Page:A Tour Through the Batavian Republic.djvu/136

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124
TOUR THROUGH

other parts of the theatre in an equitable proportion. The gallery part of the audience, I was informed, was chiefly composed of French soldiers, whose partiality to scenic representations was so strong, as to bring them to a theatre where a language was spoken of which they scarcely understood a single word.

The Hague has certainly sustained a great diminution of wealth and splendour, from the flight of its princes, the dispersion of its nobles, and the general distress in which all classes of society have been involved. Before the revolution, there were to be seen, in almost every street, elegant carriages with valuable horses, footmen with rich liveries, and all the sumptuous trappings of polished opulence and refined luxury. But now few carriages are to be seen except hackney-coaches, which are of the meanest description; and servants are prohibited by law from wearing any ornaments on their dress which shall mark their situation in life. The foreign ministers at the Hague formerly vied with each other in magnificence and expence; but since the republic has ceased to be an