1G0 llOUTlCULTUKAL TOUR. 



ruins. The Church of St Peter, although at the distanee 

 of nearly the eighth of a mile, was considerably injured. 

 King Louis was at the Hague at the moment of the explo- 

 sion ; but he immediately hurried to the scene of distress, 

 and spent the whole of the following night in encouraging 

 the exertions made for the rescue of the sufferers, and the 

 extinguishing of the fires which were constantly breaking- 

 out in different points among the ruins. This humane 

 ruler, immediately afterwards, invited many of the house- 

 less families to the royal palace called the House in the 

 Wood, where temporary apartments- were fitted up for 

 them, till they could procure habitations of their own. This 

 terrible accident, which happened in the afternoon of 12th 

 January 1807, is yet spoken of with a kind of horror. 

 Many of the houses have been restored ; but building goes 

 on very slowly in Holland, and there is still a considerable 

 hiatus to fill up. Improvement, however, has, as usual, re- 

 sulted ; a square has been formed where houses were for- 

 merly crowded ; and the new streets have been widened. 



Lcyden to Haarlem. 

 In the afternoon we left the Golden ^ngel, and pro- 

 ceeded in the trccksehuyt for Haarlem, which has long 

 been celebrated as a favourite seat of Flora. The banks 

 of the canal in the vicinity of the town, presented many 

 villas. These were succeeded by extensive meadows, which 

 arc seldom depastured by cattle, the grass being either 

 cut for hay, or mowed in small quantities at a time, and 

 carried fresh to cows which are constantly housed. This 

 is the lowest district of Holland, and could, in a few 

 hour,, be wholly laid under water. In one place, we no- 

 ii< ■< I b .lif.u y stork stalking leisurely in a moist meadow; 

 hhI ouj kipper made us understand, that a few oyevaars 



