At ten in the morning of the twenty-sixth of January, the great bell of the Town House gave the signal.

Sixteen hundred substantial burghers, well armed, and clad in the finest dresses which were to be found in the recesses of their wardrobes, kept order in the crowded streets.
Balconies and scaffolds, embowered in evergreens and hung with tapestry, hid the windows.

The royal coach, escorted by an army of halberdiers and running footmen, and followed by a long train of splendid equipages, passed under numerous arches rich with carving and painting, amidst incessant shouts of "Long live the King our Stadtholder." The front of the Town House and the whole circuit of the marketplace were in a blaze with brilliant colours.

Civic crowns, trophies, emblems of arts, of sciences, of commerce and of agriculture, appeared every where.

In one place William saw portrayed the glorious actions of his ancestors.