The Holland Society of New York - Yearbook (New York, NY)

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292 a penance or to fulfil certain vows, undertake a journey to the distant shrine of some saint, like that of St. James in Spain or of Loretto in Italy. They are obliged to go there begging by the way, and they carry this bottle-gourd, or calabash, attached to the girdle, for the purpose of carry- ing water for their use when they have to traverse dry and arid -parts of the country. For this reason these allied nobles made use both of the porringer and the wallet as an emblem of poverty, and to turn into pleasantry the name of beggars, which had been given to them with so much indignity. This is not all. These lords, wishing to engrave on each other's memory the vow which each had made to defend the privileges of the country, even to carry the wallet, took pride in wearing on the breast certain medals attached to ribbons, and very often joined with a porringer and-a gourd. The form adopted by the Holland Society is a fac- simile of the one to which are attached two such porringers and a gourd or bottle, and shows on its face the armed bust of Philip II. of Spain, with the first half of the motto, MEN '1'oUT FIDELLES AU ROY,H and on the reverse two wallets, between the straps of which are two hands joined, with the remainder of the motto, JUSQUES A PORTER LA BESACE,H together with the date, 1566, the figures of which are, however, separated, one in each corner formed by the crossed hands and wallets. Plaster casts of originals of various sizes, in the Museum of Antiquities in Amsterdam, .were kindly presented to the Society by Dr. T. H. Blom Coster, physician to the Queen of the Netherlands. A h The die, which has been-cut by Tiffany 85 Co., is the property ofthe Society. The medals, including the cups, the flagon, the orange ribbon, and the pin, can be furnished in silver for six dollars 13565 each. They can also be sup- plied' in gold 'for twenty-eight dollars C3281 each. Mem- bers can obtain orders from the Secretary and therewith be furnished with the Badge by addressing Tiffany 85 Co.

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291 He de remaining faithful to his King, not only would Ijzhilekalways thing in defence of the liberties of the countr T every- ' , yr Pl Ollgh he unit be Teduced to Caffymg a wallet, but he was even TCH Y to give up his life in so good a cause All those h , , - w o were at the feast' havm-8' 11'l turn taken the wallet and the Cup, made the same declaration one after the other in the midst of a continual cry of 'Vfivent les Gueux 1' Several of these nobles appeared the nerit day in the ying at the girdle as clared to them at the same time that streets dressed in gray frieze,a11d Carr a badge of honor, a small wallet and a little wooden cup or calabash. mrhen CA-11 15665, 945 110W cA.D. I732J, the wooden bowl was in Brabant, like the wallet, a distinctive mark, and, so to speak, a livery of beggars. ,Furnished with this neces- sary utensil of their profession, they went certain days of the week to the cloisters, where, after having taken part in the catechising, they each received, according as he had answered well or badly, a portion of soup left over by the monks. I . It was by this low and despised method that the Pro- fessor, Thomas Stapleton, was able to reach the highest degree of erudition, notwithstanding his poverty and low birth. Sure, thanks to his porringer, of victuals which were absolutely necessary to him, he applied himself first to the languages, and afterwards to the higher sciences, with such success that he was honored with. the most distin- guished professorship in the University of Louvain. He never forgot his porringer, In the feasts which they gave when he was elevated to 'this important charge, not only did he then cause the first toast to be drunk in that cup, then ornamented with a foot of silver, but he desired that after his death it should be added to the rich ornaments of his marble tomb, as an example and as a beacon for other distinguished men of genius, the meanness of whose ex- traction might seem to condemn them to darkness. G The reader must pardon me this digression, which I would not have made but from the same motive which caused this great man to parade his begga1 S bOW1- The gourd or bottle had its origin from the usage made of it by the pilgrims--that class of Pe0P1e Who, to Perform

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293 THE ROSETTE OR BUTTON ' At the annual meeting of the society April 6 8 7 9 I 97, the society adopted a rosette or button, to be ' n the wearing of the other worn on occasions whe insignia might be deemed inappropriate. This consists of a shield of gold bearing the Lion of Holland in red enamel. them of the Bailey, Banks 85 Biddle Co., corner of Chestnut and 12th Streets, Philadelphia, Pa., in silver gilt at one dollar each, or in I4 k. gold at two dollars and seventy-live cents each. Members can obtain M. gf: ,, B all-s' , f '2-'Q ,4