Dreams, Waking Thoughts, and Incidents | Page 9

retain
their natural luxuriance, and form some of the most picturesque groups
conceivable. In some places their straight boles rise sixty feet without a
bough; in others, they are bent fantastically over the alleys, which turn
and wind about just as a painter would desire. I followed them with
eagerness and curiosity, sometimes deviating from my path amongst
tufts of fern and herbage.
In these cool retreats I could not believe myself near canals and
windmills; the Dutch formalities were all forgotten whilst
contemplating the broad masses of foliage above, and the wild flowers
and grasses below. Several hares and rabbits scudded by me while I sat;

and the birds were chirping their evening song. Their preservation does
credit to the police of the country, which is so exact and well regulated
as to suffer no outrage within the precincts of this extensive wood, the
depth and thickness of which seem calculated to favour half the sins of
a capital.
Relying upon this comfortable security, I lingered unmolested amongst
the beeches till the ruddy gold of the setting sun ceased to glow on their
foliage; then taking the nearest path, I suffered myself, though not
without regret, to be conducted out of this fresh sylvan scene to the
dusty, pompous parterres of the Greffier Fagel. Every flower that
wealth can purchase diffuses its perfume on one side; whilst every
stench a canal can exhale, poisons the air on the other. These sluggish
puddles defy all the power of the United Provinces, and retain the
freedom of stinking in spite of their endeavours: but perhaps I am too
bold in my assertion; for I have no authority to mention any attempts to
purify these noxious pools. Who knows but their odour is congenial to
a Dutch constitution? One should be inclined to this supposition by the
numerous banqueting-rooms and pleasure-houses which hang directly
above their surface, and seem calculated on purpose to enjoy them. If
frogs were not excluded from the magistrature of their country (and I
cannot but think it a little hard that they are), one should not wonder at
this choice. Such burgomasters might erect their pavilions in such
situations. But, after all, I am not greatly surprised at the fishiness of
their site, since very slight authority would persuade me there was a
period when Holland was all water, and the ancestors of the present
inhabitants fish. A certain oysterishness of eye and flabbiness of
complexion are almost proofs sufficient of this aquatic descent: and
pray tell me for what purpose are such galligaskins as the Dutch
burthen themselves with contrived, but to tuck up a flouncing tail, and
thus cloak the deformity of their dolphin-like terminations?
Having done penance for some time in the damp alleys which line the
borders of these lazy waters, I was led through corkscrew sand-walks to
a vast flat, sparingly scattered over with vegetation. To puzzle myself
in such a labyrinth there was no temptation, so taking advantage of the
lateness of the hour, and muttering a few complimentary promises of

returning at the first opportunity, I escaped the ennui of this endless
scrubbery, and got home, with the determination of being wiser and
less curious if ever my stars should bring me again to the Hague.
To-morrow I bid it adieu, and if the horses but second my endeavours,
shall be delivered in a few days from the complicated plagues of the
United Provinces.

LETTER V

HAERLEM, July 1st.
The sky was clear and blue when we left the Hague, and we travelled
along a shady road for about an hour, then down sunk the carriage into
a sand-bed, and we were dragged along so slowly that I fell into a
profound repose. How long it lasted is not material; but when I awoke,
we were rumbling through Leyden. There is no need to write a syllable
in honour of this illustrious city: its praises have already been sung and
said by fifty professors, who have declaimed in its university, and
smoked in its gardens. So let us get out of it as fast as we can, and
breathe the cool air of the wood near Haerlem, where we arrived just as
day declined. Hay was making in the fields, and perfumed the country
far and wide with its reviving fragrance. I promised myself a pleasant
walk in the groves, took up Gesner, and began to have pretty pastoral
ideas; but when I approached the nymphs that were dispersed on the
meads, and saw faces that would have dishonoured a flounder, and
heard accents that would have confounded a hog, all my dislike to the
walking filth of the Low Countries returned. I let fall the garlands I had
wreathed for the shepherds; we jumped into the carriage, and were