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134 Prussian minister resides at the Hague. The little trade which remains to the republic is chiefly carried on under the protection of the Prussian flag, and commercial consuls of that nation are established at every considerable port. — As I shall have occasion to speak at large hereafter on the present state of the commerce of Holland, I shall now return to what is strictly connected with the Hague.

During that bright period of French literature, when the writings of Voltaire, D'Alembert, Helvetius, Rousseau, &c. were eagerly sought after by the learned and curious of Europe, the booksellers at the Hague and Amsterdam with great spirit multiplied the editions of these authors, and carried on a lucrative trade with their works, in all parts where they have been permitted to vend them. Of late, however, not a single book above the size of a pamphlet has appeared from the Hague press, and the booksellers venture on few of the costly publications which have lately been printed at Paris.