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Rh praised for their scrupulous honesty and inflexible integrity; and let me add too, for their patriotism, public spirit, and munificence. What city in Europe can boast of charitable foundations more splendidly endowed than those of Amsterdam? Its institution for the increase of knowledge and the encouragement of the fine arts is yet in its infancy, but its utility has already been proved, and in a few years it may vie with the oldest established and most opulent societies in Europe.

During our stay at Amsterdam, we crossed the Y, to visit the pleasant villages of Broek and Saardam in North Holland. The one celebrated for its singular neatness, the other for its mills and extensive yards for the building of ships.

The village ot Broek is at the easy distance of six miles from Amsterdam, and inhabited chiefly by merchants of overgrown wealth, who, when the hours of business are over,