Page:Notes and Queries - Series 12 - Volume 7.djvu/250

 202

NOTES AND QUERIES. [12 s. vn. SEPT. n, 1020,

The Kector Magnificus, medical professors, and several others were assembled in the senate room. Alter waiting half an hour, I was called in, and desired to read some passages in my thesis, which the medical professors pro forma attacked, and I defended as well as I could. This was over by twelve, when the ceremony began, which con- sisted only in administering a Latin oath, and formally pronouncing me Doctor with all the rights 'and privileges thereunto belonging. I then made my bow, and all was over.

Afterwards, I was shown Albinus's elegant anatomical preparations by Prof. Sandifort, who at the same time exhibited them to two ladies. I then went to our inn, where we packed up, dined, paid our bill, and left Leyden at half past two in the Delft boat. From Delft we proceeded by boat to Rotterdam, where we arrived past nine in a heavy rain. We got a hackney coach to convey us to our inn.

20. My first visit in the morning was to the statue of Erasmus, a noble monument to the memory of that admirable genius. He stands on a high pedestal, in his Doctor's habit, intent on his book, just above the heads of the market people, forming an odd contrast to their busy occupations.

We dined at the ordinary with a pretty large company, who all spoke Dutch. A lady, young arid modest, came and sat down amongst us, without seeming disconcerted ; and the men did not put her out of countenance by taking much notice of her. After dinner we repeated our walk, and viewed good part of the town. Rotter- dam is a large, handsome city, finely situated for commerce, the canals bringing large ships up to the merchants' doors. There are vast stores of all sorts of valuable commodities. We saw &ome large men of war building and repairing ; and some very splendid yachts belonging to various public companies.

July 21. We were called up before four, when I had but just got to sleep Our carriage, a shabby two-wheeled chaise with two horses, was put into a ferry-boat, which landed us on an island in the Maes. We drove across this, and came to the other channel of the Maes, which we also crossed after a considerable delay. From this ferry we proceeded some miles across the isle of Voorn, till we came to a considerable village on the bank of a large arm of the sea, called Hollands Diep, which divided Holland from Brabant, and goes down to Helyoet-sluys. Here we left our chaise, and crossed in a bark, with a number of people, the wind blowing very fresh, and water dashing over the sides.

We landed at Willemstadt, a small town regu- larly fortified, where we were obliged to give our names. Here we breakfasted, and got another chaise, more clumsy and jolting than the first but with able horses and a brisk driver. After some time we came to another ferry, but a short one. The way so far lay through a very low country, with fine cornfields, flax, madder, and beans, not populous ; with scattered farm- houses very like those in England. The road generally ran on the top of a straight high bank, with trees planted on the slope. We travelled for some tune on the banks of a small river,

flowing through marshes on which were flocks 1 of water fowl.

About noon we reached Rosendael, a mean' town, full of soldiers, who seemed to be quartered' in every private house. They were a German regiment in the service of the States : stationed! there, no doubt, to form a communication between Breda and Bergen-op-zoon.

After baiting here, we proceeded, and soon came to the frontier of Dutch and Austrian Brabant. Our arrival in a Roman Catholic- country was at once discovered by a handserae village church, with a crucifix at the east end,, and crosses over the graves. Brabant is a very sandy soil, and the roads are extremely heavy,. Oats and buckwheat are the chief growth of the cultivated parts, but there are large heaths, which extend quite into Germany. On one of." these I got out and botanized a little. A very extensive one brought us in sight of Antwerp, at yet a considerable distance. The prospect on- each side was bounded only by the horizon, and many fine steeples were in view all round. We passed some large plantations formed on the waste, with new farm-houses interspersed ; and at length got into the high-road from Breda to Antwerp, which is a fine pavement, perfectly straight, and bordered with rows of trees. The country here is rich, enclosed and highly cultivated. Before six we reached Antwerp.

The approach to this city struck us wonder- fully by the view of its steeples, high ramparts, broad foss, and embattled towers. The custom house officers visited us at the gates, but were easily satisfied without opening our baggage. After drinking coffee at our inn (which was a very handsome one, and had the honour two or three years before of lodging the Emperor) we walked about the town attended by a valet de place. The mixture of religious edifices with antient stone houses reminded us of Oxford ; while the Madonnas and saints at every corner, crucifixes in the streets, and odd figures of monks and priests, presented a scene perfectly new to us. We walked round half the ramparts to that part of the city which is washed by the Scheld, a fine river, nearly as broad as the Thames, but having only a few barks upon it. We returned hrough what had been the trading part of the town, and took a melancholy survey of grass- jrown quays, weedy canals, dilapidated ware- louses, and close streets thronged with houses,. but almost destitute of inhabitants. The famous exchange of Antwerp, as large as those of London and Amsterdam, has its walks obstructed with shabby boarded booths, used as paltry shops at the fair. An old woman selling mussels was the only commercial occupier of the place.

The town-house is a very large building,, scarcely inferior in size to that of Amsterdam ; and must have been the finest in Europe when built. It looks sadly desolate and neglected. The houses in this part of the town are very high and of a singular architecture, magnificent in their day, but now antiquated. The steeple of the cathedral church is a high Gothic tower of most unparalleled lightness and elegance.

The gloominess of this city is augmented by the dismal dress of the women ; the maid-servants wearing a large square piece of black stuff over