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H AG . 
‘mens of the infancy of the art are ‘preserved in the 
” town-house. An academy of sciences was founded in 
} 
1752 ; and there isan elegant museum of natural his- 
tory formed by Dr Van Maram, ior to-any other 
‘cabinet in H: d. ‘The articles are in an'excellent 
state of preservation, and with scientific taste. 
The insects of the Papilio tribe are said to be partieu- 
numerous, and many of them of the rarest de- 
i There is an institution founded by Peter 
ler Vander Hulst, a rich merchant of Haerlem, who 
bequeathed the whole of his fortune for the improve- 
ment of knowledge, and the’ relief of the poor. Its 
anual revenues are said to have amounted, before the 
revolution, tothe sum of 100,000 ftorins ; but, instead of 
being applied to objects:of science, they were allowed to 
accumulate, andare sus to have been secretly ap- 
ee during, the ascendancy of the French re- 
ic, tothe t necessities of the state. The 
: se isa magnificent building at one end-of the 
market-place, ‘and contains a number of valuable paint- 
ings, among which is ‘the first piece in oil, by Eyert; 
in 1437, which was sold.during the siege in 1572 for 
a few stivers, and is now valued at £2000. Haerlem 
is‘notia place of much trade; but is celebrated for its 
flourishing manufactures. of velvets, damasks, fine li- 
Rens, Samp. , satins, worsted —_ mat rmable 
I a number'of workmen, and sw a profitable 
Gin of traffic with Germany Brabant. Its 
bleacheries, also, are famous for the delicate whiteness 
which they give to linen cloths, which has been attri- 
buted to a peculiar quality in the waters of the lake of 
Haerlem, in le of imitation by any chemical pro- 
cess hitherto vered. Great quantities of beer are 
to Friesland, &c. ; and a gainful trade is car~ 
ried on in flowers, one of which, a-hyacinth, seen by 
M. Dutens in 1771, was valued by its owner at 10,000 
florins. In the neighbourhood of the town are several 
handsome villas, and a wood of'considerable extent full of 
delightful walks. About three miles distant is an exten- 
sive lake, called Haerlem Meer ; sometimes, also, the Sea 
of Leyden, generally ten feet in depth, and containing a 
surface of fitveen -square leagues. The population of 
Haerlem is 30,000. East Long. 4°38’ 19”, North Lat. 
52° 2256". See Trotter's Memoirs of Fox; Fell’s 
Tour in Holland ; Cary’s Tour in Holland; and Owen’s 
Travels, vol. i. - (9) 
" HAGUE, atown in Holland, and the'seat of the Dutch 
government,”10 miles ‘south-south-west of Leyden, 14 
south-west of Amsterdam, and about 3 Hilagerbice coast. It 
is generally termed by’ hers a Vi , use it 
Geebies runieipabvigttts, dnd horwartedndedoidewalle| 
but it contains atleast 38,000. inhabitants, and is one of 
the most elegant cities in Europe. It formed originally 
apart of the domains of the Counts of Holland, under 
the/name of Graven Haag, Counts Hedge, which may’ 
eee et ae ‘humble ‘appellation. of village. 
illiam IT. Comte of Holland;:removed his court from: 
Gravesande to this’ place in 1250; from which ‘time ‘it 
has always been the seat of government, and ‘in a poli- 
tical) sense ‘the is of ‘the United ‘States. It 
stande in a drier soil, and a more elevated ‘situation, 
than most other towns in’ Holland ; and its atmosphere 
is therefore accounted more pure and healthful. The 
environs are delightful; and the ap to it extreme- 
ly beautiful. ‘The’road, shaded on-both sides by lofty 
rows of trees, is sufficiently broad to‘admit four or five 
carriages abreast,and so level, that not the smallest in- 
equality of surface -is tobe -perceived.. On one side 
608 
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numerous handsome-villas on its banks ; and direetly 
in view of the traveller, 
Hague, with the 
of the town. The streets are generally 
the meanest of them extremely clean. ” They aoe com 
¥ ’ of 
the city, and forms an o! ong square, with a line of 
magnificent buildings on one side, and a large bason of 
water on'the other. “The palace of the Stadholder con« 
sists chiefly of old buildings erected at different periods, 
without any seeeley ot désign, and is surrounded 
a canal, with draw-bridges. The French church 
noted as being the burying-place of several Counts of 
Holland; and, in its aaa is a fine garden in imita- 
tion of that of Vauxhall. “To the east and south of the 
town are many beautiful ‘meadows and handsome coun. 
try seats ; and the treesare so di as.to give the 
country the a ce of being better provided with 
wood than it is in reality. On'the west side, leading 
to the fishing village of Scheveling, is a beautiful ave- 
nue nearly two miles in length, and 20 paces in 
breadth. It runs‘in a perfectly straight line, and is 
shaded on each side by oaks, beeches, and limes of an 
astonishing size, so closely and skilfully planted, as to 
have the a ‘ance of an impervious forest. The ut- 
most care is taken to preserve this magnificent grove 
from injury ; and-cautions are fixed up at short distan- 
ces, denouncing the severest penalties against offenders, 
On the north side, about a mile from the town, is a 
noble wood; about two English miles in length, and 
nearly’ one in breadth, and full of the finest walks and 
most ‘pleasing views. “The palace called Maison de 
Bois, a house of retirement for the Stadholder, has no- 
thing remarkable in ‘its ‘a ce or situation, but re« 
sembles‘the ‘residence ‘of a plain country gentleman, 
During the'time! of the Batavian republic, it was con- 
v into: strom. arn for ‘the national ‘cabinet of 
paintings ; and, to the disgrace of the government, one 
suite of its apartmentswas occupied by the keeper of a 
taverrand brothel. “ The gardens belonging to this 
lace‘are*kept with great care as a public promenade; 
but they are laid out in the worst taste. Every thing 
is ‘unnatural and artificial; stagnant canals, ‘puerile 
bridges, flower-beds of every conceivable form, and trees 
cut’ into the most ‘fantastic shapes. \ One of the princi- 
pal curiosities at the’ Hague was the prince’s. cabinet 
of natural ‘history, and‘museum ‘of rare productions, 
which contained an excellent selection of shells, insects, 
and birds, besides a great yariety of toys from the East 
Indies. It a genes to og but is now pro- 
bably restored along with the ot illaged propert 
of the nation. ‘The only species of trade of any ried 
uence’ carried on at the Hague, consisted in the pub- 
lication of continental productions, particularly of French 
books ; but this literary traffic was completely extin- 
guished by the revolution ; and from the absence of the 
court, ‘the city was falling rapidly into decay. By the 
recent restoration of the old government, its empty pa- 
Jaces- have been re-occupied ; and its former affluence 
3 
