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some fine peaches that he had got , he would not understand the hint so far as to desire our acceptance of one ; and had we directly asked him for one , as your papa , for curiosity , had once thought of doing , I doubt not he would
have again said no ; which was a monosyllable that seemed to be very familiar to him . Two such characters as those of these canons can hardly be found except in such a seclusion from the world , and such an independence
on others , as is peculiar to the Komish clergy . " " We took our leave of Flanders on Friday , the 2 nd of September , and crossing an arm of the sea at Mardyke , arrived at Rotterdam after it was dark ; the lights in the town having a very agreeable effect across the water , over which we passed to come to it . " Holland seems to be surrounded either by the sea , or an absolute desert . Such , however , is the boundary that we passed on the side of Flanders , and also on the side of Germany , and , on both these sides , are as impassable as sand can make them . We had on this account most tiresome travelling ,
both into this country and out of it . " ' Though it is probable that the commerce and power of this country is upon the decline , the harbour of Amsterdam is really a most astonishing sight . Such a number of ships is , I believe , no where else to be found in one place . The Town House also quite astonished me , both for the expense and magnificence of that part of it which is always open to every body , ( being all cased with marble , disposed in excellent taste and exquisite workmanship , ) and for the noble suite and furniture of the rooms adapted to all kinds of public business .
" We were also much pleased with the rope-house and stow-house of the East India Company ; but , excepting these , and a few good pictures , which we saw at Mr . Hope ' s , with whom we dined on Wednesday , we saw nothing worth particular notice in this place , which , upon the whole , is a very disagreeable one . We therefore left it on Thursday , which was sooner than we had intended , and came by water to Utretcht in the dark .
In this passage we were much amused with the view of the Dutch country houses , with which this canal ( as also that which led from Delft to Leyden ) was lined . Some of them were old-fashioned , dark , and gloomy retreats , suitable enough , in my opinion , for those who had amassed a fortune in such a manner as is generally ascribed to this industrious , but selfish people . But in others there was real elegance and good taste , with a general uniformity , ( especially in long straight vistas of trees , some covered and some open , and all most exactly cut and trimmed , ) amidst a very great and whimsical variety . Some of them must have been exceedingly expensive , and equal to those of very rich country gentlemen in England .
" Altogether , however , it must be allowed that Holland is a great curiosity , and well worth the transient visit of a statesman , or a philosopher , though it is certainly the last in which a man of a liberal turn of mind would choose to live .
" The people here are so much occupied with commerce , that agriculture is no object of attention with them . We hardly saw a single field of corn in Holland , all the ground being employed in pasture . But though the cattle do not look ill , the horses are not capable of much service , and the flesh of
Untitled Article
694 Z > r . Priestley ' s Journal of a Tour on the Continent ,
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1831, page 694, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2602/page/42/
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