_August 27, 1817._ Early this morning we walked towards the fishing
village of Scheveling, by a grand avenue lined with trees, of which all
Dutchmen are justly proud. The length of this avenue is nearly a mile
and a half; and it is so straight and so level, that the village church
very soon appeared at the termination of the vista next the sea. The
tallest and finest trees are Dutch elm, abele, oak, and beech. Many of
these are of great size, and have probably seen more than two
centuries.[378] Sycamore, hornbeam, birch, and different species of
willow, are occasionally interspersed. There are properly three roads in
this noble avenue: a central one for carriages, one for horsemen, and
another for foot-passengers. The breadth of the plantation, on each
side, is on an average about seventy feet. In some places, the old trees
appear to have been cut down; but their places are now supplied by
others. Almost all the new-planted trees are white poplars, which are of
rapid growth.