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366 work had been done for a considerable period of time, and rank grass was growing on many of the spots where mighty fleets had been created.

We visited the hut where Peter the Great of Russia resided, when, to acquire a practical knowledge in the art of ship-building, he laid aside his imperial dignity, and worked for some time as a common carpenter in the dock-yards and naval arsenals of Saardam. The cottage in which this prince lived is one of the meanest in the town, and without other accommodations than what might have suited the circumstances of the humblest mechanic. The hut was full of children, and abominably dirty, a fault that is not to be charged on the generality of Dutch cottages. A nitche was shewn us in the room which contained the emperor's bed, an execrable engraving of him by a French artist, and a copper coin on which his head was impressed. The woman of the house also shewed us two wine-glasses, which were given her some years ago by the present Emperor of Russia, then the Archduke Paul,