men took a notion to cook their dinner on the deck, and before
anyone knew it, sir, the whole thing blew up, killing lots of persons
and scattering about three hundred houses to the winds."

"What!" exclaimed Ben. "Did the explosion destroy three hundred houses!"

"Yes, sir, my father was in Leyden at the time. He says it was terrible.
The explosion occurred just at noon and it was like a volcano. All this
part of the town was on fire in an instant, buildings tumbling down and
men, women, and children groaning under the ruins. The king himself came
to the city and acted nobly, Father says, staying out in the streets all
night, encouraging the survivors in their efforts to arrest the fire and
rescue as many as possible from under the heaps of stone and rubbish.
Through his means a collection for the benefit of the sufferers was
raised throughout the kingdom, besides a hundred thousand guilders paid
out of the treasury. Father was only nineteen years old then. It was
in 1807, I believe, but he remembers it perfectly. A friend of his,
Professor Luzac, was among the killed. They have a tablet erected to his
memory, in Saint Peter's Church, farther on--the queerest thing you ever
saw, with an image of the professor carved upon it, representing him
just as he looked when he was found after the explosion."

"What a strange idea! Isn't Boerhaave's monument in Saint Peter's also?"

"I cannot remember. Perhaps Peter knows."

The captain delighted Ben by saying that the monument was there and that
he thought they might be able to see it during the day.

"Lambert," continued Peter, "ask Ben if he saw Van der Werf's portrait
at the town hall last night?"

"No," said Lambert, "I can answer for him. It was too late to go in. I
say, boys, it is really wonderful how much Ben knows. Why, he has told
me a volume of Dutch history already. I'll wager he has the siege of
Leyden at his tongue's end."

"His tongue must burn, then," interposed Ludwig, "for if Bilderdyk's
account is true, it was a pretty hot affair."

Ben was looking at them with an inquiring smile.

"We are speaking of the siege of Leyden," explained Lambert.

"Oh, yes," said Ben, eagerly, "I had forgotten all about it. This was
the very place. Let's give old Van der Werf three cheers. Hur--"

Van Mounen uttered a hasty "Hush!" and explained that, patriotic as the
Dutch were, the police would soon have something to say if a party of
boys cheered in the street at mid