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264 the Park in the extreme west end which is very pretty indeed.

On Tuesday morning I left for the Hague which is a far prettier place and one far more interesting from a historical point of view. No town in Holland possesses so many broad and handsome streets, lofty and substantial houses and spacious and imposing squares as the Hague. There is little or no commerce here but the Hague has been from the 16th century downwards the political capital of Holland as Amsterdam is its commercial capital, and hence its beauty and cleanliness. The king's palace is here, as well as the upper and lower houses of the Parliament of Holland and most of the head Government offices.

The celebrated Binnenhof of the Hague is of mediæval origin and was once surrounded and defended by a moat. Count William of Holland first built a palace here about 1260 and his son Florens V. enlarged it and made the Hague his capital in 1291. The brick building of the time of Florens V. called the Hall of the Knights still stands in the center of the Binnenhof. To the east of the Knight's Hall is the Geregtshof or the Court of Justice, while to the north and south of it stand the chambers of the States General, the Parliament of the kingdom of Holland. I saw the fine Treves Saloon, built as a reception room by Stadholder William III. who was king of England, and I also saw the Lower House, the Dutch House of Commons. The Upper House was closed today.