230 
Stadholdership should. be hereditary in 
his family, and even pass in the female 
hne. 
Wiitiam the Fifth, the erandson of 
William the ‘Phird, enjoyed the dignity 
nll 1795; the epoch of the oecupation of 
Liolland by the Frencl: armies. 
Placed between a power which, for a 
Jong time had been its irreconcileable 
enemy, and France, which was 1 its natural 
ally, Holland could not hesitate to make 
her choice. By calling a Freneh prince 
totake the reins of their governinent, the 
Dutch consulted their real interests, and 
from that moment we may venture to 
predict, thet this nation, which has more 
than once established shi independence 
of the ocean, and given peace to Europe, 
will, under a monarch, whose views are 
solely directed towards the prosperity of 
the empire which is confided to him, re- 
sunie that rank which she occupied at 
the most brilliant periods of her history. 
In 1806, a treaty was concluded be- 
tween France and Holland, by which a 
new constitution was formed, and Louis 
Napoleon, brother to the emperor of the 
French, was placed an the throne of 
Holland.* 
Batavia is. traversed by two consider- 
able rivers, the Rhine and the } Meuse, 
which give rise to aimost all the running 
waters in the country, except the Ems, 
which has its seurce in the depastinent 
of Utrecht. Inthe construction ef their 
canals, the Dutch bave shewn of what 
human industry is capable, and what is 
its recompense; but their dykes are still 
a more extraordinary monument iv the 
eyes of strangers. These artificial banks 
are generally raised about thirty feet 
above the level of the adjoinmg land, 
Sketches of Holland an 1806. 
FApril t, 
which seems in 2 manner enclosed by 
these species of ramparts. ‘The ex- 
pences of keeping the dykes in order, is 
paid by the whule nation, and every dis- 
trict is tuxed according to the utility i¢ 
derives from them, and the proportion of 
the extent of country it shelters from the 
waters.  Uuder the denomination ot 
Bam, the Dutch comprehend every sors 
of dyke raised to confine the waters of a 
river, or a lake; tor which reason it is, 
that most of the names they have given to 
their cities and towns, end in Dam. 
Rotterdam owes its name to the dyke 
raised upon the Rotte, a river near 
the town. Amsterdam receives her's 
from the dyke on the Amstel. It is the 
same with Saardam, Schiedam, Mouni- 
kendam, and many others: 
Gold and humidity, in general charaes 
terize the climate of Holland. Many 
naturalists have asserted, that the ex- 
treme: moisture of Holland contributes 
materially to shorten humaw life. The 
eclebrared Baron Llaller advances boldiy,: 
that ‘* Holland is an unhealthy country, 
and Jife is short.” This assertion is re- 
futed: hawever by facts ; in Holland, as in 
other countries we have seen individuals 
who have lived to a very advanced age; 
and a judicious writer of our day, M: 
Walcknaer, observes, that the sobriety 
and regular uniform life of the inhabi- 
tants give them a longer duration of 
years, “than in many other countries. 
where tlie air is more salubrious, 
The agriculture of Holland consists 
almost exclusively in the cultivation of 
meadows and gardens; its low, damp, 
spongy soil, Jomed to an atmosphere 
luaded with vapours, often rainy, and for 
a long time cold; 
* By the treaty concluded at the Hague in 1806, the kingdom of Holland was divided 
as follows: 
Departments. 
Consisting of 
, Chief Tozuns. 
: The Province of Groninguen, comprising | pat 
4. Groninguen - } Wied, and West-Woldingerland. TREO age 
2. Friesland - | The Province of Friesland and Ameland. Leewarden. 
3. Over Issel - | Over- Issel and the Country of Drenthe. Zwol. 
4 Guelderland = - Goeiderland, Kuilemberg, and Buren. Arnheim. 
5. Utrecht - | Urrecht and Veanen, Utrecht. 
6 Holland - Holland, Isselstein. The Hague. 
7 Brabant £ Dutch Brabant. Bois Le Hue. 
@ Zealand ¥ Zealand. ‘Middleburg. 
~Ivis also divided into-four military divisions. —The first comprises the departments of Hol+ 
land, Brabant., and Utrecht, 
Had Quarters at the Hague. 
“The second, bie Province of Zealand. 
Head Quarters at Middleburg. 
“The third, the Departments of Friesland and Groninguen. 
Head Quarters at Groninguen. 
Ter € fourth, the Departments of Gue chieclaad and Over-Issel, 
wg ene + 5 ad Quarters at sii te 
ether, 
leaves scarcely any 
