Jacqueline of the Carrier Pigeons | Page 3

Voorhaas from Jacqueline and Gysbert." This he wrapped about the leg
of the bird and tied it with a string. "Now, let him go!" he cried.
Jacqueline stood up, lifted the bird in both hands, and with a swift
upward movement, launched him into the air. The pigeon circled round
and round for a moment, then mounted up into the sky with a curious
spiral flight. When it was many feet above the children it suddenly
changed its tactics, spread its wings taut, and made straight in the
direction of Saint Pancras spire and Belfry Lane.
"Bravo! bravo!" they cried, watching intently till its sun-gilded wings
had all but faded from sight. "'William of Orange' is a true carrier
pigeon! Now for the rest!"
One after another they released the three remaining birds to whom they
had given the names 'Count Louis' and 'Count John' after the great
William of Nassau's two favorite brothers, and lastly 'Admiral Boisot.'
It seemed to be a fancy of the children to call their pets after their
famous generals and naval commanders.
"These are the finest pigeons we have raised," remarked Jacqueline as
she shaded her eyes to watch their flight. "None of the others can
compare with them, though all are good."
"Now we have twenty," added Gysbert, "and all have proved that they
have the very best training. No pigeons in the city are like ours, not
even old Jan Van Buskirk's. When shall we begin to hire them out as
messengers, Jacqueline?"
"Perhaps there will be an opportunity soon," answered the girl. "Now
that our city is no longer besieged we may have to bide our time. But
no one can tell what will happen next in these days. We must wait,
Gysbert."
"Come, come! let us be going," said her brother restlessly, "and see if

they all get back safely, and whether 'William of Orange' was first."
"No, let us stay awhile," replied Jacqueline. "It is pleasant and cool up
here, and the afternoon is long. Vrouw Voorhaas will let the birds in,
and tell us all about when they arrived. We may as well enjoy the day."
She reseated herself and gazed off toward the blue line of the ocean,
shut out from the land by a series of dykes whose erection represented
years of almost incredible labor. The river Rhine making its way
sluggishly to the sea, - a very different Rhine from that of its earlier
course through Germany, - was almost choked off by the huge sand
dunes through which it forced its discouraged path. The girl's
thoughtful mood was infectious, and Gysbert, after rambling about idly
for a time, came and settled himself at her side.
"'Tis a strange hill, this, is it not, Jacqueline, to be rising right in the
middle of a city like Leyden? Why, there is nothing like it for miles
upon miles in this flat country! How came it here, I wonder?"
"Father used to tell me," said the girl, "that some think it was the work
of the Romans when they occupied the land many centuries ago, while
more declare that it was raised by the Anglo-Saxon conqueror Hengist.
That is why it is called 'Hengist Hill.'"
"How different it would have been for us if father had lived!"
exclaimed Gysbert, suddenly changing the subject. "It seems so long
ago, and I was so young that I do not remember much about him. Tell
me what thou knowest, Jacqueline. Thou art older and must remember
him better."
"Yes, I was eleven," said Jacqueline with a dreamy look in her eyes,
"and thou wast only eight, when he went away and we never saw him
again. We had always lived in the city of Louvain, and father was a
professor of medicine in the big university there. Mother died when
thou wast but a little baby. I can just remember her as tall and pale and
golden-haired, and very gentle. Good Vrouw Voorhaas always kept
house for us, and we had a big house then, - a grand house, - and many
servants.

"Father was so loving and so kind! He used to take me on his knee and
tell me many tales of Holland and the former days. I liked best those
about the beautiful Countess Jacqueline of Bavaria, after whom he said
I was named, and of how good and beloved she was, and how much she
suffered for her people.
"Then came the day when he disappeared - no one knew how or where
for a while - till the news reached Vrouw Voorhaas that he had been
captured by the cruel Duke of Alva and put to death. It was at the same
time that the young Count de Buren, the eldest son of our great William
of