Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-10-24
a DESERTED CIiY.
The Ancient and Once-pOpulOus Town
OF Ley den Fallen Into Decay.

st. James GaZette.l
From the norid klosk-likc railway sta
ton Jingle tram-line runs through the
scattered suburb that iringeS the spoOrwcg.
\ long shady avenue leads by "a bridge over
IN AIM OF the Rhine TO the stately sinuous
BrCedC STRAIT, which cuts the city into two
UNEQUAL halves. The street, called broad,
is 20 only in comparison with the many
narrow ones which debouch upon it. This
is The longest and principal thor)usniare;
vet the rhythmic clitler Of the horses hoois,
a. they swing along with empty trlm-car'.
e almost the only sound. The err throb'
With a strange pulsatiOn in The Stccric
silence amid the homes 81 men. The
great bell # vast, cold church near by
strikes, and the echo searches every corner
Of the long, winding street, and fingers
among the crow stepped gables OF the six
tecnth- and eyentcenlh-century houses, Mt
lat 10 die away around the delicate stone
work spire OF the town hall, where yet
rr0udly nUttCrs the banner OF the city,
with Is llood-red Keys in satire upon
liver ground. Here, in the very hert oi
one OF Europcs most historic cities, in
'front.' Of it, eXuberint renaissance town
hall. the grass crows in thick TUFTS between
tie terrible stones which pave th1 Breode
STRAIT aud this in a city winch once hld
one Il the largest populations in Europe,
which successfully resisted tn greats
rover on earth, and still counts III stone
bridges spanning it, miles Of canal, and is
many arms q the Rhine.
TIE B.eede STRAIT OF Lcydon is fine,
handsome street. II contains mny shops;
Tut in The old Dutch town. shops ana
houses are often mixed mp very iucongr1-
ously. Nearly every building, whether it
be house or >hC,, - obi and tall and brown.
Ton he front, OF many houses; hiigh lip
among tie gables are gre Il fl-ures OF beaten
iron bearing witness Of the two or three
centuries they have seen. Wide, ample.
aud many-W iudowed are these houses. with
vodimentCd dOOTWays aud queer gables.
l he long irregular roof lines are fintIsii-
caIy broken by the endless varieties o.
height and size. over many o. the door
ways are sculptuscd shields Of arm. sup
ported by all the hera.dic beasts known to
The science Of biazonry, and surrounded
very often by the corOncis Of the
Old Dutch nobility. Most OF the houses
.cre are occupied; al are neat and spruce;
none are yulgarly smart. Tourists are rare
iu LcyGcn, and when one passes along the
cd BICcdc ,tralt he i regarded a. en-
TiOusiy rs II be were a survivor from the
SPANISH siege. SAop-kccpcrs crane over
their counters or rush 10 their doors, aud
many round, rosy Dutch face peeps from
between tie yOluminOus curtains 1s The
traveller passes by. The people in the
strcds stare TOO; bu, there are very few %
them, and at high noon in Lcydel you may
walk through street after street and meet
,rrtaIs two pedestrians, plu-an Occasional
dcc-carrigge loaded With queer loaycs Of
bread or other small merchandise. The
Dutch care but little for walking exercise.
The rare footballs echo along the stony
streets with q startling metallic ring which
seems as incOngruous cs a sudden expo.
sion Of sound in the chamber Of the dead.
The most Interesting aud Characteristic
portions o. LeyGeI lie along the green
watered canals and the sluggish oil,h0ots
Il tie old Rhine, which cut up the city
into hall hundred Islands. Here the
silence and vacancy are complete and Op-
pre,siye. II is bard to resist The impress
ion that the Inhabitants are mOurling
some dire calamity, such as that terrible
explosion which laid q great slice OF the
Raponburg in runs eighty years ago.
Here and there IN empty aud deserted
barge Is moorcd 10 the bank; hut upon
some OF the cIBals the green -scummad
water is unbrokcn. Between the paving
stones the grass sprouts perGnlc.Ju;ly,
and here and there = wide piece 81 unfrc-
quented pavement l. slippery with the vel
vet slime Of mos. The drcamiul man, with
a haired for the clatter OF civilization,
" ould find house upon Lcydcn canal a
haven OF peffec, peace. OF q rich, deep
red, pleasantly shaded by lines anI Planes,
with great wide cntrance-hllls paved with
black and white lOZengcs. and the large
panclled rooms looking oft upon prim lit
lie Dutch gardens, the cInll.,ile houses
ire very Inviting. Many q them are OF
enormous siZc-yast. ecGOing mansions,
imply or half lurni.hcd-Oncc the homes Of
princes at the tim" when all the
south Holland cities were proud and rich,
md Amsterdam was the warehouse OF
Europe, the mart Of the world, and the
banker OF the Indies. Wide sweeps OF
tone steps lead up to some OF these old |
nearly a. large aud certainly a.
as many OF the country houses |
which make o great figure In our coun-
y histories. Nothing could be quleter |
han these dreamy canals. The dip |
II an oar can be heard from end |
o end, the splash OF stone thrown |
~ a small Holander Of ten. who removes |
Dis pipe for moment while he throws, |
breaks the stiffness 50 su ldenly that the |
stranger starts at lie sound. The Rapen- |
Iurg, Astounding with beautiful foliage aud |
lonely old houses, Sc, of by a canll which |
; almost limpid In comparison with some |
" the smaller waterways, IS not muea |
weller. Silence and solitude are sacred 70 |
earning, and the Rapenburg at Leyden Is
home u science and letters. T1erc Is
he renowned University Ut looks for al!
be world Ike church), where Sclliger
md salmasius taught and Grotins Termed
the glorious hall OF knowledge, the
mother Of all arts and sciences" Neir by