The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1875-04-14

commandant of the Fortress of LOevesteln
was to attend the fair and to remain all night
absent As husband and wife made their
plans, it was thought advisable for the wife
to remain in the fortress, so as to prolong
ignorance of his flight and thus give greater
opportunity for escape.
There was in the family courageous
young maidservant by the name of Elsie van
Houwening, who was strongly attached to
the family, as they were to her; and she it
was who undertook the care of the chest;
this time not filled with books, but with the
great scholar himself.
Early in the morning Grotius curled him
self up in the chest. A large Testament was
placed under his head for pillow, with some
punches of thread to render it less hard, and
some papers were stuffed round him to soften
the fall should the chest be thrown roughly
down. l do not think that trunks were ham
died as roughly as they are nowadays, or
the poor gentleman could scarcely have SUR
Vived the journey in his cramped condition !!
Madame De Groot took solemn farewell
of her husband, and kissed the key as she
placed it in the brave Elsie's hand, after
locking the chest. She threw his clothing
on the chair and placed his slippers near it,
so as to make it appear as if GrOtius was in
bed when the soldiers came up for the trunk.
1t happened to be very stormy day, and
she made that her excuse for sending Elsie
with the books instead of going herself.
As the soldiers raised the chest they OBJ
served that it was more weighty than usual,
but some joke about the dull and heavy books
diverted their attention, and they unbarred
in turn all the thirteen doors that led along
the passage way and down stairs out of the
castle, dragging the ponderOus box after
them. When they reached the wharf one be-
gan to tell a story of some malefactor who
had been carried out of the castle in a chest,
but Elsie's quick and ready wit was equal to
the emergency, and after examining the
trunk to see if there were holes for air bored
in it, and scarcely thinking that enough to
support life could enter through the key-hole,
they placed in on the shore.
When the trunk was first sent, its contents
had been examined, but finding after several
examinations that it contained nothing but
books, there had been no subsequent inves-
tigation made, so that there was no danger
from that direction to be apprehended.
Elsie was not willing to trust the chest on
the thin board upon which the boatmen pro,
posed to slide it from the warf to the vessel ::
she was much afraid that the valuable books
might be damaged if it broke, and after
much grumbling the skipper procured a
plank. The troublesome passenger was even
then not satisfied, for she would not give
the boatmen rest until they had dashed the
precious chest fast, for as the weather was
very tempestuous, it seemed in imminent
danger of sliding into the sea at the first
lurch of the vessel. Elsie now composed
herself and sat down, throwing a white hand
kerchief over her head which futtered in the
wind. This had been tho signal arranged
by her to let her mistress, who was anxiously
watching them from the barred window of
the fortress, know that thus far all had gone
well. One of the crew observed her, aud
she was obliged to explain that one of the
servants at the castle had tainted her with
being too cowardy to sail on such stormy
sea, and she was signalling him that she was
on board.
Now an officer of the garrison who hap
pened to be on board seated himself on the
box of books, and began drumming with his
heels against it, and it again required all
Elsie's wit to relieve her master from this
unnecessary annoyance.
In due time the ship reached Gorcum, and
Elsie paid the skipper and his son to place
the chest on hand barrow and transport it
to the house from which the books had on
each previous occasion been shipped. In
the anguish of his confinement, the prisoner
had been unable to refrain from some
change of position, and the boy remarked to
his father that there was something alive
in the box" The cheerful little maid read
lily suggested the probability of the books
sliding about, and no more notice was taken
of it. Finally the chest was placed in the
back room of the house from which it had so
often been sent out full of books to the grim
fortress, this time returning not with its
usual load, but conveying to his liberty the
great scholar himself.
All danger was not yet past. Elsie at
first feared that she should see the dead body
of her beloved master as she unlocked the
trunk, for there was no answer as she tap
ped upon the lid, but as she opened it, he
rose from the cofin.like confinement as one
coming from the dead. At first he was faint
from his suferings, but he rapidly revived
as he felt the necessity of speedy flight, for
in the book-shOp next door there were even
then preachers and professors, any one of
whom might recognize him.
"You are the man of whom the whole
country is talking. We must help you away
at once, said his friends,