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Page 131
"I dare not say, Monseigneur."
"There is something like hope in your tone; what do you
hope?"
She raised her moist and beautiful eyes, and looked at
William with a glance full of meaning, which was calculated
to stir up in the recesses of his heart the clemency which
was slumbering there.
"Ah, I understand you," he said.
Rosa, with a smile, clasped her hands.
"You hope in me?" said the Prince.
"Yes, Monseigneur."
"Umph!"
The Prince sealed the letter which he had just written, and
summoned one of his officers, to whom he said, --
"Captain van Deken, carry this despatch to Loewestein; you
will read the orders which I give to the Governor, and
execute them as far as they regard you."
The officer bowed, and a few minutes afterwards the gallop
of a horse was heard resounding in the vaulted archway.
"My child," continued the Prince, "the feast of the tulip
will be on Sunday next, that is to say, the day after
to-morrow. Make yourself smart with these five hundred
guilders, as I wish that day to be a great day for you."
"How does your Highness wish me to be dressed?" faltered
Rosa.
"Take the costume of a Frisian bride." said William; "it
will suit you very well indeed."
Chapter 31
Haarlem
Haarlem, whither, three days ago, we conducted our gentle
reader, and whither we request him to follow us once more in
the footsteps of the prisoner, is a pleasant city, which
justly prides itself on being one of the most shady in all
the Netherlands.
While other towns boast of the magnificence of their
arsenals and dock-yards, and the splendour of their shops
and markets, Haarlem's claims to fame rest upon her
superiority to all other provincial cities in the number and
beauty of her spreading elms, graceful poplars, and, more
than all, upon her pleasant walks, shaded by the lovely
arches of magnificent oaks, lindens, and chestnuts.
Haarlem, -- just as her neighbour, Leyden, became the centre
of science, and her queen, Amsterdam, that of commerce, --
Haarlem preferred to be the agricultural, or, more strictly
speaking, the horticultural metropolis.
In fact, girt about as she was, breezy and exposed to the
sun's hot rays, she seemed to offer to gardeners so many
more guarantees of success than other places, with their
heavy sea air, and their scorching heat.
On this account all the serene souls who loved the earth and
its fruits had gradually gathered together at Haarlem, just
as all the nervous, uneasy spirits, whose ambition was for
travel and commerce, had settled in Rotterdam and Amsterdam,
and all the politicians and selfish worldlings at the Hague.
We have observed that Leyden overflowed with scholars. In
like manner Haarlem was devoted to the gentle pursuits of
peace, -- to music and painting, orchards and avenues,
groves and parks. Haarlem went wild about flowers, and
tulips received their full share of worship.
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