engagements, the last being the final struggle in the English-Dutch
war, when he defeated Monk off Texel in the summer of 1653, and was
killed by a bullet in his heart. The battle is depicted in bas-relief
on the tomb, but the eye searches the marble in vain for any reminder
of the broom which the admiral is said to have lashed to his masthead
as a sign to the English that it was his habit to sweep their seas. The
story may be a myth, but the Dutch sculptor who omitted to remember
it and believe in it is no friend of mine.

This is D. Goslings' translation of Tromp's epitaph:--

_For an Eternal Memorial_

You, who love the Dutch, virtue and true labour, read and mourn.

The ornament of the Dutch people, the formidable in battle, lies low,
he who never lay down in his life, and taught by his example that a
commander should die standing, he, the love of his fellow-citizens,
the terror of his enemies, the wonder of the ocean.

_Maarten Harpertszoon Tromp_, a name comprehending more praise than
this stone can contain, a stone truly too narrow for him, for whom
East and West were a school, the sea the occasion of triumph, the
whole world the scene of his glory, he, a certain ruin to pirates,
the successful protector of commerce; useful through his familiarity,
not low; after having ruled the sailors and the soldiers, a rough
sort of people, in a fatherly and efficaciously benignant manner;
after fifty battles in which he was commander or in which he played
a great part; after incredible victories, after the highest honours
though below his merits, he at last in the war against the English,