of freestone, covered with tile, and is in length two hundred and thirty feet, and one hundred and forty in breadth. Twenty-six marble columns support its galleries, which are entered by a superb staircase, leading from the gate. The building is fitted to contain four thousand five hundred persons, and is daily resorted to after mid-day by those concerned in mercantile business.

The church of St. Nicholas, or the old church, is of considerable antiquity, but does not claim particular notice in a general account of the town. The new church is, however, a remarkably fine structure, and is, by the Dutch at least, numbered among the finest churches in Europe. It is three hundred and fifty feet in length and two hundred and ten feet wide at the transepts; the upper part rests on fifty-two pillars of hard stone, and the church is lighted by seventy-five large windows, some of which are finely painted. The pulpit and organ are much admired. The former is adorned with various specimens of sculpture; and the organ has fifty-two whole stops, besides half-stops, with two rows of keys for the feet and three rows for the hand, and a set of pipes that imitate with admirable effect a chorus of human voices. The choir of the church contains a marble monument of the great Dutch admiral De Ruyter.

Amsterdam has three theatres, and other places of amusement such as are usually found in cities of similar extent. It contains also rather more literary and scientific institutions than might at first view be expected in a place so exclusively commercial. That called "Felix Meritis" is the principal: it is supported by private subscriptions, and is held in a large building, containing some fine apartments devoted to philosophy, music, and the arts.

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Some of the public institutions of Amsterdam are very remarkable, and claim a brief notice in this place. The "rasphuis" is a place in which criminals, whose offences are not capital, are employed to saw logs of wood; and when they are indolent or refractory, they are shut up in a cellar into which water is allowed to run, so that if they do not work at a pump which is fixed there they must be drowned. It is, however, seldom necessary to resort to this mode of punishment. The "spinhuis," or workhouse, is a very singular establishment. In this building one part is devoted to women whose offences are not of an aggravated character, and another to convicts who have been guilty of more serious offences. They are kept strictly apart, and the manner in which they are treated is very different but they are all engaged in various useful employments. Young ladies, of respectable or even high families, are sometimes sent to this place on account of undutiful behavior or domestic offences, and are there obliged to put on a distinctive dress, and work a certain number of hours every day. Husbands who have to complain of the extravagance of their wives may send them to the spinhuis to acquire more sober habits; and, on the other hand, a wife who brings a well-authenticated complaint of misconduct against her husband may have him accommodated with lodgings in the same comprehensive establishment, under the roof of which a great number of poor children are also maintained and educated. The hospitals and other charitable establishments of the city are very numerous, and are maintained partly by voluntary contributions, and partly by taxes imposed on the public diversions.

LEYDEN is a large and beautiful city in the kingdom of Holland. It stands on a branch of the Rhine, and was, even in the time of Ptolemy, a place of considerable importance. Leyden did not rank very high in the political or military annals of Holland during the middle ages, although a very ancient mole and castle in its centre, the erection of which is by many attributed to the Romans, and by others to the Saxons, shows that it was even then considered as a position sufficiently important for establishing a place of defence; but its name stands high in the history of literaThe university of Leyden long took the lead in the west of Europe, as a superior place of instruction in several departments of liberal education. The circumstances connected with its foundation have much of the character of romance:

ture.

During the war carried on by the Hollanders against the despotic government of Spain, in defence of their religion and liberties, this city embraced the cause of freedom, and was consequently besieged by its former masters. For a long period the city held out with heroic pertinacity. The women lined the ramparts, and performed all the duties of soldiers, animated by one whose name was Kenava, a woman of undaunted spirit; she was present, with her companions, at all the sallies made on the enemy. At length, however, famine threatened to effect what the sword of the enemy had vainly endeavored to accomplish. On the failure of their bread, the garrison

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lived on herbs and roots, and the bodies of their horses and other animals. these could no longer be procured, they had recourse to a kind of food prepared from the hides of the slaughtered cattle. At length, when this miserable resource was nearly exhausted, a dawning hope of relief appeared. A communication was received, through the medium of carrier-pigeons, that the Dutch government, despairing of their relief by any less desperate means, had determined to break down the dikes and overflow the country, so as to force the besieging army to retire, and then to send a squadron of provision ships across the inundation to supply them in their extremity. The dikes were accordingly opened: the waters of the ocean rushed in, and the whole surrounding country was inundated; but, to their inexpressible disappointment, the waters rose but a few feet, so as to inconvenience, but not dislodge the besiegers. All hope was now at an end. The famished inhabitants could see from the walls the ships destined for their succor, but they also saw that their approach was impossible; and the blockade was carried on more vigorously than ever. For three weeks they still held out; at length, overcome with despair, they rushed in crowds to the governor, calling on him no longer to persevere in a useless defence, but to surrender, and free them at least from the horrors of starvation. The governor positively refused: "I have sworn," said he, “to defend the town against the Spaniards with my life; I will keep my oath. Food I have none, I can not give it you; but if my death be of any use, take my life. I shall die contented, if the sacrifice of it shall aid in protracting your defence." The crowd looked on each other in silent wonder, and one by one retired, submitting in tranquil despondency to the agonies of hunger, rather than swerve from the noble example set them by the governor. The equinox now arrived, a season when every Dutchman who resides in the vicinity of the dikes trembles for the security of his person and property. The storms raged with peculiar violence: the dikes, that had resisted the ordinary pressure of the sea, gave way at once, and the whole accumulated waters of the ocean flowed in without obstruction, overwhelming the banks, the batteries, and the forts of the Spaniards, and swallowing up all who were not fortunate enough to save themselves by timely flight. In the meantime, the little fleet sailed triumphantly over the surface of that element which was dealing destruction on the enemy. It entered the town without opposition. The wants of the garrison were relieved, and the besieging army relinquished the blockade as hopeless. Had two days more elapsed before this providential interference, the scanty supply of their miserable provisions would have totally failed, and the whole of the garrison must have perished. The prince of Orange, as a reward for their unparalleled defence, gave them a choice between an immunity of taxes for a stated period, or the founding of a university in their city. To their immortal honor they chose the latter, and the university was established.

The new place of learning soon acquired a high character. It exacted no exclusive tests; it demanded no oaths; its professors were of acknowledged eminence in the departments for which they were elected; its examinations were strict and impartial; its expenses were moderate; its very position, in a town marked for propriety of manners and advantage of situation, aided its progress. The wars with which this, like every other part of the country, was too frequently visited, diminished the number of students, but did not destroy the institution.

Among the many men of learning connected with the university, Boerhaave stands conspicuous. He was one of the first who extricated medicine from the mass of empiricism and mysticism which oppressed it, and elevated it to its proper rank among the sciences. The remains of this great man are interred in the church of St. Peter, in the town, and an appropriate monument has been erected over them. It consists of a pedestal, supporting an urn, and surrounded by six figures, four of which represent the several periods of human life, and the two others the sciences most indebted to his labors-medicine and chymistry. The same church contains the tombs of Kerkhoven, professor of theology; of Bockenberg, the historian; of Meerman, the bibliographer; of professors Camper and Lusac; and of other distinguished characters connected with the university.

The number of professors is twenty-one: four of theology, four of law, four of medicine, four of philosophy, and five of languages. The annual salary of each averages about one thousand dollars, besides a house, and the fees of pupils, which are very moderate. The students reside in private lodgings, and the general period of studies extends to five years. The government of the university is in the rector, who is chosen out of three persons returned by the senate to the states: the senate

consists of the professors. And on extraordinary occasions the senate and rector are directed by curators, who are agents for the states.

Printing, particularly that of classic authors, was carried on to a great extent in Leyden. The Elzevirs, whose editions are deemed essential to complete a wellselected library in the learned languages, executed most of their works here. The public library is very rich in manuscripts, which comprehend those left by Scaliger, Vossius, and Erpenius; as also for the many specimens of oriental literature with which it abounds. Golius, on his return from the East, and who afterward filled the Arabic professorship in the university with great reputation, enriched this valuable depository of learning with many Arabic, Turkish, Chaldean, and Persian writers. The total of the manuscripts is said to exceed 8,000; the printed books amount to more than 40,000 volumes.

The celebrated painter Gerard Douw was a native of Leyden, and Rembrandt was born in its neighborhood. One of its churches contains the remains of another wellknown painter, Vanderwerfe.

Though the public buildings are not peculiarly remarkable either for number or magnificence, the stadthouse may be considered as highly worthy of notice. It is an edifice of great extent, executed in the Gothic style, and surmounted by numerous small spires. Several fine paintings are seen in its apartments, among which is the portrait of John Bucold, better known by the name of John of Leyden, and that of his wife; and also a picture of his triumphant entry into Munster.

Leyden contains between thirty and forty thousand inhabitants, and is situated twenty-two miles southwest of Amsterdam.

In a recent volume,* which has been extensively distributed among the people of these United States, and which has uniformly been received with favor, we spoke of the principal features of England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and the British islands, &c. their position, picturesque views, public buildings and private edifices; their antiquities, natural and artificial curiosities; the costumes, habits, and manners of the people, and ten thousand other details of great and abiding interest to all those who are proud to claim their descent from the Anglo-Saxons, and who are disposed to admit the fact that the Americans owe much of their devotion to republican institutions, and the cause of civil and religious liberty, to the spirit inherited from their fathers. This spirit led to that bond of British liberty, the Magna Charta; that spirit induced the pilgrims to land on Plymouth rock, in 1620: that flame, may it continue to burn brighter and brighter, till the whole earth be warmed by its genial influence.

In the present volume, we have extended our travels in the same manner, and with the same views (namely, the amusement and instruction of our readers), upon the European continent. And first, to FRANCE: we have wandered among the gay attractions of the French metropolis-have devoted much time and space to the wonders of Paris-the European centre of the refinements, of the arts and sciencesthe home of Leverrier and Cuvier, and the treasured idol of Napoleon.

After lingering for a while amid the French provinces, we have come to PORTUGAL, who is not now what she once was, and to whom the whole world is indebted for many maritime discoveries of immense importance.

SPAIN, too, that country which patronized Columbus, has not been overlooked— Spain, with her forests of olive and cork-trees-her sunny skies, and proud, romantic people.

*This volume is entitled, "SEARS' PICTORIAL DESCRIPTION OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, IRELAND, WALES, AND THE BRITISH ISLANDS, embellished with several hundred Engravings, illustrating the Geological Structure, Natural Curiosities, Druidical and Roman Remains, Monumental Records, Cathedrals and other architectural works, Coins, and Costumes, together with Scenes of Picturesque Beauty which abound in those celebrated countries."

In the above volume we have offered to all classes, at the cheapest rate, a complete description of the Parent Land, by the publication of the largest collection of Engravings, with explanatory letter-press, that has ever been published in America. This work is intended for the PEOPLE; but the Knowledge which it seeks to impart is as scrupulously accurate as if it were exclusively intended for the most critical antiquary. To describe it, would occupy too much room. It must be seen, to be admired; and read, to be appreciated. Every American will desire a copy, after he has seen the beautiful style in which the work is got up. The price of this work is two dollars.

Next, we have gone to ITALY-the scholar's passion, and the painter's pride-Italy, with her classic ruins, and her bright sunsets, where the golden clouds lingerlong after the world has received the farewell of the bright god of day.

We have spoken, too, of SWITZERLAND, the land of liberty and William Tellthe representative of freedom amid the monarchies of Europe-Switzerland, with its cloud-capped mountains and sparkling waterfalls, its hilly passes and smiling valleys.

Nor have we forgotten BELGIUM or HOLLAND, the country of dikes and canalsdistinguished for the many works of art which adorn its cabinets and galleries, and also for the mercantile spirit of its people; but have attempted, in the brief limits which were assigned to us, to give our readers some idea of those interesting countries.

We have said nothing of northern Europe. We have left Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, Prussia, and Poland. Should a kind public demand it, we may recur to these countries on another occasion.