Leyden, to which the landlord’s daughter insisted on accompanying me,
notwithstanding I was now kindly assisted by my countrymen. I took leave
of her, of course, with feelings and expressions of gratitude for her
uncommon attention. The barges on these canals are towed by horses,
the rope passing from the top of a mast, in order to carry it clear of
the ground, and which mast is fixed on a swivel joint to admit of its
being lowered at pleasure in passing under bridges. There were in the
present boat three cabins, the aftermost, which is considered the best,
being occupied by a private party: we were in the middle one, which
was very commodious, and had but few companions, and those not very
loquacious, for the natives of this country shew little disposition to
enter into conversation with strangers. We had a laugh or two at one of
our companions, who, finding his seat too hard, requested a cushion, for
which accommodation they afterwards made an extra charge; at another
time, he got out to walk on the bank, and had much difficulty to keep up
with the boat, before an opportunity offered of getting in again. The
day was fine, and the country around us said to be highly luxuriant. At
twelve o’clock we arrived at Leyden, being a distance of four leagues.
Both this town and Haarlem are famous for the long sieges they supported
against the Spaniards, under Frederic, son of the duke of Alva, in the
year 1573.
After ordering dinner at the Golden Lion, we sallied forth to examine
the town, of which it is impossible I can give any thing like a
description, from so slight a perambulation, as it is said to comprise
eight gates, twenty-four canals, fifty islands, one hundred and eighty
streets, and one hundred and forty-five bridges. It was here that the
electric battery, named the Leyden Jar, was first invented, and that
the illustrious Boerhaave, filled with an eclat never surpassed, the
professorship of medicine in this celebrated university. This great
man was born at Voorhoot, a village near this place, in the year
1688, and died in 1738. There is a proverb of his which deserves a
marked attention, “The sparks of calumny will presently be extinct of
themselves, unless you blow them.”
I should have felt pleasure in staying longer at this place, but that
I was desirous of getting to Brussels without delay. I therefore, in
company with Mr. T—, one of the English gentlemen, the other staying
behind with his lady, set off by the barge to the Hague. In our way,
we passed the village of Leysendam, which we walked through to another
barge, on the right of which is Catwick, where the last branch of the
Rhine, which retains its original name, loses itself in the sands. At
eight o’clock in the evening we reached the Hague, after a journey of
three hours, and took up our quarters at the hotel of Marshal Turenne.
On the following morning, Tuesday, Aug. 21st, we arose early, and took a
walk through the town before breakfast, and which we afterwards extended
to Scheveling. The road to this place is excellent, shaded on both sides
by trees. The village itself is large and extremely neat, situated near
the sea, and much resorted to as a bathing-place during the summer; the
sea, however, is not visible from the town, a sand-hill being interposed
between these points.
We returned from our walk in sufficient time to set out by the
treckschuyt for Rotterdam, which is thirteen miles distant from the
Hague. My companion was much pleased with the palaces and walks about
this place, which he thought must be a delightful residence.
After travelling about an hour and a quarter, we reached Delft, where
we landed, and traversed the city to another barge on the opposite side
of it. Delft is a fine clean city, with canals running through the
streets, and rows of trees on each side of them. In one of the churches
are deposited the remains of William the First of Nassau, prince of
Orange, who, at the instigation of Philip the Second, was assassinated at
this place. Delft is also famous as the birth-place of Hugo Grotius, the
immortal author of a Treatise on the Truth of the Christian Religion, as
well as of many other works of high estimation; and every one has heard
of its manufactory of earthenware, termed Delft China.
From Delft, we proceeded in a very large and handsome barge to Rotterdam.
At four o’clock we passed Schiedam, leaving it a mile on our right,
and at five arrived at Rotterdam. It happened to be the day of a fair,
and we had to traverse a great part of the city, through the midst of
a mass of people, before we reached the bath-house hotel, to which we
had been recommended. This house was full of company, but they found us
accommodations in a detached building in the garden.
On making inquiries respecting the conveyances to Antwerp, I found
there were two every day, one by Breda, the other by Bergen-op-Zoom; I
preferred the latter, and secured my place for twenty-five francs.
On entering the common sitting-room of our hotel, I almost fancied myself
transported into an English boarding-house, the party present being all
countrymen or Americans. We retired early to our bed-room, and had the
mortification to find the sheets wringing wet. This is not unfrequently
the case in Holland, where the table linen and napkins are very commonly
sent in perfectly damp; it is no doubt attributable to the humid state of
the atmosphere on the one hand, and the expense of fuel to dry with on
the other. We summoned the chamber-maid, waiter, and master of the inn in
succession, who all endeavoured to convince us that they were perfectly
dry. We had no alternative but to make the best use we could of the
warming-pan; and it is fortunate that we sustained no injury.
My stay at Rotterdam was too brief to enable me to say much about the
city. It is a place of considerable commercial importance, and, in some
respects, has advantages over Amsterdam; as the merchant vessels have
only to come fifteen miles up a fine river, and are able to discharge
their cargoes at the very doors of the warehouses. I was informed, that
it enjoys a more extended trade than either Amsterdam or Antwerp. It is
also considered the handsomest city in Holland, and obtains no little
renown from having been the birth-place of the celebrated Erasmus, whose
statue in bronze, ornaments the city.
On Wednesday, the 22nd of August, I left Rotterdam for Antwerp, at five
in the morning. We were conveyed, in a temporary carriage, to the banks
of a river, which we crossed to the island of Ysselmond, where the
regular diligence was awaiting our arrival. After traversing this island,
we embarked on a flying bridge, and were transported across the Maese to
the island of Voorn; from the opposite side of which we crossed an arm
of the sea, named Holland’s Diep, to Williamstadt, a strong fortified
town, built by the unfortunate William before mentioned, as having been
assassinated at Delft. This place held out successfully against the
French in 1793. After leaving Williamstadt, we crossed a fourth, and then
a fifth river, when we arrived at Steenbergen; a small, but strongly
fortified town, surrounded by double walls and ditches, and distant seven
miles from Bergen-op-Zoom. We reached the latter place at two o’clock
for dinner. This town is only noted for its strong fortifications,
being defended by double walls, with immense ditches, and confirmed by
extensive outworks. I could not avoid a melancholy retrospection of
the unfortunate attack made upon this place, by my brave countrymen in
the late war. We recommenced our journey at three o’clock, and soon
afterwards entered the Netherlands, when the road became so sandy and
heavy, that we could not proceed at a greater rate than a foot’s pace;
when, however, we arrived within three miles of Antwerp, it changed into
a _pavê_, which continued until we reached that town at half after eight
in the evening; when I accompanied an English gentleman, Mr. S⸺, who had
travelled with us all day, to the Hotel d’Angleterre.
As I only rested thirty-six hours in this fine and extensive city, it
would be presumptuous to attempt a description of it. The beauty of the
town, cathedral, and various churches, and the richness of its cabinets
of paintings, and the fine arts, are well known. An academy of painting
has lately been formed, or rather re-established here, under the title of
Rueben’s school.
At the table d’hôte, which was crowded with people of various nations, I
was fortunately placed near one of my countrymen, who, hearing that I had
lately arrived from Italy, entered into conversation with me respecting
some friends, and in particular a cousin of his, whom I had known at
Naples; he afterwards contributed to make the remainder of the day pass
away pleasantly.
He informed me, that Antwerp was not unlikely to regain a considerable
degree of its former commercial importance. It was already vying
with Rotterdam, and was expected to surpass it as a trading town, in
consequence of a law having passed to lower the transit duties, and
which was to take effect in January 1822.
Before retiring early to-bed, I secured my place in the diligence to
Brussels, for the following morning; at which place I proposed to rest
for some time, after so long a series of travelling; during which, in the
course of three months, I had never slept more than four nights in the
same bed; and farther, I was induced to select this place, for my repose,
as I hoped to meet with some old friends there.
We commenced our journey at seven o’clock; about ten we stopped to
change horses at Mechlin, the city so celebrated for its manufacture of
fine lace of that name. The cathedral here is said to be a very grand
structure and well worth seeing. About noon, we arrived at Brussels,
after a journey of twenty-five miles from Antwerp.
CHAP. XXXII.
BRUSSELS, GHENT, OSTEND, AND RETURN TO ENGLAND.
On the recommendation of M. G. Mignon, the French gentleman with whom
I had travelled from Berne to Cologne, and who had arrived in Brussels
the day before myself, I fixed my residence at the Hotel de la Paix, Rue
Violet.
The great anxiety of various countries to become the masters of this
city, may alone be regarded as a strong indication of its importance.
It is extensive, handsomely built in an eligible situation, and its
inhabitants regarded as a polished people; their politeness towards the
English visitors, has, however, been latterly no little tempered by
political or commercial jealousy, arising from our being able to furnish
better and cheaper commodities than they can manufacture; while, at
the same time, they have been subjected to heavy imposts, and deprived
of the advantage of exchanging their productions for French wines and
goods. They do not hesitate to express their preference of the French
government, under which they had been so long subjected, and even the
wish to return to it; indeed their habits and characters assimilate more
with the French than the Dutch, with whom they are now connected.
The manufactories of carpets, lace, &c. carried on at this place, are
well known; few of the former are, however, actually the productions
of this city, but made in a number of the towns around, particularly
Tournay; they are conveyed, however, into the merchants’ stores at this
place, and then come out as real Brussels carpets.
Brussels appears to have had a particular partiality for the number
seven; hence there were formerly seven public fountains; seven principal
streets that centre in the great market-place; seven parish churches;
seven principal noble families; and seven gates of Doric architecture.
There is a canal encircling the town, and forming it into a kind of
island, planted with trees, and which runs to Willibrook, a village on
the Scheldt, at the distance of fifteen miles; along the banks of this
canal lies an excellent road, shaded with four rows of trees on each
side, upon which the ladies of Brussels take the air in their carriages.
The treckschuyts pass by this canal from Brussels to Antwerp, twice every
day.
The great market-place is one of the most beautiful squares in Europe.
One side is occupied by the Stadt-house. The states of Brabant used
formerly to meet in a palace in this square, which was most richly
adorned. In three large rooms the resignation of his empire, by Charles
the Fifth, is wrought in tapestry. The other rooms, which belonged to
this august assembly, were embellished with fine original paintings. In
this square are also situated the halls of the various trading companies
of Brussels, the fronts of which are adorned with exquisite sculpture and
workmanship.
The herb-market is also a fine square, as well as the horse-market or
sablon; both of which are environed by some excellent buildings. The
Place Royal, situated near the palace and park, is an airy situation,
and contains the two principal hotels, the Bellevue, and the Hotel de
Flandres. The museum, and the botanic garden are also situated by this
square; in the former is deposited the cradle of Charles the Fifth, and
the chair in which
“The Spaniard, when the lust of sway
Had lost its quickening spell,
Cast crowns for rosaries away,
An empire for a cell.”
This museum contains also a number of interesting objects of nature and
art; amongst the former a good collection of minerals, and amongst the
latter, an extensive one of paintings; and which comprises a few valuable
originals.
In company with a friend, Mr. M’M⸺, to whom my warmest acknowledgments
are due for his unceasing attentions in conducting me to, and explaining
its various parts, I made the complete tour of this city along the
ramparts, commencing at the gate of Namur. These ramparts appeared in a
bad state, not calculated for a fashionable promenade; we passed an old
fort with a very few guns upon it, and these certainly not in fighting
order. We did not complete the tour on the first day, but left off at
what was lately named Port Napoleon, but now Port Guillaume; this is a
handsome modern structure.
On the following day we completed our tour, finishing at Port Namur; in
the course of this walk we passed a number of persons employed in making
a boulevard, and building a wall from a depth of six feet to the surface
to support it.
One afternoon we went to examine the environs around the royal palace
of Lacken, and might without much difficulty have been admitted into
the palace itself, had it not been too late in the afternoon; we were
informed, however, that it offered nothing particularly magnificent or
interesting; with its grounds it is enclosed within a wooden fence, which
altogether does not comprise an area of two miles in circumference,
certainly not an extensive domain for a royal residence, in the
neighbourhood of so fine a city.
The churches at Brussels are very fine, particularly that of St.
Gudulo, which is a magnificent building with two steeples. There are
two places of worship, where the English service is performed in an
impressive manner, by their respective preachers; the one the church of
St. Augustine, for morning, the other a chapel in the Place Royal, for
evening service.
Brussels is almost wholly supplied with firing, from the forest of
Soignè, which covers a tract of sixteen or seventeen thousand acres of
land, one sixtieth part of which is allowed to be cut down annually, and
thus a constant supply ensured.
Lodgings and all kinds of provision are very reasonable, but French wines
now comparatively dear. We one day went to a coach-maker’s, where we
saw vehicles of every description, which my friend on examining into,
declared were as well got up as they generally are in England, and at
about two-thirds of the customary English prices. We visited also the
lace manufactories, where my companion made some purchases, but I did not
choose to run the risk of being laughed at, for taking back the produce
of my own country, which, I am assured, is now frequently put off as the
manufacture of Flanders.
One evening I went to the larger theatre, with Mr. S⸺, for the express
purpose of hearing the celebrated Mademoiselle Mars, in the character
of the Femme Colère in the play of that name. I thought the piece very
inferior, and to comprise common place incidents, and trifling dialogues.
The plot is founded upon the stratagem of a peaceable kind of husband, to
quell the turbulent temper of his wife, and who succeeds in convincing
her of her folly, by shewing the impropriety of such conduct in himself;
for this purpose, on one occasion, when she has been enraged at her
waiting-maid, he throws himself into a still greater passion; upsets the
tables, chairs, and every thing that comes in his way; she hears, sees,
and is astonished at his violence, becoming proportionately tame, as
his rage increases, and at length convinced of her error, determines to
reform.
The stage of this theatre I thought not sufficiently advanced towards the
audience, the greater part of the sound appearing to be retained upon it.
One day, amongst other amusements in the suburbs, I was present at that
of shooting the popinjay, which consists in placing the figure of a bird
at the top of a long pole, and shooting at it with bows and arrows; the
person who succeeds in displacing the mark, is remunerated with a gold or
silver watch, or whatever prize may be contended for; it did not appear,
however, an easy matter to effect this, as it was four o’clock when we
were there, and they had been engaged the whole day, without being able
to remove the popinjay.
During my stay at Brussels, I discovered very few symptoms of gaiety,
although the royal family were at the time resident. The English families
were many of them gone to different bathing places. I had, however,
the gratification of finding there my friend, Admiral D⸺, whose great
condescension and hospitality, demand my warmest acknowledgments, and
have left an indelible impression of gratitude and esteem; nor can I
forget the kind attentions of his friend Mr. P. H⸺.
On the 10th of September, I received a letter from my friend C⸺, dated at
the port of Lubec, describing his progress towards St. Petersburg, and
which gave me unfeigned pleasure.
Being desirous of reaching England, before the equinoctial gales might
come on, on the 12th of September I took my place for Ghent, in one of
the many coaches that go daily to that city; after an early dinner, I
left Brussels at half past two o’clock, occupying the same seat with an
English gentleman and his dog; the middle seat was taken up by a Dutch
captain, from Batavia, with a parrot and dog; while a pair of monkies
belonging to him, enjoyed the fresh air on the roof, and amused the
people as they passed along. We arrived at the fine city of Ghent about
half past eight o’clock, and, at the recommendation of Admiral D⸺, I went
to the Hotel de Vienne, in the _merché au blê_, where, in consequence
of using his name, I was treated with particular attention, and charged
reasonably for very superior accommodations.
This city derives no little of its celebrity from having been the
birth-place of Charles the Fifth, as well as our John of Gaunt, duke of
Lancaster, and son of Edward the Third.
We were now in what was formerly called Flanders, the Austrians
possessing the larger part with this city for their capital; the French,
the south-west, comprising Lisle and Dunkirk; and the Dutch, the
north-east, with the strong fortress of Sluys.
On the following morning we breakfasted at seven o’clock, and, after
taking a short walk into the town, set off for the barge to Bruges,
which lay at a considerable distance from the hotel, and starts at nine
o’clock in the morning. The day was unfavourable; it blew hard, and we
had frequent showers of rain; however, we were better situated for these
gales than had we been in the packet midway between Ostend and Margate.
Between twelve and one o’clock, a better dinner was placed before us,
than I had met with at any table d’hôte in France, Germany, or the Low
Countries, and the wine was universally praised. I certainly had as good
a pint of Burgundy as I had met with on the continent, for which, with my
dinner, and the fare for thirty miles’ journey, including the conveyance
of baggage, I was only charged seven francs and a half. Our dinner
concluded with a magnificent dessert; we had more baskets of peaches than
we could make use of, grapes (the first I had met with this season), and
abundance of the more common fruits. We arrived at Bruges at half-past
three, and, without tarrying, immediately traversed the city to the barge
for Ostend, on a canal at the opposite side of it. All I know of this
place is, that we walked through the town for nearly two miles before we
reached the boat.
Our barge from Bruges, as well as our party, was much smaller than the
one we had travelled with from Ghent; soon after seven o’clock we arrived
at Sas van Ghent, a small village, about a mile from Ostend, where we
rested a few minutes, after which we proceeded into the town, when
about eight o’clock I reached the Wellington hotel, an inn conveniently
situated for the custom-house, and the packets sailing to and from
England, and which has been established by an Englishman, lately the head
waiter from Nicholson’s hotel.
On our arrival at Ostend we found two packets intending to sail for
England, a private one for Margate and London, on the following day,
and a government one for Dover on the succeeding day to that; those to
whom time is of importance, however, unless a vessel is on the point of
sailing from hence, and the wind favourable, will do well to take the
barge to Dunkirk, and travel from that place to Calais by the diligence.
On the Friday the wind was unfavourable, and we had nothing to do but
amuse ourselves as we pleased; in the morning we walked about the town,
and in the evening visited again the village of Sas van Ghent, with the
object of examining Paren’s museum, which, as the sole collection of a
humble individual, the proprietor of a small inn at this place, is by no
means contemptible. He had great variety of land and sea animals, several
of the former coming under the head of _lusus naturæ_. No remuneration
is expected for seeing his curiosities; but we could not do less than
take refreshment at his house of business; and I presented him with a
small piece of Mosaic work which I had brought from Rome, with which
he appeared highly pleased, never having seen any before. On returning
to our hotel we found the captain intending to sail at midnight, and
therefore we did not go to-bed until we ascertained that he had abandoned
this intention.
On Saturday the morning was delightful, and the wind favourable; at one
o’clock, a.m. we took leave of the town and harbour of Ostend, in the
Fox packet, commanded by Captain Fox, with whom I engaged to be landed
at Margate. The Dover packet immediately followed, but soon steered a
more westerly course. The wind, at first fresh, gradually decreased until
midnight, when it became calm, and the weather foggy. At day-break a
slight breeze sprung up; at eleven o’clock the fog cleared off; we found
ourselves close under the North Foreland; and at twelve myself and a few
other passengers were put on board a lugger, which soon landed us upon
the pier of Margate.
The indescribable delight with which I hailed my native land, after so
long an absence, was not a little enhanced by the general improvement my
health had experienced; the restoration of which, had formed one of my
leading motives for undertaking the journey.
On a retrospective view of the various incidents and circumstances to
which I had been exposed, I found no reason to think that my tour had
been defective in interest, or that I had returned without commensurate
advantages. Amongst other results, I felt enabled to contrast the
advantages of our happy isle, with the less substantial comforts,
and more specious characters, of its continential neighbours, and to
appreciate its superiority; an inference, which, should it be deemed
erroneous or unphilosophical, I am proud to attribute to that spirit
of patriotism, which ought to pervade every human bosom, and like the
magnetic influence, incline its affections to their native pole.
“Such is the patriot’s boast! where’er we roam,
His first, best country, ever is at home.”
FINIS.
Printed by W. WOODCOCK, St. Helena Place, Spa Fields.