208 HORTICULTURAL TOUR. 



the alternations of temperature are less frequent and less 

 violent than in Scotland. 



There are no galleries in this church ; and we fancied 

 that the Great Kirk of Haarlem exhibited at this day the 

 appearance which St Giles^ at Edinburgh probably made 

 in the time of John Knox, before it was subdivided by par- 

 tition walls, and disfigured with lofts. As usual, the walls 

 are occupied with the achievements or escutcheons of rich 

 burgomasters, in place of the works of Rubens or Van^ 

 dyke. In the middle of the church are suspended two 

 models of ships, having small saws attached to their keels ; 

 — sacred memorials of the taking of Damietta, by means of 

 Dutch vessels so accoutred, cutting a chain which the Sa- 

 racens had extended across the mouth of the harbour. 



After the morning service, we viewed some of the chari- 

 table establishments of the place, and also some fine public 

 walks on the outskirts of the town. 



Meantime Mr Macdonald returned from a visit to Mr 

 Eldering at Overveen. He had likewise examined the na- 

 ture of the sand-hills, and found their botany rather more 

 interesting than might have been expected The hollows 

 among them abounded with the round-leaved winter-green 

 (Pyrola rotundifolia), at this time only in full flower, be- 

 ing, probably owing to the peculiarity of the situation, ful- 

 ly a month later than in England. The angular-stalked 

 SolomonVseal (Polygonatum vulgare) was common, and 

 many of the plants were still in flower. Epipactis lati- 

 folia was of a large size, and not uncommon. It is some- 

 what remarkable, that the plants which have just been men- 

 tioned are generally considered as inhabitants of woods, 

 while the sand-hills are bare, — a i'ew stunted bushes of Sa- 

 il x alba, and some straggling sea-buckthorns, being almost 

 i}k- only woody plants which diversify the waste. Silene 



