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NETHERLANDS (LITERATUKE) hoelcschen en Icdbeljaauwschen, and his stirring national lyric, the Wapenlcreet. The example and influence of Bilderdijk and Tollens have given rise to a number of minor bards. Some of the most meritorious are J. F. Bosdijk (died 1850); B. H. Lulofs (1787-1849), author of the Watersnood; W. Messchert (died in 1844), whose De goude bruiloft is justly praised ; H. A. Spandaw (died in 1855), of whose works the Neerlands zeeroem and the Vaderlandsche poezij are popular; W. de Olercq (1793-1844), a celebrated improvisator ; J. Immerzeel (1 776- 1841), also known for his biographies of the artists; B. Klijn (1764-1829); A. C. W. Sta- ring van den Wildenborch (1767-1840), the best modern humorist, of whose peculiar man- ner his lamben and Zephir en Gloria are good examples; and P. Moens (1767-1 843). Modern lyrical and descriptive poets are I. da Costa, a Jew, who after the decease of Tollens occu- pied the highest place in the modern Dutch Parnassus; 0. G. Withuys, S. J. van den Bergh, J. van Beers, J. A. Alberdingk Thijm, L. van den Broek, and J. J. L. ten Kate. Among those who wrote for the stage in the latter part of the last century were S. J. Wis- selius (1769-1845), J. Nomsz, J. van Walre (1759-1837), H. H. Klijn, and A. Loosjes (1761- 1818), the last of whom also gave to the world some pleasant tales and sketches. Still later dramatists are the prolific comedy writer Ruysch and J. Hilman. The novels of E. Kist (1753-1822) and A. Fokke (died in 1812) are still much read ; but they have been excelled by the romances of J. van Lennep (1802-'68), a son of D. J. van Lennep (1774-1853). His fame was established by his Nederlandsche le- genden, and his popularity was increased by the novels De roos van Dekama and De lot- gevallen van Klaasje Zevenster. Several of his works have been translated into English. He seems to have successfully combated the undue love in his country for imitations of French standards. He selected Byron and Walter Scott as his models, and his novels and histori- cal romances show that he did not servilely copy them, but strove to retain a truly na- tional spirit. Van der Hage is his equal in historical narrative, but is not as felicitous in pure fiction, wherein Adriaan Bogaers stands much nearer to him in talent and fame. Bo- gaers's most celebrated productions are Joche- fied and De togt van Heemslcerlc naar Gibral- tar. Novelists of note of recent times, among others, are Schimmel, the author of Mary Hollia, Hofdijk, and Ten Brink, who has writ- ten masterly descriptions of colonial life in the East Indies. The names of Da Costa, Van Oosterzee, Schultjes, Ter Haar, and Tiedeman have won distinction for theological learning. Jurisprudence and political economy have been ably represented by Den Beer Poortugael, Noordziek, De Bruyn Kops, Heineken, Den Tex, and Wintgens. Valuable medical works have appeared from the pens of Donkersloot, Cornelius, Huet, Eschauzier, and Berns. Chem- NETSCHER 253 istry, pharmacy, and the natural sciences gen- erally have been enriched by the labors of Bleeker, Harting, Van Otterloo, Vorsterman van Oijen, Suringar, Opwyrda, Luijten, and Mulder. Philosophical works have been con- tributed among others by Kinker, Heringa, Vitringa, Wijck, Spruyt, Opzoomer, Burger, and Snellen. Steijn Parve, Bleeck van Rijse- wijk, and Vorstman have written on the sci- ence of education. Ancient and oriental lan- guages, as well as mythology and archaeology, have received fresh contributions from Van Herwerden, Boot, Francken, Van Cappelle, Ekker, Rijnenberg, Grashuis, Kroon, and De Goeje. Numerous books have appeared to fa- cilitate the study of modern languages. Among them are specially noteworthy Halbertsma's Lexicon Frisicum, Oudeman's Bijdrage tot een middel- en oud-nederlandsch woordenboeJc, and Winkler's Algemeen nederduitsch en friesch dialecticon. The present period has produced an abundance of historical, geographical, and ethnological works. Bladzijden's Uit de ge- schiedenis van Neerlands roem en grootheid, Kemper's Geschiedenis van Nederland na 1830, Muller's De Staat der vereenigde Nederlanden in denjaren zijner wording 1572-'94, Hofdijk's Het nederlandsche voile geschetst in de ver- schillende tijdperlcen zijner ontwiTckeling, and Elbert's Leven van Willem den Eersten, Prim van Oranje, have thrown considerable light on the history of the Netherlands. Other his- torical works of value have been contributed by Nugens, Wijne, Veth, Van den Bergh, Ter Haar, De Jonge, Meinsma, Witkamp, Dooren- bos, Groen van Prinsterer, Gericke van Her- wijnen, Van Vloten, and Vreede. Among works on mathematical, mechanical, and mili- tary science, Kuijpers's GescMedenis der ne- derlandsche artillerie van de vroegste tijden, Wageningen's Leerboek der analytische meet- Icunst, Reuven's De Waal en Rijndijken, and Grothe's Mechanische tecJinologie may be men- tioned as excellent compendiums of the special branches. See Mone, Uebersicht der nieder- landischen Vollcsliteratur dlterer Zeit (Tubin- gen, 1838) ; Jonckbloet, Geschiedenis der mid- denederlandsche letterlcunde (Amsterdam, 1851 et seq.}; Hofdijk, GescMedenis der neder- landsche letterlcunde (1856) ; and Van Vloten, Schets van de geschiedenis der nederlandsche letteren (1871). NETSCHER, Gaspar or Kaspar, a Dutch painter of German origin, born in Heidelberg about 1639, died at the Hague, Jan. 15, 1684. He was the son of a sculptor, who had fled from persecution in Bohemia, was a pupil of Koster at Arnhem, and afterward of Gerard Terburg, lived some years in Bordeaux, where he mar- ried, and in 1661 settled at the Hague. He excelled in genre pictures and portraits. His sons, THEODORE (1661-1732) and CONSTANTINE (1670-1722), were also eminent painters, espe- cially of portraits. The former was born in Bordeaux, lived in England from 1715 to 1722, was popular at court, and became rich.