ROTTERDAM. 137 



could be no crowding, each place being numbered, and the 

 forms are not only provided with cushions, but furnished 

 with backs to rest upon. Coffee and cake were handed 

 to those who desired such refreshments. The orchestra 

 was full, and the music good. We remarked that the per- 

 son who seemed to act as leader of the band merely beat 

 time, without playing on any instrument. 



We now prepared to leave Rotterdam, being anxious to 

 get forward to Leyden and Haarlem, which we hoped 

 might prove more fertile in horticultural productions. 



The striking characters of this place have already been 

 incidentally alluded to. — One of the most important of 

 these consists in the deep canals, admitting large ships into 

 the very centre of the city, and rendering it wonderfully 

 commodious for foreign commerce. The three head canals, 

 the Leeve havn, Oude havn, and Niewe havn, communi- 

 cate directly with the Maese, and are furnished with for- 

 midable sluices to prevent too great an influx of water in 

 time of floods. — The sledges for the conveyance of mer- 

 chandise, were new to us. They are drawn by strong 

 well-fed horses, generally of a shining black colour, and 

 with tails almost sweeping the ground. These animals 

 are so high shod, that the hoof does not come within half 

 an inch of the ground ; and as they pace along, a noise is 

 thus produced like the clinking of heavy pattens. In front of 

 the sledge, a small barrel of water is so adjusted, that a por- 

 tion of the water constantly trickles out and wets the cause- 

 way over which the sledge is to pass. The friction is thus 

 considerably lessened, and at the same time the streets are 

 in a great measure kept free from dust. When the sledge 

 is unloaded, the driver generally steps upon it, and thus 

 moves along at his ease, with his pipe in his mouth. — The 

 appearance of the windows of the houses in general pleased 



