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204 careful, they may easily be overturned, but the carriages are placed so near the ground that bad consequences can seldom happen from accidents of that kind. Returning from the theatre our driver carried a flambeau with him; an useless appendage, for the greets of Amsterdam are well lighted; but his motive was to make an additional charge. The whole demand, however, was extremely reasonable, if compared with the rates of hackney coaches in London. Including the time we were at the theatre, the sledge was engaged by us about four hours, and the fare amounted only to a florin, or twenty pence English. The driver demanded and received a gratuity, but he was satisfied with, and thankful for, a moderate donation.

We waited on the municipality at the stadthouse in the morning to have our passports examined. The gentlemen to whom this office belonged behaved to us with a politeness so unusual to persons in their situations, that I should be sorry not to mention it. They scarcely perused the description of our persons which the passports