Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1881-10-05

mpip auitiinihE bpbau9r wy NpHo'H hah
always seemed 10 DO the iayorite, HAL
in seriousness We made Q Thorough ca
animation Of the ancient limepieee
sounding It's wooden ease for secret
drawers, and even probing the not com
pGeated works with knitting needle h
ascertain II our Whimsical relative bad
bestowed there some eOdieii Or Othel
document changing tho aspect OF AFFAIR."
We discovered nothing
There was tesiameniary provision IN
our education al the University Of Ley
den, We left tho military school ID
which ws had learned little Of the
theory Of war and good deal Of the
AT Of standing with our noses over Oui
heels, and took slip without delay, The
clock went with Us, Before many months
II was established IN corner 81 q room
Ia tho Breede STRAIT.
The fabric Of Jan Llpperlam's lngen
nity, thus restored to It's native ali, con
timed 10 tell the hour 81 quarter past
three with It's old fidelity, The author
OF the clock hal been under the sod ioI
nearly three hundred years, The com
bined skill Of his successors IN the craft
At i.eyden could make II 90 neither for
ward nor backward,
Outside 0f our respective studies, va
hal common ground Of uniailing IN,
tefesi, 10 our establishment, We found
that not one in twenty Of tho faculty oi
students knew on cared u silver about
the glorious history Of tho town, or sven
about the circumstances under which
the University itself was founded hy the
Prince Of Orange. In marked contrast
with tho general Indifference was the
enthusiasm Of Prof, Van Stopp, my
chosen guide through the cloudland OI
speculative philosophy
This distinguished Hegelian was q 10,
bacco-dried little old man, with skull
cap over features that reminded Inc
strangely Of Aunt uertnie'a, Had he
been her own brother tho facial reSem,
blance could not have been closer ]
told him no once, when We We're together
In tho Stadthnis looking NJ tho portrait
Of tho hero ofthe siege, the BurgomaSter
Van dor Vert The professor laughed,
~ Will show You what " even more
extraordinary coincidence. said he aud
leading the way across the hall to the
great picture OF the siege, by Wappers,
he pointed ont the figure ofa bnreher
participating IN the defense, II was
true, Van Stopp might have been the
burghers son the burgher might have
been Aunt Gertrudc'a father.
The professor seemed to he fond Of U.s.
We often went TO his rooms in M old
house in tho Rapenburg street, one OF
the few houses remaining that antedate
1914. lie would walk with IN through
the beautiful suburbs Of the city. over
straight roads lined with poplars that
carried rs back TO tho bank OF the
Sheepscot and kept the image Of Aunt
Gertrude constantly in our minds, He
took M TO the top OF the ruined Roman
tower in tho center Of the town, and
from the same battlements from which
anxious eyes three centuries ago had
watched the slow approach of Admiral
Boiso.s feet over the submerged pold.
ers, he pointed out the great dyke OF tho
Land scheiding which was cut that the
ocean might bring Boisot's Xealanders
TO raise the seige and feed the staiy.
ing. He showed us the headquarters OF
the Spaniard Valdez at Leyderdorp, and
told us how heaven sent violent north.
wost wind on the night Of the first OF
October, piling up the water deep where
II had been shallow and sweeping the
feet on between Zoeterwoude and Zwie-
ten up to the very walls Of tho fort at
I.ammen, the last stronghold Of the be-
siegers and the last obstacle in the way
of succor to the iamishing inhabitants.
Then he showed MS where, on the very
night before the retreat of the besieging
army, huge breach was made in the
wall Of Leyden, near Cow Gate, by the
Walloons from Lemmen
"Why |" cried Harry catching fire
from the eloquence of the professors
narrative, "that was the decisive moment
of the siege"
The professor said nothing, lie stood
with his arms folded, looking intently
into my cousins eyes.
"For," continued Harry, chad that
point not been watched, or had the de.
tense failed and the breach been carried
by the night assault from Lammen, the
town would have been burned and the
people mastered under the eyes Of
Admiral Boisot and the feet of relief.
Who defended the breach"
Van Stopp replied very slowly, rs if
weighing every word -
History records the explosion Of the
mine under the city wall on the last night
OF the siege ; it does not tell the story OF
the defense OF give the defenders name.
Yet no man that ever lived had more
tremendous charge than fate intrusted to
this unknown hero. Was it chance that
sent him to meet that unexpected dan
ger? Consider some Of the consequent
ces had he failed. The fall OF Leyden
would have destroyed the last hope Of
tine Prince OF Orange and Of the Free
States. The tyranny of Philip would
have been reestablished. The birth Of
religious liberty and of self-government
by the people would have been postpon-
ed, who knows for how many centuries?
Who knows that there would or could
have been republic of the United States
of America had there been no United
Netherlands Our university, which
has given to the world Grotius, Scaliger,
Arminius and Descartes, was founded
upon this hero's successful defense OF
the breach. We owe to him our pres
ence here to-day. Nay, You owe to him
your very existence. Your ancestors
were of Loyden between their lives
and the butchers outside the walls he
stood that night"
The little professor lowered before us
a giant of enthusiasm and patriotism.
Harry's eyes glistened and his cheeks
Redeemed.
go home boys" said Van Stopp,
"and thank God that while the burghers
of Leyden were straining their gaze
toward Zoeterwoude and the fleet, there
was one pair OF vigilant eyes and one
stout heart at the town wall just beyond
the Cow Gate !"