22

GOIICUM.

scarcely an entire pane of glass is left inthe town. The hardships which the ill-fated inhabitants endured were dreadful.We obtained an excellent English beef-steak at the hotel called the Doele , whichappears to have been an old house of someconsequence; the room was hung roundwith some very well painted portraits ofthe Spanish generals who had formerlycommanded there, and every thing bore theappearance of decayed splendour.

We kept our course along the dyke,leaving Dort on the opposite bank of theriver, and reached Rotterdam again late inthe evening. This last stage was mostlythrough extensive beds of willow, and thedyke was lined with huts, w’hose inhabit-ants were employed in making hoops, animmense supply of which comes from thisplace. On the following morning myfellow-travellers returned to England ; andhaving letters to deliver to the British am-bassador at the Hague , I took the oppor-tunity of again visiting that town, whereI remained several days; and once more