by Graham Brack
On arrival at Leiden, I swiftly found a goldsmith who agreed to store my money in his strongroom, less a small amount for immediately necessary expenses, and then presented myself at the University. The Rector greeted me without great enthusiasm until I gave him a letter from the Stadhouder.
‘It says here you have done well and have performed the State exemplary service, Mercurius. That will reflect well on the University. Indeed, the Stadhouder says he intends to be present at our next Graduation. It is a signal honour.’
Our university was, at that time, just over a hundred years old, but it liked to ape universities of much longer history. It also had a very strange habit of having rigid declarations or policies with severe punishments attached, which it then tempered by largely disregarding them. For example, we were regularly reminded that full academic dress must be worn to graduations and other university ceremonies, but the fact that they had to keep issuing the reminders shows that it was largely disregarded (except for the law professors, who liked nothing better than parading around like peacocks). I have remarked here that if it had been known that I was a Catholic I would have been discharged, and so I would, but there were lecturers in other faculties who were known to be Catholic and nobody batted an eyelid. And then there was another one, which the Rector was about to raise.
‘Mercurius, since you are here, I have something to say to you. You will not find it pleasant, I’m afraid.’
When did I ever where you were concerned?
‘You are Master Mercurius. Not Doctor Mercurius. You will know, Mercurius, that we have a firm rule that lecturers in the higher faculties such as theology must have doctorates. Masters may teach in the Artes, of course, but not in the higher faculties.’
The Artes was the faculty of liberal arts or humanities where all our students started. Once they passed there, they could progress to the higher faculties of law, medicine or theology for a higher degree. It was not strictly true that masters could not teach there. They could, but they could not be paid. They could teach “for the sake of experience”.
I had been allowed some leeway by the previous Rector because I had studied abroad. I had not told anyone it was in a Catholic seminary, of course, and he did not ask.
‘It is high time that you presented and defended a thesis, Mercurius. Get your doctorate, or we will have to move you out of the theology faculty to the Artes.’
God forbid! Some of the theology students were imbeciles, it was true, but I had seen the Artes undergraduates. Some of them could barely fasten their own clothes. I’ll swear that if I had taken an ordinary die and wagered that I could throw a seven, some of them would not have taken my bet for fear that I might.
‘I can give you two years. Keep me informed on your progress. I have asked Professor Spanheim to find you a suitable supervisor.’
Spanheim was Professor of Theology. He and I did not see eye to eye on a number of matters. He was an arch-conservative and I, as you may have guessed, am not.
I returned to my room feeling utterly dispirited. I had enough money to live on if I resigned, but I liked Leiden. I did not want to leave. But neither did I want to complete a doctorate under Spanheim.
But then I recalled that William had said that if he could do anything for me, I only had to ask; so I wrote reminding him he was “Most Supreme Governor” of the University and asked him how he felt about giving me a doctorate.
As it says in the good book, Matthew, chapter seven, verse seven: “Ask, and it will be given to you.”
***
Want more adventures in 17th century Europe? Read THE NOOSE’S SHADOW — Book Four in the Master Mercurius Mystery series.
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A NOTE TO THE READER
Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading thus far.
When you write fiction that includes real people, I think you have a responsibility not to blacken their names unduly. A number of historic figures occur in my books, but I hope there is nothing to their detriment. I try to paint a picture consistent with the known history, given a bit of artistic licence.
I thought it might be interesting to quote the main sources I consulted in my research for this book. In alphabetical order of author, they include:
The King’s Henchman, by Anthony Adolph
Brief Lives, by John Aubrey
History of His Own Time, by Bishop Gilbert Burnet
The Later Stuarts, by Sir George Clark
Robert Hooke and the Rebuilding of London, by Michael Cooper
William III & Mary II, by Jonathan Keates
The Popish Plot, by John Kenyon
Good, Gratifying and Renowned: A concise history of Leiden University, by Willem Otterspeer
Restoration London, by Liza Picard
The Stuart Princesses, by Alison Plowden
Royal Renegades, by Linda Porter
1666: Plague, War and Hellfire, by Rebecca Rideal
A Plague of Informers, by Rachel Weil
James II, by David Womersley
No doubt there should have been more, but I am a novelist, not an historian.
Mercurius is a reluctant detective, and he is certainly very keen not to involve himself in politics which, he notes, often end with someone dead. While he believes without reservation in life after death, he does not want to be proved right prematurely. Do not be surprised, therefore, if he returns nearer to home for his next case.
I am grateful for the kind and generous reviews of these books, particularly from Dutch people, who have tolerated my inevitable errors, thus proving themselves to be the tolerant and intelligent people Mercurius claims them to be (except his undergraduates, of course).
A brief note on William’s title may be in order. William held an office in the Netherlands that I have spelled as Stadhouder. It is often rendered as Stadtholder and sometimes as Stadthouder. In common with many other languages, Dutch harbours some variant spellings in the seventeenth century, but I have used the one I encountered most when researching the first book in this series.
If you have enjoyed this novel I’d be really grateful if you would leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads. I love to hear from readers, so please keep in touch through Facebook or Twitter, or leave a message on my website.
Dank je wel!
Graham Brack
ALSO BY GRAHAM BRACK
Master Mercurius Mysteries
DEATH IN DELFT
UNTRUE TILL DEATH
THE NOOSE’S SHADOW
Josef Slonský Investigations
LYING & DYING
SLAUGHTER & FORGETTING
DEATH ON DUTY
FIELD OF DEATH
A SECOND DEATH
LAID IN EARTH
Published by Sapere Books.
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Copyright © Graham Brack, 2020
Graham Brack has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organisations, places and events, other than those clearly in the public domain, are either the product of the author’s imagination, or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblances to actual persons, living or dead, events or locales are purely coincidental.
eBook ISBN: 9781800551107
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