particularly abundant, and no doubt very valuable. I observed a fine skeleton of a young Greenland whale, and several other skeletons, perfect in their line. Concerning the history of these, however, I could not gain much information, as the whole was exhibited by a woman, who spoke Dutch, "et preterea nihil.”

I then entered the church of St Peter, which is a magnificent pile. In Holland nothing will be found to astonish and gratify a stranger more than the superb nature of all the buildings appropriated to public worship. They are generally as fine as our cathedrals. The small towns are not destitute of them, and in the large there are many. Here I had not advanced six yards, before I found myself standing by the tomb which contains the ashes of the famous Boerhaave. It is simple and elegant, and consists merely of a large urn of white marble, placed upon a jet black pedestal. The urn is surrounded by six figures of white marble, four of which represent the different stages of life, and the other two the sciences of Medicine and Chemistry. Below the urn is a drapery, likewise of white marble, with several emblematical devices. There is a head of Boerhaave, of the same material, in basso relievo, upon the front of the black pedestal; and below this, at a little distance from each other, are the following inscriptions: "Simplex sigillum veri,' and Salutifero Boerhavii genio sacrum."

Besides this, I observed the tombs of several other illustrious men, particularly that of Camper, the celebrated anatomist. It consists of a large white bust, placed upon a black pedestal, without ornament or decoration. On it there is neither inscription nor device, but simply the name which will never die.

In the same church lie the remains of Gerard de Meerman, a well-known bibliographer. This man died of fright, in consequence of the explosion which took place here on the 12th of January 1807. A French vessel from Amsterdam for Delft, lying in the canal Van Rappenberg, in the centre of the city, laden with ten thousand pounds weight of gunpowder, blew up about five o'clock in the after noon, killed some hundreds of the inhabitants, destroyed great part of the

town, and produced the utmost havoc and consternation. My servant told me he heard the noise at Amsterdam, two-and-twenty miles off. Many of the inhabitants were sitting at dinner, and perished among the ruins of their dwellings, with their wives and children. A Jewish school suffered considerably; sixteen of the children were blown up. A charity school near it was also destroyed, with all its inmates. Fifty children at a boarding school narrowly escaped, by the collision of two walls, which supported the beams and roof: only two of these were crushed to death, and a third perished with fright in its father's arms. Those who were saved rushed into the court-yard, and the meeting there of parents and children is described to have been terrible. The windows of my bed-room command a view of this very spot, and of what I at first thought a fine park, with a canal, and trees, and pleasant walks. I did not then know that this was where the explosion had taken place, and that at one period it was the most populous quarter of the city. By this awful catastrophe several streets were annihilated, and Professor Meerman, with many others, died of fright. After the explosion, the town was discovered to be on fire in different places. It must indeed have been a tremendous night.

The environs of Leyden are by no means devoid of beauty; and there is a greater variety in the scenery than is to be observed in most Dutch landscapes. I circumambulated the town during a calm and delightful evening, and enjoyed many picturesque views in the course of my walk. It is surrounded by a high wall, and this wall is again encompassed by a deep and broad canal with many windings,' which from some points assumes the appearance of a lake, and from others of a river. On the other side of this canal there is a shady walk, broad and dry, and bordered with two rows of magnificent trees, forming one of the most extensive and pleasing promenades I have ever seen. At each quarter this walk is connected with the town by an elegant drawbridge, which, seen from a distance among the trees, has a romantic effect. The carial abounds in small fish, which attract many water birds, particularly the terns or sea swallows. These ustially

fly in flocks of three or four pair, pursuing the course of the water through all its windings, at about twenty feet above it. Almost every second one of the blithe company descends to the surface of the water with the rapidity of an arrow, and with unerring aim, upon some rash and ill-fated individual of the finny race, which it bears up in triumph, though frequently pursued by its own associates, and sometimes obliged to relinquish the produce of its dexterity, to a stronger though less industrious rival.

The country about Leyden seems exceedingly rich and well cultivated; and the peculiar cleanliness and comfort of the farm-houses and cottages must strike every traveller. There is a richness and luxuriance in the vegetation, which I have never seen equalled; and the bright and dazzling glow of the gardens and flower parterres is almost oppressive. In travelling in the treckschuyts early in summer, with a gentle breeze, a person, though deprived of sight, might be sensible of passing the dwellings which adorn the banks of the canal, from the perfumes exhaled by the gardens with which these are surrounded.

"As when to them who sail

Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past
Mozambic, off at sea north-east winds blow
Sabean odours from the spicy shore
Of Araby the blest; with such delay
Well pleased, they slack their course, and
many a league,

Cheered with the grateful smell, old Ocean

smiles."

These odoriferous airs, indeed, both surprised and delighted me, as I had usually associated very different ideas with the stagnant swamps of Holland. As the richness of the gardens, how ever, is frequently derived from the less Sabean soil of the marsh, the same cause seems capable of producing very different effects; but the winds "Whisper not whence they stole those balmy spoils ;" at least they are, for the most part, fortunately silent in regard to the prime cause.

Haarlem.

I left. Leyden with regret, and pursued my journey to Haarlem by the treckschuyt. The canal between the two towns is thought very fine. It is

certainly clean and spacious, and the surrounding country is rich and fertile, and abounds in country seats, At Haarlem I took up my residence at the Golden Lion (Goude Leeuw), the name which the house in which I lodged in Leyden likewise bore. My stay in the former was too short to enable me to ascertain its character, but the latter I may recommend to future tourists.

The greater part of my stay in this town was spent in listening to the famous organ, the finest in the world. It is indeed "the sovereignest thing on earth," and seems made up of the very soul and essence of musical harmony. The variety of its tones is astonishing; and its power of imitating all instruments, whether single or combined, can neither be conceived by those who have not been in Haarlem, nor described by those who have. The warlike flourish of the trumpet, the clear note of the octave, and the mellow tone of the flute, are heard in beautiful succession, when these ap pear to swell into a thousand instru→ ments, and the senses are nearly overpowered by the united effect of a most powerful and harmonious military band, which again sinks away in those more gentle and impressive sounds which an organ alone can produce. The organist, whose name is Schumann, played a very fine battle-piece, in which every imaginable sound of joy and sorrow, fear, courage, misery, and despair,were combined with the roaring of musketry, the thundrous sweep of cannon, and the loud and irresistible charge of a thou sand horses; and commingled with these, during the dread intervals of comparative silence, were the shouts of the victors, the lamentations of the wounded, and the groans of the dying. No painting could have presented so clear and terrible a picture of two mighty armies advancing in battle array, mingling in the mortal conflict, and converting the face of nature into one universal scene of confusion, dismay, and death, Rarely does music produce an effect upon the mind so permanent as either poetry or painting; but, in my own case, there is, in this instance, an exception to the gen eral rule. I have listened to the notes angelical of many a harp," but never were my ears seized with such ravishment as on the evening I passed

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at Haarlem. The organist afterwards took me up to the organ-loft, where I was favoured with a near inspection; but nothing should be too minutely examined. The Rev. Dean of St Patrick asks

Why is a handsome wife ador'd
By every coxcomb but her lord?
Of yonder puppet-man inquire,
Who wisely hides his wood and wire;
Shows Sheba's queen completely dress'd,
And Solomon in royal vest.

But view them litter'd on the floor,
Or strung on pegs behind the door,
Punch is exactly of a piece
With Lorraine's Duke or Prince of Greece.

I thought the appearance of the keys very diminutive, when contrasted with the sublime effect produced by them. There are about 5000 pipes belonging to this organ. The largest is 38 feet long, and 15 inches in diameter.

The environs of this town are adorned with many luxuriant and delightful gardens. Nothing can be more rich than the soil here; and although the flower season is now nearly over, it is easy to see, from what remains, with what a glow of splendour the surface of the country must have been enamelled a few weeks ago. These are Nature's beauties, which, like many artificial ones at home, toil not, neither do they spin, "yet Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these."

It was in the vicinity of Haarlem that the extraordinary tulip mania, so general at one time in Holland, chiefly raged. To such a degree of violence were the inhabitants of this and some other cities affected by it, that the government was obliged at length to interfere, and put an end to such an absurd and ruinous species of commerce, by an official notification. In the year 1657, one hundred and twenty tulips were sold, for the sum of 90,000 guilders; and it is mentioned in the Dutch records, that" single tulips have been sold for seven, eight, nine, and even ten thousand guilders, which is more than ten times what any person would have given for the garden in which they grew."

In the Great Church at Haarlem are suspended the models of three or four ships, representing, it seems, those which, in the frenzy of the crusades, had been furnished by this city, and had piously forced their way through much carnage,

to the harbour of Damietta. But what must give most men greater pleasure, is a statue in the public square, erected in honour of Laurence Coster, a native of the town, and one of the church-wardens, said to have been the inventor of the art of printing. He holds in his hand a large type, on which is the letter A ; and on the pedestal is represented a printing-press at work. It is to be feared that the "inaudible and noiseless foot of time," aided by the elements, must gradually undermine and destroy the effigies of the venerable printer; on which account I wish that the vestry at Haarlem could be persuaded to shelter their countryman in the cathedral, were it even to the exclusion of some eminent Dutch divine or cumbersome burgo master. In a house at no great distance, among other curiosities, a book is shown, said to be the first which Coster ever printed.

In the neighbourhood of this city there is a fine house, built for the summer residence of Mr Hope, the celebrated merchant of Amsterdam. It is a delightful retreat, finished with white marble, and contains many noble apartments, and a magnificent saloon, full of capital pictures and prints. Passing from one chamber furnished with blue silk, to another adorned with yellow, is pleasing enough at times; but I would, for the most part, during a fine summer evening, when the sun is sinking in all its glory, prefer walking from one green field to another. So I thought on the present occasion; and while the companion of my travels took his fill of vaulted halls smoking with frankincense, and glit tering with rosewood and satin, I wan dered about the gardens and dewy parterres, watching the beautiful changes of colour in the western sky, and listening to the fine song of the nightingale among the groves, for there

"The wakeful bird Sung darkling, and, in shadiest covert hid, Tun'd her nocturnal note."

There are many other pleasant country residences near Haarlem, among which Hartkamp should be mentioned, being more particularly interesting, as having been at one time the abode of Linnæus, and the place where that famous botanist laid the foundation of his immortal system.

(To be continued.)

X. Y. Z.

We are happy to lay before our readers the following very interesting journal of Lieutenant Jeffries, of H. M. armed brig Kangaroo, on her voyage from Port Jackson to Ceylon; which is highly creditable and meritorious to the nautical abilities of Lieutenant Jeffries; and as the publication of a new track in seas abounding with reefs and shoals in every direction, to the imminent danger of the navigator, must prove of, the greatest import and utility to the commercial world, more especially that part of it which enjoys the trade of Australasia and Bengal, besides adding to the general stock of nautical knowledge.

His Majesty's armed brig Kangaroo, commanded by Lieutenant Jeffries, sailed from Port Jackson the 19th of April 1815 for the island of Ceylon, for the purpose of conveying to their regiment the various detachments of the 73d that had remained, and who, with their families, amounted to about one hundred persons in number. Intending to make the passage through Torres Straits, Captain Jeffries ran along the coasts as far as Harvey's Bay, which lies in about 244° S. latitude, when finding the weather grow thick and unfavourable as he approached Wreck Reef, he formed a resolution to try the passage inside the Great Barrier Reefs, which commence in about 23°, and extend as far as lat. 10° S. Captain Jeffries followed Captain Cook's track along the coast of New Holland, considering it in all respects preferable to the outer passage, in which almost every vessel that has adopted it has fallen in with unknown reefs and shoals. Having observed that officer's track as nearly as was possible, until he reached that part of the coast which lies off Endeavour river, Captain J. was left to his own judgment in running down an

New South Wales. VOL. I.

unexplored. On the 28th of April, at noon, he rounded Breaksea Sprit, Har vey's Bay, and hauled in towards the coast to the westward; passed the Keppel island, and anchored at Point Bowen, for the purpose of getting fresh water, as her old stock, which had been taken on board at Port Jackson during an extremely dry season, had become putrid. The launch, upon her watering expedition, was driven fifteen miles to leeward of Port Bowen by an unexpected gale of wind, and this accident detained the vessel several days. After leaving Port Bowen, Captain J. continued as nearly as possible in the track of our celebrated but unfortunate countryman, and always ran down in the day-time such parts of the coast as Captain Cook had passed by night, deriving thence an occasion of describing places which in Captain Cook's unlimited extent of observation have unavoidably escaped his more minute attention.

Having passed Northumberland and Cumberland Islands, Captain J. made Whitsunday Passage upon Whitsunday, as Captain Cook had previously done in the Endeavour thirty-five years before, from which circumstance the Passage took its name. There is something pleasingly coincident, in the cir eumstance of two British commanders having upon that particular day an chored in the same remote and unfrequented spot-the knowledge of which brought to recollection the immortal Cook, and filled the mind with reverential awe and sympathy.

At Cape Sandwich Captain J. had communication with the natives, who were very friendly, and conveyed fruits to the vessel. The men are rather stouter than the natives of this southern part of the coast; but in point of industry, or apparent genius, there is scarcely any difference. They have a fruit among them in shape and colour resembling the mangosteen of the east, and in taste the English medlar. By the 28th of May, Captain J. had proceeded as far as Captain Cook's track extended, he having there borne away, from a consideration that the coast be

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