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ANECDOTE OF THE PRINCE OF ORANGE.

The Dutch confederates, having no other mode of relieving the inhabitants of Leyden, broke down the dykes of the Maese and the Yssel, inundated the Spanish camp, and the beautiful country which surrounds Leyden, and enabled Louis Brissot, admiral of Zealand, to send many flatbottomed boats, well armed, to the succour of the besieged. This desperate measure compelled the Spanish general to evacuate his camp, and to retire with such of his army as did not perish by the waters, into their own country. This siege, which commenced shortly after Easter, was raised the third of October, on which day a supply of provisions was brought to the famished inhabitants, who greedily devoured the food, amidst tears and convulsive inarticulate exclamations to heaven for their delivery, and many of them dropped down dead upon too rapidly satisfying their ravenous appetites. After this signal deliverance, the Prince of Orange, although suffering under severe illness, ordered himself to be carried in a litter to Leyden, to condole with and express his admiration of its heroic inhabitants: the interview, as well as many scenes which occurred during the siege, must have afforded a fine subject for the pencil. He gave them their option of being exempted for a certain period from taxes, or of having an university founded in their town; when, with noble and disinterested wisdom, they gave the preference to the

latter. Never did any seat of learning originate from a nobler cause: it may be said to have been endowed by the blood of the brave. The clergy of Leyden, in a public oration, still celebrate the anniversary of the glorious 3d of October, in which the story of the siege, and the deliverance of the town are feelingly recapitulated. I was surprised to find that such a subject had not more frequently engaged the pencil of the many divine artists which Holland has produced: the picture which led me to mention the above story is, in my humble opinion, unworthy of the subject; the figures are badly grouped, and express no one emotion which can affect the mind. After quitting the stadt-house, the evening being very fine, I ascended a large mount, which may be considered as a great curiosity in Holland, in the centre of the town, where there is a fine view of it: this mount is surrounded by a high wall, and is said to be the scite of a castle built by Hengist, king of the West Saxons, on his conquest in England, or, what is more likely, by one of the antient counts of Holland. The town presented a very beautiful appearance from this spot, but it is not elevated enough to enable the visitor to see the surrounding country: the fruit-trees in the gardens which encompassed the wall were loaded with very fine fruit, particularly pears, plumbs, and apples. This place is much resorted to, on Sundays and holidays, by the citizens and their families, to smoke and enjoy the

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beauty of the prospect, and the refreshing sweetness of the air.

The next morning I visited the university of Leyden,, which stands by the Rapenburg canal: it is the most venerable seminary in Holland: and, by the great number of learned and famous men which it has produced, does honor to the lustre of its origin. There is scarcely a sciencewhich has not been improved and extended in this hallowed seat of learning, which has to boast amongst its members the immortal name of the younger Scaliger, who bequeathed to it his valuable Hebrew library; of the two Hensius, father and son; the former of whom was invited by Pope Urban the Eighth to Venice, " to rescue," as "to he expressed it, "that city from barbarism;" and both of whom shone like stars of the first magnitude in every branch of graceful literature; of Salmasius, the profound and able competitor of our inmortal Milton; of Boerhaave, whose consummate knowledge of physic, attracted pupils from the most distant parts of Europe; and of many other illustrious persons, who have shed honor and distinction upon their country and the times in which they flourished. The students board in town at different lodging-houses, wherever their inclinations or resources may dispose them: they wear no regular habit: when the professors appear in public, they wear a large black