ut rij fHcfttuemn a n Betas
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Visit to the canals
HOLLAND
CONTRIBUTORS: GODFRIED BOMANS, J. J. DE GELDER, E. HELDRING, OLGA HELDRING, OLGA VAN MARLE, MARIA WILKIN'S.
Saturday 16th May 1959
'N Saturday afternoon, after the boattrip, we hope to visit the mansion house,
located on Heerengracht 502. The present Lord Mayor is Dr. Gijsbert van Hall. He
and his family do not live there, but use it for official events; it is a typical Amsterdam
merchanthouse of former times.
The family van Hall came around 1780 to Amsterdam from the mediaeval city of
Vianen, which lies just south of Utrecht. Vianen belonged to the family Lippe Detmold,
the forefathers of H.R.H. Prince Bernhard. It was a sovereign enclave and the reigning
family Lippe followed an independent foreign policy. To the annoyance of the Govern
ment of Holland they declared for instance Vianen neutral in a treaty with Louis XIV
during the French-Dutch war. In the 18th century Holland bought Vianen from the
Lippes and shortly after the van Hall family decided to move to Amsterdam.
During the 17th and 18th centuries the office of Lord Mayor of Amsterdam was a
most attractive one. The Lord Mayor collected all taxes and put these into his private
treasury. He would spend as little as possible on the city and divided the balance
between his family and friends. To become Lord Mayor was equivalent to become
a millionaire.
Alas for Dr. G. van Hall times have changed and he must live now on a modest
government salary, and, by the way, the office of Lord Mayor is not an honorary one
in Holland, but a very exacting job. However, Dr. van Hall must blame also his own
family for this deplorable decrease of income. His own great-great-grandfather, M. C.
van Hall, whose portrait you can observe in the upper hall of the mansion house, was
one of the leaders of the revolution of 1795, which brought the golden days of the
Regents to an end. The older brother of the above M C., Adriaan van Hall, displayed
after the revolution extraordinary activities. He became a privateer and buccaneer. In
1803 he equipped 8 small warships and challenged the British Navy. He appointed a
Frenchman called Jean Saint Faust, admiral of his little fleet. He himself - and this
speaks for the prudence and wisdom of the family - remained in Amsterdam, where
he was deacon of the church, director of the city-bank and member of the city-council.
Although Adriaan van Hall has been granted a letter of marque to capture Bri'tish
merchant-vessels only, his bold admiral seized in Dutch territorial waters ships be
longing to Amsterdam merchants and bound for Amsterdam, which irritated not only
the merchants, but also his own family. He often had to fight British warships, as for
instance on 3rd March 1804, when Saint Faust attacked with three of his ships the
British frigate "Amethes". During the running battle of three hours the frigate fired
1144 pounds of cannon-balls and the joint privateers 368 pounds. All vessels were so
damaged that they could not capture each other, and the "Amethes" made off to
England. The British commander was captain Campbell.
The writer has for a special reason read with joy the historical account of firing the
cannon-balls at captain Campbell, because his grandmother's name is Emily Mac-
Donnell, a grandmother he shares with the member of the board of the Haarlem
Branch, Mrs. van Marle-de Booy.
It may be told that the parents of Emily, Hercules Graves MacDonnell and Emily
Anne Moylan, both Irish, were the very first couple to elope by railway from London
to Gretna Green. This happened in 1 842 and the Times wrote two articles about the
event. The irate father of the bride had no chance to overtake the couple! Fast horses
were to no avail.
Mrs. van Marie and the writer still remember vividly the treason and the slaugh
tering of hundreds of members of the MacDonnald Clan by the Campbells. However,
from now on we shall let bygones be bygones. It is highly probable that there are
Campbells amongst the Dickens fellows and we will not permit the unfortunate incident
to mar our good fellowship.
M. C. VAN HALL
(Hon. treasurer of the Haarlem Branch)
With this number goes the sub
stance of to-day's solace:
If you are married, Madam, to
some ghastly ghoul
like Ouilp or Fagin, donot weep or
rant or howl,
nor take a cudgel to beat out his
sordid brains;
take Pickwick tea and save your
temper and your soul.
IF you take a map of Amsterdam and
stick a pin blind-folded, you will be sure
to hit upon a canal. One could be sur
prised at finding so many canals in such
an important town, but they were a neces
sity as means of transport of goods and
merchandise in times past.
To savour the full charm of an excur
sion by boat on the canals of Amsterdam,
it should be done on a day of mild drizzle.
Then the patrician houses on the water
will look unreal and hazy in the damp
atmosphere and very tempting to the vis
itor, longing to enter and discover the
secret life behind it. When you step inside,
you will lose the feeling of the present and
breathe the atmosphere of another age.
This atmosphere is one of prosperous
repose and subdued display of wealth. The
inhabitants were commercial aristocrats
who had known prosperity for several
generations, a wealth acquired by adven
turous merchants and shipowners, who
had sent their ships to distant shores from
which many did not return. Those who
did, however, brought a treasure of spices,
silks and precious woods. These were then
converted into luxury at exorbitant prof
its. Thus grew the wealth which enabled
them to build their attractive homes and
decorate them in good taste.
One can picture the meticulously and
rather uncomfortably robed mistress of
the house sitting at the window of one
of these mansions. Her house-wifely duties
done, she grants herself a moment's re
pose. Her feet rest on a copper foot-stool,
heated by glowing charcoal. Peering into
the spying mirror which enables her to
see along the quay bordering the canal,
she accepts the salutations of her social
equals and reports to her husband what
merchandise passes on the barges to the
ware-houses of friends and competitors.
When the canals are frozen, a different
picture presents itself to our lady at the
window, colourful citizens disport them-
o KoT h-
i V
MAP OF
Showing the chief places
mentioned in the text
Scale of Miles
O 10 20 30 -to 50 60
map of england holland
Showing their relative position and
tht chief cross-Channel routes
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