Haarlem, whither, three days ago, we conducted our gentlereader, and whither we request him to follow us once more inthe footsteps of the prisoner, is a pleasant city, whichjustly prides itself on being one of the most shady in allthe Netherlands.

　　While other towns boast of the magnificence of theirarsenals and dock-yards, and the splendour of their shopsand markets, Haarlem's claims to fame rest upon hersuperiority to all other provincial cities in the number andbeauty of her spreading elms, graceful poplars, and, morethan all, upon her pleasant walks, shaded by the lovelyarches of magnificent oaks, lindens, and chestnuts.

　　Haarlem, -- just as her neighbour, Leyden, became the centreof science, and her queen, Amsterdam, that of commerce, --Haarlem preferred to be the agricultural, or, more strictlyspeaking, the horticultural metropolis.

　　In fact, girt about as she was, breezy and exposed to thesun's hot rays, she seemed to offer to gardeners so manymore guarantees of success than other places, with theirheavy sea air, and their scorching heat.

　　On this account all the serene souls who loved the earth andits fruits had gradually gathered together at Haarlem, justas all the nervous, uneasy spirits, whose ambition was fortravel 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. Inlike manner Haarlem was devoted to the gentle pursuits ofpeace, -- to music and painting, orchards and avenues,groves and parks. Haarlem went wild about flowers, andtulips received their full share of worship.

　　Haarlem offered prizes for tulip-growing; and this factbrings us in the most natural manner to that celebrationwhich the city intended to hold on May 15th, 1673 in honourof the great black tulip, immaculate and perfect, whichshould gain for its discoverer one hundred thousandguilders!

　　Haarlem, having placed on exhibition its favourite, havingadvertised its love of flowers in general and of tulips inparticular, at a period when the souls of men were filledwith war and sedition, -- Haarlem, having enjoyed theexquisite pleasure of admiring the very purest ideal oftulips in full bloom, -- Haarlem, this tiny town, full oftrees and of sunshine, of light and shade, had determinedthat the ceremony of bestowing the prize should be a fetewhich should live for ever in the memory of men.

　　So much the more reason was there, too, in herdetermination, in that Holland is the home of fetes; neverdid sluggish natures manifest more eager energy of thesinging and dancing sort than those of the good republicansof the Seven Provinces when amusement was the order of theday.

　　Study the pictures of the two Teniers.

　　It is certain that sluggish folk are of all men the mostearnest in tiring themselves, not when they are at work, butat play.

　　Thus Haarlem was thrice given over to rejoicing, for athree-fold celebration was to take place.

　　In the first place, the black tulip had been produced;secondly, the Prince William of Orange, as a true Hollander,had promised to be present at the ceremony of itsinauguration; and, thirdly, it was a point of honour withthe States to show to the French, at the conclusion of sucha disastrous war as that of 1672, that the flooring of theBatavian Republic was solid enough for its people to danceon it, with the accompaniment of the cannon of their fleets.

　　The Horticultural Society of Haarlem had shown itself worthyof its fame by giving a hundred thousand guilders for thebulb of a tulip. The town, which did not wish to be outdone,voted a like sum, which was placed in the hands of thatnotable body to solemnise the auspicious event.

　　And indeed on the Sunday fixed for this ceremony there wassuch a stir among the people, and such an enthusiasm amongthe townsfolk, that even a Frenchman, who laughs ateverything at all times, could not have helped admiring thecharacter of those honest Hollanders, who were equally readyto spend their money for the construction of a man-of-war --that is to say, for the support of national honour -- asthey were to reward the growth of a new flower, destined tobloom for one day, and to serve during that day to divertthe ladies, the learned, and the curious.

　　At the head of the notables and of the HorticulturalCommittee shone Mynheer van Systens, dressed in his richesthabiliments.

　　The worthy man had done his best to imitate his favouriteflower in the sombre and stern elegance of his garments; andwe are bound to record, to his honour, that he had perfectlysucceeded in his object.

　　Dark crimson velvet, dark purple silk, and jet-black cloth,with linen of dazzling whiteness, composed the festive dressof the President, who marched at the head of his Committeecarrying an enormous nosegay, like that which a hundred andtwenty-one years later, Monsieur de Robespierre displayed atthe festival of "The Supreme Being."There was, however, a little difference between the two;very different from the French tribune, whose heart was sofull of hatred and ambitious vindictiveness, was the honestPresident, who carried in his bosom a heart as innocent asthe flowers which he held in his hand.

　　Behind the Committee, who were as gay as a meadow, and asfragrant as a garden in spring, marched the learnedsocieties of the town, the magistrates, the military, thenobles and the boors.

　　The people, even among the respected republicans of theSeven Provinces, had no place assigned to them in theprocession; they merely lined the streets.

　　This is the place for the multitude, which with truephilosophic spirit, waits until the triumphal pageants havepassed, to know what to say of them, and sometimes also toknow what to do.

　　This time, however, there was no question either of thetriumph of Pompey or of Caesar; neither of the defeat ofMithridates, nor of the conquest of Gaul. The procession wasas placid as the passing of a flock of lambs, and asinoffensive as a flight of birds sweeping through the air.

　　Haarlem had no other triumphers, except its gardeners.

　　Worshipping flowers, Haarlem idolised the florist.

　　In the centre of this pacific and fragrant cortege the blacktulip was seen, carried on a litter, which was covered withwhite velvet and fringed with gold.

　　The handles of the litter were supported b............