

II O L L A N D. 



Dutch Ian 

 guage. 



ili4lar.il. I lotlaiul nearly two centuries since, is not tmfrequently 

 - " "~* -t.il seen on the d.-uighters of the ancient stock of 

 Ancient IV- burghers. The hair is bound close to the head, and 

 male dri-s . covunl with a small unornamentcd cap, with large 

 plates ol' thin gold projecting t'ruin eacll side of the 

 iiurhcad, and a plate in the middle; ponderous ear- 

 rings, and necklaces of the same metal ; gowns of thick 

 silk, heavily embroidered, and waists of unnatural 

 length and rotundity ; hats of the size of a small Chi- 

 nese umbrella, gaudily lined within ; sometimes these 

 hats aro set up in the air like a spread fan ; yellow 

 "rs, without quarters at the heel. Children and 

 women of seventy are frequently seen in this preposter- 

 ous dress. Tlie Women of rank or fortune are very 

 fond of ornamenting their dress with rare and valuable 

 jewels. These, as well as the gold plates worn by the 

 lower orders, are of great antiquity, and are most care- 

 fully handed down from generation to generation. 



The Dutch language is evidently of Gothic origin, 

 but it is little known out of the United Provinces. 

 Dutch literature will be more properly considered in 

 the article NETIIKRI.ANDS ; where, indeed, every thing 

 relating generally to the history and statistics of the 

 Low Countries must be sought for; as, in the present 

 article, we confine ourselves, as much as possible, to 

 Literature, the province of Holland. With respect to the encou- 

 ragement given to literature, this province was former- 

 ly very remarkable. Leyden, Amsterdam, and the 

 Hague, may be seen on the title-pages of the most va- 

 luable works, in Latin and French, which were print- 

 ed during the 17th, and the beginning of the 18th cen- 

 turies. The Elr.ivers, justly celebrated for the correct 

 and beautiful editions which they have given to the 

 world of the best writers of antiquity, resided in Ley- 

 den, and ennobled its press by the elegant specimens of 

 typography, which, for the space of a century, ap- 

 peared from their press. During the bright period 

 of French literature, when the writings of Voltaire, 

 Rousseau, D'Alembert, &c. were eagerly sought after 

 by the learned and curious of Europe, the booksellers 

 at the Hague and Amsterdam multiplied the editions 

 of these authors, and carried on a lucrative trade with 

 their works. Haerlem is one of the places which lays 

 claim to the honour of the invention of the art of print- 

 ing ; but at present, the literary character, as well as 

 the bookselling and printing trade of Holland, are at 

 a very low ebb. There is one university in the pro- 

 vince of Holland at Leyden, and an inferior college at 

 Amsterdam. 



Though the province of Holland is now only a part 

 of the kingdom of the Netherlands, and of course has 

 lost many of its peculiar privileges and institutions, yet 

 some particulars respecting its government require to 

 be noticed, as they still remain under the constitution 

 of the Netherlands. Deputies of the nobles, and those 

 of the towns and country, are elected for the parliament 

 of the kingdom. There are also provincial councils of 

 suite for South and North Holland. For the admini- 

 stration of justice, there are two courts held at the 

 Hague ; namely, the court of Holland, and the high 

 council The nobles of Holland are subject to the ju- 

 risdiction of this court ; an appeal lies to it from the 

 sentences of the inferior courts. The high council of 

 Holland judge peremptorily and definitively of all cases 

 brought before them by an appeal from the court of 

 Holland. Among the laws of this province the follow- 

 ing deserve notice. No person can be arrested for 

 debt who has not been summoned regularly three times, 

 with the interval of 14 days between each summons; and 



Govern- 

 ment and 

 laws. 



six weeks further must elapse from the last official notifi- Holland, 

 cation and demand of the debt, before the creditor is per- '"' "M""* 

 mitted to arrest or seize the effects of the insolvent per- 

 son. By this mode of procedure, debtors are generally 

 enabled either fully to settle their affairs, or to com- 

 promise with their creditors, so that few are sent to 

 prison. No person can be arrested in his own house in 

 Holland, or even standing at the door of it, though 

 all the previous citations should have been made; and 

 should his wife be lying in, he is privileged, during her 

 illness, to go abroad without molestation. 



The religion of Holland is Calvinism. In it there Religion, 

 are two provincial synods ; one for South Holland, and 

 the other for North Holland. The whole province be- 

 ing divided into a great many classes composed of the 

 deputies of five or six neighbouring churches ; each 

 class sends four deputies to the respective synods, two 

 ministers, and two elders. The synods meet twice a 

 year, and a political commissary attends their meetings. 

 The ministers are paid by the magistrates. Their sala- 

 ries are small ; few, even in the cities, having 200 a- 

 year, while in the country they have generally 60 or 

 70. 



The taxes of the province of Holland are very heavy. Taxes. 

 They amounted in 1 795 to 24,000,000 of guilders, or 

 2,000.000 sterling, which, on the supposition that the 

 population was 800,000, formed an average of <2, 1 Os. 

 each person ; but a large portion of this taxation is, in 

 fact, paid by foreigners, who consume the articles tax- 

 ed. Among the taxes really paid by the inhabitants 

 themselves are the following : A land-tax of about 

 4s. 9d. per acre ; a sale-tax of 8 per cent \ipon horses, 

 1 j per cent, upon other moveables, and 2-}, per cent, 

 upon land and buildings ; a tax upon inheritances out 

 of the direct line, varying from 2^ to 1 1 per cent. ; 2 

 percent, upon every man's income; an excise of t,3 

 per hogshead on wine, and a charge of 2 per cent, on 

 all public offices. The excise upon coffee, tea, and salt 

 is paid annually by each family, according to their num- 

 ber. 



The province of Holland, as well as all the countries History, 

 watered by the Meuse and the Rhine, were for a long 

 time divided into small earldoms ; but in the year 923, 

 Theodoric was appointed Count of Holland by Charles 

 the Simple, King of France, and the title became here- 

 ditary. The most frequent wars of the counts of Hol- 

 land were with the Prisons, a part of the old Saxons. 

 There were also frequent contests between the counts 

 of Holland and Flanders, concerning the possession of 

 the islands of Zealand. The counts of Holland, like- 

 wise, were frequently opposed by their own nobility. 

 In order to break their power, they not only demolish- 

 ed many of their castles and strong-holds, but also, 

 about the year 1200, built several cities, and gave free- 

 dom to the inhabitants of the adjacent country, or ev- 

 en to foreigners, who would come and dwell in those 

 cities. They were thus freed, not only from all taxes 

 due to the counts themselves, but also, when they had 

 dwelt in the cities a year and a day, from the vassaiage 

 they were under to their own lords. The counts, besides, 

 gave especial privileges to those cities ; but the inhabi- 

 tants were not permitted, though at their own ch;;rge, to 

 set up gates or walls to defend their cities, unless they 

 purchased the privilege from the counts. Hence pro- 

 ceeded the difference between walled and unwalled 

 cities in Holland ; and also, that the counts being af- 

 terwards jealous of the former, destroyed many ot them 

 entirely, and pulled down the walls of others. Philippi- 

 na, daughter of William III. Earl of Holland, was mar- 



