TheBlackTulip 10090036 PDF

IN T RO D U C T O RY N O T E .
T H E 2 0 th of A u g u s t 1 6 7 2 , w a s b y n o m e a n s th e rs t
,
oc ca s ion o n w h i ch th e D u t ch h ad d e mo ns tr at e d th e i r
cla im t o the v e r y hig h e s t r a nk a mo ng u ng ra t e fu l
p e op le s
.
Wi t n e ss the p a th e t i c g ur e of the Gre a t
t h e r s t Wi ll i a m o f O r ang e g h t i ng

D el iv e r e r, ,
a l m os t s i n le h a n d e d t h e Wh o le m i h t
g y p ow e r o f
-
g
P hi lip I I .a n d s t an d i n g al on e
, a m i d t he j e al o u s
e nv
y o f t h os e wh o s e r e le a s e f ro m a h a t e fu l g a ll ,
ing d e s p o t i s m w a s h is o n ly pu rp o s e in l i f e He .
fo u n d e d t he D u t ch R e pub l i c in sp ite of his f ell o w

co u n tr m e n ra t h e r t h a n in con ce r t w i t h t h e m ; a n d
y ,
it w as n ot u n t i l t he h an d of the p a i d a s sa s s i n
s t r u ck him d own t h at t h e y k n e w how t r u l y h e
h a d b e e n th e Fa t h e r Wi ll i a m o f t h e m a n d t h e i r

cou n try .
Wh o t h at ha s read in M o t l e y s e ngross i n g
p ag e s the s t o ry of Joh n of O l d e n B a rn e v el d t has -
n o t b e e n l o s t in w o n d e r (an d in d i s g u s t ) a t th e
b l in d u n r e a s on i ng s pi r i t of j ealo u s y a n d d i s tr u s t
, ,
vi I NTRO D UCTORY NOTE .
whi ch p e rs i s t en t ly t h w ar t e d th e e arn e st d e v o t e d
, ,
s i n g le h ear t e d e ff or t s o f th at g rea t s o u le d m a n w hi ch
- -
,
a ccu s e d him of all men on ear th of trea ch e r y an d

, ,
s ub s e rvi e n cy t o t he e n e m i e s of t he Re pub l i c an d ,
whi ch nal l y i n fl i ct e d up on h im t he m o s t s h a me f u l
of al l d e a t h s , d e a t h up o n the g all ows ?
The fa t e of O ld e n B arn e v e l dt e mph a s iz e s mo re
.
-
,
s tr ong l y th a n a ny o t h e r s i n g l e c i rcu ms ta n ce t h at ,
ch a r a ct e ri s t i c of t he D u t ch whi ch has al w ay s ma d e
,
it imp o s s ib le for t h e m to r ea p t he fu ll b e n e t of t he
le s s ons whi ch t h ey h a v e t a ugh t t o o th e r n a t ions by
t h e i r p e r s is t e n t s e l f s acri cing h er oi s m
,
-
.
The la t e r exempli cat ion of th e s ame ch ara ct e r

istic in the s ce n e d e scr ib e d i n t he op e n i ng ch a p t e rs

of The B la ck Tu l ip w a s o n ly the l e s s s tr ik i ng

in so far as the s e rvi ce s o f t he D e Witt s t o the

Re pub l i c ha d b ee n le ss e min e n t a n d n o t e w o rth y

th an t h os e of B a r n e v el d t wh o s e lot it wa s t o liv e
,
a t a m ore m o men t o u s e p o c h .
As in the ea rl i er p e r i o d th e g r ea t Pe ns i o nary f el l
a vict i m to the ma chi n at i on s of Pri nce M a uri ce of
O r a ng e or of t h o se w h o u s e d his re v e r e d n a m e
,
as a c l oak for t h e i r d e s i n s w hi l e t h e y s c a t t e r e d
g ,
b roa d ca s t the ch arg e t h a t B a rn e v e l dt wa s e ng age d

in s e cre t an d tra i t or o u s n e g o t i a t i o ns wi th S p a i n ,
th a t is t o s ay W i th th e p o w e r ag a in s t whi ch his
.
, ,
wh ole l i fe was one long t ir e le ss s truggle : s o we re

I N TRO D U CTORY N OTE .
th e D e Wi tts a r i ce d
s c t o t he y ou t h fu l am
bit ion
of an o t h e r Pri n c e of O r an g e wh o a ll owe d hi ms e l f
,
to be m a d e t he t o ol o f t h e e n vi ou s d e tractors of
t he p a tri o t ic b r o t h e r s so far a s t o g iv e at lea s t
,
hi s s i lent a s s e n t t o t he pi t il e ss p e rs e cu t i on whic h
e nd e d s o fat all y . Th e s ub s e q u e nt caree r of thi s

pr i n ce up on th e Eng lis h t hron e did mu ch t o e ace

t hi s b l ot up o n his f a m e .
T he p a s s ion a te f on dn e s s of t hi s same p e op l e for

the p ea ce ful a rt of oricult ure a n d t he h i s t or i ca l
H a r le m t ulip cra z e f u rn i s h e d M D u mas wit h a.
cong en i a l th e m e w hi ch
, i n t e rwov e n w i th the i nci
,
d e nt of t he d e p os i t w i t h t h e inn oce nt t u l ip fa nci e r-
of t he Grand P e n s i on ar y s corr e s p on d e n ce wi t h the

awe i ns pi ri ng Co u rt of F ra nc e
- w as w orke d ov e r
,
by the match le s s s t ory t e lle r i n to the romance of

-

The B la ck Tul ip .
LIST O F CH ARACTERS .
P e r i o d , 1 87 2 1 6 7 5 .
W ILL IAM PRIN CE o r O RAN GE afterward William III King of

, , .
England .
L O UIS XIV K i ng of France

.
, .
CORNE LIU S D E Wrr r inspector of dikes at the Hague , .
JOH N D E WIr r his brother Grand Pensionary of Holland

' '
, , .
CO L ONE L V AN D E K E N aide-de-camp to Willia m of Orange , .
D R C ORNE L IU S VAN BAE RL E a tulip fancier godson of Cornelius

.
,
-
,
de Witt .
M YNH EE R IsAAc BO XT EL his rival , .
MAR! UIS DE L ouvors .
CO UN T TILL Y Captai n of the Cavalry of the Hague

, .
MYNRRE R BOWRLr '

,
deputies .
MYN H E E R D AS PEREN '

,
TH E RE CORD E R OF TH E STATE S .
M ASTE R VAN SPENS E R a mag istrate at Dort

.
,
.
TY CK AL AEB a surgeon at the Hague

, .
GER ARD Dow .
N I NB E RE V AN SYSTENS Burg omaster of Harlem and President ,
of its Horticult ural S ociety .
CRARRR condential se rvant of John de Witt

, .
C a r r a us a j ail er
,
.
Ros a his daug hter in love with Corneli us van B aerle

, , .
CO N T ENT S .
A GRATEFUL PE OP L E
T H E Two B ROT H E RS
T HE PU PIL O F J O HN D E WIT T
THE M U RD E RE RS
TH E T U LIP-FAN GI EB AND H IS NE IGH ROR
-
.
THE H ATRE D O F A TU LI r FAN CIE R

-
TH E HAPPY MAN M AK E S A C! U AINTAN CE WITH

MISFO RT UNE
AN I N VAS ION
TH E FAM ILY CE LL
T HE JAI LE R S DAU GH TE R

CORNEL IU S VAN BAE RL E S WIL L

TH E EXE CU TIO N
WH AT WAS GOIN G ON ALL TH IS TIME
MIN D or O N E or TH E SPE CTATO RS
THE P IGE ON S or D O RT
TH E L I TTLE G RATE D WI N D OW
MASTE R AND P U PIL
TH E FIRS T B U L B
ROSA S L O VE R

TH E MAI D AND TH E FLO WE R

CO N TENTS .
C HAPT ER P AGE
WH AT H AD TAKE N PL ACE D UR IN G S
TH O E
EI G H T D A YS
TH E S E CO N D BU LB
TH E BL O O M I N G OF T H E FLOWE R
TH E EN VIO US M AN
I N WH I CH TH E BL ACK TU LIP CH AN GE S
TE RS
PRE S IDE N T VAN S Y STE N S
A M E MB E R O F T H E HO RT IC U LT URAL SO CIE T Y
'
TH E TH IR D B U L B
TH E S ON G O F T H E FLO WE RS
I N WH I CH VAN B AE RL E B E FO RE LE AVI N G
,
L CEWESTEIN SE TTLE S ACCOU N TS WITH

,
GRY PH U S
WH ERE IN T H E READ E R B E GIN S To H A EV AN
I N K LIN G or TH E KI ND or P U N I SH ME N T
T H AT WAS I
AWA TI N G C O RNEL IUS VAN
BAE RLE
HAR LE M
A L A ST R E ! U E ST .
CON CLUSION
TH E BLACK TU LIP .
CHAPT E R I .
A R
G ATE FU L P
P EO L E .
ON the 2 0 th of A u gust 1 6 7 2 the city o f the Hague

, , ,
whose stree ts were ordinari ly s o neat and trim , and w ithal

s o tranqu i l that every day seemed like S unday the city
of the Hague w ith its shady park , its no b le trees reach
,
ing o ut over the roofs of the Gothic dwellings and its ,
broad canals s o calm an d smooth that they resem b led

mam moth m irrors w herein were reected it s myriad of
,
church -towers whose graceful shapes recalled some city

,
O f the Orient, the city of the Hague the capital of the ,
Seven U nited Provinces sa w all its arteries swollen to

,
bursting wi th a black and red flood of impetuous breath ,
less eager citizens Who with knives in their belts mus

, , ,
kets on their shoulders, or clubs in their hands, were

hurrying on towar d the B uyt e nhof, a redoubtab le prison ,
whose grated w indow s still frown on the beholder where ,
Cornelius de Witt brother of the former Grand Pen

,
s iona ry of H olland was languishing in con nement, on

,
a charge of attempted murder preferred against him by

the su rg eon Ty ckelaer .
2 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .
If the history of that time and especially of the year

in the middle of which our narrative commences were
not indissolubly connected w ith the two names j ust men
t io ne d the fe w explanatory pages w hich follow m ight
,
appear quite supererogatory b ut we must rst warn our

old friend the indulgent reader whom it is our invariable
, ,
custom on the rst page to promise to entertain and to ,
whom we do our best to redeem our promise in the s ub

sequent pages that this explanation is as indispensable
,
to the right understanding of our t a le as to that O f the

great event itself on which it is based .
Cornelius de W itt, Ru a r t de Pult en that is to s ay , ,
Inspector O f Dikes ex burgomaster of Dort his native

,

,
to wn and m ember of the A ssembly of the S tates of

,
H olland was forty nine years of age when the D u tch

,
-
people weary of the Republic as it wa s ad m inistered by

,
John de Witt the Grand Pensionary of H olland sud

, ,
d enly conceived a most V iolent aff ection for the S t a d t hol

derate which had b een abolished forever in Holland by
,
the Perpetual E dict forced by John de Witt upon the

U nited Provinces .
In accordance with the common experience that public

O pinion in it s capricious ights seeks always to identi fy
a principle with some man whose name i s connected w ith

its promulgation the people s a w the personication o f
,
the Rep ublic in the st e rn features of the brothers De

Witt ( those Romans of Holland) wh o disdained to pan ,
der to the whims of the mob but were the u n yielding ,
upholders O f liberty without license and prosperity with

out extravagance ; while o n the other hand the thought

of the Stadtholderate recalled to the popular mind the
stooping head and the grave a n d t hought f ul lineaments '

A G RATEF U L PE O PL E . 3
of you n g William o f Orange whom his contemporaries ,

christened the Taciturn a name which has come
,
down to our o wn day .
The brothers D e Witt were very gentle in their treat

ment o f L ouis XIV whose moral in uence thro ughout
.
,
E urope they perceived to be steadily increasing and ,
whose material supremacy over Hollan d they h ad been

made to feel in that marvellous campaign o f the Rhine ,
made famo us by the exploits of that hero of romance ,
the Co mte de G uiche a n d celebrated in song by Boileau

, ,
a campaign which had laid the power o f the U nited
Provinces prostrate in three short months .
L ouis X IV had long been the enemy of the D utch

.
,
who in sulted or ridiculed him to their heart s content

,
although it must be said that they generally vented their

spleen through the medium of French re fugees Their .
national pride held him up as the Mithridates of the

Republic T he brothers D e Witt therefore had to con
.
tend against active O pposition arising in the rst place ,
fro m the fact that a vigorous resistance had been con

ducted by the m against t h e inclination of the nation ,
and furthermore from that feeling of weariness whi ch is
, ,
natural to all v anquished people, who hope that a n e w

leader may be able to save the m from ruin and shame .
This ne w leader quite ready to a ppear on the political

stage and to measure himself again st L ouis XIV , how .
ever towering the destiny O f the Grand Monarque migh t

seem to be - was William Prince of Oran ge son of Wil , ,
liam II a n d grandson by his mother Henrietta Stuart

.
, , ,
of Charles I of E ngland
-
. the ta citur n youth whom we
,
have referred to as the person to whom t he pop ular mind

a t once reverted when the Stadtholderate was mentioned .
4 TH E B LAC K T U L IP .
This young man wa s in 1 6 7 2 twenty two y ears O f ag e -

.
J ohn de Witt, who was his tutor had brought him up ,
with the V ie w of making this y outh o f royal lineage a

good citi ze n of the Republic Lo vi n g his country better

.
t ha n he did his pupil the master h ad by the Pe rpetual

,
Ed ict e x tin g uished the hope w hich the young Prince

might h ave entertained of one day beco m in g Stadtholder .
But God laughs at the presumption of m a n who assumes ,
to make and unmake earthly sovereigns without con sult

ing the K ing of H eaven Through the capricious h umor
.
of the Dutch and the te r ror inspired by L ouis XIV He .
overturned the policy O f t he Grand Pensionary and r e ,
pealed the Perpetual E dict by re establishi ng the o f ce

of Stadtholder in favor of William of Orange, for whom
He had decreed a lofty destiny still b uried in the

mysterious depths of the future .
The Grand Pensionary bowed before the w ill of his

fellow -citizens
. Cornelius de Witt however was more , ,
o b sti nate ; and n otwithstanding all the threats of death

fro m the Orangist rabble w ho besieged hi m in his house
,
at D ort , he stoutly refused to si g n the act by which the

o f ce of Stadtholder was restored M oved b y the tears.
and entreaties o f his wi fe he at last complied b ut ai xed

, ,
to hi s signature t he two letters V C which si gni ed ml . .

,

coa ct s, or done under duress
a .
It wa s only by a miracle that he escaped alive from the

hands of his foes on that occasion .
J ohn de Witt derived no advantage from his ready

compl ia nce with the w ishes of his fell o wciti z ens Only .
a few days later an attempt was made to m urder him i n ,
which he was severely alt hough not m ortally w ounded .
This by no means accorded w ith the necessities Of the

A G RAT EF U L PEO P L E . 5
Orange faction The two brothers so long as they lived

.
were a constant obstacle to its plans ; nevertheless the ,
O ra ng is t s changed their tactics for the moment lea v ing

(
themselves free at any time to revert to their rst
method ) and undertoo k with the aid of slander a nd
,
calumny to e ff ect the purpose which they had not been

a ble to e ff ect by the aid of the poniard .
It is seldom ordained by the w ill of God that a great

m a n shall be at hand at the right moment to carry a
great work to a successful conclusion ; and for that rea
son w hen such a pro v idential concurrence o f circumstances
,
does occur h istory is prompt to record the name of the

,
fortunate individual , and to hold him up to the admiration

of posterity .
But w hen Satan interposes in human aff airs to cast a

blight upon some happy e xistence, or to overthrow a
kingdom it as seldom happens that he does not nd at
,
his side some wretched tool in w hose ear he has b ut to

,
whisper a word to set him at once about his task .
The wretched tool w ho was at hand to be the agent of

this dastardly plot was one T y cke lae r whom we have ,
already mentione d a s urgeon by profession

, .
He lo d ged an information to the e ffect that Cornelius

d c W itt rendered desperate by the repeal of the Per
,
pe t ua l E dict (as he had proved by the le tters affixed to

his signature thereto ) and ina med with hatred fo r Wil
,
liam of Orange had hired a n assassin to deliver the

,
Rep u blic from its new Stadtholder and that he Ty cke

, ,
laer was the pe rso n th us chosen ; but that stung with

,
remorse for having for one moment admitted the idea of

the deed which he was asked to perpetrate he ha d pre ,
ferred rather to reveal the crime than to com m it it .

6 T H E B LAC K T U LIP .
This disclosure was indeed well calculated to call

, ,
forth a f urious outbreak among the Orange faction The .
Procure ur Fiscal caused the arrest of Cornelius at h is own

-
house on the l 6 t h o f August 1 6 72 ; a n d the Rua rt de ,
Pulten noble John de Witt s noble brother, wa s forced to

,

undergo in one o f the rooms in the Buy t e n hof the pre

, ,
liminary torture by means of which they hoped to extort

fro m him as from the V ilest criminals a confession of his
, ,
alleged plot against William of Orange .
B ut Corne li us wa s possessed not only of a great m ind ,
but also of a great hear t He b elonged to that race o f

.
martyrs who being a s constant in th e ir political faith a s

,
their ancestors w e re in their religious belief are enabled ,
to meet su ffering w ith a smiling face ; and w hile he was

stretched on the rack he recited with a rm voice and
, ,
scanning the lines according to measure the first s t ropli e ,

O f the

J us t um ac t e na ce m of Horace He made no .
confession and at last tired out the fanaticism as w ell as

, ,
the strength of his p e rsecutors

,
.
The j udges nevertheless completely exonerated Ty cke

, ,
laer ; while they sentenced Cornelius to be deposed from

all his of ces and dignities to pay all t he costs O f the
,
trial and to be banished from the soil of t he Republic

,
forever .
The insane passions of the people , to whose best inter

ests Cornelius de Witt had ever been conscientiously
devoted were to some extent appeased by this j udgment
,
against one w ho was an entirely innocent a s well as a

great man ; but as we S hall s ee, it failed to content
them .
The Athe n ians who have left behind t hem a pretty

,
tolerable rep utation for ingratitude must in this respect ,

A G RAT E FU L P EO P L E . 7
yield precedence to the Dutch They conte nted them .
selves with banishing Aristides .
John de Witt at the rst intimatio n of the charge

,
brought against his brother ha d resigned h is o ffi ce of

,
Grand Pensionary . He too rece ived a noble re co m

, ,
pense for his devotion to his country taking with him ,
into t he retireme nt of private life his burden of a nxie t v

and his scarcely healed scars whic h are only too o fte n
-
,
the sole guerdon O btained by honorable men who are

guilty o f having labored for their country forget ful o f ,
their own interests .
Meanwhile William of Orange urged on the co urse O f

,
events by every means in his power eagerly waiting ,
for the time when the people by who m he was idolized

, ,
should have made of the bodies o f the brothers the

two steps up which he might ascend to the chair o f
Stadtholder .
Thus it was that o n the 2 ot h of August 16 7 2 as we , ,
have already stated in the beginning of this chapter the ,
whole town was crowding toward the B uy t e n ho f to wi t ,
ness the departure o f Cornelius de Witt from priso n o n

hi s way to lifelong banishm e nt and to see what traces
,
the torture ha d left on the noble frame of the ma n who

kne w his Horace so w e ll .
L e t us hasten to add that this vast m ultitude whic h ,
was hurrying on toward the B uy t e n ho f was not in ,
ue nced solely by the harmless desire of feasting th e ir

eyes w ith the spectacle ; there were many who went
there to play an acti ve part i n it a nd to take u pon them
,
selves a n O i ce which they conceived had bee n badly

lled,
v
t ha t o f the executioner .
T here were indeed others with less hostile intentions

, ,
.
8 T H E BL AC K T U L IP .
All th a t they cared for was the spectacl e always s o a t ,
tractive to the mob whose inst i nctive pride is gratied to

,
s ee him who has long occupied a lo fty position prostrate
in the d ust .

This Corn eli us de Witt they were saying ,
this ,
knight without fear has he not been closely conned and

, ,
his courage shattered by the rack ? Shall we not see

him pale stream i ng w ith blood covered with shame ?
, ,
Surely this wa s a sweet tri umph for the bourge oisie who ,
were e ven more consumed with envy than the common

people ,
a triumph in w hich every honest burgher o f

the Hague might w e ll share !
Moreover hinted the Orange agitators i nterspersed

,
through the cro wd whom they hoped to mould to their

,
own p ur pose s and to us e eith e r as an instrume nt of a t

,
tac k o r of menace more over will there not be a fine

, ,
o pportun ity all the way from the B u t e nho f to the city
y
ga te to thro w some handfuls of dirt or a fe w stones
at this Rua rt de Pulten who not only co nferred the dig,
n it
y of Stadtholder on the Prince of Orange under

duress a s he claims b ut who also intended to have hi m
, ,
assassinate d
Besid e s which the e rce enemies of F rance chimed
in if the work w e re done well and bra ve ly at the
,

Hague Corn e lius wo uld certainly not be allow ed to go

,
into e xi le w he re he will rene w his intrigues wit h France

,
,
a nd live with his i n fe r n a l scoundrel of a brother Joh n .

,
o n the go ld of t he M arquis de Louvois .
In such a t e m per peopl e generally wil l run rather

,
than walk wh i c h was the reason why the inh a bitants of

,
the Hague we re hurrying so fast t oward the B u v t e n ho f .
Honest Ty cke lae r Wi t h a heart full O f sp i te and

,
10 TH E BLAC K T U L IP .
shouted one patriot whose ideas had advanced farther

,
than those of the others .

Forward to the prison , to the prison 1 echoed the
crowd .
Amid such cries the citizens ra n along faster and fa ster

, ,
w hile m uskets were brandishing axes gleaming and eyes , ,
shooting re and ame .
N 0 V iolence h owever had as yet been committed and

, ,
t he le of horsemen who were guarding the approaches

of the B uy t en hof remained cool unmoved silent m uch , , ,
more formidable in th e ir imp a ssibility than this excite d ,
yel ling threateni n g crowd O f b urghers Motionless they

,
.
s a t , und e r the eye of th e ir leader the captain of the ,
cavalry of t he Hague who had his sword drawn but held

, ,
it with its point down ward in a line w ith the straps O f ,
hi s stirrup .
Th is troop the only defence of the prison overawed by

, ,
its r m attitude not only t he disorderly riotous mass of ,
the populace bu t also the detac h ment of the burgher guard

,
-
,
which bei ng placed opposite t he B uy t en hof to support the

,
soldiers in keeping order gave countenance to the sedi ,
tious uproar of t he rioters by th e mselves shouting ,
H urrah for Orange ! Down with the traitors !

The presence of Tilly and his hors e men indeed e xe r , ,
c is e d a salut a ry check on these civic warriors ; b u t soon
th ey worked themselves into a n e passion by their own

yelling and as they could not comprehend ho w any o n e
,
could be endowed with physical coura ge and not manifest

it by shouting at the top of his voice they attributed the ,
silence of the dragoons to cowardice and advanced o n e ,
step toward the prison with all the turbulent mob fol
,
lowing in their wake .

A G RAT EF U L P EOP LE . 11
Thereupon Count Tilly rode forward alone to meet

them raising his sword slightly as he demanded w ith a
, ,
frown ,

Well gentlemen of the burgher-g uard why are you
, ,

h
in motion and w at do you wish i
,
The burghers brandished their muskets repeating thei r ,
cry,
Hurrah for Orange Death to the traitors l

H urrah for Orange b e it s o replied Tilly , ,
a ltho u h l certainly am more partial to happy fac e s
g

than to gloomy ones Death to the traitors ! if y ou
.

choose s o long as you con n e your energy to shouting it

, ,
.

Shout Death to the traitors ! to yo ur heart s con t ent ;
but as to putting them to death in good earnest I a m ,

here to prevent that and I shall prevent it , .
Then turning round to his men , he gave the w ord of

,
command ,
Ready
The troopers obeyed orders with a precision whic h
immediately caus ed the burgher guard and the people to -
fall back in such haste a n d con fusion a s to excite the

laughter of the cavalry-of cer .
There there he exclaimed with that banter ing tone

,
which is peculiar to men of his professio n be eas y my ,

,
goo d fellows my soldiers will n ot re a shot ; but on the

, ,
other hand you must not advance one step toward the
,

prison .

And do you kno w sir that we have muskets ? .
,
roared t he commandant of the burghers .

By J ove I can t very well help knowing it said
,

,
Tilly after the way you have been w avin g them be fore
,
my eye s ; b ut I b eg you to O bserve also that we hav e

12 TH E BLACK T U L IP .
pistols that the pistol carries admirably to a d istance of

,

fty yards and that you are only twe n ty v e from u s
,
- .
Death to the traitors ! cried the exasperated

burghers .

Bah ! growled the O f cer you keep saying t he ,

same thing over and over again It is very tiresome . .
With this b e resumed his post at the head O f his

,
troops w hile the tumult g rew ercer and er cer about

,
the B uyt e nhof .
And yet the furious mob did not know that at the v e ry
moment when they were hot upon the scent of one of their
victims the other as if hurrying to meet his fate passed
, , ,
at a d istance of not more than a hundred yards behin d

the groups of people and the dragoons on his way to the
B uy t e nhof .
John de Witt had alighted from his coach with a ser

vant and was walking quietly across the courtyard of the
,
prison .
Mentioning his name to the t u rnkey wh o ho wever , , ,
kn ew him he said , ,

Good morni ng Gry phu s I have come to get my
,
brother Cornelius de Witt ( who as you know is sen

,
t en ced to perpetual banishment ) and take him away from ,

the city with me .
Thereupon t he j ailer a sort of b ear trained to lock

, ,
and unlock the gates of the prison saluted him an d , ,
admitt ed him into the bu ild ing t he doors of which were , _
immediately closed upon him .
T e n yards farther on J ohn de Witt met a lovely ,
young girl of abou t seventeen or eighteen dressed in the ,
national costume of the Frisian wome n who courtesied ,
prettily to him Patting her cheek gently he said to her

.
, ,
A GRAT EFU L P EOP LE . 13
Good morning my pretty little Rosa ; how i s my

,
b rother 2
Ob , Mynheer John ! the young girl replie d I am ,
not afraid of the harm which has been done to him .
That s all over now

.

Pray what are you afraid of then my dear ?
, , ,
I am a fraid O f the harm w hich they are going to do

to him .
Oh ye s said D e Witt you mean this rabble don t

, , , ,

you 2
D o you hear t hem ?
Yes they are indeed in a state of great excitement ;
,
but when they see us perhaps they will grow calmer as

, ,
we have n ever done them an ything but good .

U n fortunately that is n o reason at all
,
muttered ,
the girl as in O bedience to an imperative sign fro m her

, ,
father she withdre w

, .
Indeed child what you say i s only too true

, ,
.
Then as he pursued his way he said to himself

, , ,
Here i s a damsel who very likely does not know how

to read and who con sequently has n ever read any t hing ;
,
, , ,
a nd yet with one w ord s he has epitomiz e d a good part o f

the history of the world .
An d with the same calm mie n but more melan choly ,
than he ha d been on entering the prison the Grand ,
Pensionary proceeded toward t he cell of his brother .

14 T H E B LAC K T UL IP .
C HAPT ER I I .
TH E T WO B R OTH E RS .
T H E fair Rosa s gloomy forebodings were fully realized ;

for while John de Witt was cli mb ing t he narrow win d

ing stairs which led to the prison of his brother Corne
lius the burghers did their best to have t he troop o f
,
Tilly which was in their way removed

, ,
.
W hereupo n the ra bbl e in token of their appreciation

,
of the good intentions of their militia men shouted -

,
lustily Hurrah for the burghers

,
Count Tilly w ho was a s prudent as he w as r m be

, ,
gan to parley with the burghers under the protection of ,
the cooke d pistols of his dragoons doing his best to ex ,
plain to them that his order from the S tates commanded

him to guard the prison and its approach es with three
companies .

Why gi ve such ord ers l W hy guard the prison ?
c ried the O r a n g is t s .

Ah ! replied M de Tilly , there you a sk me at
.
once more than I can tell you I was told Guard the .
,
prison a nd I ob e y orders Y o u gentl e men who are

,

.
, ,
almost soldiers yourselves ought to know that an order

,

must never be discuss e d .

B u t this ord e r h as been given to you s o that the

traitors may be enabl e d to leave t h e town .
Very possibly as the traitors are conde mned to exile,

,
replied Tilly .
T H E T wo B ROT H ERS . 15

W ho is respo sible for this order ! n
The States to be sure ,
The States are traitors .

I don t know anything about that !
And you are a traitor yourself !
I?
Yes you ,
.
Well as to that let us understand each other my

, , ,
friends Whom s hould I betray the S tates ? Why

.
, ,
I cannot betray th e m if while I a m in their pay I , ,

faithfully obey their orders .
Thereupon the Count being so indisputably in the

,
right that it was impossible to answer him the uproar ,
and threatening language were renewed with re dou bl e d

energy ; b ut the Count repli ed to their extravagant and
horrible imprecations with the utmost courtlin e ss .

My friends, said he, uncock your muskets one of
them may go off by accident and if the shot chanced to ,
wound one of my men it would be the death of a good

many of you We should be very sorry for that and you
.
,
would perhaps be sorrier still especially as neither of us ,

has any such purpose .

If you should do that cried t he burgh ers , ,
should take our turn at the same game .

Very well b ut even w er e you to kill every m a n of
,
us those whom w e had killed would be none the less

,
dead .

Then leave the place to us and you will play the ,

part of a good citizen .

First o f all , said Tilly I am not a citizen , but an
,
O ff i cer, which i s a very di ff erent thing ; and secondly I , ,
am n ot a Hollander b u t a Frenchman, and t here the

,
16 TH E B L AC K T U L IP .
distinction is even g reater I have to do with no one b ut .
the States, by w hom I am paid let me s ee an order from

them to leave you in possession of the square and I shall ,
only b e too glad to evacuate on the instant for I am ,

con foundedly b ored here .
Yes y es cried a hundred voices, whose chorus was

,
i mmediately swelled by ve hundred others ; let us go

to the To wn hall and see the deputies Come on ! Come
-

on !

That s it , Tilly muttered as he s a w the most violent ,
among the crowd turning away ; go to the Townh all
and seek to procure the perpetratio n O f a dastardly act,

and you w ill s ee what answer you w ill get Go , my ne .

fellows go ! ,
The worthy O fficer r elied on the honor of the m a

g is trat es who, on their side relied on his honor a s a
, ,
soldier .
Suppose, Captain said the rst lieutenant in the

,
Count s ear, that the deputies re fu s e to grant what

these madmen demand and then send us a small rein ,

forcement that would not be s o bad w ould it i ,
Meanwhile , J ohn de Witt whom we left climbing t he ,
stairs after hi s conversation w ith t he j ailer G ry phus

,
and his daughter Rosa had reached t he door of the cell

, ,
where o n a mattress lay his brother Cornelius w ho had

.
, ,
as we have seen been subjected to the preliminary tor

,
ture . The sentence of banishment having been pro

nou n ced, there was no occasion for in flict i n
g t h e torture
extraordinary .
Cornelius, prostrate on h is bed with wrists b roken and ,
ngers crushed, because he had re fused to con fess a crime

he had not committed was j ust beg inning to b reathe ,
18 TH E BLA C K T U L IP .
escaped fro m their bondage to the esh and were oat ,
ing in the air above his body as the expiring ame from
,
an almost extinct re hovers above t he embers on the

h e arth
.
H e was also thinking of his brother It wa s his a p .
proach doubtless that thus made itself felt through the

, , ,
mysterious agency w hich i s n o w know n as magnetism ,
At the very moment that J ohn was so vividly pre sent in

the thoughts of Cornelius tha t his name was actually
upon his lips the door op ened
,
John ent e red and hurried
to the bedside of the prisoner, who stretched out his
broken arms and his hands tied up in bandages to ward
, ,
that glorious brother whom he had succeeded in surpass

,
ing no t in services rendered to the co untry but in the ,
hatred which the Dutch bore him .
John tenderly kissed his brother on the forehead an d ,
put his mai med hands gently back on the mattress .
Corneli us my poor brother said he you are s u f

, , ,
fe r ing gre at pain are y o u not ?

,
I s uff e r no long er since I see you my broth e r , .
Oh my poor dear Cornelius ! I assure you th a t I

,

grieve enough for both to see you in such a state .
Indeed I have thought more of you than of myself ;

,
and while they were torturing me I n ever thought of

uttering a complaint except once to s ay Poor brother
, ,
But n o w that y o u are h e re let us forget it all You have

, .
come to take me away have y o u not 2,

I have
.
I am quite cured H elp me to get up and you shall

.
,
see how well I can walk .

You will not have to walk fa r dear brother as I , ,
have my coach near the pond behind Tilly s dragoons ,

.
T H E T WO B RO TH ERS . 19

Tilly s dragoon s ! Why are they near the pond ?

Well said t he Grand Pensionary with the melan
, ,
cho ly smile w hich was habitual to him you see ther e

,
is an idea that the people of the Hague w ould like to

w itness your departure and there is some apprehension ,

o f a disturbance .
Of a disturbance 2 replied Cornelius xing his eyes ,

on his e mbarrassed brother 5 a disturbance 1

Y es Corneli us
,
.

Oh that s what I heard j ust now , said t he prisoner
, ,
as if speaking t o himself Then t urning to his brother .

,
he contin ued ,
There is a great crowd around the B uyt e n hof is there ,

not ?

Y e s,
dear brother .
B ut that being so in order to come here ,

Well i
H o w was it that they allowed you to pass 2
You know well that we are not very popular Corne ,
lius said the Grand Pensionary with gloomy bitterness

, , .

I came through back streets all the way .
Y o u hid yoursel f J ohn ! ,
I wished to reach you without loss of time a n d I did ,
what people do in politics or at sea when the wind i s ,
ag a inst them I beat to windward

, .
!
At this mo m ent the noise in the square belo w seemed

to redouble in fury Tilly was parleying with the
.
bu rghers .
!
Well said Cornelius you are a very skil ful pilot
, , ,
John ; but I do ubt whether you will be able to g u id e

y our brother out of the B uy t e nho f in such a heavy s e a ,
and through the breakers of popular fury , as happily a s

you conducted the eet of Va n Tromp past the shoal s

o f the Sch e ldt to Antwerp .
With the help o f God Cornelius, we 11 at least try

,

,
answered J ohn ; but rst of all a word with you ,

.
What is it ?
The shouts began anew .
Hark hark continued Cor neli us ; how angry these

,

people are I Is it agai n st you or against m e 1 ,
I should s ay it is against us both Corne l iu s I told ,

.
y o u my dear brother th a t the Orange party w hile as

, , ,
sailing us with their absurd calumni e s hav e also m ad e ,
i t a reproach against us that w e have negotiated wit h

France .
What blockheads they are

Ve ry true but nevert h eless t h ey make that reproac h
against us .

And yet if t hese negotiations had been successful ,
they would have prevented the defe ats of Rees Orsay , ,
Wes el a nd Rheinb e rg ; t he Rhine wo uld not hav e be e n

,
crossed and Holland might still consid e r herse lf in v in

,

cible in the midst of her marshes and canals .
All this i s quite true my dear Cornelius ; but still

,
m ore certain it is that if at this m oment our corr es pon

dence with the Marq uis de L ouvois were discovered skil ,
f ul pilot as I am I should n ot be able to save the frail

bark which is to carry t he brothers D e Witt and their
fortunes o ut of Hol land That corresponde n ce w h ich
.
,
would but prove to honest people how d e arly I lov e my

country and what sacrices I have o ff ered to make for its
,
liberty and glory would be ruin to us if it fe ll into the

,
hands of our tri umphant foes the adherents of t he Prince ,
o f Orange Therefore I trust that y o u b urned every

.
22 TH E B LAC K TU LI P .
weak he will be afraid O f the results of having been i nt i

,
mate with u s If he is strong he w ill proclai m the

. ,
secret from the housetops if he is weak he w ill allow it

to be forced from him I n e ither case he is lost and s o
.
,
are we L et us , therefore y at once if indeed we are

.
, ,
not too late .
Cornelius raised himself on his couch and grasping the ,
hand of his brother, w ho shuddered at the touch O f the

linen bandages replied , ,
D O I not kno w my godson ? H ave I not learned to

read as in an open book every thought of Van Ba erle s
'
brain and every emotion O f his soul ! You ask whether
he is strong or weak He i s neither the one nor the
.
other ; b u t that is not now the question The principal .
point is that he is sure n ot to divulge the secret for the

, ,
very good reason that he does not know it himsel f .

!
J ohn turned around in surprise .
Ah ! continued Cornelius with his gentle smile , ,
the Ruar t de Pul t en has been brought u p in the school

O f his brother John ; and I repeat to
y o u dear brother , ,
that Van Baerl e is not aware of the nature and importance

of the deposit which I have entrusted to him .

! uickly then cried John
, , as there is still tim e , ,
let u s convey to him directions to burn the parcel .
By whom can we transmit such a direction !

By my servant Craeke who was to have accompanied
,
u s on horseback and who entered the prison with me to

, ,

assist y downstairs
o u .
Consider well be fore orderin g those precious docu

ments burned J ohn ,

I consider above all things that the brothers De Wit t
must necessarily save their lives in order to be able to
TH E T WO B ROTH ERS . 23
save the i r character When we are dead who will defend

.
,
us ! Who will there b e w ho has even s o much as under

stood u s 2
D o yo u b el i eve then that they would kill us if those
, ,
papers were found ?

John w ithout answering pointed with his hand to the
, ,
square whence a fresh outburst of erce shouting arose at

,
th at mom ent
Yes , yes sai d Cornelius
, I hear the se shouts very ,
pl ainly b ut w hat is their meaning 1

,
J ohn opened the window .
Death to the traitors ! howled the populace .
D O you hear now Cornelius ? ,

'
To the traitors that means us ! said the prisoner ,
raising his eyes to heaven , w ith a shudder .

Y es it means us repeated J ohn
, ,
.
Where i s Craeke l
At th e door of your cell I suppose , .
Pray let him come in

, .
J ohn O pened the door ; the faithful servant was waiting

on the threshold .
Come in, Craeke and m ind well what my b rother will

,
tell you .
N O J ohn ; it w ill not su f ce to send a verbal m es

,

sage un fortun ately I shall be o b lig ed to write .
W hy s o 2
Because Van Baerle will neither g i ve up the parcel
nor bur n it without a special command to do s o .

B ut will yoil b e able to write my dear fello w J ohn ,
asked with a co mpassionate glance at his poor hands all

,
s corched and bruised .
If I had pen and ink yo u would soon see said ,
Corneliu s .
2 4: T H E B LAC K T U L IP .
Here is a pencil at any rate ,

.
Have y o u any paper ? They have le ft me nothi ng .

Here take this Bible and tear out the y leaf
,
-
,
.

Very well that will do ,
.
But your writing will be illegible .

N ever fear rejoined Cornelius gl a ncing at his brother
, ,
.
These ngers which have resisted the screws O f the exe

c u t ion er and this w ill of mine w hic h has triumphed over
,
pain w ill u nite in a common e ffort so have no fear that

,
the lines will be disgured by any tremulousness of my

hand .
Corneli us act u allv took the pencil a n d began to write ,
whereupon great drops of b lood forced from his r a w ,
wounds by the pressure of his ngers u pon the pencil ,
could be seen oozing out b eneath the white linen .
Gre at drops of sweat stood upon the bro w of the Grand

Pensionary .
Cornelius wrote,
Aug us t 2 0 , 1 6 7 2 .
M Y D E AR G O DS O N Burn the parcel whi ch I ha ve e n

,

trusted t o y ou Burn it wi thout l oo ki ng a t it and W ithout

.
,
O e ni n
p g it so that it s conte nts ma y fore ve r rem a in unk n own
,
to y ourself S ecrets O f thi s des cripti o n are d eath t o th os e wi t h

.
wh o m they are d epos ited B urn it and y ou wil l h a v e s a v e d

.
,
t he lives O f J ohn an d C orn e lius .
Fare w ell an d l ove m e

, .
C O RN E L I US D E WI TT .
John with tears in his eyes wiped O ff a drop of the

, ,
noble blood whi ch had soiled the leaf and havi n g handed
the dispatch to Crae ke with nal directions returned to ,
Corn eli us from whose face the pain had driven every
,
vestige O f color and who seem e d near fainting

, .
T H E T wo B ROTH ERS . 25

N o w, sa id b e when hones t Cra eke sou nds his Old
,

boatswain s whistle it will mean that he is clear Of the
,
mob and has reached t he other side o f the pond And .

then it will be our turn to depart .
Five min utes had not elapsed be fore a long and shrill
wh istle blown in true seaman s style made itself heard

, ,
through the leafy canopy of the elms and ab ove all the
uproar around the B uy t en ho f .
J ohn raised his clas ped hands heaven ward in thanks

g iv ing.

And now sa id he let us be o ff, Cornelius
,

, .
26 T H E BL ACK T UL IP .
C HAPTE R III .
TH E P U P IL OF JOH N DE wrrT .
WH ILE clamor of the crowd in the square of the

B uyt enhof w hich gre w more and more menaci n g agai n st
,
the two brothers determ ined John de Witt to hasten

,
the departure O f his brother Cornelius a deputation o f ,
burghers had gone to the Town hall to demand the with -

d r a wal of Tilly s horse .
It was not fa r from the B uyten hof to t he Hoogstraet

and a stranger w ho since the beginning of this scene ha d
,
w atched all its incidents w i th intense interest wa s seen ,
to wend his way with or rather in the wake O f the others

,
!
,
to ward the Town hall to learn as soon as possible what

-
,
took place there .
This stranger was a very yo ung ma n of some twenty ,
two or three years and for aught that appeared w ithout

,
especial vigor He evidently had reasons for n ot wishing

.
to be recog nized for he concealed his pale elongated face

, ,
il l a handkerchief of n e Frisian linen with which h e ,
incessantly wiped his brow or his burning lips .
With an eye as keen as that of a bird of prey a lon g ,
aquiline nose and a n ely cut m ont h w hich was slightly

,
-
,
O pen and was like a wo u nd across his face this m a n ,
would have presented to L avater if L avater had lived a t ,
that time a subj ect for physiognomical investi g ations

, ,
THE P U PI L OF JO H N DE WI TT . 27
the rst r es ults of wh ich m ight not have been v ery favor ~
able to the stranger .
What di ff erence can be detected bet ween the features

of a conqueror and those of a successful pirate ? the
ancients used to ask .
The same di ff erence that there i s b etween the eagle

and the vulture in the on e case a serene and tranquil
,
expression in the other fear and inquietude

, .
By the sam e token , those pallid features and that

slender sickly body which hung u pon the skirts O f the
,
howling mob from the B uy t enhof to the H oogstraet were ,
the very type and model o f a susp icious employer or a ,
thief in fear of arrest and a police of cer would certainly -
have d ecided in favor o f the latter supposit io n on account ,
of the great care w ith whi ch the person who now occupies
our attention sought to conceal his identity .
He was plainly dressed and apparently unarmed ; his

,
thin wiry arm and his veined hand of aristocratic white

,
ness and delicacy were resting not on the arm but on , ,
the shoulder of an O f cer w ho with his ha n d on his

,
s word watched with an interest easily understood the

, ,
drama that was bei ng enacted around t h e Buyt enhof ,
until h is companion had left the square and compelled

hi m to follo w .
On arrivin g at t he square in front of the Hoogstraet ,
the man wit h the pale face pushed t he other behind an

O pen sh utter and xed his eyes upon the balcony O f the
,
Town hall
-
.
At the savage yells of th e mob the window o f the ,
Hoogstraet O pened and a man came forth to parley with

,
t he people .

Who is that on the balcony ? the young man ask ed
28 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .
the of cer indicating by the direction of his glanc e merely

,
the orator who seemed m uch e xcited and held himsel f

, ,
erect by the help of the balustrade rather than leaned ,
upon it .
It i s D eputy B owelt, replied the o f cer .

W hat sort of man is b e ? Do you know any th ing

o f him ?

An honest man at least I bel ieve s o Monseigneur ,
.
The young man upon hearing this appreciative estimate

of Bowelt s ch aracter from his companion showed signs of

such strange disappointment and evident dissatisfac tion

that the oicer could not but remark it and hastened to ,
add ,

At least people say so Monseigneur I cannot say
,
.
anything about it myself as I have no personal acquaint

,

ance w ith Mynheer Bo welt .

An honest m an repeated he who wa s addressed as
,
'
Monseigneur do you m ean to s ay t ha t he is an honest

man (bra ve homme) or a brave one (homme br a ve)
,
Ah , Monseigneur must excuse me I w ould not pre

sume to draw such a ne distinction in the case of a m an
whom I assure your H ighness once more, I kno w only by
,

si ght .

Well the young man m uttered, let us wait , an d
,

we shall soon see .
The o oer b owed his head in token of assent and was ,
s i lent .

If this B o welt i s an honest man his H i g hness con ,
tinned these hotheads will m eet w ith a very queer

,
reception at his han ds .
The nervous quiver of his hand which moved inv olun ,
tarily on the s hou lder of his companion , like t he n g er s

s t rae t,it seems that the question will be discussed in

doors Colonel Come, and let us hear the debate
,
. .

Oh Monseigneur ! Monseigneur ! take care
,

Of w hat ?
Among these deputies there are many who have ha d ,
dealings with you ; and it would b e su f cient that only

one of the m should recognize your Highness .
Yes tolay the foundation for the charge that I have

,
been the instigator O f all this work ; indeed you are ,
right said the young man bl ushing for a moment from

, ,
regret of having b etrayed so much eagerness Yes .

,
you are right ; le t us remain here From this place we .
can see the m return with or withou t the order for the
withdrawal of the drag oons and then we may j udge ,
whether Mynheer B o we lt is an honest man or a brave

one which I a m an xious to ascertain
, .
Why replied the of cer looking with astonishment

, ,
a t the personage whom he ad dressed as M onseigneur ,
why your H igh ness surely does n ot s uppose for one

,
instant that the deputies w ill order Tilly s horse to qu it

their post ?
Why not asked the young man coldly , .
Because to issue such an ord er would be tantamount

to signing the death -warrant of Corneli us and John de

Witt .

We shall see his Highness replied with the most
,
perfect cool n ess Go d alone knows what is going on

.

within the h arts f men
e O .
The ofcer looked askance at the impassible co un t e

nance O f his companion and gre w pal e : he was an ,
hon est man as well as a brave on e .
From the spot wh ere they stood his Highness and hi s ,

TH E P U PI L OF JO H N DE WITT . 31
a ttendant heard the tumult and the heavy tramp of t he

crowd on the staircase O f the To wn hall -
.
Then the noise seemed to ll the whole square, as it

came pouring out through the ope n windows of the hall ,
on the balcony in front of whi ch Mynheers Bo we lt and

d As pe ren had appeared they had meanwhile withdrawn , ,
inside the buil ding, fe aring doubtless that they m ight if ,
they remained on the balco n y be force d over the balus,
trade i n to the street by the pressure o f t he crowd .
After this confused gesticulating shapes were seen to

,
pass to and fro in front of the w indows the council hall -
was lling .
Suddenly the n oise subsided and as suddenly again it

rose with redoubled intensity and at last reached such a ,
pitch that the O ld building shook to the very roof .
At length the living stream poured back through the

galleries and stairs to the door and they saw it come ,
rushing o dt through the arched gateway like water from

a spout .
At the head of the rst group a ma n wa s ying rather ,
than running his face hideously distorted with satanic

,
glee this man was the surgeon T y ck elaer .

We have it ! we have it ! he cried bran dishing a

,
paper in the air .

They have the order ! m u ttered the O f cer in ,
amazeme n t .

Well then his Highness quietly remarked
, ,
now ,
my mind i s relieved You could not tell me my dear

. ,
Colonel, wh ether Mynheer Bo we lt was a n honest or a

brave man ; n o w I know that h e is neither .
Then gazing steadily after the crowd which was rush

, ,
ing alon g be fore him he contin u e d , ,

L et us go to t he B uy t e nhof Colonel ; I e xpect

now ,
we shall s ee a very strange sight there .
The o f c e r bowed and without m aking any reply fol

, ,
lowed in the steps o f his master .
There was an im m en s e crowd in the square a n d about

the approaches to t he prison but t he d ra goons O f Tilly
still held it in check a s effe ctively a n d un in chingly as
before .
I t was not long before th e Cou n t heard the incre a sing

d in of the app roaching m ultitude a nd soon h e spied ,
t h e advanced guard rushing on wi t h the rapidity of a

cataract .
At the same time he O bserved the paper w hich was

, ,
waving in the air above the cl e nched sts a n d glittering

weapons .
Aha ! he exclaimed rising in his stirrups and touch

,
ing his lieutenant with the hilt O f his sword I really ,

believe these rascals have got the order .

What dastardly r u f a ns they are ! cried the
lieutenant .
It was indeed the order which the burgher-guard r e

,
ce iv e d w ith a roar of tri umph They immediately left .
their position and advanced with lowered arms and erce,
shouts toward Count Tilly s dragoons

,

.
But the Cou n t was not the man to allow them to

a pproach inconveniently n ear .

Halt ! he cried halt and keep back from my
,

,
horses heads or I give the word to adva n ce

, .

i
Here the order a hundred insolent voices answered
s ,
at once .
He took it in amazement cast his eyes rapidly over it

, ,
and said aloud ,

TH E P U PI L OF J OH N DE WI TT . 33
The men who signed this order are the real mur
d e r e rs of Cornelius de Witt I would rather have my .
t wo hands cut o ff than have written one single letter of
this in famous order .
Pushing back w ith the hilt of his s word the man who
wanted t otake it from him he added , ,
One moment papers like this are of importance and ,
sh ould be preserved .
S aying this he folded up the document and carefully

, ,
put it in the pocket O f his doublet .
Then turning round toward his troop he gave t he

, ,
word of command ,

Dra goons attention
,
Right wheel
He added in an undertone yet loud e nough for his ,
words to be not altogether lost to those about him ,
And no w b utchers do your work I

, ,
A savage yell, which voiced all the keen hatred and

ferocious triump h which were rife in that prison square ,
w elcomed with a fresh outburst of j eering and yelling

the d eparture of the troops as they quietly led away .
The Count tarried behind facing to the last the inf u ,
r ia t e d populace who followed inch by inch upon his

, , ,

horse s retreating steps .
John de Witt as may be seen had by no means e x a g

, ,
gera ted the danger when he assisted his brother to rise

,
and tried to hasten his departure .
Cornelius lean ing on the a r m of the Ex Grand Pen

,
-
s io n a r y descended the stairs w hich led to the courtyard

,
.
At the bottom of the staircase he found the fair Ros a

tre m bling l ik e a leaf .

Oh , Mynheer John s he excl imed w hat a mis

a ,
fort une
What is it my child ? asked De Witt

,
.
Why they say that they are gone to the Hoogstraet

,

to O btain an order for Tilly s horse to withdraw .

It cannot he replied J ohn
Indeed my dear
,
.
,
child if the dragoons are w ithdrawn w e shall be in a

, ,

very sad plight .
I have some ad vice to give you Rosa said tre mb ling , ,
even more violently than be fore .

Well , let us hear what you have to s ay, my child .
Why should I be surprised if God speaks to me through

you
W ell then Mynheer John if I w ere in your place
, , , ,
I should no t go out through the main street .

Why so as the d ragoons O f Tilly are still at their
,
post
Very t r ue but their orders s o long as they are not ,

revoked enj oin the m to stop be fore the prison
, .

U ndoubtedly .
H ave you an order for the m to accompany you out O f

the town ?

We have not ;
W ell then , as soon as y o u have passed the ranks of
,
the dragoons you will fall into the hands of the people
, .
!
But t he burgher-guard
Alas ! the burgher guard are the most hot -headed
.
-

and furious of all .
What are we to do, then ?

If I were in your place Mynheer J ohn the young , ,

girl timidly continu d I shoul d go out by the postern
e , .
It O pens upon a by street whi ch will be quite deserted

-
, ,
for everybody is waiting in the High street to s ee you -
come out by the principal entrance Thence I should .

TH E P U PIL OF J OH N DE WiTT . 35
tr
y to reac h the gate b y which y ou intend to leav e the

town .

But my brother is not ab le to walk , said J ohn .

I will try Cornelius said w ith an expression of
, ,
most s ublime fortitude .
Bu t have you not your carriage ? asked the girl .
The carriage is waiting near the main entran ce .
N ot s o I considered your coach man

!
sh e replied
, .
to be a faithful man and I told him to wait for you at

,

the postern .
The b rothers looked at one another with much emo

tion and then their united gaze rested upon the young
,
girl w ith an ex pre ssion that told of their heartfelt

g ratit u de .
The question is now , said the Grand Pensionary,

whether Gryph us will O pen this door for us .

Indeed he will do no su ch t h ing, said Rosa .
Then what are we to do pray ? ,
I foresa w a refusal on his part and j ust now while , ,
he was talking fro m the window of the porter s lodge

with a dragoon I took away the key from his bunch
,
.
And you have got it

Here it is Mynheer J ohn , .

My chi ld sai d Corneli us
,
I have nothing to giv e ,

you in exchange for the service you are rend ering us

b ut the Bible w hich you w ill nd in my room It is .
the last gi ft of an honest man I hope i t will bring you

good luck .
I thank y ou Mynheer Cornelius ; it shall never leave

,
me replied Rosa
,
.
Alas ! w hat a pity it is that I do not know how t o

read s he said to herself with a sigh
,
.

shouts and cries are growi ng louder an d louder
Th e ,

said John there is not a moment to be lost .

Come this way said the maid e n who n o w led the
, ,
two brothers through an inner lobby to the back o f the

prison . Guided by her they descended a staircase of ,
about a dozen steps traversed a small courtyard which

, ,
was s u rrounded by strong walls and t he arched door ,
having been O pened for them by Rosa they found them ,
selves outside the prison ln a lonely street where their ,
carriage was waiting for them with the steps lowered .
! uick quick, my masters do you hear them

,
cried
t he coachman in a d e adly fright
, .
But after having made Cornelius get into the carriage

rst , the Grand Pensionary turned towards the blushi n g
girl to w h o m he said
, ,

Good by my child
-
,
All the words in the world .
would b u t weakly express our gratitude ; but w e will

commend you to God who will remember , I trust that , ,

y o have saved the lives of two O f his creatures
u .
Rosa took the band w hich John de W itt held out to

her and kissed it with every show of respect
, .

Go ! for Heaven s sake go ! she said ; it seems as

,

if they were forcing the door .
John hastily got in seated hi mself by the sid e of hi s

,
brother and called out to the coachman a s he drew the

, ,
curtains close ,
To the Tol Hek -
The Tol Hek was the iron gate leading to t he harbo r

-
of S che v e nin g in which a small vessel was waiting for

,
the two brothers .
T he carri age drove Off w ith the fugitives at the ful

speed of a pair O f spirited Flemi s h horses Rosa followed .

it s sur prising ho w m uch sense there is in t his little
head
Then as the gate began to give way amid the tri
,
umphant shouts o f the mob s he opened a littl e trap

,
door and said,

,

Come Father, hu rry
, .
But meanwhile what will become of our prisoners ?

God will watch over them said the maiden,
while ,

I watch over y ou .
Gry ph us follo wed his daughter and the tra p-door clos ed
,
over his hea d j ust a s the door fell in and gave admittance
,
to the populace .
The d u ng eon where Rosa h ad induced her father to

hide himsel f, which was known a s the secret dungeon ,
and where fo r the present we must leave the two, afforded

them a perfectly safe retreat bei n g known only to the
,
authorities, who u sed sometimes to con ne important

prisoners of state there to guard against a rescue or an
,
uprising .
The people rushed into the priso n w ith the cry O f

, ,
Death to the Traitors ! To the gallows with Corne

lius de Witt ! Death ! death
T H E M UR DERERS . 39
C HAPT E R IV .
TH E M URD ERERS .
TH E young man with his hat still drawn over his eyes
, ,
still leaning on the a r m o f t he o f cer and still wipi ng his ,
brow and his lips wi th his handkerchief from t ime to

time stan ding m otionless in a corner of the sq uare o f
,
the B uyt e n hof and sheltered fro m observation by t he

'
overhanging shutte rs of a closed shop was intent u pon the ,
spectacle a ff orded by the antics of the in furiated mob ,
a spect acle which seemed to draw ne a r its catastrophe .

Indeed said he to the o f cer I believe you were
, ,
right , Van Deken the ord e r which the dep uties have
,
s igned is really the death warrant of Mynheer Cornelius

-
.
D o you h e ar these people ? They certainly h ave a most

bitter enmity against the D e Witts .
In truth replied t he ofcer

, I n ever heard such
,

y elling .

They m u st have found out our man s cell L ook .
,
look ! is not that the window of t he cell where Cornelius

was conned l
A man had seized w it h both hands and was violen tl y

shaki n g the iron bars of the window in the room which
Cornel ius h ad left only ten minutes before .

Hallo there shrieked the man
, , he is not here I
How is that not there 2 those of t he mob who had
,
40 TH E BL AC K T U L IP .
been the last to arrive called from the street bei ng ,
unable to force their way into the prison s o crowded ,
w a s it .
N o n o repeated the man in a rage

, ,
he must have ,

mad e his escap e .

What do e s the fellow s ay ? asked his High ness ,
growi ng quite pale .
Oh , Monseigneur he says something which would be ,
very fortunate if it should turn out true !

Certainly it would be fortunate if i t were true said
, ,
the you ng man U nfortunately it cannot be true

. .

But look ! said the ofcer .
And indeed other faces furious and contorted with

, ,
rage showed the m selves at t h e w indows crying

, , ,
Escape d gone they have been assisted to escape .
And the people in the street repeated with fearful

imprecations ,
E scaped ! gone ! L e t us run after th e m and hunt ,
them down
Mon seigneur it would seem th a t Mv n hee r Cornelius
,

has really escap d said the of cer
e ,
.

Yes from prison , perhaps replied the other but
, , ,
not from the town You will see V a n Deken that the .
, ,
poor fellow will nd t h e gate closed against him w hich he

hoped to find open .
Has any order been gi v e n to close the town gates ,
Monseigneur
No a t least I do not think so ; who could have

,
given such an order ?

W ho indeed ! What lead s your Highness to think
,
There are such things as fatalities , his Highness

T H E MU R ERERS D . 41
replied in an off hand manner ; and t he greatest men

,
-
have sometimes fal len v ictims to them .
At these words the o f cer felt his blood run cold for he ,
felt sure that in one way or another the fugitive s fate

was sealed .
At this moment the roar of the multitude broke forth

like thunder for they had become quite certain that
,
Cornelius de Witt was no longer in the prison .
Cornelius and J ohn had driven along by the edge of

t he pond and taken the main stre et which leads to the
Tol Hek giving directions to the coach man to slacken his
-
,
pace in order that no suspicion might be aroused by t he

,
rapid pa ce at w hich they were driving .
But w hen he had gone so far that he could s e e the

gate in the distance and reected that h e was leaving
,
imprisonme n t and death b ehind w hile life and liberty lay

before him the coachman neglected every precaution and
, ,
urged his horses to a gallop .
All at once he stopped .
What is the matter 2 asked John putting his head ,
out of the coach window -

.
Oh my m asters ! cried the coachman the

, ,

The honest fellow s terror was so great that he could
not speak .
W ell go on ; what i s it ? urged the Grand Pen

,
s io n a r y .
Alas the gate is closed .
What the gate closed 2 It is n o t u sual to close the

gate during the day .
But look
John de W itt lean ed out of t h e windo w and s a w that ,
the gate was indeed closed .

42 T H E B L AC K T UL IP .
N ever mind but drive on said J ohn ; I have with

, ,
me the order for the commutation o f the pun ishment ,

a n d the gatek e eper will let u s pass .
The car r iag e resume d its j ourney b ut it was evident

'
that the driver was no long er urging his horses as con ~
d en t ly as before .
Moreover when J ohn de Witt put his h ead out of the

,
carriage window he was seen a nd recognized by a brew er

-
, ,
who being behind his companions w as j ust putting up

, ,
his shutters in all haste to j oin them at the B uy t en hof .
He uttered a cry of surprise and ran after two other men , ,
who were hurrying alon g b e fore him He overtook them .
about a hundr e d yards fa rth er on a n d told them w hat he ,
h a d seen The three men t hen stopped looking a fte r

.
,
the carriage being however not yet quite sure w hom it

, , ,
c ontain e d .
The carriage in the meanwhile arrived at the Tol Hek -

.
Ope n cri e d the coachman .
Open echoed t he gateke e per from the threshold of ,
h is lodge

it s all very well to s ay Open , but what am ,
I to do it with ?
With t he key to be s ure said t he coachman , , .
With the key ? Oh yes but in order to do that one ,
must have it .
What I Do y o u mean to s ay that y o u h ave not the

ke y of this gate 1 d e manded the coac hman

.
N o I hav e n t it

,
What has become of it 2

Why they have taken it from me
, .
Who 2
Some o n e probably who had a mind that no o ne
, ,

s hould leave the town .
T H E MU R E RERS D . 43
My good man , said the Grand Pensionary putting ,
out h is head from the window and riski n g all to save all ;,
my good man it is for me John de Witt and my brother

, , ,
Corn elius whom I am taking away into exile

, .
,Oh Mynheer de Witt I am indeed grieved beyond

measure said the gatekeeper rushing t owards the car
, ,

r ia g e but upon my honor the key has b een taken ,
fro m me .
When pray ,
T his morning .
By whom
By a pale thin you n g man of about twenty two
,
-
.
Why did you give it u p to hi m 1

Because h e showed me an order signed and sealed ,
.
By w hom 2
By the gentlemen at the Town hall
.

In that event said Cornelius calmly
,
our doom , ,
seems to be seale d .
D o you know whether the same precaution h as been

!
taken at all the other gates ?

I do not .

Come said J ohn to t he coachman
,
God e njoins ,

upon man to do all that is in his power to preserve hi s

life drive to another gate .
Then while the servant w as turni n g his horses J oh n ,
said to the gatekeeper ,
Thanks for your good intentions my good friend the ,
will m ust count for t h e d eed You h ad the w ill to save

.
us,
and in the eyes of the L ord it is as if you had ,

succeeded .

Alas ! said the gatekeeper
do you see what is ,

going on down there ?
44 TH E B LAC K T UL IP .
Drive at a gallop through that grou p J ohn called ,
o ut to the coachman , and take the street to the l ef t 5 it

is o ur only hope .
The gro u p which John allu d ed to h ad for its n ucleus

those three men whom we left looking after the carriage ,
and who since that ti me while John was talking with

,
the gatekeep e r had been j oined by seven or eight others

,
.
These new -comers were evidently meditating mischief

with rega rd to the carriage .
When they s a w t he horses gallopi n g down upon them ,
they placed themselves across the street brandishing ,
cudgels in their hands a n d calling out

, ,

S top ! stop !
The coachman however leaned toward them a nd
, , ,
lashed them fur i ously with his whip .
At last the carriage and it s would be wreckers came -
toge ther.
The brothers D e Witt could see nothi ng being closely ,
shut up in the carriage But they could f eel the rearing

.
of the horses followe d by a viol ent shock There was a

, .
moment of suspen se while the v ehicle se emed to shake in

,
every part but it almost imm e diately set off agai n pass ,
ing over something round a n d elastic which s e emed to be ,
the body of a prostrate m an and whirled a wa y amid a ,
volley of t he ercest oaths .
!
Alas sai d Corn e lius
I am afraid we have h u rt
,
s ome one .

Faster faster cried John .
B ut n otwithstanding this order the carriag e suddenly

came to a stan d still .
Well w hat now 2 asked J ohn .

L oo k there ! said the coach man .
46 TH E B LAC K T U L
.
IP .
Good heaven s Monseig neur what is g oing to ha p

, ,

pen ? whispered the of cer .
Something very terrible, to a certainty replie d the ,
other .
Oh see Monseigneur ! they are draggi n g the Grand

, ,
Pensionary from the carriage they strike him 3 they tear

him to pieces
Indeed these people must certainly be moved by
,

most intense hatred said t he young m a n w ith the same
, ,
impassible tone which he had maintained thro u ghout .

And now they a re dragging out Cornelius Corne ,
'
li us who is already all torn and mangled by the tort ure

, .
Oh loo k look for God s sake

, ,

Ind e ed it is Cornelius b eyond doubt

,
.
The o fcer uttered a feebl e cry and turned his head,
away .
What ha d happened was that the Ruar t d e Pulten ,
w hile he was yet on t h e lowest step of the carriage and ,
before he had s e t foot on the ground received a blow ,
from an iron bar which b roke his skull

,
He rose once .
m ore but i m med iately fe l l again

, .
Some fellows then seized him by the feet and dragged

him into t he crowd into the midst of which one m ight
,
have follow e d him by the tra il o f b lood he left behind

him and the infuriated rabble closed in upon him w ith
savage y ells of malignant ex ultation .
The you ng man a thing which would have been

thought i mpossible gre w even pal e r than before and

,
his eyes were for a mo m ent veiled b ehind the lids .
The o f cer saw this sign of compassion the rst that ,
his companion had allowed to escape him and wishing ,
to avail himself of his softer mood

T H E M U R ERE RS D . 47
Come come Mon seigneur he exclaimed

, , for here , ,
they are also going to m urder the Grand Pensionary .
But the young man had already opened his eyes again .
So they are I he said The people are implacable . .
I t does not pay to o ffend them .
!
Monseigneur said the o fficer , could we not save ,
this poor m a n who ha s been your H ighness s tutor ? If

,

there be a ny way tell me and though I should perish in

, ,
the attempt
W illiam of Orange for he it was frowned s ternly ;

b ut restraining the gleam of b itter malice which glistened

in his half closed eye he answered
-
, ,
Colonel v a n Deken go I beg you and see that my , , ,

troops are u nder arms and ready for any emergency ,
.

B ut am I to leave Monse igneur here alone within , ,

reach of all these murderers ?
Pray don t worry about my wel fare more than I do

myself was the Prince s gruff rej oinder

, Go
.
The o f cer star ted off w ith a speed whic h was m uch
less owing to his military instinct of obedience than to
his pleasure at being reliev ed from t he necessity of wit
n es s ing the shoc king spectacle of the murder of the other
brother .
He had scarcely left the room wh e n John who with , ,
an almost superh um a n e or t ha d reached the stone s te ps

'
of a house nearly opposite that where his former pupil

was hiding began to stagger under the blows which

were in icted on hi m from all sides calling out , ,
My brother where is my brother

One of the r ufa n s knocked off his hat with a blow of
h is clench ed s t .
An ot her waved his bloody hands in his face this wor

48 T H E B L ACK T UL IP .
thy had disem b owelled Cornelius and was now inte nt

,
upon seizing the O pport unity of serving the Grand Pen

s io na ry in the same mann e r while they w ere dragg in g
,
the dead body of Cornelius to the gibbet .
J ohn uttered a piteous cry and put one o f his hands

,
be fore his eyes .

Oh ! you close your eyes do you ? said one of the
,
soldiers of the burgher-guard well I will save you t he

trouble by p utting them out for you .
He suited the action to the word by stab bing him with

his pike in the face, whereupon the blood spurted forth .

My brother ! cried J ohn de W itt, trying to see ,
through the stream of blood which blin d ed him, what

had become of Cornelius ; my brother my brother !

,
Go and join him

,
roared another of the assassins ,
putting his m usket to his temple and pullin g the tri gger .
But it missed r e .
The fello w then shi fted his m usket and taking it by ,
the barrel with both h a nds struck down J ohn de Witt

,
with the stock .
J ohn staggered and fell at h is feet ; but on ce more he

raised hi mself with a last e ff or t an d cried
, ,

My b rother ! in s o heartre n din g a tone that the
young man opposite closed the shutter .
However there was little more to s e e for a thi rd as

, ,
sassin held a pistol close to his face and red it This .
time the weapon did not miss re and the b ullet ble w out
,
his brains .
J ohn de Witt fell to rise no more .
Thereupon every one of the miscreants em b oldened b y ,
his fall m ust needs tire his gun at him or strike h im

, ,
wit h the sledge -ham m er or stab him w ith kni fe or sword

,
TH E M U RD ERERS . 49
every on e m us t needs drain a drop o f blood from the

falle n hero, and tear off a shred of his garments .
Then after they had mangled and torn and com

,
ple t ely stripped the t wo brothers the mob dragged their ,
naked and bloody bodies to an extemporized gibbet w here ,
amateur executioners h ung them up by the fee t .
Then came the most d a stardly scoundrels of all who ,
had not dared approach them whe n alive but out the ,
dead esh in pieces and then went about in the town

,
selling small slices of t he bodies of John and Cornelius at

ten sous a piece .
We cannot take upon ourselves to say whether through ,
the almost imperceptible chink of the shutter the young ,
man w itnessed the co n clusion of this shocking scene b ut

at the very moment when they were hanging the two
marty rs on the gibbet he made his way through the mob
, ,
which w as too m uch absorbed in its congenial task to

take a ny notice of him, and reached the Hek which -
,
was still closed .
Ah Mynheer cried the gatekeeper

, ,
have y o u ,

brought back the key ?
Yes my ma n here it is
, ,
.
Alas ! it is most un fortunate that y o u d id not bring

it to me j ust a quarter of an hour sooner said the ,
gatekee per with a sigh

,
.

Why s o ? asked the Prince .
Becaus e I might then have opened the gate for the

brot hers De Witt ; wherea s nding it locked they were
, ,
obliged to retrace their steps a n d they have fallen into

,

the hands of t h e r uf a n s who were pursuing them .
Gate ! gate ! cried a voice which sounded as if it s

,
owner were in a tremendous hurry .
4
50 T H E BL AC K T UL IP .
The Prince turned and recognized Colonel v a n D eken .

I s that you Colonel ? he said ,
Have you n o t .
left the Hague yet ? This is executing my orders very

slowly .
Monseigneur replied the Colonel th is is the third

, ,
gate a t which I have presented myself ; the two others

were closed .

Well this good man will open this one for us
, .

Open my friend said the Prince to the gatekeeper who
, , ,
stood gaping with astonishment on hearing the title of

Monseigneur which Colonel v a n Deken bestowed u pon
this pale young man to whom he himself had been ,
speaking in such a familiar way .
As if to make up for his fault he h a stened to open the ,
Tol Hek which swung creaking on it s hinge s

-
, .
Will Monseigneur take my horse ? asked the

Colonel .
Thanks Colonel but I should have a mount waiting

, ,
for me close at hand .
And taking from his pocket a golden w h istle , such a s

wa s ge nerall y used at that time for summoning on e s s er
vants he blew a long shrill blast u pon it w hereupon an

, ,
equerry on horseback S peedily made his appearance ,
lea ding an other horse by the bridle .
William without touching the stirrup va ulted into the

, ,
saddle of the led hors e a nd spurring vigorously set off , , ,
to ward the L eyd e n road .
At that point he t urned The Colonel was following .

him w ithin a horse s length The Prince motioned him .
to ride beside h im

Do y o u know he then said without drawing rein
, , ,
that those rascals have killed J ohn de Witt a s w ell a s

his brother ?
T HE M U RD ERERS . 51
Alas Mo n seigneur ! the Colonel answered sadly

, ,
I should like it much better if these two obstacles sti ll

ex isted between yoursel f and the actual Stadtholderate

o f Holland .

Certainly it would hav e been better said William
, , ,
if w hat did happen had not happened But it cannot .
be helped now and we have had nothing to do w ith it

, .
L et u s push on Colonel so that we may arrive a t Alphen

, ,
be fore the message which the States are sure to send to

me in camp .
The Colonel bowed allowed the Prince to ride ahead

, ,
and fell back to the same position he occupied be fore the

Prince ad d ressed him .

Ah ! muttered W illiam of Orange with an evil ,
frown clenching his t eeth and driving his spurs into his
,
horse s side

ah I should like w e ll to see the expres

sion on the face of L ouis the S un of t he World w hen, ,
he learns what has befallen his trusty frien ds the De ,
Witts ! Oh thou S u n ! thou Sun ! as surely as I am

,
called William the Taciturn thou S un thou hadst best , ,
look to thy radian ce

And away upon his mettled steed sped t his young
Prince the relentless rival of the great king thi s S tadt
,
holder in embryo who had been but the day befo re ,

, ,
very uncertainly established in his new born power b ut -

,
for whom the burghers of the Hague had built a stair

case w ith the bodies of John and Cornelius two pri n ces ,
as noble as he in the eyes of God and man .

52 TH E B L ACK T U L IP .
CHA PT ER V .
T H E T U L l P -F A N C E I R AN D H IS I
N E GH B O R .
WH I L E the burghers of
the H ague were te a ring in pieces
the bodies of John and Corneli us de Witt a n d while ,
William of Orange aft er having made sure that h is two

,
antagonists were really dead was galloping along the ,
L eyd e n road followed by Colonel v a n Dek e n whom he

, ,
found a little too compassionate to hon or him any longer

with his cond ence Cracke the fai t hful servant mounted
, , ,
o n a good hors e and li t tl e suspecting what terrible events

,
had tak en p lace since hi s depa rtur e rode along t he tree ,
li n ed emban km e nts until he was clear of the town and

t he neighboring villag e s .
Be ing once s afe he left his horse at a li v ery st a ble in

, ,
ord e r not to arouse suspicion and tran q ui lly continued

,
his j ourn ey on t he ca n al boats which conveyed him by

-
,
easy stages to Dort m a ki ng their way un d er skilful guid

,
ance by the shortest possible routes through the windi n gs

of the stream which h e ld in its watery embrace so many
,
fascinating little islands e d ged w ith willo ws an d rush e s

,
and abounding in luxuriant veg etation whereon ocks o f ,
fat sheep were bro wsing sleepily and peace fully .
Cracke from afar recognized Dort the smiling city at , ,
t h e foot of a hill dotted with windmills He saw t he ne .
red brick houses mortare d in white lines bathin g their

-
, ,
feet in the water and their balconies open toward the

, ,
Mynheer v a n Baerle the father had a massed in the

, ,
Indian trade three or four hundred thousand or in s ,
w hich Mynheer van Baerle the s o n at the d eath of his

, ,
loving and cherished parents in 1 6 88 found still quite

, ,
new although one set of them bore the date of 1 6 40 and

, ,
the other that of 1 6 1 0, a fact which proved that they

-
were the orins of Van Baerle the father a n d o f Van

Baerle the grandfather but we hasten to say that these
three or four hundred thousand orins were only pocket
m oney for Cornelius van Baerle the hero of t his story , ,
as his landed proper ty in the province yielded h im an

income of about ten thousand orin s a year .

When the worthy citizen Cornelius s father s huie d
, ,
o ff this mortal coil three months after the decease of
his wife who seemed to have gone rst to lighten his

,
path in death as she had lightened his j o u rney through

life he said to his s o n as he embraced him for the last
, ,
time ,
Ea t drink and spe n d your money if you wish to

, , ,
kno w what life really is ; for as to toiling from mo rn

to evening on a wooden stool or in a l e athern chair in a ,
counti ng ho u se or a laboratory that certainly is not liv

-
,
ing Your turn to die will come ; and if you are not then
.
s o fortunate as to have a son you w ill let our name die

,
out a nd my astonished or ins which no one h as ever

, ,
weighed but my father myself an d the coiner will n d

, , ,
themselves the property of an unknown m aster Above .
all things do not imitate the example of your godfather

, ,
Corneli us d c Witt w ho has plunged into politics the

, ,
most u n grateful of all careers and who will certainly ,
come to an untimely end .
And s o worthy My nh eer van Baerle died to the intense ,

T H E T UL IP FAN CI ER AN D H IS N E GH B O R I . 55
gr i e f of hi s sonCornelius w ho cared very little for the

,
or ins and very much for his father .
Cornelius therea fter remained alone in his great

house .
In vain his godfather o ffered him a place in the public

service in vai n did he try to arouse in him a thirst for
glory although Cornelius to gratify his god fa ther did
, , ,
embark with De Ruyter upon The Seven Provinces

,
the agship of a eet of one hu ndred and thirty nine -
sail with w h ich the famous admiral set out to contend

,
sing le handed against the combined forces of France and

-
England When guided by the pilot Lger he had come

.
, ,
w ithin musket -shot of the Prince with the Duke of

,
York (the English ki n g s brother) aboard u pon which D e

,
Ruyter his Mentor made s o sharp and well directed a n

, ,

attack that the D uk e perceiving that his vessel wou ld

,
soon have to stri ke made the best of his way aboard t he

,

S aint Michael ; w hen he had seen the Saint Michael ,
riddled and shatter ed by the Dutch broadside drift o ut of ,
t he line ; w hen he had witnessed the sinking of the E arl

of S andwich and the de a th by re or drowni ng of four
,
hundred sailors ; w hen he realized that t he r e sult of all

this destructio n after twenty ships had b e en blown to
pieces three thousand men killed and ve thous a nd in
,
ured was that nothing was decided that both sides

j ,
claimed the victory that the ghting would soon begin

,
again and that j ust o n e m ore name that of Southwold

, ,
Bay had been added to the list of battles ; w hen he

,
h a d estimated ho w much time is lost simply in shutting

his eyes and ears by a man who likes to us e his reective
powers even while hi s fe llow creatures are cannonading
one another Corneli us bade farewell to De Ruyter t o

, ,
56 T H E BLA C K T U L IP .
the Rua r t de P ulten and to glory ; kissed t he knees of the

,
Grand Pensionary for whom b e entertained the deepest

,
veneration and retired to his house at Dort rich in his

, ,
well earned repose his t wenty -eight y ears an iron consti

-
, ,
t u t io n and keen perceptions and his capital of more th a n

, ,
four h undred thousands of or ins and income of ten ,
t housand convinced that a man i s always endowed by

,
Heaven w ith too much for his own happiness and j ust ,
enoug h to make him miserable .
Consequently and to indulge his own idea of happi

,
ness Cornelius began to be interested in the study of

,
plants and insects ; coll e cted and classied all the Flora
of the islands arran ged the whole entomology of the
,
province on which he wrote a treatise w ith plates drawn

, ,
by his o wn hands ; and at last b e ing at a loss what ,
to do with his time and especially w ith his money , ,
which went on accumulati n g at a most alarming rate,

he took it into his head to choose among all the fads
of his coun t ry a nd of his age one of t he most elegant
and expensive .
H e became a tulip fancier -

.
It was the time as is well known when the D utch and

, ,
t he Portugues e rivalling each other in this branch of

,
horticulture had begun to deify the tulip an d to make

, ,
more of a cult of it than ever naturalists dared to make

of the h uman race for fear of arousing the j ealousy of
,
the Deity .
Soon from Dort to Mons people talked of nothi ng but

Myn h eer van B aerle s tulips ; and his be ds pits drying , ,
rooms and drawers of bulbs were visited a s the galleries

, ,
and libraries of Ale xandria were in the olden days by

illustriou s Roman tra vellers .
TH E T UL IP FAN CIER AND H IS N E GHBO R I . 57
Van Baerle began by expending his yearly reven ue in

laying the ground work of his collection af ter w hich he
-
,
encroached upon his store of n e w or in s to bri ng it to

perfection His exertions indeed were crowned w ith
.
, ,
most magni cent results : he produced v e new species

of tu ips which he called the J ane after his mother
l , ,

the Van Baerle after his father a n d the Cornelius,
,
after his god father : t he oth er names have escaped u s but ,
amateurs w ill b e sure to nd them in the catalogues of

the time .
In the b egi n ning o f the year 1 6 7 2 Cornelius de Witt ,
came to Dort for three months to live at his old family

,
mansion ; fo r it is known not only that he was born in

that city but that the De W itt family had its origin
,
there
.
Cornelius at that period in the words o f W illiam of

,
Orange was begin ning to e nj oy the most perfect unpop

,
ula r ity. And yet in t he m i nds of his fellow -cit izens

the good burghers of D ort he was n ot lost beyond re
,
demption ; and w hile they did not parti cularly like hi s

somewhat too pronounced republicanism they were proud ,
o f his personal w orth and when he V i sited their town they

,
hastened to o ffer h im t h e loving-cup .
A fter he had expressed his thanks to his fellow citizens -

,
Corneli us proceeded to his o ld fami ly mansion a n d gave ,
directions for some repairs wh ich he wi s hed to have made

,
before the arrival of his wi fe and children .
Thence the Rua r t de Pulten directed h is steps toward

the house of his godson who perhaps was the only person
, , ,
in D ort as yet unacquainted with the presence of Cornelius

in his nati ve town .
In the same degree a s Cornelius de W itt had e x cited

58 T H E B L A CK T U L IP .
hatred by sowing those evil seeds which are called politi ~
cal passions Va n Baerle had won the good will of his

,
-
fellow citizens by completely neglecting the cultivation of

-
politics in his absorption in tulip culture -

.
Van Baerle was truly beloved by h is servants and la

borers therefore he could not conceive th a t any man on
earth could wish ill to another .
And yet it must be said to the discredit of h uman ity

, ,
that Cornelius v a n Baerle wi t hout knowing it had a

, ,
much more ferocious erce a n d i m placable enemy than

, ,
the Grand Pe nsionary and his brother ha d u p t o that

time been made aware of among thos e members of the
Orange faction who w e re m ost hostil e to the devoted
brothers who ha d never be e n sund e red by the lea st m is
,
u n d erstanding durin g th e ir liv e s and by thei r m ut u al ,
devotion in the face of d e ath made sure the exist

ence of their more than brotherly aff ection beyond the
grave .
From t he time when Corneli us v a n Baerle began t o

devote himself to tulip growing he ha d S pent on this
-
,
hobby his yearly revenu e and the o r ins of his father .
There was at Dort living ne x t door to him a citize n of

, ,
the name of Isaac Boxtel who from the day that he had
,
b e gun to think for himself had indulged the sam e fancy,

and would almost fai n t at the mere mention of t he word
tulban which (as we are assure d by the Floriste

,
Fran caise the most highly considered authority in

,
-
matters relating to this ower) is the rst word in t he

Cingal e se to n gue which was ever used to d e signat e that
masterpiece of oricult ure which is now cal led the tulip .
Boxtel had not the good fortu n e of bei n g rich like Van
Baerle . He had therefore w ith great care a nd patience,
, ,
TH E T U L IP F AN CI ER AN D H IS N E GH B OR. I 59
and by dint of strenuous exertions laid out near his ,
house at Dort a garden t for the culture of his cherished

ower ; he had mixed the soi l accordin g to the most ap
proved directions and given to his hotb eds j ust as much
,
heat and fresh air as the strictest rules of hor ti cult ure
e x act .
Isaac knew the temperature o f his frames to the twen

t iet h par t of a degree He kne w the stre ngt h of the
.
current of air and managed the draught so that it would

,
not impart too violent a motion to the stems of his

owers His speci mens soon b egan to meet with favor
. .
They w ere beautiful and sought after too Several fa n

, ,
.
cie rs had come to s ee B oxt el s tulips At last he b rought

.
forth amid all t h e L inn aeuses and T ou rnefort s a tulip

which bore h is n ame and which , after having travelled
,
all t hrough France had found it s way into Spain and

, ,
penetrated as far as Portugal w here K i ng Don Alp honso ,
VI .
,
w ho when drive n from L isbon had retired to the
Island of Terceira, where he amused himsel f not like the ,
Great Con d with w a tering his carnations, but with

,
,

grow ing tulips
o n seeing the
,
Boxtel remarked that ,
it was N OT BAD .
All at once Cornelius Van Baerle who after all his ,
le ar ned pursuits had been seized with the t ulipomania ,
made some changes in his house at Dort which as we , ,
have state d was next door to that o f Boxtel

,
He added .
one story to a certain building in his courtyard which ,
took away ab out half a degree of warmth from Boxt el s
g arden , and in exchange returned half a d e gree of cold ;

not to mention that it interfered w ith the d raught and ,
u pset all the horticultural calculations a nd arrang ements
of his neigh b or .
A fter all this mishap appeared to Boxtel of no great

,
consequence Van Baerle was b ut a painter ; that is to

.
say a species of lunatic who distorts and d is g ure s N a

, ,
ture s wonders by trying to reproduce them on canvas

.
The painter, he thought , had raised his studio one story

to get better light as he ha d a perfect right to do My n
,
.
heer van Baerle was a painter as Mynheer Boxtel was a,
tulip-grower ; he wanted somewhat more s un for his

paintings and s o he too k half a degree from his neighbor s
,
tulips .
The la w was with Van Baerle and he m ust m ake the ,
best of it .
Moreover Isaac made the discovery that too much sun

was i nj urious to tulips a n d that this ower gre w more
,
quickly and assumed more gorgeous hues w ith the tem

perate war mth of morning and eve n ing than with the
powerful heat of the midday sun He therefore felt .
a lmost grateful to Cornel ius van Baerle for having fur
n is he d him with a sunshade at no expense .
It may be that this was not ent irely true and that ,

Boxt el s real feelings were not accurate ly reected in what
he said about his neighbor but great minds n d a mar
vellons amo unt of comfort in philosophical reections ,
even in t he m idst of most terrible calamities .
But alas ! What was the agony of the unfortunate

,
Boxtel on seeing the w indows of the new ly built story set -
out with bulbs and seedlings, w ith tulips in f ull bloo m ,
and tulips in pots in short with everythi n g dear to the

,
heart of a monom aniac in tulips .
There were bundles of labels pigeon holes and drawers,

-
,
with compartments and wire guards for the pigeon -holes

,
-
,
to allow free access to the a ir w h ile keeping out m ice ,

62 T HE B L A C K T U L IP .
w it h a capital of four hundred t ho u sand and a yearly

i ncome of ten thousand orins devoting all his in t ellec ,
tual and nancial reso urc e s to tulip cult ure on a vast -
scale He foresaw his neighbor s success v ag uely but near

.

at hand and he felt such a pang at the mere idea of t his

success that his hands dropped powerless at h is side his ,
knees trembled and in his despair he fell headlong from

,
the ladder .
Thus it was not for the sake of pain t ed tulips but for
real ones that Van Baerle took fro m hi m half a degree of
warmt h Thus V a n Baerle was to have t h e most a d m ir
.
able exposure to w ind and s un and b esides a large , , ,
chamber in which to preserve h is bulbs and seedli ngs ,
a w ell lighte d airy and well -v entilated apartment

, , ,
w hich w a s a n unattainab l e l uxury for Boxt el who had ,
been obli g e d to give up for this purpose his bedroom ,
and lest the pres e nce of animal organisms might i njure

,
his bulbs and seedlings had taken u p his abode in a ,
mise rable g arret .
Boxtel then was to have n ext door to him a rival and

, ,
competitor perh a ps a successful one ; and th is rival in

, ,
stead o f bei n g some unknown obscure gardener was the ,
godson of My n hee r Cornelius de Witt that is to say a , ,
celebrity .
Boxtel as t h e reader may s e e was not possessed

, ,
of t he spirit of Porus who on being conquered by , ,
Al e xand e r, consoled himself w ith the renown of his

conqueror .
What would happe n if Van Baerle should ever produce

a new variety of tulip and name i t the John de W itt , ,
after having named one t he Cornelius ? It wa s indeed

e nough to make one choke w ith rage .
T HE T UL IP FAN CI ER I
A N D H IS N E GH B OR. 63
T hus Bo xtel in his j ealous forebodin g , b ecame the

,
prophet of hi s own m isfortune, and foresaw what was

to happen . And after having made this melancholy

discovery, he passe d the most wretched nig ht possi ble
to imag ine .
64 T H E BLAC K T U L IP .
C HAPT E R VI .
TH E H AT RE D OF A T U L l P -F A N C E I R .
F RO M t hat moment Boxtel was n o longer absorb ed in his

o wers but was anxious an d afraid He laid aside the
,
.
p ursuit of a favorite subj ect which gives vigor and eleva

,
tion to the efforts of mind and body alike and all his ,
t houghts ran only upon the inj ury which h is n eighbor

wa s likely to inict upon him .
Van Baerle as may easily be imagined ha d no soon e r

, ,
begun to apply t h e keen intellect with which N ature ha d

so bountifully endowed him to his n e w fancy than h e
s ucceeded in growing the nest tulips I n deed h e suc .
,
cee d e d better than any one at Harl e m or L eyden the

t wo towns which can boast t h e best soil and t he most
congenial climate in varyi n g the colors m odi fyi n g t he ,
shape and produci ng new species

,
.
He belonged to that witty ingen ious school wh o took

, ,
f or th e ir motto in the seventeenth century t h e aph orism

u ttered by one of t h eir number in 1 6 53 To despis e ,

owers i s to o ff end God .
From that pre mise t he school of t ulip fanciers , t he most
exclusive of all schools worked out the following syll ogism

,
in the same year,

To d espi s e o w ers is to offend God .
The m ore b ea utiful the ow er is t he , m ore do es on e off end

God in d espi s i ng it
.
T H E H AT RE D OF A T UL IPFA N C IER . 65
T hetuli p is t he m os t b eautiful o f all ow ers .
Th erefore he who despi ses t he tulip offends God beyond

,
measure .
!
By such reasoning it can be seen that the four or v e

,
thousand tulip growers of Holland France and Portugal

-
, , ,
leaving o u t those of Ceylon and China and the Indi es ,
might if s o disposed, pu t the w hole w orld u nder the ban

, ,
and condemn as schismatics and hereti cs a n d des e rving

of death the several hundred millions of man kind whose
hopes of salvation were not centred upon the tulip .
We cannot doubt that in such a cause Boxt el though ,

he was Van B a er le s deadly foe would have marched
, ,
under the same banner with him .
Mynheer v a n Baerle there fore was very successful and

, , ,
his name was in everybody s mo uth ; s o that Boxt e l
disappeared forever fro m the lis t of the notable tulip

grow e rs in Holland and the fraternity of D ort were n o w
,
repre sente d by Cornelius v a n B aerle the modest and ,
ino ff ensive savant .
Thus from the most slender branch t he g rafted scion

sends forth its most luxuriant shoots and the sweet-brier , ,
with its four colorless petals is but the foreru n ner of the ,
huge sweet smelling rose Thus, too have the proudest

,
-
.
,
royal lines sometimes h a d t heir origin in the hut of a

wood cutter or the fisherman s cabi n
-
.
Engrosse d , heart and soul in his pursuits of sowing , ,
planting and gathering Van Baerle petted by th e whole

, , ,
fratern ity of tul ip growers in E urope entertained not the

-
,
least suspicion that there was at his very door a pretender

w hose throne he had u surped .
He went on in his career and con sequently in his tri ,
u mphs and in t he course of t wo years he covered his beds

5
with such marvellous productions as no mortal man fol

lowing ia the steps of t he Creator, except perhaps Shak
speare and Rubens, ha s ever equalled .
If the necessity had a risen to nd some n e w rep t e

s e nt a t iv e o f a conde m ned soul omitted by D ante, Boxtel ,
during thi s time would have served excellently as a

,
model W hile Cornelius was weeding manuring watering

.
, ,
his beds ; while kneeling on the turf border b e analyzed

,
-
,
every v ein of the owering tulips and meditated on the

,
modications which might be e ffected by possible new

combinations of color Boxtel concealed behin d a small
, ,
sycamore which he had trained at the top of the par

,
tition wall and w hich h e m ade u s e of as a screen

-
,
watched with his eyes starting from their sockets and

,
with foaming mouth every step and every gesture of his

,
n e ighbor ; and wh e never he thought he s a w h im look

h appy or descried a smil e on his lips or a gleam of con
, ,
t en t me n t in h is eyes he would pour forth such a v o lle v

,
of maledictions and furious threats that one could h a rdly

conceive ho w such wrath and envy laden breath could -
fail to infect the stalks of the poor flowers and s ow the ,
see ds of decay and death among them .
Before long such rapid progress does the spirit of evil

make w h e n it has once become master of the human
,
heart Boxtel was no longer content with watch ing Van

Baerle He wanted to see his owers too ; he had the
.
feelings of an artist and the masterpi e ce of a rival

,
engrossed his interest .
He there fore bought a telescope which enabled him to

,
watch , as accurately as did t he owner h i mself every pro ,
g res s iv e development of the ower from the moment ,
when in the rst y ear its pale seed leaf begins to peep -
T HE H AT RE D or A T U L IPFAN CI ER . 67
from the ground, to that when after v e years it ra i ses

on h igh its proud and graceful stalk upon which n uoer
,
tain shade s of color appe ar and o wer pet als at last un fold
,
-
and reveal the hidden treasures of its calyx .
How o ften did the misera ble j ealou s wretch perched ,
on his ladder percei ve in Van Ba erle s beds tulips which

,

dazzled him by their b eauty and almost choked him with

their perfection of form and color !
And then after t h e rst w ave of ad miration which he
,
could not resist he b egan to be tortured by the pangs of

,
envy by that fever w hich preys upon the heart and

,
changes it into a nest of vipers feeding upon one another ,
t h e aw ful source of unspeakable s ue ring

How many t i mes did Boxtel in t he midst of tortures

,
which no pen is able fully to describe feel tempted t o ,
jump down into the garden during t he n ight to d estroy ,
the plants to tear t he b ulbs with his teeth and to sacri

, ,
ce to his wrath the owner hi msel f if he sh ould venture

,
to de fend his tulips

B ut t o destroy a tulip was a h orribl e crime in th e eyes
of a genuine tulip fancier as to killing a man it would ,
not h ave mattered so very much .
Yet Van Baerle made su ch progress in the sci ence ,
which he seemed to master instinctively that Boxtel at ,
last w as maddened to such a deg ree as to seriously con !
template throw ing stones and sticks into the o wer b eds -
o f his nei g hbor But when b e re ected that the very

.
ne x t morn ing Van Baerle, upon discoveri ng his loss

, ,
w oul d lay an in format i on that it would appear that the

street was a long w ay off, and that sticks and stones no
lon g er h a d a way of falling fro m the sky in the seven
t eent h century a s they u se d to do in the time of the
68 TH E BLAC K T U LIP .
Amalekites and that the author of the crime, though it

was perpetrated in the night would surely be found out,
,
and that he would not only be punished by law b ut also ,
dishonored forev er in the eyes of all the tulip growers o f -
E urope , Boxtel whetted his hatred by stratagem and r e ,
solved to employ a means which w ould not compromise

himself .
He considered a long time and at las t found what he

,
sought .
One evening b e tied t wo cats together by their hind

l egs w ith a string about six feet in le ngth and thre w ,
them from the wall into the midst of tha t nob le that ,
princely that royal bed which contained not only t he

, ,
Cornelius de Witt but the Bra b an conn e as well

, ,
milk -white and purple and pink the Marbr e de Ro tr e

, ,
a x colore d w
- ith brilliant red and incarnadine streaks
,

the Merveille de Harlem t he Colom b in Obscur
, ,

and the Colombin Clair Tern i .
The terried animals falling violently from the t o p of

,
the wall rushed across the bed each in a d i e re nt d irec

, ,
tion un til the string by w hich they were tied toge ther
,
was stretched t au t then ho wever nding that they ,
could go no fa rth er t hey tore back and forth with hide

,
o u s miaouing m owi n g down with t h eir string the owers

,
among w h ich they were disporting thems e lves until afte r , ,
a furious strife of about a quarter of an hour they suc ,
cee d ed in breakin g the stri n g which bound them together ,
and vanished .
Boxtel h idden behind his sycamore could not see any

, ,
thing ou account of the darkness but the pierci n g cri e s

of the cats told the whole tale and his heart overowing , ,
with gall, wa s n ow throbbi n g with triumphant j oy .

70 T H E B L ACK T U L IP .
make the assassin burst with rage ; and he tore his hair
at the sight of the e ff ects of the crime which he had
committed but committed in vain
,
.
Van Baerle w hile deploring the misfortune which ha d

,
befallen him but which by t he goodness of God was of

, , ,
far less consequence than it m ight have been was utterly ,
at a loss to account for it O n m aking inquiries he .

,
learned that there had b een a terrible amount of nois e

all night He found traces of the cats too in their foot
.
, ,
marks and hair left behind on the battle e ld and to

,
-
guard agains t a similar outrage in future he gave ord e rs ,
that henceforth one of the under gard e ners sho uld sleep -
in the garden in a box near the o wer beds

,
-
.
Boxtel heard h im give the order and saw the box put ,
U
p that very day ; a n d deeming himself lu cky in not
having been suspected but more than ever i n cens ed
,
against the successful horti culturist he awaited a m ore ,
favorable opportunity .
About this tim e the Tulip S ociety of Harlem o ffered a

,
prize for the discovery ( we dare not s ay the ma n ufa c

ture ) of a large black tulip w ithout a spot of color, a
probl em which had never been solved and was considered ,
insolubl e ; for at that ti me there was no vari e ty of the

tulip species of s o dark a shade as bistre ev e n It was .
,
th e r e fore generally said that the fo unders of the prize

,
might just as well have o ffered t wo millions as a hun d red

thousand livres sin ce the thing was impossible
, .
The tulip growing world wa s none t he less e xcited from

-
centre to circumference So m e fanciers caught at the id ea

.
without believing it practicable but such is the power of

imagination among orists that although considering the ,
undertaking as certain to fail all their thoughts were ,

T H E H ATRE D or A T U L IPFA N C IER . 71
engrossed by the wonderful black tulip which was sup ,
posed to b e as chi merical as the b lack swan of Horace or

the w hite blackbird of French tradition .
V a n Baerle was one of the tuli p-growers who conceived

the idea of trying for the prize while Boxtel was of the
,
number who looked upon it only as a chim aera Van .
Baerle as soon as the idea had once taken root in his

,
clear and ingenious mind began slowly t he planting and

,
cross breedi ng necessary to change the tulips which he

-
had grown already from red to brown and from brown to ,
dark brown .
By the next year he had obtained owers of a perfect

bistre and Boxtel espied them in the bed whereas he
, ,
had himself as yet only succeeded in producing the

light brown .
It might perhaps be interesting to explain to the gentle

reader the beautiful chain o f th e ories whic h go to prove
that the t ulip borrows its colors from the elements per
haps we should give him pleasure if we w ere to maintain
and establish that nothing i s impossible for a orist who
avails himsel f with j udgmen t and discretion and patience
of the sun s heat the clea r w ater the j uices of the earth

, , ,
and the cool breezes But this is not a treatise upon

.
tulips in general ; it is the story of one particular t u lip

which we have undertaken to write and to that we limit ,
o urselves however alluring the subj ect which i s so closely

,
allied to ours .
Boxtel once mor e worsted by t h e superiority of his

,
hated rival was n o w completely disgusted with tulip

,
growing and being hal f mad with j e alousy devoted

,
himsel f entirely to spying .
The house of his rival was quite open to view, a gar .

den exposed to the sun c a binets with tra nsparent glass

,
walls shelve s, cupboards boxes and ticketed pigeon -holes

, , , ,
w hich could e asily be survey ed by the telescope Boxtel .
allow ed his bulbs to rot in t h e pits his seedlings to dry ,
u p in their cases and his tulips to wither in the beds ;

,
and h enceforward concentrating all his energy in his eye

sight occupied himself with nothing else but the doings
,

at V a n Ba erle s ; he breathed through the stalks of Van
Ba er le s tulips quench e d h is thirst w ith the water he

,
sprin kled upon them and fe a sted upon the ne soft

, ,
earth which h is nei g hbor scattered upon his cherished

bulbs .
But t h e most curious part of the operations was not

performed in the garden .

At one o clock in the morning Van Baerle would go up
to his laboratory into the glazed cabi n et whither Bo xt el s
,

tel e scope had such easy acc e ss and here as soon as the ,
lamp illuminated the walls and windo ws Boxtel would ,
behold the inventive genius of hi s rival a t work .
He beheld him sorting his seeds and soaking them in ,
liquids which were designed to modify or to deepen their

colors He could i m agine w hat was going on when he
.
saw Cor nelius heating certain grains then moistening ,
them , then combi n ing them with others by a sort of graft

ing , a minute and marvellously delicate manipulation ,
and when he shut up in darkness those w ich were

h
expected to furnish the black color exposed to the sun or ,
to t he lamp those which were to produce red and to the ,
endless reection of two water -mirrors those intend ed to

be w hite and to represent the liqui d element in all its
,
purity .
This innocent magic, the fr uit of childlike musings and

TH E H ATRE D or A T U L IP FA N CI ER . 73
of manly geni us com b ined ; this patient untiring lab or ,
o f whic h Boxtel knew hi msel f to be incapable made him , ,
gna wed as he wa s wit h envy centre all his li fe all his

, ,
thoughts and all his hopes in his telescope

,
.
For strange to say his own love for and interest in

, ,
the art of horticulture had not extinguished in Isaac his

erce envy and thirst for revenge Sometimes while his
.
,
tel e scope was fastened upon Van Baerle he would h a ve an

,
idea that he was taking ai m at him with a musket that

never missed and th e n he would feel w ith his nger for
the trigger to re the sh ot w hich should strike him down .
B ut it is time that we s h ould sho w t he connection b e

t ween the labors o f the one and the espionage of the other
and the visi t which Cornelius de Witt paid to his native
town .
74 TH E B L ACK TU L IP .
CHAPT ER VI I .
P
T H E H A P Y MA N MA K ES A C! UAIN TA NCE WITH M ISFO RI U N E
.
C O R N E L IU S D E W IT T having attended to his family aff airs

, ,
reached the h ouse of his godso n Cornelius v an Baerle , ,
j ust at nightfall in the month of Jan u ary 1 6 7 2 ,

.
D e Witt although he was himself very little of a hor

,
t icult u ris t or of a n artist went over the whole estab

,
lis h m en t from t he stu d io to t h e greenhouse inspecti n g ,
everything from the pictures dow n to t he t ulips He .
than ked his godson fon h av ing j oined him on the deck of

the Admiral s ship The Seven Provinces during the
, ,
battle of S outhwold Bay a n d for having given his name to

,
a magnicent tulip and all this w ith the kindness and

,
a ffability of a father to a son and w h ile he thus inspected

Van B aerle s treasures a crowd gat hered before the door
,
of the h appy man drawn thither by curiosity but respect

, ,
f ul in their demeanor .
All this hubb ub excit e d the atte n tion of Boxtel who ,
was j ust taking his ev eni n g meal by his reside He in .
quired what it meant and on bei ng inform ed of the cause

,
of all t he stir climbed up to his post o f observation where

, ,
in spite of the cold he took his stan d with the telescope ,
at his eye .
This telescope had not been of great service to him

since the autumn of 1 6 7 1 The tulips, like tr ue d aug h
.
ters of t he east aver se to cold , will not live in the open

TH E H A PP Y MA N S MI SFORT U N E

. 75
ground in w inter They need the shelter of the house

.
,
the soft bed on the shelves and the congenial warmth ,
of the stove Van Baerle therefore passed the whole

.
, ,
winter in his laboratory in the midst of his books and

pictures . He went only rarely to the room w here he
'
kept his bulbs unless it were t o a d mit now and then the
,

su n s rays w hich he would surprise in their descent and
, ,
compel to enter w illy n illy by openi ng one of the movable

,
-
,
sashes of the glass front .
O n the evening of which we are speaking after the ,
t w o Corn eliuses had visited togeth er a ll the apartments

of the house followed by a fe w servants De Witt said in
, ,
a low voice to Van Baerle ,
My dear son send these people away and let us be

, ,
a lon e for a w hile .
The younger man bowing assent said aloud , , ,

Do you care to see my tulips drying room Myn -
,

heer ?
The drying room - The p a ntheon of the tulip cult the -
,
tabern acle the holy of holies was like D elphi of old

, ,
interdicted to the profane uninitiated .
N ever valet ha d se t his audacious foot w ithin those

sacred precincts as the great Racine wo uld say Corne
, .
lius admitted only the inoffensive broom of an old Fris

i an housekeeper w ho had been his nurse and who from
, , ,
the ti me w hen he ha d devoted himself to the culture of

tulips, ventured no longer to put onio n s in his st e ws for ,
fear that she might by mistake pluck and s e rve up one of

h er foster-child s idols .
At the mere mention of the dr y ing r oom therefore t he -

, ,
serv a nts who were carrying the lights respectfully fell

, ,
b ac k Cornelius taking t he candlestick from the hand s

.
,
of the foremost conducted his god father into the room in

,
question .
L e t us here add that the drying room was that very -
cabinet w ith a glass front into w hich Boxtel w as continu

ally prying with his telescope .
The envious s py was watching more intently than

ever .
First of all he saw the windows lighted up .
Then two dark gures appe ared .
One of them tall m aj estic stern s a t down near t he

, , ,
table on w hich Van Baerle had placed the taper .
In this gure Boxtel recognized the pale features o f

,
Cornelius de Witt whose long hair parted in front fell

, , ,
over his shoulders .
The Ru a rt de P ulten after having said some few words

,
to Cornelius w hose purport the pryi n g neighbor could

,
not read in the movement of his lips took from his breast ,
and handed him a whi t e parcel carefully sealed which , ,
Boxtel j udging from the m an ner in which Cornelius r e

,
ce iv e d it and placed it in one of t h e presses suppos e d to ,
contain papers of t he greatest i mportance .
His rst thought was that this precious deposit ih

clos e d some newly imported bulbs from Bengal or Cey
-
lon ; but he soon re ected that Cornelius de Witt was

very little addicted to tulip g rowi ng and that he only -
,
occupied himself with man a plan t m uch less agreeable

,
to look u pon and vastly more dif cult to cultivate with

success H e therefore came to the concl usion that the
.
parcel contained simply some papers and t h at thes e ,
papers related to politics .
But why should papers relatin g to politics be intrusted

t o Van Baerle who not only wa s , b ut even boaste d of
,
'
T he envious fellow was not mistaken in his suppositio n .
The parcel entrusted to Van Baerle and carefully locked

u p by him was nothing more nor less than J ohn de Witt s

correspondence with the Marqu is de L o uvois The de .
posit was made however by Cornelius as he told his

, , ,
brother without givi n g to his godson the least intimation

,
concerning the political importance of the secret He .
merely desired him not to d eliver th e parcel to any o ne

but to himself or to whomsoever he S hould send to claim
,
i t in his name .
And Van Baerle as we have seen loc ked it up with his

, ,
most pre cious bulbs .
Then the Rua r t t ook his leave t h e hustle ceased and, ,
the lights went out and our good man tho ught no m ore
of the parcel while Boxtel on the other hand thought
, , ,
much ab out it and looked upon it a s a clever pilot does

,
on the distant and scarcely perceptible cloud which gro ws

larger as it a ppr oa ches a nd threatens a storm .
And now her e are all the branches of our tale planted in
that rich tract of country which stretches from Dort to the
Hague L et him follow them wh o wil l in the chapters
.
,
w hich follow ; we have kep t our word and h ave demon ,
s t ra t e d that n either John nor Cornelius de Witt had at

that time in all Holland s o relentless a foe as Van Baerl e

had at his own door in Dort in the person of Isaac Boxtel .
Mean while happy in his ignorance Van Baerle had

, ,
proceeded step by step toward the goal sugge sted by

the Hortic ultural S ociety of H arlem H e had progressed .
from bistre to the color of roasted co ffee and on t h e very

day when th e frightful events took place at t h e H ague ,
which we h ave related in the precedi n g chapters we nd ,

him about one o clo ck in the day gathering fro m the beds ,
THE H A PP Y MA N S
MIS F ORT U N E . 79
the still unfruitful bulbs raised from the s e ed of tulips

of t h e color of roasted co ffee which being expected to .
,
ower for the rst time in the S pri ng of 1 6 7 3 would u m ,
doubtedly produce the large black tuli p required by the

Harlem S ociety .
On the 2 0 t h of August 1 6 7 2, at one o clock Corneli us

,

was t herefore in his drying room with his feet resti n g on

, ,
-
,
the foot bar o f the table and his elbows on the cover

,
gazing with intense delight on t h ree b ulbs which he had

j ust detached from t he mother b ulb pure perfect and , , ,
entire the priceless germs of one of the most marvellous

,
productions of nature and science whose unit ed efforts if , ,
crowned with success would render the name of Cornelius

,
van Baerle forev e r illustrious .

I shall nd the black tulip said Cornelius to him ,
self as he detached the bulbs

,
I Shall obtain the .
h undred thousand or in s o ff ered by the Society I will .
distribute them among t he poor of Dort ; and thus the

hatred whi ch every rich man has to encounter in times of
civil com m otion w ill be allayed, and I shall be able with ,
out feari n g any harm from eit her Republicans or O ra ng ist s ,
to keep as heretofore my beds i n splendid condition I .
need no more be afraid lest when a ri ot is in progress ,
the shopkeepers of the town and t he sailors of the port

S hould come and root upmy bulbs to boil them as onions
'
for their families as they have som e times quietly threat

,
ened to do when they happened to rememb er my h aving

paid two or three hundred orins for one b ulb
. It is .
there fore settled that I shall give the h undred thousand

or ins of the H arlem pri ze to the poor And yet .
Here Cornelius paused and heaved a sigh ,

.
And yet he conti nued, it would have been so very

,
80 THE BLAC K T U L IP .
deligh tful to spend t he hundred thousand or ins on t he

enlargement of my tulip bed or even on a j ourney to the -
,
East the country of beautiful owers ! But alas ! th e se

, ,
are no thoughts for the present times w hen m uskets , ,
standards procla mations and beating o f drums are the

, ,

order of the day .
Van Baerle raised his eyes to h eaven and sigh e d again , .
Th en glancing toward his b ulbs obj ects of much

, ,
g reater importance to him t han all those muskets stan ,
d ard s drums and proclamations w h ich in his min d w e re

, ,
invented for n o oth er purpose than to dist urb the repose

of h onest p eople he said , ,
These are indeed beautiful b ulbs how smooth they

, ,
are how well formed ! Th e re is th a t air of melancholy

,
about them which promises to produce a ower of the

color of ebony On their S kin on e cannot even distin
.
guish the veins with the naked eye It is almost sure .
that not a S pot will d is g u re t he mourning robe of t he

ower which will owe its e xisten ce to me .
By what name shall we call this o ff spri ng of my Sleep

less nights of my labor an d my thought ? Tu lzp a mg r a
' '
'
,
B a r lce ns is .
Y es , B a r lce ns zs ; a
'

ne name All the tulip fanciers .
-
that is to say all the intelligent people of E urope

will feel a thrill of excitement when the report ies
upon the wings of the wind to the four quarters of the
globe,
T H E GREA T B L ACK T U L I P IS FO U N D ' How is it

called ? the fanciers w ill ask T ulipa ni g ra Bar .

laen s is ! Why B a r laenszs 2

'
A fter its gro wer V a n ,

Baerle will be the answer And who is this Van Baerle !
, .
He is the same m a n who h as already produced ve

TH E H A PP Y MA N S
MI S FO RT U N E . 81
ne w t ulips : The J ane the Jo hn de Witt the Cornelius

, ,

de W itt etc , Well that is my ambition It will cause
.
, .
n o one to shed a tear And people w ill still talk of my

.
Tuli pa nigr a Ba r laens is w hen p e rhaps my godfat her t he

, , , ,
illustrious politician will be known only fro m the tulip to

,
which I have given his name .
Oh these lovely bulbs !

,
When my tulip has owered Cornelius continued , ,
and when tranquillity is restore d in Holland 1 S hall ,
give to the poor only fty thousand o rins which after ,
all is a goodly sum for a man who is under no obligation

wha tever Then w ith the remaining fty thousand
.
orin s I S hall make experiment s W ith the m I mean .
to succeed in imparting scent to t he t ulip Ah if I .

,
should succeed in gi vi n g it the odor of the rose or t he

carn ation , or w h at would be still better a completely
, ,
ne w S cent ; if I should restore to this q ueen of owers

her natural distinctive perfume which she ha s lost in ,
passing from her Eastern to her E uropean throne, and

w hich s he mus t have in the Indian peninsula at Goa ,
Bombay and Madras and especially in that isl a nd which

, ,
in olden t imes a s is asserted , was the terrestrial paradi se

, ,
and which is c alled C eylon o h w hat glory !

In that ,
even t I declare I would rather be Cornelius van Baerle

,
than Alexander C aesar or Maximilian , , .
Oh these adorable b ulbs

,
Th us Cornelius indulged in the delights o f contempla

tion and lost hi mself in sweetest dreams
,
.
Suddenly the bell of his cabinet was run g m u ch more

v iolently than us u al .
Cornelius , startled laid his hands on his bulbs a n d

, ,
t urn ed round .
82 TH E B L A C K T U L IP .

Who there 2 he ask e d
is .

Mynh eer answered the servant it i s a mes senger
, ,

from the Hague .
A messenger fro m the Hague W hat does he

want 1
It is Cr aeke Mynheer , .
Cr a eke ! the condential servant of Mynheer J ohn

de Witt ? Very well let h im wait ,
.
I cannot wait said a voice in the hall ,

.
As he S poke and disregarding orders Cra eke rush ed

, ,
into the drying room .
This almost forcible entrance was such an infringem ent

on the established rules of the household of Cornelius v a n
Baerl e that the latter a s he saw Crae ke come headlo ng ,
into the room co nvulsively moved his hand w hich cov

,
ered the bulbs so that two of th e m fell on the oor one

, ,
of them rolling under a small table and the other into ,
the replace .

The devil said Cornelius eagerly stooping to re ,

cover his priceless treasure what S t he matter Cr a eke ? ,

The matter Mynheer said Cra eke laying a paper
, , ,
on the large table on w hich the third bulb was lying

, ,
the matte r is that you are requested to read this pap er

without losing one moment .
A n d Cra eke who thought he had remarked in t he

,
stre ets of D ort symptom s of a tumult S imilar to th a t

which he had witnessed before his departure from the
H ague ran o ff w ithout even looking behind hi m
, .
All right all right my dear Cra eke

,
said Co m e ,
li us stretching his arm under the table for the bulb ;

,
your paper shall be read indeed it shall , .
Then examining the bulb w hich he held in t he hollo w

,
THE HA PP Y MA N S
MI S FO RT U NE . 83
of his han d, he said

Good ! here is one of them un in
,
j ured That con founded Crae ke I To rush into my dryi ng

.
roo m in that way 1 L et us now look after the other .
And without laying down the bulb which h e already

held Baerle went to the replace knelt down and stirred
, , ,
w ith the tip of his nger the ashes whi ch fortunately ,
were quite cold .
H e at once felt the other bulb .
Well here i t is he said And looking at it w ith

, , .
al most fatherly aff ection he exclaimed , U ninj ured like

, ,
t he other !
And this very instant and while Corneli us still on his
, ,
kn e es was examining t he second b ulb, t he door o f the

,
drying room was s o violently shaken and opened so n u

-
,
ceremoniously im mediately after that Cornelius felt rising ,
in his cheeks and his ears the glow of that evil counsello r
w hi ch is called wrath .
What is it now 1 he demanded are people g oing

m ad in thi s house ?
Oh Mynhe er ! Mynheer
,
cried the servant rushi ng ,
into the drying room with a m uch paler face and much
-
,
more frightened mien than Cra eke had shown .
Well asked Corneli us foreboding some catastrophe

,
from this dou b le breach of all rules .
Oh Mynheer y y q uickly ! cried the servant

, ,
.
Fly ! what for ?

Ah , Mynheer ! the house is f ull of guards of the

States .
What do they want ?

They want y ou .
W hat for l
To arrest you .
84 TH E BLAC K T UL IP .
Arrest me arrest m e do you say ? ,
Y e s Mynheer and th e y are led by a magistrate

, ,
.
What s t he meaning of all this ? said Van Baerle

,
grasping in his hands the two bulbs and glanci ng in ,
terror toward the staircase .

They are comi ng up ! they are coming u p ! cried
the servant .

Oh my dear child m y w orthy master ! cri e d the
, ,
old nurse who now likewise made her appearance i n the

,
drying room take your gold your j e welry a n d y

-
, , , ,
77
y 1
But how shall I make my escape nurse ? said Van ,
Baerle .
Ju m p out of the windo w .
T w e nty v e fe e t from the ground

-
But you will fal l on six fe e t of soft soil .

Yes b u t I should fall on my tulips
,
.
N ever mind j ump out ,
Cornelius took the third bul b approached the window , ,
and opened it ; but seeing w h at havoc he wou ld necessaril y

cause in his beds rather than what a height he would
have to j ump he called out
N ever l
,

and fell back ,
a step .
At this m om ent they saw t hrough the banisters of the

staircase the points of t he halberds of the soldi e rs .
The housekeeper raised her hands supplicati n gly to

heaven .
As to Corneli us van Baerle it must be stated to h is ,
honor not as a man but as a tulip fancier th at his only

,
-
.
thought was for his priceless bulbs .
L ooking about for a paper in which to wrap them up ,
he noticed the y leaf from the Bi ble which C r ae ke had

-
,
The magist rate turned s o as to take a rapid sur vey of

the whole cabinet .
Where i s the apartment you call your drying-room ?

he as ked .

The very same where you n o w are Master van ,

S pen n en .
The magistrate cast a glance at a small note at the top

of his papers .
All right he said like a man who is sure of his

, ,
ground .
Then turning round toward Cornelius he continue d

, , ,

Will you give up those papers to me ?

But I cannot Master van S penne n those papers do
,
not belong to me 5 they were deposited with me in trust ,

and a trust is sacred .
Doctor Corneliu s said the j udge in the na me of

, ,
the States I ord e r you to open this drawer and to give up

to me the papers which it contains .
S ayi n g this the j udge pointed w ith his n ger to t he

,
t hird drawer of the press near the replace .
In thi s very drawer indeed the papers deposited by

, ,
the Ru art de Pulten with his godson were lying, a proof

that t h e police had received v ery exact in formation .

Ah you will not l said Van S penn e n wh en he saw
, ,
Corn e lius standing immovable and b ewildered ; then I

shall open the drawer myself .
And pulling out the drawer to its full length the ,
magistrate at rst alighted on about twenty bulbs care ,
fully arranged and ticketed and then on the paper parcel , ,
which wa s in exactly the same state as w hen it wa s

delivered by the unfortunate Cornelius de W i t t to his
godson .
TH E H A PP Y MA N S MIS FO RT U NE

. 87
The mag istrate broke the seals tore off the envelope , ,
cast an eager glance on the rst leaves which met his eye ,
and then exclaimed with a terrible voice ,
Well j ustice has been rightly in formed after all

,

How said Cornelius how is this ?
, ,
Make n o further pretence of ignorance Mynheer van ,

Baerle answered the magistrate but follow me
, , .
!

What follow you ? cried the Doctor .
Yes for in the name of the States I arrest y ou

, .
Arrests were not as yet made in the name of William

of Orange he had not been Stadtholder long enough fo r
that .

Arrest me cried Cornelius what have I done , ,

pray ?

That s no affair of mine Doctor ; you will expl a in,

all that before your j udges .
Where ?
At the Hague .
Cornelius in mute s tupefaction embrace d his old

, ,
nurse who was ina swoon S hook han ds w ith his weep
,
ing servants and followed the magistrate by whom he

, ,
was put into a coach as a prisoner of State and was then ,
driven at full S peed to the Hague .

88 TH E BLAC K T U LIP .
CHAPT ER VIII .
AN I N V AS ION .
TH E incident j ust related was as the reader h a s guesse d

,
before this the infernal work of Mynheer Isaac Boxtel

,
.
It will be rem e mbered that with the help of his tel e

scope not even the lea s t d et a il of the private meeting
~
between Cornelius de Witt and Van Baerle had escaped

him ; that he had indeed heard nothing but had se en ,
everything ; and that he h a d rightly concluded that the

papers intrusted by the Rua rt to the Doctor must be of
great importance as he s aw Van Baerle so carefully se
,
cre t ing the parcel in the drawer where he kept his most
precious bulbs .
The u pshot of all this was that when Boxtel who

,
watched the course of pol itical events m uch more atten

t iv ely than did his n eighbor Cornelius heard that the
brothers De Witt ha d been arrested on a charge of high

treason against the S tates he tho u ght to hims elf tha t
,
very likely he need only say one word to cause the arrest
of the godson as well as the godfather .
Yet happy as Boxtel was at the opportunity he at

. ,
rst shran k w ith horror from the idea of in formi n g

against a man whom this information might lead to the
scaffold .
B u t t h e mos t terrible thing about wicked thoughts is

that evil minds soon grow familiar with them .
90 TH E BLAC K T UL IP .
If Cornelius sho uld be arrested there would necessarily ,
be great con fusion in his house ; and dur ing the night
after his arrest no one would think of keeping watch over
,
the t ulips in his garden .
N o w d uring that night Boxtel might climb over the

, ,
wall, and a s he knew the location of the bulb which was

to produce the great black tulip he would lch it ; and ,

instead of oweri n g in Cornelius s garde n it would ower ,

in his Isaac s H e also instead of Van Baerle would
,
.
, ,
win the prize of a hundred thousand o r in s not to spe ak ,
of the supreme honor of calling the new ower T ulip a

n ig r a B ox tellen s is a result w hich would satisfy not only
,
his vengeance but his cupidity as well, .
Awake he tho ug ht of nothing but the great black

,
tulip asle e p he dreamed of it , .

At last on the 1 9 th of A ugust about two o clock in
, ,
the afternoon the temptation grew so strong that Myn

,
heer Isaac was no lo n ger able to resist it .
Accordingly he w rote an anonymous denunciation the

, ,
minute exactness of which made u p for its want of a n

t hen t icit y and put it in the post
, .
N ever did a venomous paper slipped into the j aws of ,
the bronze lions at Veni ce produce a more prompt and ,
more terrib le e ff ect .
On the sa me even ing the letter reached the principal

magistrate who without a moment s delay called his col
, ,

,
leag ues to assemble the next morning On the following .
morning therefore they asse mbl ed and decided on Van

, , ,
Ba erle s arrest placing the order for its execution in the

,
hands of Master v a n S penne n who as we have seen , , ,
performed his d uty like a true H ollander and arrested ,
the docto r at the very moment when the Orange party at

AN I N VAS ION . 9I
the H ag u e were roasting the bleeding shreds of esh torn

from the corpses of Corneli us and J ohn de Witt .
B ut whether from a feeling of shame or from being ,
still un us e d to cri me Isaac Boxtel did n ot venture that

,
day to poi n t his telescope either at the garden or at the

laboratory or at the drying room -
.
H e knew t oo well what was about to happen in the

home of the poor doctor to have any need to look on .
H e did not even get up when his only servant who en

vied the lot of the servants of Cornelius j ust as bitterly
as Boxtel did that of their master entered his bedroom .
H e said to the m a n ,
I sh all not get u p to day ; I am ill -

.

About nine o clock he h eard a great noise in the street ,
which made hi m tremble ; at this moment h e was paler .
than a real invalid and shook more violently than a man

,
in the heigh t of fever .
His servant entered t he room Boxtel hid himsel f

under the counterpane .
Oh Mynheer ! cried the servant not without some

, ,
suspicion that wh ile deploring the mishap w hich had he

,
fallen Van Baerle he was anno uncin g agreeable news to

,
his master oh you do not know then w hat is hap

, ,
pening at this moment ?

H ow do you suppose I a m to know it ? answered
Boxtel with an almost inaudible voice
,
.
Well Mynheer Boxtel at this mom ent your neighbor

, ,
!
Cornelius v a n Baerle is being arrested for high treason .
N onsense Boxtel muttered with a faltering voice , ,
the thing is impossible

Faith S ir at any rate that s what people say ; and
, ,

,
besides I saw Judge v a n S penn e n with the archers ent er

,
ing the house .

92 THE BLAC K T UL IP .

Ah if you saw it with your own eyes that s a di fferent
,
matter altogether !
.

At a ll events, said the servant, I w ill go an d in
quire once more N ever fear Mynheer I will keep you

.
, ,

posted .
Boxtel contented himself w ith encouraging the zeal of

his servant with a gest ure .
The man went out and returned in h a lf an hour ,

.
Oh Mynheer, all th at I told you is indeed quite

,
H ow so ?
Mynheer v a n Baerle is arrested and ha s been put ,
into a carriage and hurried off to the H ague

,
To the Hague
Yes to the H ague and if w hat people say i s true it
, ,

won t do him much good .
And what do they say ? Boxtel asked .
Faith they say bu t it is not quite sure that by

t h is hour the burghers are probably m urdering Mynheer

C o rnelius and Mynheer John de Witt .

Oh ! muttered Boxtel with a noise in his throat ,
like a death rattle closi n g his eyes to shut out the dread
,
ful picture which presented itself to hi s imaginatio n .

The devil ! said the servant to himself leaving the ,
room Mynheer Isaac Boxtel m u st be v ery sick n ot to

,

have j umped out of bed on h earing such good news .
In reality Isaac Boxtel was very sick with a S ickness

, ,
like that of a man who has m urdered another .
B ut he had murdered hi s man with a double object ;

t h e rst was attained the second wa s still to be at tained
, .
N igh t closed in I t was night w hich Boxtel had been

.
waitin g for .
94 THE BLAC K T U L IP .
In fact while Boxtel was lying in bed Cornelius had

, ,
gone do wn to his garden had t aken up the mother bulb, ,
and as we have seen divided it into three

, ,
.
Boxtel could not bri ng himsel f to leave the place .
He dug up with his hands more than ten square feet of

ground .
At last n o doubt re mained of his ill luck .
Mad with rage he returned to his ladder mounted the

, ,
wall drew up the l a dder u n g it into his own garden

, , ,
and j um ped aft er it .
A ll at once a last ray of h ope presented itself to his

mind : the seedling b u lbs might be in the drying room -
it was therefore only requisite to make his entry there as

he ha d done into the garden .
There he would nd them and moreover it was not , ,
at all difcult as the sashes of the drying room might be

,
-
raised like those of a greenhouse Cornelius had op ened .
the m that morning and no o ne had thought of closing

,
them again .
E verything therefore depended upon whether Boxt el

, ,
could procure a ladder of su f cient length one of twenty ,
feet instead of tw e lve .
H e had noticed in t h e street where he lived a house

w hich was b eing repaired and aga inst which a very tall

ladder was placed .
This ladder would do admirably unless the workmen ,
had taken it aw a y .
He ran to t he ho u se 5 the ladder was there Boxtel .
took it carried it with great ex ertion to his gard en and

, ,
w ith even great e r d if culty raised it against the wal l
of Van Baerle s house w her e it j ust reached to the

window .
AN i N V AS ION . 95
Bo x tel put a lighted dark lan tern into his pocket ,
mounted t he ladder and slipped into the drying room

,
-
.
On reaching this sanctuary o f the orist he stopped ,
s upporting himself against the table his legs failed him

h is heart beat a s if it would choke hi m Here it was
.
even worse than in the garden It would seem as if the

.
open air added respectability to tra nsgressions of the right

o f property
; a man who would leap a he d ge or climb a
wall stops at t he d oor or window of a house .
In the g arden Boxtel was only a tres passer ; in the

room he was a thief .
However he took courage ag ain he had not gone s o

,
far to turn back empty handed -

.
But in v ain di d he searc h the whole room and open ,
and sh ut all the drawers even that special one where the
,
parcel whi ch had been so fatal to Cornelius ha d b een

deposited ; he found ticketed as in a botanical g arden
, ,

the Jane the J ohn de W itt the bistre and the

,

, ,
roasted co ee -colored tulip ; but of the black tulip or

'
-
,
rather of the seedling bulbs within which it wa s still

sleeping not a trace was to be found
, .
And yet on looking over the register of seeds and

,
bul b s which V a n Baerle kept in duplicate if po ssible

, ,
e ven w ith g reater exactitude and care than the first com
mercial houses of Amsterdam their ledgers Boxtel read ,
the following entry

O n this 2 oth of Aug u st, 1 6 72 , I took up the moth er b ulb
oft he grea t black tul ip, which I hav e div ide d into three p erfect
bulbs .
O h, those b ulbs those b ulb s

,
howled Boxtel turn ,
in g over everythi n g in the dryin g room ; where can he

-

have concealed them ?
The n suddenly striking his forehead a v iolent blow ,
h e s hrieked Oh wretch that I am ! oh thrice fool

, , ,
B oxtel ! Would any one be separated from h is bulbs ?

Would he leave them at D ort when he was to go to t he

Hague ? Could one live away from one s bulbs when ,
they are the bulbs of the great black t ulip ? He had

t i m e to get hold of them the scou n drel ; he has them
,
about him he has t aken them to the Hague !

,
I t was lik e a ash o f lightning which sho wed to Boxtel

t h e abyss of a useless crime .
Boxtel san k quite paralyzed on that very table and on

that very spot where some hours before the unfortunate
, ,
Van Baerle had so leisurely and w ith such intense delight

contemplated the bulbs of the black tulip .

But then after all sai d the envious Boxtel raising
, , ,
h is livid face if he has them he can keep them only s o

.
long as he lives and ,
The rest of this detestable though t was expr essed in a

h ideous smile .

The bulbs must be at the Hague he said therefore ,
I can no longer liv e at Dort .
To the Hague fo r the bulbs then ! to the H ag ue ,
And w ithout taking any notice of the immense treas
ur es about him so entirely were his thoughts absorbed

,
by anoth er inesti m able treas ure he climbed out of the ,
w indo w glided down the ladder carried it back to t he

, ,
place whence h e ha d taken it and like a beast of pr ey , , ,
returned growling to his house .

demolished It was easy to see that a ood of resistless

.
wrath ha d vented itself upon it .

About four o clock the uproar was heard returning but ,
it containe d nothing to alarm Gryphus and his daughter .
It wa s only the noise made by the two dead bodies w hich

the mob were dragging a lohg with the purpose of hanging
them at the usual place of execution .
Rosa hid herself again, but only that S h e might not see
the ghastly spectacle .
At midnight there was a knocking at the door of the

B uy t e nho f or rather at the barricade which served in it s
,
stead.
It was Corneli us v a n Baerle w ho was being brought in .
When Gry phus received this new inmate and read in ,
the warrant t he name and station of his prisoner he ,
muttered with his professional smile ,

Godso n of Cornelius d e Witt ! Well you n g man , ,

we have your family cell here and you shall have it
, .
Chuckli ng over his own joke the ferocious Oran geman

,
took his lantern a n d his keys to conduct Cornelius to the

cell which on that very morning Cornelius de Witt ha d

left to go into exile as exile is u nderstood in times of
,
revolution by those subli me moralists who lay it down as .
an a xiom of lofty policy ,
It is the dead only who do not return .
On his way to that cell the disconsolate orist heard

nothing but the barking o i a dog and saw n othing b ut the
'
face of a young girl .
The dog rushed forth from a niche in the wall rattli ng ,
his heavy chain a n d took a thorough sni ff at Cornelius in

,
order that he might be more certain to recognize him, in

case he should be put upon his trail .
I
T H E FA M L Y CELL . 99
The youn g girl, while the prisoner was makin g t he

stair rail g roan under his heavy hand half opened t he
-
,
door of a chamber occupied by her on the landing of

the same staircase ; and holding t he lamp in her rig ht
hand She at the same ti me lit up her pretty blooming
,
face surrounded by a profu sion of golden locks in thi ck

,
braids, while w ith her left S he held her w hite nig ht-dress
closely over her breast having been ro used from her rst
,
slumber b y the unexpected arri val o f Van Baerle .
It would have made a ne pi cture worthy o f Master Rem

,

brandt s pencil the gloomy winding stairs illuminated
,
by the reddish glare of Gryphus s lantern with his scowl

,
ing visage at the top ; the melancholy features o f Corneli us

bending over the banister to look ; and belo w him the
sweet face of Rosa, against t he background of her lig hted
room and her modest instinctive movement rendered
, ,
somewhat ine ffectual perhaps by Cornelius s advantageous
position standing on the stairs above whence his gaze

, ,
fell tenderly and sadly upon the fair beauti fully -moulded ,
S houlders of the damsel .
And farther down quite in the Shade where the dark

, ,
ness blotted out the detail s of the picture were the ,
glistening eyes of the m a st i, who was rattlin g his chain

,

whose links the double light from Rosa s la mp and
Gryphu s s lan tern made to shine like gold spa ngles

.
But the sublime master could never have succeeded in

depicting the sorrow expressed in Rosa s face when she
s a w this pale handsome young man slowly cli mbing the
,
stai rs and applied to hi m the word s which her father

,

had j ust spoken Y o u s ha
,
ll ha ve t lze f a mily cell .
T his vision l asted but a moment much less time ,
than we have taken to describe it Gryph us then pro .

IP
,
100 TH E BL ACK T U L .
cee d e don his wav Corneli us was forced to follo w him

.
,
and ve minutes later he entered his cell which it is un ,
necessary to describe as the reader is already acquainted

,
with it .
Gry phu s pointed with his nger to the bed which had
witnessed the bitter su fferi n g of the m artyr who on that
very day had gone to meet his Maker Then taking up .
h is lantern he left the cell .
Thus left alone Corn elius threw himself on his bed

, ,
but he could not sleep ; he kept his eye xed o n the nar
ro w window barred with ir on which looked on the square
, ,
of the B uy t en ho f and thus he s a w above the trees

, , ,
the rst p ale ray of dawn fall from heaven over the earth
like a white m antle .
N o w and then d uring the night horses h a d gallop ed

, ,
at a smart pace through the sq uare the heavy tramp of

the patrols had resoun ded on the pavement and the ,
matches of the arquebuses ari ng in the west wind had

, ,
intermittently lighted u p his w indo w .
But when the rising s u n began to gild the roo fs of the

houses Cornelius eager to know whether there was any
, ,
living creature in his vicinity approached the windo w ,
and l ooked gloomily arou n d .
At the end of the sq uare a dark mass whose blackn ess ,
was hardly relieved by t h e morning light rose before him , ,
its irregular outlines standing out in contrast to the

lighter hued house s

.
Corneli u s recognized the gibbet .
On it were suspended two shapeless masses which were ,
no more than bleeding trunks .
The good people of the Hague had chopped off great

pieces of the esh of their victi ms but faithfully carried ,
1 02 TH E BLAC K T UL IP .

The brothers De W itt murdered ! Cornelius mut
t ere d with beads o f s weat on his bro w
,
a n d h e sank
upon his bed h is arms hanging by his side, and his ey e s

,
closed .

The brothers De Witt have u ndergo n e the sen t ence
of the people said Gryphus you call that murd ere d ,
,
do y o u ? W ell I call it executed ,

.
And seeing that the prisoner had not o nly become calm ,
but was a pparently quite overcome by the discovery he

had made b e rushed from t he cell violently Slamming
, ,
the door and noisily dra wing the bolts .
When he came to himself Cornelius foun d himsel f ,
alone and recognized the fact that the room where he

,
was the family cell as Gry phu s had calle d it was

lik ely to be but a stopping place on his j ourney to an
ignominious death .
And as he was a philosop her, and more than that a ,
Christian he b egan by praying for the soul of his god

,
father then for th a t of the Grand Pension a ry and at last

, ,
submitt e d with resignation to all the su ff erin gs to which

God might be pleased to subj ect him .
Then turn ing once more from thoughts o f Heave n to

earthl y matters and having brought his mind back into
,
his dungeon and satised himself that he was alone

therein he drew fro m his breast the three bulbs of the
,
black tulip and conce a led them be hind a block of stone

, ,
on which the traditional water j ug was standing in the -

,
darkest corner of his cell .
U seless labor of so many years ! S uch sweet hopes

crushed ! His great discovery was after all to lead to , ,
nought j ust as his own career w as to end in prema

,
ture death Here in his prison there was not a trace

.
, ,
I
T H E F A M L Y C E L L. 103
of ve getation , not an atom of soil not a ray of s un

,
shine.
At this thoug ht Cornelius fell i nto a gloomy des

pair, from w hich he was roused only by e xtraordinary
circumstance.
W hat wa s thi s circumstance ?

Wi th the reader s permission we will reserve that

in formation for the follow ing chapter .

C HAPT E R X .
D A U G H T ER

T H E JA I L E R S .
ON evening of th at day G ry ph us as he was bringing

, ,

the prisoner s scanty meal , slipped on the damp ags in
openi n g the door of the cell and fell in the attempt to
,
recover himself His hand turned the wrong way, and

.
he broke h is arm j ust above the wrist .
Cornelius made a movement to assis t him but Gryphus ,
who was not yet aware of the serious n ature of his inj ury ,
called out to him ,
It is nothing don t you stir

He then tried to support himself on his arm but the ,
b one gave way ; then he fe lt the pain , and u ttered a

sharp cry .
He knew that his arm must be broken and th is man ,
so harsh in h is treatment o f others fell swooning on t he

,
threshold where he remaine d motionless and cold a s if

, ,
dead .
During all this time the door o f the cell stood open ,
and Corn e lius found himself almost free But t he .
thought never entered his mind of pro ting by this acci

dent He ha d s e en from the manner in which the arm
.
was bent and from the noise it made in bending, th at

,
the bone was fractured and that the patient must be in

,
great pain ; and now he thought of nothing but a d minis

tering relie f to the su fferer notwithstanding the evil
,
recovered from hi s s woon , opened hi s eyes and as his ,
accustomed brutality returned w ith his return to con

s cio us n es s h e growled
,
That s it ! if one is in a h urry
,
to bring a prisoner his supper and in his hurry falls ,
and breaks his arm he is left lying on the ground

,
.

Hush Father said Rosa y o u are u nj ust to this
, , ,

young gentleman whom I found trying to help you
, .
He I Gryphus rej oined with a doubtful air

7
, .
It is quite true Mynh e er and I am quite ready t o

,

help y o u still more .
You I said Gryphu s a r e you a medical man ? ,

It was formerly my profe ssion .
So that you would be able to s et my arm ?

Perfectly .
What would you need for that purpose ?

Two S plinters of wood merely and some linen for a ,
bandage .
D o you hear, Rosa ? said Gry ph u s the prisone r is ,

going to set my arm that s a saving Come help me to
, .
,

get up I feel as heavy as lead .
Rosa le n t the su fferer her shoulder ; he put his unh urt

arm round her neck and with an effort got on h is legs
, ,
w hile Corneli us to save his steps pushed a chair towards

, ,
him .
Gry ph us sat down then turning towards his daughter , ,
h e said ,

Well did n t you hear ? Go and get what is want ed
, .
Rosa left t he room a nd immediately after return ed ,
w ith two barrel staves and a large roll of linen .
Cornelius had made us e of the intervening moments

to take off t he man s coat and to turn back his shirt

,
s lee ve .
TH E I
J A LE R S '
D AU GH TER . 1 07
Is this all that you need , Mynheer asked Rosa .
Yes my child answered Cornelius looking at the

, , ,
i
th ngs which s he had broug ht ; yes that s right N o w

,

.
,
push this table under while I support your father s

,

Rosa pushed the table Corn elius placed t he broken

,
a r m on it in order to have it level and with perfect skill

, ,
s e t the bone , adj usted the splinters and fastened the ,
bandages .
As the last pin was inserted the j ailer fainted a seco n d

,
ti m e
.

Go and get some vinegar my dear said Cornelius ; , ,

we w ill b athe his temples a nd he will soon come to
, .
But i n stead of doing as he suggested Rosa after hav , ,
ing assured hersel f that her father was still unconscious ,
approached Corneli us and said ,
O ne good t urn deserves another, Myn hee r .
What do you mean my dear , asked Cornelius .
I mean to s ay that the j udge who i s to examine you

t o-morrow has inquired to-day about t he room in which
you are con ned ; he was told that you were occupying
the cell of Mynheer Cornelius de Witt and at that reply ,
he laughed in a sinister way w h ich makes me fear that

,

n o good fortune a waits you .
But as ked Cornelius,

,
what harm can they do

to m e ?
L ook at that gibbet

But I am not gu ilty said C orneli us
,
.
Were they guilty w hom you s ee down there ,

h an ged and man gled a n d torn to piece s
,
?

That s true said Co rnelius gravely

, ,
.
And b es i des, continued Rosa , pu b lic opinion ha s

1 08 TH E BL AC K T UL IP .
adj udged you guilty B ut whether innocent or guilty

.
,
your trial begins to mo rrow and the d ay after you will

-
,
be condemned Matters are settled very quickly in these

.

times .

Well an d what do you conclude from all this ?
,
I conclude that I am alone , that I am weak that ,
my father is lying in a swoon that the dog is muzzled , ,
and that consequently t here i s nothin g to prevent

yo u r making your escape Fly then that is my .
, ,
conclusion .
What do you say ?

1 say that I was n o t able to save Mynheer Cor
n eliu s or Myn h eer John de Witt alas ! and that I ,
sho uld like to save you Only be quick ; there my

.
,
father is regaining his bre ath O ne minute more and .

,
he will open his eyes a n d it will be too late Do you

,
.
hesitate ?
In fact Cornelius stood immovable looking at Rosa
, , ,
vet looking at her as if he did n ot hear her .

Don t you understand me ? said the vou ng girl with ,
some impatience .
Yes I do said Corneli us, but

, ,
But what
I wi ll not do it ; they would accuse you .
What does that matter ? said Rosa blushi ng , .

I am very grateful to you my dear child repli ed , ,
Cornelius ; but I prefer to remain .

You pre fer to remain ! al a s alas ! don t you u nder ,

stand that you will be condemned condemned to death , ,
e xecuted on the scaffol d perhaps assassinated and torn

,
to pieces j ust as Mynh e er John and Mynh eer Cornelius

,

were ? For heaven s sake d on t think of me b ut y from
,
TH E B LAC K T U L IP .
Rosa and Cornelius exchanged glances .
That Rosa seemed t o s a y ,

There you see ho w it is !
,

While Cornelius s look of resignation replied,

The L ord s will be done !
CORN EL IUS VAN B AERLE S

WI LL . Il l
C HAPTER XI .
R
CO NEL IU S VAN BAE RL E s

WIL L .
R O S A was not mistak en ; the j ud g es ca me on the follow

ing day to t he Buy t enhof and interrogated Corneli us van
,
Baerle The e x amination however did not last long for

.
, , ,
it was easily made to appear that Corneli us had kept at

his house the fatal correspondence of the brothers De
Witt w ith France .
He d id not deny it .
The only point about which the j ud ges seemed to have

any doub t was w hether this corre spondence had bee n
intrusted to him by his god father Cornelius d e Witt .
But since the death of those two martyrs, Van Baerle

had no lon ger any reason for withholding the truth ;
therefore he not only did not deny that the parce l had
been delivered to hi m by Cornelius de W itt himself but ,
he also stated all the circumstances under which it

was don e .
This confess i on involved the godson in the crime of the

godfather ; for it was argued that there wa s manifest
complicity b etween Corneli us de Witt and Corneli us van
Bae rle .
The honest doctor did not con ne himsel f to this

avowal b ut told the w hole truth with reg ard to hi s o wn
,
tastes h abits an d daily li fe He told of hi s indi fference

, ,
.
to politics , his lo ve of study of the ne arts of science

, , ,
l 12 TH E B LAC K T U L IP .
and of owers He declared that since the day when

.
Cornelius de Witt came to Dort and han ded him the

parcel he himsel f had never touched or even n oticed i t
,
.
To this it was obj e cted that in this respect he could

not possibly be sp eaking the truth, since the papers had
b een deposited in a drawer in whi ch he used to plunge
his hands and his ey es e v ery day .
Corneli us answered that it was indeed s o but that he

never put his hand i nto the drawer save to ascertain
wheth e r his bulbs were dry and that he nev e r looked
,
into it save to s ee if they were beginning to sprout .
To this agai n it wa s obj ected that his pretend e d ind if

ference respecting this deposit was not to be reasonably
entertained as he could not have received such papers
,
from t he hand of his godfather without being m ade

acquainted w ith their important character .
H e r e pli e d that his godfather loved him too well and , ,
above all that he was too considerate a man to have com

, ,
mu nica t e d to him anything of the contents of the parcel,

well knowing that such a condence woul d only have
caused an xiety to him who received it .
To this it was obj ected that if De W itt had done what

he alleged he would have added to the parcel in case of
,
accid e nt a certi cate s etting forth that his godson was

,
an en tire stranger to the nature of this correspondence ;

or at least he would d uring his trial have written a let
, ,
ter to him whic h might serve to j ustify him .
Cornelius replied that u ndoubtedly his godfather had

not thought that his parcel was in any danger hidden a s ,
it was in a pre ss which was held in as deep veneration

a s the Ar k of the Covenant by the whole Van Baerle
household ; and that consequently , he had considered

,
1 14 T H E BLAC K T U L IP .
and a m still ignorant o f its contents and that it was not

, ,
until my arrest that I lear ned that this parcel contai ned
the correspondence of the Gran d Pensionary with the
M arquis de L ouvois And lastl y I protest that I do not
.
,
u n d ers tand how any one sho uld have known that this
parcel was in my house ; and above all, how I can be ,
deemed guilty for having received W hat my ill ustrio us

and un fortunate godfather brought to me .
This was Va n Ba erle s whole de fence

The j udges .
then began their deliberations .
They considered that every offshoot of civil discord is

to be deplored because it adds fresh fuel to the ame
,
which it is the interest o f all to extinguish .
One of them (and he bore the character of a profound

observer) maintained that this young ma n s o phlegmatic ,
in appearance might well be a very dangerous subj ect in

,
reality for beneath his cloak of impassibility he was very

,
likely to conceal an ardent desire to revenge his friends

the De W itts .
Another observed that the love of tulips was perfectly

consistent with politics a n d that history demonstrates
,
that many very dangerous traitors had been engaged in

gardening j ust as if it had been their profession while
, ,
really they were intent upon altogether di ff erent matters .
Witness Tarq u in the E lder who grew poppies at Gabii,

,
and the Great Cond who watere d his carnations at the

,
castle of Vincennes at the very moment when the former

,
was meditating his return to Rome a n d the latter his ,
escape from prison .
This last speaker concluded with t he following

dilemma
E ither Cornelius v a n Baerle is a great lover of tulips
CO R N E L I US V A N BAERLE s

WI LL . 1 15
or a great lover o f politics in either case he h as told us a

fa lsehood , rst becau se his taking an interest in politics
,
i s proved by the letters which were found at hi s house ;

and seco n dly because his passion for tulips is also proved
, .
The bulbs fully establish that fact F inally and h e re.

,
in lies the enormity of the case since Cornelius van

,
Baerle devotes himsel f to tulips and to politics at one

and the same time, he m ust be of a hybrid character of ,
an amphibious organization w orkin g with equ al ardor at

,
politics and at tulips which demonstrates the existence

,
in him of all the characteristics of the class of men most

dan gerous to public tranquillity and establishes a certain
, ,
or rather a complete analogy between his character and

,
that of those master mi nds of w hich Tarquin the El d er

,
and the Great Cond have been but now felicitously

quoted as examples .
T he upshot of all these reasoni ngs was that his H igh

ness t he Prince S tadtholder of Holland would doubtless
, ,
feel in nitely obliged to the magistracy of the Hague if ,
they simpli fi e d for him the government of the S even

Provinces by destroying e v en the least germ of conspiracy
against his authority .
This argument capped all the others ; and in ord er so

mu ch the more e ffectually to destroy the germ of con
s irac
p y sentence of death was un animously pronounced
,
against Corn elius v a n Baerle accused and convicted o f

,
having under the innocent gui se of a tulip fancier, par

,
-
t icipa t ed in the detestable intrigues and abomi n able plots

of t he brothers De Witt a gainst Dutch nationality and in ,
their secret relations w ith their French enemy .
The sentence went on to s ay that t he aforesaid Cor

nelius van Baerle shall be led from the prison o f the

1 16 T H E B L ACK T U L IP .
B uy t enhof to the scaffold in t he square of the same

name where his head shall be cut o ff by the public
,

e xecutioner .
As this deliberation was a most serious aff air it l a sted ,
a full half hour during which the prisoner was remanded

-
,
to his cell .
There the Recorder of the States cam e to read t he

sent e nce to him .
Master Gryphu s was detai n ed in b ed by the fever

caused by t he fracture o f his arm His keys had passed .
into the hands O f one of his assistants Behind this ,
turnkey who led the way before the Recorder Rosa the
, , ,
fair Frisian maid h a d slipped into the recess of the door

, ,
w ith a handkerchief to her mouth to stie her sighs and

her sobs .
Cornelius listen ed to the sentence with an e xpression

rather of s urprise th an sadness .
After t he sentence w as read t he Record e r asked him ,
w hether he had anything to a n swer .

Indeed I have n o t he replied Only I confess
,
that amon g all the causes of death which a cautious m a n

should fore see so that he may guard against them I nev er ,
have tho ught of this .
Thereupon the Rec order saluted Van Baerle with all

that consideration which such functionaries generally
bestow upon great criminals of every sort .
As he wa s taking his leave, Cornelius asked By ,
the wa y what d ay will the sentence be carried out

, ,
please
Why to -day ans we red the Recorder some what op
, , ,
pressed by the self possession of t he condemned man

-
.
A s ob was heard behind the door .

1 18 T H E B LACK T UL P I .
ing her hands partly toward him a nd partly toward

heaven .

Do n t weep s o Rosa said the prisoner for your

, ,

,
tears move me much more deeply than my approaching

fate ; a n d you know the less guilty a prisoner is t he ,
more incumbent is it upon him to die calmly and even ,
joy fully as he dies a martyr S o weep no more , and tell

,
.

me what you desire my pretty Rosa
, .
She knelt at his feet Forgive my father she

.
,
said
Your father said Corneli us in amazement ,
.
Yes ; he has been s o harsh to you But it is his n a .
ture he is s o to every one and you are not the only one
,

whom he ha s bullied .
H e is punish e d my dear Rosa more than enough,

, ,
by t he accident that h as befallen him ; and I forgive

him .
I than k you said Rosa And now tell me oh

, .
,
pray tell me
, can I do n othing for you in return ?
Y ou can dry your beautiful eyes my dear child , ,
answered Cornelius with a gentle smile

,
.

But fo you ,
r for you ?
A m an who has only one hour longer to live must
be a great Sybarite still to w ant anything my dear ,
Rosa .
The clergyman whom they have proposed to you ?

I have worshipped God all my life I have worsh ipped
Him in His works and blessed His will He can have
, .
nothing against me and s o I do n ot w ish for a clergyman

, .
The last thought which occupies my m ind however ha s .

,
reference to the glory of the Almighty H elp me my .

,
dea r I beseech you in carrying out my last thought

, ,
.
I
CORNEL U S V AN B AERLE S

WI LL . 119

Oh, Mynheer Cornelius speak speak ! e x clai med , ,
Rosa still bathe d in tears

, .

Give me your fair hand and promise not to laugh , ,

my dear child .
L augh exclaimed Rosa , despairingly laugh at , ,
such a moment ! You cannot have looked at me Myn ,

heer Cornelius .

I have looke d at you Rosa both with my bodily , ,
eyes and w ith the eyes of my soul I have never seen a .
woman more fair or more pure than you are and if from ,
this moment I take no more notice of you forgive me it ,
is only because being ready to leave this world I prefer

, ,

to do so without regret .
Rosa started in alarm As the prisoner pronounced .
these words the b elfry clock O f the Buyt en hof struck

,
eleven .
Cornelius understood her Yes yes let us m ake .

, ,

haste he said ,
you are right Rosa ,
.
Then taking the paper with t he t hree bulbs from his

breast where he had again put it since he had no longer
,
any fear of being searched he said , ,
My dear girl I have been very fond of owers That

,
.
was at a time w hen I did not know that th ere was any

thing else to be loved Don t bl u s h Rosa, nor turn
.
,
away even though I should make you a declaration O f

,
love Alas poor dear ! it would he of no conseq uence ;

.
,
down there in the square there is a certain keen blade

w hich in sixty minutes will punish my boldness Well .
,
Rosa I love d owers dearly a nd I have found or at

, ,
le ast I b elieve s o the secret of t he great black tuli p which ,
it has been considered impossi ble to gro w and for which , ,
as you may or may not know a prize of a hundred ,

1 20 TH E BLACK T UL IP .
tho u sand or ins has been o ffered by the Horticultural

S ociety of Harlem These h undred thousand or ins
.
and Heaven knows they are not my only subj ect of regret
these h u ndred thousand orins I have h ere in this
paper ; for they are won by the three bulbs wrapped up
in it w hich you may take Rosa for I make you a
, , ,

present of them .
Mynheer Cornelius
Yes yes Rosa you may take them ; you are not
, , ,
wronging any one my child I am alo n e in this world

,
. .
My parents are dead I never had a sister or a brother

I have never had a thought of loving any one with what
is called love and if any one has ever thought of lovi ng
,
me I have not know n it

, More over you can s ee w ell
.
, ,
Rosa that I am abandoned by ev e rybody since at this

, ,
moment you alone are with me in m y prison consoling ,

and assisting me .
But Mynheer a h undred thousand or ins

, ,
W ell le t us talk seriously my dear child Those

, , .
hundred thousand or ins will be a n ice marriage portion -
to go with your pretty face you shall have them for I ,
am quite sure of my bulb You shall have them Rosa .

, ,
dear Rosa and I ask nothing in return but your promise

,
that you will marry some worthy fellow not too Old , ,
w hom you love a n d who will love you as dearly as I

,
loved my owers D on t interrupt me Rosa

.

I h av e , ,
only a fe w m inut e s more .
T he poor girl was nearly choking with her sobs .
Corn elius took he r hand .
L isten to me he co n tinued this is w hat you must

,
do Take some earth fro m my garden at Dort Ask

. .
B ut r uy s he im, my gardener for some soil from my bed ,

1 22 T HE BLA C K T U L IP .
given you Write in it what you have to write Mynheer

.
,
Cornelius ; and though unfortunately I am n o t able to

, ,
read I will take care that what y o u writ e shall be

,
attended to .
Cornelius took the B ible and kissed it reverently , .

With what shall I write ? he asked .

There is a pencil in the Bible said Rosa I found ,

it there and let it remain
,
.
This w as the pencil which John de Witt had lent to

his brother and which h e had forgotten to take back
,
.
Cornelius took it and on the second yleaf (for it

,
will be remem b ered that the rst was torn out ) like ,
his godfather with death at hand he wrote no less

, ,
rmly
On thi s 2 3 d of August 1 6 7 2 b eing about to ren d er my soul
, ,
t o G od on th e s ca ff o l d a lthoug h I am guiltl ess in H is s i ght I

, ,
beq u eath t o Rosa Gry phus t he only property whi ch remai ns

to m e of all that I hav e po ssessed in thi s w orl d the r est hav ,
in g b een c on scated : I beq u eath I sa v to Rosa Gry phus , ,
thr ee bul bs whi ch I am con vin ced must pro du ce in t he en

,
suing m onth of May t he great b lack tulip for w h i ch a prize of ,
a hund red thousand orin s has been o ff ered by t he H arlem

S o c i ety r equ estin g that s h e m ay be pai d t he s ai d sum in my
,
stead a s my sol e he iress upon t he s ol e cond iti on s that she

, ,
m arry some respectable y o ung man o f ab out my age who l oves ,
her a nd wh om she l ov es a n d tha t she g iv e t he great bl ack

, ,
tulip which wi ll con stitute a n e w speci es t he n am e of Rosa

, ,

B arlaensis that is t o say hers and mi n e co mb i n ed

,
.
S o may God grant m e m ercy and t o h er h ealth and l ong , ,
C O RN E L I US VAN B A ER L E.
Then giving the Bible to Rosa he said

, , ,

Read .
CO RN EL I US VAN BAERLE S

WI L L . 123
s he

Alas nswered I have already told you I
a ,

cannot r ead .
Corneli us then read to Rosa the will that he had j ust

made .
The sobs of t h e poor girl redoubled .

D O you accept my conditions ? asked the prisoner ,
with a melancholy smile kissing the tre mbling hands of ,
the lovely maiden .
Oh I don t know Mynheer She stammered

,

, ,
.

You don t know child, and why not ? ,
Because there is one condition which I am afraid I

cannot keep .
Which ? I thought that all was settled between us .
You give me the hundred thousand orins as a mar

r ia e portion do you not ?
g
-
,

Yes .
U pon condition that I marry a man whom I love ?

Certainly .
W ell then Mynheer t his money cannot belong

, , ,
to me . I shall never love any one ; neither shall

I marry .
Having with di f cu lty uttered these words, Rosa sank

upon her knees and almost s wooned in the violence of
her grief .
Cornelius frightened at seeing her so pale and lifeless

, ,
was about to take her in his arms when a heavy step , ,
accompanied by other ominous so u nds wa s heard on the ,
staircase amid the continued barking of the dog

,
.
They are coming to take you away ! Oh God ! ,
Oh God
,
cried Rosa wringing her hands Have you ,
.
nothing more to tell me ?

A g ain s he fell on her knees, with her face buried in her
1 24 TH E B L AC K T UL IP .
hands weeping copiously and sobbing as if her h eart

, ,
w ould break .
I have only to say that I w ish you to preserve these

bulbs as a most precious treasure and care fully to t reat ,
them accordi n g to the d irections I have given you and for ,

love of me And no w farewell Rosa
.
, , .

Yes yes she said w ithout raisi n g her head ; oh
, , , ,

y e s I w ill do an ythi n g you bid me
,
except m a rryi n g ,
s h e added in a low voic e for that, oh indeed ! that is ,

,

i mpossible for me .
She the n hid Corneli us s ch erished treasure in her '
bosom .
The noise on the staircase which Cornelius and Rosa

had h eard was caused by the Recorder who was coming ,
for the prisoner followed by the executioner by the s ol

, ,
diers who wer e to form the guard round t he scaff old and ,
by some curious hangers on of the prison -

.
Cornelius as free from weakness as fro m bravado r e

, ,
ce iv e d them rather as friends than as persecutors , and
qu ietly submitted to a ll t he conditions which these men

in the performance of their duty s a w t to impose .
Then casting a glance into t he square through his

narrow iron barre d window he perceived th e scaffold and
-
, ,
tw e nty pace s from it the gibbet from which by order of , ,
the S tadtholder the outraged remains of the two brot hers

,
De Witt had been taken down .
Wh en the moment came to follow the guards down

to the squ are Cornelius sought with h is eyes Rosa s
,

angelic face ; but he saw b e hind the swords and ha l ,
berd s only a form lyi ng outstretched near a wooden

,
bench and a death like face hal f covered w ith long

,
-
golden locks .
1 26 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .
CHAPT ER XII .
TH E E XE C UTI O N .
C O RN EL IUS had not three hundred paces to walk outside

the prison to reach the foo t of the scaffold At the .
bottom of the staircase the dog quietly looked at him

while he was passing Corneli us even fancied he s a w in
.
t he animal s eyes a certain expression which wa s almost

compassion .
The dog perhaps knew by instinct the condemned

, ,
prisoners, and reserved his teeth for those who left as

free men .
The shorter the way from the door of the prison to

the foot of the scaffold the more thickly of course t he , ,
curiosity seekers were crowded toge t her

-
.
They were the same people w ho not satis ed with the ,
blood which they had shed three days before were now ,
cra v ing for a n e w victi m .
There fore Corneli us had scarcely made his appearance

w hen a fierce roar ran through the whole street spreading ,
all over the square and re -echoing from the streets whi ch
,
led to the scaffold and which w e re likewise crowded with

,
spectators .
The scaff old indeed resembled an islet at the conuence

of several rivers .
In the midst of these threats and groans and yells ,
Cornelius undoubtedly s o that he might not hear them,

,
was utterly self absorbed

.
TH E E XEC UT ON I . 127
What thoughts occupied the mind of this j ust man,

w hom death was staring in the face ?
T hey were not of hi s enemies nor of his j udges nor of
his executioners .
He was thinking o f the beauti ful tulips which he would

s ee from his lofty abode on high at Ceylon or B eng a l o r

, , ,
elsewhere when seate d amon g the pure of hear t at t he

,
right hand of the Almighty he might look down with

pity on thi s earth where J ohn and Cornelius de Witt had
,
been murdered for having thought too much of politics ,
and w here Cornelius van Baerle was about to meet with

a like fate for having been too much devoted to tulips .

It is only one stroke of the axe said the ph ilos o ,
pher to himself and my b eautiful dream will begin to

,

be realized .
B ut there was still a doubt whether as in the case of ,
M de Chalais, M de Thou and other people who had

. .
,
been put to death by bunglers the headsman might not ,
have to inict more than one stroke that is to say more , ,
than one m artyrdom on the poor tulip -fancier

, .
Yet Van Baerle mounted t he steps of his scaffold none

the less resolutely .
As he mounted the m he was conscious of a feeling of

pride , w hatever mig ht be fall of having been the friend
,
of the illustrious J ohn and godson of the noble hearted

,
-
Cornelius whom the very r uia n s who were n o w crowding

,
to witness h is doo m had torn to pieces and burned three

days before .
He knelt down prayed fervently a n d noticed not

, , ,
without a feeling of sincere joy that as he lay his head ,
on t h e block if he kept his eyes open he would be able

, ,
to the last to see the grated window of the B uyt enhof .

1 28 T H E B L AC K T UL IP .
At length t h e fatal mo ment arrive d a n d C o rneli u s ,
placed his chin o n the cold damp block ; b ut as he d id

,
so his eyes closed involuntarily in order that he might

, ,
receive more resolutely the terrible stroke which was about

t o fall on his head and blot out hi s li fe .
A ray o f light fell upon t he planking of the scaffold as

the execution er raised his sword .
Van Ba erl e b ade farewell to the great black tulip cer ,
tain of awakin g with thanks to God u pon h is lips in

an other world lled with a more glorious and brighter
hued radiance .
Three times he felt with a sh udder a cold current of

air as the knife passed over his neck but to his surprise
he felt neither pain nor shock .
He s a w no change in the appearance of the clo uds .
Then suddenly Van Baerle felt gentle hands raising

him without kn owing whose they were and soon stood
, ,
on his feet again although trembling a little

,
.
He opene d his eyes Some one by his side was read

.
ing from a huge parchment, sealed with a huge seal of

red wa x .
And the same sun yellow and pale as it beh ooves a

, ,
D utch s un to be was shining in the skies and the sam e

,
grated window looked down upo n him fro m the B uyt en

hof and the same rabble n o longer yelling but com
, ,
plete ly thunderstruck w e re staring up at him from all

,
sides of the square .
By dint of kee ping his eyes open and looking and

listening Van Baerle began to understan d what it all
,
meant .
The fact was that Monseigneur William Prince of ,
Orange, afraid without doubt that the seventeen pounds

1 30 TH E B LAC K TUL IP .
suffer death , but he was too much s o to b e s et at

liberty .
Cornelius listened to the reading of t he postscript but

the rst feeling O f vexation and disappointment over he ,
said to himself,

N ever mind all is not lost this perpetual imprison
,
ment has it s alleviations I shall have Rosa and I shall .

,

also have my three bulbs of the black tulip .
But Cornelius forgot that the Seven Provinces had

seven prisons one for each prov ince and that the board
,
Of the prisoners is less expensive anywhere else than at
the Hague which is a capital

, .
H is Highness W illiam who apparently could not aff ord ,
to feed Van Baerle at the Hague sent him to undergo his ,
perpetual imprisonment at the fortress o f L oewes t ein very ,
near Dort but alas also very far from it for L oewest ein
, , ,
as the geographers tell us is situated at the point of the ,
islet which is formed by the con fluence of the Waal and

the Meuse opposite Gor cu m
, .
Van Baerle w as suf ciently versed in the h istory O f his

country to know that the celebrated Grotius wa s conned
i n that castle after the d eath of Barnev eldt ; and that
,
the S tates in their generosity to the illustrious publicist

, ,
j urist historian poet a n d divine had granted to him for

, , , ,
his daily maintenance the s um o f twenty four Dutch -
sous .

I said Baerle to himsel f who a m worth m uch l ess
, ,
than Grotius shall be fortunate if I get twelve s ons and

, ,
I sh all live miserab ly ; but never mind at all events , ,

I shall be alive .
Then su d denly a terrible tho u ght struck him .

Ah he exclaimed
,
how damp and cloudy that ,
I
TH E E XEC U T ON . 1 31
part o f country is ; soil is

t ulips !
Then he muttered to himsel f as he let his head which
, ,
had come near falling much farther fall u pon h is

,
chest,

And then there s Rosa ; s he will

be at L oe we

s te i n
.
CHAPTE R X III .
WH A T WA S I
GO N G O N AL L TH IS T IME IN TH E M N D O F I
ONE OF TH E S PECTATO RS .
W H IL E Cornelius was reecting upon his fate a coach ,
had driven u p to the scaffold This vehicle was for t he

.
prisoner H e was invited to enter it , and he obeyed

. .
His last look was towards the Buyt en hof H e hoped .

to s ee at the w indo w Rosa s face w ith an expression of
satisfaction upon it ; but the coach was drawn by good
horses who soon c arried Van Baerle away from the sho uts
,
which the populace ind ulge d in in honor of t he most

magnanimous S tadthold e r intermingled with 3 S pice of
, .
abuse against the brothers De Witt and the godson of

Cornelius who had j ust be e n snatche d from the jaws
,
of death .
This reprieve suggested to the w orthy spectators re

marks such as the followi n g
It s very fortunate that w e u sed such S peed in having

j ustice done to that great villain Jo hn and to that littl e

rogue Cornelius otherwise his Highness s soft h e art would
certainly have cheated u s out of our vengeance upon

them as well as u pon th is fellow .
Am ong all the spectators wh om Van Ba erle s execution
had attracted t o the B uyt enhof and whom the sudd en

,
turn of affairs ha d disagreeably surprised beyond qu es ,
tion the most disappointed was a certain respectably

1 34 TH E BL ACK T U Ll P .
He had there fore bristled up at the hatred expressed by

Boxtel whom b e suspected to be a warm friend of the
,
prisoner making triing inquir ies to contrive with the

, ,
more certainty some means of escape for him .
Thus to the very rst proposals which Boxtel made to

Gry ph u s to lch the b ulbs which Cornelius probably had
,
concealed in his breast or in some corner of his c ell ,

Gry ph us s sole reply was to show him the door whither ,
he wa s attended by the dog of the stairway with caressi ng

touches .
Boxtel was not discouraged merely because he had left

a piece of his trousers in the masti ff s m on t h He re
.
turned to the charge but this time G ry ph us was in his

,
bed feverish and with a broken arm

, ,
He therefore did .
not himself admit his solicitor w ho then addressed him ,
self to Rosa O ff ering her a head dress O f pure gold in

,
-
exchange for the thre e bulbs Whereupon the noble girl

.
,
w ho then ha d no idea of the value of the O bject which

she was requested to steal and for w h ich she was to be
,
s o well paid had advised t h e tempter to apply to the

,
executioner he bei ng the nal j udge a s well as the last

,
heir of the conde m ned m a n .
This repulse suggested a new scheme to Boxtel .
Meanwhile t he sentence had been pronou n ced and ,
was to be spe edily executed as we have s e en ,

Thus .
Isaac had no more time to bribe any one He th ere .
fore seized upon the idea w hich Rosa had suggested he

went to the executioner .
Isaac had not the least doubt but that Cornelius would
die with h is bulbs n ext h is heart .
But there were two things w hi ch Boxtel did not calcu

lat e upon .
WH AT P
A S E CT AT O R WA S T H N K NG I I . 1 35
Rosa, that is to say love and ,
William o f Orang e t hat is to s ay clemency

, ,
.
But for Rosa and Wi lliam the calculations of the en v i

ous wretch were correct .
B ut for William Cornelius would have died

, .
B ut for Rosa Corneli us would have died with his bulbs

,
next his heart .
Mynheer Boxtel went to t he headsman to whom he ,
gave himself out as a great friend of the condemned man ,
a n d b ought from him all the e ff ects save the gold and ,
silv er trinkets of the dead man that was to be for the ,
rather exorbitant s u m of one hundred orin s .
But what were a paltry h undred or in s to a man who

was all but sure to buy with them the prize of the
Harle m Society I
I t was money lent at the rate of a thousand for

one which as nob ody will deny, was a very satis factory
, ,
investment .
The headsman, on the other hand had scarcely a ny ,
thing to do to earn his hundred or ins He needed only .

,
as soon as the execution was over to allo w Mynheer ,
Boxtel to ascend the scaffol d with his servants to remove

the inanimate r emains o f his friend .
It was a ver y common thing for faith ful servitors to

do w hen one of their masters died a public death in the
Buy t e nh of square .
A fana tic like Cornelius might very well have for a -
friend another fan atic wh o woul d give a h undred or in s

for his e ffects .
There fore the exec utioner readil y acqu iesced in t he

proposal insistin g upon only one condition , that he
,
Sh ould be paid in advance .

1 36 T H E BL ACK T UL IP .
Boxtel like the people w ho enter a show at a fair

, ,
might not be pleased and re fuse to pay on going out

, .
Boxtel paid in advance and waited ,

.
A fter this the reader may imagine how excited Boxtel

was ; with w hat anxiety he watched t h e guards, the Re
corder and the executioner ; and with what intense inter
,
est he surveyed the movements of Van Baerle H ow .
would he place himself on the block how would he fall

and would he not in falling crush those priceless b ulbs l
, ,
'
Had he not at least taken care to inclose them in a golden

box,
for gold is the hardest of all metals ?
We w ill not attempt to describe the eff ect produced
upon this w orthy individual by t he delays interposed to
the execution of the sentence Why did that stupid exe .
c ut ion er thus waste his time brandishing his sword over
the he a d of Cornelius instead of cutting that head off ?

,
But when he saw the Recorder take the hand of the con
d e mne d and lift him as he dre w t h e parchment from his
,
pocket ; when he heard the pardon g ranted by the Stadt

holder publicly re a d out th e n Boxtel was no longer a
,
human being The rage of the tiger O f the hyena and

.
, ,
of the serpent glistened in his eyes and vented itself in

,
his yell and his movements Had he been within reach .
of Van Baerle he would h ave pounced upon him and

,
killed him .
And so t he n Corn elius was to live and was t o go to

, , ,
Loewes t e in ; and he woul d take his b ulbs to his prison

w ith him and perhaps he would nd some garden where
the black tulip would ower for hi m
There are certain calamities which the pen of a writer ,
who is but human is powerless to describe but which he

, ,
must leave to his readers imagination contenting himself

with a bare statement of the facts .

1 38 TH E B L ACK T U L IP .
C H APTE R XIV .
I
TH E P GE ON S OF D O RT .
IT was indeed in itself a great honor for Corn elius van

, ,
Baerle to be conned in the same prison w hich had once

received t he learned Grotius .
But when he arrived at the prison he found that a

still more distinguished honor was in store for him It .
s o happened that the very cell which h a d been occupied
by Olden Barneveldt s illustrious discipl e at L oe west ein

-

was vacant wh e n Van Baerle the tul ip fancier was sent -
there by the clemency of the Prince of Orange .
The cell had a very bad character at the castle because ,
Grotius thanks to his wife s fertile brain ha d escaped

,

,
from it in that fa mous book -chest w hich his guards ,
omitted to examine .
On the other hand it seemed to Van Baerle an a uspi

,
cions omen that this cell was assigned to him for accord
ing to his ideas a jailer ought never to give to a s econd
pigeon the cage fro m which a former occupant has so
easily own away .
The cell is historical We will not waste time by giv

.
ing a detail ed d e scription of it here save to s ay that ,
there was an alcove in it which had b e en u sed by Madame

,
G rotius .It di ff ered in no respect from the oth e r cells of

the prison except that perhaps it was a little higher
, , , ,
and had a splendid view f rom the grated windo w .

TH E PI GE ON S or DORT . 1 39
Moreover the purpose of this t ale is not to describe

,
interiors In Van Baerle s eyes li fe was something he

.

yond t he mere act of breathing O ver a nd above h is .
b odily machine he loved two things which he could ,
hereafter enj oy only in imagination the gi ft of that ,
inde fatigable traveller thought,

A ower and a woman both of them , as he conceived
, ,
lost t O him forever

'
Fortunately honest Va n Baerle was mistaken God

, .
,
w ho h ad had his eyes upon h im with the smile of a lov

ing f ather w hen he was walki n g to the scaff old God had ,
destined him to lead even in his prison cell the former -

,
abode of Grotius, the most adventurous li fe which ever

fell to the lot of a tulip fancier -
.
One morning while he stood at his w i ndow inhaling

,
t h e fresh air which came fro m the Waal and gazing ,
longingly fro m afar at the windmills O f his native D ort ,
which could be seen i n the di stance b ehind a forest of

chimneys he s a w ocks o f pigeons come from that quar
,
ter and perch uttering in the sunlight on the pointed

,
gables of m estein .

These pigeons Va n B aerle sai d to himself have
, ,
come from D ort and consequently may return there By

, .
fasten ing a little note to the wing of one of th e m I might

have a chance to send a message to Dort where my ,

friends are gri ev i ng for me .
Then aft er a few moments consideration b e ex

,

,

I wi ll do it

clai med ,
.
Patien ce comes very easy to a man of twenty eight who -
is condemn ed to imprisonment for li fe that is to say to ,
something like t wenty-two or t wenty-three thou s and days

o f c a ptivity .
1 40 TH E B LAC K T U L IP .
Van Baerle still thinking of the three bulbs

i
,
for that ,
thought was continually knocking at the door of his

memory a s the heart beats in the breast
,
made a snare ,
for catching t he pigeons He tempted the ig hty crea

.
tures with all the resources aff orded him by his kitchen ,
which cost eighteen Dutch sous (twelve French ) per day ;

and after a month o f u nsuccessful attempts he at last ,
caught a female bird .
It cost him two more mon ths to catch a male bird he

then shut them up t ogether and having about the begin ,
ni ng of the year 1 6 7 3 O btained some e ggs from them he ,
released the fem ale , which leaving the m ale behind to,
hatch the eggs in her s tead ew j oyously to D ort with a ,
note under her wing .
S he returned in the evening She still had the n ote . .
Thus it w ent on for fteen d ays while Van B aerle s ,

rst feeling of bitter disappointment changed t o utt er

despair .
On the sixteenth day at last the bird came b ack , ,
without it .
Van Baerle had addressed it to his nurse the old ,
Frisian woman ; and implored any charitable soul who

m ight nd it to con vey it to her as safely and speedily
,
as possible .
In this letter addressed to the nurse there was a l ittle

enclosure for Rosa .
God who with a single breath scatters t he grain upon

,
t he walls of time worn castles and fertilizes it there with

-
,
a drop of rain decreed in his innite goodness that Van

,

Baerle s nurse should receive the letter .
This is how it came ab out .
Wh en he left Dor t for t he Hague and the Hague for ,

1 42 TH E B LAC K TUL IP .
prisoner like the raven of the Roman cobbler would

, ,
have thrown away his time and his trouble and instead of ,
having to relate t he series of exciting events which are

about to ow from beneath our pen like the varied hu e s
O f a many colored tapestry we should have nought to
-
,
describe but a weary waste of days dull and melancholy

'
and gloo my as night s dark mantl e

.
We have followed the note into the hands of Van

Haerl e s nurse

.
S o it happened that o n one o f the early days of Feb

rua ry j ust as t he rst shades O f night were falling from
,
heaven, leaving the stars twi nkling above them Cornelius ,
heard on the staircase of the tower a voice which made

him start .
He put his hand to h is heart and l istened .
It was the sweet melodious voice of Rosa .
L e t us confess it C o rneli u s wa s not so s t upe ed with

surprise or s o beside himself with j oy as he would have
, ,
been bu t for t he pigeon w hich in answ e r to his l ett er

,
had bro ught back hop e to him u nder her empty wi ng ;

and knowi ng Rosa he expected every day if t he note
, ,
had ever reached her to have n ews of his love and of

,
his bulbs .
He rose listened once more and bent towa rd t he

, ,
door .
Y es they were indeed the accents which had fallen s o

,
sweetly on his heart at the Hague .
The question now was whether Rosa who had made , ,
the journey from the Hague to L oewes t e in a nd who ,
Cornelius did not understand how h a d succeed e d ev en

in pe n etrating into t he prison wou ld have as good success ,
in making her way to the prisoner himself .

TH E PIGEONS OF D ORT . 1 43
While Cornelius debatin g thi s point within himsel f

, ,
was building all sorts of castles in the air and was strug ,
.
gling between hope and fear the shutter of the wicket in ,
the door O pened and Rosa w ith delight expressed in her

, ,
beaming eyes as well a s in every detail of her costume ,
and more beautiful than ever from the g rief which for t h e
last v e months had blanched her ch eeks pressed he r ,
face against t h e wire grating of the windo w saying to ,
h im,
Oh Mynheer Mynheer ! h e re I am
, ,
Cornelius stretched o u t his arms a n d raised his eyes ,
h eavenward with a cry of j oy ,

.
Oh Rosa Rosa !
, ,
Hush let us speak low my father is close behind ,
said the girl .
Your father ?
Yes he is in the courtyard at the bottom o f the
,
staircase recei ving the instructions of the Governor he

,

will come u p very soon .
The instr uctions of the Governor ?

L isten to me I ll try to tell you all about it in a few
,
words : The Stadtholder has a country house about a -
league from L eyde n a large dai ry nothi n g more

, and , ,
my aunt who was his nurse has charge of all the cattl e
, ,
kept there As soon as I received your letter w h ich

.
, ,
alas ! I could not read myself but which y o ur n u rse r e ad ,
to me I hastened to my aunt There I r e mained until

, .
the Prince came to visit the dairy ; and when he came ,
I asked him to allow my father to exchange his post as

head turnkey at t h e prison of the Hague for that Of
j ailer of the fortress of L oewes te in The Pri n ce did n ot .
suspect my object had he known it he might have

refused my request, but as it is he granted it ,
.
So you are here ?

As you see .
And I sh all see you every day ?

As often as I can manage it .
O h Ros a my beautiful Rosa, d o you care

, ,
me a
little then
,

A little ? s he said ; you don t a sk for enough
Myn heer Cornelius .
Cornelius wit h a passionate gesture held out his hands

, ,
tow a rds her but they were only able to touch e ach other
,
w ith the tips of thei r ngers through the bars .
Here is my father said Rosa, .
She abruptly dre w back from t he door and ran to meet .
o ld Gr
yphu s, who made his appearance at the top of t he
staircase .
1 46 T H E BLAC K T U L IP .
well said the prisoner entering the circle of light cast

, ,
by the lantern .
Holloa ! it s you is it Mynheer van Baerle ? said

, ,
G ry p s h u

It s you is it ? Well well well what a
.

, , , ,
small place the world is

Y e s and it s really a great pleas u re to me good

, ,
Master Gryph us to see that your arm m u st be getting

,
!
well for you are able to hold your lantern w ith it
,
.
G ry phu s fro wned .
T hat s j ust the way he said

people al ways make ,
blunders in politics H is Highness ha s granted you your .

life I m sure I should never have done so .
Pshaw replied Cornelius why not ? ,
Because you a re the very man to begin conspiring

again Y o u learned people have dealings with the
.
devil .

N onsense Master Gryphus ,Are you dissatised .
with the manner in which I set your arm or with the ,
price I asked you said Cornelius laughing ,

.
! uite the contrary by my faith ! quite the con

,
t r a ry growled the jailer ; you s et it o nly too w ell .
Th e re is some witchcraft in this After s ix weeks I was .
able to use it a s if nothing had happened ; so much so ,
that t he doctor of the Buyt en ho f, w ho knows his trad e

w e ll w a nted to break it again to s e t it in the regular
, ,
way and promis e d me that I should go three months

,
without being abl e to move it .

!
And you did not like that ?

I said N ay as long as I can mak e the sign of the
,

cross with that arm ( Gry phus was a Roman Catholic ) '
I laugh at the devil .

B ut if you laugh at the devil M aster Gryphus you , ,
ought with so m uch m ore reason to laugh at scholars .

I
T H E L T TL E G RAT E D WI N D OW . 1 47

O h you scholars you scholars !
, cried Gryphus
, ,
without noticing the i mplied q uestion ; you scholars !

Why I would rather have to guard t e n soldiers than one
,
scholar The soldiers smoke guzzl e and ge t drunk ;

.
, ,
th ey are as gentle as lambs if you only give them brandy

or Mo selle b ut fo r a scholar to d rink smoke and get , ,
tipsy ah no ! They keep sober for in that w ay they

, , ,
spend nothing and have their head s always clear to con

,

spire But I tell you at the very outset it won t be
.
, ,
such an easy matter for you to conspire here In the .
rst place no books no papers and no conj uring book

, , ,
.
It s books that helped Mynheer Grotiu s to get o ff

'
.
!

I assure you Master Gry phu s replied Van Baerle
, , ,
that although I may have for a moment entertained the

idea of escaping I most decidedly have no such idea
,

now .
All righ t said Gryphu s ,

all right ! J u st keep a ,
sharp wat ch o v er yourself and I w ill do the same ,

.
B ut for all that I say his Highness has made a g reat

, ,

mistake .

N ot to have cut O ff my head ? Thank you Master ,
Gryphus .
be sure ; j ust see how quiet the Mynheers de

TO

W itt kee p n o w .

What y o u say n o w Master Gry phus is very hor , ,

rible ! cried Van Baerle turning a way h is head to ,
'
conceal his disgust You forget that one of those n u

.

fortunate gentlemen wa s my friend and that the othe ,

was my second father .
Y e s but I also remem b er that both were conspirators

,
.

And moreover I am speaking philanthropically
, ,
.
Oh i ndeed ! explain that a little to me my good

, ,

Mast er Gry phus for I do not quite understand it
,
.
148 T H E BLAC K T U L IP .
Well the n if you had remained on the block of

, ,
Master H arb ruck

W ell ?
You would now be done with su ff ering ; wherea s I ,
w ill not conceal from you that I shall lead you a s ad li fe

of it here .

Thank you for the promis e Mast er Gry phus , ,
.
And while the prisoner smiled ironically at the old

j ailer Rosa from behind the door replied w ith a smile
,
full of sweet consolation .
Gry ph us stepp e d toward the window .
It was still light enough to s e e t h e vast expanse of t he

horizon indistinctly merged in a gray h aze
,
.

What vi e w has one from here asked Gry ph us .

Why a very ne one said Cornelius with a glance
, , ,
at Rosa .
Yes yes too much of a view too m uch

, , ,
.
An d at this moment the two pigeons frightened by ,
the sight and espe cially by t he voice of the stranger

, ,
left th e ir nest a nd disappeared in the eve n ing mist

,
.
Halloa ! what s this ? cried Gryphus

'
.

My pige ons answered Cornelius ,
.
M y pigeons echoed the j ailer my pigeons H as ,
a prisoner anything of his own

Why
,
then said Cornelius t he pigeons which a
, ,

merciful Father in Heaven has lent to me .

So here we have a breach of the rules already r e ,
pli e d G ryphu s Pigeons ! ah you ng man young man

.
, , ,
I ll t e ll you one thing that before to morrow is ove r

,
-

your pigeons will bo il in my pot .
First of all you m u st catch them Master Gryphus ,

.
Y o u won t allow these pigeons to be mine ? Well I vow

,

they are even less yours than mine .
150 TH E B L AC K T UL IP .
T he last stroke was still vibrating through the air ,
when Cornelius heard on the staircase the light step

and the rustle of the owing dress of the fair Frisian
maid and soon after a light appeared at the little
, ,
wicket in the door on which the prisoner xed his

,
earnest gaze .
The shutter wa s O pene d from the outside .
Here I am sai d Rosa out of breath from running

, , ,

up the stairs here I am .
Oh my good Rosa
,
Are you glad to s ee me

Ca n you ask B ut how did you contrive to get here ?
Tell me .
Well listen My father falls asleep every evening,

, .
almost im mediately after his supper ; I then make him

lie down for he is a little s t upe e d w ith his gin Don t
,
.

s a y anything about it because thanks to this nap, I shall

, ,
be able to come every evening and talk for an hour with

you .
Oh I thank you Rosa dear Rosa

, , .
As he spoke, Cornelius put his face so near the little

window that Rosa withdrew hers .

I have brought you your bulbs said she , .

Cornelius s heart leap e d with j oy He had not yet .
dared to ask Rosa what s he had done with the precious

treasure which he had entrusted to her .
Oh you have preserved the m then ?

, ,
Did you not give them to me as a thing which was

dear to you
Yes but as I did give the m to you it seems to me ,

that t he v belong to you .

They would have belonged to m e after your death ;
TH E L TT L E GRATE I D WI NDOW . 1 51
but fortunately you are alive no w Oh ho w I blessed

, , .
,
his Highness in my heart ! If God grants Prince W illiam

all the happiness that I have w ishe d him certainly K ing ,
W illiam will be the happiest man not only in his king

dom but in all the world You were li ving , I sai d to
, .
myself ; an d while I kept the Bi ble of your godfather

Cornelius I was resolved to bring you your b ulbs only I
, ,
did not know how to accomplish it S O I had already .
for med the plan o f going to the Stadtholder to ask fro m

him my father s appoint ment a s jailer at L oewes t e in when

yo u r nurse b ro ug ht me your letter Oh we shed many .

,
tears together, I assure you But your letter only con

.
rmed m e the more in my resolution I then left for .

L eyden an d the rest you know
,
.
What ! my dear Rosa you tho ught even before , ,

receiving my letter, of coming to b e near me again ?

Did I thin k of it ? said Rosa, allowin g her love to
get the b etter of her b ashful n ess ; indeed I thoug ht of

nothing else .
As s h e s aid this Rosa looked so e x ceedingly beautif ul

,
that for th e s econd time Corneli us placed his forehead

and lips ag ainst the b ars with the laudab le pu rpose
, ,
doubtless , of thanking the young lady .
Rosa however drew back as be fore

, ,
.

In truth sh e said , with that coquetry which som e
,
ho w or other is in t h e heart of every young girl

in ,
truth I have O ften b een sorry that I am not ab le to read ,
but never s o m uch s o or in e x actly the same way as

, ,
when your nurse b rought me your letter I kept the .
paper in my b ands w hi ch spoke to other people but was

, ,

d umb for me poor fool that I am
,
.

So you have o ften regretted not b eing able to read ?
s aid Cornelius
On what occasions pray ?
. ,
152 T H E B L ACK T U L IP .

Faith said s he ,
laughing to read all the letters
, ,
which have been written to me .
Oh , you receive letters Rosa do you ? , ,
By hu ndreds !

But who ever wrote to you ?
Who ? Why in the first place all t he students who
, ,
passed over the B uy t e nhof Square ; all the oicers who

went to parade ; all the clerks and even the merchants ,

who u sed to see me at my little window .

And what did you do w ith a ll these notes my dear ,
Rosa
Formerly s he answered I got some friend to read
, ,
them to me which was capital fun ; but since a certain

,
time well w h at use was it to listen to such no n s ense ?

,

since a certain ti me I have burnt them .

S ince a certain time ! exclaimed Cor nelius with a ,
look in w hich love and joy were both beam ing .
Ros a bl ushing low e red her eyes s o that she did not
, , ,
observe Corn elius s lips approaching and alas ! they only

, ,
met the cold grating Yet in spite of this obstacle, they

.
,
communicated to the lips of the young girl the glowin g

breath of the most tender kiss .
At this hot breath which see med to burn her lips,

,
Rosa grew as pale perhaps even paler than she had been
,
at the Buy t e nhof on the day of the execution S he n t .
t er e d a plaintive sob closed her ne eyes and ed trying

, , ,
in vain to still the beati ng of her heart Cornelius .

,
again alone could do naught but inhale the sweet per

,
fume left by her hair ou the cruel bars .
Rosa had ed so precipitately that s he completely

forgot to return to Cornelius the three bulbs of t he black
tulip .
1 54 TH E BL AC K T UL IP .
Rosa, in fact had promised to come and talk w ith her

,
dear captive at nine o clock every evening and on the

,
fi rst evening s he kept her word as we have seen .
O n the following evening s h e went up as before with ,
the same mysteriousn ess a n d the same precaution But .
s he had resolved in her own mind not to put her face

, ,
t oo near the grating In order however to engag e Van

.
, ,
Baerle at once in a conversation w hich would seriously

occupy hi s attentio n she began b y passing to him through
,
the grating the three bulbs which were still wrapped up,
in the same paper .
But to t he great astonishment O f Rosa Van Baerle ,
pushed back her white hand w it h the tips of his ngers .
The young man had been considering what he S hould
L isten ,
he said I think we should risk too much
.
by putting all our eggs in one basket Reme mber my .

,
dear Rosa that what we have to do is to accomplish

,
something which until now has been considered im pos

sible We are to make t he great black tulip ower L et
. .
us therefore take every possible precaution so that , in

, , ,
case of a failure w e may not have anythi ng to reproach

,
ourselves with This is what I have thought would be

.
the surest way for us to succeed .
Rosa list ened eagerly to what the prisoner w ent on to

s ay m uch more on accou n t of the importance which t he
,
unfort unate t ulip fancier attached to i t than from any

-
conviction of her own as to its importance .

This is t h e way Cor n elius continued in which
, ,
I have thought we could best work tog ether in this

m atter .
I a m li stening said Rosa

.
,
MAS T ER AN D P UPI L . 1 55
There ought to b e a little garden connected with the

fortress or if not a garden a courtyard ; or if neither
, ,
garden nor courtyard surely something in the way of a

,

terrace .

We have a very ne garde n said Rosa ; it runs ,
along the bank O f the Waal and is full of ne O ld trees , .
Could you bring me a little soil from the garden dear ,
Rosa so that I may examine it ?

,

I will do so to morrow -
.
Take some fro m a sunny and some from a shady spot ,
s o that I may j udge o f its prop e rties in a dry and in a
moist state .
Rest assured I will do as you wish .
After I have selected the soil and , if necessary, mod i ,
e d it we w ill divide our three bulbs you will take one

,
and plant it, on the day that I tell you in the soil I have ,
selected It is sure to ower if you tend it according to

.
,
my directions .
I w ill not lose s i g ht of it for a m inute .
You w ill gi ve m e another which I will try to grow ,
here in my cell and which will help me to beguile t hose

,
long weary hours w hen I cannot see you I confess that

,
.
I have very little hope of the last a n d by anticipation I , ,
regard the un fortunate bulb as sacri ced to my s e l s h

ness However, the s un sometimes visits me
. I w ill .
tur n to account every possible bit of arti cial heat even ,
that from my pipe and its hot ashes a nd lastly we or , ,
rather you will keep in reserve the third bul b as our last
, ,
resource in case our rst two experiments should resul t

,
in failure In this manner my dear Rosa it is im pos

.
, ,
sible that we should not succeed in winning the hundred

thousand orin s for our dowry an d in tasting the supre me ,
delight of seeing our la bors crowned with success

1 56 T H E B LAC K T U L IP
I un derstand said Rosa I will bring you the

,
soil to morrow a n d you shall select some for your bulb

-
,
and for mine As to yours I shall have to make several

.
,
!
trips for that as I cannot bring mu ch at a time
,
.
There is no hurry dear Rosa our tulips need not be

,
put into t he ground for a month at least S O you see .
we have plen ty of t ime before us Only I h ope that .
in plan ting your bulb you will strictly follow all my

instructions .

I promise you I will .
And when you h ave once planted it you will commu

nicate to me all the circumstances which may interest our
n ursling ; such a s cha n ge O f weather footprints on t he ,
wal ks or footprints on the beds You will listen at night

,
.
to ascertain if our gard e n is not re sorted to by cats A .
couple of the wretched beasts rooted up and lai d waste

two of my beds at Dort .
I will listen .
On moonlight n ights have you ever looked at your

garden my dear child
,

The window of my sleeping room overlooks it -
.
Good On moonlight nights you must look and see

whether any rats come out from the holes in the wall .
The rats are terrible fello ws for gnawing whatev er they

come across ; and I have heard unfortunate t ulip -growers
co mplain most bitterly of N oah for having put a couple

of rats in the ark .
I will observe and if there are cats or rats

,
You will tell m e of it that s right And more

.
,
over continued Van Baerle in whom captivity had

, ,
begotten distrust there is a n animal mu ch more to be

,

feared than even t he cat or t he r at .
1 58 T H E BL AC K T U L IP .
E very evening she brought to h im h andful by hand ,
ful, a quantity of soil from that part of t he garden which

he had fo und to be the best and which , indeed was , ,
excellent .
A large j ug which Cornelius had skil fully brok e n to

,
suit his purposes made an excellent o wer -pot He half

,
.
lled it and mixed the earth which Rosa brought him

,
with a little river mud which he dried a mix tu re which

-
,
formed a soil admirably adapted to his needs .
Then at the beginning of April, he planted his rst

,
bulb .
We could never succeed in descr i bing the pains and

skilful strategy to which Cornelius resorted to conceal
from Gryph us his delight w ith what he was doi ng A .
half hour is long enough for a philosophical prisoner to

-
have a whole century full of thoughts and emotions .
N ot a day passed o n which Rosa did not come to have

her chat w ith h im .
The tulips in the cultivation of which Rosa took a

,
complete course formed the principal topic of the conv er

,
sation but interesting as the subject was people cannot

, ,
always talk about tulips .
So they began to talk about other things as w ell ,
and the tulip fancier found out t o his great aston ish
-
,
ment w hat a vast range of subjects a conversation may

,
comprise .
But Rosa had made it a rule to keep her pretty face

si x inches from the grating for the beautiful girl had ,
undoubtedly lost condence in herself since s he had dis ,

covered how a prisoner s breath may s e t a maiden s heart
on re .
Ther e was one th ing espe cially which gave Cornelius

MAST ER AN D P U PIL . 1 59
almost as much an xiety as his bulbs a subject to which ,
he always returned the dependence of Rosa on her

,

father .
On that account the very li fe of Van Baerle the learned ,
doctor of science the pi cturesque artist the man of g e

, ,
nius o f Van Baerle who co uld in all probability claim

, ,

to be the discoverer of that chef d oeu m e of creation which '
was to be called , in accordance with previous arrange

ment Rosa B a rlaen s is the life yes, more than the

, ,
life the happiness of this ma n depended absolutely on

, ,
the m ere whi m of another ma n and t hat other man was

a being of a lower order and of the meanest ca pacity
, a ,
j ailer rath er less intelligent than the lock in which he

,
turned the key and harder than the bolt h e dre w It

, .

resem bled t he episode of Caliban in the Tempest a ,
struggle be t weeen a ma n and a brute .

However Van Baerle s happ iness was in his hands ; he
,
might some ne morning nd L oewes t e in d ull or the air ,
o f the place unhealthy or the gin bad and leave the for
, ,
tress au d take his daughter with hi m ,

,
when Cornelius
and Rosa would again be separated .
God w ho grows weary of doing too much for his creat

,
ures might keep them apart forever

,
.

O f what use w ould t he carrier pigeons then be ? -
s aid Corneli us to Rosa ;

for then my dear Rosa you , ,
would not be able to read what I should write to you , nor

to write to me your thoughts in return .

W , answered Rosa who in her he a rt was as
ell
,

m u ch afraid o f a separation as Cornelius himself we ,
ha v e an hour every evening ; let u s make the most

o f it .

I don t think we make such a bad use of it as it is

, .
1 60 T HE B L ACK T U L IP .
L et us employ it even better said Rosa smiling , , .
Teach me to read and to write believe me your lessons ,
will n ot be throw n away and in this way we shall never

,
b e separated any more except by our own will ! ,
0 h then in deed we have etern ity be fore us

,
cried
Corneli us .
Rosa smiled and made a most charming gesture of

,
dissent .

f
Do you propose to remain orever in prison ? she re
tot ted A fter sparing your li fe do you suppose that his ,
H ighness will not also restore your l i b erty ? An d will

you not then recover your fortune and be a rich man ? ,
And then when you are once more free and prosperous
, ,
will you still deign to look as you pas s on horseback or ,

in your carriage at poor Rosa the jailer s daughte r which
, , ,
i s next door to being the hangman s daug hter ?
Cornelius tried to protest and certainly he would have ,
done so with all his heart and with all the sincerity of a,
soul full of love .
The dam sel however interru pted him asking with a

, , ,
smile How is your tulip getting on

,
To speak to Cornelius of his tulip was a sure way o f

aki n g him forget everything even Rosa herself , .
Very well indeed he said

, The p ellicle is growing
, .
black ; the sprouting has commenced ; the veins of t he

b ulb are swellin g ; eigh t days h ence, and perhaps sooner ,
we should be able to distinguish the presence o f rst

buds And yours Rosa ? ,
Oh I have done th i n gs on a large scale and accord

, ,
ing to your directions .
N o w let me hear Rosa what you have done sai d

, , , ,
Corn elius whose eyes glowed as eagerly and w hose breath

,
162 TH E BL AC K T U L IP .
Oh said Rosa I have a b ook ,

, ,

a book which I
hope will b ring us good fortune .

To morrow then
-
,
.

Y es, to morrow
-
.
On the following evening Rosa returned with Cornelius

de Witt s Bible .
I
T H E F RST B U LB . 163
CHAPT ER XVII .
TH E F IRS T B UL B .
ON the follow ing eveni n g as we have said Rosa returned

, ,

w ith Cornelius de Witt s Bi ble .
Then began between the master and the pupil one of

those charming scenes which are the delight of the nov
e list when he can nd an opportunity in the course o f his
, ,
stor y , to describe them .
The grated wicket , the only opening through which the

two lovers were able to communicate was too high for ,
these good people w ho had until then been content to

read all th at they had to s ay in each other s eyes to
read conveniently from the book Rosa had brought .
There fore s he had to lean against the gr ating holding ,
the book on a level with the taper which she held in her
right hand but which Cornelius l uckily thought of fas
,
tening to the bars w it h a handkerchief so as to a ord

'
her a little rest Rosa wa s t hen able to follow with her

.
nger the letters an d syllables w hich Cornelius made ,
her spell out while he with a straw pointed out the

,
letters to his attentive pupil thro ugh the holes of the

grating .
The light of t he lamp gave n ew brilliancy to Rosa s
rich coloring to the sparkle of her deep blue eyes and to

, ,
the wealth of fair hair beneath her head dress of polished -
gold which the Frisian women, as we have said, had

,
16 4 TH E B LAC K T U LIP .
adopted Her ngers bei ng held upwards the blood left

. ,
them and t hey assumed that pale pink tint which s eems
,
t o S hine in the light and indicates the mysterious life

,
which ebbs and ows beneath the esh .
Rosa s intellect rapidly developed under the inu ence

of such animating contact with the mind of Corn elius '
and w hen the di f culties seemed too arduous then their ,
eyes would meet in a long and loving gaze their lashes ,
would touch and their hair would be mi ngled together

, ,
and electric sparks would be given o ff su f cient to illu ,

minate the dark recesses of an idiot s brain .
An d Rosa after s h e had returned to her room repeated

, ,
in her mind the reading lessons, and at the same time in ,
her heart the unspoken lessons of love

,
.
One evening she came half an hour later than u sual .
This half hour s tardiness wa s too extraordinary an inci

-

dent not to call forth at once inquiries from Cornelius as

to its cause .
Oh, do not b e an gry with me Sh e said it is not

,
my fault My father has rene wed his acquaintance here

.
at L oewes t ein with an old fellow w ho used to come often

at the Hague to ask h im to let him s ee the prison He
, .
is a good sort of fellow fond of his bottle tells funny

, ,
stories and moreover is very free with his money and

, ,
always ready to pay h is share .

You don t kno w anything further of him ? ask ed
Cornelius surprised , .
N s he answered

it s only about a fortnight since

my father ha s taken such a fancy to this friend who is so

assidu ous in v isiting him .

Ah said Cornelius Shaking his head uneasily as
, , ,
e very new incident seemed to him to for bode some catas

Go on Rosa pray do , s o that I may try to form so me

, ,

idea who the man is and what he wants , .

Are you quite s ure Mynheer Cornelius that there is , ,
no one of your friends who may be interesting himself in

your behalf ?
I have no friends Rosa ; I have only my old n urse
, ,
w hom you kno w and w ho knows you Alas ! poor Sue

,
.
,
s he would come herself and w ould resort to no tricks , ,
but would say weeping bit terly to your father or to you

, , ,
My good s ir or my good young lady my child is h ere ;

, ,
s ee how gri e ved I am let me see him j ust for one hour ,

and I ll pray for you as long a s I li ve N o no con

.
, ,
tin ned Cornelius w ith the exception of my poor old

,

Sue I have no friends
, .
Th e n I come back to what I thought before and the

more s o as last evening at sunset while I was arranging
, ,
the bed w here I am to plant your bulb I s a w a shado w ,
gliding between the elder-trees and t he aspens I did .
not appear to s ee him b ut it was this man He con

'
.
,
ce ale d himself and s a w me turning up the earth and cer ,
t a inly it was I whom he was following and I whom he ,
was spying after I could not move my rake or touch a

.
piece of dirt without his noticing it .
Oh yes y es he is in love with you i said Cornelius

, , .
IS he yo ung ? is he handsome ?
A nd he looked anxiously at Rosa impatient for her ,
answer .

Young ? handsome ? cried Rosa laughing heartily ,
.
His face is hideous he is crooked and n e arly fty years ,
of age and never dare s to look me in the face or to speak

,
aloud .
And his name ?

I
TH E F RST B U LB . 167

J a co b Gisels .
I don t know him

.
So you s e e that he does not come after you .
At all events even if he does love you Rosa which

, , .
is very likely (for to see y o u is to love you you don t

)

,
lo ve h i m do you ?
,

Indeed I don t .
Then I may be eas y in my mind ?

I promi se you th at you may .
Well, then, now that you are beginn ing to know how
t o re ad you will read all that I write to you ab out the
,

pangs of j ealousy and of absence won t you Rosa ? , ,
I will if you make good big letters .
B ut the next moment she seemed to become a little

uneasy at the t urn the conversation was taking So s he .
chan g ed the subject ab ruptly .

By the bye , sai d s he h ow is your tulip g etting ,
on
Oh Rosa imagine my delight this mornin g I looked
, ,
at it in the s un after I had gently removed the soil which

,
covers the b ulb, a n d I saw the point of the rst shoot .
Ah Rosa ! my heart fairly o v ero wed that almost imper

,
ceptible whitish b ud which a y s wing b rushin g against

,
it would break off, that mere suspicion o f a livin g organ

is m whi ch was revealed by an impalpable w itness moved ,
me more deeply than did the reading of his Hig hness s
order which restored my li fe to me by turning aside the

e x ecutioner s ax e o n t he scaff old at the B uyte nhof

.
Y o u have hopes th en ? said Rosa smiling

, ,
.
Y es, y es I have indeed

,
.
And n o w tell me w hen shall I plant my b ul b ?

,
Oh , the rst favorable day I will tell you but it is of

the utmost consequence that you let nobody help you ,
and con d e your secret to no one in t he world for you ,
see a connoisseur by merely looking at the bulb would

, , ,
be able to discover its v alue and s o my dearest Rosa be , ,
most especially careful of t he third bulb which you still (
have and which you must guard as the apple of your

,

eye.

It is still wrapped up in the same paper in which you
put it a n d j u st as you gave it me Mynheer Co rn elius
,
o
, ,
buried at the bottom of my chest u nder my lace which ,
k e eps it dry without pressing upon it B ut g ood night .

o
,

my poor prisoner .

What ! already ?
Y e s I must
, .
Coming s o late and going so soon,
My father might grow impatient not seeing me return ,

and my lover might suspect a rival .
Sh e paused a mom e nt to lis t en anxiously .

What is it ? ask e d Van Baerle .
I thought I heard something .
What was it pray ? ,
S omething like a step creaking on the staircase .
S urely said the prisoner that cannot be Gry ph us

, , ,
fo r he can always b e heard at a distance .
N o it is not my fath e r I am quite s ure but

, , ,

But ?
But it might be Mynheer Jacob .
Rosa rushed towards the stairc a s e and a door was a c ,
t u ally heard to close hurriedly before the maiden had
descended the rst ten steps .
Cornelius was very uneasy about it but his troubles ,
were only beginning .

and Cornelius was surprised with his j ug b etween his

knees .
Gryphus perceiving an unknown and consequently a

,
forb idden object in the hands of his prisoner pounced ,
upon it with the same rapidity as the haw k on it s prey .
As ill luck would have it or the fatal address which ,
the spirit of evil sometimes bestows upon the wicked his ,
coarse hard hand the same which he ha d b roke n, and

, ,
which Cornelius v a n Baerle had s et s o well fell full upon ,
the middle of t he j ug at the very spot w here the precio us

bul b wa s lying in the soil .
What have you got here ? he roared Ah have .

,

I cau ght you ? and with this he plunged his hand in the

soil
1 ? N othing nothing cried Cornel ius trem bl ing
, , , .
Ah I have caught y o u I a j ug and earth in it !

, ,
There is some criminal s e cret at the botto m of all this .

Oh my good Master G y p s said Van Baerle im
,
r h u , ,
plor ingly and as anxious as the partridge whose young

,
have been stolen by the reaper .
Gry phus meanwh ile wa s digging away with his crooked

, ,
n gers .
Oh Mynheer Mynheer ! take care ! said Cornelius,

, ,
and every vestige of color left his face .
Take care of what ? I n God s name of what ?
roared th e j ailer .
Take care I s ay you will crush it

, ,
And with a rapid and al most frantic movement he

snatched the j ug from the hands of Gry phus and hid it ,
like a precious treasure b ehind the b ul wark o f his arms .
B ut Gry ph us obstinate like an o ld man , and more

, ,
and more convinced that he was unearthing a conspiracy

T H E F RST B I ULB . 171
a gainst t h e Prince o f Orange rushed up to his prisoner ,
with his stick in the air ; seeing however the uninchi n g , ,
resolution of the captive to protect his ower pot he was -

,
convinced that Cornelius trem bled muc h less for his head
t ha n for h is j ug .
H e therefore tried to wrest it from him by force .

Ah sai d the j ailer furious
, this is downright , ,
rebellion y ou know
,
.
L e t my tulip alone cried Van Baerle .
Oh yes ! your tulip indeed ! replied the old m an

, , ,

we know all your tricks .
But I swear
L e t go repeated Gryphus stamping his foot let ,

go or I shall call the guard
, .
Call w homever you like but you shall not have this ,
poor ower except with my li fe .
Gry phu s in his rage pl unged his ngers a second time

, ,
into the soil and drew out the bulb, which was quite
,
black ; and while Van Baerle quite happy to have sav ed ,
the vessel did not suspect that the adversary had pos
,
sessed himsel f of its precious contents Gryphu s dashed ,
the soft bulb violently on the ags where it was broken ,
open and almost immediately disappeared crushed and

, ,

g round to pulp beneath the j ailer s heavy boot .
Van Baerle s a w the work of destruction , got a gli mps e

of the moist d bri s and guessing the cau se of the fero
, ,
cio n s j oy of G ryphus u ttered a cry of agony w hich

, ,
would have m elted even the adaman ti n e heart of that

ruthless j ailer who some years before killed Peliss on s
S pider .
The idea of striki ng down the cruel w retch passed like

lightning through the brain of the tulip fancier The hot -
.
1 72 TH E BL AC K T U L IP .
blood rushed to his head and blinded him and he raised

in his t wo hands the j ug heavy with all the useless earth
which remained in it One instan t m ore and he would
.
,
have ung it at the bald head of old Gry phus .
B ut a cry stopped him a cry of tearful agony uttered

, ,
by poor Rosa who trembling and pale with her arms

, , ,
raised to heaven , made her app earance behind the grated

window, and stood between her father a nd her friend .
Cornelius let the j ug fall and it broke into a thousand

,
pieces with a tremendous cra sh .
Gryph us then understood the da nger w ith which he

had been threatened and he broke out in a volley of
,
the most terrible abuse .
Indeed said Cornelius to him

, y o u m u st b e a cow ,
a rd l wretc h to rob a poor prisoner o f his only consolation

y ,
a tulip bulb .
For shame my father ,

Rosa chi med in it is a real

crime that you have committed .

Ah is that you jade ? the old man cried turning
, , ,
u pon her in a boili n g rage ; you j ust attend to your

own affairs a n d march downst airs as fast as ever you
,
can.
Alas I unfortunate wretch that I am Cornelius

repe a ted in a tone of utter despair
,
.

After all it is only a tulip Gryph us resumed a little
, , ,
sha m efacedly Y o u may have as m any tulips as y ou

like I have three hundred of them in my loft .

To the devil with your tulips ! cried Cornelius
you are worthy of each other H a d I a hundre d thou .
sand million of th em I would gladly give them for t he

,
one which you have j ust destroyed

Ah indee d
, cried Gry phus, triumphantly .
1 74 TH E B L ACK T UL IP .
CHAPT E R XVIII .
RO SA S

L O VE R .
RO S A had scarcely pronounced these consolat ory words ,
when a voice was heard from the staircase asking Gryphus ,
what was going on

,
.
Do you hear Father ? said Rosa

,
.

W hat ?
Master Jaco b is calling you ; he i s anx io us .
There was such a n ois e said Gryph us

, would n t ,

you have thought that this confounded doctor was mur

dering me ? Ah what a peck of trouble one always has
,
w ith these fellows that know so m uch

Then pointing to the staircas e he said to Rosa , ,

You go rst young woman
,
.
And as he closed and locked the door he contin u e d ,

I will b e there in a moment frien d Jacob ,
.
Thereupon he took his departure carrying his daughter ,
with him and leaving Cornelius alone with his bitter

,
grief and muttering to himself

, ,
Ah y o u old hangman it i s you w ho have murdered

,
me ; I shall not get over this .
And certainly t he unfortunate priso n er would have

fallen ill but for the counterpoise which Providence had

grant ed to his grief, and w hich was called Rosa

.
In the evening S he came back H er rst words a n .
n o un ce d to Cornelius that henceforth her father would no
longer ma ke a ny objecti on to his cultivating owers .

ROS A S L O VER 1 75

.
An d how do you know that ? the pri soner asked ,
wi th a dole ful look .
I kno w it b ecause he has s ai d s o .

To dece i ve me perhaps
, .
N o, he repent s of his violence .

Ah , yes ! b ut it s too late

.
This repentance is not his own idea .

Whose is it pray ?,
If y o u only knew ho w his friend scolded him .
Ah Mynheer J aco b a ain !

, He has n t le ft you then
g
,

th is Mynheer J acob ?

I assure you, he leaves us j ust as little as he can
help .
As s he said this, she smiled in s uch a way that the

little cloud of j ealous y which had darkened the brow of
Cornelius speedily van i shed .

How d id it happen ? ask ed the prisoner .
Well b e ing questioned by his friend my father told

, ,
at suppe r the w hole story of the tulip or rather o f the ,

b ul b a nd of his own ne exploit of crushing it
, .
Cornelius heaved a si gh which mi g ht have been calle d

a g roan .
If y ou only could h ave seen Master J acob at that

moment ! continued Rosa I really thought he would
.
s e t r e to the castle ; h is eyes w ere like two aming

torches his hair stood on end and he clenc hed his s t ;
, ,
f or a moment I thou ght h e proposed t o strangle my

father .

Y o u ha v e done that ! he cried, you have crush ed
t he bulb

Indeed I have was my father s reply
,

.
I t is in amous !
f shrieked Master Jaco b ; it is hor

rib le ! Y ou have com mitted a great crime !

My father was quite d um founded .
Are you mad too ? he asked his friend

,
.
Oh what a worthy man i s this J acob ! m uttere d

,
Cornelius
an honest heart a ma n in a thousand
, , .
The truth is that it is impossi ble to treat a man more

,
rudely than he did my father continued Rosa ,His .

trouble se e m e d to be quite genuine, and he kept repeat

ing over and over again ,
Crushed ! the b ulb crushed ! My God my God !

,
crushed
Then turning to wards m e he asked B ut it was not
, ,

the only one that he had ?
D id he ask that inquired Cornelius with some ,
anxiety .
Y ou think it wa s not the only one ? said my father

.

Very wel l we will search for the others
,
.
Y ou will search fo r the others ? cried Jaco b takin g

,
my father by the collar ; but he immediately loosed

him .
Then he turned to me again and asked And what , ,

did the poor young man s ay ?
I did n ot kno w what to answer as you had S O strictly ,
enjoined me never to allow any one to guess the interest

w h ich you take in the bulb Fortunately my father .
,
relieved my embarrassment by answering for me ,
What did he say ? H e began to foam at the

m outh
.
I interrupted h im .
How could he have helped b eing in a r age said I ,

,
when you were so hars h an d so brutal ?

Well, n ow, are y ou mad too ? cried my father ;

,

w hat a terrible misfortune it is to crush a tulip bulb !


But my steps were arrested by something I heard,
although it was uttered in a very low voice .
Jacob said to my father ,
It surely would not be very di fcult to ascertain
Y es ,
we can search him and if he has any more ,

b ulbs we shall nd them .

That s what you must do for ordinarily three bulbs ,
are raised at once .

Three at once ! cried Cornelius Di d he say that .

I have three bulbs ?
Well you s ee his w ords made as much impression on
,
me as my repetition of them does on you I turn ed .
ro und They were both of t hem so deeply engaged

.
in their conversation that they did not observe my

movement .

But said my fat her perh aps he has not got his

, ,
bulbs about him

Then make him come dow n under some pretext or ,

other and I will search h is cell meanwhile
,
.

Aha ! exclaimed Cornelius Your friend Jacob .

must be an infernal scoundrel !

I am afraid he is
Le t me s ee Rosa continued Cornelius with a pen
, , ,
sive air .
W hat is it ?
D id not you tell me th at on t he day w hen you were
preparing your bed this man followed you ,

Y es .
And that he glided like a S hadow behind t he elder

trees ?
Certainly .
RO SA S LO VE R. 179
'
So that not one of your movements escaped h i m ?

N ot a single one .

Rosa said Corneli us tu rning pale
, , .
Well
It was not you he was after .

W ho else then ?
,
It is not you that he is in love with

With whom else pray ? ,
He was after my bulb and is in love with my ,
tulip
U pon my word it is very possi b le ! crie d Ros a
, .
Will you make sure of it ?

H ow
Oh , it would be very easy !
Tell me how .
Go to morro w into the garden ; try to arrange that

-
J aco b may know as he did t he rst time that you are

, ,
goin g there, and try to make sure that he follows you , as

he did the rst time Make a pretence of putting the
.
bul b in the ground leave the garden bu t keep your eye ,
on him , and see what he does .
Well a n d then
,
Then we w ill g overn our actions accord ingly .

Oh said Rosa w ith a sigh you are very fond of
, , ,
your b ul b s, Mynheer Corneli us .
To tell the truth said the prisoner sighing like wise,

, ,
since your father crushed that un fortunate bul b I feel ,
as if part of my own self h a d been paralyzed .

W hat do you s ay to tryi g anoth er plan ? Rosa
n
asked him .
W hat is it ?
Why do n t you accept my father s proposit ion ?

1 80 T H E B LA C K T U L IP .
What proposition
Did he not offer you tulip bulbs by hundreds ? -

Indeed he did .
Accept two or three and along with them , you may

, ,

raise the third of your own bulbs .
Y es that would do very well

,
said Corneli us knit ,
!
,
ting his brow if yo u r fat her were alone ; but there is

,
that ot her fellow that wretc h Jacob watching every

, ,
movement we make .

That is true ; but only th ink ! you are depriving

yourself I can see O f a v ery g rea t pleasure
, , .
,
.
She pronounced these words wit h a smil e which was

n o t altogether without a tinge of irony .
Cornelius r eected for a mome n t ; he evidently was

struggling against some ve hement desire .
No he cried at last with the stoicism of a Ro man

,
o f old no it would be a weakn ess it would be a folly

, , ,
i t would be coward ice ! If I thus gave up the last r e

so urce which we poss ess to t he uncertain chances of
anger and envy I should n ev e r deserve to be forgiven
, .
N O Rosa n o ; to morrow we w ill decide u pon t h e spot

, ,
-
for your tulip you will pl ant it according to my in str uc

tions ; and as to t he third bulb Corn elius here heaved
a deep sigh as for the third k eep it in you r chest ; ,
watch over it as a miser over his rst or last piece of

gold as the mother over her child as t he wo unded man
, ,
over the last drop of blood in his veins wat ch over it , ,
Rosa ! S ome voice within me tells m e that it will be

our salvatio n and t he so u rce of wealth to us ! Watch
,
over it ! And even if t he lightning s hould strike Loewe

stein give me your oat h Rosa that y o u will seize and
, , ,
save this last O f the bulbs w hich encloses the possibility

entirely u nprecedented among the Simon pure tulip -
fanciers a race w hich has ceased to exist ?

,
W e have to con fess to the lasting shame of our hero

,
and of oric ult ure in general that of his two a ffections

,
he felt most strongly inclined to regret that of the esh

and when at about three in the morning he fell aslee p
, , ,
overcome with fatigue tor mented w ith dread and torn

, ,
with remorse the great black tulip yielded precedence

,
in his dreams to the sweet blue eyes of the fair haired

Frisian maid .
T H E MA ID AND T H E FL OWER . 1 83
C HA PT ER XIX .
TH E MA ID AN D TH E F L O WE R .
B UT p oor Rosa in her secluded chamber could not know

, ,
of whom or o f what Corneli us was dreaming .
As a conse q uence of what he had said she was more

ready to believe that his visions were of the blac k tuli p
than of her ; and yet Rosa was mistaken .
But as there was no one to tell her that s he was mis

taken and as Cornelius s thoughtless words had fallen
,
upon her heart like drops of poison Rosa d id not dream , ,
but wept .
The fact was that as Rosa wa s a high spirited creature

,
-
,
of no mean perception and a noble heart s he took a very ,
clear and j udicious vi ew of her own social position if not ,
of her moral and physical q u alities .
Cornelius was a scholar and was wealthy a t least he

, ,
had been before the con scation of his property ; Cor

n e lius belonged to the merchant bourgeoisie w ho were
-
,
proud er of their richly emblazoned shop signs than the

- -
hereditary nobility of their heraldi c bearings Therefore .

,
al t hough he might n d Rosa a pleasant companion for

the dreary hours O f his captivity when it came to a ,
question of bestowing his heart it was almost certain

,
that he would b e stow it upon a tulip that is to say , ,
upon the proudest and noblest of owers rather than ,

u pon poor Rosa, the j ailer s lowly child .
1 84 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .
'
Th us Rosa understood Corneli us s preference of the
tulip to hersel f b ut was on ly so muc h the more unhappy
,
th e re for .
During the whole of t his terrible night the poor girl

did not close an eye and be fore s he rose in the morning
,
she had formed a resol ution s he had resolved to return ,
to the grated window no more .
But as she knew with what ardent desire Cornelius

looked forward to the ne ws abo ut his tulip ; as she did
not choose to expose herself to the risk of continual mee t
ing with a man for whom she felt her sense of pity in
creasing to such a degree that it had gone beyond mere
com passion a n d was advancing by the straight road and
,
with great strides towards passionate love ; as s he did

not on the other hand wish to drive him to despair
, , ,
she resolved to contin ue by hers e lf t he reading a nd

,
writing lessons ; a n d fortunately she had made sufci ent

, ,
progress to d ispense with the help of a master provid ed ,
that his name was not Corneli us .
Rosa there fore applied herself most diligently to read

, ,
ing poor Cor nelius de Witt s Bi ble on the second l eaf of

which (becom e the rst since the oth e r had been torn ,
out ) the last will of Cornelius van Baerle was written .
Alas s he muttered when perusing again this doc u

,
ment which she never nished without a t ear love s

, ,

pearl rolling fro m her limpid ey e s down her pal e cheeks

, ,

al a s ! at that time I thought for one moment that
he loved m e .
Poor Rosa ! s he was mistaken N ever had the pris .
oner s feeling for he r amounted to true sincere love un til

t he time at w hich we are now arrived wh e n as we have , ,
said with some sense of e mbarrassment in the contest ,

1 86 TH E B LACK T UL I P .
why they did so and then recallin g w h at they had for

, ,
gotten they say, sighing bitterly Oh y es it s tka t I

, , , ,

The that in Corneli us s case was the fear lest Rosa

might not come in the evening as usual .
A s the evenin g approached his pre -occupation became ,
more and more acute and absorbing until at last it as ,
sumed entire control of his whole body and for the ti me ,
was his whole li fe .
Thus it was with a loudly-b eating heart that he wel

comed the darkness ; and a s it grew darker and darker ,
th e words which he had said t o Rosa the evening be fore ,
and w hich had so deeply af i cted her came back to his ,
mind more vividly than ever and he asked himsel f how

he could have told hi s gentle com forter to sacri ce him
to his tulip that is to s a y to give up seeing him if
, ,
necessary whereas to him the sight of Rosa had

,
become an essential condition of life .

In Cornelius s c ell he could hear the hours strike on

the clock of the fortress Seven o clock struck th en
.
,
eight then nine N ever did the clang of b rass make a

, .
deeper echo in the h eart of man than did the last stroke
o f the bell, marking t h e ninth hour in the heart of ,
Cornelius .
All was then silent again Cornelius put his hand on .
his heart t o repress as it were its violent palpitation and

, , ,
listened .
The noise of Rosa s footstep the rustling of her g own

,
on the staircase were s o fa miliar to his ear that she

, ,
had no sooner mounted one step than he would say to

himsel f,
H ere she comes !
This evening no sound broke the silence of the cor
TH E MAID A ND T H E F L OWER . 1 87
r idor . The clock struck n ine and a quarter ; then two

strokes sounde d for the half hour then the thr ee -
quarte rs ; and at las t its deep tone announced not only ,
to the i nmates of the fortress b ut also to all the inhabi ,
tants of Loewest ein that it was ten o clock ,

.
Th i s was the ho ur at w hich Rosa generally parted

fro m Cornelius The hour had struck but Rosa had
.
,
not co m e .
Thus, then his forebodin g had not deceived him

, .
Ros a, in her annoyance shut hersel f up in h er room and

,
le ft him to himsel f .
Alas ! said Cornelius to himsel f I have deserved ,
all this She w ill come no more ; and she is right in

.

st aying away : in her place I should do j ust the same .
And nevertheless Cornelius still listened wai ted , and

, ,
hoped .
He listened and waited until midnight ; but then he

gave up hope and thre w himsel f dressed as he was u pon
, , ,
his b ed .
It was a lon g and sad night for him day came at last
'
b ut day brought no hope to the prisoner .
At eigh t in the mornin g the door of his cell opened ; , ,
but Cornelius did not even t urn his head he had heard
the heavy step o f Gry ph us in the corridor but had felt ,
perfectly sure that it was the step of only one person .
He did not even s o m uch as look at Gry phu s .
And yet he w ould have been s o glad to ask hi m for

ne ws of Rosa He was actually on the point of asking
.
the question strange as i t would have appeared to her

,
father . He hoped the selsh fellow ! to hear fro m

Gryphus that his daughter was ill .
Ex ce p t on e xtraordinary occasions, Rosa never cam e

during the day Cornelius therefore did not really ex

.
, ,
pect her as long as t he day lasted

,
Yet his sudden .
starts his listening a t the door his rapid questioning

, ,
g lances towards t he w icket showed t hat t he prison e r ,
entertained a vague hope that Rosa might depart from

her regular custom .
At Gryphus s second visit Cornelius contrary to all his

, ,
for mer habits asked t he old j ailer w ith his most winning
, ,
voice about her health but Gry phus laconic as a Spar

, ,
tan contented himself wi t h the answer

, ,
She s all right

At t he third visit Cornelius changed the form of his

,
question .
I hO pe nobody is ill at L oewes t ein

N obody replied Gryph us even more sparing of
, ,
his words than before as he slammed the door in the ,
prisoner s face
.
Gryphus being little used to such amenities on the

,
part of Cornelius saw in t h em t he beginning of an

,
attempt to bribe him .

Corneli us was alone once more it was seven o clock in
the ev e ning and the heart rend ing anguish of the e veni ng
,
-
before which we have tried to depict returned with e v en

, ,
greater intensity .
B ut again the hours passed away without bringi ng t he

s weet vision which lighte d up through the wicket t h e , ,
c ell O f poor Cornelius and which upon retiring left ,
light eno ugh in his heart to last until it came back

again .
Van Baerle passed the night in an agony of despair .
On the following day Gry phu s appeared to him even

more hideous brutal a nd hateful than usual
,
In his
, .
1 90 T H E B L AC K TUL IP .
the iron bars of his windo w at the risk of not being able ,
to draw it b ack again to try and get a glimpse O f the ,
garden on the left spoken of by Rosa who had told him

, ,
that it s wall bordered upon the river in the hope of ,
espying by the early rays of the April s un the maiden or

the tulip his two lost loves
,
.
In the evening Gryphus too k away his b reakfast and

,
dinner he had scarcely touched them .
On the following day he d id not touch them at all ,
and Gryphus carried away the delicacies intend e d for

those two meals quite u ntasted .
Corneli u s had remain ed in bed t h e whole day .
W ell said G ry phu s coming down from t he last

, ,

visit I think we shall soon get rid of our scholar
,
.
Rosa was startled .

N onsense said Jacob what do you m ean ?
, ,

He does n t drink he does n t eat he does n t leave

, ,
his bed L ike Mynheer Groti us he w ill leave here in a

.
,

chest ; only the chest w ill be a cof n .
Rosa grew as pale as d e ath .
Ah she m ur mured I understand ; he is w orried

, ,
about his tuli p .
And rising w ith a h eavy heart she returned to her ,
chamber where s he took a pen and paper and during

, ,
t he w hole of that night busied herself forming lett e rs .
On the following morning when Corn elius got up to ,
drag himself to the window he perceived a paper which ,
had been slipped under the door .
He pounced upon it opened it and read the following , ,
words in a handwriting w hich he could scarcely have

,
recognized a s that of Rosa s o much had sh e improved ,
during her short absence of seven days ,

THE MA ID A N D T H E F L OWER . 1 91
N ever fe ar, your tulip is doin g nely .
Although these fe w words of Rosa somewhat soothed

the grief of Cornelius yet he was no less sensible of thei r
,
bitter irony Rosa then was not ill but was hurt to
.
, , ,
the quick ; she had not been forcibly prevented fro m

com ing but had voluntarily stayed away Thus Ro sa
,
.
,
b eing at liberty ha d su f cient strength of will to abstain

,
from coming to him w ho was dying with grief for a sight

,
of her .
Cornelius had paper and a pencil which Rosa had

brought to him He guessed that s he expected an a u
.
swer b ut that s he would not come befo re the evening to

,
get it He therefore wrote on a piece of p a per similar

.
,
to t h at which he had received ,
It is not my anxiety about the tulip that h as made

me ill but my grief at not seeing you
,
.
After Gryph us had made his last visit of the day and
evening had come he slipped the paper under the door
, ,
and listened .
But listen as i ntently as he would he heard n either ,
Rosa s footstep nor the rustli n g of her gown

.
He h eard naught but a voice as light as a breath and

sweet as a kiss which whispered t hrough the little w icket
,
the w ord ,
To morrow -
.
To mo rrow it was the eighth day For eight days

-
.
Cornelius a n d Rosa had not seen each other .

1 92 TH E B LACK T U L IP .
CHAPT ER XX .
WH AT H AD TAKEN PLACE D URIN G TH O S E E GH T I D AY S .
ON the followi n g evening at the usual hour Van Baerle

, ,
heard some one scratch at the little w icket j ust as Rosa ,
had been in t he habit of doing in the happy days of their

friendship .
We may imagine that Cornelius was not far from t he

door between the bars of which he at last s a w again the
,
lovely face which had disappeared from his li fe fo r s o

long .
Ros a who was waiting there with a lamp in her band

, , ,

could not restrain a startled movement w hen she s aw how
pale and sad he was .

Are you in pain Mynheer Cornelius ? she asked
, .

Y es I am he answered
, ,

in pai n of mind and
,
body?

I sa w that you did not eat said Rosa ; my fath er
,
t old me that you remained in bed all day s o I wrote to you ,
to ease your mind as to the fate of the precious object of

your anxiety .

And I said Cornelius, I have giv e n you my reply
, .
Se eing you return , my dear Rosa, I thought y ou had

received my letter .
It is true I have received it

, .
Y ou cannot this time excuse yoursel f by saying

that you cannot read N ot only do you read very
.
man and that he must be taken as he was foibles and

, ,
all
Yes she s a id you guessed aright Jacob the
, ,
wooer Jacob the love lorn swain did not come here on
,
-
,
my account .
W hat did he come for, pray ? Corneli us anxiously

asked .
H e came fo r the sake of the tulip .
Alas ! said Corneli us growing even paler a t this ,
piece of in formation than he had been when Rosa, by a

misapprehension had told him a fortnight before that
,
Jacob was coming on her acco unt .
Rosa saw his alarm and Cornelius guessed , from the,
expression of her face that sh e was pursuing the line of

,
thought we have indicated .

Oh pardon me Rosa ! he said ; I understand you
, , ,
and I am well aware of the kindness and sincerity of

your heart T O you God ha s given the w it and j u dg
.
ment the strength and ability to defend yourself ; but to

, ,
my poor tulip w hen it is in danger God h as given

, ,

nothing O f all this .

Rosa without replying to the prisoner s excuse
, ,
continued

From the moment wh en I rst knew that you were
anxious on account of the man who followed me a n d in ,
whom I had recognized J acob I was even more anxious ,
myself ; and so I did as y ou told me on the day a fter that ,
on which I s a w you last when you said ,
Cornelius interrupted her .

Once more pardon me Rosa ! he cried
,
I was , .
wrong in saying to you what I said I have asked y our .
pardon for that u n fortunate speech before I a sk it .

a gain ; shall I always a s k it in vain ?
WH AT H AD T AK EN P L ACE 1 95

On t he
following day Rosa continued remember , ,
ing what you had told me abou t t he stratagem which I

was to employ to ascertain whether that odious man was
after the tulip or after me ,

Y es yes odi ous indeed ! You ha te him don t
, , , ,

you

I do hate him said Rosa as h e is th e cau se of all
, ,

the unh appiness I have su ffered these eight days .

Ah have you also been unhappy ? Thank you for
.
that word Rosa ,

.
Well, on the day after that un fortunate one I went ,
down i nto the garden , a nd proceeded toward the bed

w h ere I was to plant your tulip looking round all the ,
while to see whether I was again followed as I was

before .
W ell Corneli us asked .
Well the same sh a do w glided between the gate

,
and the wall and once more disappeared behind the

,
elder trees

.

You pretended not to see him did n t y ou ? Cor ,
nelius asked remember n all the details O f the advice

,
he had given Rosa .
Yes ; and I stooped over t h e bed and went to

digging with a spade as if I were going to put the ,
bulb in .

And he w hat did he do during all this ti m e ?
I s a w his eyes gli sten through t he branches of the
tree like those of a tiger
, .
D O you see do you see 2 cried Cornelius ,

.
Then after havi n g nished my make believe work

,
-
,

I retired .

But only b ehind the garden door is it not true , ,
so that you might see through the crack or the keyhol e

w hat h e d id when you had left ?

He waited for a moment very likely to make sure ,
o f my not coming back ; a fter wh ich h e sneake d out from
his hiding-place and approached the bed by a long d

,
to ur . At last having reached his goal

,
that is to s ay , ,
t he spot Where the ground was newly t urned he stoppe d ,
with a careless air looking about in all directions scann ed

, ,
every corner of the garden every wind ow of the n e ighbor

,
ing houses and looked inquiringly at the earth and the

,
sk
y ; and thinking hims elf quite alone quite isolated , ,
and out of everybody s sight he rus hed at the bed

, ,
plunged both his han ds into the soft soil took a handful ,
of the mould which he gently broke up between his

,
ngers to see whether the bulb was in it and repeated ,
t h e same thing twice or three times each tim e more ,
eage rly t han the last until at last as it began to dawn

, ,
upon him that he had been made the victim O f a fraud ,
he struggled to calm the agitation which was raging in

h is breast took u p the rake smoothed the ground s o
, , ,
as to leave it at his d e parture in the same state that

it was before he had pull ed it over and quite shamefa ce d ,
and sheepish walked back to the door affecting the

, ,
u n concerned air of an ordinary promenad e r .

O h the wretch
, m uttered Cornelius wiping the ,

perspiration from his brow O h the wretch ,
I guess ed ,
his intentions But the bulb Rosa

. wh a t have you , ,

done wit h it ? It is already rather late to plant it,

,
alas I

The bulb ? I t has bee n in the gro und for these s ix

days .

W here and how ? cried Cornelius Good Heaven .
,
1 98 THE BLACK TU LI P .
until eleven and of my western window from three to

,

v e in the afternoon .

That s it, that s it cried Cornelius and you are
a perfect gardener m y lovely Rosa But I am afraid
,
.

the n ursing of my tulip will take u p all your ti me .

Yes it will said Rosa ; but what matters it for
, , ,
it is your t ulip and my daughter I shall devote my .
time to it as I would to my child if I were a mother ,

.
It is only by becoming its mother Rosa added smil ,
ing ly ,
that I can cease to b e its rival .

Dear goo d Rosa !,
murmured Cornelius with a

glance in which there was much more of the lover than of

the gardener and which a ff orded Ros a some consolation
,
.
Then after a silence of some moments during which

, ,

Cornelius had tried to grasp Rosa s eeting hand through
the grating, he said ,
So the bulb has now been in the soil for six days ?

Y es s ix days
,
My nheer Corneli us ,
repli ed the ,
m aiden .

And it does n ot yet show itself ?
N O but I th ink it w ill to morrow ~
.
Well the n to morrow you will bring me news of it

, ,
-
,

and O f yoursel f won t you Rosa ? I am v e ry anxious
, ,
about the daughter as you called it j ust n o w ; but the

,
mother is the O bject of a much deeper and diff erent sort

of interest to me .
To morrow
-
said Rosa looking at Cornelius askance ,
.

I don t know whether I shall be able to come to
morrow .

Good heavens ! said Cornelius why can t you ,
come to -morrow
Mynheer Cornelius, I have a thousand things to do .
WH AT H AD TAK E N PLACE . 1 99
Wh ile I have on ly one muttered Cornelius , .

Y es , said Rosa to love your tulip
, .

To love you , Rosa .
Rosa shook her head again there was a pause

Well Cornelius at las t broke the silence,
, well,
Rosa everything chang es in the realm of N ature ; the
,
owers of S pring are succeeded by other owers ; and

we s ee the bees whi ch so tenderly caress ed the violets
,
and the wallower s utter as lovingly a bout t he honey

,
s uc kle s
,
the rose the jessamine the chrysanthemum,
, ,

and the gera nium .

m
What does all this ean ? asked Rosa .
It mean s that you at rst took pleasure in hearing

me tell of my j oy and my sorrow ; that y ou care s sed the
o wer of our youth but now mine has faded in the
,
.
shad o w . The garden of hope and pleasure of a poor

captive knows only one season It is not like the lovely
.
g ardens which ar e O pen to the air and the sunlight .
Once the May harvest is gathered and the booty secured , ,
b ees like you , Rosa b ees w ith slender bodies and golden
,
a nt enn as and diaphanou s w ings y between the b ars

, ,
leave the cold and solitude a n d gloom to nd else where ,
s weet odors and the warm breath of summer owers .
Happy they at la st
,
Rosa g az ed at Corn elius with a lovin g smile which he

did not s ee for his eyes were r ai sed toward heaven
,
.
He continued sigh ing heavily

, ,
Y ou have ab andoned me Rosa s o that you may , ,
have your allotted four seasons of pleasure elsewhere .
Yo u have done well and I will not complain

,
W hat .

clai m have I to your delity ?

My delity ! Rosa exclaimed, w ith her eye s full of
20 0 T H E B LACK T U L P. I
tears and no longer caring to hide from Cornelius this
,
d e w O f pearls rolling down her cheeks my delity ! ,

have I not been faithful to you ?

Alas ! do you call it faithful to desert me and to ,
leave me here to die ?

a m I not

But Mynheer Cornelius said Rosa
, , ,
doing everyth ing for you that could give you pleasure ?

Have I not devoted myself to your tulip ?
You are bitter Rosa ; you taunt me with the only
,
unalloyed pleasure I have had in this world .

I taunt you w ith nothing Mynheer Cornelius ex , ,
cept perhaps with the intense grief which I felt wh en

, ,
they told me at the B uy t en hof that you were about to

be put to death .
You are displeased Rosa my sweet Rosa with my , , ,
inte n se love for owers .

I am not displeased with your love for them Myn ,
- l
heer Corneli u s ; only it makes me s a d to think that you

love them be tter than you do me .

Oh my dear dear belove d see how my hands
, , ,
tremble ! see how pale my cheek is and hear ho w my ,
heart beats ! Oh well it is not because my black tulip

, ,
.
is smiling u pon me and calling m e no ; it is because you ,
are s miling u pon me you my beloved and because you

, , ,
are leaning towards me it is because I do not know

if it be true but becau se it s e ems to me th a t e ven

while avoiding them your hands long to clasp mine , ,
and because I feel the warmt h of your dear soft cheeks ,
behind the cruel bars Rosa my love, destroy the bulb .

,
of the black t ulip destroy all hope of se eing that ow er

,
bloom extinguish the pleasant l ight of the pure and

,
s oothing fancy which I have become used to dre amin

g
Why the dark beauty, Mynheer the dark beauty

, ,
with the graceful form delicate feet and noble head ; in , ,

shor t I am speaking o f yo ur ower
,
.
Cornelius smiled .
That is a n imaginary lady love dear Rosa whereas -

, ,
without counting your or rather my amorous friend ,
J acob you are surrounded by gallants eager to make

,
love to you Do you remember Rosa w hat you told

.
, ,
me of the students o fcers and clerks of the Hague ?

, ,
Are there no clerks of cers or s tudents at L oewes tein

, ,

Indeed there are plenty of them ,
.

Who write letters ?
Who wri te letters .
And no w that you know how to read

Here Cornelius heaved a sigh at the thought that ,
poor captive as he was to him alone Rosa owed t he ,
faculty of reading the lov e letters which s he received -

.

Ah said Rosa it seems to me that in reading the
, ,
n otes addressed to me a nd carefully scrutinizin g t he ,
gallants who presen t themsel ves I am only following ,

your instructions .

H ow s o ? My instructions ?

Y es your instruct ions
, said Rosa sigh ing in her , ,
turn ; have you forgotten the will w ritten by your

hand in the Bible of Cornelius de Witt ? I have not
forgotten it ; for now that I know how to read , I read
it every day and twice a day oftener than once In
, .
that will you bid me love and marry a handsome young

man of twenty s ix or eight years I am on the lookout
-
.
for that young man ; and as the whole of my day is

taken up w ith your tulip you must leave my ev enings ,

free to nd him .
WH AT H AD T AK EN PL ACE
. 2 03
B ut Ros e, the will was made in the ex pe ctation of

,

death a n d thank H eaven I am still alive
, , , .
Well then I will not look for the handsome young

, ,
m a n of twenty-s ix or twentyeight , and I will co me an d

s ee you .
Ah do Rosa ! Come come

, , ,

On one condition .
Granted b e forehand
That the black tulip shall not b e ment ioned for the
n ext three days .
It shall never b e mentioned any more if you wish it,

Rosa .

Oh , t he dam sel said I will not ask for im
,
!
possibilities .
As s he spoke she p ut her fresh cheek as if uncon ,
scio us ly so near the iron g rating that Cornel i us was able

,
to touch it w ith his l ips .
R osa uttered a little e x clamation of lo ve and d is ,
a ppeare d .
20 4 T H E BL AC K TU L IP .
C H APTE R XXI .
TH E S E CO N D B U LB .
h was a beautiful night and the next day w a s ner

,
still .
D uring the last few d ays the prison ha d been dull and
dark and dismal ; it bore heavily with all its weight on
the unfortunate captive Its walls were black its air
.
,
chilling ; the iron bars seeme d so close together a s

scarcely to ad mit the daylight .
But when Cornelius awoke, a b eam of the morning sun

was playing among the iron bars pigeons were hovering
about with outspread wings and others were lovingly
,
cooing on the roof near the still closed window .
Cornelius ran to the window and opened it it seemed

to him a s if life and j oy and almost liberty entered his
, ,
gloomy cell with the ray of sunlight L ove was bloom .
ing there and causing everything about it to bloom as

,
w ell love that heavenly ower with a radiance and a

, ,
perfume far di ff erent from all the owers of earth

W hen Gryph us entered the pri soner s cell instead of ,
nding hi m sullen and still in bed as on other occasio n s

, ,
10 ! he was standing at the w indow and si nging a little

,
air from some opera Gry phus looked at him surlily

. .
Halloa ! he exclaimed .
H o w are you thi s mor ning ? a sked Cornelius .

his jacket and his waistcoat b etween his waistcoat and ,
his shirt and beneath his sh irt t hey found nothing

,
.
They then searched the sheets the mattress and the , ,
straw o f his bed, and again they found nothing .
Great was the silent satisfaction of Corneli us that he

had not taken the third bulb under his own care .
Gry phus would have been sure to ferret it o ut in t he

search ho wever carefully it was concealed, and would
,
then have treated it as he did the rst .
As it was no prisoner ever looked on at the execution

,
of a search warrant in his cell w ith more serenity than

-
Cornelius exhibited on this occasion .
Gryph us retired with the pencil and the two or three

leaves of white paper w hich Rosa ha d given to Van
Baerle ; this was the only trophy b rought back from
the expedition .
At six Gryphu s came agai n but alone Cor nelius tried ,

.
to propitiate him but Gry phu s growled sho wed a great ,
fang which he had in the corner of his mouth and went ,
out backward like a man who is afrai d of being attacked

fro m behind .
Cornelius burst out laughing ; whereupon Gryphus ,

who had read somewhat, shouted at him through t he
grating ,
All rig ht all right ! He laugh s best who laughs

,

last .
Corneli us laughed last on that occasion at least for

, ,
he was expecting Rosa .
Rosa came at ni n e She was without a lantern She

. .
n o longer needed a light for she k n e w h o w to read ;

,
moreov e r the light might betray her a s Jacob kept a

, ,
more persistent espionage than ever upon her ; and

T H E S ECON D B U LB .
207
lastly i n the light her ushed cheeks wo uld have b een

,
too perce ptible when s he blushed .
Of what did the young people talk that evenin g ? Of

those matters of which lover s talk at the house-doors in
France on opposite sides of a balcony in Spain and from
, ,
the top to the bottom of a terrace in the Orient .
They talked of those things which add win gs to the

feet of the hours and put additional feathers into t he
,
win g s of time .
They talked of everything except the b lack tulip .
At last when the clock struck ten , they parted as usual

, .
Corneliu s was happy as thoroughly happy as a

,
t ulip -fancier could be w ho ha d had no chance to tal k

ab out hi s tulip .
He found Rosa as fair as all the loves ; he found her

sweet and lovely and char min g .
But why did Rosa object to t he tulip bein g mentioned ?

This was indeed a great de fect in Rosa .
Corneli u s con fessed to himself with a si g h that woman, ,
was not perfect .
P art of the nig ht he thou g ht of this i mperfect i on ,
that i s to s ay, as long as he was awake he thought of Rosa .
After he fell asleep he dreamed of her .
But the Rosa of his dreams was b y fa r more perfect

than the Rosa of real life N ot only did s he speak of
.
the tuli p but she brought h i m a m agni cent black one

,
i n 9 china vase
. .
Cornel i us aw oke tremb lin g w ith j oy, and whis

pering ,
y
Ros a Rosa I love you
, ,
And a s i t was al ready day he thought it b est not to

fall aslee p ag ain ; s o he pas sed the whole day d well in g
u pon the tho ught that was in h is m ind when he

a woke .
Ah if Rosa had only conversed about the t ulip Cor

, ,
n eliu s would have preferred h er to Semiramis or Cle o
patra to ! ueen E lizabeth or An n e of Austri a that

, ,
is to say to the greatest or most beautiful queens whom

,
the world has seen .
B ut Rosa had forbid den it under pain of not returning .
Rosa had forbidden the least mention of the tulip for

three days .
That meant seventy two hours given to the lover to

-
be sure ; but it was seventy two hours stolen fro m the -
horticulturist ,
It was true that of the seventy-two hours thirty-s ix ,
had passed already and the remaini n g thirty s ix would -
pass quickly enough eighteen in waiting for the ev en

,
ing s intervie w, and eighteen in thinking about it

.
Rosa came at the same hour 3 and Corneli us under

went h is penance most heroically He would have mad e .
a most emi nent Py thagorean w ould Cornelius ; and if he ,
might only have inqu ired about his tulip once a day he ,
would have willingly gone v e years, according to t he

statutes of the order without talking at all ,
.
His fair visitor however was well aware that wh en

, ,

one s orders are obeyed on on e point one must yield on
another , therefore Rosa allo wed Cornelius to draw her
hands through t he little windo w and to kiss her golden
locks through the bars .

Poor child ! all these little lovers tricks were much
more dangerous t han speaking of the tulip She became .
aware of the fact w hen she returned to her room with a

beating heart g lowing cheeks , burning li ps , an d moist
,
eyes .
Oh, you know that to think o f the tulip is to think

o f you. I never lose sight of it I s ee it from my bed ,
when I awake it is the rst o bject that meets my eyes ,
an d the last on which they rest be fore I fall asleep ;

during the day I s it and work by its side for l have ,

hardly left my chamber since I put it there .
You are right Rosa 5 it is your dowry you know

, , .
Yes and thanks to it I m ay marry a young man

, ,
o f twenty s ix or twenty -eight years with w hom I shall

-
,

fall in love .
H ush you bad girl I

,
That evening Cornelius was the happiest of men Rosa .
allowed him to hold her han d as long as he Chose to keep

it and he talked about his tulip to hi s heart s content
.

.
From that hour every day marked some progress in

the growth of the t ulip and in the affection of the two '
young people At one time the ne ws was that the leaves

.
La d expanded and at another that the ower itsel f had

,
formed .
Great was the j oy of Cornelius at this news ; and his

questions succeeded each other with a rapidity which
gave proof of their importance .
Formed exclaimed Cornelius ; has it really

formed ?
It has repeated Rosa
, .
Cornelius trembled s o w ith j oy that he was obliged to

hold by the grating .
Good heavens ! he exclaimed .
Then h e turned to Rosa again ,

I s the oval regular the cylinder full and are t he
, ,

points very green ?

The oval is almost one i nch long and as slender a s a ,
TH E S ECOND B U LB . 21 1
needle the cylinder swells at the sides, and the points

,

are ready to open .
That nig ht Cornelius scarcely slept ; for t he moment

w hen the points were about to open was one of supreme
importance .
Two days later Rosa announced that they were

O pen .

Open Ros a ! cried Cornelius the involucre i s
, ,
open ! B ut in that case do y o u see can you make , ,
o ut
Here the prisoner paused gasping for breath , .

Yes answere d Rosa ; I can already make out a
,

thread of di fferent color as thin as a hair , .

A nd its color ? aske d Cornelius , trembling .

O h
answered Rosa it is very deep
, , .
Brown
Deeper than that .
Deeper g ood Rosa deeper ? Thank Heaven ! Deep

, ,
as ebony ? deep as

Black as the ink with which I wrote to you .
Cornelius uttered a cry of mad j oy .
Then suddenly stopping and claspi n g his hands he ,
said
Oh there i s not an an g el in heaven to be compared
,

to y ou Rosa ! ,

Really said Rosa smiling at his exaltation , .
Ros a you have worked with such ardor ; you have

,
done s o m uch for me Rosa my tulip is about to ower , ,
and it s ower w ill be black ! Rosa Rosa you are the , ,
most perfect of God s crea t ures

N ext to the tulip you mean ,
.

A h be quiet you rogue be quiet and in pity s name
, , , ,
21 2 TH E B L AC K T U L IP .
do not spoil my pleasure ! But tell m e Rosa as the , ,
tulip is S O far advan ced it w ill ower in two or three ,

days at the latest ?
T O morrow or the day after

,
.
A b and I shall not s e e it

,
cried Cornelius, starti ng
back 5 I shall not kiss i t as a wonderful work of the ,
Alm ighty which one should adore as I kiss your hand ,
and your cheek Rosa when by chance th ey are near t he

, ,
grating .
Rosa advanced her cheek not by cha nce but by de , ,

sign and the young man s lips eagerly fastened upon it
,
.

Faith 1 will cut it if yo u say so
, ,
.
Oh no no Rosa Wh e n it is O pen place it carefully

, , , ,
in the shade and i m medi a tely se n d a message to Harl e m

,
to give no tice to the president of the H orticultural S O

c ie t
y that the great black tulip is in ower I know it is .
far to Harlem b u t with money you will nd a messenger .
H ave you any money Rosa ? ,
Rosa smiled .
Oh yes
, she said .
Enough ? asked Cornelius

I have three hundred or in s .
Oh if you have thre e hundred you must not send a

, ,
messenger b u t you must go to Harlem v ours elf

, your ,

self Rosa !
,
But what is to become of the ower meanwhile ?

Oh the ower you m ust take with you 5 for y ou nu
,
d ers t a nd th a t you must not let it out of your sight for

a n instant .
But in keeping sight of the tulip I lose sight of you ,

Mynheer Corn eli us .

Ah that s true my dear, sweet Rosa Oh , my God
,
'
, . ,
CHAPTE R XXII .
I
TH E BL O O M N G O F TH E FL O WE R .
C O RN E L IU S passed a pleasant night but one of great ex ,
cit em e nt E very instant he fancied he heard the gentle

.
voice of Rosa calling him He would awake with a start

.
,
rush to t he door and put his face to the grating ; but no

,
one was behind it and the corridor was empty

,
.
Rosa no doubt w as w atching too but more for

, , ,
t un a t e than he , she was watching over the tulip s he had
be fore her eyes that noble ower that wonder of wonders , ,
whi ch not only was u nknown thereto fore but was e ve n ,
thought impossible of attainment .
What would the world s ay when it was known that ,
the black tulip wa s found that it existed and that it was

, ,
the prisoner Van Baerle who had found it ?

How Cornelius would have spurned the off er of his
liberty in exchange for his t uli p !
Day came witho ut any news the tulip was not yet in
,
ower .
The day passed like the night ; night came and with it ,
Rosa j oyous and cheerful as a bird

, .
W ell ? asked Cornelius .
Well all is going on prosperously Thi s night, with

, .

out any doubt your tulip will be in o wer
, .

And will it be black ?

Black as j et .
T H E B L OO M N G OF T H E FLOWER
I . 2 15
Without a speck o f any other color ?

Without one speck .
Oh ho w kind i s H eaven
, My dear Rosa I have ,
been dreaming all night in the rst place O f you ( Rosa , ,
made a sign of incredulity ) an d then of what we ,

must do .
Well
Well thi s is what I have decided on : the tulip once
,
b eing in ower when it is quite certain that it is black

, ,
and absol utely black you m ust nd a messenger

, .
If that is all I have found a messenger already

, .
Is b e reliable ?
One for whom I w ill answer he is one of my
lovers .
I hope not Jacob .
N 0 n ever fear it is the ferryman of L oewe st ein

, a ,
smart young fellow of t wenty - v e or six .

The devil

Don t be alarmed laughed Rosa ; he is still under
,

ag e for you yoursel f xed it at from twenty-six to twenty

,

eight .
But do y ou think you can rely on this young man ?

A s surely as on mysel f ; he would throw himsel f
from his boat into the Waal or the Meuse as I chose if ,

I bade hi m .
Well Rosa this lad can be at Harlem in ten hours

, , .
You w ill give me paper and pencil or better still pen , ,
and ink and I will write or rather on second thoughts

, , , ,
you must for if I did it being a poor prisoner people

, , ,
migh t like your father s ee a conspiracy in it

, , you will ,
write to the president of the Horticultural Society and ,

I am sure he will come .
2 16 T H E B LAC K T UL IP .
But if he delays ?
Well let u s s uppose that he delays one day, or
,
even two ; but it i s impossible A t ulip -fancier such as .

,
he is will not delay one hour n ot one minute not one

, , ,
second , to set out to s ee the eighth wonder of the world .
But as I said if he did delay one or even two days, t he

, ,
t ulip will still be in its full splendor The ower having .
once been seen by t he president and t he O f cial report ,
drawn up by him everything w ill be complete you will

,
keep a d uplicate O f the report and intrust the tulip to ,
him Ah if we had been able to carry it ourselves Rosa

.
, , ,
it wo u ld never have left my hands but to pass into yours !

But this is a dream which we m ust n ot entertain con ,
ti n ned Cornelius w ith a sigh other eyes will see it

,

ower Above all Rosa before the president has see n it

.
, , ,
let it not be se en by any o ne The black tulip Great .
God if any one saw the black t ulip, it would be

,
stolen
Oh
Did you not tell m e yoursel f what you apprehended
from your love sick Jacob ? -
People w ill steal one orin ,
why not a hun dred thousand ?

I will watch never fear ,
But suppose it O pened while you are here ?

Th e capricious cre ature would indeed b e quite capa

ble O f it said Rosa ,
.

And if on your return you nd it open ?
Well
Oh Rosa whenever it O pens remember that n ot a
, , ,

moment must be lost in letting the president know .
An d y o u as well Yes I und e rstand .

, .
Rosa heaved a sigh entirely without bitterness but like , ,

Rosa m ade her escape .
Corneli us stood w ith his heart upon his li ps and h is ,
face glued to the w icket in the door .
He wa s fairly choking w ith happ i ness and j oy He .
opene d his window a nd gazed long with swelling hear t

, , ,
at the cloudless va ult of heaven and the moon which , ,
shone like silver upon the two fold stream owing from -
fa r beyond the hills He lled his l ungs with the pure

.
,
s wee t air while his b rain dwelt upo n thoughts of happi

,
n ess and h is heart over o we d with gratitude and religio us

,
fe rvor .
Oh Thou art always w atching from on high my

, ,
God he cried hal f prostrate his glowing eyes xed upon

, ,
the stars ; forgive me that I almost doubted Thy ex

,
is t en ce d urin g these latter days for Thou didst hi d e Thy ,
face behind the clouds an d w ert for a moment lost to

,
my si g ht 0 Thou merciful God , T hou pityi ng Father

,
everlastin g ! But to d ay this evenin g and to night , ,

,
'
again I s ee Thee in all Thy wondrous glory in the mirror

o f Thy heavenly abode and more clearly still in the
,
mirror of my grate ful heart .
He wa s wel l ag ain the poor invalid ; the wretched

,
captive was free once more .
D uring part of the night Corneli u s remained at his

barred windo w with ear on the alert , and h is v e senses
,
all concentrated in one or rather in two for he used his

, ,
eyes while he was listening .
He gaze d at the stars and listened for sounds on ,
earth .
From time to time he turned his eyes toward t he

corridor .

There, he would say, is Rosa, Ro sa, watching as
TH E BL OO MI NG OF T H E FL OWER . 219
I am , and like me waiting fro m moment to moment .
There, under her eyes is the mysterious ower wh ich is

, ,
aliv e, is pee ping out from it s bud nay , is opening per ,
haps at this very moment Rosa is holding the stem of the

tulip in her so ft, warm ngers Touch the stem gently .
,
Rosa ! Perhaps s he is touching t he half-opened caly x

with her lips Breathe care ful ly upon it Rosa, dear
.
,
Rosa, for your l i ps may bur n it ! Perhaps at this in

sta nt my two loves are kissing each other with only ,
God to see .
At that m oment a star blazed up in the southern

heaven shot across the intervening space and see me d to
, ,
fall u pon L oewes te in .
Cornelius wa s startled .

Ah said he
, it is God sendin g a soul to enter into
,
my ower !
And as if he had guessed aright, almost at the same
instant the prisoner heard a step in the corr i dor lig ht

as a fairy s and the rust ling of a dress which soun d ed
,

like the beatin g of a bird s wings ; and a well-kno wn
voice said ,
Cornelius, my friend my dearly belove d an d happy,

fr iend come , come quic ly !
,
k
Cornel i us took only one step from the w i ndow to the
door and ag ain his lips enco untered the lips of Rosa, who
,
whispered as she kissed him ,

It has opened and is as black as n ight ; here it is
, .

What ! here ? cried Corn eli us ta king away his lips , .
Y es y es ! I had to run a little risk for the sak e of

,
a g reat pleasure Here it is s ee ! Take it

.
, .
With one hand sh e raised to the height of the w i cket -a

li ttle dark lantern then S he showed the li ght, while w i t h
2 20 THE B LACK T U L IP .
the other h and she raised the marvellou s tulip to the

same heig ht .
Cornelius g ave a g reat cry and felt as if he must ,
swoon .
Oh, my God my God he murm ured how dost

, , ,
Thou recompense me fo r my loss of freedo m innocent ,
though I be in v o uchs a ng me two such o wers at t he

,

w icket of my cell !

K iss it said Rosa,
as I kissed it but this
,

moment .
Cornelius hardly daring to breathe, touched the tip

,
of the ower w ith his lips ; and never did kiss u pon
woman s lips even though they were such lips a s Rosa s

,

,
touch the heart s o deeply .
The tulip was lovely magnicent, superb ; it s stalk

,
wa s m ore than eighteen inches high ; it gre w from the

folds of four green leaves slender and straight as lance ,
shafts ; and the whole of the ower wa s a s black and

shini ng a s j et .

Rosa, said Corneli us w hose breath came quickly, ,
Rosa, we have not a moment to lose the letter must

be written .

It is all wr itten my beloved Cornelius, replied
,
Rosa .

Really ?

While the tulip was openi ng I wrote it mysel f for I ,
did not wish to lose a moment Here is the letter tell .

me whether you approve of it .
Cornelius took t he l e tte r a n d read in a handwriti ng, ,
which w as much improv e d ev e n since the little note he

had re ceived from Rosa, a s follows
CHAPT E R XXIII .
TH E EN V O I US MA N .
IN truth the poor young people were in g reat need of t he

,
direct protection and care of the L ord .
They had never been s o near the destruct ion of their

hopes a s at this moment when they thought themselves
,
certain of their happiness .
We have too m uch fait h in the intelligence of our

r eaders to doubt that they long ago recognized in Jacob
our old friend or rather enemy Isaac Boxtel
, , .
Therefore the reader has guessed no doubt that this , ,
worthy had follow e d fro m the B uyt e nhof to L oewest ein

the obj e ct of h is love and the obj ect of his hatred, the
black tulip and Cornelius van Bae rle .
What no one but a tulip fancier and an envious tulip

-
,
fan cier at that could have discovered

,
the existence of ,
the bulbs and the prisoner s ambition

envy had enabled ,
Boxtel if not to discover at least to imagine

, ,
.
W e have seen him more successful under the n ame of

,
J acob than under that of Isaac gain t he friendship of ,
G ry ph us w hose gratitude and hospitality he watered for

,
several months with the best gin ever distilled fro m the
T e xel to Antwerp .
H e l ulled the suspicion of th e j a iler for we have seen ,
ho w suspicious old Gryphu s was he set his suspicions at

re st by attering him w ith t he i d ea of a marriage with
Ros a .
TH E ENV O I US MAN . 2 23
Moreover he fondled his j ailer s instinct w hile b e at

,

t ered his paternal a mbition by painting in the b lackest ,
colors the learned prisoner who m Gryphus h ad in h is

keeping and who, according to the s oi-dzs a nt J acob had
'
, ,
entered into a league with S atan to destroy his Highness

the Prince of Orange .
At rst he had also made some way with Rosa ; not ,
i n deed by arousing any sy mpathetic feeling for Ros a was

, ,
fa r fro m being in love w ith him but beca use by talking , ,
to her of marriage and O f love he had put to ight all ,
the suspicions w hich he might otherwise have excited .
We have seen how his i mprud e nce in following Ros a

into the garden had unmaske d h im in the eyes of the
young damsel and how the instinctive fears of Cor
,
n elius had put the two lovers on their guard against
h im .

The reader will remember that the prisoner s anxiety
was principally aroused by what Rosa had told him o f
J acob s t o f passion against Gry phus on account o f the

bulb b e crushed A t that moment Boxt el s exasperation
.
wa s the g reater because though suspecting that Corn elius

,
possessed a second bulb he was by no mean s sure of it

, .
Fro m that moment he kept an incessant watch upon

Rosa not only following her into the garden but in the
, ,
corridors as well .
Only as he n o w followed her in the night and bare

,
footed he was ne ither seen n or heard except on one

, ,
occasion w h en Rosa thought s he saw something like a

,
shado w on t he staircase .
Her discovery howe ver was m ad e too la t e a s Boxtel

, , ,
ha d heard from the m outh of the prisoner himself that a

second b ulb e x isted .
A victim of the stratagem of Rosa, who had made a

pretence of putting it in the b ed and with n o doubt that ,
this little farce had been played in order to force him to

bet ray himsel f he redoubled his precaution and employed
, ,
every means suggested by his crafty n ature to continue

to spy u pon the others w ithout being seen himsel f .
He sa w Rosa conveying a large earthen pot from her

father s kitchen to her bedroom .
He s a w Rosa washing her pretty little hands all g rimy ,
with t he mould which s he had kneaded, to give her t ulip

the best bed possible .

At la st he hired j ust opposite Rosa s w indow, a little
,
attic distant enough not to allo w hi m to be recogni zed

,
with the n aked eye but suf ciently near to enable him
, ,
with the help of his telescope , to watch everything that

was going on at Loewes t e in in Rosa s room , j ust as at
D ort he had watched everything that took place in

Cornelius s drying room -
.
He had not been installed more than t hree days in his

atti c b efore all his doubts were r emoved .
At early dawn the o we r -pot was in the window ; and

like the charming female gures of Mieris an d Metzys,
Rosa would appear at the w indow as in a frame formed ,
by the rst budding sprays of the V irg in s b o wer and the
honeysuckle .
Rosa watched the ower pot w ith an interest wh i ch

-
betrayed to Bo x tel the real v alue o f the o bj ect inclosed

in it .
T he obj ect in the pot must be t he secon d bulb ; that is

to s ay the prisoner s l a st reliance
,

.
When the nights threatened to be too col d, Rosa took

in t he ower-pot .
Would the coolness between Rosa and Cornelius la st

forever ? This would have made the the ft much more
di f cult than Mynheer I saac had at rst expected .
We s ay the the ft for I saac had v ery easily adopted

,
the plan of stealing the tulip And as it was b eing reared .
in the most profound secrecy ; as the two young people

were keeping it from all the world ; as the word of a
well known tulip fancier would be believed as against
- -
that of a maiden who was utterly ignorant o f all the

min uti ae O f horticulture or of a prisoner unde rgoing sen ,
tence for high treason a nd who could hardly be heard ,
from the depths of his dungeon even though he should ,
protest ; moreover as he would be in possession of the

,
tulip which fact in the matter of chattels carries a

, , ,
presumption of right he could not fail to obtain t he

,
prize a n d to be crowned with honor instead of Corn e

,
lius a nd t h en t he tulip instead of being called Tulipa ,

nigra B a l
r aen s is would go down to posterity un der the
,
name of Tulipa n igra B ox tellens is or Box t ellea .
Mynheer Isaac ha d not yet quite decided which Of

these two n ames he w ould give to the tulip ; but as both
meant the same thing this was not the point of the ,
u tmost importance .
That point was to st eal the tulip .
N o w in order that Boxt el migh t steal the tulip it

, ,
was n ece ssary that Rosa should leave her roo m .
Great there fore wa s the joy of Jacob or Is a ac as you

, , , ,
choose wh en he saw the usual evening meetings of t he

,
lovers resumed .
He rst of all took advantage of Rosa s absence to
make a careful examination of the door of her Cham ber .
The door tted tightly and the key had to be turned ,

I
T H E EN V O U S MA N . 22 7
twice in the lock w hich was however a simple one ;

, , ,
b ut no one save Rosa ha d a key .
Boxtel at rst th ought of steali ng her key but not

only was it exceedi n gly di fficult to rummage i n her
pocket but when she perceived her loss she would have
, ,
her lo ok changed and wo uld not leave her room unti l it

,
was done So that he would have committed a cri me

.
for nothi n g .
He thought it there fore better to employ a di fferent

, ,
e xpedient He collected as many keys as he could and

.
,
tried all o f them duri n g one of those delightful hours

w hich Rosa and Cornelius passe d together at the w icket
in the cell door -
.
T wo o f t he keys would enter the lock and one o ,
them would turn once but not the second time ,

.
There was therefore only a slight change to be made

, ,
in this key .
Boxtel covered it with a slight coat of wax and tried ,
agai n when the obstacle which prevented the key from

,
being turned a second time le ft its impression on the

w ax.
Boxtel had only to follow that i mpression with a le

as thin as t h e blade of a kni fe .
In t w o more days his key tted per fectly .
Rosa s door th us opened without noise and witho u t

the us e of force and Box t el found himself in the

,
maiden s chamber tta a-tte w ith the tulip

,
-
.
His rst guilty act had b een to climb over a wall in

order to dig up the t ulip the secon d to introduce him ,
sel f i n to Cornelius s drying room through an open win

-
dow ; and the third to enter Rosa s room by means of
a false key .
Th us envy u rged Boxtel on with rapid steps in the

career of crime .
Boxtel as we have said wa s alone with the tulip

, ,
.
A commo n thief would have taken the pot under his

arm and carried it O ff
,
.
But Boxtel wa s not a common thie f, and he re ected .
He reected as he gazed upon t h e tulip by the light ,
of h is dark lante rn that it was not yet su f ciently for

,
w ard for him to be absolutely certain that the ower

would be black altho u gh present appearances made it
,
more than probable .
He ree cted that if its ower were not black or if the ,
black were n ot spotless he would have made himself ,
a thief to no purpose .
He reected that the report of the theft wo uld spread ,
that suspicion would fall u pon him after w hat ha d taken

place in the garden that search wo uld be made and
, ,
that no m atter how well it might be hidden the tulip ,
might be found .
He reected that if he hid the tulip so that it could

not be found it might be inj ured in all the changes of
,
D la ce w hich it would have to undergo .
Finally he concluded that it wo uld be better since he ,
had the key of Rosa s chamb er a n d might enter when

,
9ver he liked to wait for t h e bloomi ng and to t ake it

,
.
,
eith e r an hour before or after it opene d and to start on ,
the instan t for Harl e m w h e re the tulip would be b efore

,
t h e j u d ges before an y one else co uld lay claim to it .
Then it would be for Boxtel to charge t he one who

claimed it after that with theft .
This was a deep-laid scheme and quite worthy of its ,
author .
By the light of the dark-lanter n he saw the tulip in

full ower and as black a s the darkness in which he was
,
hidden .
He heard the plan concerted b etween Cornelius and

Rosa to send a messenger to Harlem He s a w the lips .
of the lovers meet, and then heard Cornelius send Rosa

a way .
He s a w Rosa extinguish the light and return to her ,
chamber Ten minutes later he s a w her leave the room

.
again a nd close the door carefully and turn t he key

, ,
twice .
Boxtel who s aw all this from his hiding place on the

,
-

landing-place of the staircase above Rosa s apartment ,
descended a step from his for e very one that Rosa de

scended from hers ; s o that when her light foot touched
the lowest step of the staircase Boxte l touched with a
, ,

still lighter hand the lo ok of Rosa s chamb er
, .
And in that hand it must be understood, he held the

,
false key which O pened Rosa s door as easily as did the

,
real one .
An d that is why, at the begin n ing of the chapt e r we ,
said that the poor young people were in great need of the
direct protection of the L ord .
T H E B L AC K T U L IP CH A N GES MAST E RS . 23 1
C HAPT E R XXIV .
IN WH I CH TH E BL ACK T U L IP CH AN GE S MA ST E RS .
C O RN EL IU S remained standing on t h e spo t where Rosa

had le ft him al m ost overpowere d by the two fold weight
,
of his happiness .
Hal f an hour passed away The rst rosy streaks of .
dawn were beginning to make their way through the

bars of Cor elius s Window w h en he was suddenly startled
n
to h ear steps coming hurried ly up the staircase and cries ,
approaching n earer and nearer .
Almost at the same instant his gaze fell upon the pale
and distracted face of Rosa .
He recoiled himself turning pale w ith fright

,
.
Cornelius Cornelius
,
she screamed gasping for ,
b reath
.

For God s sake what is it asked the prisoner
,
.
Cornelius ! the tulip

Well
Oh how can I tell you ?
,
Speak speak Rosa !

, ,
Some one has taken it fro m us some one has ,
s tolen it
Some one has taken it from us some one has ,
s tolen it ? shrieked Cornelius .
Y es, said Rosa lea n ing against the door to support

,
hersel f ; yes taken stol en !

, ,
In spite of her e fforts he r limbs failed her, and she ,
fell on h er knees .
But how ? Tell me explain to me ,

Oh it is not my fault my f riend
, , .
Poor Rosa ! she no longer dared to call him My

beloved .

You must have left it alone e x claimed Cornelius , ,
'
ruefully .

One minute only, to go and tell our messe nger ,
who lives scarcely fty yards off on the b anks of the ,

Wa al .

And d uring that time notwith standing all my in ,
j unctions you le ft the key in the door un fortunate

, ,
chil d
N o no no that is w h at I cannot understand
, ,
The .
key was never out of my hands ; I clenched it a s if I were

afraid it w ould take Wings .

But ho w did it happen then ? ,
Ah, if I only knew m ysel f ! I had given the l e tter

to my messenger ; he started before I left his hou se ; I
came home and my door was locke d every thing in my
,
room was as I had left it ex cept the tulip that was , ,
gone Some one must have foun d a key to my room or

.
,

h ave got a false one made .
Rosa was su ff ocating and her tears choked h er ,
utterance .
Cornelius standing motionless and w ith distorted fea

,
tures heard almost without understanding and only

, ,
m uttered ,
Stolen , stolen, stolen I am lost !

Oh Corneli us forgi ve me, forg ive me or it w ill kill
, , ,
me cried Rosa .
2 34 T H E B LACK T UL IP .

Oh my frien d in pity s name be calm !
, , ,

I tell you Rosa that I will demolish this prison,
, ,
stone for stone .
The wretched man whose strength was increased ten

,
fold by his rage began to shake t he door with a great

,
noise little heeding the echoes of his thundering tones in

,
the reverberating spiral staircase .
Rosa in he r fright made vain attempts to check this

, ,
f urious outbreak .
I tell you that I will kill that infamous Gry phus !

roared Corn elius ; I tell you I w ill sh e d his blood as

,
he did that of my black tulip

The wretched prisoner was really begin n ing to go mad .
Well the n yes said Ros a, all in a tremble ; yes

,

, ,

,
yes, only be quiet Y es I will take hi s keys I will

.
, ,
open the door for you ! Yes only b e quiet my dear , ,
Cornelius .
S he did not nish her speech as a growl by her side ,
interrupted her .

Father I cried Rosa .
Gryph us ! roared V a n Baerle O h you villain

'
,

,
Old Gry ph u s in the m idst of all the n oise ha d as

, ,
cen d e d the staircase without being heard .
He seized his daughter roughly by the wrist .
Oho ! so you will take my keys ? he said in a voice

choked w ith rage S o this infernal scoundrel t his
.
,
monster this gallows bird of a conspirator is yo ur dear

,
-
,
Cornelius is he ? S O you are in comm unication with

,
prisoners of State ! Oh very good very good indeed , ,
Rosa wrung he r hands in despair .

Aha ! Gry ph us contin ued passing from the mad ,
ness o f ang er to the cool irony O f a man who ha s the

T H E B L AC K T U L IP CH AN GE S MASTERS . 2 35
upper hand, a ha,

my i n nocent t ulip fancier aha my -
,
gentle scholar so y ou will kill me and drink my blood , ,
wil l you ? Very good ! nothing could be better ! And

I O you have m ade my daughter your a ccomplice Holy
J esus ! a m I in a den o f thieves in a cave of brigands ? ,
Ah the g overnor shall know all this morning, and hi s

,
Hi ghness the stadtholder to morrow We know the law -

.
,

W ho e ver stirs up rebellion in the prison etc , Arti , .
cle 6 We shall have a second edition O f t he B uy tenhof

.
,
Master Schol ar and a good one this time Y es yes

, .
, ,
j ust gna w your paw s li ke a bear in his c ag e and you, my

d ear devour your dear Cornel ius with your eyes

, I warn .
you my pretty lambs you shall n ot much lon ger have

, ,
t he felicity of conspiring together Away w ith you .

,
unnatural daughter ! And as to you Master Scholar d a , ,

r ev oir ; never
'
f ear but we s h all meet again .
Rosa mad with terror and despair threw a kiss to her

, ,
friend then suddenly struck with a bright tho ught she

, ,
rushed toward the staircase saying , ,
All is not yet lost rely on me my Cornel i us , .
Her father followed her growling ,

.
As to poor Cornelius he g rad ually loosened his hold of

,
the b ars whi ch hi s ngers still grasped convulsively

, .
His head was heavy his eyes wandered wildly and he fell
, ,
heavily on the oor of h is cell muttering ,

Stolen it ha s been stolen from me 1
Meanwhile Boxtel having le ft the fortress by t he door
,
which Rosa herself had opened carryi n g the b lack tulip ,
wr apped up in a cloak, had thrown hi msel f into a carriage

which was w ait i ng fo r him at Go r c um and disappeared, ,
hav i n g neglected for reasons easy to underst a nd to in form

his friend Gry phu s of his sudden depart ure .
And now that we have seen hi m into h is coach we ,
will with the consent of the reader follow him to the

, ,
end of his journey .
He proceeded but slowly as it would be dangerous for

,
a black tulip to travel post .
B ut Boxtel fearing t hat he might not arrive early

,
enough, procured at D elft a box lined all round with

,
fresh moss in which he packed the tulip

,
The o wer .
rested then in s o so ft a b ed with a supply of air from

,
above that the coach could n o w travel full speed without

,
an
y possibility of inj ury .
He arrived next morning at Harlem fatigued but tri ,
u mphan t and to do away with every trace of the theft ,
he transplanted the tulip broke the earthen pot, and

,
threw the pieces into the canal Then he wrote the

.
preside nt of the Horticultural S ociety a letter in w hich ,
he annou n ced to him that he ha d j ust arrived at Harlem

with a perfectly black tulip and w ith his ower all safe ,
took up his quarters at a good hotel in the town .
And there he waited .

2 38 TH E B L ACK T U L IP
.
savings - that is to say, all her fortune took the

, ,
third bulb from among her lace where s he had buried it,
,
and carefully hid it in her bosom then she looked her

door with a double turn, so as to delay the discovery of
her ight for at least so long a time as would be meces
sary to force the door went down the stairs left the
, ,
prison by the same door which an hour be fore had giv en

egress to Boxtel a nd went to a stable -keeper and asked
,
him to let a carriage to her .
The man had only a spring -cart : a nd thi s was the

vehicle which Boxtel had hired the evening before and ,
in which he was now on his wa y to D elft .
We s av on his w ay to D elft for it is necessary to make

,
a trem e ndous d tou r going from L oewes t e in to Harlem as

the crow ies it is not more than half the distan ce
,
.
B ut none but birds can y as the crow i e s in Holland ,
a country which is more out up by riv e rs a nd brooks

and streams and canals than any ot her in the world .
N ot being able to procure a vehicle Rosa was there ,
fore obliged to take a horse about w hich there was no

,
di fculty as the stable keeper kn e w her to be the d a ugh

,
ter of the keeper of the fortress .
Rosa hoped to overtake her messenger a simple ,

,
honest lad and t a ke him with her to serve her as a

, ,
guide and a protector .
And in fact s he had not gone two leagues before s he

s a w him walking at a round pace along the side of a
l o vely road bord ering the river .
S he urged h er horse to a brisk trot and soon came up ,
with him .
The honest lad was n ot aware of the important char

acte r of his m e ssage neverth el e ss he used as much speed
P RES IDENT V AN S Y STENS . 2 39
as if he had k n own i t ; an d in less than an hour he had

already gone a leag ue and a hal f .
Rosa took from him the note which had now become ,
u seless and e x pl a ined to him w hat s h e wanted him to

,
do fo r her He pla ced himsel f entirely at her disposal pro

.
,
w ising to keep pace wit h the horse if Rosa would allow ,
him to lay hi s hand on t he animal s crupper or withers

.
The maide n permitted him to rest his hand wherever

he chose so lon g as he did not interfere with the horse s
,
gait.
The two travellers had b een on their way fo r ve hours

and made m ore than eight leagu e s ; and yet Gry ph u s had
no t the least suspicion that hi s dau g hter had left the
fortress .
Moreover, the jail er who was a malicious fellow at

,
heart hugged himsel f w ith delight to think that he had

,

struck such terror into his daughter s heart .
Whil e he w as con g ratulating hi msel f on having s uch a

n e story to tell his b oon companion J acob that worthy ,
was on hi s road to Delft but thanks to the swiftness of

his horse he had the start of Rosa and her companion by
,
fo u r leagues .
And w hile the j ailer im agined that Rosa was in her

chamber trem b lin g or sulky Rosa was g oing farther and
, ,
farther away from hi m .
Thus t he prisoner alone was where Gryph us thought

,
hi m to be .
Rosa had been s o little with her father since s he had

b een s o devoted to the t ulip that it was not until h is ,

dinner hour that is to say twelve o clock that ,
Gryph us s appetite reminded him that hi s daughter was

s ulking rather too long .

He sent one of the t urnkeys to call her 5 a n d when the

m a n came back and told him that he had call e d and sought
her in vain he determined to go and call her himsel f
,
.
He rst went to her room but he had his trouble for

his pains, for Rosa answered not .
The locksmith of the fortress was sent for 3 he opened

the door but Gryphu s no more found Rosa within than
,
Rosa had found the tulip .
At that very moment s he was entering Rotterdam .
Gr y phu s there fore had n o bett e r success in the kitchen

than in her room and found as little trace of her in the
,
garden as in the kitchen .

The read e r may imagine the j ailer s anger when havi ng ,
mad e i n quiries in the n eighborhood he learned that his ,
d aughter had hired a horse and like B ra d a ma nt e or Clo , ,
rinda ha d gone off in search of adv entur e without saying

, ,
where s he wa s going .
Gryphus in his fu ry went back t o Van B a erle abused ,
him threaten ed h im knocked all the mis e ra ble fa rni

, ,
ture of h is cell about promised h im t he darkest of the

,
dark dungeon s a nd menaced him with starvation and

,
ogging .
Corn eli us without eve n listeni n g to what his jail er

,
said allowed himself to be ill treated abused and threat

,
-
, ,
ene d remaining all the while sullen i m movable dead to

, , ,
every emotion and fear .
After havi n g sought for Rosa in every direction Gry ,
phu s looked for J acob and as he could not nd him any

more than he could his dau ghter he began at once to ,
suspect that Jacob had carried her o ff .
The m aiden meanwhile having stopped for two hours ,
at Rotterdam , had started again on her j ourney That .

ing motion in his gait completed his resemblance to that

o wer when it bends before the breeze .
We have said that he was called Mynheer Van

Syste ms .
Well young woman he cried , yo ur business con

, ,
!

cerns the black tulip you say 2 ,
To t he president of the Horticultural Society the

Tulip a n ig r a wa s a power of the rst rank which might ,
well as queen of the tulips, send representatives to

,
friendly powers .

Yes Mynheer answered Rosa I come at least to
, , ,
speak of it .
Is it doing well 1 asked Van Sy s t e n s with a smile ,
of tender veneration .
Alas Mynheer I don t know said Rosa

,

, .
How is that ? Has any acci d ent happened to it ?

A very great one yes Mynhe er not to it but to
, ,
m
,
W hat is it 2
It has been stolen from me .

The black tulip stolen from you !
Yes Mynheer , .
Do you know the thief

I h ave my suspicions but I do not yet dare to accuse,

any one .
But that is something which can very easily be

ascertained .
How s o ?
If it has been stolen from you the thie f cannot be ,

far off .
Why not
Becau se I saw it only two hours ag o .
PRES IDEN T V AN S Y STENS . 2 43

You s aw t he black tulip
cried Rosa making an ! ,
pulsive movement tow a rd Myn heer Van S y st ens .
A s plainly as I see you young lady , .

Where was it ?
In your masters h ands to all appearances , .

In my master s hands
Yes Are you not in the service of Mynheer I saac
.
Boxtel ?
I2
You, of course .
Why for whom do you take me Mynheer ?

, ,

Why, for w hom do you take me pray ? ,
Mynheer I trust that I am not mistaken in taking

,
you to b e the honorable Mynheer Van S yst en s, burgo

master of Harlem and president of the Horticultural
!
Society .
And what did you tell me j ust now ?

I told you s ir, that my tulip had b een stolen
,
.
Then your tulip is Mynheer Boxt els In that case, .
my child you express yourself very b adly

,
The t ulip .
has been stolen , n ot fr om you b ut from Myn heer ,

Boxtel .

I repeat to you, Myn heer that I do not know who ,
th i s Mynheer Box tel is and that I now hear his name

-
,

for the rst time .

You do not kno w who Mynheer Bo xtel is, and you

also had a black t ulip ?

B ut is there any other b esides m i ne ? asked Rosa,
trembling .

Mynheer Boxt el s y es ,
.

W hat is it like i

It is b lack, of cour se .
2 44 T H E BLAC K T UL IP .
Without spot ?

W ithout a single spot without the least i o ta of ,
!
color .

And you have this tulip it has been deposited ,
!
here ?
No but it will be, as I m ust exhibit it to the com

m it t ee be fore the prize is awarded .
Oh Mynheer cried Rosa this Boxtel this Isaac

, , , ,
Boxtel who calls himself the owner of the black

,
tulip
And who is its owner .
I s he n ot a very thin man ?

Yes .
!
Bald ?
Y es .
With rather wild eyes ?

I think so .
Restless, stooping a n d bow legged ? ,

-

In truth you draw Master Boxtel s portrait, feature
by feature .
Mynheer is the tulip in a pot o f white and b lue

,
earthen ware with a bun ch of yellowish owers on three

,
sides

Oh, as to that I am not quite sure ; I looked more
at the ma n than at the pot .
Mynheer it i s my tulip it is the one which has been

,
stolen from me I come here to lay claim to it in your .

presence and at your hands .

Oho said Mynheer v an S y s tens looking at Rosa , .

What ! you are here to claim Myn h eer Boxt el s tulip ?
U pon my word you are a cool custo mer ! ,

Mynheer said Rosa a little put o ut by this apos
, ,
CHAPT ER X X VI .
A ME MB E R O F TH E H O RTIC U L T UR AL S O CI E T Y .
R OS A bewildere d and almost distracte d between joy and

,
fear at the thought of the black tulip being found again ,
started for the White S wan followed by the boatman

, ,
a stout lad from Friesland w ho was q u ife capable of

,
dealing single handed w ith ten Boxt els

-
.
He ha d been made acquainted in the course of the

j ourney with the state of aff airs a n d was not likely to
,
shrink from any skirmish that m ight ensue b ut he was

enj oined if such a thing did occur to be careful not to ,
harm the tulip .
On arriving in the market-place Rosa suddenly ,
stopped ; s he was seized by a sudden t h ought as we ,
read in Homer that Mi n erva seized Achilles by the

hair of his h e ad j ust w hen his wrath was carrying h im
beyond all bo un ds .

Good heavens ! she muttered to herself I have ,
m ade a grievous blunder ; it may be that l ha v e been

the ruin of Cornelius t he tulip and myself I have
, ,
.
give n the alarm and awakened suspicion

, I a m but .
a woman these men m ay league themselves against me ,
and then I shall be lost To be sure if I am lost that

.
, ,

matters nothing but Cornelius and the tulip l
,
She re e cted for a moment .

A MEMBER O F T H E H ORT C I U L T U RAL I
SO C ETY . 24 7
If I seek out thi s Boxtel and do not know him if

Bo xtel is not my friend Jacob, but another fancier, who
has al s o discov ered the black tu lip on hi s own account ;
or if my tuli p has been stolen by some other t han the
one 1 suspect or has already passed into the hands of
,
a thi rd person if I do not recognize the man , but the

,
tulip only , how shal l I prove that it b elong s to me ?

O n the other hand if I ide n ti fy Boxtel as the false
,
J aco b who know s w hat w ill come of it ? While w e are

,
quarrell in g w ith one another the tulip w ill die Oh ,, .
holy Virg in ! grant me stren gt h and i nspiration ; the

h appiness of my w hole li fe is at stake to s ay nothing ,
o f the unhappy captive, who may b e b reathin g his last

!
at this moment .
Havin g uttered th is h e artfelt prayer Rosa waited for

the inspiration from on high which s he ha d besought .
Meanwhile a g reat noise arose at t he other end of the

,
m arket place People were running ab out doors open

-
.
,
ing and shu t ting Rosa alone was unconscious of all this
hu bb u b amon g the pop ulace .
We m ust return to the presiden t she muttered , .

W ell, the n let us ret urn said the boatman
, , .
They took the narrow R ue de la Paille which led them ,
s trai g ht to the abode of Mynheer van S y s t en s who with ,
his b est pen and in his ne st han d was still at work on

his report .
E very where on her way Rosa heard of nothin g b ut

the black t uli p, and the prize of a h undred t housand
or ins . The news had spread l ike wild re through the
to wn.
Rosa h a d not a little di f culty in penetratin g a secon d

t ime into the o f ce of Mynheer v a n S y s tens, who ho w ,
2 48 T HE B L AC K T U L IP .
ever was again worked upo n by the magi c name of the

,
black tulip .
But when he recognized Rosa whom in his own mind ,
he had set down a s mad or even worse, he was angry , ,
and wa s inclined to send her away .
Rosa however clasped her hands and with that tone

, , ,
of honest truth which nds its wa y to the hearts of

men ,

For heaven s sake Myn heer s he said imploringly
, , ,
do not turn me away but listen to what I have to ,
say an d if it be n ot possible for you to do me j u stice at

.
least you will not one day have to reproach yo urself

before God for having made yourself accessory to a bad
action .
Van Syste ms stamped his foot with vexation it w as

the second time that Rosa interrupted him in the midst
of a composition which stim u lated h is vanity both a s
,
,
burgomaster and as president of the Horticultural

Society .
But my report he cried my report on the black ,
tuli p

Mynheer Rosa contin ued with the rmness of
, ,
innocence and tr uth your report on t h e black tulip

,
w ill if you decline to hear me b e based on crime or on

, ,
falsehood I implore you Mynheer let this Boxtel

.
, , ,
whom I assert to b e Master Jacob be brought h ere ,
b efore you and me and I swear b e fore God t hat I will

,
leave him in undisturbed possession of the tulip if I do ,
n o t recognize the ow er and its holder .
U pon my soul ! we are getting on exclaimed Van ,
Syste ms .
What do you mean ?

250 T H E BLACK T UL IP .
Van Sy stens havi ng found h is way through his frig ht

,
ened domestics began to bo w almost to the ground b e fore

,
his visitor who was the cause of all this stir

,
.

Your Hi ghness ! he cried your Highness ! Your ,
Highness at my house ! A brilliant distinction for my

h umble ab ode that can n ever be e ffaced

Dear Mynheer van Sy st en s said William of Orange, ,
with a serenity which w ith him took the place of a smile

, , ,
I am a true Hollander ; I a m fond of water of beer , ,
and of owers sometimes even of that cheese whose

,
avor t he French esteem s o highly ; the ower which I

prefer to all others is of course, the tulip I heard at ,
.
L eyden that the city of Harlem at last possesse d the

black tulip ; and after havin g satis ed mysel f that t he
report was true however incredible I have come to learn
, ,
all about it from the president of the Horticultural .

Society.

Oh your Highn ess said Van Sy st ens in an ecstasy
, , ,
of
grati ed pride what glory to the Society if its labors
,
are pleasing to your Highness !

Have you got the ower here ? said the Prince ,
who doubtless already regretted having made such a

long speech .
Alas no your H ighness I have n t it here !

, , ,

A nd where is it ?
Its owner has it .
Who is he ?
An honest tulip -gro wer of Dort .
From Dort
Yes .
H is name ?

Bo x tel .
A M EMB ER OF T H E H O RT C U L T URAL SO C ET Y I I .
H isqu ar ters ?

At t he White Swan ; I w ill send for him and if , ,
meanw hile you r Highness will condescend so fa r as to

,
enter my parlor he w ill surely make haste to bring his

,
t ulip to your Highness kno wing that your Highness ,

is h e re .
Ve ry well send for him , .
Y e s your Hi g hness
, B ut .

What is it ?
Oh nothing o f any consequence your H ig hness
, , .
E verything is o f consequence in this world Myn h eer ,

v an S y s t en s .
Well , then your Highness if it must b e said a little

, , ,

di f culty has presented itsel f .
What dif culty I

This t uli p ha s already been claimed b y pretenders .

h
To be sure it is worth a undred thousand o s r in .
Do you really mean that a clai m has b een made ?

Y e s , your Highness by pretenders, b y forgers
!
.
,

That is a crime Mynheer v a n Sy e s
s t n
, .

It is your Hig hness
,
.
And have you any proofs of their g uilt ?

N 0 , your Hi g hness the guilty woman ,
The g uilty woman Mynheer ,
I mean the woman w ho claims the tulip your High ,

ness is here in the next roo
,
m .
And what do you think of her Mynheer van ,
S y s ten s
I think yo ur High ness t h at the bait
, ,
of a hundred

t housand or ins may have tempted her .
An d she claims t he tulip ?

Y e s your Hi g hness
,
.
2 52 TH E B LAC K T U LIP .
And what proof does sh e off er ?

I was j ust goi ng to question her when your Highness

came in .
Le t us h ear w hat s he says Mynheer v a n S y s t ens , ,
let us hear w hat s he says I am the rst magistrate .
of the country I will hear the cause and administer

j ustice .
I have found my K ing Solomon said Van Sys t en s , ,
bowing an d indicating h is cabinet to the Prince

,
.
H is Highn ess wa s j ust going to walk ahead ; but s ud

d e n ly he stopped a n d said , ,
Go before me a n d call m e Mynheer

,
.
The two th en entered the cabinet .
Rosa wa s still standing at the same place leaning ,
against t he frame of the window and looking through ,
the glass into the garden .
Ah , a Frisian girl ! sa id t he Pri n ce as he ob served ,
Rosa s gold brocade head dre ss and red petticoat

-
.
At t he noise of their footsteps she tur ne d rou n d but ,
s carcely saw the Prince who seated himself in the darkest

,
corner of the apartmen t .
All her attention as may easily be imagined was be

, ,
stow e d upon that i m portan t person w ho was called Van

Syste ms and not upon t he humble stranger who came in
, ,
b e hind the master o f the house and wa s probably nobody ,
of any conseque nce .
The humble stranger took a book down from the sh elf ,
and made Van S ys t e n s a sign to begin the examination

forthwith .
Van S y s t e ns also at the suggestion of the young man

,
in t he violet coat sat dow n too an d al m ost bursting with

, ,
pride and d elight at the prominent position allotted to

him began
, ,
The prince made a little movement as much , as to

s ay,

Ah that s it, I remember now .
And all the w hile pretending to be absorb ed in his

b ook he watched Rosa w ith even more attention than
,
be fore .
And you are fond of ow ers ? continued Mynheer

Van Sys te ns .
Yes Mynheer, .
Then y o u are an experienced orist ?

Rosa hesitated a moment then in a voice which spoke
from the depth of her heart she said , ,

Gentlemen I am speaking to men of honor ?
,
Her ton e was s o honest that Van S y s t ens and the

prince answered simultaneously by an af rmative move
ment of their heads .

Well, the n no ; it is not I who am an experienced
,
orist N o ; I am only a poor girl of the people a

.
,
poor Frisian p e asant girl who three months ago kne w

-
,
neither ho w to read n o r write no the black tulip was not ,

discovered by myself .
By whom, pray was it discovered ?

,

By a poor prisoner at Loewe s t e in .
By a prisoner at Loewes t e in repe ated the prin ce .
A t the sound of his voice Rosa in her t urn was

startled .

It must have been by a prisoner of State then ? ,
Continued the prince

for there are none but prisoners
,
of State at L oewe s t e in .
Having said this he began to read ag ain at least in

, ,
appearance .

Y es murmured R o sa with a falteri ng voice
, , ,

y es, by a prisoner of S tate .
A ME MB ER O F T H E H O RT I C U LT U RAL SOCI ET Y . 2 55
Van S ys t ens tre mbled as he heard such a con fession

made in the presence of such a W itness .

Contin u e said William coldly to the president
, , ,
o f the Horti cultural Society .
Ah Mynheer said Rosa addressing t he person

, , ,
w hom s he thought to be her real j udge I a m about to ,
accuse myself of a very serious o ffence .

Certainly sai d Van S yste ms the prisoners of State
, ,
ought to be kept in secret con nement at L oewe s t e in .
Alas Mynheer .
And fro m what you tell me it would seem that you

took advantage of your positio n as daughter of the j ailer
to communicate w ith a prisoner of S tate about the cult i
vation o f owers
Y e s , Mynheer Rosa murmured in dismay
, yes I ,

am b ound to con fess I s a w hi m ev e ry day .
U n fort unate girl exclaimed Van S y st en s .
The prince observing t h e fright of Rosa and the pallor

of the president raised his head and said in his clear
, , ,
and decided tone ,
This does not concern the members of t he H ort ic ul

tural Society ; they have to pass upon the matter of the
black tul ip and have nothi ng to do with political offences
, .
Go on you n g woman go on
, , .
Van S y s t e n s by an eloquent glance o ff ered in the

, ,
name of all t ulips his thanks to the ne w memb e r of the

Horticultural Society .
Rosa reassured by this gleam o f encouragement which

,
t h e stranger held out to her related all that had hap ,
p e ned for the last three months all that she had done ,
a n d all t h at s h e h a d su ff ered S he d escribed the cruelty

.
of Gry ph us the destruction of the rst bulb the grie f of

, ,
2 56 T H E BL AC K T U L IP .
the prison er the precautions tak e n to in sure the succe ss

,

of the s e cond bulb the prisoner s patience and h is a gony
,
during th e ir separ ation how he almost sta rv e d hims elf

,
b e cause he had no n e ws of his tu lip his j oy w h e n she ,
w e nt to see him again , and l a stly, their common d espair

,
w h e n th e y found that the tulip w hich h ad ow e re d ,
so succ e ss f ully was stol e n j ust one hour a fte r it had

,
op e n e d
.
All this was d etail e d w ith an a cce nt of truth w hich ,
although producing no change in the impassiv e d e mea

nor oi the prince , did not fail to make an im pression on
Van S y s ten s .

But said the prince you can only have known the
, ,

prisoner a short time .
Rosa opened her great eyes a n d looked at the stranger ,
who drew back into the dark corner as if he wished to ,
escape her observation .
Why so Mynheer
,
she asked .
Because it is not yet four months since the jailer

Gryphu s and his daughter were removed to L oewest ein .

True Mynheer
,
.
And u nless you solicited t h e transfer of your father ,
in order that you might follo w some prisoner who was

transferred from the Hague to Lce wes t e in
Mynheer said Rosa blushi ng ,
.

Finish wh a t you have to say said W i lliam ,
.
I confess that I knew the prisoner at t h e Hague .
Happy prisoner ! said W illiam smiling ,

.
A t this moment the o fficer who had been sent for Box
tel r eturned and announ ced to the prince that the per
s on whom he h a d been to seek was following at his heels
with his tulip .

258 TH E BL ACK T ULIP.
Bo x tel eagerly approached and found himsel f face to ,
face with W il liam of Orange .
His Highness he cried recoiling a step , .
His Highness Rosa repeated in dismay , .
Hearing this exclamation on his le ft, Boxtel turned

round and perceived Rosa
,
.
At sight of her the w hole fr ame of the envious fellow

shook as if he had touched a voltaic battery .

Ah muttered t h e prince to hi mself
,
he i s ,
con fused
But Boxtel making a violent eor t at self-control had
, ,
already mastered his emotion .

Well , Mynheer Boxtel said William you seem to
, ,

have discovered the secret of the black tulip ?

Yes your Highness answered Boxtel in a voice
, , ,
which still betrayed some confusio n .
To be sure his confusion might have been attributable

to the emotion which the man m ust have felt on s ud
d e nly recog nizi n g W illiam .

B ut contin u ed t he pri n ce here is a young woman
, ,

who also pretends to have discovered it .
Boxtel smiled and shrugged his shoulders contemp

,
t uo usly .
William watche d all his movements with evident in .
t eres t and curiosity .

Then you don t know this you n g woman ? sai d t he
prince .
N 0 your Highness
,
.
And you young woman do you kno w Mynheer

, ,
Boxtel

N o I don t know Mynheer Boxtel ; but I know
,
Mynheer Jacob .
THE TH R I D B U LB . 2 59
What do you mean ?

I mean that at L oewes t ein the m an who here call s

himself Isaac Boxtel went by the n ame of Jacob

W hat do you say to that Mynh eer Boxtel ,
I say that this young woman lies your Highness , .

Do you deny having ever been at L oewe s t e in ?
Boxtel hesitated the xed and searching glance of the
k een eye of the prince stopped the lie on his lips .
I cannot deny havi n g been at L oewe s t e in your High ,

ness ; but I deny having stolen the tulip .

You did steal it and from my room cried Rosa
, , ,
with indignation .

I deny it .
N o w liste n to me Do you deny havi ng followed me

into the garden on the day when I prepared the bed
w here I intended to plant it ? Do you deny havi ng fol
lowed me into the garden when I pretended to plan t it ?
Do you deny that on that eveni ng after I had gone you , ,
rushed to the spot where you hoped to nd the b ulb ?

D o y o u deny havi n g dug in the ground with your hands ?
bu t thank God in vain for it was only a stratagem to
, , ,
discover yo u r intentions S a y do you den y all this

.
,
Boxtel did not deem it best to reply to these several

qu estions but turning to the prince he sai d , ,
I have now for twenty years grown tulips at Dort I

have even acquired some reputation in the art One of .
my hybri d s is entered in the catalogue u nder the name

of an i llustrious personage I dedicated it to the K ing
.
o f Port u gal
. T his is the truth of the m atter This girl
knew that I had produced the black tulip, and in concert
with a lover of hers i n the fortress o f L oewest ein she
formed the plan o f ruining me by appropriating to her,
260 T H E BLAC K T U LH K
sel f the prize of a hu n dred thousand orins which I hOpe

to win thanks to your j ustice
,
.
Oh said Rosa beside hersel f with anger

, .
Silence said the prince .
Then turning to Boxtel he said

, , ,
And who is that prisoner w hom y o u allege to be the

lover of this young woman ?
Rosa nearly swooned ; for Cornelius had been re co m
mended by the prince to the special sur v eillance of the
j ailer as a dangerous criminal .
N othing could have been more agreeable to Boxtel

than this question .

Who is this prisoner, did you ask ? said b e This .
prisoner is a man whose name in itself will prove to your

Highness what trust you m ay place in his good faith and
honor He is a State criminal who was once condem ned
.
to death .

And his name ?
Rosa h id her face in her h a nds w ith a despairing
gesture .
H is name is Corn eli us van Baerle said Boxtel a nd , ,
he is godson of that villain Cornelius de Witt

.
The prince started his c a lm eye ashed and a death ,
like pallor spread over his impassive features .
He went up to Rosa and w ith a motion of his nger

,
ordered her to remove her hands from her face .
Rosa obey ed, as if under mesmeric inuence without ,
h aving seen the sign .

It was then to follow this man that you came to me
at L eyden to solicit the transfer of your father ?
Rosa hung her head and in a stied and almos t
,
inaudible voi ce murmured ,

26 2 THE BLACK T U LI P .
your lover shall b e punished for having advised you

thus 5 for you are so young, and have such an hon e st
mien that I a m incli n ed to believe the mischief to have
,

been his doing and not yours ,
.

Oh your Highness your High ness ! cried Rosa
, , ,
Corn e lius is not guilty

William started .
N ot guilty of having a d vised you ; that s w hat you

mean , is it not ?

What I mean your Highness is that Corneli us is as
, ,
little guilty of the second crime imputed to him as he

was of the rst .

Of the rst ? An d do you know what was his rst
crime ? Do you know of what he was accused and con
v ic t ed ? o f having a s an accomplice of Corneli us de
,
Witt concealed the correspondence of the Grand Pen

,

s ion a r y and the Marquis de L ouvois .

Yes but Mynheer he was ignorant that this corre s
, , ,
pond e nce had been left i n his care completely ignorant ,
Otherwise my Go d he would have told me Could that

, ,
.
pure noble heart conceal aught from me

,
N o no your , ,
Highness I repeat even though I i n cur your displeasure

, , ,
Cornelius is no more guilty of the rst crime t h an of t he

second ; and of the second no more than of the rst .
Oh would to Heaven that y o u knew my Cornelius your

, ,
H ighness

He is a D e Witt ! cried Boxtel His High nes s
knows only too much of him having on ce granted him ,
his li fe .
Silence ! said the prince all these aff airs of S t ate ,
as I have already said are completely outside of t he j uris ,

diction of the Horti cult ural Society of Harlem .
T H E TH R I D B U LB . 26 3
Then he added , with a slight frown ,
As to t he tulip make yourself easy Master Boxtel ;

, ,

o u shall have j ustice done you
y .
Box tel bowed with a heart full of joy, and rece ived
,
t he con g ratulatio n s o f the president .

You , my child William of Orange continued you
, ,
were v ery near committing a crime I shall not punish .
yo u ; b ut the real culprit shall pay the penalty for both .
A man of h is name may be a conspirator and even a ,
traitor ; b ut he ought not to be a thie f .

!
A thief ! cried Rosa Corneli us a thie f ! Pray ,
your Hig hness, take car e, for he would die were he to

h ear your words ; such words would kill him more surely
than the axe of the e x ecutioner would have done upon
the Buy te n hof If the ft ther e has been I swear to y o u
. , , ,

Mynheer no one but this m a n has comm itted it
,
.

Prove it sneered Bo x tel
, .

Oh I will with God s help I will prove it
,
retorted
,
t he maiden , earnestly .
Then turnin g toward Boxtel she asked

, , ,
The tulip is yours ?

It is .
H o w many b ulbs were there ?

Boxtel hesitated for a mome n t but h e came to the ,
conclusion that she would not ask this question if there

had been no more than t he t wo of whi ch he already
kne w He there fore answered
. ,

Three .

What has b ecome of these b ulbs ? demanded Ros a .
Wh at ha s b eco me of t hem ? Well, one h as failed ;

t he second has pro d uced the black tulip .

And the third ?
26 4 T HE BL ACK T UL IP .
The third l
Yes the third where is it ?

, ,

The third is at my house said Boxte l q uite con fused , ,
.
At your house ? Where at L oe wes t e in or at , ,
Dort
At Dort, said Boxtel .
You lie ! cried Rosa Your Highness s he con .

,
tin n ed turning to the prince I will tell y o u t he true

, ,
story of those three bulbs The rst was crushed by my .
father in the prisoner s cell and this man is q uite aware

,
of it for he himself wan t ed to get hold of it a nd being ,
balked in his hope he very nearly fell out with my ,
fath e r who had been the cause of his disappointment

, .
The second bulb under my care has produced the black

, ,

tulip ; and the third and l ast saying this s he dre w
it fro m her bosom here it is in the very same paper ,
in which it w as wrappe d up together w ith the two

others when as he was about to ascend t h e scaff old
, ,
-
,
Cornelius van Baerle gave m e all three Take it your .

,

Highness take it ,
.
An d Rosa unfolding the paper o ff ered the b ulb to t he

, ,
prince who took it from her hands and examined it

,
.
But your Highness m a y not this young woman have

, ,

stolen the bulb as she did the tulip ? stammered Box
tel, alarmed a t the attention w ith which t he prince
examined the bulb and even more at the sudden interest
,
displayed by Rosa in some lines writt e n on the paper

which remained in her hands .
Her eyes s uddenly lighted up sh e read the mysterious

paper again in breat hless haste and then with a n , ,
exclamation held it out to the prince

, .

Oh re ad your H ighness in God s name read
, , she , ,
cried .
follo w his thoughts into that bottomless hopeless ab yss , ,
which is called remor s e and shame for the past .
Soon however raising his head w ith an e ff ort he said

, , , ,
in his usual voice ,
Go, Mynheer Boxtel j ustice sh all be done I promise ,
you .
Then turning to the president he added,

, ,
Do you my dear Mynheer van S y st en s keep this

, ,
young woman and the tulip here w ith you Good by .

-
.
All bow ed and the prince l e ft amid the deafening

,
cheers of the crowd outside .
Boxtel r eturned to his in n rather an xious He was , .
much disturbed by that paper which William had re

ce iv e d from the hand of Rosa and had read folded and , , ,
s o care fully put away in his pocket .
Rosa went u p to the tulip ten derly kissed it s le a ves

, ,
and in the fulness of her entire trust in God s he ,
murmured ,
My God Thou knowest for what end my good

,
Corn elius taught me to read

Yes God did know for it is he who chastises and
, ,
rewards mankind according to their d e serts .

TH E SONG or TH E FL OWERS . 26 7
C HAPT ER XXVII I .
TH E S ON G OF TH E FL O WE RS .
W H IL S T the events we have descri b ed in our last chapters

were t aking place the unfortunate Va n Baerle forgotten
, ,
in his cell in the fortress O f Loewest ein suff ered at the ,
hands O f Gryphus all that a prisoner can su ffer when

his j ailer has for med the determination of playing t he
part of hangman .
Gryphus not havin g received any tiding s of Rosa

,
or of J acob persuaded himsel f that all that had hap

,
pened was the devil s work and that the devil h i mself

,
w as responsible for Dr Corneli us van Baerle s presence

.

on earth .
The resul t was that one n e morning the th i rd day ,
after the disappearance of Jaco b and Ro sa he went up to ,

Cor nelius s cell in even a greater rage than usual .
The latter leaning his elbows on the window sill and

,
-
,
supporting his head w i th his hands while his eyes wan ,
dered di stractedly alon g the hazy horizon where the wind ,
mills O f D ort w ere laz ily turning the i r sails was seeking ,
in the fresh invigoratin g air fo r strength to restrain his

,
tears and maintain h i s philosophical tranquillity .
The pig eons were still there ; but hope had vanished ,
the fut u re seemed to h old nothing for him .
Alas ! Rosa was b ein g watched and was no longer able ,
to come Could she not write ? And if s o could s he

. ,
manag e to send her letters to h i m ?

268 T H E BLACK T U L IP .
N0 , no ! H e had seen during the two precedin g days

too m u ch fury and malignity in the eyes of old Gry phus
to expect that his vigilance would relax even for one
moment And then had she not tortures to end ure a
.
thousand times worse than solitude and separation ?

Would not the blaspheming dr unken brute revenge him
,
self after the fa shion O f the fathers in the old Greek

plays ? And when the gin had snarled up his wits ,
would it not endow h is arm which Cornelius had s e t

only too well with the strength of two ordinary arms
and a club ?
The idea that Rosa might perhaps be ill treated nearly -
drove Cornelius mad .
He then felt his own helplessness hi s powerlessness

, ,
and n othingn ess He asked himself whether God was

.
j ust in inicti ng so much tribulation on two innocent

creatures There is no doubt that dur ing that sad time
.
h is belie f wavered Misfortune does not conduce to faith

.
in sinful man .
Van Bae rle tho ught of writing to Rosa ; but where

was she ?
He also had an idea of writing to the Hague to fore
stall Gry phu s who he had no doubt would by d enounc
,
ing him do his best to bring fresh trouble upon him .
But how should he write ? Gryphus had taken the

paper and pencil from him ; and even if he had both ,
h e could hardlv expect Gryph us to take charge of his
letter.
Then Cornelius considered in every light all the shal

low art i ces resorted to by un fortunate prisoners .
H e had thought of an attempt to escape a th ing ,
whi ch nev er entered his head while he could s ee Rosa

2 70 T H E B L AC K T UL I P .
Gryphu s w ill comm it some atrocity I am losi n g my .
patience since I lost all pleasure b y losing the company

o f Rosa and especially since I lost my tulip
,
U ndoubt .
e dl
y some day or other Gry phu s will attack me in a
,
manner o ffensive to my sel f respect or to my love or even

-
,
threaten my personal s a fe t v S ince I have been left eu

.
t ir ely to mysel f I am conscious of a strange feeling o f

physical power and of mental vigor which make me cross ,
beyond measure, they are so loud in their demand to be

brought into action I long to ght some one ; my a p
.
petite for a row is insatiable ; and I have an incompre

he ns ible thirst for giving and receiving blows I shall .
surely j ump at the throat of my villanous old friend and

strangle him .
Cornelius at his last words stoppe d for a moment ,
with clenched teeth and staring eye .
H e was eagerly revolving in his m ind a thought which

at last made him smile .
Well , cont inued he res um ing h is soliloquy with

, ,
G ry ph us once strangled why not take his key s from him

, ,
why not go down the stairs as if I had done the most

virtuous action why not seek Rosa in her room why not
, ,
tell her all and j ump w ith her from her window into the
,
Waal ? I ca n ce rtain ly swim well enough for t wo Rosa .
but oh heavens G ry phu s is her father ! Whatever

, , ,
may be her affection for m e s he will ne ve r approve of

,
my having strangl e d her father brutal a nd malicious as ,
he has been I shall have to enter into an argument

.
with her ; and in the midst of my S peech some wretched

turnkey w ho ha s found Gry ph us w ith the death-rattle in
his throat or perhaps a ctually dead will come alo ng and
, ,
put his ha nd on my shoulder Then I shall s ee t he .

TH E SO N G or I H E FL OWERS . 2 71
B uy t enh ofagain and the gleam of that in fernal sword

, ,
which will not stop hal f way a second time but will make
-
,
acquaintance wit h the nap e of my neck I t will not do .

,
Cornelius my ne fellow ; it is a bad plan But then

, .
, ,
what is to b ecome of me and how shall I nd Rosa ,

ag ain ?
S uch were the cogitations of Cornelius three days after

the sa d scene of separa tion from Rosa at the moment ,
w hen we nd him standing at the window .
A nd at that very moment Gry ph us entered .
He held in his hand a huge club ; his eyes glistened

with evil tho ughts an evil smile played upon his lips his
, ,
gait had an evil uncertainty and evil intentions exhaled

,
from his whole morose person .
Cornelius in ured as we have seen to the necessity of

,
patience a necessity which amounted to conviction

, ,
heard him enter and guessed that it was b e b ut did n ot

, ,
turn round ; he kne w that this time no Rosa ae com

pa nied him .
T here is nothing more galli ng to an gry people than

the coolness of those on w hom they wish to vent their
spleen .
The expen se being once incurred , one does not like to

lose it one s passion is roused and one s blood boili n g

,
.
I t seems a pure loss of energy if t he boiling should not

eventuate in a little ste w .
E very honest rascal who has sharpened his ill humor -
to a keen edge longs to inict a wound upon somebody

w ith it .
Gry phus there fore , o n seeing that Corneli us d id not

stir t ried to attract his attention by a loud
,
U mph umph ,
Cornelius was humming between his teeth the Song

o f the Flowers , a s a d but bea utif ul song ,
We are th e ch i ldren of the hidd en re,

whi ch cours es t hroug h t he v ein s o f the
Of t h e re
We are t he chi ld re n of t he d a wn a n d t he d ew
We a re the ch ildren o f the a ir
We a re t he children of the fountain
B ut we are a bove a ll t he child ren o f hea ve n
, , .
This song the placid melancholy of which was m ad e

more impressive by its soft sweet melody exasperated ,
Gry phus .
H e struck his cl ub on the stone pavement of t he cell ,
and calle d out,

Halloa my m usical friend
,
Don t you hear me ?
Cornelius turned
Goo d morning said he and then began his song
, ,
again ,
Me n d el e us, an d d e stroy us for v ery love

We are h eld t o the earth by b ut a sl end er thread .
This threa d is our root that is t o s a y our li fe

, ,
B ut we ra is e our arms t o our full h eig ht t oward heaven .
Ah , you accursed sorcerer yo u are making game of

me I believe, roared Gryphu s
,
.
Cornelius continued ,
For heaven is our fath erl and ,

Our t r ue fa therland , for t hen ce comes our so u l ,
An d thith er o ur soul ret urns ,
O ur soul that is t o say our pe rfum e

!
, .
Gryph u s went close up to him, and sai d ,
Don t you see pray, that I have t ak en measure s to

,
Whosoever smites w ith the club shall receive a good

thras hing therewith .
Gry phus more and more enraged by the calm and

,
sententious tone of Cornelius brandishe d his cudgel but ,
just as he raised it Cornelius rushed at him snatched ,

!
it fro m his han ds and put it under his own arm ,

.
Gry ph us fairly bellowed with rage .
'
There there my good man said Cornelius don t
, , , ,

risk the loss of your place .
Ah you sorcerer I 11 make you pay dear for this

, ,

,
roared Gry phus

All right .
Don t y o u see that my hands are empty ?

Yes I do and not without a certain amount of

, ,
satisfaction .
You know t h at it is not generally the case wh e n

I come upstairs in the morning .

Ah that s true for you generally bring me the
, ,
worst soup and the most mis e rable ratio n s one can
imagine But that s not a punishment to me ; I eat
.

only bread and t he worse the bread is to your taste

, ,

Gry ph us the better it is to mine
, .
T he better it is to y ours ?
Yes .
H ow so ?

Oh it s a very simple thing
, .
Tell me then said Gryph us , ,

.
Wi llin gly I kno w that in giving me ba d bread

.
you think you annoy me .

Certainly I don t give it you to please you y o u
,

,

b rigand .

Well then I who am a sorcerer as you kno w
, . ,
, ,
T H E S ONG OF TH E F LO WERS . 2 75
change your bad br ead into excellent bread which I ,
relish more than the best cake ; a n d then I have the

double pleasure O f eating something that g ra t i es my
p alate and of doing something that puts y o u in a
, .
!
ra e
g .
Gryph us answered wit h a growl .
Oh you confess then that yo u are a sorcerer ?

, , ,
Faith yes if I am so I don t say it be fore all the

, .

world because the y m igh t send me to the stake like

, ,
Ga ufr ed y or U rbai n Gr a n d ier ; but as we are alon e ,

,

I se e no O bj ection to telling you .

V ery good very good , retorted Gryphus ,
but even !
if a sorcerer can change black bread i n to white will he ,
be the less li kely to die O f h unger if he has no bread

at all ?

What s that ? said Corneli us
.
S O I think I will not bring you any bread at all

, ,

and we w ill see how you are after eight days .
Corneli us gre w pale .
And continued G ry ph us
,
we ll begin this very ,

day As you are such a cle v er sorcerer why you had

.
, ,
better change the furniture of your room i n to bread ;

as to myself I shall pocket the e ighteen sou s a day
,

which are paid to me for your board .

But that s m urder cried Cor n eli us carri e d away

, ,
by the rst impulse of very natural terror with w hich

the bare thought of this horrible mode of death inspired
him .

Well Gryphus we n t on in his j eering way
,
as ,

you are a sorcerer you will live notwithstanding ,
.
Co rnelius resu med his jovial demeanor and w ith a ,
shrug O f the S h oulders he said , .

Have y ou not seen me make the pige ons come

hith e r from Dort ?

Well said Gryph us
,
.
We ll a pigeon makes a very dainty roast and a

, ,
m an w ho eats one every day i s not likely to starve ,
I fa ncy .
What will you do for a re ? said Gryph us .
Fire ! why you know that I m in league with the

,

devil D O y o u think the devil will leave me without

.
r e when re is h is natural element ?

A m a n h owever healthy h is appetite may be co uld
, ,
not eat a pigeon every day Men have made bets be fore
.
now that th ey would do S O and have been obliged to ,

abandon t hem .
Well but when I am tired of pigeons I have only

, ,
to summon t he s h from t he Waal a nd the Meuse

,
Gry ph us opened his eyes to their w idest extent in

bewild erment .
I am rat her fond O f sh continued Cornelius ; ,
you never let me have any Wel l I w ill take a d v an .

,
tage O f your attempt to starve me and regale myself ,

with sh .
Gry ph us nearly faint ed with an ger a n d terror ; but he

soon rallied a n d said putting his hand in h is pocket
, , ,

Well if you force me to it
, and with t hese words , ,
he drew forth a clasp knife and open e d it -

.

Halloa a knife !
, said Cornelius preparing to ,
de fend himsel f with his cudgel .

27 8 T HE B L ACK T U L IP .
began to t urn h is b rain Ah you will not tell me any

.
,
thing Well , I ll unlock your teeth

He advanced a step towards Cornelius and sai d show , ,
ing him the weapon w hich glisten ed in his hand ,
Do you se e this kni fe ? Well I have killed more ,
than fty black cocks w ith it an d I v o w I ll kill their
master the devil a s well as them Just wait j ust y ou

,
.
,
wait
!
Why, you blockhead s a id Cornelius, do you really ,
mean to kill me

I will open your heart to see the place within it ,

where you hide my daughter .
With these words Gry ph us in his frenzy rushed upon

,
Cornelius w ho had barely time to retreat behind his

,
table to avoid the rst thr u st Gry phu s continued .

,
with horrid threats to brandish his huge kni fe Cor

,
.
n elius s a w that although he was b eyond the reach O f
his hand he was not out of range O f the weapon which

, ,
if thrown at him might b ury itself in his ch est S O he .
lost no time but with the cudgel which he ha d kept tight

, ,
hold u pon dealt a vigorous blow on the w rist which

,
held t he knife .
The k nife fell to the ground and Cornelius put his ,
foot on it .
Then as G ry phu s seemed bent upon e n gaging in

,
a struggle which t h e pain in his wrist and shame

,
at havi ng allowed himself to be twice disarmed would

h ave made desperate Cornelius took a decisive st e p
. .
He belabored his j ailer with m ost heroic self possessi o n

,
-
selecting the precise spot for every blow of the terrible

cudgel .
Gry phus was not slow in begging for mercy ; but

V AN B AERL E S ET T LES WI TH G RY P H U S . 27 9
be fore doing so he had roared long and loud , and his

bellowing had been heard a n d had roused all the func
t io n a ries of the prison Two turnkeys an insp ector and
.
, ,
three or four guards made their appearance all at once ,
and found Cornelius still working the cudgel w ith his

hand with the knife under his foot
, .
At the sight o f these witnesses O f the crime he was

engaged in and w hose mitigating circumstances as
, ,
we s ay nowadays were unknown to them Cornelius felt

, ,
that he was irretrievably lost .
In fa ct appearances were sadly against him

,
.
In a tw inkling Corneli us was d isarmed an d Gryphu s ,

surrounded and li fted from the oor bellowing with rage ,
and pain was able to take account O f the bruises which

, ,
were beginning to swell on his back and shoulders like

the foot hills O f a mountain ran ge
- .
A p r ocs ver ba l of the violence practised by t he

-
prisoner against his keeper was immediately drawn up ;

and as it w as inspired by Gry phu s it was not O pen to ,
the criticism of mildness t he prisoner being charge d

,
w ith nothing less than an atte m pt to m u rder long pre ,
meditated and put in practice u pon the jailer w ith

,
malic e aforetho u ght and in open rebellion .
While the charge was being drawn up against Cor

h elius G ry ph us whose prese n ce was n o long e r necessary
, ,
after his deposition had been taken was taken down by ,
his turnkeys to his lodge groaning and covered with

, ,
brui ses .
D uring this time the guards who had seized Corn e lius
,
busie d themselves charitabl y in informing their prisoner of

the usages and customs of L oewes t ein which howe ver , , ,
he knew as well as they did , the reg ulations havi ng been

280 TH E B LACK T U LIP .
read to him at the moment of his enteri n g t he prison ,
and certain articles in them remaining xed in his

memory .
They also told him h ow these regulations had b een ap

pli e d in the case O f a prisoner n amed Mathias, who in
1 6 88 that is to say ve years before had com ,
mitte d a much less violent act of rebellion than that of

which Corneli us was guilty He had found his so up too .
hot and had thrown it at t he head O f the chief tu rnkey

, ,
who in consequence of this ablution ha d been put to

the inconvenience of having his skin come off as b e
w iped his face .
Mathias within twelve hours w as taken from his cell ;

then led to the j ailer s lodge where he was registered

as leaving L oewes t e in ; then taken to the E splanade ,
from which there is a very ne view exte nding over

ele v en leagues .
There they fettered his hands bandaged his eyes and , ,
recited three prayers .
Hereupon he was invited to k n eel an d the guards of

L oewes t ein tw elve in n u mber at a S ign from a sergeant
, , ,
each very cleverly lodged a musket ball in his body -

.
In consequence w hereof Mathias immediately then '
and there did die .
Cornelius listened with the greatest attention to t his

delightful recital and then said , ,
Ah ah within twelve hours you s ay ?

, ,
Yes ; the twel fth ho u r had not even struck if I ,
remember right said the guard who had told him the
,
!
sto ry .
Thank you said Cornelius

, .
The guard still had the smile on his face which served
godson O f Cornelius de Witt can without inching re ,

!
ce iv e as many m usket balls as that Mathi a s
-
.
And he passed proudly before the clerk who being in , ,
t er r upt e d in his work vent ured to say to the o f cer ,

,

But Captain van Deken the p r ocs ver ba l i s not yet
, ,
-
nished .

It is hardly wort h while to nish it rej oined the ,
O f cer .
Very well replied the clerk philosophically putting

, , ,
a way his paper and pe n in a greasy and well-worn

writing case -
.

It was written tho ught poor Cornelius that I
, ,
should not in this world give my name either to a chi ld,

a ow e r or a b ook the three things of which God r e
, ,
quires one a t least we are told of every well organized

, ,
-
individual w hom He deigns to allow to rej oice in t he pos

session of a soul and in the full exerc ise of mental a nd

bodily facu lties .
He followed the O f cer with a resolute heart and head

erec t.
Cornelius counted the steps which led to the Espla

nade regretting that he had not asked the g uard how
,
many there were for the man in his Officious complaisance

,
would not have failed to tell him .
What the long -su ffering fello w principally dreaded -dur

ing this short j ourney which he looked upon as the

immediate precursor Of the end of his life s journey
was that he S hould see Gryph us and not Rosa What .
savage satisfaction would glisten in the eyes of the father ,
a n d what sorrow dim those of the daughter
Ho w Gry phu s would glory in his punishment ! Pun

is hment ? Rather savag e v engeance for an eminently
,
VAN BAERL E SET T L ES Wi T H GRY P H U S . 2 83
righteo u s deed w hich Corneli us h ad the satis faction of

,
having perfor med as a bo unden duty .
But Rosa poor girl mu s t he die without a glimpse O f

,
her withou t an O pportunity to give her one last kiss , or

,
even to say one last word o f farewell ?

And worst of all must he die without any int elli
,
gence of the black t ulip and regain his consciousness in

,
heaven with no idea in what direction he should look

to nd it ?
In truth to restrain his tears at s uch a crisis the poor
,

wretch s heart must have be en e ncased in more of the
a es t r ip lex the triple brass thau Horace bestows
upon the sailor who rst visited t he terrifying Acr oce
ra u n ia n shoals .
In vain did Cornelius look to the right and to the left

he sa w no sign either of Rosa or Gryph us
-
.
On t he w hole he was gla d that it was s o

,
.
When he reached the E splanade he looked courage ,
o us ly and u n in chin g ly about him for the guards w ho
were to be his executioners and s a w a dozen or more

,
soldiers standing talking together .
B ut they w ere standing and talking not drawn up in ,
line and w ithout arms ; in fa ct they were whispering and

,
j oking rather t han conversing a line o f c o n duct which

,
seemed to Corneli us little consistent with the serious mien

commonly assumed on such occasions .
Suddenly Gry phu s appeared at the doorway of his lodge ,
hobbling and tottering along supported by a cr utch He

,
.
had concentrated all the ame that his cat-like gray eyes
could comman d in one last look of bitter hatred He t hen .
b egan to pour forth such a torrent of fo ul a buse upon

C or nelius that the latter addressing the o f cer, said
-
, ,
Mynheer I do not think it very becoming to allow

,
me to be thus insulted by this man especially at a mo ,
ment like this .

But think said the O f cer, laughing ; it is quite
,
natural that this Worthy fellow Should bear you a grudge ,
for you seem to have given him a good drubbing .

B ut only in sel f de fence, Mynheer -
.

Psh aw said t he captain shrugging his s houlders ,
like a true philosopher, let him talk what does it m a t

ter to you now

The cold sweat stood on t he brow O f Cornelius at this
answer which he looked upon as rather brutal sarcasm
, ,
especially from an o f cer whom he understoo d to be a t

t ache d to the person O f the pri n ce .
The unfortunate wretch then felt that he had no more

hope and no more friends and resigned himself to his ,
fate .

God s will b e done he m u ttered bowing his h ead

, , .
They did much worse to Christ and innocent as I am , I ,
cannot compare mys elf to him Christ wo uld have let .

his j ailer beat him to his heart s content and would not ,
have struck back .
Then turning toward the O f cer who seemed to have ,
no obj ection to waiting u n til he had nished his medita

tions he asked
, ,
Well Mynheer where am I to go ?

, ,
The O f cer pointed to a carriage drawn by four horses ,

wh ich reminded him very strongly of that whi ch , nu
der similar circumstances h a d be fore attracted his atte n
,
tion at the Buy t enh of .
Enter this car riage said t he O icer , .

Ah m uttere d Cornelius to himsel ,
,
f
it seems
CHAPT E R XXX .
WH ERE I N TH EREAD E R B E GI N S TO H AV E AN I N K L IN G O F
TH E K I N D O F P U N I S H ME N T TH A T WA S A WAI T IN G CO R
N EL I U S VA N B AE R L E .
TH E carriage rolled on during the w hole day it left Dort

on the left hand passed through Rotterdam and reached
, ,
Delft By ve O clock in the evening they had made at

.

least twenty leagues .
Cornelius addressed some questions to the oicer who ,
was at the same time his guard and his companion but
cautious as were his inquiries he ha d the disappointm e nt
,
O f receiving no answer .
Corneli us regretted that he had no longer by his side

t he O bliging guard, who would talk without being begged
to do so .
He would undoub tedly have had as pleasant details

a n d as exact explanations to O ffer him concerning the
remarkable character Of his third adventure as he had

done concerning the probabili ties of his fate at its t wo
earli e r stages .
The travellers passed the nigh t in the carriag e On .
t he following morning at dawn Corn e lius found hi msel f

beyond Leyden having the N orth S ea on his left and
, ,
Harle m L ake on his right .
Three hours later he e nt ered H arlem .

TH E P U N IS H ME NT AWAI'I IN G VAN B AE RLE .
Cornelius was not aware of what had taken place at

Harlem and we shall leave him in ignorance of it until
,
t he course of events enlightens him .
B ut we cannot treat the reader in the same way for

he has a right to kno w all about it even before our ,
hero .
We have seen that Rosa and the tuli p like two orph an ,
si sters had been left by Prince William Of Orange at the

,
house of the President v a n S y s t en s .
Rosa did not hear again from the stadtholder until

t h e evening o f the day on w hich s he had seen him face
t o face .

Toward evening an oi cer called at Van S ys t en s s
house He came from his Highness with a requ est for
.
Rosa to appear at the Town Hall .
T here in the l arge coun cil room into which she was
,
ushered she found the prin ce writing

,
.
He w as alone with a large Frisian greyhound at his

,
feet who gazed earn estly at h im as if the faithful animal

, ,
would have tried to accomplish what no man could do ,
read his master s m ind

.
William continued his writing for a moment ; then

raising hi s eyes and seeing Rosa standing near the door
, ,
he said without layin g down his pen

, ,

C ome here , my child .
Rosa advanced a fe w steps toward the table .

I have come , your Highness said s he stopping at a , ,
short distance from him .

Very well returned the prince
,
be seated .
Ros a o b eyed for the prince had his eye upon her but
,
he ha d scarcely tu rned them again to his paper when she

b ash fully retire d .
The prince nished his letter .
D uring this time the greyh ound ha d gone up to Rosa ,
made a care ful survey O f her and begun to make friendly ,
overtures .

Ah said William to his dog
,
it s easy to see ,

that s he is a country woman of yours and that you ,

recognize he r .
Then turning toward Rosa and xing on her his ,
scrutinizing and at the same time impenetrable glance ,
he said ,
N o w my child .
The prince w a s scarcely t wenty three and Rosa -

,
eighteen or twenty He might perhaps better have

.
, ,

said my S ister

.

My child he said with that strangely commanding
, ,
tone w hich chilled a ll those w ho app roached him we ,
are alone and may speak freely

,
.
Rosa began to tre mble in every limb ; and yet there

was nothing but kindness in the expression of the

prince s face .

Your Highness she stammered , .
You have a father at L oewes t e in ?

Yes your Highness
,
.
You do n ot love him ?

I do not at least not as a daughter ou g ht to do
, ,
your H ighness .

It is not right not to love one s father b ut it is
,

right not to tell a falsehood to your prince .
Rosa lowered her eyes .

Why do you not love your father ?

He is a w icked man .
In what way does he sho w his wickednes s ?

There is something like hope in your tone

do y ou hope
She raised her beauti ful eyes to William s face her
clear honest eyes endow ed w ith such keen penetration

, ,
that they wen t stra ight to the bottom of h is heart in

search of the clemency which lay slumberi ng there i n ,
a slumber which wa s almost death .
Ah I understand
, .
Rosa, with a smile clasped her h ands

,
.
Y o u hope in me said the prince .

Y es your Highness
, .
H um
The prince sealed t he letter which he had j ust written ,
and summoned one of his O f cers .
Mynheer van Deken said he carry this despatch , ,
to Loewes tein ; you will read the orders which I give to

the governor and execute them as far as they concern
,
you.
The oicer bowed and a fe w minutes afterwards the

,
g allop of a horse was heard resounding in the vaulte d

archw ay .
My child contin ued the pri nce, the feast of the

,
tulip will be on S unday and S unday w ill be the day

,
after to morrow Make yours elf ne with these v e

.
hun dred orins for I intend that day to b e a great

,
holiday for yo u .
How does your Highnes s wish me to be dressed ?

faltered Rosa .

Wear the co stume of a Frisian bride said William ,
it will become you very well indeed .

H ARL EM .
C HAPT E R XXXI .
HA RL E M
H A RL E M, w here we conducted the gentl e reader w ith

Rosa three days ago and w hither w e now ask him to
,
accompany us once more in the prisoner s w ake is a
charming town which prides itself and j ustly upon

, , ,
being one of the most umbrageous in a ll Holland .
W hile other towns base their self esteem upon the -
magn i cence o f their arsenals or dock yards or the -

,
splendor O f thei r shops and bazaars Harlem rested all ,
her claim to glo ry upon her m anifest supremacy over

all the other towns in the provinces in t he matter o f
bran ching elms stately poplars a nd a bove a ll in the

, ,
number and beauty O f her shaded walks over w hich the ,
oak t he lin d en a n d the chestnut mingled their foliage

, ,
in g raceful arches .
Harlem as her neighbor L eyde n and Am ste rdam her

, ,
queen became t he former a town of scienti c e minence

, , ,
and the other a metropolis o f commerc e Harl e m chose ,
to bec ome an agric ultural or m ore strictly speaking

, ,
a horticultural town .
In truth being enclosed as sh e was very airy and

, , ,
exposed to the heat of the sun she O ff ered to gardeners

,
such guarantees O f success as no o t her place could do ,
with their s ea breezes or their scorching heat

-
,
.
Th u s all the tranquil S pirits who loved the soil and

its products had gradually assembled at H arlem just ,
as all the restless uneasy sou ls who were inspired with

, ,
the taste for travel and love O f business had settled at ,
Rotterdam or Amsterdam and all the politicians and ,
worldly self seek e rs ocked to the Hague

-
.
We have remarked that L eyden ha d been overrun b y

the scholars .
Thus Harlem was given over to mild and peaceful pur

suits , to musi c and painting orchards a nd boulevards , ,
woods and parks .
H arlem went mad over owers and tulips came in ,
for their share O f adoration .
Harlem o ffered pr i zes in honor of tulips and thi s leads

us as naturally as possible to speak of that festival which
the town proposed to hold on the 1 5th of May, 1 6 7 3 in ,
honor of the great blac k tulip spotless and perfect , ,
which was to win one h u ndred thousand orin s for its

discoverer .
Harlem having exhibited its special pet having made

, ,
manifest its taste for o wers in general and tulips in

particular at a time when war a nd sedition lled men s
.

minds Harlem having e nj oyed the extraordinary pleas

,
u r e of seeing the very beau ideal of tulips in bloom

,
Harlem the lovely little town full O f trees and O f

, ,
sun shine of shade and ligh t had determi n ed to make

, ,
of the ceremony Of confe rring the priz e a f te which

should live for e ver in the memory Of m a n kind .
And there was so much the more reason in her deter

mination because H olland is t he home of f tes ; nev er
,
did sluggish natures manifest more e a ger energy of the

singing and dancing sort than those O f the good repub
lica n s of the Seven Provinces w hen am usement was the
order of the day .
2 94 T H E B LA C K T U L IP .
The w orthy man had done his best to re semble his

favorite ower in the sombre and chaste elegance of
his garments and we are bound to record to h is honor , ,
that he had perfectly succeeded in his O bj ect .
Jet black velvet and violet S ilk w ith linen of dazzling ,

.
whiteness composed the festival costume o f the presi

,
dent who marched at the head O f his committee carry

,
ing an enormous nosegay like that which a hundred , ,
and twenty one years later Monsieur de Robespierre

,

displayed at the festival of The Supr e me Bei ng .
But the w orthy presiden t instead O f t he heart swollen

,
w ith hatred and a m bitious vindictiv e ness of t h e French

Tribune carried in his bosom a heart as innoce n t as the
,
o wers which he held in his hand .
Behind the committee who w ere bedecked w ith gay

,
colors like a ow e ring meadow and exhaled the s weet ,
perfumes of the springtime marched the learned soc i ,
e t ie s of the town the magistrates the military the nobl es

, , , ,
and the pe a sants .
The people even among the respected repu b licans of

,
the Seven Provinces had no place assigned to t hem in

,
the procession They formed a living hedge along the

.
lin e of m arch .
That is t he best position of all to see a n d to learn .
It is the place for the m ultitude who philosophically ,
wait u ntil the triumphal pageants have pass e d that they

ma y the better j udge what they should say about them ,
and s ometimes what they ought to do as well .
This time however ther e was no question eith er O f

, ,
the triumph O f Pomp ey or of C aesar ; nor were they cele

bra t ing t he defeat of Mi t hridates or the conquest o f ,
Gaul The procession w as as placid as the passing of

.
H A RL EM . 295
a ock of
lambs on the e arth and as ino ffensive as the
,
ight of birds through the air .
Harlem had no triumphan t co n querors except its

gardeners In its worship of owe rs Harlem idolized
.
,
the orist .

n the centre of this peace ful sweet -smelling cortege
,
the black tuli p was seen borne on a litter w hich was

, ,
covered with white velvet fringed with gold .
Fo ur men carried the handles of the litter and were ,
from ti me to time r e lieved by other fresh relays j ust ,
as the bearers o f Mother Cybele used to take turn and

t urn about at Rome in the d a ys of old w hen s he was ,
brought from E truria to the E ternal City amid the blare ,
of tru m pets a n d t he adoration of a whole nation .
This public display of the tulip was an act of homage

rendered by a whole nation uncultured and unrened to
, ,
the renement and culture of its illustrious and devout

leaders whose blood it had shed upon the foul pavement
,
of the B uy t e n hof reserving the right at a future day to

,
i n scribe the names of its victims upon the fairest stone of

the D utch Pantheon .
It was arranged that the prince stadtholder should

himsel f award the prize of a h undred thousand orims ,
a matter in which everybody wa s inte rested and that ,
in connection with that duty he would perhaps make a

speech the latter consideration being of especial interest
,
to his particular friends a n d his particul a r enemies .
For in the most insign icant speeches of men of politi

cal prominence their friends and their opponen t s always
try to detect and hence think they can interpret some
, ,
thin g of their real thoughts .

As if your true politician s b a t were not always a
b ushel under w hich he hides his light !
29 6 TH E B L ACK T U LIP .
At last the great and long expected d ay May 15 -

,
16 73 had arrived and all Harlem reinforced by her ,
neighbors, was congregated along the beautiful tree lined -
streets det er mined on this occasion not to waste its a p

,
pla us e u pon military heroes or t hose who had won ,
notable victori e s in scientic elds but to reserve their ,
approbation for those who had conquered N ature a nd ,
had forced the inexhaustible mother to be d elivered of

what had theretofore been regarded a s i m possible of pro
duction a wholly black tulip
,
.
N othing however is less to be relied u pon than t he

, ,
determination of a crowd of people not to applaud this or

that thing Wh e n a whole town is in an applauding mood
.
it is no more possible to tell where it w ill stop than when

they are in the humor for hissing .
They began by cheering Van S ys t en s and his bou

quet ; they cheered the corporations and even vented ,
some of their superuous energy upon themselves 5 and

lastly and with good reason they applauded the excel
, ,
lent m usic which was furnished in profusion at every

halt .
All eyes were looking eagerly for the heroine of the

festival - the bl a ck tulip
,
that is to s ay and for its
, ,
h e ro in the person of the individual who had grown it .
If this hero shoul d make his appearance aft er the

sp e ech we have seen worthy Van Sy s t e n s at work on s o
conscientiously he wo u ld be sure to produce as m u ch
,
of a sensation as t h e stadtholder himself .
But for us t he int e rest of t he day s proceedings is
cen tred n e ith er in the l e arn e d discourse of our friend

Van S yste ms however eloquent it m ight be ; nor in the
,
young aristocrats clad in their Sunday clothes and

, ,
and the last stop for rest will be made The tulip b eing .
placed upon its throne the prince yielding precedence to

, ,
this rival in the public adoration w ill ta ke a magni cently ,
illumi n ated parchment upon which the name of the

,
grower is inscribed and in a loud clear voice will pro

, ,
cl a im that he ha s discov e red a marvel that Holland, by

B o xt el s instrumentality has forced N ature to produce a
,
black ower and that this ower will henceforth be called

,

Tulipa N igra B ox t elle a .
Fro m ti me to time however Boxtel took h is eyes a

, ,
moment from the tulip and the purse and scanned the ,
crowd fearfully 5 for of all things he most dreaded to see

among the people was Rosas sweet face .
We can understand that that would have been a spec

tre w hich would have spoiled the festivities for hi m as
co mpletely as Banquo s ghost disturbed the repose of

Macbeth .
And yet let us hasten to say that this wretch who ,
ha d scaled a w all that was not his w h o had entered his ,

neighbor s house by a window a nd who had v iolated ,

Rosa s chamber by a false key this villain who h ad ,
lche d a man s glory and a maiden s marriage portion

-
,
by no means considered himself a thief .
He ha d watched the tulip s o intently had followed it ,

so eagerly from Cornelius s drawer in his drying room to -
the scaffold on the B uy t en hof and thence to the fortr ess

,
of L o ewe s t e in he had s o zealously observed its birth and

growth in Rosa s window and had s o many times heated
,
the air around it with his breath that he felt as if no one ,
were so much its discoverer as he and that whoever now ,
took the black tulip from him must steal it .
B u t he did not s ee Ros a Thu s Boxt el s deligh t wa s

.

H ARL EM . 299
without alloy The procession stopped in the centre of

.
a circle for med by superb trees, w hich were decorated

with wreaths and inscriptions ; it stopped amid joyous
music 3 and the fair damsels of Harlem came for ward to
escort t he tulip to t he raised seat whic h it was to occupy
on the platform by the side of the gilded chair of hi s
Highness the stadtholder .
And the haughty t ulip elevat ed on its pedestal soon

, ,
ov e rlooked the assembled crowd of people , who clapped

their hands and woke the echoes of Harle m with their
tremendous cheers .
CHAPT ER XXXII .
A L AS T RE ! U ES T .
AT this solemn moment and while the cheers were still

,
at their loudest, a carriage wa s driving along the road

which skirted the wood making but slow progress on a o
,
count of the swarms of children w ho were crowded out

from under the trees into the road by the selsh eager
ness of the men and w omen .
This carriage covered with dust and creaking on its

, ,
axles as if wearied by its long j ourney cont a ined the

, ,
unfortunate Van Baerl e who was j ust beginning to get a

,
glimpse through t he open window of the scene which we

have tried wit h poor success no doubt to present to
,
the eyes of the reader .
The crowd and t he noise and the display of arti

cial and natural magnicence were as dazzling to t he
prisoner as a ray of light comi ng suddenly into his
dungeon .
N otwithstanding the little readiness whi ch his com

panion had shown in an swering his questions con cerning
his fate he v entured once mor e to as k the meaning of all
,
this bustle w hich at rst sight seemed to be utterly dis

,
connected with his own a ff airs .

What is all this pray, Mynheer L ieutenant ? he
,
!
aske d o f his con duc to r .

302 T H E BLAC K T UL IP .
The o f cer was about to give the order to proceed ;

bu t Cornelius stopped him , a pain ful thought havin g
struck him .
!

Mynheer he asked with a faltering voice,
,
to day that the prize is to be a Ward e d l

-

The prize for the black t ulip ? Y es .

Cornelius s cheek ushed his w hole frame trembled, ,
and the perspiration stood on his bro w .
Alas he said all these good people will be a s un

,
fortunate a s myself 5 for they will not se e the solemnity

which they have come to witness or at least they w ill ,

s e e it inco m pletely .
What do you mean 1

I mean replied Cornelius throwing himself back in
, ,
t he carriage that the black tulip will not be discovered

,

except by one w hom I kno w .

In this case said the ofcer the person w hom you
, ,
know has discovered it ; for the thing at which the whole

of Harlem is looking at this moment is the very ower

which you consider undiscoverable .

The black tulip cried Van B aerle t hrusti ng hal f
his body out of the carriage windo w Where is it ? -
.

where is it ?
Down there on the throne don t you see ?
,

,
Y es 3 I see it now .

Well said the ofcer, we must be off now
, .

Oh in pity s name in mercy s name Mynheer said
, , , ,
Van Baerle don t t a ke m e aw ay ! L et me look once

,

more ! Can it be that what I s e e down there is the

black tulip quite black ? Is it possible ! O h Myn
, ,
h eer have you seen i t ? It m ust have spots of color 5 it

,
must be imperfect ; perhaps it is only dyed black Oh, .

A L AS T RE! U EST . 303
if I wereonly there I could soon tell ! L et me alight,

let me see it closer I beg of you !
,
Are you mad ? H ow can I do it ?

I implore you !
But you forget that you are a prisoner .
It is true I a m a prisoner but I am a man of honor ;

and upon my honor I will make no attempt to escape .
O nly let me see the ower !

But my orders Mynheer ? ,
And again the o f cer made the driver a sign to

proceed .
Corneli us stopped hi m once more .
Oh be for b earing be generous ! My whole li fe de

, ,
pends upon your pity my poor li fe alas ! which has

, ,
probably b ut a short time lon ger to run Ah you don t .

,

know w hat I su ffer ; you don t know the struggle going

o n in my heart and in my brain ! For after all Cor , ,
n elius cried in despair if this were to prove to be my

,
t ulip ; if it were the one w hich was stolen from Rosa

Oh Mynheer j ust consider what it is to have discovered
, ,
the black tulip to have seen it for an instant only

, to ,
h ave seen that it was perfect a con sum mate masterpiece ,
of art and nature in collaboration and t hen to lose it , ,
to lose it for ever and ever ! O h I must alight , ,
Myn heer ! I m ust see the ower ! You may kill me

afterwards if you like but I w ill s e e it , I must s e e it !
,
Be quiet wretched man and come back into the car

. ,
r ia e at once
g for the escort of his Highness the stadt
,
hold er is j ust passing , and if the prince observed any

disturbance or heard an y noise it would be all over with ,

m e as well as with you .
Van Baerle mor e a fra i d for his companion than for

,
himsel f t hrew h imself back into the carriage ; b ut he

,
could only keep qui e t for half a min ute and the rst ,
twenty horse men had scarcely passed w hen he again

lean ed out of the carriage w indo w gesticulating implor
-
,
'
ing ly tow a rd t he stadtholder as he rode by .
William impassive and retiri ng as usu al was on hi s

, , .
way to the squ are to ful l his duty as chairman He .
held in his h a nd the roll of parchme n t which on this

festive day served him for a marshal s baton

.
S ee ing the man gesticulating and i mploring and per ,
haps also recognizing the o f cer who accompanied him ,
his Highness ord ered his carriage to stop .
In a tw inkling his ery horses trem bling on their ,
powerful h aunches had come to a stand not six yards

,
fro m the carriage in which Van Baerle was conn e d .
W hat is this 2 the prince asked the o fcer who at ,
the rst order of the stadtholder had j umped out of the

carriage and was re s pectfully approaching him
, .
Mo nseign e ur he cri ed this is the prisoner of S tate

, ,
whom I went to seek at L oe wes t e in and whom I have ,

brought to Harlem as your Highness desired .
What does he want ?

He m ost earnestly entreats permission to stop here

for a mome n t .
To see the black tulip your Highness said Van

, ,
Baerle clasping his hands

, and when I have seen it ,
when I know what I desire to kno w I am quite r ea dy to ,
die if die I must but with m y dying breath I will bless

,
your compassionate heart which interposes b e tw een eter

,
n it y and mysel f and allows my ach ievement to attain a

,

glorious reward .
It wa s i ndeed a curious spe ctacl e to see these t wo men

T H E B L AC K T U L IP .
Having gr anted this per mission t he prince proceeded

,
on his way amon g the trees t he mo st ent h usi a sti c

a cclamations .
H e soon arr i ved at the platf orm

t he thund er of cannon shook t he air .
CON C L US ON I . 30 7
C HAPT E R XXXI II .
CO N C L U S I ON .
V AN B AE RL E led b y four guards who push ed their way

, ,
through the crowd m ade his way from the s i de toward

,
the black tuli p which hi s eyes devoured more and

,
more e agerly as he approached

, .
He s a w it a t last that rare ower which wa s fated

, ,
under unknow n conditions of heat and cold , light and

shado w, to appear for a day only to disappear thence
,
forth forever ; that unique o wer which he was to s ee ,
once an d no more He saw it only six paces away and

, .
,
was deli g hted w ith its perf ection and g ra ce fulness ; he

s aw i t surrounded b y young an d beauti ful girls who ,
formed , as it w ere, a guard of honor for this queen of

excellence and purity And yet t he more b e ascertained
.
with hi s own eyes the perfection of the ower the more ,
was his heart torn He looked all aro u nd for some one
.
to whom he might address only one q uestion ; but his

eyes everywhere met strange faces and t he atten tion ,
o f all w as directed to ward t he t hrone on which the ,
stadtholder h a d seated hims elf .

William , upon w hom everybody s eyes w ere xed ,
rose cast a tranquil glance over the enthusiastic crowd

, ,
a nd his keen eye rested b y turn s on the three extremities
of a t ri an gle
,
fo r med opposite to h im by three persons
wh ose i nterests w ere very di fferent each from the other,
30 8 T H E B LAC K T U L IP
and in whose hearts very di ff erent emotio n s were
struggling .
At one of the angles was Boxtel trem bling w ith im

, ,
patience and quite absorbed in watching the prince the

, ,
or in s the black tulip and the crowd

, ,
.
At another was Cornelius panting fo r breath d umb , , ,
and with no glance or breath or heart or love for aught

save the black tulip his own dear child ,
.
And at the third standing on a raised step among

,
the maidens of Harlem was a beautiful Frisian girl , ,
dressed in ne scarl et woollen embroidered with silver ,
and covered with a lace veil w hich fell in rich folds from ,
her head dress of gold brocade,

-
in a word Rosa who , , ,
almost fainting and with eyes swimming with tears , was

leaning on the arm of one of William s o f cers
.
The prince t hen seeing that all his audience were pre
,
pared slowly unfolded the pa rchm e nt a nd in a cal m

, , ,
clear voice which although low made itself perfectly

, , ,
h eard amid the respectful silence which all at once

fell upon the fty thousand spectators and stayed their ,
very breath on their lips .

You all know said he for what purpose you have
, ,
come together h ere t o day .

A prize of on e h undre d thousand or in s ha s been
promised to him who should g row the black tuli p .

The black tulip a n d this marvel of H o lland is now
put before you the black tulip has been g rown and ful
, ,
ls all the conditions re quired by the programme of the

Horticult u ral Society of H arlem .

The history of its product ion a nd the name of its
grower will be inscribed in the book of honor of the
town .
and his God who from His throne in the blue vault of
,
heaven loo ked down w it h a benignant smile on the

spectacle of tw o happy hearts .
At the same moment there fell at the feet of President

v a n S y s t e n s another man struck down by a very di ffer ,
ent emotion .
Boxtel crushed by the failure of his hopes lay sense

, ,
less o u the ground .
Whe n they raised him and felt his p ulse and h is ,
heart he was q uite dead

, .
This incident did not disturb the festivities as ,
neither the prince nor the president seemed to mind

it much .
Corneli us started back in di smay In the thief in the .

,
pretended Jacob he recognized his neighbor Isaac Box

,
tel whom in the innocence of his heart he had not for

,
one instant suspected of such a base action .
Then to the sound of trumpets the procession r e

, ,
s umed its march without any change in it s order except ,
that Boxtel was now dead and th a t Cornelius and Rosa ,
were walking tri umphantly side by side and hand in ,
hand .
When they arrived at the to wn hall the prince point , ,
ing to the purse w ith the hundr e d thousand or in s said ,
to Corn elius ,

It is di f cult to say by whom this mon ey has been
won by you or by Rosa ; for although you discovered
,
the black tulip she n ursed it and bro ught it into ower
, , .
It would there fore be unj ust to consider it as he r

, ,
do wry .
Besides it is the gi ft of the to wn of Harlem to the

,

tulip .
CON CL US O N I . 31 1

Cornelius waited patiently for the prince s conclusion .
The latter resumed ,
I give Rosa the sum of a hundred thousand or in s ,
w hich s he has fairly earned and wh ich s he can o ff er to ,
you They are the reward of her love her courage and
.
, ,
her honesty .
As to you Mynheer thanks to Rosa again who

, , ,
has furnished the proofs of your innocence And as .

,
he spoke the prince handed to Cornelius the famous

,
y leaf of the Bible o n w hich was written the letter of

-
,
Cornelius de Witt and in w hi ch the third bulb had been

,
wrapped as to you it has come to light tha t you

,
were imprisoned for a crime which you did n ot commit .
This means that you are not only free but that your ,
pr operty will be restored to you as t he property of an ,
innocent m a n cannot be conscated Cornelius v a n .
Baerle you are the godson of Cornelius de W itt and

, ,
the friend of his brother John Remain worthy of the .
name w hich one of them bestowed upon you at the

baptismal font and of the friendship with which
,
the other honored you Cherish the me mory of the .
signal virtu e s of bo th for the De Witts wron gly , ,
j udged and w rongly punished i n a moment of popular

,
error were two great citizens of whom Holland is n o w

, ,

proud .
The prince after thes e last words w h ich contrary to

, , ,
his custo m he pronounced with a voi ce full of emo t ion

, ,
gave his hands to the lovers to kiss while they knelt ,
before him .
Then w ith a sigh he said

, , ,
A las ! you are very happy wh o dreaming it may , , ,
b e, of the true glory of Hollan d and her true happiness ,

3 12 TH E B L ACK T UL IP .
do not attempt to conquer aught for her e x cept new

colors for tulips .
And with a hasty glance toward France as if he sa w ,
new clouds gathering there he entered his carriage and ,
drove off .
Corn elius started on the same d ay for Dort with

Rosa who took ca re that her father should be in
,
formed o f all that had taken place by the lips of old

! ug who was sent on a special embassy to the old
,
fellow .
Those who have fathomed Gry phus s character from
our description of it w ill understand that it was very

hard for him to be reconciled to his son ih law He had - -
.
upon his mind the blows he had received from the

c udgel ; he had counted them up by the marks that
re m ain ed they numbered forty one he said ; but at
,
-
,
last in ord e r as he d eclared not to be l e ss generous

, , ,
than his H ighness the stadtholder he consented to make ,
his peace .
Appointed keeper of t ulips after having been k eeper ,
o f men he made the roughest keeper of owers to b e

,
met in Flanders .
It was indeed a sight to see him watching the ob n o x

ious moths and butteries killing slugs and drivi ng, ,
away the hu ngry bees .
As he had heard Bo xt el s story and was furious at

,
havi n g been the dupe of the pretended J a cob he de ,
stroyed the observatory formerly built by the envious

neighbor behi n d the sycamore for Boxt el s estate being
sold at auction was merged w ith the other ower beds -

F inally ,
to frighten a way other envious people w hom
,
Providence might not have leis ure to rid him o f as

it had of Mynheer I saac Boxtel he w rote over his
,
door the line s w hich Groti us ha d on the day of

,
ight out on the wall of his prison

, ,
Someti mes one s su ff erings have been gr ea t t hat

need never s ay, I a m

TheBlackTulip 10090036 PDF

Caricato da

Informazioni sul documento

Titolo originale

Copyright

Formati disponibili

Condividi questo documento

Condividi o incorpora il documento

Opzioni di condivisione

Hai trovato utile questo documento?

Questo contenuto è inappropriato?

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

TheBlackTulip 10090036 PDF

Caricato da

Copyright:

Formati disponibili

IN T RO D U C T O RY N O T E .

Wi t n e ss the p a th e t i c g ur e of the Gre a t

fo u n d e d t he D u t ch R e pub l i c in sp ite of his f ell o w

p ag e s the s t o ry of Joh n of O l d e n B a rn e v el d t has -

a ccu s e d him of all men on ear th of trea ch e r y an d

The la t e r exempli cat ion of th e s ame ch ara ct e r

in so far as the s e rvi ce s o f t he D e Witt s t o the

Re pub l i c ha d b ee n le ss e min e n t a n d n o t e w o rth y

b roa d ca s t the ch arg e t h a t B a rn e v e l dt wa s e ng age d

wh ole l i fe was one long t ir e le ss s truggle : s o we re

pr i n ce up on th e Eng lis h t hron e did mu ch t o e ace

T he p a s s ion a te f on dn e s s of t hi s same p e op l e for

d e nt of t he d e p os i t w i t h t h e inn oce nt t u l ip fa nci e r-

of t he Grand P e n s i on ar y s corr e s p on d e n ce wi t h the

by the match le s s s t ory t e lle r i n to the romance of

W ILL IAM PRIN CE o r O RAN GE afterward William III King of

L O UIS XIV K i ng of France

CORNE LIU S D E Wrr r inspector of dikes at the Hague , .

JOH N D E WIr r his brother Grand Pensionary of Holland

CO L ONE L V AN D E K E N aide-de-camp to Willia m of Orange , .

D R C ORNE L IU S VAN BAE RL E a tulip fancier godson of Cornelius

M YNH EE R IsAAc BO XT EL his rival , .

MAR! UIS DE L ouvors .

CO UN T TILL Y Captai n of the Cavalry of the Hague

MYNRRE R BOWRLr '

MYN H E E R D AS PEREN '

M ASTE R VAN SPENS E R a mag istrate at Dort

TY CK AL AEB a surgeon at the Hague

GER ARD Dow .

N I NB E RE V AN SYSTENS Burg omaster of Harlem and President ,

of its Horticult ural S ociety .

CRARRR condential se rvant of John de Witt

Ros a his daug hter in love with Corneli us van B aerle

THE H ATRE D O F A TU LI r FAN CIE R

TH E HAPPY MAN M AK E S A C! U AINTAN CE WITH

CORNEL IU S VAN BAE RL E S WIL L

TH E MAI D AND TH E FLO WE R

L CEWESTEIN SE TTLE S ACCOU N TS WITH

ON the 2 0 th of A u gust 1 6 7 2 the city o f the Hague

whose stree ts were ordinari ly s o neat and trim , and w ithal

ing o ut over the roofs of the Gothic dwellings and its ,

broad canals s o calm an d smooth that they resem b led

church -towers whose graceful shapes recalled some city

O f the Orient, the city of the Hague the capital of the ,

Seven U nited Provinces sa w all its arteries swollen to

bursting wi th a black and red flood of impetuous breath ,

less eager citizens Who with knives in their belts mus

kets on their shoulders, or clubs in their hands, were

whose grated w indow s still frown on the beholder where ,

Cornelius de Witt brother of the former Grand Pen

s iona ry of H olland was languishing in con nement, on

a charge of attempted murder preferred against him by

If the history of that time and especially of the year

appear quite supererogatory b ut we must rst warn our

custom on the rst page to promise to entertain and to ,

whom we do our best to redeem our promise in the s ub

to the right understanding of our t a le as to that O f the

Cornelius de W itt, Ru a r t de Pult en that is to s ay , ,

Inspector O f Dikes ex burgomaster of Dort his native

to wn and m ember of the A ssembly of the S tates of

H olland was forty nine years of age when the D u tch

people weary of the Republic as it wa s ad m inistered by

John de Witt the Grand Pensionary of H olland sud