
A cold, relentless November night in 1595 sets the stage for a tense journey along the muddy road between Leiden and The Hague. In a creaking carriage, a weary driver named Casper, a determined woman, and a restless child struggle against the howling wind and driving rain. Their destination is the distant town of Bloemendaal, but the darkness makes every turn perilous, and a stone cross looms as a warning they cannot afford to ignore.
The story captures the gritty reality of travel in the Dutch Golden Age, where the elements and simple miscommunication can turn an ordinary night into a precarious test of endurance. As the carriage lurches over uneven ground and the horse staggers under the weight of the storm, the passengers’ uneasy alliance hints at deeper secrets yet to surface. Listeners will be drawn into the atmospheric tension, feeling each splash of rain and every creak of the wheels as the journey unfolds.
Language
nl
Duration
~15 hours (906K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by The Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net/
Release date
2009-02-24
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1827–1880
Best known for lively Dutch village stories and for writing with unusual warmth about ordinary people, this 19th-century author also helped draw public attention to child labor. He moved easily between literature, public readings, and painting, which gives his work an energetic, vivid feel.
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