Page:A Tour Through the Batavian Republic.djvu/84

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72
TOUR THROUGH

oblivion, or if his name is mentioned in their debates, he is spoken of with frigid indifference. This is undoubtedly the wisest procedure, for the abdicated prince certainly has many partisans warmly attached to his cause, whose indignation it would be dangerous to excite, and difficult to allay.

In a square near the palace is the sixth tree of liberty, as I was informed, which the municipality of the Hague have fruitlessly planted in honour of the goddess of freedom. It was dead, but whether of a natural or a violent death I could not determine; the latter seemed probable, for some envious hand had lopped off its branches, and disfigured its bark. What nymph could survive a profanation so cruel? I did not learn that any person had been punished for this indignity to the symbol of national freedom, nor were there any indications that another would be speedily planted.

In the fish market, near the great church, attracted by the offals of the place, which furnish them with a ready and plentiful sustenance