In my way from the plantation to the elegant country residence of a Dutch merchant of high respectability, I passed, a few miles from Amsterdam, two burial places of the Jews, who wisely bury their dead in the country; the other inhabitants follow the baneful practice of burying in the churches and churchyards in the city, where the catholics deposit their dead very frequently in protestant churches. In Hol land the honours of funeral pompare scarcely ever dis played: the spirit of economy, which seems to be the tutelar saint of these moist regions, seldom incurs a further expence than a plain coffin, which costs little, and some genuine tears or sighs, which cost nothing. To describe the numerous churches, chapels, and conventicles of the religious of all persuasions, who since the Revolution live in cordial amity with each other, and with the government, under which they enjoy the rights of equal citizenship, would be a laborious and not a very interesting labour. The quakers here, and in every other town in Holland, are very few; the Jews and the anabaptists are very numerous, and there are many roman catholics. Each parish maintains its own poor, under the controul of a council. They have also, as with us, out-door poor. The sabbath is kept in Holland with the same solemnity as in England. The great number of noble charitable institutions in Amsterdam, in which the sick and the friendless of all persuasions are received and cherished, without any recommendation but that of affliction, cannot fail to impress a stranger with admiration, though to enumerate them here would not be very entertaining to the reader.

There are several literary societies in Amsterdam, which are supported with equal spirit and liberality. The Felix Meritis is the principal public institute; it is supported by private subscriptions; no money is paid upon admission; foreigners are admitted with a subscriber's 's ticket, but no native can be received un less he is a subscriber. This place is a large building,

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containing some fine apartments, particularly the music-room, which, during the concerts, is much resorted to by the most opulent and fashionable families, many of whom play, with the assistance of professional performers. There are also rooms devoted rooms devoted to philosophy and the arts. In the painting-room I was shewn some works of the modern Dutch painters, which were not above mediocrity; they appear to have lost that exquisite art of colouring, which sq eminently distinguished their predecessors. This circumstance is very singular, considering how many ingenious artists this city has produced, amongst whom, may be enumerated the three Does, Griffier, Schellinks, the celebrated Adrian, and William Vandervelde, &c.

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The Dutch theatre is large and handsome, and has a noble front. On the night I was there, Madam Wattier performed: she occupies the same place in the public estimation in Holland as the immortal Siddons does in that of England: she is advanced in years, but still continues to display great tragic qualities: at the same time her manner is rather too vehen.ent for an English auditor. The principal dancer in the ballet was Mademoiselle Polly, who dances with great agility. The scenery is good. During the interval between the acts, the people quit the house, to take refreshments and walk in the open air: as there is no half-price, little boys hover round the doors, and bid upon each other for the purchase of he re-admission tickets of those who come out, for the purpose of re-selling them at a profit. The French theatre is small but neat, and tolerably well supplied with performers. After the play it is usual to go to the Rondell, where the higher classes of the women of the town assemble to waltz. This assembly-room, like the spill-house of Rotterdam, is frequented by tradesmen, their wives and their children., After hearing so much of this place, I was greatly disappointed on viewing it. The assembly-room is

small and shabby, the music wretched, and adjoining is a small square court, with three or four trees imit scantily decorated with about a dozen lamps. Such o is the celebrated Rondell of Amsterdam, which the Dutch who have never visited England contend isv superior to our Vauxhall.

With a large and very agreeable party, I made an§ excursion into North Holland, where we visited Brock, one of the most curious, and one of the pret tiest villages in Holland. The streets are divided by e little rivulets; the houses and summer-houses, formed of wood painted green and white, are very handsome, d though whimsical in their shape, and are all remarks 1 ably neat. They are like so many mausoleums, for thei silence of death reigns throughout the place. Thes inhabitants, who have formed a peculiar association! I amongst themselves scarcely ever admit a stranger within their doors, and hold but little intercourse with each other. During our stay, we saw only the faces 1 of two of them, and those by a stealthy peep. They are very rich, so much so, that many of their culinary utensils are of solid gold. The shutters of the windows in front of the houses are always kept shut, andni the principal entrance is never opened but on the mar→q riage or the death of one of the family. The pavement of the streets is tesselated with all sorts of little pebblesní and cockle-shells, and are kept in such exquisite oreni der, that a dog or a cat are never seen to trespass uponas it; and it is said, that formerly there was a law which obliged all passengers to take off their shoes in theet summer when they walked upon it; that a man was once reprimanded for sneezing in the streets; and latterly, a clergyman, upon being appointed to fill the church on the demise of a very old predecessor, was treated with great shyness by his flock because he did w not (unwittingly) take off his shoes when he ascended the pulpit. The gardens of this village produce deer, dogs, peacocks, chairs, tables, and ladders, cut out in box. Sach a museum of vegetable statuary I never!

witnessed before.Brock represents a sprightly ball room well lighted up, without a soul in the orchestra or upon the floor. From Broek, we proceeded to Saardam, which atasmall distance seems to be a city of windmills. The houses are principally built of wood, every one of which has a little fantastic baby-sort of garden. Government has discontinued building ships of war here, which used to be a source of great prosperity to the town'; however, its numerous paper and sawing mills employ a vast number of hands, and produce greats opulence to the place. We paid our homage to the wooden cottage where Peter the Great resided when he came to this place to learn the art of ship-building; it is very small, and stands in a garden, and is in tolerable preservation. The women in Northe Holland are said to be handsomer than in any other part of the country. As I was very desirous of com mencing my tour on the Rhine, I was glad to return to Amsterdam.

The climate of Holland is moist, but far from berto ing unpleasant or unwholesome, although some tras vellers have thought proper to say it consists of six!! months of rain and six months of bad weather. The principal divisions of the country are at present the same as they were during the republic, namely Holi land, Overyssel, Zealand, Friesland, Utrecht, Gron ingen, Guelderland, and Zutphen, besides the Texel, and other islands; but the king has it in contemplatian, it is said, of speedily dividing the kingdom into ten departments. Holland contains 113 cities or large/towns, 1400 villages, and nearly 2,800,000 in-habitants. The military force of Holland amounts to jo about 40,000 cavalry and infantry. A population and a force which cannot but astonish the reader, when he reflects upon the size, soil, and position of the country. Ni

20 W 10) JA I left Amsterdam with some friends in an excellenti hired carriage, and set off for Naarden, a clean pretty h little town, and more skilfully, and strongly fortified.

than any other town in Holland: here the same tranquillity reigns as in most of the other Dutch country. towns. From the ramparts, which present a very agreeable walk, there is a fine view of the Zuyder Zee.

From this place to Soestdyke, one of the two country palaces of the king allowed by the constitution, the roads. are very sandy, and we were obliged to take four horses. The many spires and chimneys of villages peeping above the trees in all directions, the small divisions of land, the neat and numerous little farm-houses which abounded on all sides of us, presented a picture of industry and prosperity seldom seen in any other country,

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Upon leaving the romantic and exquisitely pieturesque village of Raren, we entered the royal chase, which occupies a vast tract of ground: in this forest the trees are generally poor and thin, but I saw some fine beeches amongst them. On the borders of this chase are two country villas, in the shape of pagodas, belonging to a private gentleman, the novelty and gaudy colouring of which served to animate the sombre appearance of the forest behind.

In the evening we reached the principal inn at Soest dyke, lying at the end of a very long avenue in the forest, chiefly filled with young oaks, a little fatigued with the tedium produced by the heavy roads through which we had waded; however, after some refresh ing tea taken under the trees, near the house, we proceeded to view the palace, formerly a favourite sporting chateau of the Orange family. A tolerable plain brick house on the left of the entrance, composed the lodge, and after passing through a large court, we as cended by a flight of steps to the principal entrance of this palace, if palace it may be called, for a residence more unworthy of a prince I have never seen. I was not surprized to hear that the present royal family staid only one hour, when they visited this place, dur ing which they scarcely ventured out of a large naked oom at the back part of the house, called the grand