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 fi 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 fig ur e of the Gre a t “

t h e fi r s t Wi ll i a m o f O r ang e fig 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 fi 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 fit 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 acrifi cing h er oi s m
,
-
.

The la t e r exemplifi 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 fi 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 fi 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 fl 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 confidential 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 reflected 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 fi 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 fi rst warn our

old friend the indulgent reader whom it is our invariable
, ,

custom on the first 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 flights 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 personification 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 fluence 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 first 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 ffi 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 ffi ce of Stadtholder was restored M oved b y the tears.

and entreaties o f his wi fe he at last complied b ut afli xed

, ,

to hi s signature t he two letters V C which si gni fi 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 w—citi 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 first
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 find 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 infla 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 fi 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 offi 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 fi 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 ,

flue 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 fli ce which they conceived had bee n badly

filled,
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 gratified 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 confined 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 fi 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 fi re and flame .

N 0 V iolence h owever had as yet been committed and

, ,

t he file 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 fi 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 fi 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 fi 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-offi 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 fire 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

,
”
fifty yards and that you are only twe n ty fi v e from u s
,
- .

Death to the traitors ! cried the exasperated

burghers .

”
Bah ! growled the O ffi 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 fi ercer and fi 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 fir 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 five 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 Town—h 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 fi 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 fi 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 ,

fi 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 flesh and were float ,

ing in the air above his body as the expiring flame from
,

an almost extinct fi 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 fixing 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

20 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .

you conducted the fleet 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 fi 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 sacrifices 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 fly 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 fierce 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 ffi 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 fly leaf
,
-
,
.

”
Very well that will do ,
.

But your writing will be illegible .

”
N ever fear rejoined Cornelius gl a ncing at his brother
, ,
.

These fingers 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 disfigured 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 fingers 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 final 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 fi 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 fi 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 first 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 offi 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 ffi 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 fi 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 offi 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 ffi 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 oflicer 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 fine 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 ofi 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 fi n g er s

 30 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .

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 ffi 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 offi 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 officer 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 fill 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 fi 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 first group a ma n wa s flying 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 ffi 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 , ,

 32 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 ffi 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 flin 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 fists 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 ffi 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 fi 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 fi 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
34 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 find 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
,
.
36 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

”
“
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

first , 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 .
38 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

’
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 fi 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 ffi 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 ffi 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 officer

, 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 confined 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 officer .

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 offi 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 find 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 ffi 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 reflected 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 ~

fi 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 fiercest 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 offi 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 fficer 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 ffi cer saw this sign of compassion the fi 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 ffi 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 flor 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 fl icted on hi m from all sides calling out , ,

My brother where is my brother

One of the r uffia n s knocked off his hat with a blow of
h is clench ed fi 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 fir 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 fi red it This .

time the weapon did not miss fi 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 flesh 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 fi nding it locked they were
, ,

obliged to retrace their steps a n d they have fallen into

,
”
the hands of t h e r uffi 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 confid 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 flocks 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 fine .

red brick houses mortare d in white lines bathin g their

-
, ,

feet in the water and their balconies open toward the

, ,
54 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .

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

, ,

Indian trade three or four hundred thousand flor 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 florins 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 florins 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 florin s a year .

’
When the worthy citizen Cornelius s father s huflie d
, ,

o ff this mortal coil three months after the decease of

his wife who seemed to have gone first 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 flor ins which no one h as ever

, ,

weighed but my father myself an d the coiner will fi 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

,

flor 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 flagship of a fleet 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 Léger 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 fi 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 fi ve thous a nd in
,

ured — was that nothing was decided that both sides

j ,

claimed the victory that the fi 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 reflective
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 flor 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 classified 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 flor in s to bri ng it to

perfection His exertions indeed were crowned w ith
.
, ,

most magni fi cent results : he produced fi 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 find 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 fierce 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 flo 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 flower) is the first word in t he

Cingal e se to n gue which was ever used to d e signat e that
masterpiece of floricult 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 fi t for the culture of his cherished

fl 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

fl 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 dé 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 .
60 TH E B LAC K T UL IP .

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 fi 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 flower 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 reflected in what
he said about his neighbor but great minds fi n d a mar
vellons amo unt of comfort in philosophical reflections ,

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 florins devoting all his in t ellec ,

tual and financial 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

flo 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 inflict 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 fi 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 ,

”
flowers 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 fl o w ers is to offend God .

The m ore b ea utiful the flow 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 IP—FA N C IER . 65

T hetuli p is t he m os t b eautiful o f all flow 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 fi 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
66 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 find 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 flowering tulips and meditated on the

,

modifications 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 flowers 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 flower from the moment ,

when in the first y ear its pale seed leaf begins to peep -
 T HE H AT RE D or A T U L IP—FAN CI ER . 67

from the ground, to that when after fi 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 flo 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 fi 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 ufle 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

, ,

fi 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 flo wer b eds -

o f his nei g hbor But when b e refl 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 Marbré e de Ro tr e

, ,

— fla 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 terrified animals falling violently from the t o p of

,

the wall rushed across the bed each in a d ifl 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 finding 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 flowers

,

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 overflowing , ,

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 fi 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 flo 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 florists that although considering the ,

undertaking as certain to fail all their thoughts were ,

 T H E H ATRE D or A T U L IP—FA 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 fl 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 florist 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 .

72 T H E BL AC K T U L IP .

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 fi 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 reflection 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

fierce 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 fi nger for
the trigger to fire 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 magnificent 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 fireside 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

.
,
76 TH E BLAC K T U L IP .

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 figures 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 figure 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 first thought was that this precious deposit ih

clos e d some newly imported bulbs from Bengal or Cey
-

lon ; but he soon re flected 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 diffi 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
,
'
78 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 fi 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 .
,

flower for the fi 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 find the black tulip said Cornelius to him ,

self as he detached the bulbs

,
I Shall obtain the .

h undred thousand fl 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 florins for one b ulb
. It is .

there fore settled that I shall give the h undred thousand

flor 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 flor ins on t he

enlargement of my tulip bed or even on a j ourney to the -
,

East the country of beautiful flowers ! 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 flower 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 fi g u re t he mourning robe of t he

flower 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
'
“
fine 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 fl 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 fi 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 flowered Cornelius continued , ,

and when tranquillity is restore d in Holland 1 S hall ,

give to the poor only fifty thousand flo rins which after ,

all is a goodly sum for a man who is under no obligation

wha tever Then w ith the remaining fi fty thousand
.

florin 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 flowers

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 confidential 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 floor one

, ,

of them rolling under a small table and the other into ,

the fireplace .

“
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 fi replace knelt down and stirred
, , ,

w ith the tip of his fi 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 fl y fly 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 fly

-
, , , ,

77
fly 1
But how shall I make my escape nurse ? said Van ,

Baerle .

Ju m p out of the windo w .

T w e nty fi 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 fly leaf from the Bi ble which C r ae ke had

-
,
86 TH E BLAC K T U L IP .

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 fi n ger to t he

,

t hird drawer of the press near the fi 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 first 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 fi 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

. ,

first 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 filch it ; and ,
’
instead of floweri n g in Cornelius s garde n it would flower ,

’
in his Isaac s H e also instead of Van Baerle would
,
.
, ,

win the prize of a hundred thousand flo r in s not to spe ak ,

of the supreme honor of calling the new flower 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 flesh 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 first 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 flu 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 find them and moreover it was not , ,

at all difficult 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 ffi 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 iffi 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 florist 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 flee -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 ?
96 TH E BLAC K T U L IP .

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 flash 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 .

98 T H E B LAC K T UL IP .

demolished It was easy to see that a flood 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 florist 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 fi rst
,

slumber b y the unexpected arri val o f Van Baerle .

It would have made a fine 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 ifl, 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 five 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 fi 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 fi 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 fi 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 flari 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 flesh 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 satisfied 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 .

104 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 flags 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 fi 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
,
106 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 fi 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 fly 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 confi 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 fi ne arts of science

, , ,
l 12 TH E B LAC K T U L IP .

and of flowers 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 confidence 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 fi 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 flame
,

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 é 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 , fi 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 Condé 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 fi 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 stifle 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 flowers 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 flowers 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 flor ins has been o ffered by the Horticultural

S ociety of Harlem These h undred thousand flor ins
.

and Heaven knows they are not my only subj ect of regret
— these h u ndred thousand florins 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 fi or ins

, ,

W ell le t us talk seriously my dear child Those

, , .

hundred thousand flor 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 flowers 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 fly—leaf (for it

,

will be remem b ered that the first was torn out ) like ,

his godfather with death at hand he wrote no less

, ,

firmly
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 onfi 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 fl 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 florins 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 ffi 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 fi 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 fi 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 confluence

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 inflict 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 uflia 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 fi 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 first 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 suffi ciently versed in the h istory O f his

country to know that the celebrated Grotius wa s confined
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
.
132 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 reflecting 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 trifling inquir ies to contrive with the

, ,

more certainty some means of escape for him .

Thus to the very fi rst proposals which Boxtel made to

Gry ph u s to filch 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 final 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 florin s .

But what were a paltry h undred flor 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 flor 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 flor 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 fi nd some garden where
the black tulip would flower 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 confined 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 flown 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 flower 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 flocks o f pigeons come from that quar
,

ter and perch fl 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 flig 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 flew 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 fifteen d ays while Van B aerle s ,

’

fi 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 fi 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 infinite 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 flow 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 first 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 fied 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 fiv 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 ,
.
1 44 T H E B L AC K T UL IP .

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 fingers 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 dissatisfied .

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 .

first 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 fine 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 flowing dress of the fair Frisian
maid and soon after a light appeared at the little
, ,

wicket in the door on which the prisoner fi 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 upefi 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

.

fi 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 oflicers 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 fi ne eyes and fled 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 fled 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 fingers .

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 flower 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 fi ne garde n said Rosa ; it runs ,

along the bank O f the Waal and is full of fine 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 ,

fi 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 flower 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 fi ced to my s e lfi s h

ness However, the s un sometimes visits me
. I w ill .

tur n to account every possible bit of arti fi 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 fi 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 florin 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 flo wer -pot He half

,
.

filled 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 first

,

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 confidence in herself since s he had dis ,

’ ’
covered how a prisoner s breath may s e t a maiden s heart
on fi 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 fine morning find 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 first

”
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 find 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 fi ord

'

her a little rest Rosa wa s t hen able to follow with her

.

fi 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 fingers 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 flows beneath the flesh .

Rosa s intellect rapidly developed under the influ ence

’

of such animating contact with the mind of Corn elius '

and w hen the di ffi 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 ffi 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

166 T H E B LAC K T UL IP .

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 fi 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 fi rst shoot .

Ah Rosa ! my heart fairly o v erflo wed that almost imper

,

ceptible whitish b ud which a fly 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 fi rst favorable day I will tell you but it is of

16 8 T H E B L AC K T UL IP .

the utmost consequence that you let nobody help you ,

and confi 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 first ten steps .

Cornelius was very uneasy about it but his troubles ,

were only beginning .

1 70 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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

, ,

fi 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 unflinchi n g , ,

resolution of the captive to protect his fl 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 flower except with my li fe .

Gry phu s in his rage pl unged his fingers 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 flags 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 ébri 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 flung 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 first 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 first 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 fl 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 fi 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 fi r e to the castle ; h is eyes w ere like two flaming

torches his hair stood on end and he clenc hed his fi 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 ! ’

1 76 TH E B LAC K T U L IP .

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 !

1 78 TH E B L AC K T UL IP .

“
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 fficult to ascertain

Y es ,
we can search him and if he has any more ,
’
b ulbs we shall find 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 first time that you are

, ,

goin g there, and try to make sure that he follows you , as

he did the fi 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 eflected 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 fi 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

1 82 TH E B L ACK T U L IP .

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 floric ult ure in general that of his two a ffections

,

he felt most strongly inclined to regret that of the flesh

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 fi 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 fi 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 flowers 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 suffici 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 first 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 finished 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 affl 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 sacrifi 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 selfish fellow ! — to hear fro m

Gryphus that his daughter was ill .

Ex ce p t on e xtraordinary occasions, Rosa never cam e

1 88 T H E B L AC K T UL IP .

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 coffi 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 fi 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 ffi 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
.
1 94 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .

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 fi 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 fi nished my make believe work

,
-
,

”
I retired .

“
But only b ehind the garden —door is it not true , ,
1 96 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .

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 é

,

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

,

fingers 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

,
”
fi 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 fleeting 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
,

fl owers of S pring are succeeded by other fl owers ; and

we s ee the bees whi ch so tenderly caress ed the violets
,

and the wallflower s flutter 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 first took pleasure in hearing

me tell of my j oy and my sorrow ; that y ou care s sed the
fl 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 fly between the b ars

, ,

leave the cold and solitude a n d gloom to fi nd else where ,

s weet odors and the warm breath of summer fl 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 fi delity ?
“
My fi 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 fi 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 flowers .

“
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 flow er

,

bloom extinguish the pleasant l ight of the pure and

,

s oothing fancy which I have become used to dre amin

g
2 02 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .

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 flower
,
.

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 fficers and clerks of the Hague ?

, ,

Are there no clerks offi 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 fi 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 twenty—eight , 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 fi 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 flower with a radiance and a

, ,

perfume far di ff erent from all the flowers of earth

’
W hen Gryph us entered the pri soner s cell instead of ,

fi 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 .

20 6 T H E B L AC K T UL IP .

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 first .

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 flushed 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 fi 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
2 08 T H E B L AC K T UL IP .

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 fi 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 .
2 10 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 fi 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 flower 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 flower , ,

and it s flower 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 flower 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 flower I know it is .

far to Harlem b u t with money you will fi nd a messenger .

H ave you any money Rosa ? ” ,

Rosa smiled .

Oh yes
, she said .

Enough ? asked Cornelius

I have three hundred flor 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 flower meanwhile ?

Oh the flower 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
,
'

, . ,
2 14 TH E B LACK T U L IP .

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 flower 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
,

flower .

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 flo 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 fi 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 flower when it is quite certain that it is black

, ,

and absol utely black you m ust find 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 -fi v e or six .

“
The devil
’
Don t be alarmed laughed Rosa ; he is still under
,
“

ag e for you yoursel f fi 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 flower having .

once been seen by t he president and t he O ffi 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

,
“

flower 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 florin ,

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 find 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 , ,

2 18 TH E B L ACK T U L IP .

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 flowing from -

fa r beyond the hills He filled 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 overfl 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 fi 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 fi 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 fl 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 fi 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 fl 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 fing me two such flo 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 fl 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 magnificent, 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 flower 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
22 2 TH E B LAC K T U L IP .

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 flattering 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 flat

,
’

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 fi 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 flight 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 fi 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 .
2 24 T H E B LAC K T UL IP .

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 suffi 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 flo we r -pot was in the window ; and

like the charming female fi gures of Mieris an d Metzys,
Rosa would appear at the w indow as in a frame formed ,

by the fi rst budding sprays of the V irg in s b o wer and the ’

honeysuckle .

Rosa watched the flower 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 flower-pot .
22 6 T H E B LAC K T UL IP .

Would the coolness between Rosa and Cornelius la st

forever ? This would have made the the ft much more
di ffi cult than Mynheer I saac had at first 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 first of all took advantage of Rosa s absence to ’

make a careful examination of the door of her Cham ber .

The door fitted 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 fi 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 file

as thin as t h e blade of a kni fe .

In t w o more days his key fitted 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 téta a-téte w ith the tulip

’
,
-
.

His first 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 .
2 28 TH E B L AC K T UL IP .

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 refl ected .

He reflected as he gazed upon t h e tulip by the light ,

of h is dark lante rn that it was not yet su ffi ciently for

,

w ard for him to be absolutely certain that the flower

would be black altho u gh present appearances made it
,

more than probable .

He refle cted that if its flower were not black or if the ,

black were n ot spotless he would have made himself ,

a thief to no purpose .

He reflected 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 reflected 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 .
230 T H E BL AC K T U L IP .

By the light of the dark-lanter n he saw the tulip in

full flower 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 fi 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 !

, ,
2 32 TH E BL AC K T U L IP .

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 fi 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 finish 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 fi ngers still grasped convulsively

, .

His head was heavy his eyes wandered wildly and he fell
, ,

heavily on the fl 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 .
2 36 TH E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 flo 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 flower 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 flight 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 étou r going from L oewes t e in to Harlem as

the crow flies it is not more than half the distan ce
,
.

B ut none but birds can fly as the crow fli 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 fficulty 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 fi 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

fi 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 .

2 40 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 fi 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

,

flogging .

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 find 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 .

2 42 TH E BL AC K T U L IP .

ing motion in his gait completed his resemblance to that

flo 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 fi 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 master’s 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 el’s 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 fi 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 flowers 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
, ,
2 46 TH E B LACK T U L IP .

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 refl 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 fi 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
flor ins . The news had spread l ike wild fire through the
to wn.

Rosa h a d not a little di ffi culty in penetratin g a secon d

t ime into the o ffi 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 finds 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 fi 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 flow 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 flowers — sometimes even of that cheese whose

,

flavor t he French esteem s o highly ; the flower 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 satisfi 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 fi ed pride what glory to the Society if its labors
,

are pleasing to your Highness !

Have you got the flower 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 ffi culty has presented itsel f .

What diffi 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 fl 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 flor 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 first 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
, ,
2 54 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 flow ers ? continued Mynheer

Van Sys te ns .

Yes Mynheer, .

Then y o u are an experienced florist ?

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 affi rmative move
ment of their heads .

“
Well, the n no ; it is not I who am an experienced
,

fl 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 finement 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 flowers
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 first 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 flow 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 eflor 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 fi 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 fi 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 florins 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 flashed and a death ,

like pallor spread over his impassive features .

He went up to Rosa and w ith a motion of his fi nger

,

ordered her to remove her hands from her face .

Rosa obey ed, as if under mesmeric influence 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 stifled 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 first .

“
Of the first ? An d do you know what was his fi 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 fi rst crime t h an of t he

second ; and of the second no more than of the fi 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 first 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 .
2 66 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 fi 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 inflicti 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 ifi 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 fight 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 fine fellow ; it is a bad plan But then

, .
, ,

what is to b ecome of me and how shall I fi 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 fi 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 inflict 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 ,
2 72 T H E B L AC K T UL IP .

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 fi re,

whi ch cours es t hroug h t he v ein s o f the
Of t h e fi 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 efil 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

’

,
2 74 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

‘
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 ifi 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 fi 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 , .

2 76 TH E BL AC K T U L IP .

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 fi 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

.

fi r e when fire 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 fi 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 fish 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 fi 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 fifty 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 first 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 floor 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 océs 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 fixed 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 fi 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 fine 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
282 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .

godson O f Cornelius de Witt can without flinching 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 ffi cer ,

,

“
But Captain van Deken the p r océs ver ba l i s not yet
, ,
-

finished ” .

“
It is hardly wort h while to finish it rej oined the ,

O ffi 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 flow 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 ffi 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 fi 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 first 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 flin 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 flame 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 ffi cer, said
-
, ,
2 84 TH E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 ffi 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 ffi 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 ffi cer who seemed to have ,

no obj ection to waiting u n til he had fi nished his medita

tions he asked
, ,

Well Mynheer where am I to go ?

, ,

The O ffi 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 flicer , .

”
Ah m uttere d Cornelius to himsel ,
,
f “
it seems
2 86 TH E B L AC K T UL IP .

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 fi ve O clock in the evening they had made at

.
’

least twenty leagues .

Cornelius addressed some questions to the oflicer 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 ofli 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 .
288 TH E B LAC K T UL IP .

The prince fi 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 fixing 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 ?

2 90 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .

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 ffi 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 oflicer 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 fine with these fi v e

.

hun dred florins 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 ifi 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 scientifi 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 ,
2 92 T H E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 flocked 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 flowers 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 florin s for its

discoverer .

Harlem having exhibited its special pet having made

, ,

manifest its taste for flo wers in general and tulips in

particular at a time when war a nd sedition fi 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 éte 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 étes ; 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 flower 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
,

flo wers which he held in his hand .

Behind the committee who w ere bedecked w ith gay

,

colors like a flow 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 fl ock of
lambs on the e arth and as ino ffensive as the
,

flight of birds through the air .

Harlem had no triumphan t co n querors except its

gardeners In its worship of flowe rs Harlem idolized
.
,

the florist .

‘
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 unrefined to
, ,

the refinement 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 florims ,

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 ificant 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 scientific fields 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 superfluous 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

, ,
2 98 TH E BL AC K T U L IP .

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 fi 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 flower and that this flower 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 Rosa’s 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 ,

fi 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 .
30 0 TH E B L AC K T U L IP .

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 selfish 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

fi cial and natural magnificence 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 first 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 ffi 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 flushed 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 officer “ 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 flower
”
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 officer, 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 flower !

But my orders Mynheer ? ,

And again the o ffi 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 flower ! 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

,
304 T H E B LAC K T U L IP .

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 first ,

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 fi 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 ffi cer who accompanied him ,

his Highness ord ered his carriage to stop .

In a tw inkling his fiery 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 confin e d .

W hat is this 2 the prince asked the o fficer who at ,

the first 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 flower 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 flo 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 flower 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 fi 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

, ,

flor 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 fine 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 ffi 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 fifty 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 flor 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
, ,

fils 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 .
 3 10 TH E BL AC K T U L IP .

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 flor in s said ,

to Corn elius ,

“
It is di ffi 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 flower
, , .

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 flor 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

,

fly 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 confiscated 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 flowers to b e

,

met in Flanders .

It was indeed a sight to see him watching the ob n o x

ious moths and butterflies 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 flower beds -

314 TH E BLAC K T U L IP .

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

,

flight 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