A tour through Holland

by Sir John Carr

——That yellow slave

Will knit, and break religions; bless the accursed;

Make the hoar leprosy adored; place thieves,

And give them title, knee, and approbation,

With senators on the bench.

Timon of Athens, Act IV. Scene 3.

The first circumstance that afforded novelty was, that amidst all the bustle I seldom met with any carriages on wheels to augment the noise of the scene. Upon enquiry I found, that, by the police laws of Amsterdam, wheel-carriages are limited to a certain number, which is very inconsiderable compared with the size of the city, from an apprehension that an uncontrouled use of them might hazard the foundation of the houses, most of which are built upon piles; for nearly the whole of the ground on which this vast city stands was formerly a morass. A carriage, called by the Dutch a sley, and by the French a traineau, or, on account of its solemnity, un pot de chambre, is used in their room; it is the body of a coach fastened by ropes on a sledge, and drawn by one horse; the driver walks by the side of it, which he holds with one hand to prevent its falling over, and with the other the reins: nothing can be more melancholy than this machine, which holds four persons, moves at the rate of about three miles an hour, and seems more like the equipage of an hospital, than a vehicle in which the observer would expect to find a merry face; yet in this manner do the Dutch frequently pay visits and take the air. It was in allusion to the forest foundation of this wonderful place, that Erasmus sportively observed, when he first visited it, that he had reached a city, the inhabitants of which, like crows, lived upon the tops of trees; and another wit compared Amsterdam to Venice, on account of both having wooden legs.

Amsterdam is situated on the rivers Y and Amstel, from the latter of which it derives its name; it is about nine miles and a half in circumference, of a semicircular form, surrounded with a fosse about eighty feet wide, and a rampart faced with brick, which is in several places dismantled, and twenty-six bastions: it has also eight noble gates of stone, and several draw-bridges: the population is estimated at three hundred thousand. In 1204, with the exception of a small castle, not a building was to be seen upon the scite of this great city, which, from being at first a petty village of fishermen, dilated in the lapse of years, and by the enterprise and industry of the inhabitants, into a magnificent capital, which, at length, upon the shutting up of the navigation of the Scheldt, added the commerce of Antwerp to its own, and became the great emporium of the world. Neither here, nor in any of the cities or towns in Holland, through which I passed, is a stranger annoyed by barriers, productions of passports, or any of those disagreeable ceremonies which distinguish the police of many other countries. In Holland a foreigner finds his loco-motive disposition as little restricted, or encumbered by municipal regulations, as in England. Canals intersect nearly the whole of this city, adorned with avenues of stately elms. Many of the houses are very splendid, particularly those in Kiezer’s gragt, or Emperor’s street, and Heeren gragt, or Lords’ street, where there are many mansions, which, were they not so much concealed by the fan of the trees before them, would have a very princely appearance. Many of the shops are also very handsome, particularly those belonging to jewellers and print-sellers; in the windows of the latter prints of the illustrious Nelson, and of our marine victories, were exposed to view, The druggists here, and in other parts of Holland, use as a sign a huge carved head, with the mouth wide open, placed before the shop windows; sometimes it rudely resembles a Mercury’s head, at others it is surmounted by a fool’s cap. This clumsy and singular sign is called de gaaper, the gaper; what analogy it bears to physic I could not learn; it is very likely to have originated in whim and caprice. Some of the shop boards, called uithang borden, have ridiculous verses inscribed upon them.

The first place my curiosity led me to was the Stadt-house, which is unquestionably a wonderful edifice, considering that Holland furnishes no stone, and that the foundation of the building was boggy; the latter circumstance rendered it necessary to have an artificial foundation of extraordinary construction and magnitude, and accordingly it rests upon thirteen thousand six hundred and ninety-five massy trees, or piles, the first of which was driven on the 20th of January, 1648, and the last on the 6th of October following, when the first stone, with a suitable inscription, was laid; and seven years afterwards the different colleges of magistrates took formal possession of the apartments allotted for their respective offices, but at this time the roof and dome were not completed: the expense of this mighty edifice amounted to two millions sterling. The principal architect was John Van Kampen, who acted under the control of four burgomasters. The area in which it stands is spacious, and was till lately called Revolutie plein; it is disfigured by the proximity of the waag, or weigh-house, a very old shabby building. The form of the Stadt-house is square, its front is two hundred and eighty-two feet, its depth two hundred and fifty-five, and its height one hundred and sixteen. It has seven small porticoes, representative of the seven provinces; the want of a grand entrance is a great architectural defect, which immediately excites the surprise of the traveller; but it was so constructed from the wary precautionary foresight of the magistrates who had the superintendence of the building, for the purpose of preventing free access to a mob, in case of tumult.

One of the first apartments which attracts the attention is the tribunal, on the basement floor; in this room, prisoners who have been found guilty of capital offences are conducted to receive the awful sentence of the law; the entrance is through a massy folding door, decorated with brass emblems, indicative of the purpose to which the chamber is applied, such as Jove’s beams of lightning, and flaming swords—under which are two lines from Virgil,