Leyden

li'den, a city in the Netherlands. It is situated on the Old Rhine, six miles from the North Sea, about twenty minutes by rail from the Hague on the way to Amsterdam. The surrounding country is below sea level and is protected by dikes. In 1573 the city was besieged by the Spaniards and was saved by William of Orange who cut the dikes and drove the Spanish army out by a flood. The neighborhood is a fine dairy region with picturesque canals, windmills, gardens, and meadows. The University of Leyden, founded in 1575, was long one of the most renowned in Europe. The Leyden jar was invented by one of the professors. There are still several hundred students. A botanic garden, an observatory, a library of 160,000 volumes, museums of natural history, art, and antiquities, are open to students and visitors. Leyden still has the quiet air of an academic city. Broad Street is one of the finest streets in Europe. The state-house is an interesting building. The front is imposing. Thirty windows are arranged in a straight line. In the time of the Elzevirs Leyden was the chief seat of the European book trade. It was the birthplace of Rembrandt and other celebrated painters. The Pilgrim fathers resided here in 1608-20, ere their departure for Plymouth. The early reputation of the city as a center of cloth manufacture has of late been revived. The Old Hall of the cloth merchants was one of the most beautiful buildings of the kind in Europe. The population is reported at 54,421.