Travels in Turkey, Asia Minor, Syria, and across the desert into Egypt ...

350
TRAVELS IN ASIATIC TURKEY,
were lodged at the hotel called the new castle on the Gausen-
markt. The landlord of this hotel speaks English ; and did not,
as we had some reason to apprehend, make us pay for the trou-
ble he had taken to acquire this knowledge of a foreign tongue.
His charges were moderate and he treated us with ; great civility.
On the 16th, at half past five in the morning, we quitted
Utretchty the works of which attracted our notice on passing without
the
gates. They were in the nicest order; as were also the
roads, which led through
avenues of fine chesnuts and elms, affording
cool and shady walks in the warm season. Boats filled
with passengers and merchandizes are drawn by
.horses stationed on
the banks of the canals, and are thus conveyed to and from the
town. In this way the inhabitants are enabled to travel at a cheap
and easy rate, and to reach the other canals, by which the Bata-
vian territory is every where intersected. Our road passed along
the bank of one of these canals, at the side of which we noticed
several neat and pretty villas, to
belonging the inhabitants of
Utrecht, with laid
gardens out in the nicest taste and order. The
smallest and poorest cottage which we met with on our route,- dis-
played
an air of cheerfulness and neatness which announced the
comparatively easy
and comfortable condition of the humble in-
mates to whom it furnished an asylum. In this part of Holland
the lands for the greater part are laid out in pasturage. There
is, however, a partial produce of wheat, barley, and oats, toge-
ther with peas, vetches, clover, and hay. The harvests of hay
but the ripening of
and barley were at this time just commenced ;
the wheat and oats still appeared to require two or three weeks.
We halted on our way to bait the horses; and between eight
and nine o'clock passed through a small town called Ahwahter,
the works and buildings of which were in the same admirable order
with those we had hitherto seen in our route through a considera-
ble part of Holland. Every thing, in short, announced the pros-
perity of the inhabitants ; and in every dwelling cheerfulness and
tranquillity appeared .
to reside.
Hitherto
the roads, on this day's
journey, were excellent, and planted with fine avenues ot trees.
At nine o'clock we arrived at Astracht, a small village, where we
baited our horses. Every part of the country being intersected by
.