And As The 17th Of November Drew Nigh, Which
We Still Held As The Coronation-Day Of Queen Elizabeth, Knowing
No
better, we dressed ourselves in new silk garments, and made us scarfs
and hat-bands of red and white
Taffeta, the colours of our country, and
a banner of St George, being white with a red cross in the middle. We,
the factors, distinguished ourselves from our men, by edging our scarfs
with a deep gold fringe.
When the day arrived, we set up our banner on the top of our house, and,
with our drum and fire-arms, marched up and down the yard of our house;
being but fourteen in number, we could only cast ourselves in rings and
esses in single file, and so plied our shot. Hearing our firing, the
sabander, and some others of the chief people of the land, came to see
us, and enquired the cause of our rejoicing; when we told them that our
queen was crowned on that day forty-seven years ago, for which reason
all Englishmen, in whatever country they might then happen to be, were
in use to shew their joy on that day. The sabander commended us
mightily, for shewing our reverence to our sovereign at so great a
distance from our country. Some of the others asked, how it happened
that the Englishmen at the other house or factory did not do so
likewise; on which we told them that they were not English but
Hollanders, having no king, and their land being ruled only by
governors, being of a country near England, but speaking quite a
different language.
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