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railways, and return by Holland down the Rhine. The Rhine below Cologne is a most uninteresting river, with high dykes on each side, which protect the flat country from inundations and intercept all view, save of a few villages, church steeples, and farm houses, painted of various colours, which are seen peering above them.

There are three companies of Steamers on the Rhine: the Cologne, distinguished by black funnels; the Dusseldorf, by funnels with alternate stripes of black and white; and the Netherlands, by funnels half white and half black. The Cologne boats are the best, but go no lower down than Dusseldorf, where the passengers are transferred to the Netherlands Company's boats. The Dusseldorf Company also change boats at Dusseldorf, stopping 2 or 3 hours there in the middle of the night. There being no sleeping accommodation on board, and no restrictions as to the number of passengers, this passage is very uncomfortable, both pavilion and saloon being generally uncomfortably crowded.

Between Rotterdam and Nymegen there is a risk of sitting on a sandbank for an hour or two, till the tide rises, and there is always a detention of some hours at the Prussian frontier.

STEAM-BOATS leave Rotterdam every morning in the summer, and every other morning in the latter part of the season. The hour of departure varies with the tide. They reach Nymegen or Arnhem in about 12 hours. Here passengers have the option of sleeping on board or ashore. For Fares refer to the printed bills of the companies.

The State Cabin has the advantage over the first cabin, that it is private; it is, therefore, often convenient to secure it for a party in which there are several ladies. Beds are charged 1 guilder = 1s. 8d. extra.

A carriage, not accompanied by passengers, costs 21. 1s. 2d.; with three or more persons, only 11. 3s.

N. B. If the traveller's passport has not received a Prussian signature in England, it may be signed by the Prussian consul in Rotterdam.

The Rhine, flowing out of Germany into Holland, descends in an undivided stream as far as the point of the Delta (the Insula Batavorum of the Romans). At a place called Pannerden it splits into two branches. From this division of its stream, Virgil applies the epithet bicornis to the Rhine (En. viii. 727.). The left-hand branch, called the Waal or Vahal, directing its course W., passes Nymegen, joins the Meuse, and, in conjunction with it, assumes the name of Merwe. The other branch, which, after the first separation, retains the name of Rhine, turns northward;

a league above Arnhem, it throws out an arm called Yssel, known to the ancients as Fossa Drusi, because it was formed by Drusus in the reign of Augustus: it falls into the Zuider Zee, after passing Zutphen, Deventer, and Campen. The river after this continues on past Arnhem to Wyk by Duurstede, and there again divides, throwing off to the left an arm called the Lek, which falls into the Maas a little above Rotterdam. The other arm, still retaining the original name of Rhine, after this separation, divides for the last time at Utrecht; the offset is called the Vecht, and flows into the Zuider Zee. The old Rhine, the sole remnant of the once mighty river which carries its name to the sea, assumes the appearance of a canal; and, after passing sluggishly the town of Leiden, enters the ocean through the sluicegates of Katwyk. (See p. 44.)

a. THE WAAL.

**The right (r.) and left (1) banks of a river are those which lie on the right or left hand of a person turning his back to the quarter from which the river descends.

The Waal is the largest and most important of the 4 branches into which the Rhine divides its stream on reaching Holland.

On quitting Rotterdam the guardship is passed, and (1.) Feyenoord, where is the largest engineering esta blishment and foundry in Holland. Numerous country seats of rich Rotterdam merchants are scattered along

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the banks. The narrow arm of the Maas, called Spaniard's-Diep, is lined with shipyards, cottages, and windmills. The river Lek here falls into the Maas. A short distance higher up lies

7. DORT or DORDRECHT. Inns: Bellevue; Wapen van America; and Valk. One of the oldest towns in Holland, has 21,000 inhab., and considerable trade.

The first Assembly of the States of Holland, held after their revolt from the yoke of Spain, met at Dort in 1572; and declared the Prince of Orange Stadholder, and the only lawful Governor of the country.

In an ancient Gothic building, standing in a back street, and now degraded into a poor public-house, called Kloveniers Doelen, the famous assembly of Protestant divines, known as the Synod of Dort, was held, 1618-19. It lasted six months, during which there were 152 sittings, unprofitably occupied, for the most part, in discussing the incomprehensible questions of Predestination and Grace. At the conclusion, the president declared that "its miraculous labours had made hell tremble." The result of its labours was to declare the Calvinistic doctrines respecting predestination the established faith, and to condemn Arminius and his followers as heretics. The ordinances then passed were long the law of the Dutch national church. The apartment in which the Synod met is still preserved unaltered; but when visited recently by a Scotch traveller, was found filled with the scenes and trappings belonging to a party of strolling players, and converted temporarily into a theatre!

The Gothic Church, conspicuous at a long distance, owing to its tall square tower, contains a beautifully carved pulpit of white marble, adorned with bas reliefs, numerous monuments, and some church plate of massive gold, presented by an East India merchant.

The Mint is a building of the 15th century.

Dort serves as a haven for the gigantic rafts of wood, the produce of the forests of Switzerland, and the Schwarzwald,

which are brought down the Rhine by crews of from 400 to 500 men each, and are here broken up and sold. A single raft sometimes produces 30,000l. A description of them will be found in the route from Cologne to Mayence. The celebrated brothers De Witt were born here; also Cuyp and Schalken, the painters, and Vossius.

After a general survey of the town, which is truly Dutch in its combination of sluices and canals, and a visit to the old church, the timber-ponds where the raft-wood is collected, the windmills where it is sawn into planks, and the ship-builders' yards, there is nothing to detain a traveller here. A constant communication is kept up by steamboats with Rotterdam and Moerdÿk, which is on the road from Rotterdam to Antwerp. (p. 90.)

Dort stands on an island formed by a terrible inundation in 1421, when the tide in the estuary of the Rhine, excited by a violent tempest, burst through a dyke, overwhelming a populous and productive district, which it at once converted into a waste of waters, called the Bies Bosch (i. e. rushwood, from bies, rush, whence the English besom), part of which still exists. 72 villages and 100,000 human beings were swallowed up by the waves. 35 of the villages were irretrievably lost, so that no vestige, even of the ruins, could afterwards he discovered. The only relic preserved from the waters is a solitary tower, called the house of Merwede. By this inundation, the number of the mouths of the Rhine was increased, and the Waal was made double its former size. Many maps, as well as guidebooks, represent this district as still under water, but a large part of it has been recovered; still the river here spreading out bears the aspect of a lake interspersed with numerous islands, uninhabited, but producing hay in abund

ance.

The country about Dort seems choked with water; every hollow is full, and the fear is excited lest, by the rising of the Rhine a foot, or even an inch or two, the whole should at once be overwhelmed by the waters. The Ablasser Waard,

near Gorcum, lies considerably lower than the bottom of the bed of the Rhine! There are numerous and intricate sandbanks between Dort and

r. Gorcum, or Gorinchem, an old walled town at the junction of the Merwe and Linge, and one of the first places taken by the Water Gueux from the Spaniards in 1572; but they sullied their victory with the murder of 19 Catholic priests, for which their commander, Lumey, was disgraced by the States General. The anniversary of the Holy Martyrs of Gorcum is still observed in the Romish calendar. The canal of Zederick connects Gorcum on the Merwe with Vianen on the Lek. Nearly opposite Gorcum is (l.) Woudrichem, or Worcum.

1. The Castle of Loevestein, situated on the west point of the island of Bommel, formed by the united streams of the Meuse and the Waal, was the prison of Grotius in 1619. The history of his escape in a box, March 22. 1621, gives an interest to the spot: "He beguiled the tedious hours of confinement by study; relieving his mind by varying its objects. Ancient and modern literature equally engaged his attention : Sundays he wholly dedicated to prayer and the study of theology. He composed the greater part of the 'Jus Belli et Pacis' here. 20 months of imprisonment thus passed away. His wife now began to devise projects for his liberty. She had observed that he was not so strictly watched as at first; that the guards, who examined the chest used for the conveyance of his books and linen, being accustomed to see nothing in it but books and linen, began to examine them loosely at length they permitted the chest to pass without any examination. Upon this, she formed her project for her husband's release.'

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She accommodated the chest to her purpose by boring some holes in it, to let in air. She entrusted her maid with the secret, and the chest was conveyed to Grotius's apartment. She then revealed her project to him, and, after much entreaty, prevailed on him to get into the chest, and leave her in the prison. The books, which Grotius bor

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rowed, were usually sent to Gorcum ; and the chest, which contained them, passed in a boat from the prison at Loevestein to that town.

Big with the fate of Grotius, the chest, as soon as he was enclosed in it, was moved into the boat, accompanied by the maid. One of the soldiers observing that it was uncommonly heavy, the maid answered, "It is the Arminian books which are so heavy." The soldier replied, apparently in joke, "Perhaps it is the Arminian himself;" and then, without more ado, the chest was lodged in the boat. The maid accompanied it to Gorcum, and when fairly afloat made a signal with her handkerchief to her mistress that all was right. The window where Grotius's wife stood is still pointed out in Loevestein. The passage from Loevestein to Gorcum took a considerable time. At length it reached Gorcum, and was deposited at the house of Jacob Daatzelaar, an Arminian friend of Grotius. The maid flew instantly to him, and told him that her master was in the box; but Daatzelaar, terrified for the consequences, declared he would have nothing to do with so dangerous a matter. Luckily his wife had more courage; she sent away the servants on different errands, opened the chest, and set Grotius free. He declared, that while he was in the chest, which was not more than 3 ft. long, he had felt a little faintness and much anxiety, but had suffered no other inconvenience. Having dressed himself as a mason, with a rule and trowel, he went through the back door of Daatzelaar's house, accompanied by Daatzelaar's wife's brother, a mason by trade, along the market-place, to a boat engaged for the purpose. It conveyed them to Waalwyk, in Brabant, where he was safe. In the meantime every precaution had been taken by Madame de Groot to conceal her husband's departure from the governor and his jailors. She took particular care to light the lamp in the room where Grotius was in the habit of studying; and the governor, upon his return home in the evening, remarking the light in Grotius's window, concluded that his prisoner was

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quite safe. Madame de Groot was not detained long in prison, and rejoined her husband soon after in Paris. There is usually a frigate in the Dutch navy bearing the name of Grotius's wife, Marie van Reigersberch: history has rescued from oblivion the name of the trusty maid-servant also; it was Elsje van Houwening.

1. Bommel. Inn, Hof Van Guelderland, once a fortress, was besieged in vain by the Spaniards, 1599, and taken by Turenne, 1672. Its fortifications were destroyed in 1629.

The island of Bommel, Bommeler Waard, between the Waal and the Meuse, which here unite their waters, is defended on the E. by Fort St. André, and on the W. by Fort Loevestein.

2 posts S. of Bommel lies Hertogenbosch (Bois-le-duc). (See R. 13.)

r. Thiel, a pretty town of 3500 inhab., and birthplace of General Chassé, the defender of Antwerp citadel. 66 m. above Rotterdam lies

1. NYMEGEN. R. 5. p. 76. In the height of summer, when travellers are numerous, much confusion attends the arrival of a Rhenish steamer at its place of destination. It is sometimes difficult to procure accommodation of any kind. Those who are successful at Nymegen have little cause for congratulation, as the inns are not good, and the charges are shamefully high. Sometimes the steam-boat does not reach Nymegen until the gates are shut; in which case the passengers are compelled to pass the night on board. Nymegen being a frontier town and a fortress, passports are demanded from strangers as they quit the steamer.

A diligence sets out every day for Cologne, after the steamer from Rotterdam has arrived; so that passengers who do not wish to stop here for the night, may proceed without delay, by way of Cleves and Crefeld on the left bank of the Rhine, a journey of about 18 hours, and a distance of about 88 m. (See R. 35.)

The voyage from Nymegen to Cologne by water, about 125 m., is described in R. 34.

b. THE LEK FROM ROTTERDAM TO
ARNHEM.

The Steamers of the Dusseldorf Company take this course 4 times a week in summer; but the Lek is often so low as to preclude the passage of a steamer altogether.

r. Krimpen ann de Lek.
r. Lekker Kerk.

r. Schoonhoven, about 20 m. above Rotterdam, is famous for its salmon fisheries. One Albert Beiling, during the wars of the Hoekschen and Kabiljauschen (Hooks and Codfish) defended (1425) the castle of Schoonhoven against the forces of Jacqueline of Bavaria. Being at length compelled to surrender, he was condemned by his enemies to be buried alive. He heard his sentence unmoved, and asked for no mitigation of it; but he begged a respite of one month, to enable him to take leave of his wife and children at Gouda. At the expiration of the time he reappeared to suffer his doom with all the fortitude of the Roman Regulus.

7. Nieuwpoort, about a mile from Schoonhoven, opposite to it.

r. Vreeswyk is the landing place for passengers going to Utrecht and Am sterdam. Coaches convey passengers for 70 cents, to Utrecht in 1 hr., in time for the Railroad trains to Amsterdam. 7. Vianen, which is opposite to Vreeswyk, is said to be the Fanum Diana of Ptolemy. It formed part of the patrimony of the patriot Count of Brederode, who fortified it for the Prince of Orange on the outbreak of the revolt of the Netherlands.

Between Vianen and Kuilenburg there are sluices in the banks of the river, designed solely for laying the country under water in case of foreign invasion. If they were opened, the inundation would at once spread as far S. as the Waal, as far as Dort to the W., and to the Noort in an opposite direction. A military inundation of this kind is a mode of defence peculiar to Holland. It effectually cuts off the means of approach from an army either by land or water; it covers both roads and canals, leaving an enemy in igno

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1. Kuilenburg. Inns: Rose; Vergulde Hooft. A town of 3000 inhab., formerly a place of refuge for debtors.

r.. Wyk by Duurstede, supposed to be the Batavodurum of the Romans, though the antiquities lately dug up belong only to the time of the Franks, and do not confirm the supposition. The branch of the Rhine, which alone retains that name to the sea, here separates from the Lek, and flows past Utrecht and Leiden to Katwyk, where it is now discharged into the ocean by means of sluice-gates (p. 44). The Lek was originally a canal dug by the Romans to unite the Rhine and Maas; its bed became suddenly enlarged by an inundation in 839, by which the main stream was thrown into it. (Route 2.)

1. Eck and Wiel, near r. Amerongen. Amerongen itself is situated at a little distance from the river. Lord Athlone has a seat near here.

r. Rheenen (Inn, Koning van Boheme, bad) is a town of 1600 inhab., on the middle branch of the Rhine. There is nothing to be seen here but an old Gothic church with a handsome tower. A large quantity of tobacco is eultivated in this district. A little out of Rheenen, on the road to Amerongen, on the left-hand side, somewhat below the road, at the entrance of a meadow, under some willow trees, the English traveller will remark the mounds under which the bones of some hundreds of his countrymen are mouldering. In 1794 the hospital for the prisoners taken in the Duke of York's army was at Rheenen; and the mortality being very great, this spot became the cemetery of the hospital.

r. Wageningen, 14 miles from Arnhem. (Inn, Hof van Guelderland,-not good.) An inconsiderable town of about 3000 inhab., supposed to be the ad Vada of the Romans: it is connected with the Rhine by a short canal. On the

opposite side of the river to Wageningen is a flat district of meadow land, called the island of Betuwe, because isolated by the Lek and Waal; it retains in its name a memorial of the ancient inhabitants of this country, the Batavi. 1. Heteren.

r. ARNHEM. Route 6.

r. 3 miles above Arnhem, the Yssel (pron. Eyssel) branches off from the Rhine, and flows into the Zuider Zee at Kampen. It is also navigated by steam.-Route 12.

1. Huissen. "Near Tollhuis the army of Louis XIV. crossed the Rhine, 1672, an exploit much vaunted by the French Poets (Boileau, &c.) and historians of the time, though little risk was incurred but that of drowning, as there were very few, if any, Dutch troops immediately on the spot to oppose the passage."-J. W. C. The river was then much reduced by the drought of summer, though not entirely fordable, and many regiments had to swim across. The Great Condé was here wounded in the wrist, and his nephew was killed by his side.

r. Pannerden. Here the Waal first branches out from the main trunk of the Rhine, which above this spot flows in one undivided stream. (See p. 85.) The voyage to Cologne is described in Route 34.

ROUTE 12.

ARNHEM
ΤΟ KAMPEN, BY THE YSSEL
BRANCH OF THE RHINE, THROUGH
ZUTPHEN AND DEVENTER.

Steamers 3 times a-week along the Yssel (pron. Eyssel)—from Arnhem to Kampen. The voyage even in descending takes up 1 day.

Diligences go several times a-day by Zutphen to Deventer, in 5 hours.

The steamer ascends the Rhine about 2 m. to reach the mouth of the Yssel. This was originally a canal formed by Drusus, son-in-law of Augustus (Fossa Drusiana), to join the old Yssel with the Rhine.

The pretty village of Velp (p. 75.) is seen among the trees.

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