o hours at Leyden as actively employed as a Foxhunter. We
found a man who spoke French, told him our wishes, gave him a list of
what was to be seen in the town, and then desired him to start,
following him on the full trot up and down churches, colleges,
Townhalls, &c. These towns are so much alike, that having seen one the
interest is considerably lessened. Leyden, however, has the honour of
possessing one of the finest streets in Holland; though capable of
accommodating 65,000 souls, there are not more than 20,000, which gives
it a melancholy appearance. In one part there is an area of about 3 or 4
Cheshire acres planted with trees and divided with walls, which in 1807
was covered, like the rest of the town, with good houses, but it
happened that a barge full of gunpowder passing through the canal, blew
up, killed 200 people, including a very clever Professor Lugai, and
destroyed all the houses. It was a sad catastrophe, to be sure; but now,
as it is all over, and all the good people's mourning laid aside, I
think the Town may be congratulated as a gainer. I could fill up my
letter with the anatomical preparations of the celebrated Albinus; but
though I am very partial to these sights, I doubt whether you would be
amused by a description of dried men, with their hearts, lungs, and
brains suspended in different bottles. The town is full of booksellers'
shops, in which capital Classics might be procured and divers others old
books. The windows were also well filled with new works translated into
Dutch; few, I think, original; amongst others, I saw "Ida of
Athens!"[93] ...

[Illustration: DUTCH FISHERMEN.]

It is not easy to trace the sieges of Philip 2nd in these towns, as the
fortifications are most of them extinct, fortresses of more modern
construction being now the keys of the country. Neat villas and gardens
by the canal side marked our approach to the seat of government--and a
very first-rate Town the Hague is, though I cannot conceive how the
people escape agues and colds in Autumn. Stagnant canals and pools, with
all circulation of air checked by rows of trees, cannot be healthy.
Unfortunately for us, Lord Clancarty is at Bruxelles with the Prince of
Orange. The Hague appears, from what I have seen, to be a better town
for permanent residence than Bruxelles or Antwerp. The houses are all
good, which implies a superior quality of inhabitants. In the evening we
took a drive to Scheveningen, a fishing village abou