AT THE HAGUE PEACE CONFERENCE: V 1899 329 



In the afternoon drove to Eyswyck, to the house of 

 M. Cornets de Groot, the living representative of the 

 Grotius family. The house and grounds were very pleas 

 ant, but the great attraction was a collection of relics of 

 Grotius, including many manuscripts from his own hand, 

 among these a catechism for his children, written in 

 the prison of Loewenstein ; with official documents, signed 

 and sealed, connected with the public transactions of his 

 time; also letters which passed between him and Oxen- 

 stiern, the great Swedish chancellor, some in Latin and 

 some in other languages ; besides sundry poems. There 

 were also a multitude of portraits, engravings, and docu 

 ments relating to Olden-Barneveld and others of Gro 

 tius s contemporaries. 



The De Groot family gave us a most hearty reception, 

 introducing their little girl, who is the latest-born de 

 scendant of Grotius, and showing us various household 

 relics of their great ancestor, including cups, glasses, 

 and the like. Mr. De Groot also gave me some curious 

 information regarding him which I did not before pos 

 sess ; and, among other things, told me that when Grotius s 

 body was transferred, shortly after his death, from Kos- 

 tock to Delft, the coffin containing it was stoned by a mob 

 at Rotterdam; also that at the unveiling of the statue 

 of Grotius in front of the church at Delft, a few years 

 ago, the high-church Calvinists would not allow the chil 

 dren from their church schools to join the other children 

 in singing hymns. The old bitterness of the extreme 

 Calvinistic party toward their great compatriot was thus 

 still exhibited, and the remark was made at the time, 

 by a member of it, that the statue was perfectly true to 

 life, since &quot;its back was turned toward the church ; 

 to which a reply was made that &quot;Grotius s face in the 

 statue, like his living face, was steadily turned toward 

 justice.&quot; This latter remark had reference to the fact 

 that a court is held in the city hall, toward which the 

 statue is turned. 

 In the evening to a dinner given by Mr. Piersoon, min- 



