Holland is 150 miles long, and nearly the same in breadth; and situated between 51° and 54° North latitude.

1. In HOLLAND, the chief towns are. Amsterdam, on the Zuyder Zee; Rotterdam, on the Maese, the birth place of the famous Erasmus.

Leyden, where there is an university; the Hague, the largest village in Europe; Dort, Haerlem, Delf, Helvoetsluys.

Amsterdam is the capital of the country, and is a very fine and rich city, containing about 241,000 inhabitants it is built upon piles of wood.

Rotterdam ranks next, for commerce and wealth. The Hague, though called a village, was the seat of government in Holland, and the residence of all the foreign ambassadors and strangers of distinction,

It is celebrated for the magnificence and beauty of its buildings, and the politeness of its inhabitants, who are computed to be 40,000.

Holland is by far the finest and the richest of all the provinces.

2. In ZEALAND, the chief towns are Middleburg and Flushing.

3. In UTRECHT, the chief town is Utrecht.

4. In GUELDERLAND and ZUTPHEN, the chief towns are, Nimeguen, and Zutphen.

5. In OVERYSSEL, the chief town is Deventer, on the Yssel.

6. In GRONINGEN, the chief town is Groningen. 7. In FRIESLAND, the chief town is Leuarden.

The

The Texel, and some other inconsiderable islands, lie along the coast in the North Sea.

Since the establishment of the Batavian Republic *, Holland, including Dutch Brabant, has been divided into eight departments.

I. The Department of the Scheldt and Meuse, comprehends the western part of Dutch Brabant, the islands in the southern part of the Province of Holland, the whole of Zealand and Dutch Flanders. Chief town, Middleburgh.

II. The Department of the Dommel is composed of part of Dutch Brabant, and part of the south of the province of Holland. Chief town, Bois-le-Duc.

III. The Department of Delft contains the middle part of the province of Holland. Chief town, the Hague.

IV. The Department of Amstel is composed of the city of Amsterdam and its environs. Chief town, Amsterdam.

V. The Department of the Texel comprehends the north of the province of Holland, the districts of Haerlem and Leyden, and the islands, Texel, &c. Chief town, Alkmaer.

VI. The Department of the Rhine is composed of Zutphen, the principal part of Utrecht, and part of the province of Holland. Chief town, Arnheim, on the Rhine.

This Republic was formed into a kingdom, under the government of a brother of Buonaparte, who has lately resigned the crown, and Holland now forins a part of the French Empire.

VII. The Department of Old-Yssel comprehends the province of Over-Yssel and part of Guelderland. Chief town, Zwoll.

VIII. The Department of the Ems includes the provinces of Friesland and Groningen. Chief town, Leuarden.

SECTION XLV.

OF HOLLAND.

1

THE principal Rivers are, the Rhine, the Maese,

and the Scheldt; and there is a prodigious number of canals.

Holland lies opposite to the eastern coast of England, at the distance of only 90 miles across the German ocean. It consists of a narrow slip of low swampy land, which has been drained at a vast expence; the air is consequently very foggy.

The Dutch carry on a very extensive commerce to all parts of the world; their East-India fleet, which arrives every summer*, brings them more than a hundred tons of gold, exclusive of pearls, diamonds, ivory, copper, and all sorts of spices; these they trade with to other countries.

The principal of their own commodies are, butter, cheese, tobacco-pipes, delft ware, hemp and paper manufactures, and several other articles.

The Dutch are the most commercial nation in

* The Dutch have lost nearly the whole of their East India possessions since their union with France.

Europe.

Europe. They are a heavy plodding people, who are neither airy enough for joy, nor warm enough for love. They are in general very fond of drinking, and smoaking tobacco; and are very dexterous at skaiting.

There is the greatest cleanliness and neatness observable throughout Holland in general; and all the towns have canals running through the streets, the borders of which are planted with rows of trees. The Religion is in general Presbyterian, or Calvinism; but all are tolerated.

So great was the power of the Dutch by sea and land, that they made both Louis XIV. and Charles II. tremble under the government of a States-general; which consisted of deputies from the seven Provinces, with a Stadtholder as a president of the whole.

The different provinces of which Holland is composed, were originally an assemblage of several lordships, dependant on the house of Austria, and toge ther with the ten provinces of the Netherlands, made up what was then called the Circle of Burgundy, and reckoned a part of the German empire, during the reign of the Emperor Charles V. But when his son Philip succeeded to the crown of Spain, and a general insurrection was made, as has been already mentioned, the prince of Orange, (great grandfather to our King William III.) whom they elected to be their Stadtholder, or general, retiring into Holland, that province, and the adjacent provinces, entered into a treaty for their mutual defence in 1579; and soon after formed the republic called the Seven

F 2

Seven United Provinces, or Holland, that being the most considerable province. The office of Stadtholder was made hereditary in the Prince of Orange's family, not excepting females. The Stadtholder, William-Henry-Nassau V. who succeeded in 1751,

is still living.

The foreign possessions of the Dutch were, Surinam, in South America; and some islands in

North America ;

In Asia, several forts and factories.

SECTION XLVI.

OF DENMARK.

DENMARK, lying on the North of Germany,

consists of the peninsula of Jutland, formerly called Cimbria; and eight islands in the Baltic Sea.

Denmark is bounded on the

North, by the Scaggerac Sea, which separates it from Norva;

South, by Holstein, in Germany;

East, by the Sound in the Baltic, which separates it from Sweden;

West, by the German Ocean, between it and Great Britain.

The peninsula of Jutland is about 240 miles long and 180 broad, and is divided into North and South. The North part retains the name of Jutland; the South part, which borders upon Germany, is called the Duchy of Sleswick.

The