152 
shine in but the English. Nothing could exceed 
the politeness of the company, and of Monsieur 
and Madame Allamand: today he carried me to 
the Botanical Professor, who walked with me two 
hours in the garden this evening. I found my 
friend Van Meurs at Leyden; he is gone to Am- 
sterdam, where I am to meet him on Thursday nex 
to see that town. My two companions are very 
good kind of young men, and a great comfort to 
me; we have taken lodgings together ;—one very 
large and good dining-room,and two chambers, for 
about two guineas per month, which divided be- 
tween three makes it come cheap tous. All the 
people here speak French; every thing is contrived 
in the best manner to provide for the convenience 
of students, as they are the chief support of the 
town. The principal street in which we live is 
truly noble, full of very handsome houses and fine 
public buildings ; the houses have platforms of grey 
marble before them, which are washed clean every 
day; the middles of the streets are paved with 
stones like the London pavement (not flag stones), 
and the sides with bricks; no gutters in the streets; 
and the whole is so clean that you might safely sit 
down in any part. The insides of the houses are 
neat in proportion, and superbly ornamented with 
marble; the rooms very lofty and large; every 
part so wonderfully cleaned and polished that you 
would be charmed with it: *tis the same with our 
beds, and every thing we have to use. The houses 
on the outside resemble some good old houses in 
Yarmouth more than any others that I have seen ; 
