined, no doubt, that he was now to be treated with more Severity than
ever, and perhaps that he should be privately dispatched; and from that
Time he had no Command of himself. He formed a Design to murder the
Archers when they came to meddle with him, or at least to prevent their
seizing him; and for this Purpose he had taken one of the Bed-posts, which
he not only armed with Nails, but fastened the Blade of a Penknife at one
End of it. Being thus prepared for his Defence, on the Day appointed for
his Removal; two Archers came to take him, of whom he ripp'd up the Guts
of one, and broke two Ribs of the other. After this, none of the Archers
durst venture to come near him, till the following Stratagem was thought
of, by which they effectually quelled him. Two Archers were ordered to
make each a Hole in the Wall of the Prison, and at the very Instant when
_Armand_ was peeping through one of them, to examine the Cause of it, a
Pistol was discharg'd in his Face, loaded with Sand, which put his Eyes,
Tongue and Face into such an Agony, that he was not able to defend
himself, but surrendered, and begged Quarter. At the same Time he was
seized, and clapped in Irons. When he was under Examination, he confessed,
that his Design was to murder any one that offered to remove him; and that
he would do it again, if it were in his Power; which Circumstance was such
an Aggravation of his Crime, that he was condemned to lose his Head.
The View of approaching Death was so far from being shocking to him, that
he seemed perfectly unconcerned. But what was very observable in this
unaccountable Man, was that the dreadful Prospect of the infamous Death he
had so justly deserved, was so far from engrossing his Thoughts, that it
did not in the least abate the Fondness he had always discovered for his
Verses; so that at the very Time when a Minister was preparing him for
Eternity, he interrupted him short, by telling him, _Sir, Here are some
Verses of my own composing; I desire you would let me read them to you. I
always loved to divert myself with Works of this Sort_. An Attorney, who
was present at the same Time, performing the Office of a Comforter, seemed
to be shock'd at the Reading of a Composition so unsuitable to one in such
Circumstances; but _Armand_, looking on him with a very angry Countenance,
told him in plain Terms, That he was an Ass; and that he wondered how a
Man of his Profession, an Attorney, at constant Variance with Heaven, and
for ever and ever accursed, should take it into his Head to turn
Comforter, and pretend to make Peace between God and Man.
The Day of Execution being[119] come, he was carried before the Judges to
hear Sentence of Death passed upon him: But they had scarce begun to
pronounce it, when he grew strangely outrageous, and said, 'twas unjust
to read his Sentence to him in a Language which he did not understand. It
was to no Purpose that they told him, it should be explained to him in
_French_; for he still rav'd on in the same Strain; so that they were
obliged to stop his Mouth with a Handkerchief, which they held tight
behind, by both Ends. However, upon his making a Sign that it strain'd him
too much, they slacken'd it, and then he promised, that if they would take
it quite off, he would keep a profound Silence. He was attended to the
Place of Execution by a Minister, and saluted such of his Acquaintance as
he saw mixed in the Crowd, with a Smile. When he was on the Scaffold, and
fixed his Eyes on the Gallows, he turned pale, saying, that he had been
promised different Treatment, and that he did not think he should be
turned out of the World in the Manner for which he saw that Preparation.
They encouraged him, by telling him, that he should only have his Head cut
off, if he did not use Violence; but that if he did, he should be hanged,
and hoisted up to the Gallows by a Pully, there for that Purpose. He made
Answer, that he did not care to swing out of the World by a Halter. He
then asked the Executioner, if he was perfect in his Business; to which he
answered in the Affirmative, adding, That he had by his Dexterity made
sixteen Heads leap already, with very good Success, and that he hoped his
would be the seventeenth to do him Honour. Then _Armand_ demanded where
the Sword was, and the Executioner told him, that it should be ready at
the Time. At last the fatal Moment being come, he fell on his Knees, and
as soon as his Eyes were blinded, he had his Head struck off at one Blow.
I have nothing particular to tell you of the Palace at _Honslaerdyck_, and
of the[120] _House in the Wood_, which belong to the King of _Prussia_,
because they are neither of 'em what they were formerly. They are running
so to Decay, that shortly they will not deserve the Mention. As I passed
to _Honslaerdyck_, I went thro' the Village of _Loosduinen_, where I saw
in a Church, the Basin, in which, 'tis said, were baptized the three
hundred and sixty-five Children, of which a Countess of _Holland_ was
delivered at one[121] Birth, in Pursuance of the Wish, or rather Curse of
a poor Woman, who having a Charge of Children, and coming to beg Alms of
her, was not only denied, but rebuked for having so many Children;
whereupon she wished, that the Countess, who was then pregnant, might be
brought to Bed of as many Children as there were Days in the Year; which
happened accordingly. This remarkable Event is set forth in a Picture
carefully preserved in the Church.
The Palace of[122] _Ryswic_, where the Peace was signed in 1697, being in
no better Condition than that of _Honslaerdyck_, I did not think fit to
strike out of the fine Road to DELFT, to go and see it. This Town, which
is a League from the _Hague_, has nothing remarkable to be view'd, besides
the Tomb of _William_ I. Prince of _Orange_, who was assassinated at
_Delft_, in 1584, by _Balthasar Gerard_, of the _Franche Comté_. The
Republic which caused this _Mausoleum_ to be erected, spar'd no Cost to
leave Posterity a Monument worthy of its Founders, and of their Gratitude
for the signal Services which had been done them by that Hero. The Arsenal
for the Land Service of this State, is at _Delft_, and there are few in
_Europe_ that are better furnished, or kept more in Order. This Town
drives a great Trade in earthen Ware. As it is at the same Distance from
_Ryswic_ as the _Hague_, the Ambassadors of _France_ resided here during
the Congress. 'Tis now inhabited by several People, who either from being
weary of the World, or by Reason of Misfortunes, have chose Retirement.
From hence you will imagine, 'tis not a very gay Place, so that I made no
Stay here, nor no Acquaintance.
ROTTERDAM, three Leagues from _Delft_, is by much the most populous Place,
and is only inferior to _Amsterdam_, on Account of its Commerce. Its
Situation on the _Maese_, six Leagues from the Sea, gives it a
Communication with all the Towns of _Holland_, and the neighbouring
Provinces, both by means of that River, and several Canals and Rivers that
fall into it. Its greatest Trade is with _England_ and _France_, and here
are three _English_ Churches, _viz._ One that is Episcopal, or of the
Church of _England_ by Law establish'd, one _Presbyterian_, and one
_Scots_. As to us Catholics, we have several Churches here in Chambers,
and the Jews have a neat Synagogue.