De ontsnapping van Hugo de Groot uit het slot Loevenstein

Summary

In 1619, the celebrated Dutch diplomat Hugo de Groot suffers disgrace and is condemned to prison for life. His escape is effected through the devotion of his wife, Maria van Reigersbergen. She brings him a vast number of books in a huge box. On leaving the prison, helped by two trusted servants, she takes the box with her, but with her husband concealed inside. Within his cell, the books have been roughly piled beneath the coverlet of his bed to represent a human form. The fugitives reach a mill where Hugo is to lie in hiding. Maria precedes him to Antwerp. After some days, disguised as a simple farmer, Hugo de Groot manages to join his wife and children in Antwerp, where he will be safe from pursuit.