ut rij fHcfttuemn a n Betas O, 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 1 10HS0H -AMSTI MAM A HAtJVIOl - TB E >100(0 I I0JJD0H - HOTTiRIJDA s lOJNtuwH - OOU-f-JOHT aitAWnn-THgiMll 6 DOVSX. OSTIND 7 sovtï.- Cyitnl»

Krantenviewer Noord-Hollands Archief

The Dutch Dickensian | 1959 | | pagina 1