with cattle and figures, by Albert
Cuyp, is strikingly beautiful; and how I wish you could see a Fat Boy,
the son of a burgomaster, by Bartholomew Helst, dated 1648. Vandyke,
whose portraits have never been equalled, has some of his best in this
museum; and his Burgomaster of Antwerp, Vander Brocht, is as bold a
picture as you could wish to gaze at.

Hondekoeter's flowers and fruits, and Snyder's game pieces, are among
the best of their kind in the world. Some of the finest things I have
seen in Holland, in the way of painting, are the little gems descriptive
of life as it lay about the artist--interiors of domestic abodes, and
out-door scenes at the roadside. These, the patient, plodding Dutchmen
have worked up most elaborately. One or two of Nicholas Maes's pictures
are wonderful. I saw one in a private collection, and it was a glorious
thing, though only a Kitchen, with two or three figures. O, how poor are
the things we often hear spoken of as fine pictures! The eye, it seems
to me, obtains its education rapidly in such a gallery as this. I am
sure I shall look at works of art in future with new feelings.

There was a most beautiful Jew boy, about eleven years old, that used to
stand at our hotel door to sell matches, who regularly beset us with his
wares. His face was as striking as any fancy picture you can meet with,
and his beauty and impudence made him a pretty successful merchant.

Mr. Schwartze took us to a noble mansion belonging to a merchant prince,
to see his great picture of Columbus before the Council explaining his
theory. This is a first-class execution. The coloring is very fine, and
the drawing good; and we all felt pride in seeing such a picture from
the easel of our countryman. I wish we had some good painting of his in
America. His portraits are excellent, and one of his wife has earned him
his high reputation in Holland. Through the kindness of this gentleman
we were introduced to the Artists' Club, and spent our evenings there in
very pleasant society. The artists belonging to it are probably about
fifty, and the other gentlemen who mainly support it are about two
hundred. I was much surprised to find nearly every gentleman we were
introduced to speaking excellent English. We met here a very gentlemanly
and accomplished lawyer, Mr. Van Lennep, whose father is a man of great
wealth. His attentions were very friendly. While here, James was quite
poorly with some slight attack of fever; and both