Item 37 - Peter Elmsley to his sister-in-law [Mary Hallowell?]

Hague. Visit (by canal) on July 7th to last day of Haarlem fair. Failure to hear Haarlem organ because of a lengthy sermon. Wonderful flowers and gardens. 7 hour voyage to Leyden on 9th July. University on vacation, so town is peaceful and pleasant. Thomas Gaisford (regius professor of Greek) in Leiden for a few months collating mss. - they visit Daniel Wyttenbach, who expresses surprise that such a learned scholar as PE could be so merry (quite the opposite to Valckenaer and Ruhnken) - when Gaisford reports the story to his wife, she says that the household consider PE a vast deal more 'vrolijk' than Gaisford. 3 nights in Leyden (because of presence of Gaisfords), staying on Golden Lion, then on to The Hague. House names displayed prominently (usually compounds of pleasure, rest or prospect). Failure to find intended hotel because of language difficulties - ends up at Marechal de Turenne, which he suspects will be expensive. (Sunday, 14th July). Does not think The Hague as pretty as the Dutch do. Walked yesterday and saw many groups of ragged boys playing cards on the pavement - perhaps Jews keeping the sabbath holy. The common people (who cannot all be Jews) are as ragged and filthy as the Jews themselves. Vieille Cour only building to arrest attention. 2 mile walk to Scheveningen (past an odorous cemetery).