UTRECHT. C M3 



Utrecht. 



About 2 o'clock in the afternoon we reached this ancient 

 place, and proceeded to the Chateau d'Anvers, or Antwerp 

 Arms. This inn is still kept by a grandson of old Oblet, 

 who used to boast to English travellers of having frequent- 

 ly been host to the Marquis of Granby, during the war of 

 1756. There is a freshness and coolness about Utrecht, 

 which is rendered more striking to those who have recently 

 been annoyed by the sickening fetor of the canals and the 

 feverish heat of the streets of the Dutch capital. We were 

 well pleased to be able again to breathe untainted air, and 

 to enjoy the luxury of pure water. 



Botanic Garden. 



We spent the afternoon chiefly in viewing the Botanic 

 Garden, which, though small, contains a tolerably good 

 collection of plants. Here we met Dr Van Gunst, the pre- 

 sent Professor of Botany ; and were much taken with the 

 simple and venerable appearance of the superintendant of 

 the garden, Mr Frederick Lichtervahl, who, finding that 

 we were horticulturists, expatiated on the pleasantness and 

 healthfulness of the gardener's life, and mentioned that he 

 had yesterday completed his 82d year. He is a Prussian, 

 a native of Potzdam. 



The range of hot-houses, or stoves for tropical plants, 

 measures about 124 feet in length ; and there are two green- 

 houses, one 60, and another 42 feet long. Besides these, 

 there is a long suite of pits, 80 feet in length, covered with 

 glass frames, chiefly for preserving plants during winter. 

 The stove plants appeared to us to have suffered from the 

 contracted form of the houses, being drawn up, and in some 



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