The Man with Four Heads
After leaving the church, the boys stopped nearby in the open
marketplace, to look at the bronze statue of Laurens Janszoon
Coster, who is believed by the Dutch to have been the inventor of
printing. This is disputed by those who award the same honor to
Johannes Gutenberg of Mayence; while many maintain that Faustus, a servant of Coster, stole his master's wooden types on a Christmas eve, when the latter was at church, and fled with his booty and his secret, to Mayence. Coster was a native of Haarlem, and the Hollanders are naturally anxious to secure the credit of the invention for their illustrious townsman. Certain it is that the first book he printed is kept by the city in a silver case wrapped in silk and is shown with great caution as a precious relic. It is said that he first conceived the idea of printing from cutting his name upon the bark of a tree and afterward pressing a piece of paper upon the characters.
Of course, Lambert and his English friend fully discussed this
subject. They also had a rather warm argument concerning another
invention. Lambert declared that the honor of giving both the
telescope and the microscope to the world lay between Metius and
Jansen, both Hollanders, while Ben as stoutly insisted that Roger
Bacon, an English monk of the thirteenth century, "wrote out the
whole thing, sir, perfect descriptions of microscopes and
telescopes, too, long before either of those other fellows was
born."
On one subject, however, they both agreed: that the art of
curing and pickling herrings was discovered by William Beukles of
Holland, and that the country did perfectly right in honoring him
as a national benefactor, for its wealth and importance had been
in a great measure due to its herring trade.
"It is astonishing," said Ben, "in what prodigious quantities
those fish are found. I don't know how it is here, but on the
coast of England, off Yarmouth, the herring shoals have been
known to be six and seven feet deep with fish."
"That is prodigious, indeed," said Lambert, "but you know your
herring is derived from the German heer, an army, on account of a
way the fish have of coming in large numbers.'
Soon afterward, while passing a cobbler's shop, Ben exclaimed, "Halloo! Lambert, here is the name of one of your greatest men over a cobbler's stall! Boerhaave. If it were only Herman Boerhaave instead of Hendrick, it would be complete."
Lambert knit his brows reflectively, as he replied, "Boerhaave, Boerhaave! The name is perfectly familiar; I remember, too, that he was born in 1668, but the rest is all gone, as usual. There have been so many famous Hollanders, you see, that it is impossible for a fellow to know them all. What was he? Did he have two heads? Or was he one of your great, natural swimmers like Marco Polo?"
"He had FOUR heads," answered Ben, laughing, "for he was a great
physician, naturalist, botanist, and chemist. I am full of him
just now, for I read his life a few weeks ago."
"Pour out a little, then," said Lambert, "only walk faster or we
shall lose sight of the other boys."
"Well," resumed Ben, quickening his pace and looking with great
interest at everything going on in the crowded street, "this Dr. Boerhaave was a great anspewker."
"A great WHAT?" roared Lambert.
"Oh, I beg pardon. I was thinking of that man over there with
the cocked hat. He's an anspewker, isn't he?"
"Yes. He's an aanspreeker, if that is what you mean to say. But what about your friend with the four heads?"
"Well, as I was going to say, the doctor was left a penniless
orphan at sixteen without education or friends--"
"Jolly beginning!" interposed Lambert.
"Now, don't interrupt. He was a poor friendless orphan at
sixteen, but he was so persevering and industrious, so determined
to gain knowledge, that he made his way, and in time became one
of the most learned men of Europe. All the--what is that?"
"Where? What do you mean?"
"Why, that paper on the door opposite. Don't you see? Two or
three persons are reading it. I have noticed several of these
papers since I've been here."