Page:A Tour Through the Batavian Republic.djvu/222

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210
TOUR THROUGH THE

The great hall of the stadthouse is used as a promenade by the persons whom business draws to the public offices. The brass gates by which it is entered are of wonderful beauty and solidity of execution. At one end of the hall is elevated a figure of Atlas, bearing on his shoulders the globe, and attended by Wisdom and Vigilance. On the roof, Amsterdam is represented as a woman richly habited, and surrounded by the deities of the heathen mythology. Neptune presents her with a crown, Mercury offers her a sceptre, and Cybele her keys. On the floor of this hall the celestial and terrestrial globes are delineated with brass and various coloured marbles; but the feet of the multitudes who daily walk, here, have nearly effaced the signs of the heavens and the divisions of the earth.

In the burgomaster's chamber is a beautiful picture by Ferdinand Bol, representing Fabricius in the camp of Pyrrhus, and another of Curius at his frugal repast. The council-chamber is adorned with a large picture of Moses and the seventy Elders of