It is probable that some of your friendly correspondents in Holland may
have it in their power to indicate where the English verses of
Constantine Huyghens are to be found which he refers to in his _Koren
Bloemen_, 2de Deel, p. 528. ed. 1672, where he was given Dutch
translations with the following superscriptions: "Aen Joffw Utricia
Ogle, uyt mijn Engelsh;" and "Aen Me-Vrouwe Stanhope, met mijn Heilige
dagen, uyt mijn Engelsh."
Huyghens appears to have had a thorough knowledge of our language, and
his very interesting volume contains translations of twenty of Dr.
Donne's poems, very ably rendered, considering the difficulty of the
task. He refers to this in his address to the reader, and says that an
illustrious Martyr [Charles I.] many years since had declared that he
could not have believed that any one could have successfully
accomplished it. Huyghens confesses that the Latinisms with which our
language abounds, had given him much to wrestle with; and that it was
difficult to express in pure Dutch such words as _ecstasy_, _atomy_,
_influence_, _legacy_, _alloy,_ &c. The first stanza of the song, "Go
and catch a falling Star," may perhaps be acceptable to some of your
readers, who may not readily have access to the book:
"Gaet en vatt een Sterr in 't vallen,
Maeckt een' Wortel-mensch[1] met kind,
Seght waer men al den tijd die nu verby is vindt,
En wie des Duyvels voet geklooft heeft in twee ballen:
Leert my Meereminnen hooren,
Leert my hoe ick 't boose booren,
Van den Nijd ontkommen moet,
En wat Wind voor-wind is voor een oprecht gemoed."
[Footnote 1: Mandrake.]
One more example of his translation, from the epigram on Sir Albertus
Morton, may be allowed, as it is short:
"She first deceased; he for a little tried
To live without her; liked it not, and died."
"Sy stierf voor uyt: hy pooghd' haer een' wijl tijds te derven,
Maer had geen' sin daer in, en ging oock liggen sterven."
Considering the affinity of the languages, and the frequent and constant
intercourse with Holland, it is singular that we should have to
reproach ourselves with such almost total ignorance respecting the
literature of that country. With the exception of the slight sketch
given by Dr. Bowring of its poetical literature, an Englishman has no
work to which he can turn in his own language for information; and Dutch
books may be sought for in vain in London. The late Mr. Heber when in
Holland did not neglect its literature, and at the dispersion of his
library I procured a few valuable Dutch books; among others, the very
handsome volume which has given rise to this note. It contains much
interesting matter, and affords a most amiable picture of the mind of
its distinguished author, who lived to the very advanced age of
ninety-one. There is a speaking and living portrait of him prefixed,
from the beautiful graver of Blotelingk, and a view of his chateau of
Hofwyck, with detailed plans of his garden, &c. He was secretary to
three successive princes of Nassau, accountant to the Prince of Orange,
and Lord of Zuylichem; and lived in habits of friendly intercourse with
almost all the distinguished men who flourished during his long and
prosperous life. His son is well known to the world of science as the
inventor of the pendulum.
Translations of three or four of Constantine Huyghens' poems are given
by Dr. Bowring in his _Batavian Anthology_. And the great Vondel
pronounces his volume to be--
"A garden mild of savours sweet,
Where Art and Skill and Wisdom meet;
Rich in its vast variety
Of forms and hues of ev'ry dye."