Ralph Fell

“ From Delft to Rotterdam the road is agreeably diversified with neat villages, and a variety of country seats and houses of retirement in the truest Dutch taste. It is, like the road from Maaslandsluys to Delft, on the dyke of the canal, so that the carelessness of the driver might throw his carriage into the water, or precipitate it into the fields, which in some places are between five and six feet below the level of the road. ”

“ It is kept by a widow, whose good-humoured features, and obliging manners, are extremely agreeable. It is happy for the mistress of an hotel, who has occasion so often to dress her face with smiles, when nature has furnished her with a pleasing countenance; a forced smile from a set of features gloomy and lowering like the approaches of a winter's storm, carries with it to me something inconceivably disgusting.
The stadthouse of Amsterdam is one of the first curiosities of the city, which a stranger is anxious to visit. ”

“ I speak, I should observe, of women whose graces the heats of five-and-twenty summers, or the rigors of as many winters, have not impaired, for after that period of life the Dutch ladies lose their attractions; the rosy blush of youth forsakes them, and their fine complexions assume a sallow autumnal hue. Women are shorter lived in Holland than men, but from what cause I cannot pretend to account: the contrary is the case in England; and the reason is obvious, because women lead more regular and temperate lives. ”

“ During one of the most glorious campaigns of which the annals of the world speak, the French army had already approached our frontier, when the natural force of our country, its rivers, its waters of every kind, appeared to retard in some degree, and during a certain period, their progress; — for experience has shewn, that nothing can resist the courage, the activity, and the indefatigable perseverance, of the French nation ”

“ We travelled from Amsterdam to Utrecht in treckschuyts, and were so fortunate on our passage as to obtain in all the boats places in the roof. Our journey occupied about nine hours, and we arrived at Utrecht much fatigued and exhausted. On each side of the canal, from Amsterdam to Utrecht, there is, with little intermission, a continuation of pleasant houses, country seats, and gardens adorned, in the Dutch taste, with grotesque temples, statues, stagnate pools, Chinese bridges, and trees planted in a straight line, or tortured into a thousand shapes. ”

“ I will not venture to hazard any conjecture what effect the air has on the inhabitants of the place, but for the most part they are a dull and heavy-looking race, with countenances full of cares and concerns of business. I must, however, observe here, that I have not seen in Holland one Dutch face which had the least expression of that despicable quality, cunning, in it, either on the Exchange, in shops, or in the streets; and, on the contrary, I do not think I ever saw a shopkeeper in England, on whose countenance that quality was not most legibly written. ”

“ The people, worn out with the repeated exactions of the French, the destruction of their commerce, the loss of their colonies, and the arbitrary acts of the government, became impatient of a change in the system of affairs, and the discontents that reigned throughout the republic assumed a haughty and menacing tone. The condition of Holland under the administration of the stadtholder was invidiously compared with its degraded and abject situation under the directorial government, and exposed to the rapacity of France. ”

“ It is a great mistake to compare the circumstances of France in the course of her revovolution with ours. It was not in France a spirit of revenge for the crimes committed under the old government, which occasioned the repeated scenes of terror that were exhibited but the violent opposition to the revolution itself, which occasioned the necessity of a proportionable vigilance to crush all conspiracies. ”

“ The person who formerly conducted the Parliament of England, with so much honour to himself and satisfaction to his guests, was an Englishman; but he retired from business shortly after the expulsion of the stadtholder, and the consequent removal of British subjects from the Hague. His successor, with every possible disposition to gratify those who frequent his house, has not the ability; for, alas! the Hague is no longer the resort of the wealthy and luxurious from all parts of Europe, and by such guests alone is an inn to be maintained in splendour. ”

“ The whole business of our capture was over in little more than half an hour, and with unspeakable soreness and oppression of heart, I saw the vessel steer from the English coast. The high lands of Yorkshire, towering in the clouds, were in sight, and with eager eyes I gazed on them till they appeared to sink in the water. What, under other circumstances, would have been a spectacle which I should have admired, chilled my soul. There is something congenial to an ardent mind in whatever displays the spirit of adventure and courage. ”

“ The captain of another ship of war, a veteran of approved courage, whose countenance is full of expressions of honesty and philanthropy, is equally assiduous to contribute to our pleasures; and as they both speak either English or French with considerable fluency, we find no difficulty in communicating our ideas. They are both men of good information, and well read in English and French literature. But I shall pass over their mental acquirements, which are truly respectable, to introduce you to one of the most extraordinary persons I ever met with, the first officer of the commodore's ship. ”

“ Since the year 1787, when the arms of Prussia overran Holland, and crushed the party which opposed the stadtholder, the character and views of the court of Berlin have been regarded with much attention and anxiety by the Dutch. The patriots, and all true Hollanders in whose bosoms glowed one spark of remembrance of the ancient feats of their countrymen, beheld with indignation a power which had arisen in Europe within the century, giving laws to, and imposing a master on the republic. ”

“ Each bench of the pit had a rail to the back of it, a convenience which I have before commended in the Dutch theatres. Persons of the greatest respectability and opulence in Holland do not think it unworthy of their dignity or fortunes to sit in the pit of the theatre, and they dress equally well for that part of the house as for the boxes. Most of the ladies in the pit, advanced in life, wore an astonishing quantity of diamonds. ”

“ Utrecht is one of the most agreeable cities in the Batavian republic, and somewhat larger than the Hague. On account of the pleasantness of its situation, and the imagined or real salubrity of the air, Utrecht is chosen by many persons who have made a fortune by commerce, and have the good sense, in the evening of their lives, to quit the bustle of trade for the tranquil pleasures of retirement, as the place of their retreat. ”

“ Since the fortune of war has conducted me hither, and it is little probable that business, necessity, or pleasure, should ever lead me again to this part of the continent of Europe, I am resolved, if I can obtain permission, to profit by the occasion, and make the tour of the United Provinces. I say the United Provinces, because the Batavian republic has not yet obtained a place in our maps and gazetters; and to the one I associate something that is great and heroic, whereas the other conveys to my mind no favourable ideas. ”

“ Geographers and travellers have persisted in calling the Hague a village, because it is not surrounded with walls or fortifications, which are necessary in their opinions to constitute a town or a city; but probably it is indebted for this humble appellation to the signification of its name in the Dutch language, s' Graven Haag, or the Count's Hedge, it forming some centuries ago a part of the domains of the counts of Holland. ”

“ With a population so large, composed of various nations and languages, where the extremes of opulence and misery are to be found, it is to bestow the highest praise on the discipline, regularity, and good order of Amsterdam, on the excellence of its municipal institutions, and the humanity of the laws by which it is governed, simply to repeat, what I before mentioned, that not more than one criminal a year, in this great city, suffers by the hand of the public executioner, and the number of persons confined in prison for insolvency rarely exceeds thirty [2] . ”

“ I am desirous to see what are the effects of French principles on a nation so sober and phlegmatic as the Dutch have always been represented; whether those theories of liberty which pleased me when a youth, and which I still most fervently admire, are, when reduced to practice, as delightful and invaluable as an ardent and unsuspicious mind conceived them to be. ”

“ A Dutchman's countenance, whatever his avocations may be, is honest, frank, and candid; and the only expression which ever appears in it that is displeasing, is an expression of caution which borders on suspicion. Most Dutch merchants, from education, example, and habit, are tainted more or less with the vice of avarice, or rather a strong passion for accumulation; but, I believe, the merchants of no nation in the world are more to be praised for their scrupulous honesty and inflexible integrity ”

“ The detention of Dutch ships and property in England, the contemptuous treatment of the deputies sent to reclaim them, and the hostile measures obviously intended to be pursued against the colonial possessions of the republic, conspired to increase in Holland the flame of hatred that had long gone forth against the British nation. Every measure was embraced with avidity that tended to strengthen the republic against its odious and ancient rival ”

“ The respectable sect of Quakers is less numerous in Holland than I should have expected for a religious community whose manners and habits seem so suitable to the genius of the Dutch nation. The Anabaptist congregations are large, and dispersed over all parts of the republic. The members of this persuasion have always shewn themselves warmly attached to civil and religious liberty, and the weight of their influence has constantly been thrown into the patriotic scale.
Amsterdam abounds in charitable institutions for the indiscriminate benefit of the indigent of all religious persuasions. ”

“ The ingenuous youth, who attend the universities of the republic to pursue their studies, are free from this dangerous and disagreeable service, and therefore many enter themselves as students with no other view than that they may enjoy this privilege. This class of students I am inclined to believe is more numerous than that of the youth who attend the university according to the spirit of the institution. ”

“ She remembered the Hague in its happiest days, and dilated on the magnificence and splendour she had formerly witnessed and enjoyed. Her husband had been tutor to the Prince of Orange, of whom she spoke in terms of almost idolatrous admiration; and therefore her partialities probably led her to exaggerate the former affluent and gay, the present decayed and impoverished, state of the Hague. But it is a general complaint that this beautiful place has suffered much by the revolution, and few believe that it will ever recover its pristine grandeur. ”

“ It occurred at a period when the term revolution seemed designated to express scenes of atrocity and horror, outrageous persecutions against virtue, integrity, and talents; violations of morality, and all the social duties of life; a disregard for the claims of humanity; factions succeeding to factions, each more terrible in their measures than their predecessors; the elevation of the bloodthirsty and flagitious, and the depression of the virtuous and humane! It has already been stated that not one drop of human blood was judicially spilt on account of the revolution of Holland! ”

“ Should the wise policy be pursued, of placing the commerce of the republic, as far as possible, on its former footing, the industry, frugality, and unwearied perseverance, of the Dutch nation, will, in a few years of tranquillity, with such encouragement as a legislature well versed in mercantile affairs may further bestow, not only recover from its misfortunes, but probably arrive at a state of opulence, little inferior to the most flourishing days of the republic. ”

“ The French garrison in Nimeguen consisted of about eight hundred men, most of whom had received wounds in the service. Were the fortress to be besieged, it would require a force of between six and seven thousand men to defend the works; but happily such an event is improbable. The fortifications of Nimeguen have been repaired since the siege, and are in a good condition; but the out-works are destroyed, and the cultivated garden now smiles where the hideous battery appeared. Nimeguen is one of the principal depots of the stores of the French army in the Batavian republic ”

“ By the emigration of the rich and respectable merchants of the British nation, the trade which Rotterdam at present carries on with England has fallen into the hands of men with whom the independent and honest trader of most nations would be averse to deal; and the government, according to the temper and prejudices of the times, has imposed those vexatious restrictions on the export and import trade, which are always peculiarly injurious to commerce. ”

“ Let us, our hearts being filled with gratitude, render thanks to God for this wonderful interference of his Providence; and since our liberty has so manifestly been founded by his will, let us keep his divine example before our eyes, and with all humility endeavour to make it the object of our imitation. Let justice, equity, and humanity, be the beginning and the end of all our actions and resolutions ”

“ The large advances made to the French were paid with less reluctance, as they were considered as a kind of ransom for the public arsenals and stores, and the price paid by the nation for liberty to make what alterations it pleased in its constitution, without the degrading intervention of the conqueror. The admirable discipline of the French army, and the justice and humanity of its leaders, also materially tended to reconcile the people to the heavy imposts laid upon them for the support of their new allies. ”

“ A more eligible one could scarcely be chosen.
The streets of Utrecht are large and spacious, and the same cleanliness reigns in the town which distinguishes the most favoured cities of Holland. It was formerly a post of considerable military strength and importance; but, happily for its inhabitants, its fortifications are no longer in a condition to provoke or resist the attack of the enemy. In 1672 it surrendered to Lewis the Fourteenth without opposition, and for upwards of a year Utrecht was the theatre of the triumphs of that magnificent monarch. ”