agreeable to a German Soul At another Place the Water comes up through a Pipe very quick and raiseâ— a wooden Ball about Four Foot high from the top of the Pipe and keeps it at that heighth twirling in the Air. As one enters this Place there stands an Obelisk of Stone on the Pedestal are laid five great Globes of Stone and upon them the tall Pillar stands At the top of this is an Effigies of Prince Maurice of polish'd Steel The Memory of this great Man is very fresh and much honour'd here and we shall have something more to say of him anon In this City the Magistracy under the Electour of Brandenburg are of the Calvinist sort but he tolerates every other sort of Religion here with the Indifferency of the Dutch in that matter The Anabaptists have a Congregation here The Protestants have a good large Church encompass'd with a Church-Yard but the Papists are a great Proportion of the People of the City They are in Possession of the great Church as 't is call'd and of the Revenues belonging to it This stands high and is visible long before one comes to the City by two Turrets at the West end of it This is a Collegiate Church and entertains about fifteen Chanoines The Person that show'd it us said they possess all the Revenue that they ever had but it is but small We saw nothing fine in the Church but all was in a pretty good Condition There are two large Monuments of Dukes of Cleve which contain them and their Dutchesses and their Children but are very naked and plain Here they pretend to have the Relicks of some of the famous Companions of St. Ursula who St. Uâ—sula were says Story but Eleven thousand in all and all Virgins they came from Brittaine were taken in a Storm at Sea and drove above an hundred Miles within Land up the Rhine to the Country near Colen There they died all together by the barbarous Huns and Alans when they over-run that Country Some think that the making them amount to so extravagant a Number was occasion'd by mistake and that they were indeed but Eleven in all besides St. Ursula Some ignorant Monk took these Notes XI M V as signifying Eleven thousand Virgins whereas they were intended to fignifie Eleven Martyr'd Virgins But however after him the infallible Tradition of the Roman Church votes for the greater Number among the People and the Governours of the Church are willing to let it run so because that Number will best serve to countenance the abundant Relicks of these Virgins which in many Places are pretended to Bishop Godeau says That in many Churches of France there are Heads shown which are pretended to have been the Heads of some of the Companions of St. Ursula In this Church within a strong Iron Grate to preserve these precious Relicks are seen a Number of Skulls I suppose about eight or nine which they say were the Heads of some of these Virgins and a multitude of little Pieces of Bones are laid up against the Wall which they pretend were theirs and under these things is a Tomb where they say three of their Bodies are interr'd The Church of Rome solemnly commemorates these Virgins on the 21st of October but under the Name of St. Ursula and her Companions without determining the Number because though they believe it not themselves they are willing to continue the pious Fraud if any such there be among their People In the Mass for the Day at a Venture they make the following Prayer O Lord our God may it please thee to grant us the Grace to Reverence with a continual Devotion the Victories of thy Holy Virgins and Martyrs Ursula and her Companions to the â—â—d that although we cannot worthily solemâ—â—â—e their Triumph we may nevertheless be faithful to render them our humble Respects by c. There is also an Order of Nuns that are particularly devoted to St. Ursula they are a Branch of the Augustines but distinguish themselves from the rest by their Devotion to St. Ursula we met with their Houses in many Places of this Journey They began in Italy 't is said where they were approv'd by Pope Gregory XIII in the Year 1572. Yet after all 't is most probable there never was any such Person and Godeau honestly says in his Church History that the Story is full of manifest Falsities I waited upon the Protestant Minister here Lutherans for the sake of seeing his Church and acquainting my self with their way of administring the publick Worship He receiv'd me very civilly and testified great Respects for the Church of England He has also mighty Veneration and Esteem for our King whose Renown and Praises he has publish'd in Latin and High Dutch Verse I saw in his House a Picture in black and white of Martin Luther it represented him with a fuller Face than I had seen before but he said it was very exactly taken from a Picture of him which had been drawn from the Life in the Country where he liv'd It was all done with a Pen and is no bigger then might be cover'd with a little Hand That which seem'd most curious in it is a small Writing in High Dutch Language but in Latin Letters so curiously laid about it that some very artificially makes the Folds of his Gown some is turn'd about upon his Head and makes a Bush of curl'd Hair and two Lines over each Eye form his Eye-brows The Writing contains several remarkable Passages of his Life As the Picture hung up against the Wall tho' but at a little Distance I could not perceive that any of this was Writing but when it was in my Hand I could distinguish the Letters plainly and spell the Words I went into his Church which is a good large one and will hold a multitude of People yet by the Encrease of his Congregation they are forc'd to enlarge their Room The Communion-Table stood here upon an Ascent of one Step at the East End of the Church The Book of Liturgy was upon it and is used there I saw it contain'd their Spiritual Songs and Psalms and Forms of Prayer Over it against the Wall was somewhat a confus'd Picture representing the Benefit which good Men received by the Blood of Christ before his Coming as well as in the Times of the Gospel It might be said to be an Emblem of that Text Jesus Christ the same yesterday to day and for ever Here again I understood that the Rites and Methods of Administring the Publick Worship in the Lutheran Congregations are different in several Provinces and Countries yet Lutherans wherever they come join with Lutherans and scruple not to conform to what they find practised in such indifferent Matters We were told of a small Collection of Roman Antiquities at a Place call'd Bergendale about a Mile from the City we went to it in the Way to Zante upon the Hill being charmed with the Pleasantness of it For
he is here There are two distinct Burgomasters in the City and other Magistrates to govern the distinct People but in common concerns of the City they meet and join together in determining matters The Duke of Brabant was notwithstanding this Sate of the City reckon'd the chief Soveraign of it and at present the States General seem to have the greatest power here There was now a great Garrison in the Town consisting of Ten Thousand Men which we were told were all in the States pay They then by consequence have the Command of the Gates the Fortifications and the Amunition This City is extreamly well fortified besides a strong Wall and a broad deep Ditch there are several Bastions round it which are well planted with Cannon there are also many strong out-works with cover'd ways to them and all these are provided of Mines ready made There is an Hill on the South East side of the Town which lies somewhat near and within reach to annoy it considerably but against that they have rais'd a Bastion there to a great height which is a good defence to the Town and this is within the Walls This is altogether a fine City the buildings are good after the common manner of these Countries and really all things look in a thriving flourishing Condition the Streets are generally very broad The chief Church in the City is dedicated to Popish Churches St. Servatius the Bishop before mention'd It is now possess'd and used by the Papists The peice of Painting over the high Altar represents him with the marks of a Bishop It is a Collegiate Church as it was and formerly the Duke of Brabant now the King of Spain as Duke of Brabant is one of the Chanoines There is by it a large Cloyster which goes round a good piece of ground for a Garden but it is now neglected This St. Servaâ— as the Vulgar language calls him died they say in the Year 395 and after him the Episcopal See continued here to the time of St. Lamberi who made the 20th in Succession from St. Servaes but he did not fix here but remov'd the See to Leige upon what occasion he did this will be said when we come to Leige There is besides this a Church dedicated to St. Nicholas in Possession of the Papists They have also a large Church dedicated to the Virgin Mary Over the great door of this Church stand 3 large Images one represents an old Man next to him at his right Hand stands a Woman at her right Hand is a young Man the two Men are made holding a Crown in their Hands as putting it upon the Head of the Woman 't is well enough known what they of the Church of Rome mean by such a Representation but ought not to be mention'd without the utmost detestation and Horrour Within the Church are Altars and Images as usual There is one Altar to St. Roch by which stands a strong Box lockt with a hole to put in Money by and by it is an Inscription which says Give here your Charity to St. Roch or honour him with your Charity that God may divert from us the Pestilence For this Sain talso is address'd to by the Roman Church as a Friend at need against the Plague Story says of him that he heal'd several People sick of the Plague in Italy by making the sign of the Cross over them and they say Heaven show'd that his Intercession should be a remedy against that distemper by this evident token to wit that he himself at last died of the Plague I think a Man must have Roman Spectacles to see the Evidence of this There are several Convents of Friers and Nuns in this City The Jesuits have a College Convents here We saw their Chappel which was but mean The High Altar is dedicated to Xaverius who is there said to have been Apostle of the Indies and Martyr At the East end of the Isle on the right side of the high Altar is an Altar to the Virgin Mary there are about the Church a few Pictures of the Saints of their Order I doubt if there were to be the Pictures of none but true Saints they would be yet fewer but it must be confess'd the Gallows and the Scaffold between them have made a pretty many Saints of that Order such as they were and yet most People believe not so many by far as they should have done Here is also a House of Capucines which has yeilded lately tho' unwillingly a considerable man to the Reformation M. Loefs a Convere of the Reformation He was one of the best Preachers that the Papists had in this City had long been dissatisfied with many things in the Roman Church travell'd into France Spain and Italy to see if he could meet with any thing that might reasonably confirm him in his Religion instead of that he saw every where abundant evidence of the monstrous corruption of the Church of Rome he found it almost every where much worse than in this his own Country and saw more reason still to leave it He return'd to Maestricht with this resolution and took his opportunity to put himself under the protection of the States General who have receiv'd him into their protection and allow him a Pension He has printed a good Book which is a comparison of the Beliefs of the Roman and Reform'd Churches His name is Michael Lâ—efs The Dominicans have also a Convent here we saw their Chappel which was the finest that we saw in this City but had nothing in it particular or worth taking notice of The Calvinist Religion is that which the Calvinists States â—stablish and encourage here and that which their Magistrates profess They have in pay here 6 or 8 of their Ministers but they have but two Churches which are call'd by the Names of St. Martins and St. Johns this latter we fell into it is not a large Church it was Reform'd after the Calvinist modell One sees there a Pulpit to Preach in and a great many seats for People to sit on and hear but no conveniency to kneel and pray nor any provision for the Celebrating of the Lord's Supper or Baptism The truth is this part of the Reformation have generally brought all the business of Publick Worship almost to only the Ministers exercising his Gifts and Parts in Prayer or Preaching Indeed all of them beyond Sea have composed Forms for publick Prayer before and after Sermon and for administration of Sacraments and condemn such of our Dissenters who will have this unlawful There is also here a Church and Congregation of Protestants as they call the Lutherans in all Protestants these Countries and in Germany as distinct from the Calvinists who call themselves Reform'd The Hill before mention'd on the South-East Quarries side of this City yeilds a very pleasant prospect to it in time of Peace and when they expect no mischief from thence It is all cover'd with
Coats was almost hid with the broad Silver Lace laid upon it The Cloathing of the Kettle-Drums as I remember is Cloth of Silver a deep Fringe of Gold and Silver went round the Drum at the top and a lesser one round about the edge of the Cloathing I never saw any thing of the kind so fine as these all were And this is a particular Affectation of this Prince The reigning Religion here is the Popish Popish Religion here and the Papists are in Possession of the publick Churches We went into some of their Churches and saw nothing in them very fine nor any thing peculiar or worth taking notice of In the Yard belonging to the great Church stand Three Crucfixes with Bodies on them as big as the Life to represent the Crucifixion of our Saviour between Two Thieves There is a large Penthouse over them By the side of another Church we saw the same Representation To these many People in passing by paid a profound Respect but without a distinct Interpretation of these Books the People must be liable to pay the same Respect to those which represent the Thieves as to that which is design'd for our Saviour so that in these Books there are certainly some things as dangerous and as liable to betray People into damnable Error and mortal Sin as are pretended to be in Scripture If that be then an Argument for taking the Scripture out of the Peoples Handâ— it is an Argument for taking their extravagant Pictures and Images out of their Sight Or if any Preference may be allow'd of the Ordinance of Jesus Christ himself before that of his Pretended Vicar the Scriptures should be given to the People and this sort of Books taken away because Christ has given the Holy Scripture for their Instruction and only the Pretended Vicar has instituted these When we came to the City after we were enter'd within the new Ditch we saw several of those little Oratories or Chappels mention'd before standing about in the Fields in each of which is an Altar and Image and for the most part of the Virgin Mary Among the Papists in these Parts the Controversie is now hotly pursued about the Immaculate Conception Immaculate Conception of the Bâ—essed Virgin of the Virgin Mary the head Managers of which are the Franciscanâ— and the Do minicans This has been a long Controversie in the Church of Rome and is likely to continue for both Sides pretend to Miracles Visions and Revelations to confirm their Opinion yea both Sides have drawn the Blessed Virgin to testifie for them and so against her self Besides the infallible Guide of the Church cannot tell what to do in this Case and Bishop Meaux says The Church has not yet defin'd whether the Virgin was born in Original Sin or not The contending Parties are indeed so hot upon their Opinion that they would either of 'em be apt to despise the Pope's Authority if he should venture to decide The Pope's Authority is for a Scare-crow set up against the Protestants but upon Occasion the Papists can make little account of it themselves as Scare-crows are never wont to fright them that set them up Bishop Meaux says 'T is neither Heresie nor mortal Sin not to believe the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin and yet he says 't is Pious to believe it But if this be Pious surely the contrary must be impious If any Proposition be true the direct and full Contradiction to it must needs be false and if any Opinion be pious another which fully contradicts it must deserve a contrary Character and consequently be accounted impious Such poor Shifts is tâ—is shuffling Expounder of the Church of Rome put to that he may render its Doctrines and Practices plausible There are in this City Two Congregations of the Reformed Religion the one Calvinist the other Protestant or Lutheran We spent Lutherans here the Morning of the Lord's-Day in the Protestant Congregation They have not a very large Church but it was well fill'd It stands a little inward from the Street I think they call their People together by a Bell. The Place is Oblong with the Altar or Communion-Table at the East end and a good Gallery over the Entrance at the West end Above that is a little Gallery set up for a small Organ that they might lose no Room by it The Church was very neat but not fine There were but Three distinct Pictures in it and all very free from Popery or Superstition On the South Wall hung a Picture of Moses holding the Two Tables of Stone on which there was only a Scrawl to represent the Writing of the Ten Commandments The Communion-Table was large and very high It stood against the Wall upon a flat of Boards raised a little Step above the Stone Floor of the Church and which goes out at a good distance from the Table Over this Communion-Table or Altar is a good Picture which represents our Blessed Saviour in his Agony in the Garden with an Angel come to encourage him There are Three of the Apostles asleep not far from him and at a distance the tops of the Torches of those who are coming to apprehend him appear from behind a Hill The History is well represented Behind the Picture of our Saviour are black Clouds well drawn and amidst them appears a bright round thing which looks almost as if they design'd to represent the Sun veil'd with these Clouds but it being a Night Piece it must be understood as it is intended to represent the Wafer which they give and receive in celebrating the Sacrament of the Lord's-Supper for they administer the Bread in that Form Over this great Piece of Painting is another lesser one which represents our Saviour with a Glory about him as rising from the dead and treading upon a Dragon to signifie that he had now overcome Death and him that had the Power of Death as the Scripture speaks that is the Devil This is a fit Representation of our Saviour but it is an impudent Blasphemy to attribute this to the Virgin Mary as the Papists do in Pictures and Images of her with which I have often seen a Snake or Dragon put under her Feet as dead The Pillars on each side of these Pictures were wreath'd their Chappiters handsomely carv'd all the Work is very neat and decent but the matter is not Marble but Wood painted in Imitation of Marble some of black and some of white Marble streak'd and it is very well done The Altar or Communion-Table was cover'd with a large Velvet Cloth which reach'd to the Ground of a deep blew Colour Before the Worship began I had time to see what Books lay at the Reading Desk and at the Desks of the People The Reader had before him a great Folio Bible in High Dutch and another Book in Folio which had for its General Title Spiritual Songs I look'd into it and observ'd there the Book of Psalms and other of the
deriv'd from the Latin Batavia and shows this to be the Country which the Romans call'd by that Name At that Point of Land is a large and regular Fortification call'd Schenckenscans Schenckenscans This belongs to the States-General and lies so as it Commands both these Channels of the Rhine Nimmeguen is situated on the left Bank of the Wael It is a large City the Area of it something more then half a Circle It is encompass'd with a good Wall and a Ditch and fortified with a convenient number of Bastions It stands upon a Ground which rises considerably from the River but very gradually But at that side which is uppermost upon the River the Ground stands very high and comes a steep Cliff to the Water Upon that Place is built a large and strong Castle which commands the River upwards and downwards and some of the adjacent Country This Castle they pretend was built by Julius Caesar or rather restor'd and improv'd by him The Streets of this City are generally broad and airy they are strait and some of them very long It seems to be a very sweet and healthy Place to live in and to have a good Trade They brew here a soft Small Beer which is in great Repute all over the United Provinces under the Name of Nimmeguesce Mol. It becomes pretty clear even while it Mol. remains soft whereas their other sorts of Peer are commonly very thick while they are soft and by that time they are a little fin'd they grow hard But this Drink is too a crude and very flatulent Drink it is wholesomest to drink it mingled with a little dash of French White Wine or Rhenish and then it becomes very Diuretick We went to see Domini Smetius one of the Calvinist Ministerâ— of the City for the sake of his Collection of Rarities which consists I perceiv'd chiefly in Medals and Coins of which he says he has of all sorts about Ten Thousand He receiv'd us somewhat â—â—iâ—â—ly but at length condescended to shew us what he had The oldest piece of History represented on those we saw was that of the Rape of the Sabine Women by the Romans I much doubt however whether it were made at the time or not We saw one of Tâ—tus Vâ—spasiâ—â— on which was commemorated his Conquest of Judea it was but Copper He show'd us a Gold Medal of Queen Elizabeth of an Oval Form which commemorated our Deliverance from the Spanish Invasion design'd in 1588. Several other ancient and modern ones we saw but while we were very busie in this pleasing Entertainment some good Women of his Acquaintance came in a Coach and call'd him out whom we thought at that time very impertinent This broke us off at present and we had not an Opportunity to come again The great Church of the Town is a stately and magnificent Building It is dedicated to St. Stephen the Protomartyr It was formerly a Collegiate Church 'T is now possess'd and used by the Calvinists which is the Religion of the Magistrates here as in all the Dominions of the States General And if any of those Magistrates should pretend to such a Liberty of Conscience as to go to any one of the Religious Assemblies of any other sort that are tolerated amongst them he would soon be deposed from his Magistracy This City was formerly subject to the Archbishop of Colen in Ecclesiastical Matters The Profession and Exercise of the Popish Religion is tolerated here but they have no publick endow'd Churches There are here some Convents of the Religious Orders for Men and for Women And there is a Congregation of Protestants who are allow'd a publick Church Passage from Nimmeguen to Rotterdam THE next Day we took the Ship which went for Rotterdam at Eight a Clock in the Morning It was very full of Passengers We paid for each Person one Guilder two Stivers for our Passage and at going off they spung'd something of us for our Portmantle and for the Ship Servants We could not be in the Roof the most commodious Room in the Ship because there was one of the Magistrates of Rotterdam with some of his Family in it and though they did not fill it yet they would possess it all and when we found every Body else gave way to his Worship with the Deference due to a Petty Prince we were forced to do so too and stow'd our selves but inconveniently in the Skipper's Kitchin For it was a Day of excessive Rain and forced us to be under cover We paid four times Passage Money between this and Dort At Nimmeguen a Stiver for each Person at Tiel a Stiver and half at Bommel two Stivers at Gorcum two Stivers and an Oâ—tie that is a quarter of a Stiver We were forced at each of the three last mention'd Places to stop till an Officer came on board us to gather this and this stay lost us usually almost an Hour We had a Gale of Wind but it was directly against us at North West This made our Way long by Reason of the frequent Tacks it forced us to make Towards Night it fail'd us and we could advance no faster than as the Stream drove us yet we got down before Ten a Clock at Night to Dort The Tide gave us little or no Hindrance because at this time it did not come up so far as usually especially with a Westerly Wind by Reason of the great Force of the River which was exceedingly swell'd with the great Rains and Land-Floods In a dry Season with such a Wind we were told the Tide will mount to Gâ—rcum or beyond whereas now it came not so high On this Occasion I shall take notice of what I have observ'd and learnt concerning the lowness of this Province of Holland The Rain and Snow which falls in the Winter-time lies upon their Ground and covers all their Meadows all over the Country with Water so that the whole Country looks like a Sea and no â—â—y Ground appears but here and there where a Village or a City stands a little above the Water and where there are high raised Banks which they call Dykes to go upon between them This Water must in Spring-time be all thrown out of the Meadows by Mills These throw it into the great Canals which are the usual Passages about the Country These Canals communicate with the Rivers by Sluces which are open'd at a low Tide and then the Water which they are fill'd with from the Meadows will some of it fall off But if there be at the time of dreining a westerly Wind especially a strong one It keeps the Waters of the Rivers so high that the Canals will not empty themselves into the Rivers at all or but very little at the lowest of the Tide For this Reason when there is a westerly Wind the Mills are bound to observe a Water Mark. And when the Canal which they throw the Water into is risen to that Mark they must stop and and work
I might see elsewhere Things succeeded in some Measure according to my Wish I found I could be spar'd from the Family I was in and easily obtain'd leave to be absent for a little while I resolv'd to improve my time as well as I could and directed my Course to such Places within a little Compass as I thought fittest to afford me the Matter of such Observations as I sought for Thus I came to be furnish'd with the Materials which are here put together I now resolve to publish them for several Reasons and hope they may be serviceable to several important Purposes We have indeed especially the Vnlearned Part of the Nation forgotten what the Popish Religion is in Truth And there is an Ignorance of this among us which gives us a great deal of Disturbance and which does a great deal of Harm For hereby some things among us are cried out against with a mighty Ardour and Fierceness as Popish which are truely Innocent and Vseful and which are deriv'd from the most pious and purest Times of Primitive Christianity And on the other side some things both in Doctrine and Practice are fondly hugg'd and stickled for by the same People who make that unreasonable Out cry which were brought in with and do truely belong to the Corruptions of the Roman Church These People want to have their Notions rectify'd and their Idea of Popery corrected and made more accurate and just by a distinct Representation of the Particulars which will give the true Character of it There are very unhappy Consequences and Effects of this Mistake Some of the Reform'd Churches abroad who do not know distinctly the State of ours are prejudiced against us by the Writings and Reports of these foolish People as having a World of the Popish Superstition and Corruption still among us and as being very tenacious and fond of it And they cannot think us fit for their Correspondence in order to our mutual Defence upon that score Besides the Influence which our Church and Nation might have abroad towards the Defence and perhaps the propagating and promoting of the Reformation is hereby much abated at least if I may not say 't is wholly lost while so many among us apply all their Concern and Endeavour in Caballing against and Seeking to undermine and throw down an Imaginary Popery in the Church of England That Influence might be very considerable if there were a Concurrence of all Parties towards it by the Help of our Extensive Trade and with the Advantage in respect of Learning which our Vniversities and Clergy have over the greatest Part of if I may not say all the Church of Rome But especially under the Conduct and Management of an Excellent Prince who has so wise and just and so great a Zeal for the Honour and Interest of the Reformation in General as his present Majesty has and who has the greatest Renown and Glory and the most extended Interest of any Monarch in the World whom God grant long to Reign over us and to have yet more Influence by his Great Wisdom and Glorious Vertues among us It is an Amazement that amidst all our Jealousies especially since they have most abounded we should never to any Purpose fall upon this to suspect that the Jesuits and Romish Emissaries do in Disguise promote our Divisions on purpose to hinder any such Vnanimous Concurrence amongst us against them We have indeed a Zeal against Popery amongst us but as much of it is lost by a Mistake in the Object so I doubt a great deal of the rest in the Wise Men of the World is of less Effect and Extent than it might and ought to be for want of a due and right Principle I wish it be not their only Concern to secure themselves from the Losses they might sustain in their just Liberties and their Properties if it were imposed upon them at home and that they be not too regardless what becomes of the Reformation in other Parts of the World It seems indeed easie to see but even Wise Men sometimes look too intently upon one thing that while the Protestant Religion is destroy'd by degrees abroad and one Part of the Reformation after another is trodden down the common Interest of it must be weaker and weaker and it must be less able to subsist with us at home It is the great Concern of all sorts of Persons on the other side to promote and propagate their own Religion and to extirpate ours Among them 't is not only the villanous Treacheries and Plots of Jesuits that are employ'd in the Work 't is not the Wheedles of the other Missionary Monks alone or the Business of those who seem to make the greatest Gain of propagating their Religion but even Princes have applyed their utmost Power and have hazarded or lost and almost ruin'd their Dominions in their Zeal to serve their Cause And the greatest Statesmen have found time to consider and serve this amidst their most Important Affairs They concern themselves to extirpate the Protestant Religion not only out of the Countries which they govern but even out of the World And what formidable Successes have they had against us with their continued Applications and Endeavours After other mighty Havocks made upon the Reformation we have seen them trample upon it in our Time in Hungary and France and at this present they are making an End with the small Remainders of it in the Palatinate and that by Virtue of Advantages gain'd against it by their extraordinary Vigilance and Application to the matter in a late Treaty They are zealous and industrious while We are indifferent It has been seen that the Wise Men on our side have been too sharp for those of the other in Matters of Trade while the others have been too hard for them in the Matter of the Interest of the Reformation which speaks plainly the Difference of Application and Concern to the Matter One would suspect from these things that the Trick of Representing and Expounding the Doctrines and Practices of the Church of Rome had cheated our Politicians of the true Notions of Popery and had made them believe the Differences between that Church and those who are Reformed to be but small and inconsiderable and this had betrayed them into Indifferency and Neglect to watch and oppose the Designs of Rome against us And that it were necessary to show even to them or at least to call to their Remembrance how Absurd and Vnreasonable how Impious and Wicked many of the Doctrines and Practices of that Church are to be sure if the Spirit of Christian Religion did every where prevail among us As it is a Disposition possess'd and govern'd by the Reverence and Love of God and the Love of our Neighbour none could be unconcern'd that Christian Religion should be so abus'd and Almighty God so much injur'd in his due Reverence and Honour and the Souls of Men so endanger'd with damnable Errours as these
things are done by the Corruptions grown now inveterate in that Church And it must needs be wish'd that a more Active and Powerful Principle than Men are now commonly guided by could be found or awakned to set them upon a due and just Care and Endeavour for the common Defence and Support of the Reformation I propose further to be serviceable in the Publishing of this Account to those of our young Gentry who go to travel in Countries of the Roman Communion and who often need such Intimations as they have here what they should observe and such Assistance to understand what they may observe For want of which some perhaps are charm'd with the Pomp and Finery and Pleasantness of the Roman Worship and the great Appearances of Devotion among the pretended Religious Orders and the several Eraternities which belong to them And if they are not seduced by this means and by the Caresses and Wheedles of the Romish Priests to joyn themselves to the Church of Rome yet their Prejudices against it become hereby much less than were just and so they are educated in that Indifferency which threatens our Ruine Some again for want of being rightly instructed in these Matters and taught to distinguish between these Corrupt Additionals and the Christianity plainly and clearly taught us in Holy Scripture are liable and expos'd to fall into the Fatal Mistake of imagining that all Revealed Religion is but such a Cheat as the Popish Priests have made of their Frame and a meer Invention to maintain a Multitude of needless and useless Persons They shall see here that all the Mixture which is liable to the Imputation of Priest-craft and wordly Artifice is separated and rejected as our happy Reformation in the Church of England has done it from the true Christianity of the Holy Scriptures The chief Business and Design of this Relation is as I have intimated to give an Account of the Present State of the Romish Religion But I chose to do that in this Form that the Reader might be sometimes diverted from that Matter and the Relation might not be tedious by being all the same And I hope it may be of some Vse and Instruction also to some Persons that I have intermingled the Matter with the Story and Adventures of a Journey and with somewhat of the History and Geography of the Places that were visited and other Things which I thought worth observing There are some few things in Latin Verse not translated because in England every one that is capable to read such a Book with any Entertainment or Advantage understands Latin well enough to interpret it themselves or else they have near them or at Hand those who are able to do it for them God grant this Endeavour may be serviceable to Truth and Peace and so to the Glory of God and the Happiness of my Countrey AN ACCOUNT OF A JOURNEY Through some Parts of GERMANY In the Year of our Lord 1698. Passage from Rotterdam to Antwerp ON the 13th of May N. Stile in the Year 1698. we went on Board the Ship which on that day was bound from Rotterdam to Antwerp There goes every Day of the Week one from hence I think excepting Sundays As soon as we came on Board there was demanded of us by an Officer and paid to him 25 Stivers for each Person for our Freight to Antwerp We set sail about four a Clock Afternoon and with a good Gale of Wind which was very fair for us we came to Dort by six There our Skipper lay by and loiter'd till eight by which time the Wind was much abated and we could advance but very slowly Therefore we came to an Anchor and lay that Night somewhat short of Trentesas This Place we pass'd by the next Morning leaving it on our Right-hand after about an hours sailing with a Wind not favourable and but very small It is a small Village of Holland consisting of Fishermens and Waggoners Houses It is in the Post-Road from France into Holland They that come from Brabant land here from the Boat which they take at Moredyck on the other side After this we saw on the side of Brabant which was our left side as we went down here the Steeples of two little Towns of Brabant which belong to the States-Geneâ—â— the one called Sevenberg the other Clundert But the Countrey there is a dead Flat about them and affords no Prospect We came nearer afterwards to Willemstadt as we pass down the Water call'd Hollands-Deep This is a very small City consisting chiefly of one long Street which is broad and strait at the upper end of it stands a good large Church which is all they have or need The nearest part of the City is about half a Mile from the Water but there is a great Canal which carries good big Vessels up into the Town We see from the Water the Walls of this Town which are encompass'd with a good Ditch The Ramparts are planted with Trees between the Bodies of which appear the tops of the Houses and of some other Trees planted within the City all which together yield a very agreeable Prospect King William is the Proprietor of this City and also of a large tract of Lands on this side of Brabant as well as of more on the other side towards the Maeze Without stopping we sailed on by this City till about Noon when we were come to the Islands of Zeeland where we were forced to Zeelandâ— lie still for want of Water the Tide being out The Place we lay by is called Philips-Land a little Island on our Right-hand We saw a Church and somewhat of a Village upon it as we passed by and stopt a little way below it within sight of it We were in a new Ship that was upon her first Voyage having never been abroad before and yet she knew her way almost as well as the Skipper For when we had here an Occasion to upbraid him for his Ignorance he confessed he had been this Voyage some Years ago in his younger time but had now almost forgot his way And this appear'd true for he thought it necessary to go over a Flat whereas there was a Channel round it and the Compass was not very large We saw a Ship bigger than ours and deep loaden sail half round us in that Channel while we were labouring and likely to have been fast upon the Flat tho' the Tide was then almost at the highest and we had but few people on Board and no heavy Lading at all After the Labour of two hours of more to proceed about the length of an English Mile and with the help of several strong Hands of Passengers added to those of the Skipper and his Mate we got into the right Channel We advanced very slowly having but little Wind and the disadvantage of a strong Tide which run against us as it was ebbing in the narrow Channel which runs by Tolen called the Vossemaer with all
of Mechlin to whom he is Suffragan and the Faction of the Jesuits he is severe against all those who are call'd by the Name of Jansenists and are suspected to favour the â—ansâ—â—sls Opinions of Jansenius of whom we shall give some Account when we come to Louvain The Inhabitants of this Town however under the Conduct of this their Bishop are such as deserve the Character of a very pious and good People We can hardly see any where in the Church of Rome so regular and strict an Observance of all the Forms Methods and times of Devotion common to that Church as is very evident here which makes a Man who is any thing sensible of the Corruptions and Errors of that Church heartily lament to see so much Piety and Devotion so ill directed and apply'd The Virgin Mary is reputed and honour'd Virgin Mary Patroness of Antwerp as the Patroness or Protectress of this City In a fine Chapel dedicated to her in the great Church and which seems more frequented than any other in the Church there stands an Image of a Woman to represent her to the girdle of which is hung a small Gold Key representing the Key of the City Gates But the bad Huswife has prov'd so unfit to keep the City that she has often lost the Key of it There was a Report she had lost her Key in one Night in the Year 1696. but I saw within a little while after that she was honour'd with another for all that Certainly this presenting her with a Key of their City has some further meaning than only to expect the Protection of Almighty God through her Intercession and looks very like at least to the committing themselves to her immediate Protection As one goes out at St George's-Gate under the Passage there stands an Image of the Virgin Mary with some Dutch Verses under it whiâ—h signifie as follows All honest and sincere Catholicks Honour ye Mary the Mother of our Lord show to her great Love that ye may be preserved both in going out and coming in From all Pain and sudden Death He shall never travel unfortunately who calls upon her in the time of his necessity Here is no intimation in the least of her Intercession but the People are directed to call upon her for their Safety and to honour her that they may obtain it In the great Church there hand up several printed Litanies of the Virgin Mary as they are call'd which People are encourag'd to say over there upon their Knees before an Image of the Virgin by the Grants of Indulgences to them that shall do so In these Litanies 't is usual to repeat frequently these Words Have Mercy upon us as address'd to her They say to her From all Evil and Danger and from all Sin deliver us O glorious Virgin And That it may please thee to protect and preserve and encrease the Congregations and Assemblies which by a particular Dvotion and Servitude are devoted to thee we humbly beseech thee to hear us That it may please thee to keep our Hearts and Minds in all Chastity and Purity and Piety we humbly beseech thee to hear us These and many other like things in the common and allow'd Practice of the Church of Rome do plainly signifie That they ask and expect Help from the saints themselves Tho' 't is pretended by the Council of Trent and Monsieur de Meaux that they ask of God only for their sakes and hope to obtain of God by their Intercession what they desire And the Mechlin Catechism as well as their common Practice does palpably contradict this Pretence The 7th Question of the 18th Lesson therein is What Help or Assistance may we expect from the Holy Virgin It is to be observ'd here the Question does not say by the Holy Virgin or by her Intercession but from the H. Virgin And the Answer says and teaches the People That she helps us in all that is profitable to us and especially in our last Hours she strengthens the Weak she comforts the Sick she keeps off Temptations and she helps us to everlasting Salvation Images of the Virgin Mary are very frequently Images to be seen about the Streets of this City sometimes we see them over the Doors of private Houses on the out-side and there are very few I believe that have not one at least within They are very common at the Corners of the Streets and over the Doors of those call'd Religious Houses These Images are often honour'd with a Crown on the Head and a Sceptre in the Hand and sometimes on each side an Angel is set upon his Knees with Hands lifted up together in the Posture of praying to her Men and Women as they pass by these Images commonly pay their Respects to them in their several ways I have seen a Child of four or five years old as it has been running carelesly by an Image of the Virgin which was far above it and not observ'd has been stopp'd by the Parents and directed to look up and make a reverend Courtesie to the Stone and say Good Mother All the publick Lanthorns of the City and commonly those in the Portals of private Houses are hung up before an Image of the Virgin and 't is an Honour paid to her to present a Candle to burn before the Image I have seen an Image of her over a private House in the Arms of which was constantly laid somewhat of the best that the Earth affords in its Season and have seen some of the first of some sorts of Flowers the first ripe Cherries and the like presented to her which is an Homage eternally due to Almighty God but to none else These Practices suit with what they call her in their Litanies that is Queen of Angels and Queen of Heaven and Earth In most Shops of the City is an Image of the Virgin and when Evening comes it is the Custom to light a Candle and set it up before that which is just as the Heathens were wont to honour the Images of their Houshold-Gods And indeed the Roman Church with a great deal of Guilt has in many things reviv'd the old Corruptions of Religion which the Heathens fell into as will be further observ'd in the Sequel of this Relation The Images of the Virgin Mary are also commonly set over the publick Pumps in this City over that in the Fish-Market is one which was consecrated a few Years ago in the Jesuits Chapel and brought in a solemn and pompous Procession by the Jesuits to be set up in this place Under the Feet of the Woman are these Words of Scripture applied to her A Well of Living Water and another Dutch Inscription calls her Mary of good Success There is also as I remember at Brussels an Image of the Virgin Mary which is call'd Maria Pacis We met also in this Journey with another Image of which more will be said hereafter which is call'd Notre Dame de
done on particular Days fixed and known They bind themselves to such and such good Works as are specified in the Rules of the Fraternity for the Relief of the Souls in Purgatory such as Fasting at particular times going to Mass in publick or the performing some private Tasks of Devotion or the giving of some Charities to the Poor And all of the Fraternity promise themselves much Advantage from the Indulgences granted to it and much Comfort and Relief when they die by Virtue of the Prayers and good Works or voluntary Mortifications of all the whole Society We come now to the greatest of the Parochial Churches which is the Cathedral Church here 't is call'd the Vrouwen Kerk or Our Lady's Church because 't is dedicated to the Virgin Mary 'T is a magnificent large and curious Structure worth admiring both without and within and worth the staying a while about it to take notice of what is here observable The Foundations of this Church they say were laid in the Year 1124 it was formerly Collegiate only and entertain'd 24 Chanonries with a Dean But Philip the Second King of Spain out of a Design to preserve the Roman Religion in these Countries erected several new Bishopricks among them as what he thought most conducing to this purpose One of these fell to the Share of this City and the first Bishop is named Franciscus Sonnius who was fixed about the Year 1567. This Church has a great deal of curious carv'd Stone-work on the Outside which adorns the lofty Roof of it and is seen above the Houses that encompass it The Steeple is all Stone from the bottom to the top it is in height 400 Antwerp Feet from thence in a clear day may be distinctly seen Mechlin Louvain Brussels Ghent the Sea and the Islands of Zeeland with the naked Eye The whole Steeple has so much carving about it and is such curious Work that they say the Emperor Charles V. viewing it and considering that Time and Weather must needs deface the Beauty of it as is in some measure already done said It was worthy to be kept in a Case and to be shown only upon Holidays In this Steeple there is a Set of perhaps the most musical Chimes in the World to serve which there are of all Sorts in the Steeple 68 Bells The Church is very fine and rich within in excellent Pieces of Painting in Marble and Brass Pillars and the Altars on high Days are adorn'd with a great deal of Riches in Silver Lamps and Candlesticks and other Works of Silver These being intermix'd very artificially with Bundles of Flowers true in their Season and such are well counterfeited in Winter with Bay-trees also and tall lighted Wax-Tapers all together make the most beautiful Scenes in the World And when there is added to these a Consort of all sorts of excellent Musick as on some Holidays the Mass and all the other Offices of the Day are perform'd in Musick then they make the Church out-do the Play-house in that which is most pleasant there tho perhaps these things are not very proper to be mingled with Christian Worship which is design'd rather to refine and purifie the mind of Man and to elevate it to God and Divine Things than to please and charm the Sences with the Pomps and Pleasures of this World There are a great many Altars in this Church continually and to some of them are granted the obtaining the same Indulgences which are to be gain'd in St. Peter's Church at Rome by those who shall visit these Altars on such and such Holidays of the Year as are specified This is signified by some Prints hanging in Frames in the Church in Latin and in Low-Dutch Besides these upon some Occasions they erect new Altars for the time There are belonging to this Church several Fraternities Confraternities which take the Charge and Care upon them to furnish and adorn particular Chapels in it and to maintain the Performance of Divine Offices in them Some of these it may not be amiss to take notice of here One is call'd the Fraternity of the Circumcision which consists of 24 Principal Citizens some Religious and some Secular They maintain the Chapel of the Circumcision where they pretend to keep and to show upon particular occasions the Prepuce or Foreskin which was cut from our Saviour when he was circumcis'd They say it was sent hither by Duke Godfrey of Bulloine from Jerusalem after that City had been recover'd from the Hands of the Mahometans and he was voted K. of it in the Year 1101. Another Fraternity is call'd the Brotherhood of the Chappel of the Virgin Mary which consists of almost an hundred Brothers some Citizens some Foreigners This Chappel is a large Enclosure on the East end of the North Isle It has a very high Enclosure I think of Marble and at the lower end a Gallery for Musick supported by Marble Pillars This Brotherhood maintain here besides daily Masses and other Offices ordinary and extraordinary a Sett of Musick which sings every day the Hymn Salve Regina which I suppose to be this that follows Salve Regina Mater Misericordiae Vita Dulcedo spes nostra salve Ad te clamamus exules Filii Evae Ad te spiramus gementes flentes in hac lacrymarum valle Eja ergo Advocata nostra illos tuos misericordes oculos ad nos converte Et Jesum benedictum fructum ventris tui nobis post hoc exilium ostende O Clemens O Pia O Dulcis Virgo Maria V. Ora pro nobis sancta Dei Genetrix R. Vt digni efficiamur promissionibus Christi Another is the Fraternity of the Holy Sacrament who have a Chapel enclos'd at the East end of the South Isle of the Church The Partition here is as I remember all of Marble This Altar I have observ'd on great days set off with a great deal of Riches and Finery and these maintain here a Mass and Vespers with Musick daily To this Church also belong the 27 Colledges as they are call'd of Tradesmen in this City who have each of them a Chapel or an Altar at least at which they maintain a Mass upon all Festivals of the Year but upon the Feasts of the Saints whom they reckon the Patrons of their Trade they cause to be sung a Solemn Mass with a Consort of Musick There is in this Church at the top of the Lantern a piece of Painting which is very much admir'd it represents a Heaven as I remember The Master that drew it is one Mees who was lately living in the Town and perhaps is still there Here are to be seen several of the noble Pieces of the famous Rubens's drawing As one comes in at the South Door of the Church there is a Piece of his at the first Altar on the right hand The Altar-piece represents our Saviour a-taking down from the Cross There are Folding-doors put up to open and show or to shut and cover
Members of this Society out of these seign'd Torments While the true purpose and the only use of all this is to maintain some that are living in Ease and Plenty Besides all this there are Devotions appointed for every Monday in the Month in that Church for the Relief of the Faithful Souls which this Brotherhood are directed to attend upon and are encourag'd thereto by several Indulgences And further yet there are general Commumunions encourag'd too with this Bait of Indulgences for the Living and the Dead which are appointed to be on every Sunday of the Month at one place or other that so the benefit of running after these with Offerings may be distributed to several Churches But I cannot chuse but think it must needs be that our Saviour's Wo to him by whom Offences come must fall heavy upon this Body of Men who while they advance Principles and set up Practices of Religion apparently serving only to their own worldly gain do most enormously disparage the Excellent Religion of our Saviour in the Eye of the World and make that appear mean and contemptible as a vile Trade which is highly Honourable in it self divine in its Original and saving in its natural and proper Effects We may next take notice of the Norbertines Norbertines here at Antwerp They aâ—â— a sort of White-Friers they wear a Habit in all respects like that of Laymen but in one constant Fashion and 't is all as white as it can be made with their Hats and Stockings and Shooes such too A Dress which looks very neat these People indeed are the Beaus of Monks and are very pleasing to the Women This Order was instituted by Norbertus Son of Heribert Count Palatine in the Dâ—ocess of Laudun in Picardy At a place which in the Vulgar Language is call'd Premonstre whence also the Order are call'd Premonstratensian This was done in the year of our Lord 1124 The House they live in here was founded they say at the same time They are spread into several Countries This Abby is as well worth seeing as any in the Town I know not what particular stock of Indulgences they have but they are very rich here and every where 't is probable they will admit none into their Order but who are so They have here at present a large and magnificent House which is dedicated to St. Michael the Arch-Angel It stands very pleasantly on the South-side of the Town near the River The Chappel is well stor'd with very valuable Paintings In one large Division of the Wall is a Draught with a multitude of Figures in it and they not very small neither this they say represents all the Miracles of our Saviour Their Dining-room has admirable Paintings in it and their Garden is beautiful and well furnish'd with Flowers in their season and Bay-trees and other Delights of a Garden Besides this place they have a very delightful Country-seat at the distance of a little Walk from the City We may easily observe that these good People like the rest of the Religious Orders who are rich live in great Ease and Plenty and have the best Enjoyment of the World which they renounce and retire from but as La Fountain's Religious Rat did when she had eat her self a Cell in a good choice Holland Cheese Before we leave Antwerp we must not forget Jesuits to visit the Jesuits whom all Travellers are commonly directed to in the first place Besides the common Arts of the pretended Religious Orders to encrease their Wealth and Plenty while they pretend to renounce it all these Fathers as they will be call'd increase their Interest and Wealth by the Schools which they every where hold They have here a multitude of Scholars in a Grammar-School In one House are the Schools where they are taught in another they board young Gentlemen and such as come from other Parts to them And besides these two they have a 3d House which they call Domus Professionis in this the Order first settled at Antwerp and here Jesuits beget and breed Jesuits for if they are Fathers they must have Children This Order are as black as the other are white for their Habit is all Black without one scrap of White to be seen Two of this Order came first to Antwerp in the Year 1652 but the Civil Wars coming on they left it again for a while and return'd when things were quiet In the Year 1585 they obtain'd of the Senate a Decree which gave them possession of the large House last mention'd which had been built at the publick charge of the City at first for the Entertainment of the Emperour Charles the Vth Afterwards it was lent to the English Company of Merchants who resided in this City Their Chappel here is indeed extreamly rich and fine The Frontispiece is the noblest piece of Architecture that one shall easily meet with on it there is this Inscription Christo Deo Virgini Deiparae B. Ignatio Loyolae Societatis Autori Senatus populusque Antwerpiensis publico privato aere ponere voluit It is adorn'd with Statues of the Saints of their Order and to be sure in the most honourable place is that of the Virgin Mary Within the Floor is laid with fine black and white Marble the Pillars that support the Galleries which run all the length of the two side Isles of the Chappel are white Marble and go up to the Arch which is over the middle Isle That Arch looks very great is full of Carv'd-work and Guilding and is Wainscot painted with the Colour of the Marble Pillars The Partition or Rail which runs cross the great Isle before the High Altar is also white Marble the whole piece is carv'd so that one can look through in many places and is carv'd into the Figures of Cupids and Vines and Flowers They have here several Pictures of great value of Rubens's Work and that not only at the Altars which I think are not above 4 or 5 in all below and I think two above in the Galleries but the Ceiling also over the two Isles which is flat on both sides is full of very curious Paintings plac'd in so many Squares Their Altars here are alway very fine but on high Days they make show of abundance of Riches at them in tall Silver Candlesticks and Images and other things of Silver or Silver guilt And the very rich Copes of the Priests that officiate at them add to the Wordly Pomp and Splendour As one comes out of the Chappel at the Door which leads into the House there stands in a little Room a large sort of a Box which fills almost half the Room In this are set upon their Edges close by one another the Ornaments of their Altars which stand before them from the top to the Ground I could never hear whether they have a particular Name for these things or not but they are of common Use in the Church of Rome their Altars are cover'd
with Linen which covers all the top of the Table and hangs down at the two ends to the Ground sometimes at the end of that Linen they will have a deep rich Lace but these are some rich Silks and the like stretch'd upon a Frame of a convenient Size and set close before the Altar so as to seem of a piece with it and the Figures upon them are sometimes suited to the Holiday they celebrate so they have several of these things for several Days There were in this great Box or Press I believe about thirty of these things and all different in some respects from one another some of them were Cloth of Silver or Silver mixed with Gold some were Velvet or Sattiâ— or other Silks of Scarlet Purple and other Colours Many of them had large Flowers of Silver some were full of broad Flowers of Gold some had a broad Flanders-Lace or a Point laid round at the Edge of them on three sides that is along the top and down at the ends some had laid across them a deep Gold-Fringe which run from the one end to the other at the distance of about a Foot from the top some were richly embroider'd with Gold and Silver in the place of Lace Some were all over embroider'd with Silver and Gold and some with Silk and the Stalks of the Embroidery I think of more than one were set with a multitude of Pearls one was of flower'd Silk with a great many small Flowers in it and the Eye of every Flower was a small Ruby there must be a great many scores of Rubies in the whole piece One had a great deal of curious Needle-work of divers Colours in Silk and in a large Oval in the middle of it was a small Picture of an handsome Lady at full length whom the Jesuit that show'd these things call'd the Lady of Princen-Land her self and I suppose he told some of their Religion whom he spoke softly to that she had presented this To provide and maintain all this Pomp and Riches this Church of theirs is endow'd as we may say for these things are in the nature and have the effect of Revenues with a multitude of Plenary and other Indulgences to be obtain'd throughout the whole Year They have Indulgences to be obtain'd on the Festivals of several pretended Saints of their own Order besides what they have on the days of other Saints I shall give an Account of the Publications of some of these Gaudy Days as they are celebrated by these good Fathers in which we shall see some of the greatest Extravagancies that the Church of Rome is run into in the Worship and Honour of the Saints Plenary Indulgence Upon the Feast-day of Franciscus Borgia First Duke of Gandia and afterwards Third General of the Society of Jesus in the Church of the Profession-house of the Society of Jesus On Wednesday next being the 10th of October shall be celebrated in the Church of the Profession-house of the Society of Jesus the Feast-day of the holy Franciscus Borgia First Duke of Gandia c. Clemens the 10th has granted to all Believers in Christ who with upright Repentance being confess'd and having receiv'd the most holy Sacrament of the Altar shall there pray for the Union of Christian Princes the Extirpation of Heresies and Advancement of our Mother the Holy Church which Indulgence begins from the first Vespers on the Day before and continues till the Sun-setting on the Feast-day of the Holy Franciscus Borgia which follows On Tuesday it being the Eve of the Feast-Day there shall be perform'd a solemn Laud with the Benediction of the most holy Sacrament of the Altar On Wednesday being the Feast-day of the Saint aforesaid shall be sung at 10 a Clock a solemn Mass Afternoon at 5 a Clock shall be a Sermon after which shall be perform'd a solemn Laud with the Benediction of the most holy Sacrament of the Altar On the Evening of the Feast-day after the Service and during the Octave every Morning for the furthering of the Devotion and Comfort of each person shall the holy Relicks be offer'd to be kiss'd To the greater Glory of God and of the Holy Franciscus Borgia 1696. They have a Plenary Indulgence also for the Feast day of Xaverius whom they call Apostle of the Indies and of Japan which is to be obtain'd in this same Church The Publication of which after the mention of several Devotions to be perform'd promises a Plenary Indulgence to those who within such a time shall come to that Church and pray there for the Union of Christian Princes the Extirpation of Heresies and Advancement of our Mother Holy Church and then concludes That all this is to be done To the greater Glory of God and of St. Franciscus Xaverius An Indulgence of 40 Days is granted to this Church by the present Bishop of Antwerp upon the Day of our Saviour's Ascension and some following Days The Publication of which for the extravagant and impious Form of it is very observable It runs thus The Expectation of the Holy Ghost Through the Intercession of the most holy Maid and Mother of God Mary and of all the Saints in the Church of the Profession-house of the Society of Jesus with Prayer for the Preservation of this City and Indulgence of 40 Days This 40 days of Indulgence is to be obtain'd by those who shall be once present at the Devotions of this time and if they come to them more than once as often as they come so often shall the 40 days of Indulgence be multiplied to them Here we see the Mediation of the Virgin Mary applied to for the Gifts and Graces of the Holy Spirit and they profess to expect the obtaining of these thereby and that at a time when the Christian Church has been wont to celebrate the Ascension of our blessed Saviour into Heaven who promised upon his Ascension to send the Holy Spirit upon his Apostles and Followers So that as true Christian Religion would much more properly and justly direct us at this time to pray for that promise of our Saviour to be fulfill'd upon us in such a measure as may be necessary to our Salvation and to betake our selves to the Intercession of Jesus who ever lives to make Intercession for us This Marian Religion diverts its miserable deluded Votaries from him and teaches them to pray for these greatest Blessings and to expect them through the Mediation of the Virgin Mary Besides this their very fine Church the Jesuits Chappel of the Sodality have here belonging to this Colledge another which they call the Chappel of the Sodality where the Fraternities that are wheedled to joyn themselves and belong to them do perform their foolish Devotions upon their solemn Days Of these we must give some Account They have joyn'd to them a Sodality or Brotherhood of the Virgin Mary which is honour'd as they say with many Indulgences and Favours Particularly the Popes have granted to
there were 8000 Wax Torches and Flambeaus carried before it I doubt not but some mighty Indulgence was the Lure that brought so many People together and perhaps it was a new one granted in consideration of the late Sufferings of the City for these Occasions bring Money both to Priests and People At the place where this Hostie is kept in this Church there hangs up a Table on which are written these Verses following which relate the matter in short Quisquis ades summi quem tangit cura Tonantis Dum proper as coeptum siste viator iter Hic tibi viva caro aeterni Sapientia Patris Christus adest vivus panis una salus Invida Judaeûm quam dum laniare laborat Impietas meritis ignibus ecce ruit Quare age divinos bic funde Viator honores Funde Deo dignas supplice mente preces If this Story were true it might be reckon'd a miraculous Confirmation of the Truth of Christian Religion but it does not all conclude for the Absurdity of Transubstantiation tho' 't is very likely it was at first but a Juggle contriv'd for a pretended Proof of that as it is to this day reputed a mighty one I will allow it to be the best they have In this Church as I remember I saw an Altar with an Image of the Virgin over it which has an Inscription belonging to it that calls her Maria pacis On the Front of the great House before-mention'd call'd the Bakers there is somewhat relating to this matter One sees there two Inscriptions in great Letters which run cross the whole Front the one of which is A Peste Fame Bello libera nos Maria Pacis The other is Hic Votum fecit Elizabetha pro Pace publica I suppose this Elizabeth to have been Isabella-Clara-Eugenia Daughter of Philip the second King of Spain who married her in the Year 1598. to Albert the Sixth Arch-Duke of Austria whom he made Governour of these Countries This Inscription speaks fully out what they mean by their Application to the Saints and downright asks of the Virgin Mary that she would deliver them from the Plague Famine and War It speaks too their Opinion of Images while the Prayer is made as their Phrase is to that particular Virgin Mary and the People in common Talk will say One Virgin Mary has done a great many Miracles but another has done nothing at all There are a great many Convents of Friars and Nuns in this City for these people commonly chuse the most populous and pleasant places to retire from the World and mortifie themselves in many of them were beaten down by the Bombs out of the French King 's ardent Zeal to promote the Roman Religion The Dominicans had a large Church here the Dominicans Walls and Cover of which are up and they were saying Mass at two or three sorry Altars in it to be doing for something doing something coming A large Division of this Church which is almost half of it was before and is design'd again for the Chappel of the Rosary The Rosary is a Set of Prayers to the Virgin which if you will believe them she her self order'd and assisted St. Dominick to recommend to the World a thing that has done mighty matters but chiefly has well provided for this Order and fatned them up as Hogs for the Slaughter For as the Institution of this blessed The Rosary From of Devotion is deriv'd from this Order so they have all the Profits of it The Chappels of the Rosary belong to them and the Brotherhood of the Rosary are their People and are joyn'd to them and all the mighty Priviledges and Indulgences granted to the Rosary are dispensed by these Monks and by Virtue of these matters there is no sort of the pretended religious Orders who look more jolly and fat and shine with their own Grease more than these Butcherly Fellows This method of Devotion has drawn in such multitudes of People of the Roman Communion and makes so great and considerable a part of the Worship and Devotion of that Church that one should give a very imperfect Account of the State of Religion in the Roman Church without somewhat a distinct Account of the Devotion of the Rosary I shall therefore produce some of the most observable Particulars which I have met with relating to this matter wherein we shall see a great deal of dull and tedious trifling under the Name and Pretence of Devotion a deal of impious Idolatry in the Worship of the Virgin if ever there was or can be such a thing as Idolatry in the Worship of a Creature and we shall see the main business of Worship turn'd into Applications to the blessed Virgin and in a word the Christian Religion turn'd Marian. What the Rosary is The Rosary or Garland of Roses is a Set of Prayers to the Virgin Mary intermixed with the Lord's Prayer These both one and other are number'd by the Beads which one shall so often see in the Hands of the People in Popish Countries especially when they go to Church The String of Beads is tied together at the ends and has commonly fifty small and five greater Beads in the round and there are besides about ten◠I think of the small Beads with one great one upon a little strait String with a Cross which hangs to the other On the smal Beads they say so many Ave Mary's as these Prayers to the Virgin are commonly call'd because they begin with the Words of the Angel's Salutation of her when he came to tell her she should be honour'd with bearing the Messias To which Salutation they have added moreover that of Elizabeth and a Conclusion in the Form of a Supplication to the B. Virgin The whole Prayer runs thus Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with thee blessed art thou above all Women and blessed is the Fruit of thy Womb Jesus Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us poor Sinners now and in the Hour of our Death This Prayer is repeated ten times and then comes the Lord's Prayer which is repeated as often as the great Beads come The whole Rosary or Garland of Prayers consists of this String of Beads three times repeated which comes to fifteen times ten Ave Maries and fifteen Pater Nosters When and upon what occasion the Rosary was instituted This method of Devotion so erroneously partial to the Virgin whom they pray to ten times in it for one Prayer to Almighty God has no other Foundation but a Story as impudent as silly and evidently devised to derive it from the Blessed Virgin her self Indeed this does but help to fill up the Parallel between Rome Heathen and Popish and if Numa Pompilius might pretend to derive his Rules of Religion from a Goddess why might not the holy Dominick derive his from such an one too Thus then as they say this great and divine Institution as brought into the World When the holy Dominick had
Dutchy of Mons and so are under the Dominion of the Duke of Neubourg The Houses of this Village look well and seem as good as those in the common Villages of England After this we pass'd above Zons a little City upon the Rhine on this side which is also in the Bishoprick of Colen We did not go down so far as Nuys on this side but within a near view of it and saw that it is a pretty large and a fortified City When we came to the River there were other Companies had just fill'd and were gone off with the Ferry-Boat so we were forced to be contented with a Naken It was a great deal of trouble to stow upon this three Charrettes one at each end and one in the middle with their Horses This done the Passengers went into another Boat which was fastned to the Naken and so we were conducted over by two sturdy Women and an old Man Each Person paid for himself two Slivers for his Passage The violent Stream carried us I believe almost a Mile down the River in crossing it we got in at a very inconvenient and troublesome place to land at and our Charretes were longer a getting out than in This Passage cost us near two Hours We were glad and thank'd God when we were got safe over this very broad and rapid River in a sorry Boat and with a great deal of encumbrance We had from our Landing-place but an Hour and half to Dusseldorp DVSSELDORP Upon our entrance into this City we were examin'd by the Officer at the Gate he ask'd us several Questions to know what we were and why we came thither We gave him for a general Answer that we were English Men and Students and were travelling only to see the Country He sent a Musquetier with us to the place where we lighted from our Charrette who took us along with him to the Corps du Garde he gave the Officer the Account which we had given at the Gate the Officer talk'd with us in â—ow-Dutch ask'd a few impertinent Questions and then dismiss'd us having first taken notice at what Inn we intended to â—odge This City is situated in a large Plain upon the right side of the Rhine as it descends tho' we left the River as soon as we had cross'd it which makes a turn here it is at this City I believe not much broader than the Thames at Gravesend but this is recon'd one of the narrowest places of the Channel by consequence the Stream runs here very swift and it is they say of a depth like a Sea Dusseldorp in Latin Dusseldorpium has this City Name from a small River call'd the Dussel which runs through it and here falls into the Rhine The Addition of Dorp which signifies a Village seems to intimate that it was at first but such It is now a wall'd City and has a good Fortification 'T is the head City of of the Dutchy of Mons or Berg so call'd from the high and steep Mountains which they say 't is full of I speak thus because we met with none of them in our way We pass'd thro' a plain Country to it and from it full of Corn Fields which prov'd the goodness of the Soil by the richness of the Crops which stood upon it We saw no Hills but at a distance beyond the reach of a distinct view where indeed the Country seem'd to rise very high and the ridge appear'd to us as we were on the other side the Rhine upon that ridge of Hills from whence we look'd down upon Colen We could there see it run as it were parallel to that which we were upon a great way Northward and Southward all the way continued and it seem'd to run both ways beyond our sight This Dutchy of Berg is a part of the Circle of Westphalia it is but of a small extent it lies along the Rhine on the East side between the Country of Mark and the Bishoprick of Colen This City is little at present and so are the Houses they are built some of Timber some of Brick and generally but low a new Street of Brick Houses is lately built with the top of the Fronts after the new Fashion and the Houses are uniform and of an equal height It is likely this will be the Fashion of all the new Buildings intended For 't is said the City at present is too little for its Inhabitants it seem'd indeed pretty full of People but I believe it may cheifly be too little for the Vanity of the Prince He is therefore at present upon the Design of making it bigger The Enlargement will not be round it but on one side The Ditch is already almost finish'd which is to enclose the new Part it is begun at the Rhine upwards from the old Wall and so runs up into the Country as far as the former City reaches with some compass and then turns towards that It seems to include a space as big as that which the present City stands upon We easily walk'd the Compass of the present City almost in half an Hour The Family which has now the Sovereignty Family of the Electors here are but lately come to this Principality They are a Branch of the House of Bavariaâ— and were call'd Dukes of Neubourg from a City of that Name within the Dukedom of Bavaria By Marriage with the House of Cleve they came to pretend to a right to succeed to the Estates belonging to that House upon the Death of John William the last Duke of Cleve Mons and Juliers as hath been said at Juliers and the utter extinction of that Family The Grand-father of the present reigning Prince who was Wolfgang William Duke of Neubourg was the first of the Family that came hither His Father Philip Lewis a zealous Assertour and Friend of the Ausburg Confession bred him in the same way but when he came to contend with the Electour of Brandenburg as has been said about Succession to the Estates of the Duke of Cleve finding the necessity of Assistance from the Spaniards and being supported by them in complaisance to them and to secure them to his Interest he chang'd his Religion and turn'd Papist and made his first publick Profession of his Change in the City of Dusseldorp in the Year 1614 to the great Grief of his Father who was yet living at Neubourg and died in the same Year The Brandenburger on the other side being supported by the States-General of the United Provinces in complaisance to them and to confirm them to his Interest left the Ausburg Confession and turn'd Calvinist This Wolfgang William being chang'd himself fiercely set himself to force all his People who had embrac'd the Reformation to return also to the Follies and Idolatries of the Church of Rome being instigated to this by the Jesuit Reihingius His Son follow'd him in his Religion and Zeal for it and in the Year 1663 went about to Banish all that profess'd
Scripture Songs or Psalms and also some devout Hymns composed by Luther and other pious Protestants of their Communion There were I think in one part of the Book Forms of Prayer The Worship here began about Eight a Clock in the Morning and ended at Eleven It was begun by a Reader a grave ancient Man who is the School-Master of the Protestants Children He first read a short Prayer then he read several Chapters of the Old and New Testament while the Congregation came together When a good Number were assembled they began to â—ing with the Organ their Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs I observ'd many People both Men and Women fell in with the singing without using their Books which they had before them very often and the Children who sate together very readily found what was to be sung though I saw it was taken out of several distant Places of their Books which shows that they were all very well acquainted with their Liturgy I perceiv'd that in one place they sung the Apostle's Creed for a Person by whom I sate and who very civilly turn'd to and show'd me every thing that they sung at length pointed to what I understood to be that This singing took up the greatest part of the time of their Assembly They all sung with most perfect Concord and Agreement with their Organ which was very pleasant and which was more pleasant they did it with greatest Seriousness and Devotion I never saw in any Quire of Monks or Priests in the Roman Church that they sung their Devotions with so much Solemnity and Abstraction as they speak as the People generally here did As soon as they were entred in their singing they appear'd as if the whole Soul was engag'd and elevated above the vain World as if they were all Thought and Devotion I confess it transported me with Pleasure to see how fitly they sung the Praises of the Great and Good Being I thought my self in Circumstances that were a a pleasant Emblem and Resemblance of Heaven and blessed my self to find that I was now amidst the pure Praises and true Worshippers of God And I conceiv'd such a Disdain and Detestation of the Worship of the Papists where one sees divine Honours paid to poor Creatures at the best and some of them perhaps miserable Sinners in Hell that I could hardly perswade my self after this to look into any more of their Churches This singing was twice interrupted for a little space at which times the Minister went from his Pew by the Pulpit and stood before the Communion-Table with his Face towards the People and read first the Gospel and the second time the Epistle for the Day After they had spent a good while in this pleasant part of Worship they ceased and the Minister ascended the Pulpit where he pray'd and preach'd His Preaching was as he told me afterwards an Explication of the Gospel for the Day He perform'd his part with a great deal of Gravity and Seriousness and with a very natural unaffected Zeal which seem'd to demonstrate him sincerely sensible of what he said When he concluded the People sung again for a while and then they were dismiss'd with a Blessing In the Afternoon I had some Conversation with this Minister in which he appear'd a very pious and good Man and a judicious well-studied Divine as I found afterwards He has the Reputation of a good Scholar among the Protestant Divines He was mightily pleasd to see a Priest of the Church of England in his Church and in his House and express'd a great Veneration and Esteem for our Church He ask'd several important Questions concerning it and rejoyc'd at every thing I could tell him which look'd well and in favour of it He positively condemn'd those of our Nation who separate so needlessly from a Church so wisely and justly reform'd but he spoke this with a Spirit of Compassion and Tenderness becoming a Christian and he discover'd that he heartily lamented it as a thing of mighty Prejudice to the Progress and Prosperity of the Reformation He told me they had many things wanting in their Assembly here for want of Means which are usual among the Protestants in other Places where they have more Encouragement He had indeed a good Congregation and many People appear'd there of good Fashion I observ'd some of the Electour's Guards there in their Livery both of the Horse and Foot who are Lutherans But it cannot be so well with them as it should be under a Prince that inherits something of a Bigottry for the absurd and monstrous Religion he professes This Minister told me that there are Five and twenty Congregations of Protestants in this Dutchy besides Calvinists Some of which I think enjoy a settled Revenue for the Maintenance of the Minister and publick Charges but the most of them supply both these from their own immediate Contributions He told me the Churches of the Ausburg Confession have not all one Form of Liturgy every where exactly the same nor all the same Modes or Methods of administring the Divine Offices but in several Countries they have their several Forms and Rites yet they do not censure or quarrel or separate from one another upon this score but he that is used to Methods of one sort in one Country when he comes into another joins with the Congregations and conforms to the Methods there with the Spirit of Meekness and Charity and Wisdom which was in the Primitive Christians and directed them to demean themselves in like manner in the like Cases Passage from Dusseldorp to Cleves ON the second of June we hired Places in a Charrette which was bound for Arnhem a Journey of Three Days from hence they would carry us to Emmerick and leave us there for our Design was to go by Cleves Home This was the only Passage we could obtain for that Day We paid each Person for it Three Guilders Ten Stivers We were Six Persons in the Charrette and had but Two Horses and the same Horses were to go through the whole Three Days Journey Our Company happen'd to be all of the Reformed Religion as they call the Calvinists in these Countries They were glad when we told them we were Protestants and we were very agreeable Company to each other Some of them went with us quite to Emmerick and were bound further They were of this Country Natives and Inhabitants of the Dutchy of Mons. I asked them how they were used under the Popish Government here They shook their Heads and sighed and signified that it is but very hardly and intimated as much as amounted almost to Oppression I said their Prince seem'd in his Person to be good and gentle and to have no appearance of Fierceness in his Nature they acknowledg'd that but said his Confessour is a Jesuite and by him and his Bretheren who manage this Prince too much he is often instigated to do things which lie very hard and uneasie upon the Protestants
at Juliers and Dusseldorp It may not be improper here to take notice of the Estates and Dominions of the Electour Estates of the Eâ—ectour of Brandenburg of Brandenburg which we are now enter'd upon There is no Prince in Germany whose Estates are of so great an Extent as those of the Marquis of Brandenburg One may reckon his Dominions to reach Three hundred Leagues beginning upon the Frontiers of the United Provinces and ending on the Frontiers of Poland He is Master of the Dutchy of Cleve the Counties of Ravensberg and Marck the Principalities of Halberstadt and Minden the Marquisate of Brandenburg which has the Title of an Electourate of the further Pomeâ—â—nia and the Ducal Prussia 'T is said his Reâ—â—nue is worth a Million of Crowns yearly in time of Peace and that besides the common Troops which he has in Garrison he can raise Eighty thousand Foot and Six thousand Horse and maintain them on his own Lands without any Assistance In this Extent of Dominion he has in some Countries all Protestants in oothers a good part Calvinists in others the greater part Papists as they are reckon'd to be in this Dutchy of Cleve The Electour of Brandenburg Electour according to the Golden Bull is Arch-Chamberlain of the Empire In solemn Processions he carries the Scepter before the King of the Romans therefore he bears a Scepter in his Coat of Arms. He has a special Privilege in his Territories and Dominions of laying new Taxes upon his People or encreasing the old ones and of building Mills upon any of his Rivers where he pleases The present Electour Frederick William the Third of that Name came to his Dominions by the Death of his Father in the Year 1688. Duysberg was the first City we came to within Ouysberg the Electour of Brandenburg's Dominions We reach'd it about half an Hour after we came out of the Wood. It is a wall'd City but very small and the Houses are mean It seems a poor Place and to have no Business or Trade It stands at the distance of about Two Mile from the Rhine on the River Roer It has Two Parish Churches in it which are pretty large ones These are possess'd and us'd by those of the Reformed Religion as the Magistracy of the Town are of that way In walking about it I saw no where any publick Marks of Popery in Crosses or Images in any of the Streets But the Papists have here the full Liberty of the Exercise of their Religion in Publick and there are several of those call'd Religious Houses of theirs in the City There is a small University in this City of the Reform'd Religion for the Studies of Philosophy and Divinity I saw about half a Dozen young Men stragling about in the City with a Book under their Arms. The Students here have Liberty to Hunt in the Wood of Duysberg and by the Mien of those we saw one would take them to be rather Animals of the Forest than Students in an University There are they say at present Two hundred Students here One Hulsius is the Professour of Divinity I saw in a small Booksellers Hands a little sort of a System of Divinity which he has written Our Foreman would stay here but a very little while so we had not Opportunity to converse with any one Soon after we were out of the City we were to cross the Roer This is the second River of River Roer that Name we met with in our Journey the former was at Juliers which runs into the Maese This River comes from the Dutchy of Westphalia runs through the County of Marck and falls into the Rhine a little below this City We cross'd this River in a good commodious Ferry-Boat It was very broad now but had been much broader a little before with the Rains It claims a good space on each side the common Channel here to use upon Occasion and has taken Possession of it with Sand and Gravel I could not observe or learn that any Vessels with any manner of Trade do come up this River from the Rhine When we had pass'd the River we found our Way in a low Country and very wet and dirty all along to Dijnslaeken where our Foreman Dijnslaekene would lodge us that Night This is reckoned one of the Cities of the Dutchy of Cleve but is the poorest vilest Place that ever I saw in my Life We came to it through a long Lane full of Water at the bottom of the Water were laid the Bodies of Trees as close to each other as they could lie and which reach'd cross the Lane This is a sort of mending absolutely necessary to the Wetness and Rottenness of the Ground here We jolted over these Trees for I believe near half a Mile together At length we came to a pitiful old and ruinous Wall which surrounds the City As we enter'd we saw within the City on our Left Hand Three tall Crucifixes standing upon a raised Ground and by them a little Brick Building like those Chappels or Oâ—atories to the Virgin Mary which we saw sometimes in the Fields and this had in it an Altar and Image of some sort or other The prevailing Religion then of this City we may suppose to be the Popish I did not ask whether they have any Religious Houses here for it were unreasonable to suppose that there are It would be true Mortification to those People to live in so miserable a Place therefore they would all be sure to avoid it We came in too late to see the Church but could expect to see nothing worth observing if we had been earlier There was a large Brook running through the Town with some Force and Noise over it lay a wretched wooden Bridge which seem'd broad enough for Carts to go upon but too rotten to bear them We went over it with some Care and Fear ' The Water of this was of a lovely Chesnut Colour which shows from what sort of Ground it is deriv'd Yet from a Well in the Town I got tolerable good Water to drink I reckon indeed that the Town it self stands upon firm Ground but at the edge of a Tract of marshy Ground and it is on that side of the moorish Ground which is towards the Rhine It is not I believe far from that River and I suppose the Ground between them to be more firm and passable I believe the Occasion and Original of the Town to have been at first a Roman Fort which is a usual thing in all the Countries conquer'd by that brave People For there remains here a very remarkable Building Raman Building concerning which I could learn nothing but that it was built by them about the time of our Saviour's Nativity It is a large and high Tower built perfectly round It stands with the Building adjoined in a Place a little elevated from the rest of the Town It is at one Corner of a large square Court about