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36
TOUR THROUGH
LETTER IV.
Rotterdam — Its convenient situation for trade — The impoverished state of its commerce. — A singular preference given to cloth of English manufacture. — Amicable system of privateering. — Corsairs belonging to British subjects which sailed under the French flag. — Abuses corrected by Bonaparte. — The streets of Rotterdam. — Architectural taste of the Dutch. — Statue of Erasmus. — Consternation with which the progress of the French armies are viewed at Rotterdam. — Flight of the English servants. — Arrival of the French. — The municipality. — Anecdotes of marigolds and oranges. — The concert. — The theatre. — Religion. — Public charities.
October, 1800.
ROTTERDAM is the second commercial city in the republic, and has suffered least in the general calamities of the country. It is well situated for commercial purposes, being placed on the bank of the Maese, a