LETTER L.
SIR,Amsterdam, Nov. 29, 1732.
Instead of excusing myself for my late Silence, I confess to you, that had it not been for the obliging Reproaches you make me upon that Account, I should not have entertained you with any more of my Travels. Not that I thought Holland did not deserve your Attention as much as any other Country in the World, but
because, as I found I had nothing new to send you, I thought it best not to surfeit you with the Repetition of what others before me have said much better. But as you seem to think these Arguments not sufficient, I will endeavour to satisfy you in the best manner I can; and you are a Gentleman of too good Sense to expect more.
From Cleves I went to Nimeguen, a Town in the Province of Guelderland, and the Bulwark of the Seven United Provinces, towards the Dominions of Prussia; from which ’tis but two Leagues distant. This Place stands on the Side of a Hill on the Banks of the Vahal, a River which comes out of the Rhine, and falls into the Maese, near the Town of Dort or Dordrecht. The French, after eight Days Siege, took it in 1672, at the Time when the Republic seem’d ready to sink under the Weight of their Arms. Since that Time it has been very much fortify’d; so that ’tis now a Place of Consequence. This Town is famous for the Peace which was sign’d here in 1678, between France and the States General; and in the next Year, between the Emperor, Spain, the Princes of Germany, and France. It has no remarkable Edifice. From one of its Bastions, which is much higher than the rest of the Fortifications, there’s a Prospect of a great Tract of Country beyond the Vahal; which is one of the finest Views in the World, and the most agreeable Sight that Nimeguen affords.
After having crossed the Vahal over a flying Bridge, I travelled four or five Leagues upon a very narrow crooked Dike, which in rainy Weather is very much broke. It seems as if it was made for the Destruction both of Coaches and Passengers; for if the Coachman be ever so little aukward, or the Horses skittish, a Man is in Danger of breaking his Neck, the rather, because the
common Caravans, or Stage-Coaches in Holland, are so made, that a little Matter turns ’em topsy-turvy; so that one would imagine the Inventor of ’em studied to contrive a Vehicle, the most uneasy, and the most dangerous, that could be to the Lives of Mankind. Suppose to yourself, a cursed high Waggon, which you get up to by an Iron Step, placed between the wheels, which are hardly two Feet from one another. The Body of the Caravan is covered with Hoops, in Form of a Cradle, spread over with an Oil-cloth, and so low, that the least Shock jolts one’s Head against the Roof. This infernal Machine, invented, no doubt, for the Entrance of Proserpine into Hell, instead of a Thill, has a Hook, by which the Coachman, who is commonly drunk, guides the Horses, by placing one Foot on it, while be rests the other against the Crupper of one of his Horses, which almost touch the Caravan. No less than eight People are stow’d in these horrible Break-necks, which, to compleat the Abomination, makes such a Rattle as is perfectly stunning to all the Passengers.
’Twas in one of these pretty Stage-Coaches that I came very much jaded to Rhenen, a little Town on an Arm of the Rhine, which has for a long time been the Residence of the Family of the unfortunate Frederic Elector Palatine, who was chose King of Bohemia. That Prince caused a House to be built there, which now belongs to the King of Great Britain, as Heir to the Electress Sophia his Grandmother, the Daughter of the said Frederic, by Elizabeth Princess of England; but all the Use which the King makes of this House, is for the Accommodation of his Equipage in his Journies to and from Hanover.
The Road from Rhenen to Utrecbt is like the Sands of Libya; I mean that which the Caravans
take in the rainy Season; for in fine Weather they go through a Plain, the Soil of which is extremely clayish, and by consequence, not passable when it has rain’d.
As disagreeable as the Country is, through which I passed, yet there are several fine Country Houses, of which that belonging to the Earls of Athlone, whose Ancestor was General of the Dutch Infantry, and made a Peer of Great Britain by King William III. is one of the most considerable: But it is inferior to Zeist, a Palace belonging to the Count of Nassau, Son of the late Mons. d’Odyck, distinguished in the Republic for his Birth and Employments, his Ability in Business, and his Magnificence. This House is, in my Opinion, one of the finest in the Seven Provinces, and has most of the Air of a Nobleman’s Palace. It has fine Gardens, and stately Avenues. Lewis XIV. resided in it at the Time when that Monarch, like an impetuous Torrent, came to ravage the Republic. The Count de Nassau-Zeist had afterwards the Honour to see at the same Place Frederic I. King of Prussia, whose Presence Was undoubtedly more agreeable to him, because it was accompanied with the Peace, and because that Prince only drew his Sword for the Defence of the Republic, and its Allies.
The Country Houses in general, which are situate in the Provinces of Utrecht, Guelderland and Over-yssel, have much more the Appearance of Palaces than those in Holland; where Land is so dear, that they can only make Models of Houses and Gardens; which, if they were executed, would not want for Magnificence.
The Neighbourhood of Utrecht is charming: A large fine Avenue leads to the City, at the Entrance of which, on the Left-hand, is the Mall, which Lewis XIV. so admir’d upon Account of
its Walks, that he wish’d he could transport them to Versailles, and ordered his Troops not to cut down the Trees.
Utrecht, as to its Outside, seems very ancient. I fansy that the Walls of Jericho, which fell at the Sound of the dreadful Trumpets of Israel, were not unlike the Walls of this City; and its Inhabitants, probably, did not think them a whit stronger, because they were so much in haste to carry their Keys to the King of France, notwithstanding the Offers made to them by the Prince of Orange, to defend the Place. Lewis XIV. entered this City with all the Pomp of a Conqueror; but he made a very short Stay here, which, they say, was owing to a Remark made to him, That in a great Part of the Town, the meaner Sort of People lived under Ground; and that it would be an easy Matter for those subterraneous Inhabitants to place Gunpowder in those Cellars, and blow them up at the time that his Majesty came by. If this Circumstance is true, they who possessed the King with this Jealousy were unacquainted with the Dutch, who, ’tis possible, might have had no Respect for the Person of the King, in a Tumult, or in a Battle; but when they had received him into their Town, he had nothing to fear, because Treachery and Dissimulation are no Parts of their Character.
The Streets of Utrecht are spacious and very airy, its Houses pleasant and well built. A great many Houses have been built here since the Congress for that Peace, which put an End to the War for the Succession to Charles II. King of Spain. This City, next to the Hague, is the most agreeable for Persons of Quality, of whom here’s a great Number, as well as of other Persons, who having got Fortunes by Trade, retire hither for the peaceable Enjoyment of what they have acquir’d.
The great Church which was formerly the Metropolis, still preserves its Chapter, into which Persons need no other Proofs nor Vocation for Admittance than Money, these Prebends being bought and sold like Companies of Dragoons. The Court of Rome always nominates the Archbishop, who commonly resides at Amsterdam. I think the Person who enjoys this[101]Dignity now, is a Native of this City, but ’tis probable he has no View to a Cardinal’s Cap, he being a declared Jansenist. The Carthusians who retired from France under the specious Pretext of securing their Consciences from Oppression, are settled in his Diocese, where they live in two separate Convents not very far from Utrecht, and are very zealous Distributers of the Writings published in France, about the Religious Differences. They had acquired the Esteem of the Protestants, who did not think they differ’d very widely from their Communion; but since they endeavour to make the Sieur Paris pass for a Saint, I know not whether they will not lose the good Opinion that has been conceiv’d of ’em. For in this Country, they have no great Value for these Favourites of the Court of Heaven, and much less for those who increase the Number of ’em. Be this as it will, ’tis allow’d by every body, even by the most zealous Roman Catholics, that setting aside their Religious Sentiments, there’s no Fault to be found with
their Morals and Behaviour, and that they live as regularly as they did perhaps in the Convent which they have abandoned.
The Town-house has nothing in it that is magnificent, at least if one may believe those who have seen it; for I had not the Curiosity to examine it: Nor is there any Edifice of Consequence in the Town. Their Dwellings are neat, but not large, which is the Reason that during the Congress the Ambassadors had very scanty Lodgings, tho’ it was not for want of Money, insomuch that several of ’em might have purchased the Houses they lived in, with the Money they paid for the Rent of their Apartments, during the Course of their Ministerial Residence. Speaking of this Congress, puts me in Mind of what certain Satirical Politicians said concerning the Three Treaties of Peace that had been concluded successively in the Dominions of the Republic. Nimeguen, said they, signified Neim-Weg (Take all), Reiswick, Reis-Weg (Pluck up all), and Utrecht, Ausser Recht (Witbout Right). If every Thing be fairly examin’d, all this perhaps may be true enough, but the Laughers would not be on the Side of the Allies.
I made use of the Vessel that goes and comes Three times a Day from Utrecht to Amsterdam, which is not only the most commodious, but the best regulated, and the cheapest Passage in Europe. One knows to a Minute when it goes off, and within one Quarter of an Hour that it gets into Port. If you agree for the Rous or Cabin, one is alone, or with what Company you please. I thought the Vessel in which I came to Utrecht, so much like a moving Dungeon that I was as glad when I came out of it, as a Prisoner, when he is set at Liberty. The Canal which carried me to Amsterdam presents a thousand agreeable Objects
to View, being diversified all the Way with fine Country-houses, magnificent Gardens, Meadows and Villages.
After having admired every Thing that proves the Wealth of the Inhabitants, I am arrived at Amsterdam, that modern Tyre, the Mistress of Commerce, the Warehouse of the World, and one of the finest, greatest, and most wealthy Cities in Europe. It contains both sacred and profane Edifices, which are magnificent; but at the same Time (for I speak freely) retains I know not what Air of the Cit, which one does not meet with in the Buildings of Venice and Genoa, which are of a sublimer Taste, because the Nobility are the Governors. The Things which may be said to be truly great and noble at Amsterdam, are its Ramparts faced with Bricks, and the broad and deep Ditches with which ’tis encompassed.
Amsterdam is the only Town in the World which may be compared in any measure to Venice. For tho’ ’tis not built as Venice is, in the midst of the Sea, it stands as that does upon Piles. Like Venice it consists of a vast Number of Islands, and its principal Streets have Canals, with the Adventage of spacious Kays at their Doors, fenc’d with Trees; whereas at Venice, the Water is only pent in by the Houses. That I take to be all the Resemblance there is between these two Rivals in Commerce; for as to the Beauty of the Structures, there is no Comparison; one Canal Grande, and one Canal Reggio, being worth more in this respect than all Amsterdam. There are Palaces, and here are Houses, which are neat, genteel and pleasant, without the Rules of Architecture, and built of Brick. Heretofore the Amsterdammers Manner of Building was very extraordinary. Most of the old Houses that are yet in Being, stand upon Stilts, which I explain thus: The
Front of the first Floor, upon the Ground, is commonly all Windows, which are separated by wooden Pillars that support all the Stone-work of the other Floors, which, happy for them, is very slight; for there’s seldom a Wall more than two Bricks in Thickness, and the Ceilings are nothing but Boards, so that the People in the first Floor have the Pleasure to know, that every Word they say is overheard in the second. I don’t criticize the Manner of the Distribution of their Rooms; tho’, to be plain, their Architects know no more of this Matter than they do how to carry up the Chimnies, which are almost all of them smoaky. ’Tis true, that the Inhabitants are not very much incommoded by it, and that they might even do without them[102]. For the Women warm themselves with a Turf all Day long, which they put into a little earthen Pan, and this into a wooden Stove, with Holes bor’d in it, which they keep under their Petticoats, and sit over it, as a Hen broodeth over her Chicken. The Men are always within Doors, dressed in a Night-gown lined with Flannel, under which they are Twaddled in three or four thick Waistcoats: And if the Weather be cold, they also make use of such a Stove as the Women do, or else warm themselves in the Kitchen, where there is seldom Bustle enough to prevent their creeping to the Chimney-corner; and I would venture a Wager, that there are many substantial People here who don’t boil the Pot above once a Week: For there’s no Nation in the World that feeds worse than the Dutch, and particularly the Amsterdammers, Butter, Milk, Cheese, and Salt-fish, being their common Diet.
But I have deviated from the Article I was upon, touching their Manner of Building. I cannot conceive how ’tis possible for Houses that are so slight to stand: And there are some that perfectly totter from Side to Side; but I had rather see a Woman dance, than a House. A great Number of those Houses have lately been set upright. One of those Pinacles, in Form of a Sugar-loaf, which is at the Top of most of the old Houses, unhappily fell down and kill’d three Persons that were passing along the Street: Whereupon the Government, out of their great Care to prevent all such Accidents for the future, ordered the Landlords of every House to cause those staggering Pyramids to be pulled down: This has had two good Effects; for People are not so liable to be knock’d o’the Head, and the Town looks handsomer. The principal Ornament of the Houses is their Windows, there being scarce a Country that has finer Glazing, and many of the Houses have Windows of polish’d Plate-glass. But in some Palaces of Venice or Genoa, the Paintings and Gildings only of the Ceilings are worth more than the finest House in Amsterdam. Yet I don’t deny but there are Houses here, in the Rearing of which no Cost has been spar’d, but in general they are small. There are scarce any that have above five Windows in Front, others have four, and the greatest Part three. The Entry is by Steps of black Marble or Stone. To the Houses of the common Size, there’s a very narrow Entry pav’d with white Marble, with which the Walls are often fac’d, at least to a certain Height. The Apartment consists generally of two Rooms on a Floor, a little Court behind it, and a second Pile of Building, which is but one Room in Depth, and has Lights towards the Garden. At Venice and
Genoa, a Merchant (for I set the Nobles aside) will have at least an Apartment of three or four Rooms. At Amsterdam the Furniture is neatest, and in Italy the richest. Here one shall find a curious Piece of Flemish Tapestry, a Closet of Pictures, fine Glass, a great deal of China Ware, and curious Toys from the Indies; the Floor shall be covered with fine Persian Carpets; but you shan’t see any Furniture of Velvet embroidered with Gold, no Lustres of Rock-Crystal, no great Collection of Paintings, nor that Abundance of antique Busts, Vases and Statues of Marble and Brass. In fine, to conclude this long Parallel, I must tell you, that if the Palaces of Italy were as neat as the Houses of Amsterdam, there would be nothing to compare to them; and if the Houses of Amsterdam were as much neglected as those of Italy, they would be of no Manner of Account.
Be a House here ever so small, there’s always some Apartment in it uninhabited, which is the finest Part of the Building. ’Tis a Sanctuary whereof the upper Servant Maid of the House is the grand Priestess. She has so profound a Respect for this unfrequented Place that she never enters it without putting off her Shoes, for fear of soiling the Floor, which is held in so great Veneration that they pay it a Sort of Worship: ’Tis the Residence of the Houshold Gods, and one is sure of incurring the Indignation both of the Mistress and the Maids, if one does not shew the same Veneration to their Floor as they do. Whoever enters the House, must first rub their Feet upon a Mat at the Door, and be sure not to spit, were they in Danger of being choak’d, unless they find a little Basket of Sand laid there for the Purpose; and if a Person should but happen to drop the least Thing capable of spotting the
Floor, I am not sure that the Priestesses would not sacrifice the Delinquent to their Idol, and that we should not see the Revival of the Story of Orpheus and the Bacchantes. There are however some particular Days in the Year when the Priestesses give their Masters Leave to enter these Sanctuaries, and therein to receive Company; but the very next Day, this Place, which in the Language of the Country is called Besse-Kamer (i. e. the best Room) is wash’d and purify’d, as our Churches are after they have been profaned. I don’t make Things a jot worse than they are in reality, and I am sure there are some Rooms that are not opened four times in a Year, unless it be to air the Goods. ’Tis the same with a thousand fine Things in the Amsterdammers Possession, which they don’t make use of for fear of spoiling them: Thus they live in the midst of Abundance, and of Wealth, without the Hearts to enjoy what they have. Nevertheless, within these few Years past, they begin to have some Taste of Life: They give into Equipage, Furniture, and Rural Entertainments, and their Women into Dress and Splendor. The old Men exclaim against new Fashions, and say the Republic is in a declining State, in which they resemble one of our Emperors, who observing that his Master of the Horse had changed the Cord-Traces, which had been the Fashion of his Court, into Leather Traces, cry’d out, That Luxury would be the Ruin of his Family, and his Government.
The Government of Amsterdam is in a Senate, consisting of sixty-three Persons, who hold their Places for Life; and when any one dies, ’tis the Senate that appoints his Successor: In this Body there are twelve Burgomasters, of whom four preside annually. They chuse three out of the twelve every Year, who with one of the four of the last
Year, that continues in Office, have the Direction of Affairs. These latter, before they enter into their Office, are obliged to take an Oath to the senior Burgomasters. He who is continued from one Year to the other, has the Presidency for three Months, after which the others take it in their Turns; and they who go out of their[103]Office, are commonly employed as Treasurers of the City, or as Counselor-Deputies to the States of Holland, residing at the Hague.
The Office of Burgomaster is more honourable than profitable; for ’tis said, their Salary is only five hundred Florins per Annum: But their Authority is considerable; for they are the chief Magistrates, and in some Sort the Masters of the City. They dispose of all the public Money, and they alone judge of what is necessary for the Safety of the Town. They are the Guardians of the Bank, which can only be opened in the Presence of one of ’em. They confer all Offices, and may therewith gratify whom they will, and if they please, their own Children; so that, as in Germany, there needs but a Bishop in a decay’d Family to repair its Misfortunes, so here, if there be but a Burgomaster in a Family, ’tis enough to make ’em all easy.
There is also in this City a Bailiff, who is called Hoofd-Schout, or Hoofd-Officier, who is the same that is elsewhere called the Lieutenant of the Police. He has under him three Substitutes, who are called the Under-Schouts. These are they who
apprehend Malefactors, which they often do in the midst of a Mob, only accompanied with a Couple of Archers who have no other Arms but Swords. Yet every one trembles at the Sight of ’em, and two Men carry another to Prison, with more Ease than forty Archers can do the like at Paris.
The Senate meets in the Stadthouse. This Fabric, so much celebrated for its Magnificence, and because it contains the richest Bank in the Universe, is really a stately Edifice; and tho’ it has Defects, it may be ranked in the Number of the finest Buildings in Europe. It fronts a Square called the Dam, in the Centre of the City. The Building is almost a complete Quadrangle, with Pavilions at each Angle. In the middle of the principal Front there’s an advanced Building which takes up one third of the whole Front. ’Tis decorated by seven Porticos, so small that they disfigure all this great Pile of Building; which they pretend was not owing to the Ignorance of the Architect, but to a political Cause: For at the Time that this Stadthouse was built, the Republic was but in its Infancy. The Populace of Amsterdam, a turbulent Mob, ready for any Mischief, were then far less submissive to their Magistrates than now; and they so often disturbed those Magistrates in their Deliberations, that the Architect chose to make the Avenues so narrow, on purpose to prevent the Inconveniencies of too easy an Entrance by a Crowd of People. But if this was his true Reason for not keeping to the Rules of Architecture, three great Porticos would have done as well as seven small ones: He might have given them due Proportion, and the Front would have been more majestic. But the Number Seven was the chosen Number, and it was to represent the Seven United Provinces, to
whose Union the City of Amsterdam owes its Enjoyment of Liberty and Commerce. Notwithstanding this Defect, ’tis certain that a Foreigner, tho’ he will not offer to compare this Stadthouse to the Palace of Versailles, to the Escurial, or to the Procuraties at Venice; and tho’ when he looks on it, he may only think he sees a Town-house, and not the Palace of a King, or of a powerful State, yet he cannot behold it without Admiration, especially if he does but consider that every Material in this Building was brought from foreign Countries.
The Outside of this great Fabric is all of Free-stone, extremely well put together; and an Order of very substantial Pilasters ranges quite round the whole. The Part which projects from the principal Front, is terminated by a Pediment, which is a grand Piece of Sculpture. It represents the City of Amsterdam, under the Figure of Cybele, seated in a Chair. Four Naiads, and two Sea Nymphs, present her with Crowns of Palms, and Laurels, and Fruit, in token of the Power and Abundance which this City receives by Commerce. On the other Side, Neptune, accompanied by the Tritons, seems approaching to pay his Homage to the Goddess, undoubtedly to denote the Power of this City at Sea. All this magnificent Groupe is extremely well executed, and very much esteemed by the Connoisseurs. A Dome at the Top of this Edifice has eight great open Arches all round, which support the Cupola; and in this Dome there’s a Chime of Bells which the Lovers of such noisy Music say is very good Harmony.
The first Room within is the Chamber of Justice, wherein the Criminals receive their Sentence. It has three Porticos which open into the great Square, from whence may be seen what passes in that Chamber. This Room is adorned with Bas-Reliefs
of white Marble, done by excellent Hands. Solomon’s Judgment is there represented in such a grand Manner as is wonderful. Beyond this Chamber is the great Stair-case, which has no manner of Ornament, and little or no Light. It leads to the great Hall, which is really magnificent, but not very lightsome. It is adorned with Pilasters and Bas-Reliefs of white Marble, executed with infinite Art. The arch’d Roof, which is of Wood, and painted with Oil, is not answerable to the Richness of this Hall. Four great Coridors or Galleries, laid open by great Arches on both Sides, at the two Ends of the Hall, lead to the Apartments, and are adorned with white marble Pilasters two and two, Flowers in Bas-Relief, and Statues of a grand Disposition; and the Emblems with which the Gates are adorned, are all very suitable to the Business that is transacted in the Chamber to which they open.
I shall not undertake to give you the Particulars of all these Rooms, not only because it would carry me too far, but because I observed nothing in them, except some Paintings, that is worth your Notice. The Arsenal takes up one intire Floor over these Chambers, but is only considerable for the prodigious Quantity of Arms of the modern Fashion, especially Muskets, which are the Manufacture of this City, and a Part of its Commerce.
The ground Floor is very low, but consists of fine great Arches. Here are contained the Offices of the Bank, and the Prisons, from which no body ever yet escaped, and it is humanly impossible they should; for besides that the Walls are very thick, the whole is strongly barricaded both within and without, by iron Bars, the very Appearance of which is frightful. But if ’tis possible for Prisons to be agreeable, these would certainly be such, for they are all lightsome; the Prisoners are
not so ill used as they are elsewhere, but are allowed proper Nourishment, and not suffered to Wallow in their Nastiness.
The Stadthouse is the Place where all Persons are married, who are not of the Religion that prevails in the Country. This is a Ceremony that may be seen every Sunday, and is performed in the Presence of two Echevins, and a Secretary. The People that are to be married, go into a Room where the Magistrates are seated at a Table, and there they are entered one after the other without Distinction of Rank, into the Register of Marriages; after which they go Home with the Satisfaction of having been as well married as if the Ceremony had been performed by the Pope himself; nor are they under the least Necessity of having recourse to the Church. Nevertheless, all the regular People go to some Priest or Minister to receive the nuptial Benediction.
The Treasure of the Bank is kept in a Place under Ground, which extends, as I am assured, a great Way under the Square of the Dam.
Every body agrees that it is immense, but nobody knows exactly of how many thousand Millions it consists; and it is a Question, whether its Credit be not infinitely greater than its Cash; it being certain that the Public has such a Confidence in it that every body puts their Money into it, though without any Interest for it: On the contrary, it costs One hundred and five Florins ready Cash, to have One hundred Florins Bank. The largest Payments are commonly made in Bank Notes: A certain Sum is registered in the Bank Books, which is transferred, either in whole, or in Part, to the Person to whom the Payment is to be made, This is called The Keeping an Account at the Bank. It was a Correspondence of this Nature which the famous John Law would fain have
establish’d at Paris; and he would certainly have succeeded, if he had had but the Fund of the Bank of Amsterdam, and the public Confidence.
They say that the Revenues of this City amount to fifty thousand Livres a Day, which I am apt to believe is true; for really the Taxes here are very considerable, the Subjects of this State paying more than those of any Crown whatsoever: All the Difference consists in the Distribution of the Taxes, and the Manner of raising them: Here they are laid equally upon the Rich and upon the poor, upon Citizens and upon Foreigners.
The Liberty so much boasted of in these Provinces, is no more than that which the good People of other Countries enjoy; nevertheless, I must except Religion, which every one here may adapt to his own Fancy. The Liberty therefore consists only in the Equality of Conditions: But for a Boor to presume to be saucy to a Burgher, to despise the Nobility, to censure his Masters with Impunity, and to treat all Kings as Tyrants, seems to me to be a Liberty which favours very much of Libertinism. The Germans and the French, who are not used to such Licentiousness in their own Country, easily fall into it here; and ’tis really a Wonder to hear them in a Coffee-house talking of Sovereigns, especially when, inspir’d with a Holy Zeal, they plead for the Religion, which, say they, is every-where oppressed, except in the Dominions of the Calvinists. They think every Government tyrannical, which does not allow intire Liberty of Conscience. ’Tis true that in this Country every one believes as he pleases: And here are Religions of every Kind, which nevertheless tend to one and the same Centre, viz. the acquiring of Riches, and the tormenting both of Body and Soul, to get an Estate, not to enjoy
it, but to have the Pleasure of dying rich. Money, the Darling and the Idol of the whole World, is so adored in this City, that it stands in the stead of Birth, Wit, and Merit. A Man who has but a small Share of the Favours of Fortune, is neglected almost every-where; but here he is despised.
Next to those of the prevailing Religion, the Catholics, among whom I include the Jansenists, are the most numerous: I have been told, they are above twenty thousand. They have fourteen Churches, served by different Orders of Friers, who as they die, the States have declared, shall be succeeded hereafter by none but the secular Priests who are Natives of the Country. They say, that this Resolution was taken, because the Monks sent the Money which they received for the Poor, to their Convent. What Ground there is for this Charge, I know not; but be it as it will, who can be sure that the Priests will not employ the Poors Money to enrich their own Families? The Catholics form a considerable Body in this State, both for their Number and their Wealth. It may be said that they are with the Jews (forgive me the Parallel) one of the chief Supports of its Commerce; for as they cannot hold Offices, they are Merchants from Father to Son; tho’ ’tis true, that among the Protestants who are in Offices, there are some who trade.
What I have now said to you of our Clergy, engages me to give you some Account of two Calvinist Preachers here, who are very much esteemed, and mightily followed by those of their Communion. The one is M. Alstein, a German Minister, who preaches in the Church called the Chapel, a Man of exemplary Morals, who avoiding angry Disputes and bitter Invectives, preaches truly Christian Morality, which reaches to the
Heart. He was Minister of the Garison of Potsdam, in the Dominions of Prussia, when he was called hither by the German Colony established in this City. He is belov’d and esteemed for his Modesty, Good-nature and Candour. This Testimony which I pay him of the Veneration and Esteem I have for him, is perfectly agreeable with the Character given of him by the Voice of the Public.
The second Preacher is M. Châtelain a French Minister, with whom I have no Acquaintance; but he has a very great Character, and I have heard him preach. It were to be wish’d, that all the Clergy (our Priests will suffer me not to forget them) had it as much at Heart as this Minister has, to instruct their Audiences; and that they would preach Morality, which is the Life of all Religions, because it is founded upon Piety and Virtue. M. Châtelain was Minister at the Hague, when he was called to this City, where he has the Pleasure of being as much esteem’d and follow’d by his Flock, as he was by that which he left.
I have many other Things to acquaint you with, but upon my Word, I can write no more at present, my Pen falling out of my Hand. I shall resume it however against next Post, not so much to tell you of Amsterdam, as to assure you that no body can be more intirely yours, than I am, &c.
