th insatiable curiosity, upon this great city, in which
everything was in motion."

This impression of Amsterdam by a seventeenth century author (1) takes us
back to the time when no rivals had yet contested with the town its
commercial monopoly,-- when its full and radiant display struck the eyes of
every visitor. Tempted though we feel to recall this glorious past (the
period and direct surroundings of its greatest painter), we naturally take
Amsterdam's present state as a basis, and in doing so painfully notice the
loss of precious reminiscences which the course of time has inevitably
involved. But realising that such loss is not only the consequence of
neglect and lack of respect, and that to a large degree modern life with
its different requirements and intensity forcibly causes cruel changes, we
must conquer our regrets and rather view with open eyes the vitality of
the town and the renewed energy of its present existence. Sad indeed is
the aspect of towns, known as "dead cities," which preserve their old
architectural appearance, and where all life seems extinguished. They are
but their own shadows and a perpetual outcry against the reverses of Fate
or the relaxation of human energy, which proved unable to carry on the
aspirations of preceding generations. Fortunately Amsterdam escaped this
disgrace, because its spark of life never quite died out; the burning
vigour of its inhabitants, which was instrumental in raising the town's
prosperity in the seventeenth century, may seem a high-flaming fire
compared to the peaceful existence of its rich population in the
eighteenth century; and it may be true that the former energy and
enterprise were reduced to glowing embers about the beginning of the
nineteenth century; but let it be recognised that the same fire always
smouldered and that it is now spreading anew with a sympathetic
stubbornness. When Motley says, in his "History of the United
Netherlands," that the Dutch Republic was "sea-born and sea-sustained," we
have to apply this, in the first place, to its most important town,
Amsterdam, and if we then remember that the suppression of a nation
accustomed to maritime pursuits is one of the rarest things in history, we
shall arrive at a better understanding of Amsterdam's vitality.

In a town where life so maintained its course, we cannot expect to find
whole quarters preserved, just as they appeared in the first half of the
seventeenth century; the general di