Chap. III. Low-Countrie 
We were credibly inform’d, that a few Years before 
there died in this Place one Gerard Baftianfon^ a Fiflier- 
man, who was full eight Foot high, and though a very 
lean Perfon, weigh’d five hundred Weight : The Doors 
of his Houfe, and his Clothes, which were ihewn, fuf- 
ficiently confirm’d what they told us of his Size. 
The Tower of the great Church here is very remark- 
able. It leaned formerly on theNave of the Building ; that 
is, bent towards the North-Eaft three Feet and a half, but 
by opening the Foundation, they have found Means to 
fet it up quite ftreight, as appears by a profe Infcription in 
Dutch ; which alfo acquaints us the Ground was opened 
September the 25th, 1651, and was clofed again April 
the 2 2d, 1655. The Architetl: v/ho performed this 
fingular Piece of Work, was one Nicholas Jeremy Per- 
foons. Dion Cajfms^ under the Reign of Piberius^ men- 
tions fomething of the fame Sort done, and that the 
Artift was but ill rewarded. 
3. The ordinary Paffage-boat carried us in two Hours 
to Delft, a City that holds the third Rank in the Afiem- 
bly of the States of Holland. One of the chief Curio- 
fities they ftiew you in this City is, the Tomb of William 
Prince of Orange, affaffinated here by Balthafar Gerard, 
1584. The Arfenal, the Townhoufe, the StadtholdePs 
Palace, the Grand Place, and the great Hofpital, with 
its Gardens, are well worth the Sight of a Traveller. 
The Canal betwixt this City and the Hague is not above 
a League in Length, in Sight of Refwyck and Voer- 
lurgh, two pleafant Villages, and adorn’d on both Sides 
with moft delightful Summer Villa’s, fine Walks, and 
noble Gardens. 
The Hague, being without Gates or Walls, is reckon’d 
among the Villages, notwithftanding which, as it en- 
joys the Privilege of a City, fo its Grandeur and Beauty 
Teems to deferve that Name, being befides this the Re- 
fidence of the Princes Orange when Stadtholders, of 
all the foreign Minifters, and the Place of Affembly of 
the States General ; befides that, the great Concourfe of 
Foreigners of all Sorts, renders the People more obli- 
ging arid fociable than in any other Place of Holland. 
Add to this, that the Air is very good, the Wood near 
the' Town extremely delightful, and the Walk from 
thence to the Village of Scheveling, near the Sea- fide, 
very diverting. Here they fiiew a Chariot furnifh’d 
both with Wheela and Sails, which is carried along by 
the Wind upon the Sea-fhore, very pleafant to walk on, 
it being both hard and level. 
Its Situation is certainly the moft pleafant of any 
Place in Holland, having the before-mentioned Wood 
to the North, very fertile Meadows to the South, good 
arable Lands to the Eaft, and the Sea to the Weft. 
The Princes of Orange keep their Refidence in the 
Palace of the ancient Earls of Holland •, but that called 
'the Old Court, where they formerly lodg’d, is by much 
the more regular Struc!:ture *, the Houfes of Pleafure 
about the Hague are generally very beautiful. 
We took, among other Things, a View of the 
Church of the Village of Lofdun, fo famous for the 
two Batons of Brafs preferved there, in Memory of the 
Three hundred fixty five Children of the Countefs of 
Hennebergh, Daughter to Florent IV. Earl of Holland, 
that were baptiz’d in them. The Story goes, that the 
faid Countefs having reproach’d a Beggar-woman with 
having too many Children, the poor Wretch, by way 
of Imprecation, wifh’d her as many as there were 
Days in the Year j which being fufill’d, they were all 
chriftened, (the Boys by the Name of John, the Girls 
Elizabeth) and buried in the Church of Lofdun. The 
whole Hiftory is painted at large in the faid Church, on 
both Ends of which Pifture the two Batons are fix’d. 
The Truth of it is attefted by Erafmus, Fives, Guic- 
ciardine, and others. 
From the Hague we went forward to Leyden, a Place 
not fo much frequented by Courtiers and Officers, nor 
fo much difturbed with Bufinefs and Traffick as the 
Hague and Rotterdam, but exceeding charming by its 
intrinfick Beauty and Quiet, fo that you feem to enjoy 
the Benefit of a Country Life in the Midft of a great 
City : Its chief Trade confifts in the Woollen Manu- 
fadtory, which, together with the UniveTfity, makes it 
i, Ge RMANY, &C. 523 
one of the moft confiderable Cities in Holland. There 
are commonly about 1500 Students. 
In the Anatomy-Hall they fhew you a great many 
Skeletons both of Men and Beafts, abundance of Plants, 
Fruits, Animals, Arms, Habits, Pidlures, Mummies, 
Urns, Images, tAc. and among the reft, the Pafture of 
a Prujfian Peafant, who having fwallowed a large Knife, 
the fame (as they tell you) was cut out again of his 
Stomach, and he lived eight Years after. 
In the Gallery of the Phyfick-Garden, and the ad- 
joyning Cabinet, called the Indian Cabinet, we faw di- 
vers natural Curiofities, among the reft a wing’d Cat 
and Ape ; the Hand of a Mermaid ; a vegetable PrL 
apus, a moft curious Plant a Monfter produced from 
a Hen’s Egg ; a Piece of Money of Paper, made du- 
ring the Siege of Leyden by the Spaniards in 1574, with 
this Infcription on one Side, Hac libertatis ergo \ on the 
other, Pugno pro Patria : An Ea§f-lndia Serpent, on 
whofe Skin are to be fcen, as tome fancy, feveral na- 
tural Figures refembling Arabick Charafters ; befides a 
great Number of Animals, Infects, and other Things, 
preferved in Vials fill’d with Spirit of Wine. 
Before I take my Leave of Leyden, I muft not forget 
to give you an Account of the Rhine, which is loft near 
its Mouth, where moft other Rivers are at the largeft ; 
for the Rhine dividing itfelf into two Branches near 
Schenkerfchontz ; one of them takes the Name of Wakle, 
the other a little above Arnhem, that of Tfjel ; and con- 
tinuing its Courfe about feven or eight Leagues below 
that City, as far as Duar§ladt, is there again fubdivi- 
ded into two other fmall Channels, the chiefeft whereof 
takes the Name of the Leek and the other Rivulet, 
which turns more to the Right, retains the Name of 
the Rhine ; till coming to Utrecht, it emits another 
Branch, which taking its Courfe to the North, is 
known by the Name of the Vecht ; and the other con- 
tinuing its Courfe, by the Name of the Rhine, to Wor- 
den, it at laft lofes itfelf in two or three Canals at 
Leyden. The Caufe of this odd Fate of th^ Rhine, is 
attributed to an Earthquake, which throwing Part of 
the Downs into the Mouth of this River, Ihut it ever 
fince, the Waters were driven back, and confequently 
enlarg’d and deepened the Channel of the Leek as 
you fee it now. 
They ffiew you here the Shopboard belonging to 
that noted Taylor called John of Leyden, {ynhttQ he was 
born ) the chief of the Anabaptilfs. His true Name 
was John Bucold. 
From hence to Harlem is five Hours travelling by the 
Paffage-boat, the Canal being lined with a great Num- 
ber of Country-feats and Summer-houfes. 
Harlem is a large and pleafant City, and, for its 
agreeable Situation, may challenge the Preference be- 
fore Leyden, moft of its Canals being mix’d with the 
little River Sparm. This City is chiefly famous for the 
Linnen Manufadory, and that of Tape, though' of 
late Years they have made alfo great Quantities of Silk- 
ftuffs. The great Church (the largeft in all the Seven 
Provinces) and the Town-houfe, are ftately Strudures 3 
and the "Wood without the City is a great Addition to 
its pleafant Situation ; for which it is defervedly ad- 
mired, 
Lawrence Cojier, who challenges the firft Invention 
of Printing, was a Native of this City ; though John 
Guttenbergh of Strasburgh, and Conrade and Arnold, two 
Brothers of Mayence, challenge that Flonour before 
him. However, thofe of Harlem, in refped to their 
Townfman, keep in their Townhoufe the firft Book 
that ever was printed, in a Silver Cafe wrapt in Silk, 
' the Keeping whereof is committed to the Care of fe- 
veral of the Magiftrates ; and the Statue of Lawrence 
Cojier is to be view’d in the fame Place, This Infcription 
is to be feen in golden Letters over the Door of the 
Houfe where the faid Lawrence Cojier lived. 
ME MO R IM S AC RUM, 
Ifypographia ars artium omnium Confervatrigt, hie primum 
inventa circa annum 1440. 
Meyer 
