Hollands tempe verhérelykt, vertoond in dertig gezigten; beginnende van Amsterdam af langs de Haarlemmer...

Where the lake water comes rushing with silvery waves,
The swelling wind, which comes rustling through the leaves,
Breaks upon its gable-splendor, and whistles in its flight;
How proudly it thrusts its crest and roof-work into the air,
To endure the ages through steadfastness,
And eternally, in the protection of its completed walls,
To receive the council of Rynland Rhine-land, a regional water board, as it gathers together,
Where loyalty pairs itself with wisdom,
To find what is useful and necessary for people and land,
Unity knows how to bind hearts together here.
For it alone gives power to people and lands.
That which in an earlier century the arrogant Spain
Felt too dearly, when it saw its pride humbled,
Where it had to bow before the martial violence of the Bataviers Batavians, traditional name for the Dutch people,
Who thought to trample their conceit underfoot;
But the freedom of the Netherlands was sealed with its blood,
When it had to flee from the battlefield, blow after blow:
Now the free people pluck the sweet and free fruits
Of rest and peace, for their heroic bravery.
Stand fast, oh ZWANENBURG! stand fast, through the policy
Of your Lords, with your head held high;
Thus shall no sorrow, nor disaster, nor misfortune ever strike you!
Up, up my Singer, it is time to move on;
Or have you not yet sated your desire at HALFWEG?
And can the pleasure-ground of Lord VEEN not entertain you?
What discerning eye would not yearn for such a view,
Where the house raises its crest in a perfect state?
The green hedge closes the eye on every side,
Which prevents the sight from peering further,
The Summer-houses are perfect in every detail,
And all around covered against wind, or sunshine,
Here one can be quite calm and always safe,
To contemplate the pleasure of the land and the Trekvaart canal for horse-drawn boats.
How neat, how sensory is this place kept!
Everywhere decorated in the finest way with Vases, which the green
Of the sharp Taxiſſen yew trees make appear even more beautiful,
To please the eye of the wanderer, and its landlord!
One strives here to carry away the prize before the other,
While neatness and beauty are most accurately paired together,
Thus nature and art make a Paradise on earth,
To show us their power in a small compass;
May the favor of both long crown this beautiful Court!
But Muse, step forth, we must go further,
So shall your desire be satisfied once more at another place,
Where the humble SPAREWOU seems to greet you from afar,
Go then to meet this old village with cheerfulness.
There I step upon its ground, and see with joy and pleasure
The industrious Farmer, where he rests free and safe
After the labor, which he performs for the benefit of Wife and Children,
In the land and the field. Nothing can hinder my attention
To see everything that pleases my eye,
While the Carriage runs, and flies, and trots, and chases
To reach the City-dweller for his entertainment,
And to awaken the heart through the sight to joy.
There the Tower-tip caresses me with a new demonstration,
Which until now has never bowed down before time,
But remained fixed on its first ground for so many Years,
In so many conflicts and threatened national dangers.
Farewell, oh SPAREWOU! but no, I still stand firm,
Your Klaas van Kieten, whom you have honored as your Fatherland
Before, comes to oppose me in my progress.
Who ever came to behold a greater Man in life?
I do not speak of antiquity, which has invented its Titans,
And dares to bring its Cyclopes and Giants into the light,
To push the Gods out of heaven;
They have only enjoyed life through fiction,
But this Van Kieten has seen our Fatherland.
Yet let us turn our way, for I might here perhaps,
By this remembrance, wander too far from the path,
Thus it will be necessary to limit this digression,
There is the COMMON LAND-HOUSE of the high Kennemerland,
Where the Council gathers, united by the bond
Of unity, as a comfort and benefit to the subjects
Who, without care, rely upon the blessing of the Lords,
And live safely on their supervision and policy;
Thus the free land remains in all safety
Through the praiseworthy state-administration of its Pilots,
Whose fame will endure the times, nay even the centuries.
There SPARENDAM beckons me to its perfect view,
Built right on the separation of the Spaar and the IJ,
To curb their meeting with lock and dam,
And thus to ward off the misfortune of the low land.
Have thanks, * Count Floris, through whose deliberation and counsel
This Sluice-gate was founded, like a refuge
To resist the flood of the IJ, when the servants of Aeolus,
Fought each other on the battlefield of the air,
And chase the power of the stream onto dam and dikes,
That everything shakes and cracks, and threatens to fall:
As has been found at this Sluice-gate after the passage of time,
Though since then it has been † moved, and strengthened on firmer ground,
It still stands to this day in the service of the general public.
Who counts the Keels, that float here back and forth every day,
Laden with their merchandise?
This one seeks the deep Lake to find other water-paths,
Where the white of its journey wanders,
That one drifts back from the Spaar, where the water tops and surges,
To come through the narrow neck of the lock into the IJ,
Thus it floats back and forth on these water-streams,
Which entertains the village of SPARENDAM, and gives it life.
While hour upon hour a series of flags strives hither,
And makes a small fleet of all kinds of keels.
Entertaining village! who dares to destroy you through fire?
Alas! the ‡ Gelderlander has out of a bitter hatred
Caused all your loveliness, your beauty and adornment
To be consumed to the ground in a sea of fire.
But if one ever saw a Phoenix return from its father's ashes,
Then you have risen gloriously from your ashes again.
Oh SPARENDAM, I am compelled to move on,
To find new entertainment again on the Velzerweg,
How much the heart feels itself bound to your beauty.
It goes well: I am already enraptured by other cheerfulness
As if by myself; what salvation is prepared for me,
Where the eye may amuse itself at the house TE SPYK!
Shall I rest in the shadow of its cool foliage?
So that my Muse may show her reverence, joy and duty
All at once here. Oh Pleasant sight!
Oh Praiseworthy house TE SPYK! decorated with green paths;
How pointedly your tower has raised its crest on high;
How magnificently your building boasts in size and beauty,
How proudly you have been raised from the ground all around,
Never did swift Fame let your luster be heard so far,
Unless VAN DE POL had chosen you as his pleasure-ground;
That great Citizen-lord of the populous Amsterdam,
Its glory, its adornment, its highest and treasure,

• Floris, the fifth of that Name in the year 1285.
  † Moved, but having been damaged, it was moved in 1422.
  ‡ Gelderlander, this village was burned down by the Gelders in 1517.

Comes to rest his state-cares often in your shady green,
If the sweet scent of lilies, or roses,
Narcissus, or Hyacinth, or any flower or herb
Shuts out the difficult care for State and People and Church?
But softly! where do I wander? would VAN DE POL hide himself,
In the quiet green, to withdraw himself from the state-interest?
Oh No! that Hercules shall keep eternal watch on his post,
So that no Cacus ever violates the state of the land,
To thus rob the golden fruit of freedom,
As Perseus did of yore in Atlas' fertile gardens.
Yes Citizen-father! yes, even if you find your rest here,
Your care still watches at the IJ, that is your joy, your pleasure,
So that your Citizenship may grow in prosperity.
When did Time ever see its advantage bloom better,
Than when the Citizen-lord swung the ivory staff
Upon the Judge's seat, and gave laws to everyone?
Thus our Amsterdam also blooms through the wise governing,
And praiseworthy administration of its Citizen-lords,
To whom they are forever obligated with gratitude.
Oh Vigilant VAN DE POL! oh glory of my poem!
Long must the house TE SPYK still give you pleasure!
Long must you amuse yourself in the beauty of its walking-paths,
By a fresh outside air,
Freed from the city-bustle, or any country-noise!
Thus may we still long sleep upon your foresight,
For wisdom and policy is the strongest weapon,
With which this Citizen-lord protects his Citizenship.
Oh House TE SPYK! remain always renowned by VAN DE POL,
Just as his name shall always live on the Amstel,
To give proof of his virtue to the descendant!
What dear rose-scent invites me to move on?
Where does it come from, oh Flower-gods! where does that fragrance come from?
Can I ask this! as I come to greet ROZENBEEK,
And meet it in my wandering with reverence.
Oh Fragrant ROZENBEEK! who praises your beautiful state,
Your court-building, trees, and neat water-side,
According to the requirement of their adornment, as we behold you?
My Singer dares never trust that to her power.
How gloriously this square boasts, occupied on both sides
With high trees, and with hedges, so neat
And flatly shorn, that they yield to no brickwork,
The green paths make the neatness appear everywhere
Of you, oh ROZENBEEK! adornment of the land pleasure.
God Hermocrates comes into these lanes often,
Silently, to find his joy and sweet lust,
When Lord TRIP sees himself released from his cares,
And keeps the City and State-secret in his breast.
Oh Noble TRIP! renowned everywhere for your virtue,
Here you find joy and rest after your worries,
ROZENBEEK can amuse you with its reflections
Everywhere where your foot or eye turns,
Here the country-pleasure never finds beginning, never any end,
To entertain you with joy in the most lovely way.
Remain ROZENBEEK, remain thus infinitely triumphant!
Bloom until Lord TRIP's joy is always in a beautiful state,
Thus the Amsterdamer blesses the fertile Kennemerland!
What princely building appears before my eyes?
Can it be truth? no, the sight has deceived me,
This is no Gentleman's house, but some Princely court.
Stand still my Muse, one must first ask for permission,
Whether it may be granted to us to approach this front-court,
And that the sight may amuse itself in the beholding,
One must be cautious where one does not know the use.
Oh Elegant BEKENSTYN! how grand, how wide,
Does the wandering eye go grazing here along all sides!
Your two wings, separated from the main building,
Allow a view where the new eye yearns for,
When it amuses itself in the green of the leaves:
But yet the house keeps my attention fixed here:
The elegant entrance shows the greatness, and the ability
Of BEKENSTYN, the fame and splendor of Kennemerland.
Oh Lovely pleasure-court! so perfect in beauty and state,
You are Lord TORCK's joy, when he comes to find rest here,
In the shadowing green of the steeply rising lindens.
Oh BEKENSTYN! it is your brave TORCK's Name,
His customs, and his virtue, and love, which Fame
Has carried through all the Netherlands on all sides,
His Name adorns you more than a thousand diamonds,
And a thousand pearls set in a golden crown.
Oh BEKENSTYN! your luster blinds my eyes to behold
All your outstanding adornments,
Long must you maintain your state to the joy of TORCK,
When he avoids the city for the pleasure of the land.
Live noble Lord, live there in a quiet state,
Thus Fame shall always crown your head with glory,
While you remain living quite calmly at BEKENSTYN.
But it is becoming time for me to go further,
I see the pointer here already standing past four,
Thus I go to see MEERVLIET to discover new pleasure.
Oh Choice court-view! you come to awaken my attention
Through your charm, to meet our Citizen-lord,
The vigilant TRIP, who steers the helm of state, with so much honor
And shrewdness, on your ground,
Oh Citizen-father! may I greet you singing,
Where you enjoy a little rest for a little time,
While your shrewd eye sees with Argus' eyes,
To protect the Amstel and the IJ from disasters,
Minerva wove the laurels early about your hair,
As proof of your wit and peerless spirit,
Her wisdom has always been your highest lust,
To thus watch for people and land with care and diligence,
The cheerful MEERVLIET cheers when it sees you approaching,
The fragrant flower-bed boasts with more beautiful color and luster,
The trees bow their crests into a round wreath,
To receive you, venerable Lord! on the land-pleasure:
The Velzerweg then echoes through the happy songs
Of a thousand little birds, which strike a thousand tones,
Each according to its requirement and nature, thus everyone offers you
His joy and happiness, to show your worthiness.
Oh MEERVLIET! with what fame and praise shall I crown you,
Where you appear so magnificently before the sight?
Your house and hedge and a half-moon built,
Prevent the eye from beholding more of this way;
The choice House, one of the most beautiful court-buildings,
Boasts atop the roof with its gallery,
From where the sight can refresh itself on all sides,
Through the extended view of fields, lands, gardens,
And beautiful lanes, which extinguish the Sunlight
Through the shadowing summer-green: there the flower-bed lures me again
Through its adornment and color, everyone strives here for the honor
Of beauty, and to carry away the fame of neatness,
There the Yew-trunk tries to please me again,