Journal of Jasper Danckaerts, 1679-1680 Part 24

I must here mention another word about Boston, which is, that I have never been in a place where more was said about witchcraft and witches. From time to time persons had been put in prison, and executed; and a woman was in prison and condemned to die, when we left there.[462] Very strange things were told of her, but I will not repeat them here.

[Footnote 462: On May 20, 1680, Elizabeth Morse, wife of William Morse, of Newbury, was indicted and tried in Boston, for practising witchcraft upon her own husband. She was convicted and sentenced to be hanged; and was in prison at Boston, at the time our journalist was there, awaiting her execution. It is, undoubtedly, her case to which he refers. She was, however, released in 1681.]

_22d, Sunday._ I went into the Dutch church, where a young man who was a Cocceian preached.[463] In the afternoon we went to the French church, and in going there pa.s.sed by a large gate, through which many people were entering into a great hall. We looked in, and when we saw they were Quakers, walked quickly away, and went into the French church, whose congregation is much larger, and its church much smaller than the Dutch church--so small indeed, that they could not all get in. When therefore the Lord's Supper was administered, they used the Dutch church, and the Dutch preached then in the French church, as they are not far apart. But as the French church was especially for the French, we went out, my comrade for the purpose of inquiring after Mr. Owins, and I to go to the Dutch church again, where another Cocceian preached well enough. I saw there the envoy from Holland, a Zeelander, whom I knew, with his family;[464] but he did not know me.

[Footnote 463: In 1550 Edward VI. gave the church of the Augustinians (Austin Friars) to the Dutch Protestants in London, and the neighboring church of St. Anthony's Hospital in Threadneedle Street to the Walloons. Both were destroyed in the Great Fire, but had now been rebuilt. The Dutch church had two ministers. The habit of interchange between the two churches, mentioned below, prevailed in Pepys's time, and was still maintained as late as 1775.]

[Footnote 464: Dirk van Leiden van Leeuwen (1618-1682), burgomaster of Leyden, but born at Briel, in Zeeland.]

_23d, Monday._ It was said we were to leave to-day, but we saw it would not be the case. The captain, with whom we were to go, was one Douwe Hobbes of Makk.u.m, who brings birds over from Friesland every year for the king. There was a boat lying there ready to leave for Rotterdam, but it seems they intended to go in company.

_24th, Tuesday._ No departure to-day either. While we were at the Exchange, there was a great crowd of people in the street. We saw and heard two trumpeters, followed by a company of cavalry dressed in red, then a chariot drawn by six horses, in which was the Duke of York.

Then came some chariots of the n.o.bility, and the Prince Palatine,[465]

with several chariots, and two trumpeters in the rear.

[Footnote 465: This was the electoral prince Karl (1651-1685), afterward (August, 1680-1685) the elector Karl II., son of Karl Ludwig, grandson of Frederick V. and Elizabeth, and great-grandson of James I. of England. He had been sent to England by his father in a vain endeavor to persuade the latter's cousin, Charles II., to relieve the Palatinate by taking action against Louis XIV. An entertaining account, by his tutor, of their visit in 1670 to his aunt at Herford and to the Labadists, may be found in Miss Una Birch's _Anna Maria van Schurman_ (London, 1909), pp. 168 _et seq._]

_25th, Wednesday._ Could not sail yet, but the Rotterdammer sailed with thirty pa.s.sengers, with little or no freight. In going down she broke the bowsprit of our ship. Mr. Ouwen left us in her, after we had taken leave of him.

_26th, Thursday._ Heard early this morning our ship was going down the river, for she lay opposite our room; we immediately hurried ourselves. It was very uncivil in the mate, for the captain was still in the city, and would go to Gravesend. We took a wherry and went after her, as she had not gone far in consequence of the mist and lightness of the wind. We drifted to-day scarcely outside of the ships.

_27th, Friday._ It was misty and calm. We therefore did not go as far as the current would have carried us. We had to come to anchor in consequence of the mist, in order not to drift against the ships, or upon the shoal.

_28th, Sat.u.r.day._ We drifted and clawed along until we came to anchor before Gravesend, as the Rotterdammer did an hour or two afterwards.

Owins, who was not very well accommodated, called out to us as we pa.s.sed, and asked if we would not go ash.o.r.e with him. We declined, for we could not have wished to have been better accommodated, as we two had a large, fine cabin to ourselves.

_29th, Sunday._ When we took our goods out of the ship at London, we let our trunks be examined, but there was nothing inspected. We gave the inspectors a penny and they were satisfied. Our skipper arrived now at Gravesend in the night, and had everything made ready for the inspectors. We had ourselves ready for their arrival. They came on board about eight o'clock, but they looked once only in the hatches without asking anything, and went away again. We went ash.o.r.e in the forenoon and dined there. We had been to London, and the captain said we should eat the ship's ordinary fare, which seemed now to us princely fare. However, as he was most of the time drunk when on sh.o.r.e, he had given it no consideration. We went through Gravesend to look at it, but it does not signify much--it is more foul and dirty in name than in fact. We also went out into the country a little, which pleased us best. I have never seen anywhere so many blackberries, which were now ripe. The ebb tide having come, we got under sail yet before evening, the wind being good, but it did not continue so long.

Opposite Gravesend there is a strong castle well fortified, and another one of less importance on the lower side. Whenever ships pa.s.s up or down, they must strike [the flag] here in going between the two fortifications.[466] We arrived at evening before the river of Chatham, where we anch.o.r.ed.

[Footnote 466: Tilbury Fort on the north side of the Thames, opposite Gravesend, and probably Shorne Battery on the south side. The "river of Chatham" is of course the Medway, where Admiral de Ruyter in 1660 had burned King Charles's ships.]

_30th, Monday._ The wind was easterly and light. We scratched along as far as to get in the King's Channel, as also did the Rotterdammer, which sailed down with us.

OCTOBER _1st, Tuesday._ The wind as before; we therefore tacked with the tide before the Naze,[467] intending to run into Harwich, both for the purpose of waiting for a good wind, and to buy a store of provision which the skipper through his drunkenness had forgotten. The Rotterdammer, which had not kept along the sh.o.r.e with us, but had continued through the King's Channel, finding no good harbor there, returned again to Chatham, in order, as the wind continued south southeast, to go out along the south sh.o.r.e, and thus we separated.

[Footnote 467: The easternmost point of the Ess.e.x coast, just south of Harwich.]

_2d, Wednesday._ The wind still easterly. We therefore made several tacks, and ran into Harwich; a miserably poor little fort stands on the east point of the bay, yet you must strike your flag as you sail by it. The bay is large and suitable to harbor a great number of ships. The town is on the west side, pa.s.sing which, a small river runs up into the land. We anch.o.r.ed about ten o'clock in the morning. We went ash.o.r.e and dined, and I then, in company with some others, walked out of town; but my comrade returned, having concluded to cross over in the packet boat, and went to inquire about it. When I returned he told me it would leave that evening, and would save much time. He spoke to our skipper, who was not willing to release us without our paying him the whole pa.s.sage money, namely two ducatoons apiece. Many words pa.s.sed and hard enough they were on both sides, in which the skipper was very impertinent, yet not altogether in the wrong. We went aboard, and his pa.s.sion having subsided, we satisfied him with two ducats,[468] and took our goods to the packet boat. We went ash.o.r.e to enter our names, according to the custom; my comrade giving his acknowledged name, I was compelled to do the same. We paid twelve shillings and sixpence each. We went into another room to take fresh leave of our captain and mate, when there came a scoundrel to take down our names and examine our goods, as he said, and we were compelled to give the same names again, in order that they might agree with those given before; but he was a swindler and obtained from each of us another shilling, for he did not go on board to examine, although he could perhaps do so; we went quickly on board to look after our property. It was about nine o'clock at night when we started; but as it was so calm we came outside without casting anchor, having a full moon and delightful weather. A sand reef stretches out into the sea from the before-mentioned little fort, inside of which the water is the deepest, being three and four fathoms at low water.

It is shallowest in the middle, and level towards the west sh.o.r.e, having two fathoms of water or less. There are two lights in the town, which you bring in range, in order to sail in or out. The highest light stands most inside, and when that comes west of the lowest you are west of the gate or channel; and when it is east, you are east of the channel, and are on, or east of the reef.

[Footnote 468: Say four dollars instead of five.]

_3d, Thursday._ The wind east-southeast, and we therefore sailed along the sh.o.r.e past Orfordness[469] into the sea. The course thence to the Maes is east by south, but we sailed for the most part east, and sometimes east by north. I thought our Friesland smack was at sea before evening, for the wind was better for her than for us, as the course from Orfordness to the Texel is east-northeast, which was a due side wind. It was also better for the Rotterdammer.

[Footnote 469: A point on the Suffolk coast, some dozen miles northeast of Harwich.]

_4th, Friday._ The wind east-southeast and east by south, but still.

We continued our course easterly, and sometimes a little more northerly. We threw the deep lead and had 18 fathoms of water. The lat.i.tude at noon was 52 25'. I warned them that we were too low, and would come before Schevelingh.[470] This packet was so full of fleas that it was impossible for me to sleep. Every pa.s.senger who desired a berth had to pay five shillings for it, but we did not. There was such a hard rain in the night, accompanied by thunder and lightning, that we could not keep dry in the vessel below, for it leaked there as if it were open, or not much better. We had an English minister on board, who had been called to the English church at Rotterdam. He lay and prayed, and groaned, as hard and loud as if he would die of fear.[471]

The wind shifting to the southwest we held it close.

[Footnote 470: Now Scheveningen, a famous watering-place near the Hague.]

[Footnote 471: The Rev. John Spademan, of Swayton, in Lincolnshire, was called to the English Presbyterian church at Rotterdam, as successor to Mr. Maden, who died in June, 1680.]

_5th, Sat.u.r.day._ When day came, and it had cleared up somewhat, we saw at nine o'clock the tower of Schevelingh directly east, or in front of us, and half an hour afterwards that of Gravesend[472] to the leeward, whereupon we were compelled to beat, in order to bring into the Maes, which we continued to do the whole day till midnight, before we reached Briel. Coming to the pier there, most of the pa.s.sengers left for Maa.s.sluis, so as not to wait, but we could not do so on account of our goods.

[Footnote 472: Gravesande lay some distance to the north of the mouth of the Maas, Briel at the south side of its main mouth, Maasluis a few miles up the river, on its northern bank.]

_6th, Sunday._ As soon as it was day we put our goods on board the Rotterdam ferry-boat, which was to leave about nine o'clock. In the meanwhile we went to look about the place, and in the church, where a Cocceian preaches. After breakfast we went on board, but it was ten o'clock before we got off. We had to beat as far as Schiedam, where some royal yachts were lying, which had sailed with us from Gravesend, and had brought over the Prince Palatine, who had gone on to the Hague.[473] We were delayed somewhat here, in consequence of transferring some persons into another boat. We reached Rotterdam about two o'clock, and were informed that no boat carrying goods left for Amsterdam on Sundays; but that one left Delft at six o'clock, and we had time enough to go there. We left our goods on board the ca.n.a.l-boat for Delft, and started at three o'clock for that city, where we arrived at five, and learned that we had been misinformed, and that the boat from Delft to Amsterdam left daily at four o'clock.

We had to go and lodge in a tavern for twenty-four hours. We went to church.

[Footnote 473: See p. 291, note 2.]

_7th, Monday._ In order not to be all day at Delft, we walked on to the Hague, and pa.s.sed by the house of Sister d'Owerk.[474] I asked my comrade whether I should not inquire after our friends, and if perchance any of them were at the Hague; but he would not consent. We returned to Delft at two o'clock, and after dinner left at four for Amsterdam.

[Footnote 474: Mr. Murphy says, "my sister d'Owerk." But the French phrase here used, "ma seur d'Owerk," means sister in the religious sense. The lady designated is one of whom Penn speaks in his account of his tour in Germany and Holland in 1677. Reaching the Hague, "The first thing we did there, was to enquire out the Lady Overkirk, a Person of a Retired and Religious Character, separated from the publick worship of that Country" ... "Sister of the Somerd.y.k.es."

_Works_ (ed. 1726), I. 108, 107. By birth she was Isabella van Sommelsdyk. Her husband, Hendrik van Na.s.sau, lord of Ouwerkerk, was captain of the body-guard of William III., later in England his master of the horse, and for thirty years his faithful follower and intimate.]

_8th, Tuesday._ Having pa.s.sed through the night as best we could, we arrived at five o'clock in the morning before the gate of Amsterdam, which was opened at six, and we were admitted. We went close by the house of M. Bardewits,[475] where I was again inclined to go in, but my comrade not approving of it at the Hague, I abandoned the idea. We put up at the inn where we lodged before our departure, and had our goods brought there, paying five shillings freight for our goods alone. We separated in order to do our business as speedily as possible. I went to deliver all the letters, and my comrade to sell the amber. We met on the Exchange at noon. When I had delivered my letters, I went to the boat for Sneek,[476] to inquire how it was at the House,[477] and when she would sail. They would leave on Thursday evening; and all went well at the House as far as they knew. My comrade, who had also made inquiries, brought the same word. He told me also how he had succeeded with the amber; that it was all spurious, and was worth nothing. He therefore had determined to send it back again just as we had received it. We went in the afternoon to perform some errands for the woman with whom we had lodged at New York, delivering two beaver skins to her husband's daughter.[478] And with this we consumed the day.

[Footnote 475: See p. 7, note 3.]

[Footnote 476: In Friesland, near Wieuwerd.]

[Footnote 477: The house of the Labadists at Wieuwerd.]

[Footnote 478: See p. 190, for this daughter of Jacob h.e.l.lekers by his first wife.]

_9th, Wednesday._ This was a day of public prayer. We had nothing more to do except to buy a large Bible for Mr. Ephraim Hermans, according to our promise, with his spermaceti, which we did. It cost us twenty-eight guilders, because it was the last one of Ravesteyn's edition.[479] There was a new edition in press at the Fish Market, at the place where we bought this one, upon the point of the gate as you go to the Post Office. We put it on board of the ship of which Jan Gorter was captain and which would leave in a month's time, and addressed it to Mr. Arnout de la Grange, to whom we also sent the amber with directions what to do with them. My comrade wrote to Ephraim, and also to Annetie Versluis.

[Footnote 479: The heirs of Paulus van Ravesteyn of Amsterdam had published in 1670 an octavo edition of the States-General ("authorized") Dutch version of the Bible. In 1680 another, Remonstrant, version was published in the same city.]

_10th, Thursday._ We had our goods in good time in the boat. My comrade had also a basket with distilling gla.s.ses (retorts) in it, which he had bought. I went to Joannis van Ceulen, mathematician, who had made a new sea-atlas, a copy of which he had sent to the king of England, and also to the king of France.[480] It is a beautiful work; but he was surprised, after having corrected it so much as he had, that I should point out to him several errors. I endeavored to obtain a chart of Maryland, from Augustine Herman's draught, but could not find it here; nor could I in England.[481] At four o'clock we went on board of the boat. The wind was light and contrary, so we only drifted along. It was good weather. Our hearts gave thanks to G.o.d when we reflected through what ways He had conducted us, and how fatherly He had preserved us, and brought us here. There sprang up a breeze in the night, so that,

_11th, Friday_, in the morning, we pa.s.sed by Urck,[482] and arrived at the Lemmer, where our goods were examined; but we had nothing to pay, and went on. It was so calm, with the wind contrary, that it was midnight before we arrived at Sneek. It was very dark and rainy, and we were fearful we could not find the way, else we should have gone to the House in the night.

[Footnote 480: _Grand Nouvel Atlas de la Mer_ (Amsterdam, 1680), by Johannes van Keulen.]

[Footnote 481: See p. 114, note 2.]

[Footnote 482: A small island in the Zuyder Zee. Lemmer is a village on the Friesland sh.o.r.e, from which one would go up by ca.n.a.l to Sneek, and so on to Wieuwerd.]

_12th, Sat.u.r.day._ Having given directions to our skipper, how he should send our goods after us, and having paid him, we went to speak to the boatman, who was to take the goods. It was about seven or half-past seven o'clock when we left Sneek on foot. After going some distance on our way, we pa.s.sed through Bosum; and about ten o'clock reached our house, where all arms and hearts were open to receive us, which they did with affection and tenderness, in the love of the Lord, who had been with those who had remained at home, and us who had travelled, all now brought together, and united by His mercy. To Him be the power, and wisdom, and honor, and glory to all eternity.

Amen.