ofttimes privileged to witness with him the administration of Justice
and the infliction of its Dread Awards,--all here very Decent and
Solemn. The Awful Sentence of Death is delivered in a room on the
basement-floor of the Stadt House: the entrance through a massy
folding-door covered with brass Emblems, such as Jove's Beams of
Lightning, and Flaming Swords; above, between the Rails, are the old and
new City Arms; and at the bottom are Death's Heads and Bones. The inside
of the Hall, mighty handsome, in white Marble, and proper History pieces
of the Judgment of Solomon, and Zeleucus the Locrian King tearing out
one of his Eyes to save one of his Son's, and Junius Brutus putting his
children to Death. On the fore part of the Judgment-seat a fine Marble
Statue of Silence, gallantly, but quite falsely, represented by the
figure of a Woman on the ground, her finger to her lips, and two
Children by her, Weeping over a Death's Head. When the dire Doom of
Death is about to be pronounced, the Criminal is brought into this Hall,
guarded; and nothing is omitted in point of solemnity to impress on his
mind (poor wretch!) and on those about him the awful consequences of
violating the Laws of the Country; which is a much better mode, I think,
of striking Terror into 'em than the French way, where the Magistrates
settle the Sentence among themselves in private, and the _Greffier_
comes all of a sudden into the unhappy Person's Cell to tell him that he
is to be presently Executed; or even our Old Bailey fashion (though the
Black Cap is frightful), where the Culprit is more or less sent to Hang
like a Dog,--one down, another come up; and Jack Ketch Drunk all the
while with burnt Brandy. 'Twas a thorough knowledge of Human Nature,
too, that thought of placing this Dutch hall of Justice on the
ground-floor, and its Brazen Door opening into a common Thoroughfare
through the Stadt House. I never passed by this door without seeing
numbers of the Lower Orders of people gazing wistfully through the Rails
upon the emblematic objects within, apparently in Melancholy Meditation,
and reflecting upon the Ignominious Effects of deviating from the Paths
of Virtue.
Out of the Burgomaster's parlour in the same building is a passage to
the Execution Chamber, or Hall of the Last Prayers, where the Condemned
take leave of their Clergy, and pass through a Window, the lower part of
Wood, so that it opens level with the floor of the Scaffold, which is
constructed on the outside, opposite the Waag or Weigh House.
As associate of one of the Magistrates, I often visited the Dungeons
beneath the Stadt House, which are hermetically Sealed unto all
Strangers. As places of Confinement, nothing can be more secure; as
places of punishment, nothing more Horrible. Here, by the faint light of
a Rush Candle, you gaze only on Emaciated Figures, while out of the Dark
Shadows issue faint but dismal Groans. Some are here condemned to linger
for Life; yet have I known convicted Creatures in this Rat's hole as
merry as French Dancing-Masters, whistling, trolling, and gambolling in
the Dark; while in the next cell were a number of Women, who, like the
general of their sex when in Durance, did nothing but Yell and tear
their Clothes to Pieces. But 'tis true that all confined in these
dreadful places had committed crimes of a very Malignant nature, and
which heartily warranted their being thus cut off from Light and Air,
and immured in Regions fit only to be Receptacles for the Dead. Under
the Hall of Justice is likewise the Torture Chamber, where Miserable
Creatures, at the bidding of their Barbarous Judges, undergo a variety
of Torments; one of which is to fasten the Hands behind the Neck with a
cord through pulleys secured to the vaulted Ceiling, so as to be jerked
up and down. Weights of Fifty Pounds each are then suspended to the
Feet, until anguish overpowers the senses, and a Confession of Guilt is
heard to quiver on the lips. Public Punishments are inflicted only Four
Times a Year, when a vast Scaffold is erected in the Space between the
Stadt House and Waag House, as before mentioned. Those that are only to
be Whipped endure that compliment with Merciless Severity, and are not
permitted to Retire till those who are to Die have suffered, which is
either by Decapitation or by the Rope. And this acts as a Warning as to
what will happen to 'em next time. On this occasion the Chief
Magistrates attend in their Robes. But though Strict, they are mighty
Just in administering their Laws, and will not permit the least
deviation or aggravation of the Sentence meted out. I did hear of one
jocular Rogue, that was condemned, for the murder of half-a-dozen women
and children, to have his Head severed from the Trunk at one stroke of
the Sword. This Mynheer Merry-Andrew, previous to quitting the Prayer
Chamber, lays a Wager with a Friend that the Executioner should not be
able to perform his office according to the exact terms of the Sentence.
So, the moment he knelt to receive the Fatal Stroke, he rolled his Head
in every direction so violently and rapidly, that the Headsman could not
hit him with any chance of severing his Neck at once; and after many
fruitless aims, was obliged to renounce the Task. The Officers who were
to see the Sentence executed were now in a Great Dilemma. In vain did
they try by argument to persuade the Fellow to remain still, and have
his Head quietly taken off. At last he was remanded back to Prison, and
after an hour's deliberation the presiding Magistrate, upon his own
Responsibility, ordered the Gallows to be brought out, and the Fellow to
be straightway Hanged thereupon; which was done, to the contentment of
the Populace, who were howling with Rage at the fear of being deprived
of their Sport. But the strait-laced Dutch Judges and Lawyers all took
alarm, and declared that the Fellow had been murdered; and nothing but
the high rank and character of the Magistrate preserved him from
grievous consequences.
They observe, however, degrees in their Punishments, and are, even in
extreme cases, averse from Bloodshed, and willing to try all ways with a
criminal before Hanging or Beheading him. Thus have they their famous
Rasphuys for the Confinement and Correction of those whose Crimes are
not capital. Over the Gate are some insignificant painted wooden
figures, representing Rogues sawing Log-wood, and Justice holding a Rod
over them; and the like of these, with figures of scourging and
branding, they stick up in their Public Walks and Gardens, to show what
is Done to those who pluck the Flowers or carve Names upon the Trunks of
the Trees, and it has a most wholesome effect in frightening Evil-doers.
So in the Yard of the Rasphuys is a Whipping-post in Terrorem, with
another little figure of Justice flagrant with Execution. Here the
Rogues saw Campeachy-wood, which seems to be most toilsome work; and
yet by practice they can saw Two Hundred Pounds' weight every week with
ease, and also make many little Articles in Straw, Wood, Bone, and
Copper, to sell to Visitors. They are all clad in White Woollen, which,
when they are stained with the Red Sawdust, gives them a Hobgoblin kind
of appearance. Here too, in a corner of the Yard, they show the Cell in
which if the person who was confined in it did not incessantly Pump out
the Water let into it, he must inevitably be Drowned; but this Engine,
the Gaolers said, had not been used for many Years, and was only kept up
as an object of Terror.
In the east quarter of Amsterdam, Justice is administered in its mildest
form; there being the Workhouse close to the Muider Gragt, a place
which, I believe, has not its parallel in the whole World. 'Tis partly
Correctional and partly Charitable; and when I saw it, there were Seven
Hundred and Fifty Persons within the Walls, the yearly expense being
about One Hundred Thousand Florins. In the rooms belonging to the
Governors and Directresses some exquisite Paintings by Van Dyck,
Rembrandt, and Jordaens; and, indeed, you can go scarcely any where in
Holland, from a Pig-stye to a Palace, without finding Paintings. Here,
in a vast room very cleanly kept, are an immense number of Women
occupied in Sewing and Spinning. Among them I saw once a fine
hearty-looking Irishwoman, who had been Confined here two whole Years,
for being a little more fond of true Schiedam Gin than her lawful
Spouse. In another vast Apartment, secured by many Iron Railings and
Grated Windows, are the Female Convicts in the highest state of
Discipline, and very industriously and silently engaged in making Lace,
under the superintendence of a Governess. From the Walls of the Boom are
suspended Instruments of Punishment, such as Scourges, Gags, and
Manacles, the which are not spared upon the slightest appearance of
Insubordination. Then there are Wards for the Men, Schoolrooms for a
vast number of Children, and Dormitories, all in the highest state of
Neatness. In another part of the Building, which only the Magistrates
are permitted to visit, are usually detained ten or a dozen Young
Ladies--some of very high Families--sent here by their Parents or
Friends for undutiful Deportment, or some other Domestic Offence. They
are compelled to wear a particular Dress as a mark of Degradation; are
kept apart; forced to work a certain number of hours a day; and are
occasionally Whipped. Here, too, upon complaints of Extravagance,
Tipsiness, &c., duly proved, can Husbands send their Wives, to be
confined and receive the Discipline of the House; _and hither, too, can
Wives send their Husbands for the same Cause, for Two, Three, and Four
Years together, till they show signs of amended Behaviour_. The Food is
abundant, and good; but the Work is hard, and the Stripes are many.
Might not such a course be tried with advantage in England, to abate and
cure the frivolities and extravagances of Fashionable People?
So then, as an Honourable Merchant in a city and country where Commerce
is reckoned among the noblest of Pursuits, I might, but for my Perverse
Fate, have grown Rich, and taken unto myself a Dutch Wife, and had a
Brood of little Broad-beamed Children, that should smoke their Tobacco
and quaff their Schiedam, even from their Cradle upwards. Indeed, Madam
Vanderkipperhaerin of Gouda (the place where the Cows feed in the
Meadows clad in Blue-striped Jackets and Petticoats) was pleased to look
upon me with Eyes of Favour, and often said it was a Sin and Shame that
such a Proper Man as I (as she was good enough to say) was not Married
and Settled. And, indeed, why not? I ofttimes asked myself. I had
Florins, Guilders, and Stuyvers in abundance; my Partner was a
Magistrate, and well reputed worthy: why should I not give Hostages to
Fortune, and have done for good and all with the Life of a Roving
Bachelor? By this time (although by no means forgetting my own dear
native Tongue) I spoke French with Ease and Fluency, if not with
Grammatical correctness; and had likewise an indifferently copious
acquaintance with the Hollands Dialect. Why should not I be a
Magistrate, a Burgomaster? Madam Vanderkipperhaerin was Rich, and had a
beautiful Summer Villa all glistening with Bee's-waxed Campeachy-wood
and Polished Brass on the River Amstel, some three miles from the City.
She had a whole Cabinet full of Ostades and Jan Steens in ebony frames,
and a Side-board of Antique Plate that might have made Cranbourn Alley
jealous. Why did not I avail myself of the many Propitious Moments that
offered, and demand the Hand of that most respectable Dutch Dame.
The Melancholy Truth is, that she chose to be jealous of Betje, Mr.
Vandepeereboom's comely Housekeeper, upon whom I declare that I had
never cast any thing but innocently Paternal Glances, and utterly deny
that I ever foregathered with that young Fraw. She was for moving Mr.
Vandepeereboom to have Betje sent to the Workhouse, there to be set to
Spinning, and to receive the usual unhandsome Treatment; and when he
refused,--having, in truth, no fault to find with the Poor
Girl,--Madam, in a Huff, withdrew her Countenance and Favour from me,
and, with sundry of her spiteful gossips, revived the old Story of my
having several Wives alive in different parts of Europe and the New
World. Surely there was never yet a man so exposed to calumny as poor
John Dangerous!
Then, to make matters worse, there came that sad Affair of the Beguine.
Flesh and blood! a mortal man (I suppose) is not to be reckoned among
the vilest of Humanity because he falls in Love. How could I help
Wilhelmina van Praag being a Beguine? Moreover, a Beguine is not a Nun.
The Beguines belong to a modified kind of Monastic Order. They reside in
a large House with a wall and ditch around it, and that has a Church and
Hospital inside, and is for all the world like a little Town. But the
Sisterhood is perfectly secular; they mingle with the inhabitants of the
city, quit the Convent when they choose, and even marry when they are so
minded; but they are obliged, so long as they belong to the Order, to
attend Prayers a certain number of times a day, and to be within the
Convent-walls at a stated hour every evening. To be admitted to this
Order, they must be either unmarried or widows without children; and the
only certificate required of them is that of Good Behaviour, and that
they have a Competence to live upon. You may ask, if this almost entire
Liberty be granted them, what there was to hinder Mynheer Jan van
Dangerous and the Fair Beguine Wilhelmina van Praag from coming together
as Man and Wife? Wilhelmina was the comeliest Creature (save one) that I
have ever seen; and, but that she was a little Stout, would have passed
as the living model for the St. Catherine which Signor Raphael the
Painter did so well in Oils. I don't think I loved her; but she took my
Fancy immensely, and meeting her in the houses of divers Honourable
Families in Amsterdam, 'tis not to be concealed that I courted her with
much assiduity. This, by some mischief-making Persons, was held to be
highly compromising to the Fair Beguine. For all that I had become a
Grave Merchant, there was yet somewhat of the Gentleman of the Sword and
Adventurer on the High Seas about me; and a great hulking Cousin of the
young Fraw, that was a Lieutenant in their High Mightinesses Land
Forces,--the Amphibious Grenadiers I call 'em, and more used to
Salt-water than Salt-petre,--must needs challenge me to the Duello. The
laws against private warfare being very strict in Holland, we were
obliged to make a journey into Austrian Flanders, to Arrange our
Difficulty; and meeting on the borders of the Duchy of Luxembourg,
I--Well, is Jack Dangerous to be blamed for that he was, in the prime of
Life, an approved Master of Fence?
The Lieutenant being dead of his Wounds (received in perfectly fair
fight), the whole City of Amsterdam must needs cry out that I had
murdered the Man; and the Families who had once been eager to receive me
turned their backs upon me. Then the Fair Beguine must go into a craze;
and, upon my word, when I heard how Mad she was, and how they had been
obliged to shut her up in the Hospital, I could not help thinking of the
History of my Grandmother, and did mistrust meeting the young Fraw van
Praag again (for she was very Sweet, I believe, with the Spark that
forced me to fight with him), for fear that she should Pistol me. But
she did not; and Recovered, to marry a very Wealthy Shipmaster named
Druyckx.
While this Ugly Business was the talk of all tongues (but Mr.
Vandepeereboom clapped me on the Shoulder, and bade me take my Diversion
while he minded Business, for that all would Blow Over soon), I took an
Excursion ('twas in the third year of my Residence here) into North
Holland, to visit the famous village of Brock. Here the streets are
divided by little Rivulets, for all the world like Lilliputian Canals;
the Houses and Summer-houses all of Wood, painted Green and White, very
handsome, albeit whimsical in their shape, and scrupulously neat. The
Inhabitants have a peculiar association among themselves, and scarcely
ever admit a Stranger within their Doors. During my stay I only saw the
Faces of two of 'em, and then only by a stealthy Peep. They are said to
be very rich, and in some of their Kitchens to have Pots and Pans of
solid Gold. The Shutters of the Windows always kept closed, and the
Householders go to and fro by a Back Door, the Principal Entrance being
opened only at Marriages and Deaths. The Street Pavement all set out
with Pebbles and Cockleshells, and no Dogs or Cats were seen to trespass
upon it; and formerly there was a law to oblige all Passengers to take
off their Shoes. Here it was that a Man was once Convened and
Reprimanded for Sneezing in the Streets; and, latterly, a Parson, I
heard, upon being appointed to fill the Church on the Demise of an old
Predecessor, gave great offence to his Flock for not taking off his
Shoes when he ascended the Pulpit. The Gardens of this strange Village
produce Deer, Dogs, Peacocks, Chairs, and Ladders, all cut out in Box. I
never saw such a Museum of vegetable Statuary in my Life before. On the
whole, Brock resembles a trim, sprightly Ball-room, all garnished,
lighted up, and the floor well chalked, but not a Soul to Scrape Fiddle
or Foot Minuet. Farther from here is Saardam, which, at a distance,
looks like a City of Windmills.
_Item._--I forgot to say, that at Brock they tie up the Cows' Tails with
Blue Ribbons.
The Houses of Saardam are principally built of Wood, and every one has a
Fantastic kind of Baby Garden. Here is the Wooden Hut where Peter the
Great lived, when he wrought as a Shipwright in the Navy-yard. It stands
in a Garden, and is in Decent Preservation. The women in North Holland
are said to be handsomer than in any other part of the country; but I
was out of taste with Beauty when I came hither, and could see naught
but ugly Faces.
So, coming back to Amsterdam, I found that Mr. Vandepeereboom's
Prediction was fulfilled with a Vengeance, and with Compound Interest.
The Business of the Beguine had Blown Over; but another affair had
Blown On, and this very speedily ended in a Blow Up. I am sorry to say
that this Fairspoken and seemingly Reputable Mr. Vandepeereboom turned
out to be a very Great Rogue. Our Firm was in the Batavian trade,
dealing in fine Spices, Nutmegs, Cloves, Mace, Cinnamon, and so forth;
also in Rice, Cotton, and Pepper; and especially in the Java Coffee,
which is held to be second only to that of Arabia. In this branch of
Trade the Dutch have no competition, and they are able to keep the price
of their Spices as high as they choose, by ordering what remains unsold
at the price they have fixed upon it to be Burnt. How it came to pass
that the Spice Ships consigned to us were all wrecked on the High Seas
and never insured; that the Batavian Merchants, to whom we advanced
money on their Consignments, all failed dismally; that every Speculation
we entered into went against us, and that we always burnt our Surplus
Goods just as prices were about to rise,--I know not; but certain it is,
that I had not been three weeks back in Amsterdam before the House of
Vandepeereboom and Dangerous went Bankrupt. Now 'tis an ugly thing to be
Bankrupt in Holland. The people are so thrifty and persevering, and so
jealous of keeping their Engagements, that the very rarity of Insolvency
makes it Scandalous. A Trading Debtor being a character very seldom to
be met with, he is held in more Odium in Holland than in any other part
of Europe. Yet are their Laws of Arrest milder than with us in England,
where for a matter of Forty Shillings an Honest Man becomes the prey of
a Catchpole, and for years after he has paid the Debt itself, with
exorbitant Costs to some Knavish Limb of the Law, may still continue to
Rot in Gaol for the Keeper's Fees or Garnish. Here, if the Debtor be a
Citizen or Registered Burgher (as I was), he is not subject to have his
Person seized at the suit of his Creditors, until three regular
Summonses have been duly served upon him to appear in the Court, which
Processes are completed in about a month; after which, if he does not
obey it, he may be laid hold of, but only when he has quitted his House;
for in Holland a Man's Dwelling is held even more sacred than in
England, and no Writ or Execution whatever is capable of being served
upon him so long as he keeps close, or even if he stands on the
threshold of his Home. In this Sanctuary he may set at Defiance every
Claimant; but if he have the Hardihood to appear Abroad, the Sergeants
collar him forthwith. But even in this case he goes not to a common Gaol
or Prison for Felons, but to a House of Restriction, where he is
properly entreated, and maintained with Liberal Humanity; the Expense of
which, as well as the Proceedings, must all be defrayed by the
Creditors. This regards only the private Gentleman Debtor; but woe
betide the Fraudulent Trader! The Bankrupt Laws of Holland differ from
ours in this respect, that all the Creditors must sign the Debtor's
Certificate, or Agreement of Liberation. If any decline, the Ground of
their Refusal is submitted to Arbitrators, who decide as to the merits
of the case; and if the Broken Merchant be found to be a Cheat, no
Mercy is shown him. The Rasphuys, the Pillory, nay, even the Dungeons
beneath the Stadt House, may be his Doom.
This, Mr. Vandepeereboom (being a born Dutchman) knew very well; and he
waited neither for Deliberations as to his Certificate, nor for
Arbitrators' award. He e'en showed his Creditors a clean Pair of Heels,
and took Shipping for Harwich in England. I believe he afterwards
prospered exceedingly in London as a Crimp, or Purveyor of Men for the
Sea-Service, and submitted to the East India Company many notable plans
for injuring the Commerce of the Hollanders. I have likewise reason to
think that he did me a great deal of harm amongst my late Owners at
Bristol and elsewhere, saying that I had been the Ruin of him with
Wasteful Extravagance and Deboshed Ways, and that but for his
Intercession I should have been Broken on the Wheel for unhandsome
Behaviour to the Fair Beguine. Ere he flitted, he left me a Letter, in
which he had the Impudence to tell me that he had long since drawn out
my Account from the Bank of Amsterdam, thinking himself much better able
to take care of the Money than I was. Furthermore he contemptuously
advised me to try some other line than Commerce, for which I was,
through my Former Career--or Vagabond Habits, as he had the face to call
it--in no wise Fitted. Finally, he ironically wished me a Good
Deliverance from the hands of the Assessors of the Commercial Tribunal,
and, with a Devilish Sneer, recommended his Housekeeper Betje to my
care. O Mr. Vandepeereboom, Mr. Vandepeereboom! if ever we meet again,
old as I am, there shall be Weeping in Holland for you--if, indeed,
there be anybody left to shed tears for such a Worthless Rascal.
This most Dishonest Person, however, did me unwittingly a trifle of
good, and at all events saved me from Gyves and Stripes. That Passage of
his in the Letter about my Funds in the Bank of Amsterdam was my
Deliverance. 'Twas widely known that I was but a simple Seafaring Man,
unused to Mercantile Affairs, and that I had really brought with me the
considerable Sum of Twenty Hundred Pounds. I was arrested, it is true,
and lay for many Months in the House of Restriction; but interest was
made for me, and the Creditors of the Broken House agreed to sign a
Certificate of Liberation. I believe that but for that mournful business
of the Beguine, and for that confounded Officer that I sworded, some of
the Wealthy Merchants would have subscribed to an Association for
setting me up again; but that Rencounter was remembered to my hurt, and,
says Mynheer van Bommel, when he brought me my Certificate, "Hark ye,
Friend Englander; you are Free this time. Take my advice, and get you
out of Holland as quick as ever you can; for their High Mightinesses, to
say nothing of the Worshipful Burgomasters of this City, have a
misliking for Men that are too quick with the Sword and too slow with
the Pen; and if you don't speedily mend your way of Life, and bid
farewell to this Country, you will find yourself sawing of
Campeachy-wood at the Rasphuys, with Dirk Juill, the Beadle, standing
over you with a Thong." Upon which I thanked him heartily; and he had
the Generosity to lend me Fifty Florins to furnish my present needs.