ROTTERDAM. 127 



have here a good wheat-soil to grow in ; the roots do not 

 reach the stagnant water ; the trees endure for generations ; 

 and the branches have room to spread in every direction. 

 In this garden we saw the Hcere Appel, or Gentleman's 

 apple : it is large, and, as Mr Schuurmans told us, good 

 for the dessert. He pointed out to us two pears which he 

 highly esteemed : one of these he called Grand Bretagne, 

 and this seemed nothing else than our Black Achan : the 

 other he named Jutte peer ; this was new to us, and ap- 

 peared of very promising qualities, for it was not yet ripe : 

 about the etymology of the name we are not certain ; pos- 

 sibly it may have originally come from Jutland. 



Having rejoined Mr Hay at the table d'hote of our inn, 

 we went together in the afternoon to the Scottish Church, 

 for which two pastors (the Rev. William Macphail and 

 the Rev. James Anderson) are provided, and paid by the 

 Dutch Government. The former at this time officiated. 

 The worship was quite similar to what we had been accus- 

 tomed to at home ; and to meet with this in a foreign land 

 was pleasing enough. We afterwards, by invitation, spent 

 the evening with the two Reverend Gentlemen. In walk- 

 ing homeward with one of them,, along a part cf the Cingle, 

 we came to a continued series of garden-houses, nearly a 

 mile in extent ; these miniature villas being separated from 

 each other only by wooden partitions, which are generally 

 neatly painted. Mr Anderson mentioned, that around Rot- 

 terdam there are about eight hundred such villas, (tuin- 

 huisjes or Imt-hqfs). We looked in upon several, where we 

 could do so without intruding, and saw several well-dressed 

 people, generally seated ; the ladies frequently regaling them- 

 selves with coffee, the gentlemen with pipes ; both in the 

 open air, or in summer-houses with the windows thrown 

 wide open. 



