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222 of Amsterdam; thought that seven small gates could be more easily defended than a large one, if, in case of a popular sedition, the mob attacked the stadthouse with a view to plunder its treasures, or by the destruction of the records which it contained, to involve the country in ruin and confusion.

The top of the stadthouse is ornamented with several noble statues, one of which, a colossal figure of Atlas, with a copper globe of immense size on his shoulders, is of remarkably fine execution. The attitude of the figure is striking, and the whole conception of the piece grand. It may not be improper in this place to mention, that the finest pieces of sculpture which ornament the stadthouse of Amsterdam, are from the chissel of Artus Quellinus, a statuary of Antwerp, a city more eminent for the celebrated artists which it has produced, than for the riches and commerce which it formerly enjoyed.

In the square before the stadthouse, is elevated on a pole, or rather mast, almost: an