a city of the kingdom of Holland, and the capital of the circle of its own name. It is situated on the right bank of the river Maese, which here receives the waters of the river Rotte. It is a well-built city, in an antique style, with abundance of fine and large houses, many of them five or six stories in height. The Boomjece, a row of houses facing the river, with a broad quay between, planted with trees, is perhaps one of the finest promenades in Europe. The city is intersected with canals, and by means of them the goods from ships are brought to the warehouses of the merchants, which are at the backs of their houses; and by the same means the productions intended for exportation are brought to the several places of deposit. The markets also are supplied from the country by means of these canals; and on the market-days, instead of the roads being filled with carts and waggons, the canals are crowded with country barges. These barges are drawn more by men than horses, and indeed horses are rarely seen in the streets. Many of the public buildings are of a magnificent appearance. Amongst these, that of the defunct East India Company, now added to the customhouse, may be viewed with admiration. The house of the assembly of the ancient states of Zealand was built at an early period of the establishment of the independence of the United States. It is spacious, being in the most sumptuous style of the architecture of that age; and when Bonaparte assumed the sovereignty of the country, it was decorated and furnished for his residence at the expense of the city. The ancient stadhous has been appropriated to other than its original purpose; and a new modern building has been erected, whose portico, although massive, is elegant, as far as regards the pillars that support it. The ecclesiastical buildings belonging to the Calvinists are the most ancient and the largest, particularly the church of St Lawrence. It has an organ, lately erected, of the greatest power of any in existence, and said to contain eight hundred pipes more than the celebrated organ of Harlem. The Lutheran church is a large and fine building. There are three churches where the service is in English; one for the Episcopalians, one for the Kirk of Scotland, and one for Independents, in the latter of which the celebrated Hugh Peters once officiated.

The trade of Rotterdam is very extensive. That to the West Indies has declined of late years, but that to the East Indies, chiefly to Batavia, has been recently very beneficial; and its commerce for the last fifteen years has increased more rapidly than that of any town in the kingdom. The fishery is an extensive source of employment and wealth. The trade with the Baltic employs much shipping, and affords moderate-priced corn for the distillers of gin. The business of ship-building employs many persons, both in the government arsenal and in the private docks; and the vessels now built are admirably constructed and equipped. The supply of colonial produce to the interior of Germany by the Rhine is very beneficial. The population of the city amounted in 1832 to 72,294. Long. 4. 29. 14. E. Lat. 51. 55. 9. N.