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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rollo in Holland, by Jacob Abbott
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Rollo in Holland
+
+Author: Jacob Abbott
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2007 [EBook #22972]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROLLO IN HOLLAND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D. Alexander, Janet Blenkinship and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ROLLO IN HOLLAND,
+
+BY
+
+JACOB ABBOTT.
+
+
+BOSTON: BROWN, TAGGARD & CHASE,
+
+SUCCESSORS TO W. J. REYNOLDS & CO., 25 & 29 CORNHILL.
+
+1857.
+
+Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
+JACOB ABBOTT,
+In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
+Massachusetts.
+
+STEREOTYPED AT THE
+BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. Damrell & Moore, Printers, Boston.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ROLLO IN HOLLAND.]
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+CHAPTER                                                             PAGE
+
+  I.--PREPARATIONS,                                                   11
+  II.--A BAD TRAVELLING COMPANION,                                    26
+  III.--THE MAIL STEAMER,                                             44
+  IV.--ENTERING HOLLAND,                                              67
+  V.--WALKS ABOUT ROTTERDAM,                                          86
+  VI.--DOING THE HAGUE,                                              109
+  VII.--CORRESPONDENCE,                                              138
+  VIII.--THE COMMISSIONER,                                           160
+  IX.--THE GREAT CANAL,                                              169
+  X.--THE DAIRY VILLAGE,                                             186
+  XI.--CONCLUSION,                                                   200
+
+ENGRAVINGS.
+
+  ROLLO IN HOLLAND.--(Frontispiece.)                                PAGE
+  VIEW IN HOLLAND,                                                    10
+  THE HANSOM CAB,                                                     33
+  LANDING FROM THE MAIL BOAT,                                         57
+  DORT,                                                               83
+  THE FERRY BOAT,                                                    101
+  THE DINNER,                                                        124
+  THE BOAT FAMILY,                                                   154
+  THE TREKSCHUYT,                                                    181
+  THE DAIRY VILLAGE,                                                 193
+  CABIN OF PETER THE GREAT,                                          204
+
+
+  ROLLO'S TOUR IN EUROPE.
+
+  ORDER OF THE VOLUMES.
+
+  ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.
+  ROLLO IN PARIS.
+  ROLLO IN SWITZERLAND.
+  ROLLO IN LONDON.
+  ROLLO ON THE RHINE.
+  ROLLO IN SCOTLAND.
+  ROLLO IN GENEVA.
+  ROLLO IN HOLLAND.
+  ROLLO IN NAPLES.
+  ROLLO IN ROME.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW IN HOLLAND.]
+
+
+
+
+ROLLO IN HOLLAND.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+PREPARATIONS.
+
+
+Holland is one of the most remarkable countries on the globe. The
+peculiarities which make it remarkable arise from the fact that it is
+almost perfectly level throughout, and it lies so low. A very large
+portion of it, in fact, lies below the level of the sea, the waters
+being kept out, as every body knows, by immense dikes that have stood
+for ages.
+
+These dikes are so immense, and they are so concealed by the houses, and
+trees, and mills, and even villages that cover and disguise them, that
+when the traveller first sees them he can hardly believe that they are
+dikes. Some of them are several hundred feet wide, and have a good broad
+public road upon the top, with a canal perhaps by the side of it, and
+avenues of trees, and road-side inns, and immense wind mills on the
+other hand. When riding or walking along upon such a dike on one side,
+down a long slope, they have a glimpse of water between the trees. On
+the other, at an equal distance you see a green expanse of country, with
+gardens, orchards, fields of corn and grain, and scattered farm houses
+extending far and wide. At first you do not perceive that this beautiful
+country that you see spreading in every direction on one side of the
+road is below the level of the water that you see on the other side; but
+on a careful comparison you find that it is so. When the tide is high
+the difference is very great, and were it not for the dikes the people
+would be inundated.[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: See Frontispiece.]
+
+Indeed, the dikes alone would not prevent the country from being
+inundated; for it is not possible to make them perfectly tight, and even
+if it were so, the soil beneath them is more or less pervious to water,
+and thus the water of the sea and of the rivers would slowly press its
+way through the lower strata, and oozing up into the land beyond, would
+soon make it all a swamp.
+
+Then, besides the interpercolation from the soil, there is the rain. In
+upland countries, the surplus water that falls in rain flows off in
+brooks and rivers to the sea; but in land that is below the level of
+the sea, there can be no natural flow of either brooks or rivers. The
+rain water, therefore, that falls on this low land would remain there
+stagnant, except the comparatively small portion of it that would be
+evaporated by the sun and wind.
+
+Thus you see, that if the people of Holland were to rely on the dikes
+alone to keep the land dry, the country would become in a very short
+time one immense morass.
+
+To prevent this result it is necessary to adopt some plan to raise the
+water, as fast as it accumulates in the low grounds, and convey it away.
+This is done by pumps and other such hydraulic engines, and these are
+worked in general by wind mills.
+
+They might be worked by steam engines; but steam engines are much more
+expensive than wind mills. It not only costs much more to make them, but
+the expense of working them from day to day is very great, on account of
+the fuel which they require. The necessary attendance on a steam engine,
+too, is very expensive. There must be engineers, with high pay, to watch
+the engine and to keep it always in order, and firemen to feed the
+fires, and ashmen to carry away the ashes and cinders. Whereas a wind
+mill takes care of itself.
+
+The wind makes the wind mills go, and the wind costs nothing. It is
+true, that the head of the mill must be changed from time to time, so as
+to present the sails always in proper direction to the wind. But even
+this is done by the wind itself. There is a contrivance by which the
+mill is made to turn itself so as to face always in the right direction
+towards the wind; and not only so, but the mill is sometimes so
+constructed that if the wind blows too hard, it takes in a part of the
+sails by its own spontaneous action, and thus diminishes the strain
+which might otherwise be injurious to the machinery.
+
+Now, since the advantages of wind mills are so great over steam engines,
+in respect especially to cheapness, perhaps you will ask why steam is
+employed at all to turn machinery, instead of always using the wind. The
+reason is, because the wind is so unsteady. Some days a wind mill will
+work, and some days it will lie still; and thus in regard to the time
+when it will do what is required of it, no reliance can be placed upon
+it. This is of very little consequence in the work of pumping up water
+from the sunken country in Holland; for, if for several days the mills
+should not do their work, no great harm would come of it, since the
+amount of water which would accumulate in that time would not do any
+harm. The ground might become more wet, and the canals and reservoirs
+get full,--just as brooks and rivers do on any upland country after a
+long rain. But then, after the calm was over and the wind began to blow
+again, the mills would all go industriously to work, and the surplus
+water would soon be pumped up, and discharged over the dikes into the
+sea again.
+
+Thus the irregularity in the action of the wind mills in doing such work
+as this, is of comparatively little consequence.
+
+But in the case of some other kinds of work,--as for example the driving
+of a cotton mill, or any other great manufactory in which a large number
+of persons are employed,--it would be of the greatest possible
+consequence; for when a calm time came, and the wind mill would not
+work, all the hands would be thrown out of employ. They might sometimes
+remain idle thus a number of days at a time, at a great expense to their
+employers, or else at a great loss to themselves. Sometimes, for
+example, there might be a fine breeze in the morning, and all the hands
+would go to the mill and begin their work. In an hour the breeze might
+entirely die away, and the spinners and weavers would all find their
+jennies and looms going slower and slower, and finally stopping
+altogether. And then, perhaps, two hours afterwards, when they had all
+given up the day's work and gone away to their respective homes, the
+breeze would spring up again, and the wind mill would go to work more
+industriously than ever.
+
+This would not answer at all for a cotton mill, but it does very well
+for pumping up water from a great reservoir into which drains and canals
+discharge themselves to keep a country dry.
+
+And this reminds me of one great advantage which the people of Holland
+enjoy on account of the low and level condition of their country; and
+that is, it is extremely easy to make canals there. There are not only
+no mountains or rocks in the way to impede the digging of them, but,
+what is perhaps a still more important advantage, there is no difficulty
+in filling them with water. In other countries, when a canal is to be
+made, the very first question is, How is it to be filled? For this
+purpose the engineer explores the whole country through which the canal
+is to pass, to find rivers and streams that he can turn into it, when
+the bed of it shall have been excavated; and sometimes he has to bring
+these supplies of water for a great distance in artificial channels,
+which often cross valleys by means of great aqueducts built up to hold
+them. Sometimes a brook is in this way brought across a river,--the
+river itself not being high enough to feed the canal.
+
+The people of Holland have no such difficulties as these to encounter in
+their canals. The whole country being so nearly on a level with the sea,
+they have nothing to do, when they wish for a canal, but to extend it in
+some part to the sea shore, and then open a sluice way and let the water
+in.
+
+It is true that sometimes they have to provide means to prevent the
+ingress of too much water; but this is very easily done.
+
+It is thus so easy to make canals in Holland, that the people have been
+making them for hundreds of years, until now almost the whole country is
+intersected every where with canals, as other countries are with roads.
+Almost all the traffic, and, until lately, almost all the travel of the
+country, has been upon the canals. There are private canals, too, as
+well as public. A farmer brings home his hay and grain from his fields
+by water, and when he buys a new piece of land he makes a canal to it,
+as a Vermont farmer would make a road to a new pasture or wood lot that
+he had been buying.
+
+Rollo wished very much to see all these things--but there was one
+question which it puzzled him very much to decide, and that was whether
+he would rather go to Holland in the summer or in the winter.
+
+"I am not certain," said he to his mother one day, "whether it would not
+be better for me to go in the winter."
+
+"It is very cold there in the winter," said his mother; "so I am told."
+
+"That is the very thing," said Rollo. "They have such excellent skating
+on the canals. I want to see the boats go on the canals, and I want to
+see the skating, and I don't know which I want to see most."
+
+"Yes," said his mother, "I recollect to have often seen pictures of
+skating on the Dutch canals."
+
+"And I read, when I was a boy," continued Rollo, "that the women skate
+to market in Holland."
+
+Rollo here observed that his mother was endeavoring to suppress a smile.
+She seemed to try very hard, but she could not succeed in keeping
+perfectly sober.
+
+"What are you laughing at, mother?" asked Rollo.
+
+Here Mrs. Holiday could no longer restrain herself, but laughed
+outright.
+
+"Is it about the Dutch women skating to market?" asked Rollo.
+
+"I think they must look quite funny, at any rate," said Mrs. Holiday.
+
+What Mrs. Holiday was really laughing at was to hear Rollo talk about
+"when he was a boy." But the fact was, that Rollo had now travelled
+about so much, and taken care of himself in so many exigencies, that he
+began to feel quite like a man. And indeed I do not think it at all
+surprising that he felt so.
+
+"Which would you do, mother," said Rollo, "if you were I? Would you
+rather go in the summer or in the winter?"
+
+"I would ask uncle George," said Mrs. Holiday.
+
+So Rollo went to find his uncle George.
+
+Rollo was at this time at Morley's Hotel, in London, and he expected to
+find his uncle George in what is called the coffee room. The coffee room
+in Morley's Hotel is a very pleasant place. It fronts on one side upon a
+very busy and brilliant street, and on another upon a large open square,
+adorned with monuments and fountains. On the side towards the square is
+a bay window, and near this bay window were two or three small tables,
+with gentlemen sitting at them, engaged in writing. There were other
+tables along the sides of the room and at the other windows, where
+gentlemen were taking breakfast. Mr. George was at one of the tables
+near the bay window, and was busy writing.
+
+Rollo went to the place, and standing by Mr. George's side, he said in
+an under tone,--
+
+"Uncle George."
+
+Every body speaks in an under tone in an English coffee room. They do
+this in order not to interrupt the conversation, or the reading, or the
+writing of other gentlemen that may be in the room.
+
+"Wait a moment," said Mr. George, "till I finish this letter."
+
+So Rollo turned to the bay window and looked out, in order to amuse
+himself with what he might observe in the street, till his uncle George
+should be ready to talk with him.
+
+He saw the fountains in the square, and a great many children playing
+about the basins. He saw a poor boy at a crossing brushing the pavement
+industriously with an old broom, and then holding out his hand to the
+people passing by, in hopes that some of them would give him a
+halfpenny. He saw a policeman walking slowly up and down on the
+sidewalk, wearing a glazed hat, and a uniform of blue broadcloth, with
+his letter and number embroidered on the collar. He saw an elegant
+carriage drive by, with a postilion riding upon one of the horses, and
+two footmen in very splendid liveries behind. There was a lady in the
+carriage, but she appeared old, and though she was splendidly dressed,
+her face was very plain.
+
+"I wonder," said Rollo to himself, "how much she would give of her
+riches and finery if she could be as young and as pretty as my cousin
+Lucy."
+
+"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, interrupting Rollo's reflections, "what
+is the question?"
+
+"Why, I want to know," said Rollo, "whether you think we had better go
+to Holland in the winter or in the summer."
+
+"Is it left to you to decide?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Why, no," said Rollo, "not exactly. But mother asked me to consider
+which I thought was best, and so I want to know your opinion."
+
+"Very well," said Mr. George, "go on and argue the case. After I have
+heard it argued I will decide."
+
+Rollo then proceeded to explain to his uncle the advantages,
+respectively, of going in the summer and in the winter. After hearing
+him, Mr. George thought it would be decidedly better to go in the
+summer.
+
+"You see," said he, "that the only advantage of going in the winter is
+to see the skating. That is very important, I know. I should like to
+see the Dutch women skating to market myself, very much. But then, in
+the winter you could see very little of the canals, and the wind mills,
+and all the other hydraulic operations of the country. Every thing would
+be frozen up solid."
+
+"Father says that he can't go now very well," continued Rollo, "but that
+I may go with you if you would like to go."
+
+Mr. George was just in the act of sealing his letter as Rollo spoke
+these words; but he paused in the operation, holding the stick of
+sealing wax in one hand and the letter in the other, as if he was
+reflecting on what Rollo had said.
+
+"If we only had some one else to go with us," said Mr. George.
+
+"Should not we two be enough?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Why, you see," said Mr. George, "when we get into Holland we shall not
+understand one word of the language."
+
+"What language do they speak?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Dutch," said Mr. George, "and I do not know any Dutch."
+
+"Not a word?" asked Rollo.
+
+"No," said Mr. George, "not a word. Ah, yes! I know one word. I know
+that _dampschiff_ means steamboat. _Damp_, I suppose, means steam."
+
+Then Rollo laughed outright. Dampskiff, he said, was the funniest name
+for steamboat that he ever heard.
+
+"Now, when we don't know a word of the language," added Mr. George, "we
+cannot have any communication with the people of the country, but shall
+be confined entirely to each other. Now, do you think that you could get
+along with having nobody but me to talk to you for a whole fortnight?"
+
+"Yes, indeed!" said Rollo. "But then, uncle George," he continued, "how
+are you going to get along at the hotels without knowing how to speak to
+the people at all?"
+
+"By signs and gestures," said Mr. George, laughing. "Could not you make
+a sign for something to eat?"
+
+"O, yes," said Rollo; and he immediately began to make believe eat,
+moving his hands as if he had a knife and fork in them.
+
+"And what sign would you make for going to bed?" asked Mr. George.
+
+Here Rollo laid his head down to one side, and placed his hand under it,
+as if it were a pillow, and then shut his eyes.
+
+"That is the sign for going to bed," said Rollo. "A deaf and dumb boy
+taught it to me."
+
+"I wish he had taught you some more signs," said Mr. George. "Or I wish
+we had a deaf and dumb boy here to go with us. Deaf and dumb people can
+get along excellently well where they do not understand the language,
+because they know how to make so many signs."
+
+"O, we can make up the signs as we go along," said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George. "I don't think that we shall have any great
+difficulty about that. But then it would be pleasanter to go in a little
+larger party. Two people are apt to get tired of each other, when there
+is nobody else that they can speak a single word to for a whole
+fortnight. I don't think that I should get tired of you. What I am
+afraid of is, that you would get tired of me."
+
+There was a lurking smile on Mr. George's face as he said this.
+
+"O, uncle George!" said Rollo, "that is only your politeness. But then
+if you really think that we ought to have some more company, perhaps the
+Parkmans are going to Holland, and we might go with them."
+
+"I would not make a journey with the Parkmans," said Mr. George, "if
+they would pay all my expenses, and give me five sovereigns a day."
+
+"Why, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo; "I thought you liked Mr. Parkman
+very much."
+
+"So I do," said Mr. George. "It is his wife that I would not go with."
+
+"O, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo again.
+
+Rollo was very much surprised at hearing this declaration; and it was
+very natural that he should be surprised, for Mrs. Parkman was a young
+and beautiful lady, and she was very kindhearted and very amiable in
+her disposition. Mr. Parkman, too, was very young. He had been one of
+Mr. George's college classmates. He had been married only a short time
+before he left America, and he was now making his bridal tour.
+
+Mr. George thought that Mrs. Parkman was very beautiful and very
+intelligent, but he considered her a very uncomfortable travelling
+companion. I think he judged her somewhat too harshly. But this was one
+of Mr. George's faults. He did not like the ladies very much, and the
+faults which he observed in them, from time to time, he was prone to
+condemn much too harshly.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+A BAD TRAVELLING COMPANION.
+
+
+The reason why Mr. George did not like his friend Mr. Parkman's young
+wife was not because of any want of natural attractiveness in her
+person, or of amiableness in her disposition,--for she was beautiful,
+accomplished, and kindhearted. But for all this, from a want of
+consideration not uncommon among young ladies who are not much
+experienced in the world, she was a very uncomfortable travelling
+companion.
+
+It is the duty of a gentleman who has a lady under his charge, in making
+a journey, to consult her wishes, and to conform to them so far as it is
+possible, in determining where to go, and in making all the general
+arrangements of the journey. But when these points are decided upon,
+every thing in respect to the practical carrying into effect of the
+plans thus formed should be left to the gentleman, as the executive
+officer of the party; just as in respect to affairs relating to
+housekeeping, or any thing else relating to a lady's department, the
+lady should be left free to act according to her own judgment and taste
+in arranging details, while in the general plans she conforms to the
+wishes of her husband. For a lady, when travelling, to be continually
+making suggestions and proposals about the baggage or the conveyances,
+and expressing dissatisfaction, or wish for changes in this, that, or
+the other, is as much a violation of propriety as it would be for the
+gentleman to go into the kitchen, and there propose petty changes in
+respect to the mode of cooking the dinner--or to stand by his wife at
+her work table, and wish to have her thread changed from this place to
+that--or to have some different stitch to be used in making a seam. A
+lady very naturally feels disturbed if she finds that her husband does
+not have confidence enough in her to trust her with such details.
+
+"I will make or mend for you whatever you may desire," she might say,
+"and I will get for your dinner any thing that you ask for; but in the
+way of doing it you ought to leave every thing to my direction. It is
+better to let me have my own way, even if your way is better than mine.
+For in matters of direction there ought always to be only one head, even
+if it is not a very good one."
+
+And in the same manner a gentleman might say when travelling with a
+lady,--
+
+"I will arrange the journey to suit your wishes as far as is
+practicable, and will go at such times and by such conveyances as you
+may desire. I will also, at all the places where we stop, take you to
+visit such objects of interest and curiosity as you wish to see. But
+then when it comes to the details of the arrangements to be made,--the
+orders to servants and commissioners, the determination of the times for
+setting out, and the bargains to be made with coachmen and
+innkeepers,--it is best to leave all those things to me; for it always
+makes confusion to have two persons give directions at the same time."
+
+To say this would be right in both cases,--there must always be _one_ to
+command. A great many families are kept in continual confusion by there
+being two or more ladies who consider themselves more or less at the
+head of it--as, for instance, a wife and a sister, or two sisters and a
+mother. Napoleon used to say that _one_ bad general was better than
+_two_ good ones; so important is it in war to have unity of command. It
+is not much less important in social life.
+
+Mrs. Parkman did not understand this principle. Mr. George had seen an
+example of her mode of management a day or two before, in taking a walk
+with her and her husband in London. They were going to see the tunnel
+under the Thames, which was three or four miles down the river from
+Morley's Hotel, where they were all lodging.
+
+"Which way would you like to go?" asked Mr. Parkman.
+
+"Is there more than one way?" asked his wife.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Parkman, "we can take a Hansom cab, and drive down
+through the streets, or we can walk down to the river side, and there
+take a boat. The boats are a great deal the cheapest, and the most
+amusing; but the cab will be the most easy and comfortable, and the most
+genteel. We shall have to walk nearly half a mile before we get to the
+landing of the boats."
+
+"Is there much difference in the price?" asked Mrs. Parkman.
+
+"Not enough to be of any consequence," replied her husband. "It will
+make a difference of about one and a half crown; for by the boats it
+would be only two or three pence, while by the cab it will be as many
+shillings. But that is of no consequence. We will go whichever way you
+think you would enjoy the most."
+
+"You may decide for me," said Mrs. Parkman. "I'll leave it entirely to
+you. It makes no difference to me."
+
+"Then, on the whole, I think we will try the boat," said Mr. Parkman;
+"it will be so much more amusing, and we shall see so much more of
+London life. Besides, we shall often read and hear about the steamers on
+the Thames when we return to America, and it will be well for us to have
+made one voyage in them. And, Mr. George, will you go with us?"
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George.
+
+So they all left the hotel together, and commenced their walk towards
+the bridge where the nearest landing stage for the Thames boats lay.
+
+They had not gone but a very short distance before Mrs. Parkman began to
+hang rather heavily upon her husband's arm, and asked him whether it was
+much farther that they would have to walk.
+
+"O, yes," said Mr. Parkman. "I told you that we should have to walk
+about half a mile."
+
+"Then we shall get all tired out," said his wife, "and we want our
+strength for walking through the tunnel. It does not seem to be worth
+while to take all this trouble just to save half a crown."
+
+Mr. Parkman, though he had only been married a little more than a month,
+felt something like a sense of indignation rising in his breast, that
+his wife should attribute to him such a motive for choosing the river,
+after what he had said on the subject. But he suppressed the feeling,
+and only replied quietly,--
+
+"O, let us take a cab then, by all means. I hope you don't suppose that
+I was going to take you by the boat to save any money."
+
+"I thought you said that you would save half a crown," rejoined his
+wife.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Parkman, "I did, it is true."
+
+Mr. Parkman was too proud to defend himself from such an imputation,
+supported by such reasoning as this; so he only said, "We will go by a
+cab. We will take a cab at the next stand."
+
+Mr. George instantly perceived that by this change in the plan, he was
+made one too many for the party, since only two can ride conveniently in
+a Hansom cab.[2] So he said at once, that he would adhere to the
+original plan, and go by water.
+
+[Footnote 2: A Hansom cab is made like an old-fashioned chaise, only
+that it is set very low, so that it is extremely easy to step in and out
+of it, and the seat of the driver is high up behind. The driver drives
+_over the top of the chaise_! Thus the view for the passengers riding
+inside is wholly unobstructed, and this makes the Hansom cab a very
+convenient and pleasant vehicle for two persons to ride in, through the
+streets of a new and strange town.]
+
+"But, first," said he, "I will go with you to the stand, and see you
+safe in a cab."
+
+So they turned into another street, and presently they came to a stand.
+There was a long row of cabs there, of various kinds, all waiting to be
+employed. Among them were several Hansoms.
+
+Mr. Parkman looked along the line to select one that had a good horse.
+The distance was considerable that they had to go, and besides Mr.
+Parkman knew that his wife liked always to go fast. So when he had
+selected the best looking horse, he made a signal to the driver. The
+driver immediately left the stand, and drove over to the sidewalk where
+Mr. Parkman and his party were waiting.
+
+Mr. Parkman immediately opened the door of the cab to allow his wife to
+go in; but she, instead of entering, began to look scrutinizingly into
+it, and hung back.
+
+"Is this a nice cab?" said she. "It seems to me that I have seen nicer
+cabs than this.
+
+"Let us look," she added, "and see if there is not a better one
+somewhere along the line."
+
+The cabman, looking down from his exalted seat behind the vehicle, said
+that there was not a nicer cab than his in London.
+
+"O, of course," said Mrs. Parkman. "They always say that. But _I_ can
+find a nicer one, I'm sure, somewhere in the line."
+
+So saying she began to move on. Mr. Parkman gave the cabman a silver
+sixpence--which is equal to a New York shilling--to compensate him
+for having been called off from his station, and then followed his wife
+across the street to the side where the cabs were standing. Mrs. Parkman
+led the way all down the line, examining each hack as she passed it; but
+she did not find any one that looked as well as the first.
+
+[Illustration: THE HANSOM CAB.]
+
+"After all," said she, "we might as well go back and take the first
+one." So she turned and began to retrace her steps--the two gentlemen
+accompanying her. But when they got back they found that the one which
+Mr. Parkman had first selected was gone. It had been taken by another
+customer.
+
+Mr. George was now entirely out of patience; but he controlled himself
+sufficiently to suppress all outward manifestation of it, only saying
+that he believed he would not wait any longer.
+
+"I will go down to the river," said he, "and take a boat, and when you
+get a carriage you can go by land. I will wait for you at the entrance
+to the tunnel."
+
+So he went away; and as soon as he turned the corner of the street he
+snapped his fingers and nodded his head with the air of a man who has
+just made a very lucky escape.
+
+"I thank my stars," said he to himself, "that I have not got such a lady
+as that to take care of. Handsome as she is, I would not have her for a
+travelling companion on any account whatever."
+
+It was from having witnessed several such exhibitions of character as
+this that Mr. George had expressed himself so strongly to Rollo on the
+subject of joining Mr. Parkman and his wife in making the tour of
+Holland.
+
+But notwithstanding Mr. George's determination that he would not travel
+in company with such a lady, it seemed to be decreed that he should do
+so, for he left London about a week after this to go to Holland with
+Rollo alone; and though he postponed setting out for several days, so as
+to allow Mr. and Mrs. Parkman time to get well under way before them, he
+happened to fall in with them several times in the course of the
+journey. The first time that he met with them was in crossing the
+Straits of Dover.
+
+There are several ways by which a person may go to Holland from London.
+The cheapest is to take a steamer, by which means you go down the
+Thames, and thence pass directly across the German Ocean to the coast of
+Holland. But that makes quite a little voyage by sea, during which
+almost all persons are subject to a very disagreeable kind of sickness,
+on account of the small size of the steamers, and the short tossing
+motion of the sea that almost always prevails in the waters that lie
+around Great Britain.
+
+So Mr. George and Rollo, who neither of them liked to be seasick,
+determined to go another way. They concluded to go down by railway to
+Dover, and then to go to Calais across the strait, where the passage is
+the shortest. Mr. and Mrs. Parkman had set off several days before them,
+and Mr. George supposed that by this time they were far on their way
+towards Holland. But they had been delayed by Mrs. Parkman's desire to
+go to Brighton, which is a great watering place on the coast, not far
+from Dover. There Mr. and Mrs. Parkman had spent several days, and it so
+happened that in going from Brighton to Dover they met, at the junction,
+the train that was bringing Mr. George and Rollo down from London; and
+thus, though both parties were unconscious of the fact, they were
+travelling along towards Dover, after leaving the junction, in the same
+train, and when they stepped out of the carriages, upon the Dover
+platform, there they were all together.
+
+Mr. Parkman and Mr. George were very glad to see each other; and while
+they were shaking hands with each other, and making mutual explanations,
+Mrs. Parkman went to the door of the station to see what sort of a place
+Dover was.
+
+She saw some long piers extending out into the water, and a great many
+ships and steamers lying near them. The town lay along the shore,
+surrounding an inner harbor enclosed by the walls of the piers. Behind
+the town were high cliffs, and an elevated plain above, on which a great
+number of tents were pitched. It was the encampment of an army. A little
+way along the shore a vast promontory was seen, crowned by an ancient
+and venerable looking castle, and terminated by a range of lofty and
+perpendicular cliffs of chalk towards the sea.
+
+"What a romantic place!" said Mrs. Parkman to herself. "It is just such
+a place as I like. I'll make William stay here to-day."
+
+Just then she heard her husband's voice calling to her.
+
+"Louise!"
+
+She turned and saw her husband beckoning to her. He was standing with
+Mr. George and Rollo near the luggage van, as they call it in England,
+while the railway porters were taking out the luggage.
+
+Mrs. Parkman walked towards the place.
+
+"They say, Louise," said Mr. Parkman, "that it is time for us to go on
+board the boat. She is going to sail immediately."
+
+"Ah! but, William," said Mrs. Parkman, "let us stay here a little while.
+Dover is such a romantic looking place."
+
+"Very well," said Mr. Parkman, "we will stay if you like. Are you going
+to stay, Mr. George?"
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George; "Rollo and I were going to stay till this
+afternoon. There is a boat to cross at four o'clock."
+
+It was about eleven o'clock in the morning when this conversation
+occurred. The porter stood by all the time with Mr. Parkman's two trunks
+in his charge, waiting to have it decided when they were to go.
+
+"I should think, sir," said the porter, "that as you have a lady with
+you, you would find this boat better. This is a tidal steamer, but the
+four o'clock is the mail boat, and it will be pretty rough this
+afternoon. There is a breeze coming up."
+
+"O, never mind the breeze," said Mrs. Parkman. "We are used to it,
+porter. We've crossed the Atlantic."
+
+"Very well," said Mr. Parkman, "we will wait until four o'clock."
+
+"Then I'll put the luggage in the luggage room," said the porter, "and
+take it to the boat at half past three. That's the way to the hotel," he
+added, pointing the way.
+
+There are several very nice hotels in Dover, but the one which the
+porter referred to is one of the finest and most beautifully situated
+hotels in Europe. It is a large and handsome edifice, built in modern
+style, and it stands close to the railroad station, on a point of land
+overlooking the sea. The coffee room, which, unlike other English coffee
+rooms, is used by both ladies and gentlemen, is a very spacious and
+splendidly decorated apartment, with large windows on three sides of it,
+overlooking the sea and the neighboring coasts. Each sash of these
+windows is glazed with one single pane of plate glass, so that whether
+they are shut or open there is nothing to intercept the view. The room
+is furnished with a great number of tables, each large enough to
+accommodate parties of four or six, and all, except two or three in
+different parts of the room that are reserved for reading and writing,
+are covered with neat white table cloths, and other preparations more or
+less advanced for breakfasts or dinners that may have been ordered,
+while at almost all times of the day, a greater or less number of them
+are occupied by parties of tourists, their bags and baskets lying on the
+neighboring chairs.
+
+It was into this room, so occupied, that our travellers were ushered as
+they walked from the station into the hotel.
+
+Mrs. Parkman walked forward, and took her seat near a window. The
+gentlemen attended her.
+
+"What a magnificent view!" said she.
+
+The view was indeed magnificent. Across the water was to be seen the
+coast of France, lying like a low cloud close to the horizon. Ships, and
+steamers, and fish boats, and every other sort of craft were seen plying
+to and fro over the water,--some going out, others coming in. Through
+one of the windows in the end of the room, Mrs. Parkman could see the
+castle crowning its bold and lofty promontory, and the perpendicular
+cliffs of chalk, with the sea beating against the base of them below.
+Through the opposite window, which of course was at the other end of the
+room, the view extended down the coast for a great distance, showing
+point after point, and headland after headland, in dim perspective--with
+a long line of surf rolling incessantly upon the beach, which seemed, in
+that direction, interminable.
+
+After looking for some time at the view from the windows, Mrs. Parkman
+turned to observe the company in the room, and to watch the several
+parties of new comers as they successively entered. She wished to see if
+there were any young brides among them. While she was thus engaged, her
+husband selected a table that was vacant, and ordered breakfast. Mr.
+George and Rollo did the same at another table near.
+
+While Mr. George and Rollo were at the table drinking their coffee, Mr.
+George asked Rollo what he supposed the porter meant by saying that the
+eleven o'clock boat was a tidal boat.
+
+"_I_ know," said Rollo. "I read it in the guide book. The tidal steamers
+go at high tide, or nearly high tide, and if you go in them you embark
+from the pier on one side, and you land at the pier on the other. But
+the mail steamers go at a regular hour every day, and then when it
+happens to be low tide, they cannot get to the pier, and the passengers
+have to land in small boats. That is what the porter meant when he said
+that it would not be pleasant for a lady to go in the mail steamer. It
+is very unpleasant for ladies to be landed in small boats when the
+weather is rough."
+
+"I don't believe that Mrs. Parkman understood it," said Mr. George.
+
+"Nor I either," said Rollo.
+
+"I presume she thought," added Mr. George, "that when the porter spoke
+about the rough sea, he only referred to the motion of the steamer in
+going over."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "but what he really meant was, that it would be bad
+for her to get down from the steamer into the small boat at the landing.
+I am afraid that she will not like it, though I think that it will be
+real good fun."
+
+"Very likely it will be fun for _you_," said Mr. George.
+
+"I would a great deal rather go across in a mail steamer at low tide
+than in any other way," said Rollo.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE MAIL STEAMER.
+
+
+Rollo's explanation in respect to the mail steamer was correct. As has
+before been stated in some one or other of the volumes of this series,
+the northern coast of France is low, and the shore is shelving for
+almost the whole extent of it, and there are scarcely any good harbors.
+Immense sandy beaches extend along the coast, sloping so gradually
+outward, that when the tide goes down the sands are left bare for miles
+and miles towards the sea. The only way by which harbors can be made on
+such a shore is to find some place where a creek or small river flows
+into the sea, and then walling in the channel at the mouth of the creek,
+so as to prevent it being choked up by sand. In this way a passage is
+secured, by which, when the tide is high, pretty good sized vessels can
+get in; but, after all that they can do in such a case, they cannot make
+a harbor which can be entered at low tide. When the tide is out, nothing
+is left between the two piers, which form the borders of the channel,
+but muddy flats, with a small, sluggish stream, scarcely deep enough to
+float a jolly boat, slowly meandering in the midst of them towards the
+sea.
+
+The harbor of California is such a harbor as this. Accordingly, in case
+a steamer arrives there when the tide is down, there is no other way but
+for her to anchor in the offing until it rises again; and the
+passengers, if they wish to go ashore, must clamber down the side of the
+vessel into a small boat, and be pulled ashore by the oarsmen. In smooth
+weather this is very easily done. But in rough weather, when both
+steamer and boat are pitching and tossing violently up and down upon the
+waves, it is _not_ very easy or agreeable, especially for timid ladies.
+
+After finishing their breakfast, Mr. George and Rollo went out, and they
+rambled about the town until the time drew near for the sailing of the
+boat. Then they went to the station for the luggage, and having engaged
+a porter to take it to the boat, they followed him down to the pier till
+they came to the place where the boat was lying. After seeing the trunk
+put on board they went on board themselves. A short time afterwards Mr.
+and Mrs. Parkman came.
+
+The steamer, like all the others which ply between the coasts of France
+and England, was quite small, and the passengers were very few. There
+were only four or five ladies, and not far from the same number of
+gentlemen. As the passage was only expected to occupy about two hours,
+the passengers did not go below, but arranged themselves on seats upon
+the deck--some along the sides of the deck by the bulwarks, and some
+near the centre, around a sort of house built over the passage way which
+led down into the cabin.
+
+Soon after Mr. and Mrs. Parkman came on board, Mr. Parkman said to his
+wife,--
+
+"Now, Louise, my dear, you will be less likely to be sick if you get
+some good place where you can take a reclining posture, and so remain
+pretty still until we get over."
+
+"O, I shall not be sick," said she. "I am not at all afraid."
+
+So she began walking about the deck with an unconcerned and careless
+air, as if she had been an old sailor.
+
+Pretty soon Mr. George saw two other ladies coming, with their husbands,
+over the plank. The countenances of these ladies were very pleasing, and
+there was a quiet gentleness in their air and manner which impressed Mr.
+George very strongly in their favor.
+
+As soon as they reached the deck, and while their husbands were
+attending to the disposal of the luggage, they began to look for seats.
+
+"We will get into the most comfortable position we can," said one of
+them, "and keep still till we get nearly across."
+
+"Yes," said the other, "that will be the safest."
+
+So they chose good seats near the companion way, and sat down there, and
+their husbands brought them carpet bags to put their feet upon.
+
+In about fifteen minutes after this the steamer put off from the pier,
+and commenced her voyage. She very soon began to rise and fall over the
+waves, with a short, uneasy motion, which was very disagreeable. The
+passengers, however, all remained still in the places which they had
+severally chosen,--some reading, others lying quiet with their eyes
+closed, as if they were trying to go to sleep.
+
+Mr. Parkman himself tried to do this, but his wife would not leave him
+in peace. She came to him continually to inquire about this or that, or
+to ask him to look at some vessel that was coming in sight, or at some
+view on the shore. All this time the wind, and the consequent motion of
+the steamer, increased. Scudding clouds were seen flitting across the
+sky, from which there descended now and then misty showers of rain.
+These clouds gradually became more frequent and more dense, until at
+length the whole eastern sky was involved in one dense mass of
+threatening vapor.
+
+It began to grow dark, too. The specified time for sailing was four
+o'clock; but there was a delay for the mails, and it was full half past
+four before the steamer had left the pier. And now, before she began to
+draw near the French coast, it was nearly half past six. At length the
+coast began slowly to appear. Its outline was dimly discerned among the
+misty clouds.
+
+Long before this time, however, Mrs. Parkman had become quite sick. She
+first began to feel dizzy, and then she turned pale, and finally she
+came and sat down by her husband, and leaned her head upon his shoulder.
+
+She had been sitting in this posture for nearly half an hour, when at
+length she seemed to feel better, and she raised her head again.
+
+"Are we not nearly there?" said she.
+
+"Yes," said her husband. "The lighthouse is right ahead, and the ends of
+the piers. In ten minutes more we shall be going in between them, and
+then all the trouble will be over."
+
+Rollo and Mr. George were at this time near the bows. They had gone
+there to look forward, in order to get as early a glimpse as possible
+of the boats that they knew were to be expected to come out from the
+pier as soon as the steamer should draw nigh.
+
+"Here they come!" said Rollo, at length.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George. "I see them."
+
+It was so nearly dark that the boats could not be seen distinctly.
+Indeed there was not much to be discerned but a black moving mass,
+slowly coming out from under the walls of the pier.
+
+The steamer had now nearly reached the ground where she was to anchor,
+and so the seamen on the forecastle took in the foresail, which had been
+spread during the voyage, and the helmsman put down the helm. The head
+of the steamer then slowly came round till it pointed in a direction
+parallel to the shore. This carried the boats and the pier somewhat out
+of view from the place where Mr. George and Rollo had been standing.
+
+"Now we can see them better aft," said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and they will board us aft too; so we had
+better be there ready."
+
+Accordingly Mr. George and Rollo went aft again, and approached the
+gangway on the side where they supposed the boats would come.
+
+In going there they passed round first on the other side of the entrance
+to the cabin, where the two ladies were sitting that have already been
+described. As they went by one of the gentlemen came to them and said,--
+
+"Keep up your courage a few minutes longer. We are very near the pier.
+In ten minutes we shall be in smooth water, and all will be over."
+
+The ladies seemed much relieved and rejoiced to hear this, and then the
+gentleman went with Mr. George and Rollo towards the gangway, in order
+that they might make further observations. He was joined there a moment
+afterwards by his companion. Now, these gentlemen, as it happened, knew
+nothing about the plan of landing in boats. They had made no particular
+inquiry at Dover in respect to the steamer that they had come in, but
+took it for granted that she would go into the harbor as usual, and land
+the passengers at the pier. Their attention had just been attracted to
+the singular movement of the steamer, when Rollo and Mr. George came up.
+
+"_What!_" said one of them, speaking with a tone of surprise, and
+looking about eagerly over the water. "We are coming to, Mr. Waldo. What
+can that mean?"
+
+Just then the little fleet of boats, six or seven in number, began to
+come into view from where the gentlemen stood. They were dimly seen at a
+distance, and looked like long, black animals, slowly advancing over the
+dark surface of the water, and struggling fearfully with the waves.
+
+"What boats can those be?" said Mr. Waldo, beginning to look a little
+alarmed.
+
+He was alarmed not for himself, but for his wife, who was very frail and
+delicate in health, and ill fitted to bear any unusual exposure.
+
+"I am sure I cannot imagine," replied the other.
+
+"It looks marvellously as if they were coming out for us," said Mr.
+Waldo.
+
+"Can it be possible, Mr. Albert, that we are to land in boats such a
+night as this?" continued he.
+
+"It looks like it," replied the other. "Yes, they are really coming
+here."
+
+The boats were now seen evidently advancing towards the steamer. They
+came on in a line, struggling fearfully with the waves.
+
+"They look like spectres of boats," said Mr. George to Rollo.
+
+Mr. Albert now went round to the other side of the companion way, to the
+place where the two ladies were sitting.
+
+"Ladies," said he, "I am very sorry to say that we shall be obliged to
+land in boats."
+
+"In boats!" said the ladies, surprised.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Albert, "the tide is out, and I suppose we cannot go
+into port. The steamer has come to, and the boats are coming
+alongside."
+
+The ladies looked out over the dark and stormy water with an emotion of
+fear, but they did not say a word.
+
+"There is no help for it," continued the gentleman; "and you have
+nothing to do but to resign yourselves passively to whatever comes. If
+we had known that this steamer would not go into port, we would not have
+come in her; but now that we are here we must go through."
+
+"Very well," said the ladies. "Let us know when the boat for us is
+ready."
+
+Mr. Albert then returned to the gangway, where Rollo and Mr. George were
+standing. The foremost boat had come alongside, and the seamen were
+throwing the mail bags into it. When the mails were all safely stowed in
+the boat, some of the passengers that stood near by were called upon to
+follow. Mr. George and Rollo, being near, were among those thus called
+upon.
+
+"Wait a moment," said Mr. George to Rollo, in a low tone. "Let a few of
+the others go first, that we may see how they manage it."
+
+It proved to be rather difficult to manage it; for both the steamer and
+the boat were rocking and tossing violently on the waves, and as their
+respective motions did not at all correspond, they thumped against each
+other continually, as the boat rose and fell up and down the side of
+the steamer in a fearful manner. It was dark too, and the wind was
+blowing fresh, which added to the frightfulness of the scene.
+
+A crowd of people stood about the gangway. Some of these people were
+passengers waiting to go down, and others, officers of the ship, to help
+them. The seamen in the boat below were all on the alert too, some
+employed in keeping the boat off from the side of the ship, in order to
+prevent her being stove or swamped, while others stood on each side of
+the place where the passengers were to descend, with uplifted arms,
+ready to seize and hold them when they came down.
+
+There was a little flight of steps hanging down the side of the steamer,
+with ropes on each side of it in lieu of a balustrade. The passenger who
+was to embark was directed to turn round and begin to go down these
+steps backward, and then, when the sea lifted the boat so that the
+seamen on board could seize hold of him, they all cried out
+vociferously, "LET GO!" and at the same moment a strong sailor grasped
+him around the waist, brought him down into the bottom of the boat in a
+very safe, though extremely unceremonious manner.
+
+After several gentlemen and one lady had thus been put into the boat,
+amid a great deal of calling and shouting, and many exclamations of
+surprise and terror, the officer at the gangway turned to Mr. George,
+saying,--
+
+"Come, sir!"
+
+There was no time to stop to talk; so Mr. George stepped forward, saying
+to Rollo as he went, "Come right on directly after me;" and in a moment
+more he was seized by the man, and whirled down into the boat, he
+scarcely knew how. Immediately after he was in, there came some
+unusually heavy seas, and the steamer and the boat thumped together so
+violently that all the efforts of the seamen seemed to be required to
+keep them apart.
+
+"Push off!" said the officer.
+
+"Here, stop! I want to go first," exclaimed Rollo.
+
+"No more in this boat," said the officer. "Push off!"
+
+"Never mind," said Rollo, calling out to Mr. George, "I'll come by and
+by."
+
+"All right," said Mr. George.
+
+By this time the boat had got clear of the steamer, and she now began to
+move slowly onward, rising and falling on the waves, and struggling
+violently to make her way.
+
+"I am glad they did not let me go," said Rollo. "I would rather stay
+and see the rest go first."
+
+Another boat was now seen approaching, and Rollo stepped back a little
+to make way for the people that were to go in it, when he heard Mrs.
+Parkman's voice, in tones of great anxiety and terror, saying to her
+husband,--
+
+"I cannot go ashore in a boat in that way, William. I cannot possibly,
+and I will not!"
+
+"Why, Louise," said her husband, "what else can we do?"
+
+"I'll wait till the steamer goes into port, if I have to wait till
+midnight," replied Mrs. Parkman positively. "It is a shame! Such
+disgraceful management! Could not they find out how the tide would be
+here before they left Dover?"
+
+"Yes," replied Mr. Parkman. "Of course they knew perfectly well how the
+tide would be."
+
+"Then why did not they leave at such an hour as to make it right for
+landing here?"
+
+"There _are_ boats every day," said Mr. Parkman, "which leave at the
+right time for that, and most passengers take them. But the mails must
+come across at regular hours, whether the tide serves or not, and boats
+must come to bring the mails, and they, of course, allow passengers to
+come in these boats too, if they choose. We surely cannot complain of
+that."
+
+"Then they ought to have told us how it was," said Mrs. Parkman. "I
+think it is a shameful deception, to bring us over in this way, and not
+let us know any thing about it."
+
+"But they did tell us," said Mr. Parkman. "Do not you recollect that the
+porter at the station told us that this was a mail boat, and that it
+would not be pleasant for a lady."
+
+"But I did not know," persisted Mrs. Parkman, "that he meant that we
+should have to land in this way. He did not tell us any thing about
+that."
+
+"He told us that it was a mail boat, and he meant by that to tell us
+that we could not land at the pier. It is true, we did not understand
+him fully, but that is because we come from a great distance, and do not
+understand the customs of the country. That is our misfortune. It was
+not the porter's fault."
+
+"I don't think so at all," said Mrs. Parkman. "And you always take part
+against me in such things, and I think it is really unkind."
+
+All this conversation went on in an under tone; but though there was a
+great deal of noise and confusion on every side, Rollo could hear it
+all. While he was listening to it,--or rather while he was _hearing_ it,
+for he took no pains to listen,--the gentleman who had been talking
+with Mr. Waldo, and whom the latter had called Mr. Albert, went round to
+the two ladies who were waiting to be called, and said,--
+
+"Now, ladies, the boat is ready. Follow me. Say nothing, but do just as
+you are told, and all will go well."
+
+[Illustration: LANDING FROM THE MAIL BOAT.]
+
+So the ladies came one after the other in among the crowd that gathered
+around the gangway, and there, before they could bring their faculties
+at all to comprehend any thing distinctly amid the bewildering
+confusion of the scene, they found their bags and shawls taken away from
+them, and they themselves turned round and gently forced to back down
+the steps of the ladder over the boiling surges, when, in a moment more,
+amid loud shouts of "LET GO!" they were seized by the sailors in the
+boat, and down they went, they knew not how, for a distance of many feet
+into the stern of the boat, where they suddenly found themselves seated,
+while the boat itself was rocking violently to and fro, and thumping
+against the side of the steamer in a frightful manner.
+
+The officer, who had charge of the debarkation on the deck of the
+steamer above, immediately called to Mrs. Parkman.
+
+"Come, madam!" said he.
+
+"No," said she, "I can't possibly go ashore in that way."
+
+"Then you will have to stay on board all night."
+
+"Well, I'd rather stay on board all night," said she.
+
+"And you will have to go back to Dover, madam," continued the officer,
+speaking in a very stern and hurried manner, "for the steamer is not
+going into the pier at all."
+
+Then immediately turning to Rollo, he said, "Come, young man!"
+
+So Rollo marched up to the gangway, and was in a moment whirled down
+into the boat, as the others had been. Immediately afterwards the boat
+pushed off, and the sailors began to row, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Parkman
+on board the steamer. How they were to get to the shore Rollo did not
+know.
+
+Rollo began to look about over the water. It had become almost entirely
+dark, and though the moon, which was full, had, as it happened, broken
+out through the clouds a short time before, when they were getting into
+the boats, she had now become obscured again, and every thing seemed
+enveloped in deep gloom. Still Rollo could see at a short distance
+before him the other boats slowly making their way over the wild and
+stormy water. He could also see the ends of the piers dimly defined in
+the misty air, and the tall lighthouse beyond, with a bright light
+burning in the lantern at the top of it.
+
+"We shall only be a few minutes, now," said one of the gentlemen. "It is
+not far to the piers."
+
+The boat went on, pitching and tossing over the waves, with her head
+towards the piers. The pilot who steered the boat called out continually
+to the oarsmen, and the oarsmen shouted back to him; but nobody could
+understand such sailor language as they used. At length, on looking
+forward again, Rollo saw that the boats before him, instead of going on
+in a line towards the land, were slowly scattering in all directions,
+and that their own boat, instead of heading towards the pier as at
+first, gradually turned round, and seemed to be going along in a
+direction parallel to the coast, as the steamer had done.
+
+"What!" exclaimed Mr. Albert, on observing this, "we are not going
+towards the piers. Where can we be going?"
+
+The other gentleman shook his head, and said he did not know.
+
+The ladies remained quietly in their places. There was evidently nothing
+for them to do, and so they concluded, very sensibly, to do nothing.
+
+The boat slowly turned her head round, all the time pitching and tossing
+violently on the billows, until finally she was directed almost towards
+the steamer again.
+
+"What can be the matter?" asked one of the gentlemen, addressing the
+other. "We are not heading towards the shore." Then turning towards the
+pilot, he said to him,--
+
+"What is the matter? Why cannot we go in?"
+
+The pilot, who spoke English very imperfectly, answered, "It is a bar.
+The water is not enough."
+
+"There is a bar," said the gentleman, "outside the entrance to the
+harbor, and the water is not deep enough even for these boats to go
+over. We can see it."
+
+Rollo and the others looked in the direction where the gentleman
+pointed, and he could see a long, white line formed by the breakers on
+the bar, extending each way as far as the eye could reach along the
+shore. Beyond were to be dimly seen the heads of the piers, and a low
+line of the coast on either hand, with the lighthouse beyond, towering
+high into the air, and a bright and steady light beaming from the summit
+of it.
+
+"I hope the tide is not going _down_," said the gentleman, "for in that
+case we may have to wait here half the night."
+
+"Is the tide going down, or coming up?" he said, turning again to the
+pilot.
+
+"It will come up. The tide will come up," answered the pilot.
+
+"What does he say?" asked one of the ladies in a whisper.
+
+"He says that the tide will come up," replied the gentleman. "Whether he
+means it is coming up now, or that it will come up some time or other, I
+do not know. We have nothing to do but to remain quiet, and await the
+result."
+
+The clouds had been for some time growing darker and darker, and now it
+began to rain. So the gentlemen took out their umbrellas and spread
+them, and the party huddled together in the bottom of the boat, and
+sheltered themselves there as well as they could from the wind and rain.
+They invited Rollo to come under the umbrellas too, but he said that the
+rain would not hurt his cap, and he preferred to sit where he could look
+out and see what they would do.
+
+"Very well," said one of the gentlemen. "Tell us, from time to time, how
+we get along."
+
+So Rollo watched the manoeuvring of the boat, and reported, from time
+to time, the progress that she was making. It was not very easy for him
+to make himself heard, on account of the noise of the winds and waves,
+and the continual vociferations of the pilot and the seamen.
+
+"We are headed now," said he, "right away from the shore. We are pointed
+towards the steamer. I can just see her, working up and down in the
+offing.
+
+"Now the men are backing water," he continued. "We are going stern
+foremost towards the bar. I believe they are going to try to back her
+over."
+
+The boat now rapidly approached the line of breakers, moving stern
+foremost. The roar of the surf sounded nearer and nearer. At length the
+ladies and gentlemen under the umbrellas looked out, and they saw
+themselves in the midst of rolling billows of foam, on which the boat
+rose and fell like a bubble. Presently they could feel her thump upon
+the bottom. The next wave lifted her up and carried her towards the
+shore, and then subsiding, brought her down again with another thump
+upon the sand. The pilot shouted out new orders to the seamen. They
+immediately began to pull forward with their oars. He had found that the
+water was yet too shallow on the bar, and that it would be impossible to
+pass over. So the sailors were pulling the boat out to sea again.
+
+The ladies were, of course, somewhat alarmed while the boat was thumping
+on the bar, and the boiling surges were roaring so frightfully around
+them; but they said nothing. They knew that they had nothing to do, and
+so they remained quiet.
+
+"We are clear of the bar, now," said Rollo, continuing his report. "I
+can see the breakers in a long line before us, but we are clear of them.
+Now the sailors are getting out the anchor. I can see a number of the
+other boats that are at anchor already."
+
+The anchor, or rather the grapnel which served as an anchor, was now
+thrown overboard, and the boat came to, head to the wind. There she
+lay, pitching and tossing very uneasily on the sea. The other boats were
+seen lying in similar situations at different distances. One was very
+near; so near, that instead of anchoring herself, the seamen threw a
+rope from her on board the boat where Rollo was, and so held on by her,
+instead of anchoring herself. In this situation the whole fleet of boats
+remained for nearly an hour. Rollo kept a good lookout all the time,
+watching for the first indications of any attempt to move.
+
+At length he heard a fresh command given by the pilot, in language that
+he could not understand; but the sailors at the bows immediately began
+to take in the anchor.
+
+"They are raising the anchor," said he. "Now we are going to try it
+again. There is one boat gone already. She is just coming to the bar.
+She is now just in the breakers. I can see the white foam all around
+her. She is going in. Now she is over. I can see the whole line of foam
+this side of her. Our boat will be there very soon."
+
+In a very few minutes more the boat entered the surf, and soon began to
+thump as before at every rise and fall of the seas. But as each
+successive wave came up, she was lifted and carried farther over the
+bar, and at last came to deep water on the other side.
+
+"It is all over now," said one of the gentlemen, "and, besides, it has
+stopped raining." So he rose from his place and shut the umbrella. The
+ladies looked around, and to their great joy saw that they were just
+entering between the ends of the piers. The passage way was not very
+wide, and the piers rose like high walls on each side of it; but the
+water was calm and smooth within, and the boats glided along one after
+another in a row, in a very calm and peaceful manner. At length they
+reached the landing stairs, which were built curiously within the pier,
+among the piles and timbers, and there they all safely disembarked.
+
+On reaching the top of the stairs, Rollo found Mr. George waiting for
+him.
+
+"Uncle George," said Rollo, "here I am."
+
+"Have you had a good time?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "excellent."
+
+"And what became of Mr. and Mrs. Parkman?"
+
+"I don't know," said Rollo; "I left them on board the steamer. She
+declared that she would not come in a small boat."
+
+"You and I," said Mr. George, "will go off to-morrow morning by the
+first train, and go straight to Holland as fast as we can, so as to get
+out of their way."
+
+"Well," said Rollo. "Though I don't care much about it either way."
+
+Mr. George, however, carried his plan into effect. The next day they
+went to Antwerp; and on the day following they crossed the Belgian
+frontier, and entered Holland.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+ENTERING HOLLAND.
+
+
+Rollo and Mr. George went into Holland by the railway. It was a long
+time before Rollo learned that in travelling from one European country
+to another, he was not to expect any visible line of demarcation to show
+the frontier. Boys at school, in studying the shape and conformation of
+different countries on the map, and seeing them marked by distinct
+colored boundaries, are very apt to imagine that they will see
+something, when travelling from one country to another, to show them by
+visible signs when they pass the frontier.
+
+But there is nothing of the kind. The green fields, the groves, the
+farmhouse, the succession of villages continues unchanged as you travel,
+so that, as you whirl along in the railway carriage, there is nothing to
+warn you of the change, except the custom house stations, where the
+passports of travellers are called for, and the baggage is examined.
+
+"Uncle George," said Rollo, after looking out of the window at a place
+where the train stopped, twenty or thirty miles from Antwerp, "I think
+we are coming to the frontier."
+
+"Why so?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Because the Belgian custom house is at this station, and the next will
+be the Dutch custom house."
+
+Rollo knew that this was the Belgian custom house by seeing the word
+DOUANE over one of the doors of the station, and under it the words
+VISITE DES BAGAGES, which means _examination of baggage_. There were
+besides a great many soldiers standing about, which was another
+indication.
+
+"How do you know that it is the Belgian custom house?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Because all these soldiers are in the Belgian uniform," said he. "I
+know the Belgian uniform. I don't know the Dutch uniform, but I suppose
+I shall see it at the next station."
+
+Rollo was perfectly right in his calculations. The last station on the
+line of the railway in Belgium was the frontier station for Belgium, and
+here travellers, coming from Holland, were called upon to show their
+passports, and to have their baggage examined. In the same manner the
+first station beyond, which was the first one in Holland, was the
+frontier station for that country, and there passengers going from
+Belgium into Holland were stopped and examined in the same way.
+
+After going on a few miles from the Belgium station, the whistle blew
+and the train began to stop.
+
+"Here we are!" said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George; "and now comes the time of trial for the musical
+box."
+
+Rollo had bought a musical box at Antwerp, and he had some fears lest he
+might be obliged to pay a duty upon it, in going into Holland. Mr.
+George had told him that he thought there was some danger, but Rollo
+concluded that he would take the risk.
+
+"They have no business to make me pay duty upon it," said he to Mr.
+George.
+
+"Why not?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Because it is not for merchandise," said Rollo. "It is not for sale. I
+have bought it for my own use alone."
+
+"That has nothing to do with it," said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes it has, a great deal to do with it," replied Rollo.
+
+There might have been quite a spirited discussion between Mr. George and
+Rollo, on this old and knotty question, over which tourists in Europe
+are continually stumbling, had not the train stopped. The moment that
+the motion ceased, the doors of all the carriages were opened, and a man
+passed along the line calling out in French,--
+
+"Gentlemen and ladies will all descend here, for the examination of
+passports and baggage."
+
+Mr. George and Rollo had no baggage, except a valise which they carried
+with them in the carriage. Mr. George took this valise up and stepped
+down upon the platform.
+
+"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "if they find your musical box and charge
+duty upon it, pay it like a man."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "I will."
+
+"And don't get up a quarrel with the custom house officer on the
+subject," continued Mr. George, "for he has the whole military force of
+the kingdom of Holland at his command, and what he says is to be done,
+in this territory, must be done."
+
+So saying, Mr. George, valise in hand, followed the crowd of passengers
+through a door, over which was inscribed the Dutch word for baggage. In
+the centre of this room there was a sort of low counter, enclosing a
+sort of oblong square. Within the square were a number of custom house
+officers, ready to examine the baggage which the porters and the
+passengers were bringing in, and laying upon the counter, all around the
+four sides of the square.
+
+Mr. George brought up his valise, and placed it on the counter. A custom
+house officer, who had just examined and marked some other parcels,
+turned to Mr. George's just as he had unlocked and opened it.
+
+"Have you any thing to declare?" said the officer.
+
+"Nothing, sir," said Mr. George.
+
+The officer immediately shut the valise, and marked it on the back with
+a piece of chalk, and Mr. George locked it and took it away.
+
+"Are you through?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George.
+
+Mr. George then took the valise and followed a crowd of passengers, who
+were going through a door at the end of the room opposite to where they
+came in. There was an officer in uniform on each side of this door.
+These officers examined every bag, valise, or parcel that the passengers
+had in their hands, to see if they had been marked by the examiners, and
+as fast as they found that they were marked, they let them pass.
+
+Following this company, Mr. George and Rollo came soon to another small
+room, where a man was sitting behind a desk, examining the passports of
+the passengers and stamping them. Mr. George waited a moment until it
+came his turn, and then handed his passport too. The officer looked at
+it, and then stamped an impression from a sort of seal on one corner of
+it. He also wrote Mr. George's and Rollo's name in a big book, copying
+them for this purpose from the passport.
+
+He then handed the passport back again, and Mr. George and Rollo went
+out, passing by a soldier who guarded the door. They found themselves
+now on the railway platform.
+
+"Now," said Rollo, "I suppose that we may go and take our seats again."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George. "We are fairly entered within the dominions of
+his majesty the king of Holland."
+
+"And no duty to pay on my music box," said Rollo.
+
+Rollo took a seat by a window where he could look out as the train went
+on, and see, as he said, how Holland looked. The country was one immense
+and boundless plain, and there were no fences or other close enclosures
+of any kind. And yet the face of it was so endlessly varied with rows of
+trees, groves, farm houses, gardens, wind mills, roads, and other
+elements of rural scenery, that Rollo found it extremely beautiful. The
+fields were very green where grass was growing, and the foliage of the
+trees, and of the little ornamental hedges that were seen here and there
+adorning the grounds of the farm houses, was very rich and full. As
+Rollo looked out at the window, a continued succession of the most
+bright and beautiful pictures passed rapidly before his eyes, like those
+of a gayly painted panorama, and they all called forth from him
+continually repeated exclamations of delight. Mr. George sat at his
+window enjoying the scene perhaps quite as much as Rollo did, though he
+was much less ardent in expressing his admiration.
+
+"See these roads, uncle George," said Rollo; "they run along on the tops
+of the embankment like railroads. Are those dikes?"
+
+"No," said Mr. George. "The dikes are built along the margin of the sea,
+and along the banks of rivers and canals, to take the water out. These
+are embankments for the roads, to raise them up and keep them dry."
+
+There were rows of trees on the sides of these raised roads, which
+formed beautiful avenues to shelter the carriage way from the sun. These
+avenues could sometimes be seen stretching for miles across the country.
+
+"Now, pretty soon," said Rollo, "we shall come to the water, and then we
+shall take a steamboat."
+
+"Then we do not go all the way by the train," said Mr. George.
+
+"No," said Rollo. "The railroad stops at a place called Moerdyk, and
+there we take a steamer and go along some of the rivers.
+
+"But I can't find out by the map exactly how we are to go," he
+continued, "because there are so many rivers."
+
+Rollo had found, by the map, that the country all about Rotterdam was
+intersected by a complete network of creeks and rivers. This system was
+connected on the land side with the waters of the Rhine, by the immense
+multitude of branches into which that river divides itself towards its
+mouth, and on the other side by innumerable creeks and inlets coming in
+from the sea. This network of channels is so extensive, and the water in
+the various branches of it is so deep, that ships and steamers can go at
+will all about the country. It would be as difficult to make a railroad
+over such a tract of mingled land and water as this, as it is easy to
+navigate a steamer through it; and, accordingly, the owners of the line
+had made arrangements for stopping the trains at Moerdyk, and then
+transferring the passengers to a steamer.
+
+"I have great curiosity," said Rollo, "to see whether, when we come to
+the water, we shall go _up_ to it, instead of _down_ to it."
+
+"Do you think that we shall go up to it?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"I don't know," replied Rollo. "We do in some parts of Holland. In some
+places, according to what the guide book says, the land is twenty or
+thirty feet below the level of the water, and so when you come to the
+shore you go _up an embankment_, and there you find the water on the
+other side, nearly at the top of it."
+
+When at length the train stopped at Moerdyk, the conductor called out
+from the platform that all the passengers would descend from the
+carriages to embark on board the steamer. Rollo was too much interested
+in making the change, and in hurrying Mr. George along so as to get a
+good seat in the steamer, to make any observation on the comparative
+level of the land and water. There was quite a little crowd of
+passengers to go on board; and as they walked along the pier towards the
+place where the steamer was lying, all loaded with as many bags, cloaks,
+umbrellas, or parcels of some sort, as they could carry, Rollo and Mr.
+George pressed on before them, Rollo leading the way. The steamer was a
+long and narrow boat, painted black, in the English fashion. There was
+no awning over the deck, and most of the passengers went below.
+
+"I don't see what they are all going below for," said Rollo. "I should
+think that they would wish to stay on deck and see the scenery."
+
+So Rollo chose a seat by the side of a small porch which was built upon
+the deck over the entrance to the cabin, and sat down immediately upon
+it, making room for Mr. George by his side. There was a little table
+before him, and he laid down his guide book and his great coat upon it.
+
+"Now," said he, "this is good. We have got an excellent seat, and we
+will have a first rate time looking at Holland as we go along."
+
+Just then a young man, dressed in a suit of gray, and with a spy glass
+hanging at his side, suspended by a strap from his shoulder, and with a
+young and pretty, but rather disdainful looking lady on his arm, came
+by.
+
+"Now, Emily," said he, "which would you prefer, to sit here upon the
+deck or go below?"
+
+"O George," said she, "let us go below. There's nothing to be seen on
+the deck. The country is every where flat and uninteresting."
+
+"We might see the shores as we go along," suggested her husband.
+
+"O, there's nothing to be seen along the shores," said she; "nothing but
+bulrushes and willows. We had better go below."
+
+So Emily led George below.
+
+"Rollo," said Mr. George, "if you would like to take a bet, I will bet
+you the prettiest Dutch toy that you can find in Amsterdam, that that is
+another Mrs. Parkman."
+
+"I think it very likely she is," said Rollo. "But, uncle George, what do
+you think they have got down below? I've a great mind to go down and
+see."
+
+"Very well," said Mr. George.
+
+"And will you keep my place while I am gone?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "or you can put your cap in it to keep it."
+
+So Rollo put his cap in his seat, and went down below. In a few minutes
+he returned, saying that there was a pretty little cabin down there,
+with small tables set out along the sides of it, and different parties
+of people getting ready for breakfast.
+
+"It is rather late for breakfast," said Mr. George. "It is after twelve
+o'clock."
+
+"Then perhaps they call it luncheon," said Rollo. "But I'd rather stay
+on deck. We might have something to eat here. Don't you think we could
+have it on this table?"
+
+"Yes," replied Mr. George, "that is what the table is put here for."
+
+"Well!" said Rollo, his eye brightening up at the idea.
+
+"We can have it here, or we can wait and have it at the hotel in
+Rotterdam," said Mr. George. "You may decide. I'll do just as you say."
+
+Rollo finally concluded to wait till they arrived at Rotterdam, and then
+to have a good dinner all by themselves at some table by a window in the
+hotel, and in the mean time to devote himself, while on board the
+steamer, to observing the shores of the river, or arm of the sea,
+whichever it might be, on which they were sailing.
+
+The steamer had before this time set sail from the pier, and after
+backing out of a little sort of creek or branch where it had been
+moored, it entered a broad channel of deep water, and began rapidly to
+move along. The day was pleasant, and though the air was cool, Rollo and
+Mr. George were so well sheltered by the little porch by the side of
+which they were sitting, that they were very comfortable in all
+respects.
+
+Before long the channel of water in which the steamer was sailing became
+more narrow, and the steamer passed nearer a bank, which Rollo soon
+perceived was formed by a dike.
+
+"See, see! uncle George," said he. "There are the roofs of the houses
+over on the other side of the dike. We can just see the tops of them.
+The ground that the houses stand upon must be a great deal below the
+water."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and see, there are the tops of the tall trees."
+
+The dike was very regular in its form, and it was ornamented with two
+rows of trees along the top of it. There were seats here and there under
+the trees, and some of these seats had people sitting upon them, looking
+at the passing boats and steamers. The water was full of vessels of all
+kinds, coming and going, or lying at anchor. These vessels were all of
+very peculiar forms, being built in the Dutch style, and not painted,
+but only varnished, so as to show beautifully the natural color of the
+wood of which they were made. They had what Rollo called _fins_ on each
+side, which were made to be taken up or let down into the water, first
+on one side and then on the other, as the vessel was on different tacks
+in beating against the wind.
+
+Opposite to every place where there was a house over beyond the dike,
+there was a line of steps coming down the face of the dike on the hither
+side, towards the water, with a little pier, and a boat fastened to it,
+below. These little flights of steps, with the piers and the boats, and
+the seats under the trees on the top of the dike, and the roofs of the
+houses, and the tops of the trees beyond, all looked extremely pretty,
+and presented a succession of very peculiar and very charming scenes to
+Mr. George and Rollo as the steamer glided rapidly along the shore.
+
+In some places the dike seemed to widen, so as to make room for houses
+upon the top of it. There were snug little taverns, where the captains
+and crews of the vessels that were sailing by could stop and refresh
+themselves, when wind or tide bound in their vessels, and now and then a
+shop or store of some kind, or a row of pretty, though very
+queer-looking, cottages. At one place there was a ferry landing. The
+ferry house, together with the various buildings appertaining to it, was
+on the top of the dike, and a large pier, with a snug and pretty basin
+by the side of it, below. There was a flight of stairs leading up from
+the pier to the ferry house, and also a winding road for carriages. At
+the time that the steamer went by this place, the ferry boat was just
+coming in with a carriage on board of it.
+
+There were a great many wind mills here and there along the dike. Some
+were for pumping up water, some for sawing logs, and some for grinding
+grain. These wind mills were very large and exceedingly picturesque in
+their forms, and in the manner in which they were grouped with the other
+buildings connected with them. Rollo wished very much that he could stop
+and go on shore and visit some of these wind mills, so as to see how
+they looked inside.
+
+At length the vessels and ships seemed to increase in numbers, and Mr.
+George said that he thought that they must be approaching a town. Rollo
+looked upon the map and found that there was a large town named Dort,
+laid down on the shores of the river or branch on which they were
+sailing.
+
+"It is on the other side," said he. "Let us go and see."
+
+So they both rose from their seats and went round to the other side of
+the boat, and there, there suddenly burst upon their view such a maze of
+masts, spires, roofs, and wind mills, all mingled together in
+promiscuous confusion, as was wonderful to behold. In the centre of the
+whole rose one enormous square tower, which seemed to belong to a
+cathedral.
+
+This was Dort, or Dordrecht, as it is often called.
+
+As the steamer glided rapidly along the shores, and Mr. George and Rollo
+attempted to look into the town, they saw not streets, but canals.
+Indeed, the whole place seemed just level with the surface of the water,
+and far in the interior of it the masts of ships and the roofs of the
+houses were mingled together in nearly equal proportion.
+
+The steamer threaded its way among the fleets of boats and shipping
+that lay off the town, and at length came to a stop at a pier. The
+passengers destined for this place began to disembark. Mr. George and
+Rollo stood together on the deck, looking at the buildings which lined
+the quay, and wondering at the quaint and queer forms which every thing
+that they saw assumed.
+
+"I should really like to go ashore here," said Mr. George, "and see what
+sort of a place it is."
+
+"Let us do it, uncle George!" said Rollo, eagerly. "Let us do it!"
+
+"Only we have paid to Rotterdam," said Mr. George.
+
+"Never mind," said Rollo. "It will not make much difference."
+
+But before Mr. George could make up his mind to go on shore, the
+exchange of passengers was effected, and the plank was pulled in, the
+ropes were cast off, and the steamer once more began to move swiftly
+along over the water.
+
+"It is too late," said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and on the whole it is better for us to go on."
+
+In about an hour more the steamer began to draw near to Rotterdam. The
+approach to the town was indicated by the multitude of boats and vessels
+that were passing to and fro, and by the numbers of steamers and wind
+mills that lined respectively the margins of the water and of the land.
+The wind mills were prodigious in size. They towered high into the air
+like so many lighthouses; the tops of the sails, as Mr. George
+estimated, reached, as the vanes revolved, up to not less than one
+hundred and fifty or two hundred feet into the air. It was necessary to
+build them high, in order that the sails might not be becalmed by the
+houses.
+
+[Illustration: DORT.]
+
+At length the steamer stopped at a pier. Two policemen stood at the
+plank, as the passengers landed, and demanded their passports. Mr.
+George gave up his passport, as he was directed, and then he and Rollo
+got into a carriage and were driven to the hotel.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+WALKS ABOUT ROTTERDAM.
+
+
+The hotel where Mr. George and Rollo were set down was a very
+magnificent edifice standing on the quay opposite to a line of steamers.
+On entering it, both our travellers were struck with the spaciousness of
+the hall and of the staircase, and with the sumptuous appearance in
+general of the whole interior. They called for a chamber. The
+attendants, as they soon found, all understood English, so that there
+was no occasion at present to resort to the language of signs, as Mr.
+George had supposed might be necessary. In answer to Mr. George's
+request to be shown to a room, the servant showed him and Rollo a very
+large and lofty apartment, with immense windows in front looking down
+upon the pier. On the back side of the room were two single beds.
+
+"This will do very well for us," said Mr. George.
+
+"Will you dine at the table d'hote?"[3] asked the waiter.
+
+[Footnote 3: Pronounced _tahble dote_.]
+
+The table d'hote is the public table.
+
+"At what time is the table d'hote?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"At half past four," said the waiter.
+
+"No," said Mr. George, "we shall want to be out at that time. We will
+take something now as soon as we can have it. Can you give us a
+beefsteak?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said the waiter.
+
+"Very well. Give us a beefsteak and some coffee, and some bread and
+butter."
+
+"Yes, sir," said the waiter. "Will you have two beefsteaks, or one
+beefsteak?"
+
+"Two," said Rollo, in an under tone to Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and coffee for two, also."
+
+So the waiter left the travellers in their room, and went down stairs.
+In about ten minutes Mr. George and Rollo went down too. At the foot of
+the grand staircase they turned into the dining room, where they saw
+several tables set, and at one of them, near a window, were the
+preparations for their meal.
+
+The window looked out upon the quay, and Rollo could see the men at work
+getting out hogsheads and bales of goods from a steamer that was moored
+there. Besides looking across to the quay, Rollo could also look up and
+down the street without putting his head out of the window. The way in
+which he was enabled to do this, was by means of looking glasses placed
+outside. These looking glasses were attached to an iron frame, and they
+were placed in an inclined position, so as to reflect the whole length
+of the street in through the window. Thus a person sitting at his ease
+within the room, could look up and down the street, as well as across
+it, at his pleasure.
+
+Rollo afterwards observed such looking glasses attached to the windows
+of almost all the houses in town.
+
+The dinner was soon brought in, and Mr. George and Rollo ate it with
+excellent appetites. Just as they had finished their meal, a
+neatly-dressed young man came to the table and asked them if they wished
+for some one to show them about the town.
+
+"Because," said he, "I am a _valet de place_, and I can take you at once
+to all the places of interest, and save you a great deal of time."
+
+"How much do you ask to do it?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Five francs a day," said the man.
+
+"That's right," said Mr. George. "That's the usual price. But we shall
+not want you, at least for this afternoon. We may want you to-morrow. We
+shall stay in town a day or two."
+
+The young man said that he should be very happy to serve them if they
+should require his services, and then bowed and went away.
+
+After having finished their meal, Mr. George and Rollo set out to take a
+ramble about the town by themselves.
+
+"We will go in search of adventures," said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and if we lose our way, we shall be likely to
+_have_ some adventures, for we cannot speak Dutch to inquire for it."
+
+"Never mind," said Rollo, "I'm not afraid. We will be careful which way
+we go."
+
+So they went out and took quite a long ramble through the town. The
+first aspect of the streets struck them with astonishment. The space was
+now more than half filled with docks and basins, and with canals in
+which ships and boats of every kind were moving to and fro. In fact
+almost every street consisted one half of canal, and one half of road
+way, so that in going through it you could have your choice of going in
+a boat or in a carriage. The water part of the streets was crowded
+densely with vessels, some of them of the largest size, for the water
+was so deep in the canals that the largest ships could go all about the
+town.
+
+It was curious to observe the process of loading and unloading these
+vessels, opposite to the houses where the merchants who owned them
+lived. These houses were very large and handsome. The upper stories were
+used for the rooms of the merchant and his family, and the lower ones
+were for the storage of the goods. Thus a merchant could sit at his
+parlor window with his family about him, could look down upon his ship
+in the middle of the street before his house, and see the workmen
+unlading it and stowing the goods safely on his own premises, in the
+rooms below.
+
+In some of the streets the canal was in the centre, and there was a road
+way along by the houses on each side. In others there was a road way
+only on one side, and the walls of the houses and stores rose up
+directly from the water's edge on the other. It was curious, in this
+case, to see the men in the upper stories of these stores, hoisting
+goods up from the vessels below by means of cranes and tackles
+projecting from the windows.
+
+There was one arrangement in the streets which Rollo at first
+condemned, as decidedly objectionable in his mind, and that was, that
+the sidewalks were smooth and level with the pavement of the street,
+differing only from the street by being paved with bricks, while the
+road way was paved with stone.
+
+"I think that that is a very foolish plan," said Rollo.
+
+"I should not have expected so crude a remark as that from so old and
+experienced a traveller as you," said Mr. George.
+
+"Why, uncle George," said Rollo. "It is plainly a great deal better to
+have the sidewalk raised a little, for that keeps the wheels of the
+carts and carriages from coming upon them. Besides, there ought to be a
+gutter."
+
+"People that have never been away from home before," said Mr. George,
+"are very apt, when they first land in any strange country, and observe
+any strange or unusual way of doing things, or of making things, to
+condemn it at once, and say how much better the thing is in their
+country. But I thought that you had travelled enough to know better than
+that."
+
+"How so?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Why, you see that after people have travelled more, they get their
+ideas somewhat enlarged, and they learn that one way of doing things may
+be best in one country, and another in another, on account of some
+difference in the circumstances or the wants of the two countries. So,
+when they see any thing done in a new or unusual manner, they don't
+condemn it, or laugh at it, until they have had time to find out whether
+there may not be some good reason for it."
+
+"But I don't see," said Rollo, "what possible good reason there can be
+for having the sidewalks made so that every cart that comes along can
+run over you."
+
+"And because you don't in a moment see every reason, does that make it
+certain that there cannot be any?" said Mr. George.
+
+"Why, no," replied Rollo.
+
+"Then if you had travelled to much purpose," said Mr. George, "you would
+suspend your judgment until you had inquired."
+
+It was not long before Rollo saw what the reason was for making the
+sidewalks in this way. Indeed, with a little reflection, he would
+probably have thought of it himself.
+
+The object was to make it easy to wheel and convey the goods from the
+ships across to the warehouses. For, as the ships and boats go into
+almost all the streets in the town, goods have to be wheeled across
+every where, from the margin of the quay to the warehouses of the
+merchants, and a range of curbstones and gutter would make an obstacle
+that would be very much in the way.
+
+Besides, contrary to Rollo's hastily formed opinion, there ought _not_
+to be any gutters in such a town as this, as far as the streets are
+perfectly level, from end to end; if gutters were made the water would
+not run in them. The only way to have the rain water carried off, is to
+form a gentle slope from the houses straight across the quay to the
+margin of the canal, and this requires that the connection between the
+sidewalk and the road way should be continuous and even. So that on
+every account the plan adopted in Rotterdam is the best for that town.
+
+I advise all the readers of this book, whether old or young, if they
+have not yet had an opportunity to learn wisdom by actual experience in
+travelling, to remember the lesson that Rollo learned on this occasion;
+and whenever, in their future travels, they find any thing that appears
+unusual or strange, not to condemn it too soon, simply because it is
+different from what they have been accustomed to at home, but to wait
+till they have learned whether there may not be some good cause for the
+difference.
+
+Rollo wished to stop continually, as he and his uncle walked along, to
+watch the operations of loading and unloading that were going on
+between the ships and the warehouses. At one place was a boat loaded
+with sails, which had apparently come from a sail maker's. The sails
+were rolled up in long rolls, and some people in a loft of a warehouse
+near were hoisting them up with tackles, and pulling them in at the
+windows.
+
+At another place two porters were engaged wheeling something in
+wheelbarrows across from a slip to the warehouse, stopping by the way at
+a little platform to have every wheelbarrow load weighed. One of the
+porters wheeled the loads from the ship to the platform, and the other,
+after they were weighed, wheeled them to the warehouse. At the platform
+sat a man with a little desk before him and a big book upon it, in which
+he entered the weight of each load as it came. As soon as the load was
+weighed the warehouse porter would take it from the platform, wheel it
+across the street to the warehouse, empty it there, and then bring back
+the empty wheelbarrow and set it down by the side of the platform. In
+the mean time the ship porter would have wheeled another load up to the
+platform from the ship, and by the time that the warehouse porter had
+come back, it would be weighed and all ready for him. The ship porter,
+when he brought the loaded wheelbarrow, would take back to the ship the
+empty one. The whole operation went on with so much regularity and
+system, and it worked so well in keeping all the men employed all the
+time, without either having to wait at all for the other, that it was a
+pleasure to witness it.
+
+At another place Mr. George himself, as well as Rollo, was much
+interested in seeing the process of tobacco inspection. There were a
+number of hogsheads of tobacco, with a party of porters, coopers,
+inspectors, and clerks examining them. It was curious to see how rapidly
+they would go through the process. The coopers would set a hogshead up
+upon its end, knock out the head, loosen all the staves at one end,
+whisk it over upon the platform of the scales, and then lift the
+hogshead itself entirely off, and set it down on one side, leaving the
+tobacco alone, in a great round pile, on the platform. Then when it was
+weighed they would tumble it over upon its side, and separate it into
+its layers, and the inspectors would take out specimens from all the
+different portions of it. Then they would pile up the layers again, and
+put the hogshead on over them, as you would put an extinguisher on a
+candle; and, finally, after turning it over once more, they would put it
+on the head, and bind it all up again tight and secure, with hoop poles
+which they nailed in and around it. The porters would then roll the
+hogshead off, in order to put it on a cart and take it away. The whole
+operation was performed with a degree of system, regularity, and
+promptness, that was quite surprising. The whole work of opening the
+hogshead, examining it thoroughly, weighing it, selecting specimens, and
+putting it up again, was accomplished in less time than it has taken me
+here to describe it.
+
+There were a great many other operations of this sort that arrested the
+attention of Mr. George and Rollo, as they walked along the streets.
+Much of the merchandise which they saw thus landing from the ships, or
+going on board of them, was of great value, and the ships in which it
+came were of immense size, such as are engaged in the East India trade.
+Mr. George said that they were the kind that he had often read about in
+history, under the name of Dutch East Indiamen.
+
+Rollo was very much amused at the signs over the doors of the shops, in
+those streets where there were shops, and in the efforts that he made to
+interpret them. There was one which read SCHEEP'S VICTUALIJ, which Mr.
+George said must mean victualling for ships. He was helped, however,
+somewhat in making this translation by observing what was exhibited in
+the windows of the shop, and at the door. There was another in which
+Rollo did not require any help to enable him to translate it. It was
+TABAK, KOFFY, UND THEE. Another at first perplexed him. It was this:
+HUIS UND SCHEEP'S SMEDERY. But by seeing that the place was a sort of
+blacksmith's shop, Rollo concluded that it must mean house and ship
+smithery, that is, that it was a place for blacksmith's work for houses
+and ships.
+
+Over one of the doors was OOSTERHOUTS UND BREDA'S BIER HUIS. Mr. George
+said that Breda was a place not far from Rotterdam, and that the last
+part of the sign must mean house for selling Breda beer. Rollo then
+concluded that the first word must mean something connected with
+oysters. There was another, KOFFER EN ZADEL MAKERIJ. At first Rollo
+could not make any thing of this; but on looking at the window he saw a
+painting of a horse's head, with a handsome bridle upon it, and a saddle
+on one side. So he concluded it must mean a trunk and saddle makery. He
+was the more convinced of the correctness of this from the fact that the
+word for trunk or box, in French, is _coffre_.
+
+Rollo amused himself a long time in interpreting in this way the signs
+that he saw in the streets, and he succeeded so well in it that he told
+Mr. George that he believed he could learn the Dutch language very
+easily, if he were going to stay for any considerable time in Holland.
+
+Another thing that amused Rollo very much, was to see the wooden shoes
+that were worn by the common people in the streets. These shoes appeared
+to Rollo to be very large and clumsy; but even the little children wore
+them, and the noise that they made, clattering about the pavements with
+them, was very amusing.
+
+In a great many places where the streets intersected each other, there
+were bridges leading across the canals. These bridges were of a very
+curious construction. They were all draw bridges, and as boats and
+vessels were continually passing and repassing along the canals, it
+became frequently necessary to raise them, in order to let the vessels
+go through. The machinery for raising these bridges and letting them
+down again, was very curious; and Rollo and Mr. George were both glad,
+when, in coming to the bridge, they found it was up, as it gave them an
+opportunity to watch the manoeuvre of passing the vessel through.
+
+Every boat and vessel that went through had a toll to pay, and the
+manner of collecting this toll was not the least singular part of the
+whole procedure. While the bridge was up, and when the boat had passed
+nearly through, the helmsman, or helmswoman, as the case might be,--for
+one half the boats and vessels seemed to be steered by women,--would
+get the money ready; and then the tollman, who stood on the abutment of
+the bridge, would swing out to the boat one of the wooden shoes above
+described, which was suspended by a long line from the end of a pole,
+like a fishing pole. The tollman would swing out this shoe over the boat
+that was passing through, as a boy would swing his hook and sinker out
+over the water if he were going to catch fish. The helmsman in the boat
+would take hold of it when it came within his reach, and put the money
+into the toe of it. The tollman would then draw it in, and, taking out
+the money, would carry it to his toll house, which was a small building,
+not much bigger than a sentry box that stood on the pier close by.
+
+In one case Rollo came to a bridge, which, instead of being made to be
+raised entirely, had only a very narrow part in the centre, just wide
+enough for the masts and rigging of the ship to go through, that could
+be moved. When this part was lifted up to let a vessel pass, it made
+only a very narrow opening, such as a boy might jump across very easily.
+
+In some places where the passing and repassing of ships was very great,
+there was a ferry instead of a bridge. In these cases there was a
+flat-bottomed boat to pass to and from one side to the other, with a
+pretty little landing of stone steps at each end. Rollo was much
+entertained by these ferries. He said it was crossing a street by water.
+And it was exactly that, and no more. The place where he first crossed
+one of these ferries was precisely like a broad street of water, with
+ships and boats going to and fro upon it, instead of carriages, and a
+very wide brick sidewalk on each side. The ferry was at the crossing, at
+the place where another street intersected it.
+
+As the houses on each side of these streets were very large and
+handsome, and as there were rows of beautiful trees on the margin of the
+water, and as every thing about the water, and the ships, and the quays,
+and the sidewalks, was kept very neat and clean, the whole view, as it
+presented itself to Rollo and Mr. George while they were crossing in the
+boat, was exceedingly attractive and exciting.
+
+Mr. George and Rollo remained in Rotterdam several days before they were
+satisfied with the curious and wonderful spectacles which it presented
+to view. In one of their walks they made the entire circuit of the town,
+and Mr. George agreed with Rollo in the opinion that this was one of the
+most interesting walks they had ever taken.
+
+[Illustration: THE FERRY BOAT.]
+
+The way led along a smooth and beautiful road, which was neatly paved,
+and kept very nice and clean. On the right hand side there extended
+along the whole length of it a wide canal, with boats all the time going
+to and fro. This canal looked brimming full. The water, in fact, came up
+within a few inches of the level of the road. The line of the road was
+formed by a smooth and straight margin of stone,--like the margin of a
+fountain,--with little platforms extending out here and there, where
+neatly-dressed girls and women were washing.
+
+On the other side of the road, down ten feet or more below the level of
+it, was a range of houses, with yards, gardens, and fields about them.
+The way to these houses was by paths leading down from the dike on which
+the road was built, and across little bridges built over a small canal
+which extended between them and the dike. This small canal was for the
+draining of the land on which the houses stood. The water in this canal
+had a gentle flow towards the end of the street, where there was a wind
+mill to pump it up into the great canal on the other side of the street.
+
+As Rollo and Mr. George walked along this road, it was very curious to
+them to see the water on one side so much higher than the land on the
+other. At the intervals between the houses they obtained glimpses of the
+interior of the country, which consisted of level fields lying far below
+where they were standing, and intersected in every direction by small
+canals, which served the purpose at the same time of fences, roads, and
+drains. There seemed to be no other divisions than these between the
+lands of the different proprietors, and no other roads for bringing home
+the hay or grain, or other produce which might be raised in the fields.
+
+In pursuing their walk around the town, our travellers were continually
+coming to objects so curious in their construction and use, as to arrest
+their attention and cause them to stop and examine them. At one place
+they saw a little ferry boat, which looked precisely like a little
+floating room. It was square, and had a roof over it like a house, with
+seats for the passengers below. This boat plied to and fro across the
+canal, by means of a rope fastened to each shore, and running over
+pulleys in the boat.
+
+"We might take this ferry boat," said Mr. George, "and go across the
+canal into the town again. See, it lands opposite to one of the
+streets."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "but I would rather keep on, and go all around the
+town outside."
+
+"We might go over in the ferry boat just for the fun of it," said Mr.
+George, "and then come back again."
+
+"Well," said Rollo. "How much do you suppose the toll is?"
+
+"I don't know," said Mr. George. "It can't be much, it is such a small
+boat, and goes such a little way; and then, besides, I know it must be
+cheap, or else there could not so many of these girls and women go back
+and forth."
+
+For while they had been looking at the boat, as they gradually
+approached the spot, they had seen it pass to and fro with many
+passengers, who, though they were very neatly dressed, were evidently by
+no means wealthy or fashionable people.
+
+So Mr. George and Rollo went to the margin of the road where the ferry
+boat had its little landing place, and when it came up they stepped on
+board. The ferryman could only talk Dutch, and so Mr. George could not
+ask him what was to pay. The only thing to be done was to give him a
+piece of silver, and let him give back such change as he pleased. Mr.
+George gave him a piece of money about as big as half a franc, and he
+got back so much change in return that he said he felt richer than he
+did before.
+
+At another place they came to a bridge that led across the canal. This
+bridge turned on a pivot placed out near the middle of the canal, so
+that it could be moved out of the way when there was a boat to go by. A
+man was turning it when Mr. George and Rollo came along. They stopped to
+witness the operation. They were quite amused, not merely with the
+manoeuvring of the bridge, but with the form and appearance of the
+boat that was going through. It seemed to be half boat and half house.
+There was a room built in it, which rose somewhat above the deck, and
+showed several little windows with pretty curtains to them. There was a
+girl sitting at one of these windows, knitting, and two or three
+children were playing about the deck at the time that the boat was going
+through the bridge.
+
+Farther on the party came to an immense wind mill, which was employed in
+pumping up water. This wind mill, like most of the others, was built of
+brick. It rose to a vast height into the air, and there its immense
+sails were slowly revolving. The wind mill was forty or fifty feet in
+diameter at the base, and midway between the base and the summit was a
+platform built out, that extended all around it. The sails of the mill,
+as they revolved, only extended down to this platform, and the platform
+itself was above the roofs of the four-story houses that stood near.
+
+At the foot of this wind mill Mr. George and Rollo could see the water
+running in under it, through a sluice way which led from a low canal,
+and on the other side they could see it pouring out in a great torrent,
+into a higher one.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Besides making this circuit around the town, Mr. George and Rollo one
+evening took a walk in the environs, on a road which led along on the
+top of a dike. The dike was very broad, and the descent from it to the
+low land on each side was very gradual. On the slopes on each side, and
+along the margin on the top, were rows of immense trees, that looked as
+if they had been growing for centuries. The branches of these trees met
+overhead, so as to exclude the sun entirely. They made the road a
+deeply-shaded avenue, and gave to the whole scene a very sombre and
+solemn expression. On each side of the road, down upon the low land
+which formed the general level of the country, were a succession of
+country houses, the summer residences of the rich merchants of
+Rotterdam. These houses were beautifully built; and they were surrounded
+with grounds ornamented in the highest degree. There were winding
+walks, and serpentine canals, and beds of flowers, and pretty bridges,
+and summer houses, and groves of trees, and every thing else that can
+add to the beauty of a summer retreat.
+
+All these scenes Mr. George and Rollo looked down upon as they sauntered
+slowly along the smooth sidewalk of the dike, under the majestic trees
+which shaded it. The place where they were walking on the dike was on a
+level with the second story windows of the houses.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+DOING THE HAGUE.
+
+
+"And now what is the next place that we shall come to?" said Rollo to
+Mr. George one morning after they had been some days in Rotterdam.
+
+"The Hague," replied Mr. George.
+
+"Ah, yes," said Rollo, "that is the capital. We shall stop there a good
+while I suppose, because it is the capital."
+
+"No," said Mr. George, "I shall go through it just as quick as I can for
+that very reason. I have a great mind not to stop there at all."
+
+"Why, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo, surprised, "what do you mean by
+that?"
+
+"Why, the Hague," rejoined Mr. George, "is the place where the king
+lives, and the princes, and the foreign ambassadors, and all the
+fashionable people; and there will be nothing to see there, I expect,
+but palaces, and picture galleries, and handsome streets, and such
+things, all of which we can see more of and better in Paris or London."
+
+"Still we want to see what sort of a place the Hague is," said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and I expect to do that in a very short time,
+and then I shall go on to Haarlem, where they have had such a time with
+their pumping."
+
+Mr. George and Rollo packed up their valise, paid their bill at the
+hotel, and set off for the station.
+
+"Let's go to the station by water," said Rollo.
+
+"Well," said Mr. George, "if you will engage a boat."
+
+"I know a place not far from here where there is a boat station," said
+Rollo.
+
+So Rollo led the way until they came to a bridge, and there, by the side
+of the bridge, were some stairs leading down to the water. There were
+several boats lying at the foot of the stairs, and boatmen near, who all
+called out in Dutch, "Do you want a boat?" At least that was what Rollo
+supposed they said, though, of course, he could not understand their
+language. Rollo walked down the steps, and got into one of the boats,
+and Mr. George followed him.
+
+"I can't speak Dutch," said Rollo to the boatman, "but that is the way
+we want to go." So saying, Rollo pointed in the direction which led
+towards the station. The man did not understand a word that Rollo had
+said; but still, by hearing it, he learned the fact that Rollo did not
+speak the language of the country, and by his signs he knew that he must
+go the way that he pointed. So he began to row the boat along.
+
+"We cannot go quite to the station by the boat," said Rollo, "but we can
+go pretty near it, and we can walk the rest of the way."
+
+"How will you find out the way," asked Mr. George, "through all these
+canals?"
+
+"I can tell by the map," said Rollo.
+
+So Rollo sat down on a seat at the stern of the boat, and taking out his
+map, which was printed on a pocket handkerchief, he spread it on his
+knee, and began to study out the canals.
+
+"There," said he, "we are going along this canal, now; and there, a
+little way ahead from here, is a bridge that we shall go under. Then we
+shall make a turn," continued Rollo, still studying his map. "We shall
+have to go a very round-about way; but that is no matter."
+
+So they went on, Rollo at each turn pointing to the boatman which way he
+was to go. Sometimes the boat was stopped for a time by a jam in the
+boats and vessels before it, as a hack might be stopped in Broadway in
+New York. Sometimes it went under bridges, and sometimes through dark
+archways, where Rollo could hear carriages rumbling over his head in
+the streets above.
+
+At length the boat reached the point which Rollo thought was nearest to
+the station; and the man, at a signal which Rollo gave him, stopped at
+some steps. Rollo paid the fare by holding out a handful of money in his
+hand, and letting the man take what was right, watching him, however, to
+see that he did not take too much.
+
+Then Mr. George and Rollo both went ashore, and walked the rest of the
+way to the station.
+
+In the European railroad stations there are different waiting rooms for
+the different classes of travellers. Mr. George sometimes took second
+class carriages, and sometimes first. For short distances he generally
+went first class, and as it was only a few miles to the Hague from
+Rotterdam, he now went into the first class waiting room. There was a
+counter for refreshment in one corner of the room, and some sofas along
+the sides. Mr. George sat down upon one of the sofas, putting his valise
+on the floor at the end of it. Rollo said that he would go out and take
+a little walk around the station, for it was yet half an hour before the
+train was to go.
+
+In a few minutes after Rollo had gone, there came to the door, among
+other carriages, one from which Mr. George, to his great surprise, saw
+Mr. and Mrs. Parkman get out. Mr. George's first thought was to go out
+by another door, and make his escape. But he checked this impulse,
+saying to himself,
+
+"It would be very ungenerous in me to abandon my old friend in his
+misfortune; so I will stay."
+
+Mr. Parkman seemed very much delighted, as well as surprised, to see Mr.
+George again; and Mrs. Parkman gave him quite a cordial greeting,
+although she half suspected that Mr. George did not like her very well.
+
+Mr. George asked her how she liked Holland, so far as she had seen it.
+
+"Not much," said she. "The towns are not pretty. The streets are all
+full of canals, and there is nothing to be seen but boats and ships. And
+what ugly wooden shoes they wear. Did you ever see any thing so ugly in
+all your life?"
+
+"They look pretty big and clumsy," said Mr. George, "I must admit; but
+it amuses me to see them."
+
+"At the Hague I expect to find something worth seeing," continued Mrs.
+Parkman. "That's where the king and all the great people live, and all
+the foreign ambassadors. If William had only got letters of introduction
+to some of them! He might have got them just as well as not. Our
+minister at London would have given him some if he had asked for them.
+But he said he did not like to ask for them."
+
+"Strange!" said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," rejoined Mrs. Parkman, "I think it is not only strange, but
+foolish. I want to go to some of the parties at the Hague, but we can't
+stop. William says we can only give one day to the Hague."
+
+"O, you can do it up quite well in one day," said Mr. George.
+
+"If you would only go with us and show us how to do it," said Mrs.
+Parkman.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Parkman. "Do, George. Go with us. Join us for one day.
+I'll put the whole party entirely under your command, and you shall have
+every thing your own way."
+
+Mr. George did not know what to reply to this proposition. At last he
+said that he would go and find Rollo, and consult him on the subject,
+and if Rollo approved of it they would consent to the arrangement.
+
+Mrs. Parkman laughed at hearing this. "Why," said she, "is it possible
+that you are under that boy's direction?"
+
+"Not exactly that," said Mr. George. "But then he is my travelling
+companion, and it is not right for one person, in such a case, to make
+any great change in the plan without at least first hearing what the
+other has to say about it."
+
+"That's very true," replied Mrs. Parkman. "Do you hear that, William?
+You must remember that when you are going to change the plans without
+asking my consent."
+
+Mrs. Parkman said this in a good-natured way, as if she meant it in
+joke. It was one of those cases where people say what they wish to have
+considered as meant in a joke, but to be taken in earnest.
+
+Mr. George went out to look for Rollo. He found him lying on the grass
+by the side of a small canal which flowed through the grounds, and
+reaching down to the water to gather some curious little plants that
+were growing upon it. Mr. George informed him that Mr. and Mrs. Parkman
+were at the station, and that they had proposed that he himself and
+Rollo should join their party in seeing the Hague.
+
+"And I suppose you don't want to do it," said Rollo.
+
+"Why, yes," said Mr. George, "I've taken a notion to accept the proposal
+if you like it. We'll then do the Hague in style, and I shall get back
+into Mrs. Parkman's good graces. Then we will bid them good by, and
+after that you and I will travel on in our own way."
+
+"Well," said Rollo, "_I_ agree to it."
+
+Mr. George accordingly went back into the station, and told Mr. and Mrs.
+Parkman that he and Rollo would accept their invitation, and join with
+them in seeing what there was in the Hague.
+
+"And then, after that," said Mr. George, "we shall come back to Delft,
+while you go on to Amsterdam."
+
+"I wish you would go on with us," said Mr. Parkman.
+
+"We can't do that very well," said Mr. George. "We want to try a Dutch
+canal once, and a good place to try it is in going from the Hague to
+Delft. It is only about four or five miles. We are going there by the
+canal boat, and then coming back on foot."
+
+Mr. George had taken care in planning the course which he and Rollo were
+to pursue after leaving the Hague, to contrive an expedition which he
+was very sure Mrs. Parkman would not wish to join in.
+
+"O, Mr. George!" she exclaimed, "what pleasure can there be in going on
+a canal?"
+
+"Why, the canal boats are so funny!" said Rollo. "And then we see such
+curious little places all along the banks of them, and we meet so many
+boats, carrying all sorts of things."
+
+"I don't think it would be very agreeable for a lady," said Mr. George;
+"but Rollo and I thought we should like to try it."
+
+Just at this moment the door leading to the platform opened, and a man
+dressed in a sort of uniform, denoting that he was an officer of the
+railroad, called out in Dutch that the train was coming. The ladies and
+gentlemen that were assembled in the waiting room immediately took up
+their bags and bundles, and went out upon the platform. As they went
+out, Mr. George, in passing the man in uniform, slipped a piece of money
+into his hand, and said to him in an under tone, first in French and
+then in English,--
+
+"A good seat by a window for this lady."
+
+The officer received the money, made a bow of assent, and immediately
+seemed to take the whole party under his charge. When the train arrived,
+and had stopped before the place, there was a great crowd among the new
+passengers to get in and procure seats. The officer beckoned to Mr.
+George to follow him, but Mrs. Parkman seemed disposed to go another
+way. She was looking eagerly about here and there among the carriages,
+as if the responsibility of finding seats for the party devolved upon
+her.
+
+"What shall we do?" said she. "The cars are all full."
+
+"Leave it to me," said Mr. George to her in an under tone. "Leave it
+entirely to me. You'll see presently."
+
+The officer, finding the carriages generally full, said to Mr. George,
+in French, "Wait a moment, sir." So Mr. George said to the rest of the
+party--
+
+"We will all stand quietly here. He'll come to us presently."
+
+"Yes," said Mrs. Parkman, "when all the seats are taken. We shan't get
+seats at all, William."
+
+"You'll see," said Mr. George.
+
+In a moment more the officer came to the party, and bowing respectfully
+to Mrs. Parkman, he said,
+
+"Now, madam."
+
+He took out a key from his pocket, and unlocked the door of a carriage
+which had not before been opened, and standing aside, he bowed to let
+Mrs. Parkman pass.
+
+Mrs. Parkman was delighted. There was nobody in the carriage, and so she
+had her choice of the seats. She chose one next the window on the
+farther side. Her husband took the seat opposite to her.
+
+"Ah!" said she, with a tone of great satisfaction, "how nice this is!
+And what a gentlemanly conductor! I never had the conductor treat me so
+politely in my life."
+
+Mrs. Parkman was put in excellent humor by this incident, and she said,
+towards the end of the journey, that she should have had a delightful
+ride if the country had not been so flat and uninteresting. To Mr.
+George and Rollo, who sat at the other window, it appeared extremely
+interesting, there was so much that was curious and novel to be seen.
+The immense green fields, with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep
+feeding every where, and separated from each other by straight and
+narrow canals instead of fences; the boats passing to and fro, loaded
+with produce; the little bridges built over these canals here and there,
+for the foot paths, with the gates across them to keep the cattle from
+going over; the long road ways raised upon dikes, and bordered by
+quadruple rows of ancient and venerable trees, stretching to a boundless
+distance across the plains; and now and then a wide canal, with large
+boats or vessels passing to and fro,--these and a multitude of other
+such sights, to be seen in no other country in the world, occupied their
+attention all the time, and kept them constantly amused.
+
+At length the train arrived at the station for the Hague, and the whole
+party descended from the carriage.
+
+"Now, William," said Mr. George, "give me the ticket for your trunk,
+and you yourself take Mrs. Parkman into the waiting room and wait till I
+come."
+
+"No," said Mr. Parkman, "I cannot let you take that trouble."
+
+"Certainly," said Mr. George. "You said that I should have the entire
+command. Give me the ticket."
+
+So Mr. Parkman gave him the ticket, and Mr. George went out. Rollo
+remained with Mr. and Mrs. Parkman. In a few minutes Mr. George
+returned, and said that the carriage was ready. They all went to the
+door, and there they found a carriage waiting, with Mr. and Mrs.
+Parkman's trunk upon the top of it. A man was holding the door open for
+the party to get in. As soon as they had all entered, Mr. George put a
+few coppers into the hand of the man at the door, and said to him,
+
+"Hotel Belview."[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: In French, _Hotel Belle Vue_; but Mr. George gave it the
+English pronunciation, because the pronunciation of words in Holland is
+much more like the English than like the French.]
+
+"HOTEL BELVIEW!" shouted the man to the coachman. On hearing this
+command the coachman drove on.
+
+The road that led into the town lay along the banks of a canal, and
+after going about half a mile in this direction, the horses turned and
+went over a bridge. They were now in the heart of the town, but the
+party could not see much, for the night was coming on and the sky was
+cloudy. It was cold, too, and Mrs. Parkman wished to have the windows
+closed. The carriage went along a narrow street, crossing bridges
+occasionally, until at length it came to a region of palaces, and parks,
+and grounds beautifully ornamented. Finally it stopped before a large
+and very handsome hotel. The hotel stood in a street which had large and
+beautiful houses and gardens on one side, and an open park, with deer
+feeding on the borders of a canal, on the other.
+
+Two or three very nicely dressed servants came out when the carriage
+stopped, and opened the door of it in a very assiduous and deferential
+manner.
+
+"Wait here in the carriage," said Mr. George, "till I come."
+
+So saying, he himself descended from the carriage, and went into the
+house, followed by two of the waiters that had come to the door.
+
+In about two minutes he came out again.
+
+"Yes," said he to Mrs. Parkman, "I think you will like the rooms."
+
+So saying, he helped Mrs. Parkman out of the carriage, and gave her his
+arm to conduct her into the house. At the same time he said to one of
+the waiters,--
+
+"See that every thing is taken out of the carriage, and pay the
+coachman."
+
+"Very well, sir," said the waiter.
+
+Mr. George led Mrs. Parkman up a broad and handsome staircase. He was
+preceded by one waiter and followed by two others. These waiters had
+taken every thing from the hands of the party, especially from Mrs.
+Parkman, so that they were loaded with bags, cloaks, and umbrellas,
+while the travellers themselves had nothing to carry.
+
+At the head of the staircase the waiter, who was in advance, opened a
+door which led to a large drawing room or parlor, which was very
+handsomely decorated and furnished. The windows were large, and they
+looked out upon a handsome garden, though it was now too dark to see it
+very distinctly.
+
+As Mrs. Parkman turned round again, after trying to look out at the
+window, she saw a second waiter coming into the room, bringing with him
+two tall wax candles in silver candlesticks. The candles had just been
+lighted. The waiter placed them on the table, and then retired.
+
+"And now," said Mr. George to the other waiter, "we want a good fire
+made here, and then let us have dinner as soon as you can."
+
+[Illustration: THE DINNER.]
+
+"Very well, sir," replied the waiter; and so saying he bowed
+respectfully and retired.
+
+A neatly-dressed young woman, in a very picturesque and pretty cap, had
+come into the room with the party, and while Mr. George had been
+ordering the fire and the dinner, she had shown Mrs. Parkman to her
+bedroom, which was a beautiful and richly furnished room with two single
+beds in it, opening out of the parlor. On the other side of the parlor
+was another bedroom, also with two beds in it, for Mr. George and
+Rollo.[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: Almost all the bedrooms in the hotels on the continent of
+Europe are furnished thus with two single beds, instead of one double
+one. It is the custom for every body to sleep alone.]
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Parkman remained in their room for a time, and when they
+came out they found the table set for dinner, and a very pleasant fire
+burning in the grate.
+
+"Mr. George," said she, "I wish we had you to make arrangements for us
+all the time."
+
+"It would be a very pleasant duty," said Mr. George. "You are so easily
+satisfied."
+
+Mrs. Parkman seemed much pleased with this compliment. She did not for a
+moment doubt that she fully deserved it.
+
+About eight o'clock that evening, Mr. George asked Mrs. Parkman at what
+time she would like to have breakfast the next morning.
+
+"At any time you please," said she; "that is, if it is not too early."
+
+"How would half past nine do?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"I think that will do very well," said Mrs. Parkman.
+
+"We will say ten, if you prefer," said Mr. George.
+
+"O, no," said she, "half past nine will do very well."
+
+So Mr. George rang the bell, and when the waiter came, he ordered a
+sumptuous breakfast, consisting of beefsteaks, hot rolls, coffee,
+omelet, and every thing else that he could think of that was good, and
+directed the waiter to have it ready at half past nine.
+
+"I shall also want a carriage and a pair of horses to-morrow," continued
+Mr. George, "and a commissioner."
+
+"Very well, sir," said the waiter; "and what time shall you wish for the
+carriage?"
+
+"What time, Mrs. Parkman?" repeated Mr. George, turning to the lady.
+"Shall you be ready by half past ten to go out and see the town?"
+
+"Yes," said Mrs. Parkman, "that will be a very good time."
+
+"Very well, sir," said the waiter; and he bowed and retired.
+
+The next morning, when the different members of the party came out into
+the breakfast room, they found the table set for breakfast. At half past
+nine all were ready except Mrs. Parkman. She sent word by her husband
+that she would come out in a few minutes.
+
+"There is no hurry," said Mr. George. "It will be time enough to have
+breakfast when she comes."
+
+In about fifteen minutes she came. Mr. George asked her very politely
+how she had spent the night; and after she had sat a few minutes talking
+by the fire, he said that they would have breakfast whenever she wished.
+
+"Yes," said she, "I am ready any time. Indeed, I was afraid that I
+should be late, and keep you waiting. I am very glad that I am in
+season."
+
+So Mr. George rang the bell; when the waiter came, he ordered breakfast
+to be brought up.
+
+While the party were at breakfast, a very nicely-dressed waiter, with a
+white napkin over his arm, stood behind Mrs. Parkman's chair, and
+evinced a great deal of alertness and alacrity in offering her every
+thing that she required. When the breakfast was nearly finished, Mr.
+George turned to him and said,--
+
+"Is the commissioner ready, John, who is to go with us to-day?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said the waiter.
+
+"I wish you to go down and send him up," said Mr. George.
+
+So the waiter went down stairs to find the commissioner, and while he
+was gone Mr. George took out a pencil and paper from his pocket.
+
+"I am going to ask him," said Mr. George to Mrs. Parkman, "what there is
+to be seen here, and to make a list of the places; and then we will go
+and see them all, or you can make a selection, just as you please."
+
+"Very well," said Mrs. Parkman. "I should like that."
+
+Accordingly, when the commissioner came in, Mr. George asked him to
+name, in succession, the various objects of interest usually visited by
+travellers coming to the Hague; and as he named them, Mr. George
+questioned him respecting them, so as to enable Mrs. Parkman to obtain a
+somewhat definite idea of what they were. The commissioner enumerated a
+variety of places to be seen, such as the public museum of painting,
+several private museums, the old palace, the new palace, two or three
+churches, the town hall, and various other sights which tourists,
+arriving at the Hague, usually like to view. Mr. George made a list of
+all these, and opposite to each he marked the time which the
+commissioner said would be required to see it well. After completing
+this list, he said,--
+
+"And there is a great watering place on the sea shore, not far from
+this, I believe."
+
+"Yes, sir," said the commissioner, "about three miles."
+
+"Is it a pleasant ride there?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied the commissioner. "It is a _very_ pleasant ride. You
+can go one way and return another. It is a very fashionable place. The
+queen and the princesses go there every summer."
+
+"Very well; it takes about two hours and a half, I suppose, to go there
+and return," said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes, sir," said the commissioner.
+
+"Very well," said Mr. George. "Have the carriage ready in---- Shall we
+say half an hour, Mrs. Parkman? Shall you be ready in half an hour?"
+
+Mrs. Parkman said that she should be ready in half an hour, and so Mr.
+George appointed that time, and then the commissioner went away.
+
+Mr. George added up all the periods of time that the commissioner had
+said would be required for the several sights, and found that there
+would be time for them to see the whole, and yet be ready for the
+afternoon train for Amsterdam, where Mr. and Mrs. Parkman were going
+next. So Mrs. Parkman concluded not to omit any from the list, but to go
+and see the whole.
+
+In half an hour the carriage was at the door, and in ten or fifteen
+minutes afterwards Mrs. Parkman was ready. Just before they went, Mr.
+George rang the bell again, and called for the bill, requesting the
+waiter to see that every thing was charged--carriage, servants,
+commissioner, and all. When it came, Mr. Parkman took out his purse,
+expecting to pay it himself, but Mr. George took out his purse too.
+
+"The amount," said Mr. George, looking at the footing of the bill, "is
+forty-five guilders and some cents. Your share is, say twenty-two
+guilders and a half."
+
+"No, indeed," said Mr. Parkman. "My share is the exact footing of the
+bill. You have nothing to do with this payment."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George. "I have just one half to pay for Rollo and me.
+We are four in all, and Rollo and I are two."
+
+Mr. Parkman seemed extremely unwilling to allow Mr. George to pay any
+thing at all; but Mr. George insisted upon it, and so the bill was paid
+by a joint contribution.
+
+All this time the carriage was ready at the door, and the gentlemen,
+attended by two or three waiters, conducted Mrs. Parkman down to the
+door. The party then drove, in succession, to the various places which
+the commissioner had enumerated. There were museums consisting of a
+great many rooms filled with paintings, and palaces, where they were
+shown up grand staircases, and through long corridors, and into suites
+of elegant apartments, and churches, and beautiful parks and gardens,
+and a bazaar filled with curiosities from China and Japan, and a great
+many other similar places. Mr. George paid very particular attention to
+Mrs. Parkman during the whole time, and made every effort to anticipate
+and comply with her wishes in all respects. In one case, indeed, I think
+he went too far in this compliance, and the result was to mortify her
+not a little. It was in one of the museums of paintings. Mrs. Parkman,
+like other ladies of a similar character to hers, always wanted to go
+where she could not go, and to see what she could not see. If, when she
+came into a town, she heard of any place to which, for any reason, it
+was difficult to obtain admission, that was the very place of all others
+that she wished most to see; and if, in any museum, or palace, or
+library that she went into, there were two doors open and one shut, she
+would neglect the open ones, and make directly to the one that was shut,
+and ask to know what there was there. I do not know as there was any
+thing particularly blameworthy in this. On the contrary, such a feeling
+may be considered, in some respects, a very natural one in a lady. But,
+nevertheless, when it manifests itself in a decided form, it makes the
+lady a very uncomfortable and vexatious companion to the gentleman who
+has her under his care.
+
+In one of the rooms where our party went in the museum of paintings,
+there was a door near one corner that was shut. All the other
+doors--those which communicated with the several apartments where the
+pictures were hung--were open. As soon as Mrs. Parkman came in sight of
+the closed door, she pointed to it and said,--
+
+"I wonder what there is in that room. I suppose it is something very
+choice. I wish we could get in."
+
+Mr. Parkman paid, at first, no attention to this request, but continued
+to look at the pictures around him.
+
+"I wish you would ask some of the attendants," she continued, "whether
+we cannot go into that room."
+
+"O, no," replied her husband. "If it was any thing that it was intended
+we should see, the door would be open. The fact that the door is shut is
+notice enough that, we are not to go in there."
+
+"I'm convinced there are some choice pictures in there," said Mrs.
+Parkman; "something that they do not show to every body. Mr. George, I
+wish you would see if you can't find out some way to get in."
+
+"Certainly," said Mr. George, "I will try."
+
+So Mr. George walked along towards one of the attendants, whom he saw in
+another part of the room,--putting his hand in his pocket as he went, to
+feel for a piece of money. He put the piece of money into the
+attendant's hand, and then began to talk with him, asking various
+indifferent questions about the building; and finally he asked him where
+that closed door led to.
+
+"O, that is only a closet," said the attendant, "where we keep our
+brooms and dusters."
+
+"I wish you would just let us look into it," said Mr. George. "Here's
+half a guilder for you."
+
+The man looked a little surprised, but he took the half guilder,
+saying,--
+
+"Certainly, if it will afford you any satisfaction."
+
+Mr. George then went back to where he had left the rest of his party,
+and said to Mrs. Parkman,--
+
+"This man is going to admit us to that room. Follow Him. I will come in
+a moment."
+
+So Mr. George stopped to look at a large painting on the wall, while
+Mrs. Parkman, with high anticipations of the pleasure she was to enjoy
+in seeing what people in general were excluded from, walked in a proud
+and stately manner to the door, and when the man opened it, saw only a
+small, dark room, with nothing in it but brooms, dust pans, and lamp
+fillers. She was exceedingly abashed by this adventure, and for the rest
+of that day she did not once ask to see any thing that was not
+voluntarily shown to her.
+
+After visiting all the places of note in the town, the coachman was
+ordered to drive to the watering place on the sea shore. It was a very
+pleasant drive of about three miles. Just before reaching the shore of
+the sea, the road came to a region of sand hills, called _dunes_, formed
+by the drifting sands blown in from the beach by the winds. Among these
+dunes, and close to the sea shore, was an immense hotel, with long wings
+stretching a hundred feet on each side, and a row of bath vans on the
+margin of the beach before it. The beach was low and shelving, and it
+could be traced for miles in either direction along the coast, whitened
+by the surf that was rolling in from the German Ocean.
+
+After looking at this prospect for a time, and watching to see one or
+two of the bathing vans drive down into the surf, in order to allow
+ladies who had got into them to bathe, the party returned to the
+carriage, and the coachman drove them through the village, which was
+very quaint and queer, and inhabited by fishermen. The fishing boats
+were drawn up on the shore in great numbers, very near the houses. Rollo
+desired very much to go and see these boats and the fishermen, and
+learn, if he could, what kind of fish they caught in them, and how they
+caught them. But Mrs. Parkman thought that they had better not stop.
+They were nothing but common fishing boats, she said.
+
+The carriage returned to the Hague by a different road from the one in
+which it came. It was a road that led through a beautiful wood, where
+there were many pleasant walks, with curious looking Dutch women going
+and coming. As the party approached the town, they passed through a
+region of parks, and palaces, and splendid mansions of all kinds. Mrs.
+Parkman was curious to know who lived in each house, and Mr. George
+contrived to communicate her inquiries to the coachman, by making signs,
+and by asking questions partly in English and partly in German. But
+though the coachman understood the questions, Mrs. Parkman could not
+understand the answers that he gave, for they were Dutch
+names,--sometimes long and sometimes short; but whether they were long
+or short, the sounds were so uncouth and strange that Mrs. Parkman
+looked terribly distressed in trying to make them out.
+
+At length the carriage arrived at the hotel again; and there the porters
+put on the baggage belonging both to Mr. and Mrs. Parkman, and to Mr.
+George and Rollo. It then proceeded to the station. Mr. George and Rollo
+waited there until the train for Amsterdam arrived, and then took leave
+of Mr. and Mrs. Parkman as they went to their seats in the carriage.
+Mrs. Parkman shook hands with Mr. George very cordially, and said,--
+
+"We are very much obliged to you, Mr. George, for your company to-day.
+We have had a very pleasant time. I wish that we could have you to
+travel with us all the time."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I think she ought to be obliged to you," said Rollo, as soon as the
+train had gone.
+
+"Not at all," said Mr. George.
+
+"Not at all?" repeated Rollo. "Why not? You have done a great deal for
+her to-day."
+
+"No," said Mr. George. "All that I have done has not been for her sake,
+but for William's. William is an excellent good friend of mine, and I am
+very sorry that he has not got a more agreeable travelling companion."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+CORRESPONDENCE.
+
+
+One day, when Mr. George and Rollo were at the town of Leyden, it began
+to rain while they were eating their breakfast.
+
+"Never mind," said Rollo. "We can walk about the town if it does rain."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "we can; but we shall get tired of walking about
+much sooner if it rains, than if it were pleasant weather. However, I am
+not very sorry, for I should like to write some letters."
+
+"I've a great mind to write a letter, too," said Rollo. "I'll write to
+my mother. Don't you think that would be a good plan?"
+
+"Why,--I don't know,"--said Mr. George, speaking in rather a doubtful
+tone. "It seems to me that it would be hardly worth while."
+
+"Why not?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Why, the postage is considerable," said Mr. George, "and I don't
+believe the letter would be worth what your father would have to pay for
+it; that is, if it is such a letter as I suppose you would write."
+
+"Why, what sort of a letter do you suppose I should write?" asked Rollo.
+
+"O, you would do as boys generally do in such cases," replied his uncle.
+"In the first place you would want to take the biggest sheet that you
+could find to write the letter upon. Then you would take up as much of
+the space as possible writing the date, and _My dear mother_. Then you
+would go on for a few lines, saying things of no interest to any body,
+such as telling what day you came to this place, and what day to that.
+Perhaps you'd say that to-day is a rainy day, and that yesterday was
+pleasant--just as if your mother, when she gets your letter, would care
+any thing about knowing what particular days were rainy and what
+pleasant, in Holland, a week back. Then, after you had got about two
+thirds down the page, you would stop because you could not think of any
+thing more to say, and subscribe your name with ever so many scrawl
+flourishes, and as many affectionate and dutiful phrases as you could
+get to fill up the space.
+
+"And that would be a letter that your father, like as not, would have to
+pay one and sixpence or two shillings sterling for, to the London
+postman."
+
+Rollo laughed at this description of the probable result of his proposed
+attempt to write a letter; but he laughed rather faintly, for he well
+recollected how many times he had written letters in just such a way. He
+secretly resolved, however, that when they came in from their walk, and
+Mr. George sat down to his writing, he would write too, and would see
+whether he could not, for once, produce a letter that should be at least
+worth the postage.
+
+After they came in from their walk, they asked the landlady to have a
+fire made in their room; but she said they could not have any fire, for
+the stoves were not put up. She said it was the custom in Holland not to
+put the stoves up until October; and so nobody could have a fire in any
+thing but foot stoves until that time. The foot stoves, she said, would
+make it very comfortable for them.
+
+So she brought in two foot stoves. They consisted of small, square
+boxes, with holes bored in the top, and a little fire of peat in an
+earthen vessel within. Rollo asked Mr. George to give him two sheets of
+thin note paper, and he established himself at a window that looked out
+upon a canal. He intended to amuse himself in the intervals of his
+writing in watching the boats that were passing along the canal.
+
+He took two sheets of note paper instead of one sheet of letter paper,
+in order that, if he should get tired after filling one of them, he
+could stop, and so send what he had written, without causing his father
+to pay postage on any useless paper.
+
+"Then," thought he, "if I do _not_ get tired, I will go on and fill the
+second sheet, and my mother will have a double small letter. A double
+small letter will be just as good as a single large one."
+
+This was an excellent plan.
+
+Rollo also took great pains to guard against another fault which boys
+often fall into in writing their letters; that is, the fault of growing
+careless about the writing as they go on with the work, by which means a
+letter is produced which looks very neat and pretty at the beginning,
+but becomes an ill-looking and almost illegible scrawl at the end.
+
+"I'll begin," said he, "as I think I shall be able to hold out; and I'll
+hold out to the end just as I begin."
+
+Rollo remained over his letter more than three hours. He would have
+become exceedingly tired with the work if he had written continuously
+all this time; but he stopped to rest very often, and to amuse himself
+with observing what was passing before him in the street and on the
+canal.
+
+Mr. George was occupied all this time in writing _his_ letter, and each
+read what he had written to the other that same evening, after dinner.
+The two letters were as follows:--
+
+                            MR. GEORGE'S LETTER.
+
+                                         "LEYDEN, HOLLAND, September 27.
+
+  "MY DEAR EDWARD:[6]
+
+[Footnote 6: Edward was Mr. George's brother. He was a boy about twelve
+years old.]
+
+"We have been travelling now for several days in Holland, and it is one
+of the most curious and amusing countries to travel in that I have ever
+seen.
+
+"We all know from the books of geography which we study at school, that
+Holland is a very low country--lower in many places than the ocean; and
+that the water of the ocean is kept from overflowing it by dikes, which
+the people built ages ago, along the shores. I always used to suppose
+that it was only from the sea that people had any danger to fear of
+inundations; but I find now that it is not so.
+
+"The people have to defend themselves from inundations, not only on the
+side towards the sea, but also quite as much, if not more, on the side
+towards the land, from the waters of the River Rhine. The River Rhine
+rises in Switzerland, and flows through various countries of Europe
+until it comes to the borders of Holland, and there it spreads out into
+innumerable branches, and runs every where, all over the country. It
+would often overflow the country entirely, were it not that the banks
+are guarded by dikes, like the dikes of the sea. The various branches of
+the rivers are connected together by canals, which are also higher than
+the land on each side of them. Thus the whole country is covered with a
+great network of canals, rivers, and inlets from the sea, with water in
+them higher than the land. When the tide is low in the sea, the surplus
+water from these rivers and canals flows off through immense sluices at
+the mouth of them. When the tide comes up, it is kept from flowing in by
+immense gates, with which the sluices are closed. They call the tracts
+of land that lie lower than the channels of water around them,
+_polders_. That is rather a queer name. I suppose it is a Dutch name.
+
+"The polders all have drains and canals cut in them. As we ride along in
+the railway carriages we overlook these polders. They look like immense
+green fields, extending as far as you can see, with straight canals
+running through them in every direction, and crossing each other at
+right angles. These canals, in the bottom of the polders, are about six
+feet wide. They are wide enough to prevent the cattle from jumping
+across them, and so they serve for fences to divide the fields from each
+other. They also serve for roads, for the Dutchmen use boats on their
+farms to get in their hay and produce, instead of carts.
+
+"The water that collects in these low canals and drains, which run
+across the polders, cannot flow out into the large canals, which are
+higher than they are, and so they have to pump it out. They pump it out
+generally by means of wind mills. So wherever you go, throughout all
+Holland, you find an immense number of wind mills. These wind mills are
+very curious indeed. Some of them are immensely large. They look like
+lighthouses. The large ones are generally built of brick, and some of
+them are several hundred years old. The sails of the big ones are often
+fifty feet long, and sometimes eighty feet. This makes a wheel one
+hundred and sixty feet in diameter. When you stand under one of these
+mills, and look up, and see these immense sails revolving so high in the
+air that the lowest point, when the sail comes round, is higher than the
+tops of the four story houses, the effect is quite sublime.
+
+"With these wind mills they pump the water up from one drain or canal to
+another, till they get it high enough to run off into the sea. In some
+places, however, it is very difficult to get the water into the sea even
+in this way, even at low tides. The River Amstel, for instance, which
+comes out at Amsterdam, and into which a great many canals and channels
+are pumped, is so low at its mouth that the sea is never, at the lowest
+tides, more than a foot and a half below it. At high tides the sea is a
+great deal above it. The average is about a foot above. Of course it
+requires a great deal of management to get the waters of the river out,
+and avoid letting the water of the sea in. They do it by immense
+sluices, which are generally kept shut, and only opened when the tide is
+low.
+
+"In the mean time, if it should ever so happen that they could not
+succeed in letting the water out fast enough, it would, of course,
+accumulate, and rise in the rivers, and press against the dikes that run
+along the banks of it, till at last it would break through in some weak
+place; and then, unless the people could stop the breach, the whole
+polder on that side would be gradually overflowed. The inundation would
+extend until it came to some other dike to stop it. The polder that
+would first be filled would become a lake. The lake would be many miles
+in extent, perhaps, but the water in it would not usually be very
+deep--not more than eight or ten feet, perhaps; though in some cases
+the polders are so low, that an inundation from the rivers and canals
+around it would make the lake twenty or thirty feet deep.
+
+"Of course, in ancient times, when a portion of the country became thus
+submerged, it was for the people to consider whether they would abandon
+it or try to pump all that water out again, by means of the wind mills.
+They would think that if they pumped it out it would be some years
+before the land would be good again; for the salt in the water would
+tend to make it barren. So they would sometimes abandon it, and put all
+their energy into requisition to strengthen the dikes around it, in
+order to prevent the inundation from spreading any farther. For water,
+in Holland, tends to spread and to destroy life and property, just as
+fire does in other countries. The lakes and rivers, where they are
+higher than the land, are liable to burst their barriers after heavy
+rains falling in the country, or great floods coming down the rivers, or
+high tides rise from the sea, and so run into each other; and the people
+have continually to contend against this danger, just as in other
+countries they do against spreading conflagrations.
+
+"In the case of spreading fire, water is the great friend and helper of
+man; and in the case of these spreading inundations of water, it is
+wind that he relies upon. The only mode that the Dutch had to pump out
+the water in former times was the wind mills. When the rains or the
+tides inundated the land, they called upon the wind to help them lift
+the water out to where it could flow away again.
+
+"There was a time, two or three hundred years ago, when all the wind
+mills that the people could make, seem not to have been enough to do the
+work; and there was one place, in the centre of the country, where the
+water continued to spread more and more--breaking through as it spread
+from one polder to another--until, at last, it swallowed up such an
+extent of country as to form a lake thirty miles in circumference. This
+lake at last extended very near to the gates of Haarlem, and it was
+called the Holland Lake. You will find it laid down on all the maps of
+Holland, except those which have been printed within a few years. The
+reason why it is not laid down now is, because a few years ago, finding
+that the wind mills were not strong enough to pump it out, the
+government concluded to try what virtue there might be in steam. So they
+first repaired and strengthened the range of dikes that extended round
+the lake. In fact, they made them double all around, leaving a space
+between for a canal. They made both the inner and outer of these dikes
+water-tight; so that the water should neither soak back into the lake
+again, after it was pumped out, nor ooze out into the polders beyond.
+The way they made them water-tight was by lining them on both sides with
+a good thick coating of clay.
+
+"When the dikes enclosing the lake were completed, the engineers set up
+three very powerful steam engines, and gave to each one ten or twelve
+enormous pumps to work. These pumping engines were made on such a grand
+scale that they lifted over sixty tuns of water at every stroke. But yet
+so large was the lake, and so vast the quantity of water to be drained,
+that though there were three of the engines working at this rate, and
+though they were kept at work night and day, it took them a year and a
+half to lay the ground dry. The work was, however, at last accomplished,
+and now, what was the bottom of the lake is all converted into pastures
+and green fields. But they still have to keep the pumps going all the
+time to lift out the surplus water that falls over the whole space in
+rain. You may judge that the amount is very large that falls on a
+district thirty miles round. They calculate that the quantity which they
+have to pump up now, every year, in order to keep the land from being
+overflowed again, is over fifty millions of tuns. And that is a quantity
+larger than you can ever conceive of.
+
+"And yet the piece of ground is so large, that the cost of this pumping
+makes only about fifty cents for each acre of land, which is very
+little.
+
+"Besides these great spreading inundations, which Holland has always
+been subject to from the lakes and rivers in the middle of the country,
+there has always been a greater danger still to be feared from the ice
+freshets of the Rhine, and other great rivers coming from the interior
+of the country. The Rhine, you know, flows from south to north, and
+often the ice, in the spring, breaks up in the middle of the course of
+the river, before it gets thawed in Holland. The broken ice, in coming
+down the stream towards the north, is kept within the banks of the
+stream where the banks are high; but when it reaches Holland it is not
+only no longer so confined, but it finds its flow obstructed by the ice
+which there still remains solid, and so it gets jammed and forms dams,
+and that makes the water rise very fast. At one time when such a dam was
+formed, the water rose seven feet in an hour. At such times the pressure
+becomes so prodigious that the dikes along the bank of the river are
+burst, and water, sand, gravel, and ice, all pour over together upon
+the surrounding country, and overwhelm and destroy every thing that
+comes in its way.
+
+"Some of the inundations caused in Holland by these floods and freshets
+have been terrible. In ancient times they were worse than they are now;
+because now the dikes are stronger, and are better guarded. At one
+inundation that occurred about sixty years ago, eighty thousand persons
+were drowned. At another, three hundred years earlier, one hundred
+thousand perished. Think what awful floods there must have been.
+
+"But I cannot write any more in this letter. I have taken up so much
+space and time in telling you about the inundations and freshets, that I
+have not time to describe a great many other things which I have seen,
+that are quite as curious and remarkable as they. But when I get home I
+can tell you all about them, in the winter evenings, and read to you
+about them from my journal.
+
+                       "Your affectionate brother,
+                                           "GEORGE."
+
+
+                            ROLLO'S LETTER.
+
+                                         "LEYDEN, Tuesday, September 27.
+
+  "MY DEAR MOTHER:
+
+"Uncle George and I are having a very fine time indeed in travelling
+about Holland; it is such a funny country, on account of there being so
+many canals. The water is all smooth and still in all the canals,
+(except when the wind blows,) and so there must be excellent skating
+every where in the winter.
+
+"I wish it was winter here now, for one day, so that uncle George and I
+could have some Dutch skating.
+
+"There must be good skating every where here in the winter, for there is
+water every where, and it is all good water for skating. In the fields,
+instead of brooks running in crooked ways and tumbling over rocks, there
+are only long and narrow channels of smooth water, just about wide
+enough to skate upon, and reaching as far as you can see.
+
+"The people here speak Dutch, and they cannot understand me, and I
+cannot understand them. And that is not the worst of it; they can't
+understand that _I can't understand_ them. Sometimes the woman that
+comes to make my bed tells me something in Dutch, and I tell her that I
+can't understand. I know the Dutch for 'I can't understand.' Then she
+says, 'O!' and goes on to tell me over again, only now she tries to
+speak plainer--as if it could make any difference to me whether she
+speaks plain or not. I shake my head, and tell her I can't understand
+any thing. I tell her in French, and in English, and in Dutch. But it
+does not do any good, for she immediately begins again, and tells me the
+whole story all over again, trying to speak plainer than ever. I suppose
+she thinks that any body can understand Dutch, if she only speaks it
+plain enough to them.
+
+"When I want any thing of them, I always tell them by signs. The other
+evening, uncle George and I wanted some candles. So I rang the bell, and
+a woman came. I went to the door of the room, and made believe that I
+had two candlesticks in my hand, and that I was bringing them in. I
+made believe put them on the table, and then sat down and opened a book,
+and pretended that I was reading by the light of them. She understood me
+immediately. She laughed, and said, 'Ya, ya!' and went off out of the
+room to get the candles.
+
+"Ya, ya, means yes, yes.
+
+"Another time we wanted a fire. So when the woman came in, I shivered,
+and made believe that I was very cold, and then I went to the fireplace,
+and made believe warm myself. Then I pointed to the fireplace, and made
+a sign for her to go away and bring the fire to put there. But instead
+of going, she told me something in Dutch, and shook her head; and when I
+said I could not understand it, she told me over again; and finally she
+went away, and sent the landlady. The landlady could speak a little
+English. So she told me that we could not have any fire except in foot
+stoves, for the fireplace stoves were not put up.
+
+[Illustration: THE BOAT FAMILY.]
+
+"It is very curious to walk about the streets, and see the boats on the
+canals, and what the people are carrying back and forth in them. I watch
+them sometimes from the windows of the hotel, especially when it rains,
+and we cannot go out. They have every thing in these boats. They use
+some of them instead of houses; and the man who owns them lives in them
+with his wife and children, and sometimes with his ducks and chickens.
+
+"I often see the little children playing on the decks of the boat. Once
+I saw one that had a dog, and he was trying to teach him to cipher on a
+slate. His mother and the other children were on the boat too.
+
+"The people use their dogs here to draw carts. They have three or four
+sometimes harnessed in together. The dogs look pretty poor and lean, but
+they draw like good fellows. You would be surprised to see what great
+loads they draw. They draw loads of vegetables to market, and then, when
+the vegetables are sold, they draw the market women home in the empty
+carts.
+
+"Only they don't mind very well, when they are told which way to go. I
+saw a boy yesterday riding along in a cart, with a good big dog to draw
+him, and when he came to a street where he wanted him to turn down, the
+dog would not turn. The boy hallooed out to him in Dutch a good many
+times, and finally the boy had to jump down out of the cart, and run and
+seize him by the collar, and _pull_ him round.
+
+"It is not a great deal that they use dog carts to bring things to
+market, for generally they bring them in boats. They take almost every
+thing to and fro along the canals in boats; and it is very curious to
+stand on a bridge and look down on the boats that pass under, and see
+how many different kinds of boats there are, and how many different
+kinds of things they have in them. This morning, I saw one that had the
+bottom of it divided into three pens for animals. In the first pen were
+two great cows, lying down on the straw; in the second pen were several
+sheep; and in the third there were as many as a dozen small pigs, just
+big enough to be roasted. I suppose it was a farmer bringing in his
+stock to market.
+
+"Sometimes they row the boats along the canal, and sometimes they push
+them with setting poles. They have the longest setting poles in some of
+the boats that I ever saw. There is an iron pike at one end of the pole,
+and a wooden knob at the other. When they are pushing the boat by means
+of one of these poles, they run the ironed end of it down to the bottom,
+and then the man puts his shoulder to the little knob at the other end
+and pushes. As the boat goes on, he walks along the boat from the bow to
+the stern, pushing all the way as hard as he can push.
+
+"When they are out of town the men pull the boats along the canals by
+means of a long cord, which is fastened to a strap over their shoulders.
+With this strap they walk along on the tow-path of the canal, pulling in
+this way--so that if the cord should break, I should think they would
+fall headlong on the ground.
+
+"I saw a man and a woman the other day pulling a double boat, loaded
+with hay, along a canal. The hay was loaded across from one boat to the
+other. It made as much as five or six of the largest cart loads of hay
+that I ever saw. I was surprised to see that a man and a woman could
+draw so much. They drew it by long lines, and by straps over their
+shoulders. The woman's line was fastened to one of the boats, and the
+man's to the other.
+
+"The people travel a great deal in boats in these parts of the country,
+where there are no railroads. Uncle George and I took a little journey
+in one, the other day. I wanted to go very much, but uncle George was
+afraid, he said, that they might take us somewhere where there would be
+nobody that could talk English, and so we might get into some serious
+difficulty. But he said that he would go with me a few miles, if I could
+find a canal boat going to some place that we knew. So I found one going
+to a town called Delft. We knew that place, because we had come through
+it, or close by it, by the railway.
+
+"Uncle George said that it was an excellent plan to go there, for then,
+if we got tired of the canal boat in going, we could come home by a
+railroad train.
+
+"So we went; and we had a very pleasant time, indeed. I found the canal
+boat by going to the place where the boats all were, and saying, _Delft,
+Delft_, to the people; and then they pointed me to the right boat. So we
+got in. When the captain came for the fare, I took out a handful of
+money, and said _Delft_, and also pointed to uncle George. So he took
+out enough to pay for uncle George and me to go to Delft. At least I
+suppose he thought it was enough, though I thought it was very little.
+
+"We had a very pleasant sail to Delft. The banks of the canal are
+beautiful. They are green and pretty every where, and in some places
+there were beautiful gardens, and summer houses, and pavilions close
+upon the shore.
+
+"But now I begin to be tired of writing. I should have been tired a
+great while ago, only I have stopped to rest pretty often, and to look
+out the window, and see what is going by on the canal.
+
+"There is a boat coming now with a mast, and I don't see what they are
+going to do, for there is a bridge here, and it is not a draw bridge.
+Almost all the bridges are draw bridges, but this one is not. So I don't
+see how he is going to get by.
+
+"Ah, I see how it is! The mast is on a hinge, so that it can turn down
+backward, and lie along flat on the deck of the boat. It is going down
+now.
+
+"Now it is down, and the boat is going under the bridge.
+
+"But good by, mother, for it is time for me to stop.
+
+                  "Your affectionate and dutiful son,
+                                                 "ROLLO.
+
+"P. S. This is the longest letter that I ever wrote."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE COMMISSIONER.
+
+
+AS may well be imagined, the best use to which the green fields of
+Holland can be put, is the raising of grass to feed cattle; for the
+wetness of the land, which makes it somewhat unsuitable to be ploughed,
+causes grass to grow upon it very luxuriantly. Accordingly, as you ride
+through the country along the great railway lines, you see, every where,
+herds of cattle and flocks of sheep feeding in the meadows that extend
+far and wide in every direction.
+
+The cattle are kept partly for the purpose of being fatted and sent to
+market for beef, and partly for their milk, which the Dutch farmers make
+cheese of. Dutch cheeses are celebrated in every part of the world.
+
+In the neighborhood of Amsterdam there are a number of dairy villages
+where cheeses are made, and some of them are almost always visited by
+travellers. They are great curiosities, in fact, on account of their
+singular and most extraordinary neatness. Cleanliness is, in all parts
+of the world, deemed a very essential requisite of a dairy, and the
+Dutch housewives in the dairy villages of Holland have carried the idea
+to the extreme. The village which is most commonly visited by strangers
+who go to Amsterdam, is one called Broek. It lies to the north of
+Amsterdam, and at a distance of about five or six miles from it.
+
+One day when Mr. George and Rollo arrived in Amsterdam, Mr. George, just
+at sundown, looked out at the window of the hotel, and said,--
+
+"Rollo, I think it is going to be a superb day to-morrow."
+
+"So do I," said Rollo.
+
+"At least," said Mr. George, "I should think so if I were in America.
+The wind has all gone down, and the western sky is full of golden clouds
+shining in roseate splendor."
+
+Mr. George enunciated these high-sounding words in a pompous and
+theatrical manner, which made Rollo laugh very heartily.
+
+"And, to descend from poetry to plain prose," said Mr. George, "I think
+we had better take advantage of the fine weather to go to Broek
+to-morrow."
+
+"Very well," said Rollo, "that plan suits me exactly."
+
+Rollo was always ready for any plan which involved the going away from
+the place where he was, to some new place which he had not seen before.
+
+"But how are we going to find the way there?" said Rollo.
+
+"I shall take a commissioner," said Mr. George. "I am going to Saandam,
+too, where Peter the Great learned ship carpentry."
+
+"I have heard something about that," said Rollo, "but I don't know much
+about it."
+
+"Why, Peter the Great was emperor of Russia," said Mr. George, "and he
+wished to introduce ship building into his dominions. So he came to
+Holland to learn about the construction of ships, in order that he might
+be better qualified to take the direction of the building of a fleet in
+Russia. Saandam was the place that he came to. While he was there he
+lived in a small, wooden house, near the place where the ship building
+was going on. That house is there now, and almost every body that comes
+to this part of the country goes to see it."
+
+"How long ago was it that he was there?" asked Rollo.
+
+"It was more than one hundred and fifty years ago," said Mr. George.
+
+"I should not think a wooden house would have lasted so long," said
+Rollo.
+
+"It would not have lasted so long," replied Mr. George, "if they had not
+taken special pains to preserve it. They have built a brick house around
+it and over it, to protect it from the weather, and so it has been
+preserved. Now I think we had better go to-morrow and see Broek, and
+also Saandam, and I am going to take a commissioner."
+
+Mr. George had employed a commissioner once before, as the reader will
+perhaps recollect, namely, at the Hague; and perhaps I ought to stop
+here a moment to explain more fully what a commissioner is. He is a
+servant hired by the day to conduct strangers about the town where they
+reside, and about the environs, if necessary, to show them what there is
+that is curious and wonderful there. These men are called, sometimes
+commissioners and sometimes _valets de place_, and in their way they are
+very useful.
+
+If a traveller arrives at a hotel in the morning, at any important town
+in Europe, before he has been in his room fifteen minutes he generally
+hears a knock at his door, and on bidding the person come in, a
+well-dressed looking servant man appears and asks,--
+
+"Shall you wish for a commissioner, sir, to-day?"
+
+Or if the gentleman, after remaining in his room a few minutes, takes
+his wife or his daughter, or whomever he may have travelling with him,
+and goes out from the door of the hotel, he is pretty sure to be met
+near the door by one or more of these men, who accost him earnestly,
+saying,--
+
+"Do you want a commissioner, sir?" Or, "Shall I show you the way, sir?"
+Or, "Would you like to see the museum, sir?"
+
+When a traveller intends to remain some days in a place, he has
+generally no occasion for a commissioner; since, in his rambles about
+the town, he usually finds all the places of interest himself, and in
+such a case the importunities of the commissioners seeking employment
+are sometimes annoying to him. But if his time is very short, or if he
+wishes to make excursions into the neighborhood of a town where he does
+not understand the language of the people, then such a servant is of
+very great advantage.
+
+Mr. George thought that his proposed excursion to Broek and Saandam was
+an occasion on which a commissioner could be very advantageously
+employed. Accordingly, after he and Rollo had finished their dinner,
+which they took at a round table near a window in the coffee room, he
+asked Rollo to ring the bell.
+
+Rollo did so, and a waiter came in.
+
+"Send me in a commissioner, if you please," said Mr. George.
+
+"Very well, sir," said the waiter, with a bow.
+
+The waiter went out, and in a few minutes a well-dressed and very
+respectable looking young man came in, and advancing towards Mr. George,
+said,--
+
+"Did you wish to see a commissioner, sir?"
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George. "I want to make some inquiries about going to
+Broek and to Saandam, to-morrow. I want to know what the best way is to
+go, and what the expenses will be."
+
+So saying, Mr. George took out a pencil and a piece of paper from his
+pocket, in order to make a memorandum of what the commissioner should
+say.
+
+"In the first place," asked Mr. George, "what is your name? I shall want
+to know what to call you."
+
+"My name is James," said the commissioner.
+
+"Well, now, James," said Mr. George, "I want you to tell me what the
+best way is to go, and what all the expenses will be. I want to know
+every thing beforehand."
+
+"Well, sir," said James, "we shall go first by the ferry boat across to
+the Y,[7] and there we shall take the _trekschuyt_ for a short distance
+on the canal."
+
+[Footnote 7: The Y is the name of the sheet of water which lies before
+Amsterdam. It is a sort of harbor.]
+
+"And how much will that cost?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"For the three, forty-five cents," said James.
+
+He meant, of course, Dutch cents. It takes two and a half Dutch cents to
+make one American cent.
+
+"There," continued James, "we take a carriage."
+
+"And how much will the carriage be?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"To go to Broek and back, and then to Saandam, will be ten guilders."
+
+Mr. George made memoranda of these sums on his paper, as James named
+them.
+
+"And the tolls," continued James, "will be one guilder and twenty-five
+cents more."
+
+"And the driver?" asked Mr. George.
+
+In most of the countries of Europe, when you make a bargain for the
+carriage, the driver's services are not included in it. He expects a fee
+besides.
+
+"The driver, fifty cents. Half a guilder," said James.
+
+"Is that enough for him?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Yes, sir," said James, "that's enough."
+
+"We will call it seventy-five cents," said Mr. George. So saying, he
+wrote seventy-five.
+
+"Then there will be some fees to pay, I suppose," said Mr. George, "both
+at Broek and at Saandam."
+
+"Yes, sir," said James. "We pay twenty-five cents at the dairy,
+twenty-five cents at the garden, and twenty-five to the hostler. That
+makes seventy-five. And the same at Saandam, to see the hut of Peter the
+Great, and the house. That makes one guilder fifty centimes."
+
+"Is that all?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"There will be forty-five cents for the ferry, coming back," said James.
+
+Mr. George added this sum to the column, and then footed it up. The
+amount was nearly fifteen guilders.
+
+"We will call it fifteen guilders," said he. "To-morrow I will give you
+fifteen guilders, and you will pay all expenses. And then what shall I
+have to pay you for your services?"
+
+"My charge is four guilders for the day," said James.
+
+"Very well," said Mr. George. "And at what time in the morning will it
+be best to set out?"
+
+"There is a boat at nine o'clock," said James.
+
+"Then we will leave here at half past eight. We will have breakfast,
+Rollo, at eight. Or perhaps we can have breakfast at Broek. Is there a
+hotel there, James?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said James. "There is a hotel there."
+
+"Very well. Then we will wait till we get there before we take
+breakfast, and we will expect you at half past eight. Our room is number
+eleven."
+
+The arrangement being thus fully made, the commissioner, promising to be
+punctual, bowed and retired.
+
+"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "to-morrow we will have a good time.
+After I give the commissioner the fifteen guilders, I shall have no
+further care or responsibility, but shall be taken along over the whole
+ground as if I were a child under the care of his father."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE GREAT CANAL.
+
+The commissioner knocked at Mr. George's door at the time appointed. Mr.
+George and Rollo were both ready. Mr. George counted out the fifteen
+guilders on the table, and James put them in his pocket. The party then
+set out.
+
+Mr. George wished to stop by the way to put a letter in the post office,
+and to pay the postage of it. He desired to do this personally, for he
+wished to inquire whether the letter would go direct. So James led them
+by the way of the post office, and conducted Mr. George into the office
+where foreign letters were received, and the payment of postage taken
+for them. Here James served as interpreter. Indeed, it is one of the
+most important duties of a commissioner to serve as an interpreter to
+his employer, whenever his services are required in this capacity.
+
+When the letter was put in, the party resumed their walk. The
+commissioner went on before, carrying Mr. George's travelling shawl and
+the umbrella, and Mr. George and Rollo followed. The way lay along a
+narrow street, by the side of a canal. There were a thousand curious
+sights to be seen, both among the boats on the canal and along the road;
+but Rollo could not stop to examine them, for the commissioner walked
+pretty fast.
+
+"I wish he would not walk so fast," said Rollo.
+
+"Ah, yes," said Mr. George, "he is right this morning, for we want to
+get to the pier in time for the boat. But in walking about the town to
+see it, it would be a great trouble to us."
+
+"To-morrow we will go about by ourselves," said Rollo, "and stop when
+and where we please."
+
+"We will," said Mr. George.
+
+At last the party came out to what may be called the front of the city,
+where they could look off upon the harbor. This harbor is a sheet of
+water called the Y, which has been before referred to. The morning was
+bright and beautiful, and the water was covered with ships, steamers,
+barges, boats, and vessels of every form and size, going to and fro. The
+steamers passed swiftly, but the sailing vessels scarcely moved, so calm
+and still was the morning air. The sun was shining, and the whole scene
+presented to Mr. George's and Rollo's view, as they looked out over the
+water, was extremely brilliant and beautiful.
+
+The commissioner led the way out over a long pier supported by piles, to
+a sort of landing platform at a distance from the shore. This place was
+quite large. It had a tavern upon it, and a great many different offices
+belonging to the different lines of steamers, and piers projecting in
+different directions for the different boats and steamers to land at. It
+stood at some distance from the shore, and the whole had the appearance
+of a little village on an island. It would have been an island indeed,
+if there had been any land about it; but there was not. It was built
+wholly on piles.
+
+Here were crowds of people going and coming on this stage, some having
+just landed from the different steamers that had just arrived, and some
+about to embark in others that were going away. Small boats were coming,
+too, over the water, with passengers in them, among whom were many
+peasant girls, whose foreheads and temples were adorned with a profusion
+of golden ornaments, such as are worn by the ladies of North Holland.
+Rollo looked this way and that as he passed along the stage, and he
+wished for time to stop and examine what he saw; but the commissioner
+walked rapidly on, and led the way to the ferry boat.
+
+"You will walk on board," said James, "while I get the tickets."
+
+So Mr. George and Rollo went over the plank on board the boat, while
+James turned to a little office that stood near to get the tickets.
+
+There was a man standing at the end of the plank to collect the tickets
+as the passengers came on board. Mr. George, as he passed, pointed back
+to the office where James had gone. The man bowed, and he and Rollo
+passed on.
+
+"How independent we are!" said Mr. George. "I shall have nothing to do
+with making any payments all day to-day, and it will seem as if we were
+travelling free."
+
+The ferry boat was of a very singular construction, and most singular
+looking people they were who were on board of it. It had a great flat
+deck, which was of an oval form, and was spreading out very wide at the
+sides. There were seats here and there in different places, but no
+awning or shelter of any kind overhead. Rollo was glad of this, for the
+morning was so fine, and the view on every side was so magnificent, that
+he was very much pleased to have it so wholly unobstructed.
+
+As soon as the chimes of the city clocks began to strike for nine, the
+various steamboats began to shoot out in different directions from the
+piers of the landing, and soon the ferry boat began to move, too. She
+moved, however, very slowly.
+
+"What a slow and clumsy boat!" said Rollo.
+
+"I'm glad she is slow," replied Mr. George, "for I want to look about. I
+should be willing to be an hour in going across this ferry."
+
+The prospect on every side was, indeed, very fine. On looking back they
+could see the buildings of the town extending far and wide for miles,
+with domes, and towers, and spires, and tops of trees, and masts of
+ships rising together every where above the tops of the houses. The
+water of the harbor was covered with ships and steamers passing to and
+fro--those near glittering in the sun, while the distant ones were half
+lost in a smoky haze that every where softened and concealed the
+horizon. Mr. George and Rollo gazed earnestly on this scene, looking now
+in this direction, and now in that, but not speaking a word.
+
+When they were about half across the Y, James came to Mr. George, and
+said,--
+
+"This ferry boat connects with a steamer on the canal, which goes to the
+Helder, and also with various trekschuyts. We shall take a trekschuyt to
+go for a short distance?--as far as to the place where we shall get a
+carriage."
+
+"Very well," said Mr. George. "Arrange it as you think best. Then we
+shall go a short distance on the great canal."
+
+"Yes, sir," said James. "You will like to see a little of the canal."
+
+"I shall, indeed," said Mr. George.
+
+The great canal of which James here spoke is the grandest work of the
+kind in Holland, and perhaps in the world. If you look at the map you
+will see that Amsterdam stands somewhat in the interior of the country,
+and that the only approach to it, by sea, is through a great gulf called
+the Zuyder Zee. Now, the water in the Zuyder Zee is shallow. There are
+channels, it is true, that are tolerably deep; but they are very winding
+and intricate, and they are so surrounded with shoals and sand banks as
+to make the navigation very difficult, especially for ships of large
+size.
+
+The people, accordingly, conceived the plan of digging a canal across
+the country; from Amsterdam to the nearest place where there was deep
+water on the sea. This was at a point of land called the Helder.
+
+The reason why there was deep water there, was, that that was the outlet
+for the Zuyder Zee, and the water rushing in there when the tide is
+rising, and out again when it goes down, keeps the channel deep and
+clear.
+
+So it was determined to make a canal from the Helder to Amsterdam. But
+the land was lower, almost all the way, than the sea. This rendered it
+impossible to construct the canal so as to make it of the same level
+with the sea, without building up the banks of it to an inconvenient
+height. Besides, it was just as well to make the canal lower than the
+sea, and then to build gates at each end of it, to prevent the sea water
+from coming in.
+
+"Then how were the ships to get in?" asked Rollo, when Mr. George
+explained this to him.
+
+"Why, there were two ways," replied Mr. George, "by which ships might
+get in. You see, although the canal is lower than the sea is generally,
+there is an hour or two every day when the tide goes down, in which the
+two are about on a level. Accordingly, by opening the gates when the
+tide is low, a communication would be made by which the vessels could
+sail in and out."
+
+"But that would be inconvenient, I should think," said Rollo, "not to
+have the gates open but twice a day."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George; "and so, to enable them to admit ships at any
+time, they have built _locks_ at each end."
+
+"Like the locks in a common canal in America?" said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George; "and by means of these locks, ships can be
+taken in and out at any time."
+
+"I don't exactly understand how they do it," said Rollo.
+
+"Let me explain it to you, then," replied Mr. George. "Listen
+attentively, and picture to your mind precisely what I describe, and see
+if you understand.
+
+"First," continued Mr. George, "imagine that you are down by the sea
+shore, where the canal ends. The water in the sea is higher than it is
+in the canal, and there are two sets of gates, at a little distance from
+each other, near the mouth of the canal, which keep the water of the sea
+from flowing in."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "I can picture that to my mind. But how far apart are
+the two sets of gates?"
+
+"A little farther apart," said Mr. George, "than the length of the
+longest ship. Of course one pair of these locks is towards the sea, and
+the other towards the canal. I will call the first the sea gates, and
+the other the canal gates. The space between the two gates is called the
+lock."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "I understand all that."
+
+"Now," continued Mr. George, "a ship comes in, we will suppose, and is
+to be taken into the canal. First, the men open the sea gates. The sea
+can now flow into the lock, but it cannot get into the canal, because
+the canal gates are still shut."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo.
+
+"And, now you see," continued Mr. George, "that as the water in the lock
+is high, and on a level with the sea, the ship can sail into the lock."
+
+"But it can't get down into the canal," said Rollo.
+
+"No," replied Mr. George, "not yet. But now the men shut the sea gates,
+and thus shut the ship in. They then open the passages through the canal
+gates, and this lets the water out of the lock until it subsides to the
+level of that in the canal, and the ship settles down with it. But the
+sea cannot come in, for the sea gates, that are now behind the ship, are
+shut. When the water in the lock has gone down to the canal level, then
+they can open the gates, and the ship can sail along out of the lock
+into the canal.
+
+"Thus they lock the ship down into the canal at one end, and when she
+has passed through the canal, they lock her up into the Y again at the
+other."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo. "I understand it now. And shall we go into the canal
+through the locks in this way?"
+
+"I don't know," said Mr. George. "I'll ask James."
+
+So Mr. George beckoned to James to come to him, and asked him whether
+they should enter the canal through the lock.
+
+"No," said James. "The ferry boat does not go into the canal at all. We
+go into a little dock or harbor by the side of it, and the passengers
+walk over the dike, and down to the canal, where they find the boats
+ready for them that they are to take."
+
+"Why don't they pass from those boats through the locks, and let them
+come across to Amsterdam?" asked Rollo, "and then we might get on board
+them there, and so not have to change from one boat to the other."
+
+"Because it takes some time, and some trouble," said James, "to pass any
+thing through the locks, and it is not worth while to do it, except in
+case of large and valuable ships. So the boats and steamers that ply
+along the canal are left inside the lock, and the passengers are taken
+to and from them by the ferry boat."
+
+The ferry boat, by this time, began to approach the shore. It entered
+into a little opening in the land, which formed a sort of harbor. Here
+the passengers were landed at a wharf, which was surrounded by small
+buildings. Thence they ascended what was evidently a large dike. When
+they reached the top of the dike they saw below them, on the other side
+of it, the beginning of the canal. It lay several feet lower than the
+water of the harbor in which they had left the ferry boat; but it was
+quite wide, and it was bordered by broad dikes with avenues of trees
+upon them, on either side. On one side, under the trees, was a tow path,
+and on the other a broad and smoothly gravelled road.
+
+Two boats were lying moored to the wharves at the side of the canal. One
+was a long, sharp, and narrow steamer, which was going through the whole
+length of the canal to the Helder. The other was a trekschuyt, or canal
+boat, which was going only a short way, to the nearest village.
+
+The passengers that came in the ferry boat divided into two parties, as
+they came down the dike. One party went to the steamer, the other to the
+trekschuyt. Mr. George and Rollo, of course, went with the last.
+
+The trekschuyt was a curious sort of boat. It was built like the Noah's
+ark made for children to play with; that is, it was a broad boat, with a
+house in it. The roof of the house, which formed the deck of the boat,
+was flat, and there were seats along the sides of it, and a railing
+behind them on the margin, to keep people from falling off. At each end
+of the house were two flights of steps, leading up to the roof or deck,
+and below them another flight, which led down to the little cabins
+below.
+
+As soon as Rollo got on board, he first ran up on the deck. He sat down
+on the seat upon one side, and then, after looking about a moment, he
+ran over to the other side, and sat down there. Then he got up, and said
+that he was going below to look at the cabins.
+
+Mr. George, all the time, stood quietly on the deck, looking at the
+canal, and at the country around. He could see the canal extending, in a
+winding direction, across the country; but the view of it was soon lost,
+as the winding of its course brought the dikes on the sides of it in the
+way so that they concealed the water. He could, however, trace its
+course for some distance, by the masts and sails of vessels which he saw
+at different distances rising among the green trees. Along the dike, on
+one side, was a high road, and on the other, a tow path. Different boats
+were coming and going in the part of the canal that was near. They were
+drawn by long and slender lines, that were fastened to a tall mast set
+up near the bows of the boat. Some were drawn by men, and some by
+horses.
+
+[Illustration: THE TREKSCHUYT.]
+
+Before the trekschuyt had gone far, after it commenced its voyage, a
+great ship was seen coming on the canal. She was coming from the Helder.
+It was a ship that had come from the West Indies, and was going to
+Amsterdam. The wind was contrary for her, and they could not use their
+sails, and so they were drawing her along by horses. There were two
+teams of horses, eight in each team. The view of these teams, walking
+along the tow path, with the immense ship following them in the canal,
+presented a very imposing spectacle.
+
+The trekschuyt started before the Helder steamer; but it had not gone
+far before Rollo, who had now ascended to the deck again, saw her coming
+up behind very rapidly.
+
+"I tell you what it is, uncle George," said he, "I wish you and I were
+on board that steamer, and were going along the whole length of the
+canal."
+
+"So do I," said Mr. George.
+
+"Could not we get on board?" asked Rollo.
+
+"No," said Mr. George. "We cannot change our plan to-day very well. But
+now that we have found the way, we can come over here any morning we
+please, and take the Helder steamer."
+
+"Let's come," said Rollo, eagerly. "Let's come to-morrow."
+
+"We'll see about that," said Mr. George. "See, here comes a market
+boat."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo. "The man is towing it, and his wife is steering."
+
+"Now we will see how they pass," said Rollo.
+
+There was no difficulty about passing, for as soon as the man who was
+towing the market boat found that the trekschuyt had come up to his
+line, he stopped suddenly, and the advance of his boat caused his line
+to drop into the water. The trekschuyt then sailed right over it. By
+this simple manoeuvre, boats and vessels could pass each other very
+easily, and generally the manoeuvre was executed in a prompt and very
+skilful manner. But once, when they were passing a boat, the woman who
+was steering it put the helm the wrong way, and though the captain of
+the trekschuyt, and also the husband of the woman, who was on the shore,
+shouted to her repeatedly in a loud and angry manner, she could not get
+it right again in time to avoid a collision. The trekschuyt gave the
+boat a dreadful bump as it went by. Fortunately, however, it did no
+harm, except to frighten the poor woman, and break their tow line.
+
+After going on in this way for fifteen or twenty minutes along the
+canal, the trekschuyt arrived at its place of destination, and Mr.
+George and Rollo disembarked at a little village of very neat and pretty
+houses, built along the dike on one side of the canal.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE DAIRY VILLAGE.
+
+
+Mr. George and Rollo walked ashore in a very independent manner, having
+the commissioner to attend to the tickets. They went up to the top of
+the dike, and waited for the commissioner to come to them.
+
+"While I am getting the carriage ready," said the commissioner, when he
+came, "perhaps you will like to take a walk on the bridge, where there
+is a very fine view. But first, perhaps, you will look at the carriage,
+and choose the one that you will like."
+
+So saying, James led the way into a sort of stable, where there were a
+great many very nice and pretty carriages, arranged very snugly
+together. Mr. George was surprised to see so many. He asked James how it
+happened.
+
+"O, there is a great deal of travelling on the roads about here," said
+James. "The country is very rich and populous, and the people of
+Amsterdam come out a great deal."
+
+Some of the carriages were very elegant. One of these an hostler took
+out, and told Mr. George that he could have it if he chose. There was
+another which was much less elegant, but it was more open.
+
+"Let us take the open one," said Rollo. "We can see so much better."
+
+So they decided upon the open one; and then, while the hostlers were
+harnessing the horses, Mr. George and Rollo went forward to the bridge.
+
+The bridge led over a branch canal, which here comes into the main
+canal. The road to it lay along the dike, and formed the street of a
+little village. It was paved with bricks placed edgewise, and was as
+neat as a parlor floor. The houses were all on one side. They were very
+small; but they were so neat and pretty, and the forms of them were so
+strange and queer, that they looked like play houses, or like a scene in
+fairy land, rather than like the real habitations of men.
+
+There were pretty gardens by them, which extended down the slope of the
+dike. The slopes of the dikes are always very gradual, and very nice
+gardens can be made on them.
+
+Mr. George and Rollo stood on the bridge, and looked up and down the
+canals on either side. They saw boats, with people in them, getting
+ready to set out on their voyages.
+
+"I wonder where that canal leads to?" said Rollo.
+
+"O, it goes off into the interior of the country, some where," said Mr.
+George. "The country is as full of canals as Massachusetts is of roads."
+
+"I should like, very much," said Rollo, "to get on board that boat with
+that man, and go with him wherever he is going."
+
+"So should I, if I knew Dutch," said Mr. George, "so that I could talk
+with him as we sailed along."
+
+"How pretty it is all about here," said Rollo. "What a queer
+village,--built on a bank! And what a funny road! It looks like a play
+road."
+
+The road, where it led through the village, did, indeed, present a very
+singular appearance. It was very narrow indeed, being barely wide enough
+for one carriage to pass, and leaving scarcely room on the side for a
+child to crowd up against the house, and let it go by. On the other side
+was a row of trees, with green grass beneath, covering the banks of the
+canal.
+
+After Mr. George and Rollo had been standing a few minutes on the bridge
+they saw that the carriage was nearly ready. So they went back to the
+place and got in. The top of the carriage was turned entirely down, so
+that they could see about them in every direction as they rode along.
+James mounted on the box outside, with the driver.
+
+"Now," said Rollo, in a tone of great satisfaction, "we will have a very
+first rate ride."
+
+The carriage drove along through the little street, which has already
+been described. Rollo could reach his hand out and almost touch the
+houses as they rode by. There were little shops kept in some of the
+houses, and the things that were for sale were put up at the windows.
+They looked exactly as if children had arranged them for play.
+
+After leaving the village the road turned and followed the dike of a
+branch canal. The views on every side were extremely beautiful. The
+canal was carried along between its two banks, high above the rest of
+the country, and here and there, at moderate distances from each other,
+wind mills were to be seen busy at work pumping up water from the drains
+in the fields, and pouring it into the canal. The fields were covered
+with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and here and there were
+parties of men mowing the grass or loading the new-made hay into boats,
+that lay floating in the small canals which bordered the fields.
+
+In looking about over the country, there were wind mills to be seen in
+all directions, their long arms slowly revolving in the air, and
+interspersed among them were the masts and sails of sloops and
+schooners, that were sailing to and fro along the canals. As the water
+of these canals was often hidden from view by the dikes which bordered
+them, it seemed as if the ships and steamers were sailing on the land in
+the midst of green fields and trees, and smiling villages.
+
+After going on in this way for an hour or more, the carriage approached
+the village which Mr. George and Rollo were going to see. The village
+lay on the borders of a canal, which was here quite broad, and as the
+road approached it on the other side of the canal, it was in full view
+for Mr. George and Rollo as the party approached it. The houses were
+close to the margin of the water. They were very neat and pretty, and
+were, most of them, painted green. Many of them had little canals by the
+side of them, like lanes of water leading into the rear of the houses,
+and the prettiest little porticoes, and trellises, and piazzas, and
+pavilions, and summer houses were seen in every part. The road went
+winding round a wide basin, and then, after crossing a bridge, the
+carriage stopped at an inn.
+
+The inn was entirely outside of the village. The commissioner said that
+they must walk through the village, for there was no carriage road
+through it at all.
+
+So Mr. George and Rollo dismounted, and the hostlers came out from the
+stable to unharness the horses.
+
+"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "we will go in and order a breakfast, and
+then we will take our walk through the village while it is getting
+ready."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo. "I should like some breakfast very much."
+
+"What shall we have?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"What you like," replied Rollo. "You always get good breakfasts."
+
+"Well," said Mr. George, "we will tell them the old story."
+
+Just at this moment James came up to the door of the hotel where Mr.
+George and Rollo had been standing during this conversation.
+
+"You may order breakfast for us, James," said Mr. George, "and let them
+have it ready for us when we get back from our walk."
+
+"Yes, sir," said James. "And what will you have?"
+
+"_Biftek aux pommes_,"[8] said Mr. George, "and coffee. And let them
+give us some of their best cheese."
+
+[Footnote 8: Pronounced _biftek-o-pom_. This is a very favorite
+breakfast in France, and every where, in fact, throughout Europe. Mr.
+George liked it better than any thing else, not only for his breakfast,
+but also for his dinner. It consists of very tender beefsteaks,
+deliciously seasoned, and accompanied with sliced potatoes, fried in a
+peculiar manner, and arranged all around the margin of the dish.]
+
+The commissioner went in to give the order.
+
+"Uncle George," said Rollo, "I think you'll be known all through this
+country as the beefsteak and fried potato man."
+
+Mr. George laughed.
+
+"Well," said he. "There could not be a more agreeable idea than that to
+be associated with my memory."
+
+The truth is, that both Mr. George and Rollo liked the _biftek aux
+pommes_ better than almost any thing else that they could have, whether
+for breakfast or dinner.
+
+After having given the order for the breakfast to a very nice and
+tidy-looking Dutch girl, whose forehead and temples were adorned with a
+profusion of golden ornaments, after the fashion of the young women of
+North Holland, the commissioner came back, and the whole party set out
+to walk through the village. There were no streets, properly so called,
+but only walks, about as wide as the gravel walks of a garden, which
+meandered about among the houses and yards, in a most extraordinary
+manner. There were beautiful views, from time to time, presented over
+the water of the canal on which the village was situated; and there were
+a great number of small canals which seemed to penetrate every where,
+with the prettiest little bridges over them, and landing steps, and
+bowers, and pavilions along the borders of them, and gayly-painted boats
+fastened at kitchen doors, and a thousand other such-like objects,
+characteristic of the intimate intermingling of land and water which
+prevails in this extraordinary country.
+
+[Illustration: THE DAIRY VILLAGE.]
+
+Every thing was, however, on so small a scale, and so scrupulously neat
+and pretty, that it looked more like a toy village than one built for
+the every-day residence of real men.
+
+After walking on for about a quarter of a mile, the commissioner said
+that he would show them the interior of one of the dairy houses, where
+the cheeses were made,--for the business of this town was the making of
+cheeses from the milk of the cows that feed on the green polders that
+lie all around them.
+
+"The stalls for the cows," said James, "are in the same house in which
+the family lives; but the cows are not kept there in summer, and so we
+shall find the stalls empty."
+
+So saying, James turned aside up a little paved walk which led to the
+door of a very pretty looking house. He opened the door without any
+ceremony, and Mr. George and Rollo went in.
+
+The door was near one end of the house, and it opened into a passage way
+which extended back through the whole depth of it. On one side was a
+row of stalls, or cribs, for the cows. On the other, were doors opening
+into the rooms used for the family. A very nice looking Dutch woman, who
+had apparently seen the party from her window, came out through this
+side door into the passage way, to welcome them when they came.
+
+The stalls for the cows were all beautifully made, and they were painted
+and decorated in such an extraordinary manner, that no one could have
+imagined for what use they were intended. The floors for them were made
+of the glazed tiles so often used in Holland, and the partitions between
+them were nicely rubbed as bright as a lady's sideboard. The cribs, too,
+were now, in the absence of the cows, occupied with various little
+_étagères_, and sets of shelves, which were covered with fancy cups and
+saucers, china images, and curiosities of all sorts,--the Dutch
+housewives taking a special pride in the collection of such things.
+
+The row of cribs was separated from the floor of the passage way by a
+sort of trench, about a foot and a half wide and ten inches deep, and
+outside this trench, and also within it, at the entrances to the cribs,
+were arrayed a great number of utensils employed in the work of the
+dairy, such as tubs, cans, cheese presses, moulds, and other such
+things. These were all beautifully made, and being mounted with brass,
+which had received the highest polish by constant rubbing, they gave to
+the whole aspect of the place an exceedingly gay and brilliant
+appearance.
+
+Some of this apparatus was in use. There were tubs standing, with the
+curd or whey in them, and cheeses in press or in pickle, and various
+other indications that the establishment was a genuine one, and was then
+in active operation. The cheeses were of the round kind, so often seen
+for sale at the grocers' stores in Boston and New York. They looked like
+so many big cannon balls.
+
+After walking down the passage way that led by the side of cribs, and
+examining all these things in detail, the party returned to the door
+where they had come in, and then, turning to the left, went into the
+rooms of the house. The first room was the bedroom. The second was the
+parlor. These rooms were both completely crowded with antique looking
+furniture, among which were cabinets of Chinese ware, and ornaments of
+every kind; and all was in such a brilliant condition of nicety and
+polish, as made the spectacle wonderful to behold.
+
+The bed was in a recess, shut up by doors. When the doors were opened
+the bed place looked precisely like a berth on board ship.
+
+After looking at all these things as long as they wished, Mr. George and
+Rollo bade the woman good by, and James gave her half a guilder. The
+party then withdrew.
+
+"Well, uncle George," said Rollo, "and what do you think of that?"
+
+"I think it is a very extraordinary spectacle," said Mr. George. "And it
+is very curious to think how such a state of things has come about."
+
+"And how has it come about?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Why, here," replied Mr. George, "for a thousand years, for aught I
+know, the people have been living from generation to generation with no
+other employment than taking care of the cows that feed on the polders
+around, and making the milk into cheese. That is a business which
+requires neatness. Every kind of dairy business does. So that here is a
+place where a current was set towards neatness a thousand years ago, and
+it has been running ever since, and this is what it has come to."
+
+Talking in this manner of what they had seen, Mr. George and Rollo
+returned to the inn, and there they found an excellent breakfast. They
+were waited upon at the table by the young woman who had so many golden
+ornaments in her hair; and besides the _biftek aux pommes_, and the
+coffee, and the hot milk, and the nice butter, there was the half of one
+of the round cheeses, such as they had seen in process of making at the
+dairy.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+
+After finishing their breakfast, Mr. George and Rollo entered the
+carriage again, and returned by the same way that they came, for some
+miles towards Amsterdam, until they came to the place where the road
+turned off to go to Saandam. After proceeding for some distance upon one
+of the inland dikes, they came at length to the margin of the sea, and
+then for several miles the road lay along the great sea dike, which here
+defends the land from the ingress of the ocean.
+
+"Ah," said Mr. George, as soon as they entered upon this portion of the
+road, "here we come to one of the great sea dikes. How glad I am."
+
+"So am I," said Rollo. "I wanted to see one of the sea dikes."
+
+"It is very much like the others," said Mr. George, "only it is much
+larger."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "and see how it winds about along the shore."
+
+In looking forward in the direction in which Rollo pointed, the dike
+could be traced for a long distance in its course, like an immense
+railroad embankment, winding in and out in a most remarkable manner, in
+conformity to the indentations of the shore. In one respect it differed
+from a railroad embankment, namely, in being bordered and overshadowed
+by avenues of immense trees, which showed how many ages ago the dike had
+been built. There is not a railroad embankment in the world that has
+been built long enough for such immense trees to have had time to grow.
+
+The carriage road lay along the top of the dike, which was very broad,
+and the slopes of it, towards the water on one side, and towards the low
+meadow lands on the other, were very gradual. Men were at work every
+where along these slopes, cutting the second crop of grass, and making
+it into hay. Where the hay was ready to be got in, the men were at work
+loading it into boats that lay in the little canals that extend along
+the sides of the dike at the foot of the slopes.
+
+Wind mills were to be seen every where, all about the horizon. As the
+road approached Saandam, these mills became more and more numerous.
+
+"I mean to see if I can count them," said Rollo.
+
+"You cannot count them, I am sure," said Mr. George.
+
+Rollo began; but when he got up to a hundred, he gave up the undertaking
+in despair. Mr. George told him that he read in the guide book that
+there were four thousand wind mills in that region.
+
+Some of these wind mills were very small indeed; and there were two or
+three which looked so "cunning," as Rollo said, that he wished very much
+that he had one of them to take with him to America.
+
+The use of these very small wind mills was to pump up the water from
+some very limited tract of land, which, for some reason or other,
+happened to lie a few inches lower than the rest.
+
+At last, after an infinite number of turnings and windings, by means of
+which every part of the surrounding country was brought in succession
+into view before Mr. George and Rollo as they sat in their carriage,
+they arrived at the town of Saandam.
+
+The town consists of two streets, one on each embankment of a great
+canal. The streets are closely built up for many miles along the canal,
+but the town does not extend laterally at all, on account of the ground
+falling off immediately to very low polders.
+
+[Illustration: CABIN OF PETER THE GREAT.]
+
+After entering the street the commissioner left the carriage, in order
+that the horses might rest, and led Mr. George and Rollo on a walk
+through the prettiest part of the town. They walked about half a mile
+along the canal on one side, and then, crossing by a ferry, they came
+back on the other side.
+
+In the course of this walk they went to see the hut where Peter the
+Great lived while he was in Holland engaged in studying ship building in
+the ship yards of Saandam. The hut itself was old and dilapidated; but
+it was covered and protected by a good, substantial building of brick,
+with open arches all around, which allowed the hut to be seen, while the
+roof and walls of the building protected it from the rain. The hut was
+situated in a very pretty little garden.
+
+There were two rooms in the hut, and one of them--the one shown in the
+engraving--had a very curious-looking Dutch fireplace in one corner of
+it, and a ladder to go up to the loft above. The chairs were very
+curious indeed; the seats being three-cornered, and the back and arms
+being constructed in a very singular manner.
+
+The walls of the rooms were perfectly covered, in every part, with the
+names of visitors, who had come from all countries to see the rooms.
+Besides these, there were a great many volumes of books filled with
+names. These books lay on a great table, which stood at one side of the
+room. There was one of the books which was not yet full, and this one
+lay open on the table, with a pen and ink near it, in order that fresh
+visitors, as fast as they came, might enter their names.
+
+After looking at this cabin as long as they wished, and entering their
+names in the book, Mr. George and Rollo left the hut and returned
+through one of the main streets of the town to the place where they had
+left their carriage. The carriage was soon ready for them, and they set
+out to go back to Amsterdam.
+
+They had a delightful drive back, going as they came, on the top of the
+great sea dike. On one side they could look off over a wide expanse of
+water, with boats, and steamers, and ships moving to and fro in every
+direction over it. On the other side they overlooked a still wider
+expanse of low and level green fields, intersected every where with
+canals of water and avenues of trees, and with a perfect forest of wind
+mills in the horizon.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+As they were riding quietly along upon this dike on the return to
+Amsterdam, Rollo had the opportunity of imparting to Mr. George some
+valuable information in respect to Peter the Great.
+
+"I am glad that I have had an opportunity to see the workshop of Peter
+the Great," said Mr. George. "It is very curious indeed. But I don't
+know much about Peter the Great. The first opportunity I get I mean to
+read an account of his life, and I advise you to do the same."
+
+"I have read about him," said Rollo. "I found a book about him in a
+steamboat that we came in, and I read all about his coming to Holland."
+
+"Then tell me about it," said Mr. George.
+
+"Why, you see," said Rollo, "he was at war with the Turks, and he fought
+them and drove them off to the southward, until at last he came to the
+Sea of Asoph. Then he could not fight them any more, unless he could get
+some ships. So he made a law for all the great boyars of his kingdom,
+that every one of them must build or buy him a ship. What are boyars,
+uncle George?"
+
+"Nobles," said Mr. George.
+
+"I thought it must be something like that," replied Rollo.
+
+"The old nobility of those Russian countries are called boyars," said
+Mr. George; "but I don't know why. Most of the common people are slaves
+to them."
+
+"Well, at any rate," said Rollo, "he made a law that every one of them,
+or at least all that were rich enough, should build or buy him a ship;
+but they did not know how to build ships themselves, and so they were
+obliged to send to Holland for ship builders. They built more and better
+ships in Holland in those days than in any country in the world."
+
+"Yes, I suppose so," said Mr. George.
+
+"The boyars did not like it very well to be obliged to build these
+ships," continued Rollo. "And there was another thing that they disliked
+still more."
+
+"What was that?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Why, the emperor made them send off their sons to be educated in
+different foreign countries," replied Rollo. "You see, in those days
+Russia was very little civilized, and Peter concluded that it would help
+to introduce civilization into the country, if the sons of the principal
+men went to other great cities for some years, to study sciences and
+arts. So he sent some of them to Paris, and some to Berlin, and some to
+Amsterdam, and some to Rome. But most of them did not like to go."
+
+"That's strange," said Mr. George. "I should have thought they would
+have liked to go very much."
+
+"At least their fathers did not like to send them," said Rollo; "perhaps
+on account of the expense; and some of the young men did not like to
+go. There was one that was sent to Venice, in order that he might see
+and learn every thing that he could there, that would be of advantage to
+his own country; but he was so cross about it that when he got to Venice
+he shut himself up in his house, and declared that he would not see or
+learn any thing at all."
+
+"He was a very foolish fellow, I think," said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "I think he was. But I've seen boys in school act
+just so. They get put out with the teacher for something or other, and
+then they won't try to understand the lesson."
+
+"That is punishing themselves, and not the teacher," said Mr. George.
+"But go on about Peter."
+
+"After a while," continued Rollo, "Peter concluded to make a journey
+himself. His plan was to go to all the most civilized countries, and
+into all the finest cities in Europe, and see what he could learn that
+would be of use in his own dominions. So he fitted out a grand
+expedition. He took a number of ambassadors, and generals, and great
+potentates of all kinds with him. These men were dressed in splendid
+uniforms, and travelled in great state, and had grand receptions in all
+the great towns that they came to. But Peter himself did nothing of the
+kind. He dressed plainly, like a common man, so that wherever he went
+he could ramble about at liberty, and see what he wanted to see in peace
+and quietness, while all the people were running after the procession of
+ambassadors and grandees."
+
+"That was a good plan," said Mr. George.
+
+"An excellent plan," rejoined Rollo. "In some of the seaports that he
+visited, he used to put on a sort of a pea jacket, such as the Dutch
+skippers wore, and go about in that, along the wharves and docks, and
+look at all the shipping.
+
+"But he was most interested in going to Holland," continued Rollo, "for
+that was the country where they built the best ships. Besides, the first
+vessel that he ever saw happened to be a Dutch vessel. I forgot to tell
+you about that."
+
+"Yes," replied Mr. George, "tell me now."
+
+"Why, it was some years before this time," said Rollo,--"two or three I
+believe,--that he first saw a vessel. There was a country place with a
+handsome house and pleasure grounds, belonging to the royal family. I
+forget what the name of it was. But that is no matter. One time, after
+Peter came to the throne, he went out to this country place to spend a
+few days. He found on the grounds a sort of artificial winding canal or
+pond, with pretty trees on the banks of it. On this canal was a yacht,
+which had been built in Holland and brought there, for the people to
+sail in when they came to that palace. The yacht had not been used much,
+and was lying neglected at the wharf. But Peter immediately had it put
+in order, and took a sail in it, and he liked it very much indeed."
+
+"Was it the first vessel that he ever saw?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "I believe it was; or at least it was the first that
+he ever particularly noticed. He liked sailing in it, and then, besides,
+there was one of his officers there, who had travelled in other
+countries in Europe where people had ships and navies, and he told Peter
+what great advantages they gained from them, not only in carrying goods
+from place to place, but in transporting armies, and fighting their
+enemies at sea.
+
+"Peter thought a great deal about this, and when he went back to Moscow,
+which was then the capital, he inquired and found that there were some
+people from Holland there. He asked them if they knew how to build
+ships. Some of them said they did. Then he asked them if they could not
+build him some small vessels, just like the Dutch ships of war. They
+said they could. So he made a bargain with them, and they built him
+several.
+
+"Do you know how many?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Not exactly," replied Rollo. "There were several small vessels, and I
+remember that there were four frigates, and each frigate had four guns.
+I don't suppose the guns were very large."
+
+"Four guns is a very small armament for a frigate," said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," replied Rollo, "very small indeed. But you see, Peter did not
+want them for real service, but only for models, as it were."
+
+"And what did he do with them, when they were done?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"They were launched into a lake there was in that part of the country,"
+said Rollo, "and there the emperor used to sail about in them, and have
+sham fights.
+
+"But all this, you must understand," continued Rollo, "took place two or
+three years before Peter drove the Turks off from the southern part of
+his empire, so as to get to the sea. And it was not till then that he
+began to have real ships built of large size. And now, when he was going
+to Holland, he of course remembered the old Dutch yacht which he had on
+his pleasure grounds, and the small frigates which they had built him,
+and the large ones too, which they had built for the boyars, and he felt
+a great interest in going to see the ship yards. He determined that
+while he was in Holland he would spend as much time as he could in
+learning all about ship building.
+
+"It is very curious about the emperor and his company's entering
+Amsterdam," continued Rollo. "When the government there heard that he
+was coming, they made grand preparations to receive him. They got the
+cannon all ready on the ramparts to fire salutes, and drew out the
+soldiers, and all the doors and windows were crowded with spectators.
+They prepared a great number of illuminations, too, and fireworks, for
+the night. But just before the party arrived at Amsterdam, the emperor
+slipped away in a plain dress, and left the ambassadors, and generals,
+and grandees to go in by themselves. The people of Amsterdam did not
+know this. They supposed that some one or other of the people dressed so
+splendidly, in the procession, was Peter; and so they shouted, and waved
+their flags and their handkerchiefs, and fired the cannon, and made a
+great parade generally."
+
+"And Peter himself was not there at all?" said Mr. George.
+
+"No," said Rollo. "He slipped away, and came in privately with a few
+merchants to accompany him. And instead of going to the great palace
+which the government of Amsterdam had provided and fitted up for him, he
+left that to his ambassadors, and went himself to a small house, by a
+ship yard, where he could be at liberty, and go and come when he
+pleased."
+
+"And afterwards, I suppose he went to Saandam," said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied Rollo. "Saandam was a great place for building ships
+in those days. They say that while he was there, he went to work
+regularly, like a ship carpenter, as if he wished to learn the trade
+himself. But I don't believe he worked a great deal."
+
+"No," said Mr. George. "I presume he did not. He probably took the
+character and dress of a workman chiefly for the purpose of making
+himself more at home in the ship yards and about the wharves. Indeed, I
+can't see what useful end could be gained by his learning to do work
+himself. He could not expect to build ships himself when he should
+return to Russia."
+
+"No," said Rollo. "I expect he wanted to see exactly how the ships were
+built, and how the yards were managed, and he thought he could do this
+better if he went among the workmen as one of their number."
+
+"I presume so," said Mr. George. "I am very glad you found the book, and
+I am much obliged to you for all this information."
+
+Soon after this Mr. George and Rollo arrived safely at Amsterdam.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rollo and Mr. George remained, after this, some days in Amsterdam; and
+they were very much entertained with what they saw there in the streets,
+and with the curious manners and customs of the people.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+PUBLICATIONS OF
+
+BROWN, TAGGARD & CHASE,
+
+SUCCESSORS TO
+
+W. J. REYNOLDS & CO., No. 24 Cornhill, Boston.
+
+ROLLO'S TOUR IN EUROPE:
+
+BEING A NEW SERIES OF
+
+ROLLO BOOKS,
+
+BY REV. JACOB ABBOTT.
+
+IN SIX VOLUMES, BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED.
+
+_Extract from the Preface._
+
+In this series of narratives we offer to the readers of the Rollo Books
+a continuation of the history of our little hero, by giving them an
+account of the adventures which such a boy may be expected to meet with
+in making a tour of Europe. The books are intended to be books of
+instruction rather than of mere amusement; and, in perusing them, the
+reader may feel assured that all the information which they contain, not
+only in respect to the countries visited, but to the customs, usages,
+and modes of life that are described, and also in regard to the general
+character of the incidents and adventures that the young travellers meet
+with, is in most strict accordance with fact. The main design of the
+narratives is, thus, the communication of useful knowledge; and
+everything which they contain, except what is strictly personal, in
+relation to the actors in the story, may be depended upon as exactly and
+scrupulously true.
+
+_Notices of the Press._
+
+We know of no books that are so eagerly sought for by good boys and
+girls as Mr. Abbott's new series of "Rollo Books."--_Hartford Christian
+Secretary._
+
+Mr. Abbott has a singularly successful faculty of conveying instruction
+with entertainment, and of interesting all classes of readers, but more
+particularly the young. All will say that the more we have of such
+useful and pleasant volumes the better.--_Salem Register._
+
+They give excellent lessons in Geography and History, in the most
+pleasing forms. They are beautifully printed, and illustrated with fine
+engravings.--_New Haven Palladium._
+
+There is no wonder that the "Rollo Books" are so extremely popular, for
+we doubt if many of us "children of a larger growth" can escape their
+fascination.--_Salem Observer._
+
+A careful perusal of the volume under notice (Switzerland) will give the
+young reader not only as good a geographical knowledge of the country it
+describes as would be obtained at a term at school, but will acquaint
+him with the habits, manners, and characteristics of the people of
+Switzerland.--_American Citizen_.
+
+No living man is his equal in story-telling for the young, and the book
+will find its way into thousands of homes.--_Hartford Republican._
+
+They contain a great deal of useful information, conveyed in a most
+pleasing and interesting manner.--_Boston Post._
+
+Written by one who has made the tour through which he carries his young
+hero, and who, from long experience, knows how to please and instruct
+his young readers, these volumes possess just the qualities to attract
+those for whom they are intended.--_Norfolk Co. Journal._
+
+The author has admirably combined the pleasing with the instructive, so
+that while the youthful reader is charmed by the narrative, he also
+gains valuable information with regard to those far-off places famed in
+story and song.--_Boston Olive Branch._
+
+A correspondent of the New York _National Magazine_ says;--"The volumes
+are beautifully illustrated, and written in the charming and instructive
+style of the author. We saw one of our New England governors, lately
+returned from a European tour, quite absorbed in the volume upon Paris,
+while travelling in a railway car, a short time since."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CUSHING'S MANUAL.
+
+Price 38 cents.
+
+NOTICES OF A NEW WORK ON PARLIAMENTARY RULES,
+
+By LUTHER S. CUSHING,
+
+TWELVE YEARS CLERK OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
+
+_From S. H. Walley, late Speaker of the Massachusetts House of
+Representatives._
+
+I have taken great pleasure in examining the pages of this work, and do
+not hesitate to express most fully my approbation of its plan and
+execution.
+
+On two or three questions of minor importance, I might come to different
+conclusions from the author;--but, inasmuch as he has devoted much time
+to a careful research into the subject of parliamentary rules and
+practice, I am free to admit, that I should feel great distrust in any
+opinions which I have held, even on these questions, where they differ
+from those expressed by Judge Cushing, without very careful
+reëxamination and study.
+
+This Manual is much needed. There is no work, in this country, which is
+adapted near as well, in my judgment, to assist those who are called
+upon to preside in public assemblies, to discharge their duties
+acceptably and profitably to the community.
+
+I sincerely hope and believe that this publication will receive the
+countenance and approbation to which it seems to me so justly entitled.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_From the Law Reporter, Edited by Peleg W. Chandler, Esq._
+
+Hon. Luther S. Cushing has prepared for the press a new Manual of
+Parliamentary Practice. Having examined the manuscript of this work with
+considerable care, we take occasion to say, that it will be a valuable
+accession to the libraries of those who are called upon to preside in
+deliberative assemblies; and we believe the necessity of such a work as
+this has been very generally felt in our country where almost every
+citizen is occasionally called upon to exercise the duties of a
+presiding officer. The work is founded upon the well-established rules
+and customs of the British Parliament, and Mr. Cushing divests himself
+of all local usages prevailing in different parts of this country;
+maintaining in the outset, that no assembly can ever be subject to any
+other rules than those which are of general application, or which it
+specially adopts for its own government; and denying explicitly that the
+rules adopted and practised upon by a legislative assembly thereby
+acquire the character of general laws.
+
+
+PUBLISHED BY
+
+BROWN, TAGGARD & CHASE,
+
+(SUCCESSORS TO W. J. REYNOLDS & CO.,)
+
+NO. 24 CORNHILL
+
+FOR SALE BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE COLUMBIAN GLEE BOOK.
+
+OR, MUSIC FOR THE MILLION.
+
+IN THREE PARTS.
+
+_Part I.--Comprising the largest number of choice Glees, Quartets,
+Trios, Songs, Opera Choruses, &c., ever before published in one
+Collection._
+
+_Part II.--Consisting of Sacred Anthems, Choruses, Quartets, &c., for
+Select Societies and Concerts._
+
+_Part III.--Containing most of the old popular Continental Psalm Tunes._
+
+Thus making the most complete collection, in all its features, ever
+before published.
+
+By I. B. WOODBURY, author of the "Dulcimer," "The Cythara," &c. &c.
+
+_Extract from the Preface._
+
+Here may be found Glees, Quartets, Trios and Songs, suited to every
+occasion. If merry, here are pieces that will add to merriment; if sad,
+harmonies that will soothe sadness. If longing for home fill the mind,
+the dear scenes that cluster there are painted in many a song. Requiems
+to the loved departed are also here. Indeed, almost every scene to which
+the chequered life of man is subject is here made the refrain of song.
+For the Sabbath eve, when
+
+  "Softly fades the twilight ray
+  Of the holy Sabbath day,"
+
+and when music is particularly acceptable, the old tunes our fathers
+sang may be found in Part III. Part II. is somewhat more elaborate, and
+adapted to Sacred Concerts. That the book may tend to make man happier
+and better is the sincere desire of the author.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE AMERICAN VOCALIST.
+
+A SELECTION OF TUNES, ANTHEMS, SENTENCES AND HYMNS,
+
+_Old and new. Designed for the Church, the Vestry, or the Parlor._
+
+Adapted to every variety of metre in common use, and appropriate to
+every occasion where God is worshipped and men are blessed. From the
+compositions of Billings, Holden, Maxim, Edson, Holyoke, Read, Kimball,
+Morgan, Wood, Swan, &c. &c., and eminent American authors now living, as
+well as from distinguished European composers. Embracing a greater
+variety of Music for Congregations, Societies, Singing Schools, and
+Choirs, than any other collection extant.
+
+IN THREE PARTS. BY REV. D. H. MANSFIELD.
+
+The publishers have received, _unsolicited_, the highest recommendations
+from gentlemen of musical education; and they respectfully call the
+attention of leaders of choirs and teachers of singing schools
+throughout New England, to this work, before purchasing their books for
+fall and winter schools. Nearly one hundred thousand copies have been
+sold since it was first published.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE CYTHARA.
+
+A NEW AND EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF SACRED MUSIC.
+
+Comprising PSALM AND HYMN TUNES, of every variety and metre, ANTHEMS,
+CHANTS, AN ORATORIO, SET PIECES, ETC.
+
+BY I. B. WOODBURY.
+
+Author of the "Dulcimer," of which more than 140,000 copies have been
+sold.
+
+Mr. Woodbury's long residence in Europe, and his intimate acquaintance
+with the music and musical people of every section of our country, their
+wants and predilections, have imparted to him advantages hardly
+vouchsafed to any other man. To these qualifications he brings the vigor
+and elasticity of early manhood, and, after years of untiring and
+energetic devotion to this one subject, he has produced a volume of
+Sacred Music, rich in melody, chaste and harmonious in composition,
+simple in arrangement, and thoroughly adapted to the wants of his own
+country.
+
+
+B. T. & C. have for sale _all the Music Books_ published. Traders,
+Teachers, and others supplied at the lowest cash price.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+COLBURN'S FIRST LESSONS. Intellectual Arithmetic, upon the Inductive
+Method of Instruction. By Warren Colburn.
+
+"Colburn's First Lessons, the only faultiest school book that we have,
+has made a great change in the mode of teaching Arithmetic, and is
+destined to make a still greater. It should be made the basis of
+instruction in this department."--_From the School and Schoolmaster._
+
+"Warren Colburn's First Lessons has had many imitators, but no
+equals."--_From the Massachusetts Common School Journal for April,
+1852._
+
+"I have always considered Colburn's First Lessons in Arithmetic the most
+valuable school book that has made its appearance in this country.
+Constant use of it for more than twelve years has entirely confirmed my
+opinion.--_George B. Emerson._
+
+"I have no hesitation in saying that this book is not only the best in
+this country, but, so far as my information extends, _the best in the
+world_."--_Thomas Sherwin, Esq., of the Boston High School._
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+WORCESTER'S HISTORY. Elements of History, Ancient and Modern. By J. E.
+WORCESTER, LL.D. A new edition, brought down to the Present Time, and
+printed from entirely new stereotype plates. 438 pp.
+
+Worcester's History has for many years occupied a high place among text
+books. The new edition, being printed from entirely new stereotype
+plates, is a great improvement upon former editions. Applicants for
+admission into the Freshman class at Harvard College are examined in
+this book.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+SMELLIE'S PHILOSOPHY. The Philosophy of Natural History. By WM. SMELLIE.
+With an Introduction and Addition by Dr. John Ware, of Cambridge, Mass.
+12mo, 360 pp.
+
+Smellie's Philosophy is a valuable book for High Schools and Academies,
+and is used extensively in every part of the country.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+NORTHEND'S BOOK KEEPING. The Common School Book Keeping; being a simple
+and practical system, by Single Entry. Designed for the use of Public
+Schools, and adapted to the wants of Mechanics, Farmers, and Retail
+Merchants; containing various forms of Notes, Receipts, Orders, Bills,
+and other useful matter; in two books, a Day-book and Ledger. By Charles
+Northend, author of "National Writing Book," "National Speaker," etc.
+
+In preparing this system the author has endeavored to make a plain,
+practical, and _economical_ work, suited to the wants of common schools
+and retail merchants in every department of business.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CUSHING'S MANUAL. Rules of Proceeding and Debate in Deliberative
+Assemblies. By Luther S. Cushing, for twelve years Clerk of
+Massachusetts House of Representatives.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+BENTLEY'S PICTORIAL PRIMER. For beginners. One of the most beautiful
+school books published.
+
+Copies of all the above book will be sent to school committees, for
+examination, on application.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+MY UNCLE TOBY'S LIBRARY,
+
+By FRANCIS FORRESTER, Esq.,
+
+Consists of TWELVE VOLUMES, elegantly bound, and Illustrated with
+upwards of SIXTY BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS.
+
+  1. _Arthur Ellerslie_, or The Brave Boy.
+  2. _Redbrook_, or Who'll buy my Watercresses?
+  3. _Minnie Brown_, or The Gentle Girl.
+  4. _Ralph Ratler_, or The Mischief Maker.
+  5. _Arthur's Temptation_, or The Lost Goblet.
+  6. _Aunt Amy_, or How Minnie Brown Learned to be a Sunbeam.
+  7. _The Runaway_, or Punishment of Pride.
+  8. _Fretful Lillia_, or The Girl who was compared to a Sting-nettle.
+  9. _Minnie's Pic-nic_, or a Day in the Woods.
+  10. _Cousin Nelly_, or The Pleasant Visit.
+  11. _Minnie's Playroom_, or how to Play Calisthenica.
+  12. _Arthur's Triumph_, or Goodness Rewarded.
+
+The books are so written that, while each number is a complete story in
+itself, there is, nevertheless, a connection between the whole series.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+In addition to their own publications, B. T. & C. are supplied with a
+large stock of School Books, Music Books, and Stationery, which they
+offer to purchasers _at lowest prices_.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Rollo in Holland, by Jacob Abbott
+
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Rollo In Holland, by Jacob Abbott.
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rollo in Holland, by Jacob Abbott
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Rollo in Holland
+
+Author: Jacob Abbott
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2007 [EBook #22972]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROLLO IN HOLLAND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D. Alexander, Janet Blenkinship and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<a name="frontis" id="frontis"></a>
+<img src="images/i003.jpg" width="600" height="370" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">ROLLO IN HOLLAND.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h1>ROLLO IN HOLLAND,<br /><br /></h1>
+
+<h4>BY<br /><br /></h4>
+
+<h2>JACOB ABBOTT.<br /><br /></h2>
+
+<p class="center">BOSTON: BROWN, TAGGARD &amp; CHASE,<br />
+
+<span class="smcap">Successors to</span> W. J. <span class="smcap">Reynolds &amp; Co</span>., 25 &amp; 29 CORNHILL.<br />
+
+1857.<br /><br />
+Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by<br />
+<span class="smcap">Jacob Abbott</span>,<br /><br />
+In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
+Massachusetts.<br /><br />
+STEREOTYPED AT THE<br />
+BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. Damrell &amp; Moore, Printers, Boston.</p>
+
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 386px;">
+<img src="images/i004.jpg" width="386" height="600" alt="" title="ROLLO&#39;S TOUR IN EUROPE." />
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS.</h2>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<div class='centered'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" width="75%" cellspacing="0" summary="CONTENTS">
+<tr><td align='right'>&nbsp;</td><th align='left'><span style="margin-left: 1em;">CHAPTER</span></th><th align='right'>PAGE</th></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>I.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Preparations</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_11'><b>11</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>II.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">A Bad Travelling Companion</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_26'><b>26</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>III.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Mail Steamer</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_44'><b>44</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IV.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Entering Holland</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_67'><b>67</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>V.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Walks about Rotterdam</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_86'><b>86</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VI.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Doing the Hague</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_109'><b>109</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VII.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Correspondence</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_138'><b>138</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>VIII.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Commissioner</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_160'><b>160</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>IX.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Great Canal</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_169'><b>169</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>X.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">The Dairy Village</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_186'><b>186</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='right'>XI.</td><td align='left'>&mdash;<span class="smcap">Conclusion</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_200'><b>200</b></a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<h2>ENGRAVINGS.</h2>
+
+
+<div class='centered'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="2" width="75%" cellspacing="0" summary="ENGRAVINGS">
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Rollo in Holland</span>.</td><td align='right'><a href='#frontis'><b>(Frontispiece.)</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">View in Holland</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_10'><b>10</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Hansom Cab</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_33'><b>33</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Landing from the Mail Boat</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_57'><b>57</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Dort</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_83'><b>83</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Ferry Boat</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_101'><b>101</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Dinner</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_124'><b>124</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Boat Family</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_154'><b>154</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Trekschuyt</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_181'><b>181</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Dairy Village</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_193'><b>193</b></a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">Cabin of Peter the Great</span>,</td><td align='right'><a href='#Page_204'><b>204</b></a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<p><br /><br /></p>
+<div class="centerbox bbox">
+
+<h4>ROLLO'S TOUR IN EUROPE.</h4>
+<p class="center">
+ORDER OF THE VOLUMES.<br />
+<br />
+ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.<br />
+ROLLO IN PARIS.<br />
+ROLLO IN SWITZERLAND.<br />
+ROLLO IN LONDON.<br />
+ROLLO ON THE RHINE.<br />
+ROLLO IN SCOTLAND.<br />
+ROLLO IN GENEVA.<br />
+ROLLO IN HOLLAND.<br />
+ROLLO IN NAPLES.<br />
+ROLLO IN ROME.
+</p></div>
+
+<p><br /><br /></p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i008.jpg" width="600" height="370" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">VIEW IN HOLLAND.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><br /><br /><a name="ROLLO_IN_HOLLAND" id="ROLLO_IN_HOLLAND"></a>ROLLO IN HOLLAND.<br /><br /></h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_I" id="Chapter_I"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter I.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Preparations</span>.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Holland is one of the most remarkable countries on the globe. The
+peculiarities which make it remarkable arise from the fact that it is
+almost perfectly level throughout, and it lies so low. A very large
+portion of it, in fact, lies below the level of the sea, the waters
+being kept out, as every body knows, by immense dikes that have stood
+for ages.</p>
+
+<p>These dikes are so immense, and they are so concealed by the houses, and
+trees, and mills, and even villages that cover and disguise them, that
+when the traveller first sees them he can hardly believe that they are
+dikes. Some of them are several hundred feet wide, and have a good broad
+public road upon the top, with a canal perhaps by the side of it, and
+avenues of trees, and road-side<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> inns, and immense wind mills on the
+other hand. When riding or walking along upon such a dike on one side,
+down a long slope, they have a glimpse of water between the trees. On
+the other, at an equal distance you see a green expanse of country, with
+gardens, orchards, fields of corn and grain, and scattered farm houses
+extending far and wide. At first you do not perceive that this beautiful
+country that you see spreading in every direction on one side of the
+road is below the level of the water that you see on the other side; but
+on a careful comparison you find that it is so. When the tide is high
+the difference is very great, and were it not for the dikes the people
+would be inundated.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+
+<p>Indeed, the dikes alone would not prevent the country from being
+inundated; for it is not possible to make them perfectly tight, and even
+if it were so, the soil beneath them is more or less pervious to water,
+and thus the water of the sea and of the rivers would slowly press its
+way through the lower strata, and oozing up into the land beyond, would
+soon make it all a swamp.</p>
+
+<p>Then, besides the interpercolation from the soil, there is the rain. In
+upland countries, the surplus water that falls in rain flows off in
+brooks and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> rivers to the sea; but in land that is below the level of
+the sea, there can be no natural flow of either brooks or rivers. The
+rain water, therefore, that falls on this low land would remain there
+stagnant, except the comparatively small portion of it that would be
+evaporated by the sun and wind.</p>
+
+<p>Thus you see, that if the people of Holland were to rely on the dikes
+alone to keep the land dry, the country would become in a very short
+time one immense morass.</p>
+
+<p>To prevent this result it is necessary to adopt some plan to raise the
+water, as fast as it accumulates in the low grounds, and convey it away.
+This is done by pumps and other such hydraulic engines, and these are
+worked in general by wind mills.</p>
+
+<p>They might be worked by steam engines; but steam engines are much more
+expensive than wind mills. It not only costs much more to make them, but
+the expense of working them from day to day is very great, on account of
+the fuel which they require. The necessary attendance on a steam engine,
+too, is very expensive. There must be engineers, with high pay, to watch
+the engine and to keep it always in order, and firemen to feed the
+fires, and ashmen to carry away the ashes and cinders. Whereas a wind
+mill takes care of itself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The wind makes the wind mills go, and the wind costs nothing. It is
+true, that the head of the mill must be changed from time to time, so as
+to present the sails always in proper direction to the wind. But even
+this is done by the wind itself. There is a contrivance by which the
+mill is made to turn itself so as to face always in the right direction
+towards the wind; and not only so, but the mill is sometimes so
+constructed that if the wind blows too hard, it takes in a part of the
+sails by its own spontaneous action, and thus diminishes the strain
+which might otherwise be injurious to the machinery.</p>
+
+<p>Now, since the advantages of wind mills are so great over steam engines,
+in respect especially to cheapness, perhaps you will ask why steam is
+employed at all to turn machinery, instead of always using the wind. The
+reason is, because the wind is so unsteady. Some days a wind mill will
+work, and some days it will lie still; and thus in regard to the time
+when it will do what is required of it, no reliance can be placed upon
+it. This is of very little consequence in the work of pumping up water
+from the sunken country in Holland; for, if for several days the mills
+should not do their work, no great harm would come of it, since the
+amount of water which would accumulate in that time would not do any
+harm. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span> ground might become more wet, and the canals and reservoirs
+get full,&mdash;just as brooks and rivers do on any upland country after a
+long rain. But then, after the calm was over and the wind began to blow
+again, the mills would all go industriously to work, and the surplus
+water would soon be pumped up, and discharged over the dikes into the
+sea again.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the irregularity in the action of the wind mills in doing such work
+as this, is of comparatively little consequence.</p>
+
+<p>But in the case of some other kinds of work,&mdash;as for example the driving
+of a cotton mill, or any other great manufactory in which a large number
+of persons are employed,&mdash;it would be of the greatest possible
+consequence; for when a calm time came, and the wind mill would not
+work, all the hands would be thrown out of employ. They might sometimes
+remain idle thus a number of days at a time, at a great expense to their
+employers, or else at a great loss to themselves. Sometimes, for
+example, there might be a fine breeze in the morning, and all the hands
+would go to the mill and begin their work. In an hour the breeze might
+entirely die away, and the spinners and weavers would all find their
+jennies and looms going slower and slower, and finally stopping
+altogether. And then, perhaps,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> two hours afterwards, when they had all
+given up the day's work and gone away to their respective homes, the
+breeze would spring up again, and the wind mill would go to work more
+industriously than ever.</p>
+
+<p>This would not answer at all for a cotton mill, but it does very well
+for pumping up water from a great reservoir into which drains and canals
+discharge themselves to keep a country dry.</p>
+
+<p>And this reminds me of one great advantage which the people of Holland
+enjoy on account of the low and level condition of their country; and
+that is, it is extremely easy to make canals there. There are not only
+no mountains or rocks in the way to impede the digging of them, but,
+what is perhaps a still more important advantage, there is no difficulty
+in filling them with water. In other countries, when a canal is to be
+made, the very first question is, How is it to be filled? For this
+purpose the engineer explores the whole country through which the canal
+is to pass, to find rivers and streams that he can turn into it, when
+the bed of it shall have been excavated; and sometimes he has to bring
+these supplies of water for a great distance in artificial channels,
+which often cross valleys by means of great aqueducts built up to hold
+them. Sometimes a brook<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> is in this way brought across a river,&mdash;the
+river itself not being high enough to feed the canal.</p>
+
+<p>The people of Holland have no such difficulties as these to encounter in
+their canals. The whole country being so nearly on a level with the sea,
+they have nothing to do, when they wish for a canal, but to extend it in
+some part to the sea shore, and then open a sluice way and let the water
+in.</p>
+
+<p>It is true that sometimes they have to provide means to prevent the
+ingress of too much water; but this is very easily done.</p>
+
+<p>It is thus so easy to make canals in Holland, that the people have been
+making them for hundreds of years, until now almost the whole country is
+intersected every where with canals, as other countries are with roads.
+Almost all the traffic, and, until lately, almost all the travel of the
+country, has been upon the canals. There are private canals, too, as
+well as public. A farmer brings home his hay and grain from his fields
+by water, and when he buys a new piece of land he makes a canal to it,
+as a Vermont farmer would make a road to a new pasture or wood lot that
+he had been buying.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo wished very much to see all these things&mdash;but there was one
+question which it puzzled him very much to decide, and that was whether<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>
+he would rather go to Holland in the summer or in the winter.</p>
+
+<p>"I am not certain," said he to his mother one day, "whether it would not
+be better for me to go in the winter."</p>
+
+<p>"It is very cold there in the winter," said his mother; "so I am told."</p>
+
+<p>"That is the very thing," said Rollo. "They have such excellent skating
+on the canals. I want to see the boats go on the canals, and I want to
+see the skating, and I don't know which I want to see most."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said his mother, "I recollect to have often seen pictures of
+skating on the Dutch canals."</p>
+
+<p>"And I read, when I was a boy," continued Rollo, "that the women skate
+to market in Holland."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo here observed that his mother was endeavoring to suppress a smile.
+She seemed to try very hard, but she could not succeed in keeping
+perfectly sober.</p>
+
+<p>"What are you laughing at, mother?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>Here Mrs. Holiday could no longer restrain herself, but laughed
+outright.</p>
+
+<p>"Is it about the Dutch women skating to market?" asked Rollo.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I think they must look quite funny, at any rate," said Mrs. Holiday.</p>
+
+<p>What Mrs. Holiday was really laughing at was to hear Rollo talk about
+"when he was a boy." But the fact was, that Rollo had now travelled
+about so much, and taken care of himself in so many exigencies, that he
+began to feel quite like a man. And indeed I do not think it at all
+surprising that he felt so.</p>
+
+<p>"Which would you do, mother," said Rollo, "if you were I? Would you
+rather go in the summer or in the winter?"</p>
+
+<p>"I would ask uncle George," said Mrs. Holiday.</p>
+
+<p>So Rollo went to find his uncle George.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo was at this time at Morley's Hotel, in London, and he expected to
+find his uncle George in what is called the coffee room. The coffee room
+in Morley's Hotel is a very pleasant place. It fronts on one side upon a
+very busy and brilliant street, and on another upon a large open square,
+adorned with monuments and fountains. On the side towards the square is
+a bay window, and near this bay window were two or three small tables,
+with gentlemen sitting at them, engaged in writing. There were other
+tables along the sides of the room and at the other windows, where
+gentlemen were taking breakfast. Mr.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> George was at one of the tables
+near the bay window, and was busy writing.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo went to the place, and standing by Mr. George's side, he said in
+an under tone,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Uncle George."</p>
+
+<p>Every body speaks in an under tone in an English coffee room. They do
+this in order not to interrupt the conversation, or the reading, or the
+writing of other gentlemen that may be in the room.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a moment," said Mr. George, "till I finish this letter."</p>
+
+<p>So Rollo turned to the bay window and looked out, in order to amuse
+himself with what he might observe in the street, till his uncle George
+should be ready to talk with him.</p>
+
+<p>He saw the fountains in the square, and a great many children playing
+about the basins. He saw a poor boy at a crossing brushing the pavement
+industriously with an old broom, and then holding out his hand to the
+people passing by, in hopes that some of them would give him a
+halfpenny. He saw a policeman walking slowly up and down on the
+sidewalk, wearing a glazed hat, and a uniform of blue broadcloth, with
+his letter and number embroidered on the collar. He saw an elegant
+carriage drive by, with a postilion riding upon one of the horses, and
+two footmen in very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> splendid liveries behind. There was a lady in the
+carriage, but she appeared old, and though she was splendidly dressed,
+her face was very plain.</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder," said Rollo to himself, "how much she would give of her
+riches and finery if she could be as young and as pretty as my cousin
+Lucy."</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, interrupting Rollo's reflections, "what
+is the question?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, I want to know," said Rollo, "whether you think we had better go
+to Holland in the winter or in the summer."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it left to you to decide?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no," said Rollo, "not exactly. But mother asked me to consider
+which I thought was best, and so I want to know your opinion."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Mr. George, "go on and argue the case. After I have
+heard it argued I will decide."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo then proceeded to explain to his uncle the advantages,
+respectively, of going in the summer and in the winter. After hearing
+him, Mr. George thought it would be decidedly better to go in the
+summer.</p>
+
+<p>"You see," said he, "that the only advantage of going in the winter is
+to see the skating.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> That is very important, I know. I should like to
+see the Dutch women skating to market myself, very much. But then, in
+the winter you could see very little of the canals, and the wind mills,
+and all the other hydraulic operations of the country. Every thing would
+be frozen up solid."</p>
+
+<p>"Father says that he can't go now very well," continued Rollo, "but that
+I may go with you if you would like to go."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George was just in the act of sealing his letter as Rollo spoke
+these words; but he paused in the operation, holding the stick of
+sealing wax in one hand and the letter in the other, as if he was
+reflecting on what Rollo had said.</p>
+
+<p>"If we only had some one else to go with us," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Should not we two be enough?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you see," said Mr. George, "when we get into Holland we shall not
+understand one word of the language."</p>
+
+<p>"What language do they speak?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Dutch," said Mr. George, "and I do not know any Dutch."</p>
+
+<p>"Not a word?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Mr. George, "not a word. Ah, yes! I know one word. I know
+that <i>dampschiff</i> means steamboat. <i>Damp</i>, I suppose, means steam."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Then Rollo laughed outright. Dampskiff, he said, was the funniest name
+for steamboat that he ever heard.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, when we don't know a word of the language," added Mr. George, "we
+cannot have any communication with the people of the country, but shall
+be confined entirely to each other. Now, do you think that you could get
+along with having nobody but me to talk to you for a whole fortnight?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, indeed!" said Rollo. "But then, uncle George," he continued, "how
+are you going to get along at the hotels without knowing how to speak to
+the people at all?"</p>
+
+<p>"By signs and gestures," said Mr. George, laughing. "Could not you make
+a sign for something to eat?"</p>
+
+<p>"O, yes," said Rollo; and he immediately began to make believe eat,
+moving his hands as if he had a knife and fork in them.</p>
+
+<p>"And what sign would you make for going to bed?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>Here Rollo laid his head down to one side, and placed his hand under it,
+as if it were a pillow, and then shut his eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"That is the sign for going to bed," said Rollo. "A deaf and dumb boy
+taught it to me."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish he had taught you some more signs,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> said Mr. George. "Or I wish
+we had a deaf and dumb boy here to go with us. Deaf and dumb people can
+get along excellently well where they do not understand the language,
+because they know how to make so many signs."</p>
+
+<p>"O, we can make up the signs as we go along," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George. "I don't think that we shall have any great
+difficulty about that. But then it would be pleasanter to go in a little
+larger party. Two people are apt to get tired of each other, when there
+is nobody else that they can speak a single word to for a whole
+fortnight. I don't think that I should get tired of you. What I am
+afraid of is, that you would get tired of me."</p>
+
+<p>There was a lurking smile on Mr. George's face as he said this.</p>
+
+<p>"O, uncle George!" said Rollo, "that is only your politeness. But then
+if you really think that we ought to have some more company, perhaps the
+Parkmans are going to Holland, and we might go with them."</p>
+
+<p>"I would not make a journey with the Parkmans," said Mr. George, "if
+they would pay all my expenses, and give me five sovereigns a day."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo; "I thought you liked Mr. Parkman
+very much."</p>
+
+<p>"So I do," said Mr. George. "It is his wife that I would not go with."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"O, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo again.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo was very much surprised at hearing this declaration; and it was
+very natural that he should be surprised, for Mrs. Parkman was a young
+and beautiful lady, and she was very kindhearted and very amiable in
+her disposition. Mr. Parkman, too, was very young. He had been one of
+Mr. George's college classmates. He had been married only a short time
+before he left America, and he was now making his bridal tour.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George thought that Mrs. Parkman was very beautiful and very
+intelligent, but he considered her a very uncomfortable travelling
+companion. I think he judged her somewhat too harshly. But this was one
+of Mr. George's faults. He did not like the ladies very much, and the
+faults which he observed in them, from time to time, he was prone to
+condemn much too harshly.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i023.jpg" width="600" height="334" alt="" title="chapter endpiece" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_II" id="Chapter_II"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter II.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">A Bad Travelling Companion.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>The reason why Mr. George did not like his friend Mr. Parkman's young
+wife was not because of any want of natural attractiveness in her
+person, or of amiableness in her disposition,&mdash;for she was beautiful,
+accomplished, and kindhearted. But for all this, from a want of
+consideration not uncommon among young ladies who are not much
+experienced in the world, she was a very uncomfortable travelling
+companion.</p>
+
+<p>It is the duty of a gentleman who has a lady under his charge, in making
+a journey, to consult her wishes, and to conform to them so far as it is
+possible, in determining where to go, and in making all the general
+arrangements of the journey. But when these points are decided upon,
+every thing in respect to the practical carrying into effect of the
+plans thus formed should be left to the gentleman, as the executive
+officer of the party; just as in respect to affairs relating to
+housekeeping, or any thing else relating to a lady's de<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>partment, the
+lady should be left free to act according to her own judgment and taste
+in arranging details, while in the general plans she conforms to the
+wishes of her husband. For a lady, when travelling, to be continually
+making suggestions and proposals about the baggage or the conveyances,
+and expressing dissatisfaction, or wish for changes in this, that, or
+the other, is as much a violation of propriety as it would be for the
+gentleman to go into the kitchen, and there propose petty changes in
+respect to the mode of cooking the dinner&mdash;or to stand by his wife at
+her work table, and wish to have her thread changed from this place to
+that&mdash;or to have some different stitch to be used in making a seam. A
+lady very naturally feels disturbed if she finds that her husband does
+not have confidence enough in her to trust her with such details.</p>
+
+<p>"I will make or mend for you whatever you may desire," she might say,
+"and I will get for your dinner any thing that you ask for; but in the
+way of doing it you ought to leave every thing to my direction. It is
+better to let me have my own way, even if your way is better than mine.
+For in matters of direction there ought always to be only one head, even
+if it is not a very good one."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And in the same manner a gentleman might say when travelling with a
+lady,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I will arrange the journey to suit your wishes as far as is
+practicable, and will go at such times and by such conveyances as you
+may desire. I will also, at all the places where we stop, take you to
+visit such objects of interest and curiosity as you wish to see. But
+then when it comes to the details of the arrangements to be made,&mdash;the
+orders to servants and commissioners, the determination of the times for
+setting out, and the bargains to be made with coachmen and
+innkeepers,&mdash;it is best to leave all those things to me; for it always
+makes confusion to have two persons give directions at the same time."</p>
+
+<p>To say this would be right in both cases,&mdash;there must always be <i>one</i> to
+command. A great many families are kept in continual confusion by there
+being two or more ladies who consider themselves more or less at the
+head of it&mdash;as, for instance, a wife and a sister, or two sisters and a
+mother. Napoleon used to say that <i>one</i> bad general was better than
+<i>two</i> good ones; so important is it in war to have unity of command. It
+is not much less important in social life.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Parkman did not understand this principle. Mr. George had seen an
+example of her mode of management a day or two before, in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> taking a walk
+with her and her husband in London. They were going to see the tunnel
+under the Thames, which was three or four miles down the river from
+Morley's Hotel, where they were all lodging.</p>
+
+<p>"Which way would you like to go?" asked Mr. Parkman.</p>
+
+<p>"Is there more than one way?" asked his wife.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. Parkman, "we can take a Hansom cab, and drive down
+through the streets, or we can walk down to the river side, and there
+take a boat. The boats are a great deal the cheapest, and the most
+amusing; but the cab will be the most easy and comfortable, and the most
+genteel. We shall have to walk nearly half a mile before we get to the
+landing of the boats."</p>
+
+<p>"Is there much difference in the price?" asked Mrs. Parkman.</p>
+
+<p>"Not enough to be of any consequence," replied her husband. "It will
+make a difference of about one and a half crown; for by the boats it
+would be only two or three pence, while by the cab it will be as many
+shillings. But that is of no consequence. We will go whichever way you
+think you would enjoy the most."</p>
+
+<p>"You may decide for me," said Mrs. Parkman. "I'll leave it entirely to
+you. It makes no difference to me."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Then, on the whole, I think we will try the boat," said Mr. Parkman;
+"it will be so much more amusing, and we shall see so much more of
+London life. Besides, we shall often read and hear about the steamers on
+the Thames when we return to America, and it will be well for us to have
+made one voyage in them. And, Mr. George, will you go with us?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>So they all left the hotel together, and commenced their walk towards
+the bridge where the nearest landing stage for the Thames boats lay.</p>
+
+<p>They had not gone but a very short distance before Mrs. Parkman began to
+hang rather heavily upon her husband's arm, and asked him whether it was
+much farther that they would have to walk.</p>
+
+<p>"O, yes," said Mr. Parkman. "I told you that we should have to walk
+about half a mile."</p>
+
+<p>"Then we shall get all tired out," said his wife, "and we want our
+strength for walking through the tunnel. It does not seem to be worth
+while to take all this trouble just to save half a crown."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Parkman, though he had only been married a little more than a month,
+felt something like a sense of indignation rising in his breast, that
+his wife should attribute to him such a motive for choosing the river,
+after what he had said<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> on the subject. But he suppressed the feeling,
+and only replied quietly,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"O, let us take a cab then, by all means. I hope you don't suppose that
+I was going to take you by the boat to save any money."</p>
+
+<p>"I thought you said that you would save half a crown," rejoined his
+wife.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. Parkman, "I did, it is true."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Parkman was too proud to defend himself from such an imputation,
+supported by such reasoning as this; so he only said, "We will go by a
+cab. We will take a cab at the next stand."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George instantly perceived that by this change in the plan, he was
+made one too many for the party, since only two can ride conveniently in
+a Hansom cab.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> So he said at once, that he would adhere to the
+original plan, and go by water.</p>
+
+
+
+<p>"But, first," said he, "I will go with you to the stand, and see you
+safe in a cab."</p>
+
+<p>So they turned into another street, and presently they came to a stand.
+There was a long row<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> of cabs there, of various kinds, all waiting to be
+employed. Among them were several Hansoms.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Parkman looked along the line to select one that had a good horse.
+The distance was considerable that they had to go, and besides Mr.
+Parkman knew that his wife liked always to go fast. So when he had
+selected the best looking horse, he made a signal to the driver. The
+driver immediately left the stand, and drove over to the sidewalk where
+Mr. Parkman and his party were waiting.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Parkman immediately opened the door of the cab to allow his wife to
+go in; but she, instead of entering, began to look scrutinizingly into
+it, and hung back.</p>
+
+<p>"Is this a nice cab?" said she. "It seems to me that I have seen nicer
+cabs than this.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us look," she added, "and see if there is not a better one
+somewhere along the line."</p>
+
+<p>The cabman, looking down from his exalted seat behind the vehicle, said
+that there was not a nicer cab than his in London.</p>
+
+<p>"O, of course," said Mrs. Parkman. "They always say that. But <i>I</i> can
+find a nicer one, I'm sure, somewhere in the line."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span></p>
+<p>So saying she began to move on. Mr. Parkman gave the cabman a silver
+sixpence&mdash;which is equal to a New York shilling&mdash;to compensate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> him
+for having been called off from his station, and then followed his wife
+across the street to the side where the cabs were standing. Mrs. Parkman
+led the way all down the line, examining each hack as she passed it; but
+she did not find any one that looked as well as the first.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i031.jpg" width="600" height="531" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE HANSOM CAB.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>"After all," said she, "we might as well go back and take the first
+one." So she turned and began to retrace her steps&mdash;the two gentlemen
+accompanying her. But when they got back they found that the one which
+Mr. Parkman had first selected was gone. It had been taken by another
+customer.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George was now entirely out of patience; but he controlled himself
+sufficiently to suppress all outward manifestation of it, only saying
+that he believed he would not wait any longer.</p>
+
+<p>"I will go down to the river," said he, "and take a boat, and when you
+get a carriage you can go by land. I will wait for you at the entrance
+to the tunnel."</p>
+
+<p>So he went away; and as soon as he turned the corner of the street he
+snapped his fingers and nodded his head with the air of a man who has
+just made a very lucky escape.</p>
+
+<p>"I thank my stars," said he to himself, "that I have not got such a lady
+as that to take care of. Handsome as she is, I would not have her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> for a
+travelling companion on any account whatever."</p>
+
+<p>It was from having witnessed several such exhibitions of character as
+this that Mr. George had expressed himself so strongly to Rollo on the
+subject of joining Mr. Parkman and his wife in making the tour of
+Holland.</p>
+
+<p>But notwithstanding Mr. George's determination that he would not travel
+in company with such a lady, it seemed to be decreed that he should do
+so, for he left London about a week after this to go to Holland with
+Rollo alone; and though he postponed setting out for several days, so as
+to allow Mr. and Mrs. Parkman time to get well under way before them, he
+happened to fall in with them several times in the course of the
+journey. The first time that he met with them was in crossing the
+Straits of Dover.</p>
+
+<p>There are several ways by which a person may go to Holland from London.
+The cheapest is to take a steamer, by which means you go down the
+Thames, and thence pass directly across the German Ocean to the coast of
+Holland. But that makes quite a little voyage by sea, during which
+almost all persons are subject to a very disagreeable kind of sickness,
+on account of the small size of the steamers, and the short tossing
+motion of the sea that almost always prevails in the waters that lie
+around Great Britain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>So Mr. George and Rollo, who neither of them liked to be seasick,
+determined to go another way. They concluded to go down by railway to
+Dover, and then to go to Calais across the strait, where the passage is
+the shortest. Mr. and Mrs. Parkman had set off several days before them,
+and Mr. George supposed that by this time they were far on their way
+towards Holland. But they had been delayed by Mrs. Parkman's desire to
+go to Brighton, which is a great watering place on the coast, not far
+from Dover. There Mr. and Mrs. Parkman had spent several days, and it so
+happened that in going from Brighton to Dover they met, at the junction,
+the train that was bringing Mr. George and Rollo down from London; and
+thus, though both parties were unconscious of the fact, they were
+travelling along towards Dover, after leaving the junction, in the same
+train, and when they stepped out of the carriages, upon the Dover
+platform, there they were all together.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Parkman and Mr. George were very glad to see each other; and while
+they were shaking hands with each other, and making mutual explanations,
+Mrs. Parkman went to the door of the station to see what sort of a place
+Dover was.</p>
+
+<p>She saw some long piers extending out into the water, and a great many
+ships and steamers lying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> near them. The town lay along the shore,
+surrounding an inner harbor enclosed by the walls of the piers. Behind
+the town were high cliffs, and an elevated plain above, on which a great
+number of tents were pitched. It was the encampment of an army. A little
+way along the shore a vast promontory was seen, crowned by an ancient
+and venerable looking castle, and terminated by a range of lofty and
+perpendicular cliffs of chalk towards the sea.</p>
+
+<p>"What a romantic place!" said Mrs. Parkman to herself. "It is just such
+a place as I like. I'll make William stay here to-day."</p>
+
+<p>Just then she heard her husband's voice calling to her.</p>
+
+<p>"Louise!"</p>
+
+<p>She turned and saw her husband beckoning to her. He was standing with
+Mr. George and Rollo near the luggage van, as they call it in England,
+while the railway porters were taking out the luggage.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Parkman walked towards the place.</p>
+
+<p>"They say, Louise," said Mr. Parkman, "that it is time for us to go on
+board the boat. She is going to sail immediately."</p>
+
+<p>"Ah! but, William," said Mrs. Parkman, "let us stay here a little while.
+Dover is such a romantic looking place."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Mr. Parkman, "we will stay if you like. Are you going
+to stay, Mr. George?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George; "Rollo and I were going to stay till this
+afternoon. There is a boat to cross at four o'clock."</p>
+
+<p>It was about eleven o'clock in the morning when this conversation
+occurred. The porter stood by all the time with Mr. Parkman's two trunks
+in his charge, waiting to have it decided when they were to go.</p>
+
+<p>"I should think, sir," said the porter, "that as you have a lady with
+you, you would find this boat better. This is a tidal steamer, but the
+four o'clock is the mail boat, and it will be pretty rough this
+afternoon. There is a breeze coming up."</p>
+
+<p>"O, never mind the breeze," said Mrs. Parkman. "We are used to it,
+porter. We've crossed the Atlantic."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Mr. Parkman, "we will wait until four o'clock."</p>
+
+<p>"Then I'll put the luggage in the luggage room," said the porter, "and
+take it to the boat at half past three. That's the way to the hotel," he
+added, pointing the way.</p>
+
+<p>There are several very nice hotels in Dover, but the one which the
+porter referred to is one of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> finest and most beautifully situated
+hotels in Europe. It is a large and handsome edifice, built in modern
+style, and it stands close to the railroad station, on a point of land
+overlooking the sea. The coffee room, which, unlike other English coffee
+rooms, is used by both ladies and gentlemen, is a very spacious and
+splendidly decorated apartment, with large windows on three sides of it,
+overlooking the sea and the neighboring coasts. Each sash of these
+windows is glazed with one single pane of plate glass, so that whether
+they are shut or open there is nothing to intercept the view. The room
+is furnished with a great number of tables, each large enough to
+accommodate parties of four or six, and all, except two or three in
+different parts of the room that are reserved for reading and writing,
+are covered with neat white table cloths, and other preparations more or
+less advanced for breakfasts or dinners that may have been ordered,
+while at almost all times of the day, a greater or less number of them
+are occupied by parties of tourists, their bags and baskets lying on the
+neighboring chairs.</p>
+
+<p>It was into this room, so occupied, that our travellers were ushered as
+they walked from the station into the hotel.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Parkman walked forward, and took her seat near a window. The
+gentlemen attended her.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What a magnificent view!" said she.</p>
+
+<p>The view was indeed magnificent. Across the water was to be seen the
+coast of France, lying like a low cloud close to the horizon. Ships, and
+steamers, and fish boats, and every other sort of craft were seen plying
+to and fro over the water,&mdash;some going out, others coming in. Through
+one of the windows in the end of the room, Mrs. Parkman could see the
+castle crowning its bold and lofty promontory, and the perpendicular
+cliffs of chalk, with the sea beating against the base of them below.
+Through the opposite window, which of course was at the other end of the
+room, the view extended down the coast for a great distance, showing
+point after point, and headland after headland, in dim perspective&mdash;with
+a long line of surf rolling incessantly upon the beach, which seemed, in
+that direction, interminable.</p>
+
+<p>After looking for some time at the view from the windows, Mrs. Parkman
+turned to observe the company in the room, and to watch the several
+parties of new comers as they successively entered. She wished to see if
+there were any young brides among them. While she was thus engaged, her
+husband selected a table that was vacant, and ordered breakfast. Mr.
+George and Rollo did the same at another table near.</p>
+
+<p>While Mr. George and Rollo were at the table<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> drinking their coffee, Mr.
+George asked Rollo what he supposed the porter meant by saying that the
+eleven o'clock boat was a tidal boat.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>I</i> know," said Rollo. "I read it in the guide book. The tidal steamers
+go at high tide, or nearly high tide, and if you go in them you embark
+from the pier on one side, and you land at the pier on the other. But
+the mail steamers go at a regular hour every day, and then when it
+happens to be low tide, they cannot get to the pier, and the passengers
+have to land in small boats. That is what the porter meant when he said
+that it would not be pleasant for a lady to go in the mail steamer. It
+is very unpleasant for ladies to be landed in small boats when the
+weather is rough."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't believe that Mrs. Parkman understood it," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Nor I either," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"I presume she thought," added Mr. George, "that when the porter spoke
+about the rough sea, he only referred to the motion of the steamer in
+going over."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo, "but what he really meant was, that it would be bad
+for her to get down from the steamer into the small boat at the landing.
+I am afraid that she will not like it, though I think that it will be
+real good fun."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Very likely it will be fun for <i>you</i>," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"I would a great deal rather go across in a mail steamer at low tide
+than in any other way," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i041.jpg" width="600" height="443" alt="" title="chapter endpiece" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_III" id="Chapter_III"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter III.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">The Mail Steamer</span>.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Rollo's explanation in respect to the mail steamer was correct. As has
+before been stated in some one or other of the volumes of this series,
+the northern coast of France is low, and the shore is shelving for
+almost the whole extent of it, and there are scarcely any good harbors.
+Immense sandy beaches extend along the coast, sloping so gradually
+outward, that when the tide goes down the sands are left bare for miles
+and miles towards the sea. The only way by which harbors can be made on
+such a shore is to find some place where a creek or small river flows
+into the sea, and then walling in the channel at the mouth of the creek,
+so as to prevent it being choked up by sand. In this way a passage is
+secured, by which, when the tide is high, pretty good sized vessels can
+get in; but, after all that they can do in such a case, they cannot make
+a harbor which can be entered at low tide. When the tide is out, nothing
+is left between the two piers, which form<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> the borders of the channel,
+but muddy flats, with a small, sluggish stream, scarcely deep enough to
+float a jolly boat, slowly meandering in the midst of them towards the
+sea.</p>
+
+<p>The harbor of California is such a harbor as this. Accordingly, in case
+a steamer arrives there when the tide is down, there is no other way but
+for her to anchor in the offing until it rises again; and the
+passengers, if they wish to go ashore, must clamber down the side of the
+vessel into a small boat, and be pulled ashore by the oarsmen. In smooth
+weather this is very easily done. But in rough weather, when both
+steamer and boat are pitching and tossing violently up and down upon the
+waves, it is <i>not</i> very easy or agreeable, especially for timid ladies.</p>
+
+<p>After finishing their breakfast, Mr. George and Rollo went out, and they
+rambled about the town until the time drew near for the sailing of the
+boat. Then they went to the station for the luggage, and having engaged
+a porter to take it to the boat, they followed him down to the pier till
+they came to the place where the boat was lying. After seeing the trunk
+put on board they went on board themselves. A short time afterwards Mr.
+and Mrs. Parkman came.</p>
+
+<p>The steamer, like all the others which ply between the coasts of France
+and England, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> quite small, and the passengers were very few. There
+were only four or five ladies, and not far from the same number of
+gentlemen. As the passage was only expected to occupy about two hours,
+the passengers did not go below, but arranged themselves on seats upon
+the deck&mdash;some along the sides of the deck by the bulwarks, and some
+near the centre, around a sort of house built over the passage way which
+led down into the cabin.</p>
+
+<p>Soon after Mr. and Mrs. Parkman came on board, Mr. Parkman said to his
+wife,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Louise, my dear, you will be less likely to be sick if you get
+some good place where you can take a reclining posture, and so remain
+pretty still until we get over."</p>
+
+<p>"O, I shall not be sick," said she. "I am not at all afraid."</p>
+
+<p>So she began walking about the deck with an unconcerned and careless
+air, as if she had been an old sailor.</p>
+
+<p>Pretty soon Mr. George saw two other ladies coming, with their husbands,
+over the plank. The countenances of these ladies were very pleasing, and
+there was a quiet gentleness in their air and manner which impressed Mr.
+George very strongly in their favor.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as they reached the deck, and while<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> their husbands were
+attending to the disposal of the luggage, they began to look for seats.</p>
+
+<p>"We will get into the most comfortable position we can," said one of
+them, "and keep still till we get nearly across."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said the other, "that will be the safest."</p>
+
+<p>So they chose good seats near the companion way, and sat down there, and
+their husbands brought them carpet bags to put their feet upon.</p>
+
+<p>In about fifteen minutes after this the steamer put off from the pier,
+and commenced her voyage. She very soon began to rise and fall over the
+waves, with a short, uneasy motion, which was very disagreeable. The
+passengers, however, all remained still in the places which they had
+severally chosen,&mdash;some reading, others lying quiet with their eyes
+closed, as if they were trying to go to sleep.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Parkman himself tried to do this, but his wife would not leave him
+in peace. She came to him continually to inquire about this or that, or
+to ask him to look at some vessel that was coming in sight, or at some
+view on the shore. All this time the wind, and the consequent motion of
+the steamer, increased. Scudding clouds were seen flitting across the
+sky, from which there descended now and then misty showers of rain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>
+These clouds gradually became more frequent and more dense, until at
+length the whole eastern sky was involved in one dense mass of
+threatening vapor.</p>
+
+<p>It began to grow dark, too. The specified time for sailing was four
+o'clock; but there was a delay for the mails, and it was full half past
+four before the steamer had left the pier. And now, before she began to
+draw near the French coast, it was nearly half past six. At length the
+coast began slowly to appear. Its outline was dimly discerned among the
+misty clouds.</p>
+
+<p>Long before this time, however, Mrs. Parkman had become quite sick. She
+first began to feel dizzy, and then she turned pale, and finally she
+came and sat down by her husband, and leaned her head upon his shoulder.</p>
+
+<p>She had been sitting in this posture for nearly half an hour, when at
+length she seemed to feel better, and she raised her head again.</p>
+
+<p>"Are we not nearly there?" said she.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said her husband. "The lighthouse is right ahead, and the ends of
+the piers. In ten minutes more we shall be going in between them, and
+then all the trouble will be over."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo and Mr. George were at this time near the bows. They had gone
+there to look forward, in order to get as early a glimpse as possible
+of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> the boats that they knew were to be expected to come out from the
+pier as soon as the steamer should draw nigh.</p>
+
+<p>"Here they come!" said Rollo, at length.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George. "I see them."</p>
+
+<p>It was so nearly dark that the boats could not be seen distinctly.
+Indeed there was not much to be discerned but a black moving mass,
+slowly coming out from under the walls of the pier.</p>
+
+<p>The steamer had now nearly reached the ground where she was to anchor,
+and so the seamen on the forecastle took in the foresail, which had been
+spread during the voyage, and the helmsman put down the helm. The head
+of the steamer then slowly came round till it pointed in a direction
+parallel to the shore. This carried the boats and the pier somewhat out
+of view from the place where Mr. George and Rollo had been standing.</p>
+
+<p>"Now we can see them better aft," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George, "and they will board us aft too; so we had
+better be there ready."</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly Mr. George and Rollo went aft again, and approached the
+gangway on the side where they supposed the boats would come.</p>
+
+<p>In going there they passed round first on the other side of the entrance
+to the cabin, where the two ladies were sitting that have already been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
+described. As they went by one of the gentlemen came to them and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Keep up your courage a few minutes longer. We are very near the pier.
+In ten minutes we shall be in smooth water, and all will be over."</p>
+
+<p>The ladies seemed much relieved and rejoiced to hear this, and then the
+gentleman went with Mr. George and Rollo towards the gangway, in order
+that they might make further observations. He was joined there a moment
+afterwards by his companion. Now, these gentlemen, as it happened, knew
+nothing about the plan of landing in boats. They had made no particular
+inquiry at Dover in respect to the steamer that they had come in, but
+took it for granted that she would go into the harbor as usual, and land
+the passengers at the pier. Their attention had just been attracted to
+the singular movement of the steamer, when Rollo and Mr. George came up.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>What!</i>" said one of them, speaking with a tone of surprise, and
+looking about eagerly over the water. "We are coming to, Mr. Waldo. What
+can that mean?"</p>
+
+<p>Just then the little fleet of boats, six or seven in number, began to
+come into view from where the gentlemen stood. They were dimly seen at a
+distance, and looked like long, black animals, slowly advancing over the
+dark surface of the water, and struggling fearfully with the waves.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What boats can those be?" said Mr. Waldo, beginning to look a little
+alarmed.</p>
+
+<p>He was alarmed not for himself, but for his wife, who was very frail and
+delicate in health, and ill fitted to bear any unusual exposure.</p>
+
+<p>"I am sure I cannot imagine," replied the other.</p>
+
+<p>"It looks marvellously as if they were coming out for us," said Mr.
+Waldo.</p>
+
+<p>"Can it be possible, Mr. Albert, that we are to land in boats such a
+night as this?" continued he.</p>
+
+<p>"It looks like it," replied the other. "Yes, they are really coming
+here."</p>
+
+<p>The boats were now seen evidently advancing towards the steamer. They
+came on in a line, struggling fearfully with the waves.</p>
+
+<p>"They look like spectres of boats," said Mr. George to Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Albert now went round to the other side of the companion way, to the
+place where the two ladies were sitting.</p>
+
+<p>"Ladies," said he, "I am very sorry to say that we shall be obliged to
+land in boats."</p>
+
+<p>"In boats!" said the ladies, surprised.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. Albert, "the tide is out, and I suppose we cannot go
+into port. The steamer has come to, and the boats are coming
+alongside."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The ladies looked out over the dark and stormy water with an emotion of
+fear, but they did not say a word.</p>
+
+<p>"There is no help for it," continued the gentleman; "and you have
+nothing to do but to resign yourselves passively to whatever comes. If
+we had known that this steamer would not go into port, we would not have
+come in her; but now that we are here we must go through."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said the ladies. "Let us know when the boat for us is
+ready."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Albert then returned to the gangway, where Rollo and Mr. George were
+standing. The foremost boat had come alongside, and the seamen were
+throwing the mail bags into it. When the mails were all safely stowed in
+the boat, some of the passengers that stood near by were called upon to
+follow. Mr. George and Rollo, being near, were among those thus called
+upon.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait a moment," said Mr. George to Rollo, in a low tone. "Let a few of
+the others go first, that we may see how they manage it."</p>
+
+<p>It proved to be rather difficult to manage it; for both the steamer and
+the boat were rocking and tossing violently on the waves, and as their
+respective motions did not at all correspond, they thumped against each
+other continually, as the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> boat rose and fell up and down the side of
+the steamer in a fearful manner. It was dark too, and the wind was
+blowing fresh, which added to the frightfulness of the scene.</p>
+
+<p>A crowd of people stood about the gangway. Some of these people were
+passengers waiting to go down, and others, officers of the ship, to help
+them. The seamen in the boat below were all on the alert too, some
+employed in keeping the boat off from the side of the ship, in order to
+prevent her being stove or swamped, while others stood on each side of
+the place where the passengers were to descend, with uplifted arms,
+ready to seize and hold them when they came down.</p>
+
+<p>There was a little flight of steps hanging down the side of the steamer,
+with ropes on each side of it in lieu of a balustrade. The passenger who
+was to embark was directed to turn round and begin to go down these
+steps backward, and then, when the sea lifted the boat so that the
+seamen on board could seize hold of him, they all cried out
+vociferously, "<span class="smcap">Let go</span>!" and at the same moment a strong sailor grasped
+him around the waist, brought him down into the bottom of the boat in a
+very safe, though extremely unceremonious manner.</p>
+
+<p>After several gentlemen and one lady had thus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> been put into the boat,
+amid a great deal of calling and shouting, and many exclamations of
+surprise and terror, the officer at the gangway turned to Mr. George,
+saying,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Come, sir!"</p>
+
+<p>There was no time to stop to talk; so Mr. George stepped forward, saying
+to Rollo as he went, "Come right on directly after me;" and in a moment
+more he was seized by the man, and whirled down into the boat, he
+scarcely knew how. Immediately after he was in, there came some
+unusually heavy seas, and the steamer and the boat thumped together so
+violently that all the efforts of the seamen seemed to be required to
+keep them apart.</p>
+
+<p>"Push off!" said the officer.</p>
+
+<p>"Here, stop! I want to go first," exclaimed Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"No more in this boat," said the officer. "Push off!"</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind," said Rollo, calling out to Mr. George, "I'll come by and
+by."</p>
+
+<p>"All right," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>By this time the boat had got clear of the steamer, and she now began to
+move slowly onward, rising and falling on the waves, and struggling
+violently to make her way.</p>
+
+<p>"I am glad they did not let me go," said Rol<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>lo. "I would rather stay
+and see the rest go first."</p>
+
+<p>Another boat was now seen approaching, and Rollo stepped back a little
+to make way for the people that were to go in it, when he heard Mrs.
+Parkman's voice, in tones of great anxiety and terror, saying to her
+husband,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I cannot go ashore in a boat in that way, William. I cannot possibly,
+and I will not!"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Louise," said her husband, "what else can we do?"</p>
+
+<p>"I'll wait till the steamer goes into port, if I have to wait till
+midnight," replied Mrs. Parkman positively. "It is a shame! Such
+disgraceful management! Could not they find out how the tide would be
+here before they left Dover?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," replied Mr. Parkman. "Of course they knew perfectly well how the
+tide would be."</p>
+
+<p>"Then why did not they leave at such an hour as to make it right for
+landing here?"</p>
+
+<p>"There <i>are</i> boats every day," said Mr. Parkman, "which leave at the
+right time for that, and most passengers take them. But the mails must
+come across at regular hours, whether the tide serves or not, and boats
+must come to bring the mails, and they, of course, allow passengers to
+come in these boats too, if they choose. We surely cannot complain of
+that."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Then they ought to have told us how it was," said Mrs. Parkman. "I
+think it is a shameful deception, to bring us over in this way, and not
+let us know any thing about it."</p>
+
+<p>"But they did tell us," said Mr. Parkman. "Do not you recollect that the
+porter at the station told us that this was a mail boat, and that it
+would not be pleasant for a lady."</p>
+
+<p>"But I did not know," persisted Mrs. Parkman, "that he meant that we
+should have to land in this way. He did not tell us any thing about
+that."</p>
+
+<p>"He told us that it was a mail boat, and he meant by that to tell us
+that we could not land at the pier. It is true, we did not understand
+him fully, but that is because we come from a great distance, and do not
+understand the customs of the country. That is our misfortune. It was
+not the porter's fault."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think so at all," said Mrs. Parkman. "And you always take part
+against me in such things, and I think it is really unkind."</p>
+
+<p>All this conversation went on in an under tone; but though there was a
+great deal of noise and confusion on every side, Rollo could hear it
+all. While he was listening to it,&mdash;or rather while he was <i>hearing</i> it,
+for he took no pains to listen,&mdash;the gentleman who had been talking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>
+with Mr. Waldo, and whom the latter had called Mr. Albert, went round to
+the two ladies who were waiting to be called, and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Now, ladies, the boat is ready. Follow me. Say nothing, but do just as
+you are told, and all will go well."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i055.jpg" width="600" height="507" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LANDING FROM THE MAIL BOAT.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>So the ladies came one after the other in among the crowd that gathered
+around the gangway, and there, before they could bring their faculties
+at all to comprehend any thing distinctly amid<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> the bewildering
+confusion of the scene, they found their bags and shawls taken away from
+them, and they themselves turned round and gently forced to back down
+the steps of the ladder over the boiling surges, when, in a moment more,
+amid loud shouts of "<span class="smcap">Let go</span>!" they were seized by the sailors in the
+boat, and down they went, they knew not how, for a distance of many feet
+into the stern of the boat, where they suddenly found themselves seated,
+while the boat itself was rocking violently to and fro, and thumping
+against the side of the steamer in a frightful manner.</p>
+
+<p>The officer, who had charge of the debarkation on the deck of the
+steamer above, immediately called to Mrs. Parkman.</p>
+
+<p>"Come, madam!" said he.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said she, "I can't possibly go ashore in that way."</p>
+
+<p>"Then you will have to stay on board all night."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, I'd rather stay on board all night," said she.</p>
+
+<p>"And you will have to go back to Dover, madam," continued the officer,
+speaking in a very stern and hurried manner, "for the steamer is not
+going into the pier at all."</p>
+
+<p>Then immediately turning to Rollo, he said, "Come, young man!"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>So Rollo marched up to the gangway, and was in a moment whirled down
+into the boat, as the others had been. Immediately afterwards the boat
+pushed off, and the sailors began to row, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Parkman
+on board the steamer. How they were to get to the shore Rollo did not
+know.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo began to look about over the water. It had become almost entirely
+dark, and though the moon, which was full, had, as it happened, broken
+out through the clouds a short time before, when they were getting into
+the boats, she had now become obscured again, and every thing seemed
+enveloped in deep gloom. Still Rollo could see at a short distance
+before him the other boats slowly making their way over the wild and
+stormy water. He could also see the ends of the piers dimly defined in
+the misty air, and the tall lighthouse beyond, with a bright light
+burning in the lantern at the top of it.</p>
+
+<p>"We shall only be a few minutes, now," said one of the gentlemen. "It is
+not far to the piers."</p>
+
+<p>The boat went on, pitching and tossing over the waves, with her head
+towards the piers. The pilot who steered the boat called out continually
+to the oarsmen, and the oarsmen shouted back to him; but nobody could
+understand such sailor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> language as they used. At length, on looking
+forward again, Rollo saw that the boats before him, instead of going on
+in a line towards the land, were slowly scattering in all directions,
+and that their own boat, instead of heading towards the pier as at
+first, gradually turned round, and seemed to be going along in a
+direction parallel to the coast, as the steamer had done.</p>
+
+<p>"What!" exclaimed Mr. Albert, on observing this, "we are not going
+towards the piers. Where can we be going?"</p>
+
+<p>The other gentleman shook his head, and said he did not know.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies remained quietly in their places. There was evidently nothing
+for them to do, and so they concluded, very sensibly, to do nothing.</p>
+
+<p>The boat slowly turned her head round, all the time pitching and tossing
+violently on the billows, until finally she was directed almost towards
+the steamer again.</p>
+
+<p>"What can be the matter?" asked one of the gentlemen, addressing the
+other. "We are not heading towards the shore." Then turning towards the
+pilot, he said to him,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"What is the matter? Why cannot we go in?"</p>
+
+<p>The pilot, who spoke English very imperfectly, answered, "It is a bar.
+The water is not enough."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"There is a bar," said the gentleman, "outside the entrance to the
+harbor, and the water is not deep enough even for these boats to go
+over. We can see it."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo and the others looked in the direction where the gentleman
+pointed, and he could see a long, white line formed by the breakers on
+the bar, extending each way as far as the eye could reach along the
+shore. Beyond were to be dimly seen the heads of the piers, and a low
+line of the coast on either hand, with the lighthouse beyond, towering
+high into the air, and a bright and steady light beaming from the summit
+of it.</p>
+
+<p>"I hope the tide is not going <i>down</i>," said the gentleman, "for in that
+case we may have to wait here half the night."</p>
+
+<p>"Is the tide going down, or coming up?" he said, turning again to the
+pilot.</p>
+
+<p>"It will come up. The tide will come up," answered the pilot.</p>
+
+<p>"What does he say?" asked one of the ladies in a whisper.</p>
+
+<p>"He says that the tide will come up," replied the gentleman. "Whether he
+means it is coming up now, or that it will come up some time or other, I
+do not know. We have nothing to do but to remain quiet, and await the
+result."</p>
+
+<p>The clouds had been for some time growing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> darker and darker, and now it
+began to rain. So the gentlemen took out their umbrellas and spread
+them, and the party huddled together in the bottom of the boat, and
+sheltered themselves there as well as they could from the wind and rain.
+They invited Rollo to come under the umbrellas too, but he said that the
+rain would not hurt his cap, and he preferred to sit where he could look
+out and see what they would do.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said one of the gentlemen. "Tell us, from time to time, how
+we get along."</p>
+
+<p>So Rollo watched the man&oelig;uvring of the boat, and reported, from time
+to time, the progress that she was making. It was not very easy for him
+to make himself heard, on account of the noise of the winds and waves,
+and the continual vociferations of the pilot and the seamen.</p>
+
+<p>"We are headed now," said he, "right away from the shore. We are pointed
+towards the steamer. I can just see her, working up and down in the
+offing.</p>
+
+<p>"Now the men are backing water," he continued. "We are going stern
+foremost towards the bar. I believe they are going to try to back her
+over."</p>
+
+<p>The boat now rapidly approached the line of breakers, moving stern
+foremost. The roar of the surf sounded nearer and nearer. At length<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span> the
+ladies and gentlemen under the umbrellas looked out, and they saw
+themselves in the midst of rolling billows of foam, on which the boat
+rose and fell like a bubble. Presently they could feel her thump upon
+the bottom. The next wave lifted her up and carried her towards the
+shore, and then subsiding, brought her down again with another thump
+upon the sand. The pilot shouted out new orders to the seamen. They
+immediately began to pull forward with their oars. He had found that the
+water was yet too shallow on the bar, and that it would be impossible to
+pass over. So the sailors were pulling the boat out to sea again.</p>
+
+<p>The ladies were, of course, somewhat alarmed while the boat was thumping
+on the bar, and the boiling surges were roaring so frightfully around
+them; but they said nothing. They knew that they had nothing to do, and
+so they remained quiet.</p>
+
+<p>"We are clear of the bar, now," said Rollo, continuing his report. "I
+can see the breakers in a long line before us, but we are clear of them.
+Now the sailors are getting out the anchor. I can see a number of the
+other boats that are at anchor already."</p>
+
+<p>The anchor, or rather the grapnel which served as an anchor, was now
+thrown overboard, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> the boat came to, head to the wind. There she
+lay, pitching and tossing very uneasily on the sea. The other boats were
+seen lying in similar situations at different distances. One was very
+near; so near, that instead of anchoring herself, the seamen threw a
+rope from her on board the boat where Rollo was, and so held on by her,
+instead of anchoring herself. In this situation the whole fleet of boats
+remained for nearly an hour. Rollo kept a good lookout all the time,
+watching for the first indications of any attempt to move.</p>
+
+<p>At length he heard a fresh command given by the pilot, in language that
+he could not understand; but the sailors at the bows immediately began
+to take in the anchor.</p>
+
+<p>"They are raising the anchor," said he. "Now we are going to try it
+again. There is one boat gone already. She is just coming to the bar.
+She is now just in the breakers. I can see the white foam all around
+her. She is going in. Now she is over. I can see the whole line of foam
+this side of her. Our boat will be there very soon."</p>
+
+<p>In a very few minutes more the boat entered the surf, and soon began to
+thump as before at every rise and fall of the seas. But as each
+successive wave came up, she was lifted and carried<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> farther over the
+bar, and at last came to deep water on the other side.</p>
+
+<p>"It is all over now," said one of the gentlemen, "and, besides, it has
+stopped raining." So he rose from his place and shut the umbrella. The
+ladies looked around, and to their great joy saw that they were just
+entering between the ends of the piers. The passage way was not very
+wide, and the piers rose like high walls on each side of it; but the
+water was calm and smooth within, and the boats glided along one after
+another in a row, in a very calm and peaceful manner. At length they
+reached the landing stairs, which were built curiously within the pier,
+among the piles and timbers, and there they all safely disembarked.</p>
+
+<p>On reaching the top of the stairs, Rollo found Mr. George waiting for
+him.</p>
+
+<p>"Uncle George," said Rollo, "here I am."</p>
+
+<p>"Have you had a good time?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo, "excellent."</p>
+
+<p>"And what became of Mr. and Mrs. Parkman?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Rollo; "I left them on board the steamer. She
+declared that she would not come in a small boat."</p>
+
+<p>"You and I," said Mr. George, "will go off<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> to-morrow morning by the
+first train, and go straight to Holland as fast as we can, so as to get
+out of their way."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Rollo. "Though I don't care much about it either way."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George, however, carried his plan into effect. The next day they
+went to Antwerp; and on the day following they crossed the Belgian
+frontier, and entered Holland.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i064.jpg" width="600" height="467" alt="" title="chapter endpiece" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_IV" id="Chapter_IV"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter IV.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Entering Holland</span>.</h3>
+
+
+<p>Rollo and Mr. George went into Holland by the railway. It was a long
+time before Rollo learned that in travelling from one European country
+to another, he was not to expect any visible line of demarcation to show
+the frontier. Boys at school, in studying the shape and conformation of
+different countries on the map, and seeing them marked by distinct
+colored boundaries, are very apt to imagine that they will see
+something, when travelling from one country to another, to show them by
+visible signs when they pass the frontier.</p>
+
+<p>But there is nothing of the kind. The green fields, the groves, the
+farmhouse, the succession of villages continues unchanged as you travel,
+so that, as you whirl along in the railway carriage, there is nothing to
+warn you of the change, except the custom house stations, where the
+passports of travellers are called for, and the baggage is examined.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Uncle George," said Rollo, after looking out of the window at a place
+where the train stopped, twenty or thirty miles from Antwerp, "I think
+we are coming to the frontier."</p>
+
+<p>"Why so?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Because the Belgian custom house is at this station, and the next will
+be the Dutch custom house."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo knew that this was the Belgian custom house by seeing the word
+<span class="smcap">Douane</span> over one of the doors of the station, and under it the words
+<span class="smcap">Visite Des Bagages</span>, which means <i>examination of baggage</i>. There were
+besides a great many soldiers standing about, which was another
+indication.</p>
+
+<p>"How do you know that it is the Belgian custom house?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Because all these soldiers are in the Belgian uniform," said he. "I
+know the Belgian uniform. I don't know the Dutch uniform, but I suppose
+I shall see it at the next station."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo was perfectly right in his calculations. The last station on the
+line of the railway in Belgium was the frontier station for Belgium, and
+here travellers, coming from Holland, were called upon to show their
+passports, and to have their baggage examined. In the same manner the
+first station beyond, which was the first one in Hol<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>land, was the
+frontier station for that country, and there passengers going from
+Belgium into Holland were stopped and examined in the same way.</p>
+
+<p>After going on a few miles from the Belgium station, the whistle blew
+and the train began to stop.</p>
+
+<p>"Here we are!" said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George; "and now comes the time of trial for the musical
+box."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo had bought a musical box at Antwerp, and he had some fears lest he
+might be obliged to pay a duty upon it, in going into Holland. Mr.
+George had told him that he thought there was some danger, but Rollo
+concluded that he would take the risk.</p>
+
+<p>"They have no business to make me pay duty upon it," said he to Mr.
+George.</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Because it is not for merchandise," said Rollo. "It is not for sale. I
+have bought it for my own use alone."</p>
+
+<p>"That has nothing to do with it," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes it has, a great deal to do with it," replied Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>There might have been quite a spirited discussion between Mr. George and
+Rollo, on this old<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> and knotty question, over which tourists in Europe
+are continually stumbling, had not the train stopped. The moment that
+the motion ceased, the doors of all the carriages were opened, and a man
+passed along the line calling out in French,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Gentlemen and ladies will all descend here, for the examination of
+passports and baggage."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George and Rollo had no baggage, except a valise which they carried
+with them in the carriage. Mr. George took this valise up and stepped
+down upon the platform.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "if they find your musical box and charge
+duty upon it, pay it like a man."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo, "I will."</p>
+
+<p>"And don't get up a quarrel with the custom house officer on the
+subject," continued Mr. George, "for he has the whole military force of
+the kingdom of Holland at his command, and what he says is to be done,
+in this territory, must be done."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, Mr. George, valise in hand, followed the crowd of passengers
+through a door, over which was inscribed the Dutch word for baggage. In
+the centre of this room there was a sort of low counter, enclosing a
+sort of oblong square. Within the square were a number of custom house
+officers, ready to examine the baggage<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> which the porters and the
+passengers were bringing in, and laying upon the counter, all around the
+four sides of the square.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George brought up his valise, and placed it on the counter. A custom
+house officer, who had just examined and marked some other parcels,
+turned to Mr. George's just as he had unlocked and opened it.</p>
+
+<p>"Have you any thing to declare?" said the officer.</p>
+
+<p>"Nothing, sir," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>The officer immediately shut the valise, and marked it on the back with
+a piece of chalk, and Mr. George locked it and took it away.</p>
+
+<p>"Are you through?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George then took the valise and followed a crowd of passengers, who
+were going through a door at the end of the room opposite to where they
+came in. There was an officer in uniform on each side of this door.
+These officers examined every bag, valise, or parcel that the passengers
+had in their hands, to see if they had been marked by the examiners, and
+as fast as they found that they were marked, they let them pass.</p>
+
+<p>Following this company, Mr. George and Rollo came soon to another small
+room, where a man was sitting behind a desk, examining the passports<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> of
+the passengers and stamping them. Mr. George waited a moment until it
+came his turn, and then handed his passport too. The officer looked at
+it, and then stamped an impression from a sort of seal on one corner of
+it. He also wrote Mr. George's and Rollo's name in a big book, copying
+them for this purpose from the passport.</p>
+
+<p>He then handed the passport back again, and Mr. George and Rollo went
+out, passing by a soldier who guarded the door. They found themselves
+now on the railway platform.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," said Rollo, "I suppose that we may go and take our seats again."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George. "We are fairly entered within the dominions of
+his majesty the king of Holland."</p>
+
+<p>"And no duty to pay on my music box," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo took a seat by a window where he could look out as the train went
+on, and see, as he said, how Holland looked. The country was one immense
+and boundless plain, and there were no fences or other close enclosures
+of any kind. And yet the face of it was so endlessly varied with rows of
+trees, groves, farm houses, gardens, wind mills, roads, and other
+elements of rural scenery, that Rollo found it extremely beautiful. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>
+fields were very green where grass was growing, and the foliage of the
+trees, and of the little ornamental hedges that were seen here and there
+adorning the grounds of the farm houses, was very rich and full. As
+Rollo looked out at the window, a continued succession of the most
+bright and beautiful pictures passed rapidly before his eyes, like those
+of a gayly painted panorama, and they all called forth from him
+continually repeated exclamations of delight. Mr. George sat at his
+window enjoying the scene perhaps quite as much as Rollo did, though he
+was much less ardent in expressing his admiration.</p>
+
+<p>"See these roads, uncle George," said Rollo; "they run along on the tops
+of the embankment like railroads. Are those dikes?"</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Mr. George. "The dikes are built along the margin of the sea,
+and along the banks of rivers and canals, to take the water out. These
+are embankments for the roads, to raise them up and keep them dry."</p>
+
+<p>There were rows of trees on the sides of these raised roads, which
+formed beautiful avenues to shelter the carriage way from the sun. These
+avenues could sometimes be seen stretching for miles across the country.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, pretty soon," said Rollo, "we shall come to the water, and then we
+shall take a steamboat."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Then we do not go all the way by the train," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Rollo. "The railroad stops at a place called Moerdyk, and
+there we take a steamer and go along some of the rivers.</p>
+
+<p>"But I can't find out by the map exactly how we are to go," he
+continued, "because there are so many rivers."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo had found, by the map, that the country all about Rotterdam was
+intersected by a complete network of creeks and rivers. This system was
+connected on the land side with the waters of the Rhine, by the immense
+multitude of branches into which that river divides itself towards its
+mouth, and on the other side by innumerable creeks and inlets coming in
+from the sea. This network of channels is so extensive, and the water in
+the various branches of it is so deep, that ships and steamers can go at
+will all about the country. It would be as difficult to make a railroad
+over such a tract of mingled land and water as this, as it is easy to
+navigate a steamer through it; and, accordingly, the owners of the line
+had made arrangements for stopping the trains at Moerdyk, and then
+transferring the passengers to a steamer.</p>
+
+<p>"I have great curiosity," said Rollo, "to see whether, when we come to
+the water, we shall go <i>up</i> to it, instead of <i>down</i> to it."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Do you think that we shall go up to it?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," replied Rollo. "We do in some parts of Holland. In some
+places, according to what the guide book says, the land is twenty or
+thirty feet below the level of the water, and so when you come to the
+shore you go <i>up an embankment</i>, and there you find the water on the
+other side, nearly at the top of it."</p>
+
+<p>When at length the train stopped at Moerdyk, the conductor called out
+from the platform that all the passengers would descend from the
+carriages to embark on board the steamer. Rollo was too much interested
+in making the change, and in hurrying Mr. George along so as to get a
+good seat in the steamer, to make any observation on the comparative
+level of the land and water. There was quite a little crowd of
+passengers to go on board; and as they walked along the pier towards the
+place where the steamer was lying, all loaded with as many bags, cloaks,
+umbrellas, or parcels of some sort, as they could carry, Rollo and Mr.
+George pressed on before them, Rollo leading the way. The steamer was a
+long and narrow boat, painted black, in the English fashion. There was
+no awning over the deck, and most of the passengers went below.</p>
+
+<p>"I don't see what they are all going below<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> for," said Rollo. "I should
+think that they would wish to stay on deck and see the scenery."</p>
+
+<p>So Rollo chose a seat by the side of a small porch which was built upon
+the deck over the entrance to the cabin, and sat down immediately upon
+it, making room for Mr. George by his side. There was a little table
+before him, and he laid down his guide book and his great coat upon it.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," said he, "this is good. We have got an excellent seat, and we
+will have a first rate time looking at Holland as we go along."</p>
+
+<p>Just then a young man, dressed in a suit of gray, and with a spy glass
+hanging at his side, suspended by a strap from his shoulder, and with a
+young and pretty, but rather disdainful looking lady on his arm, came
+by.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Emily," said he, "which would you prefer, to sit here upon the
+deck or go below?"</p>
+
+<p>"O George," said she, "let us go below. There's nothing to be seen on
+the deck. The country is every where flat and uninteresting."</p>
+
+<p>"We might see the shores as we go along," suggested her husband.</p>
+
+<p>"O, there's nothing to be seen along the shores," said she; "nothing but
+bulrushes and willows. We had better go below."</p>
+
+<p>So Emily led George below.</p>
+
+<p>"Rollo," said Mr. George, "if you would like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> to take a bet, I will bet
+you the prettiest Dutch toy that you can find in Amsterdam, that that is
+another Mrs. Parkman."</p>
+
+<p>"I think it very likely she is," said Rollo. "But, uncle George, what do
+you think they have got down below? I've a great mind to go down and
+see."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"And will you keep my place while I am gone?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George, "or you can put your cap in it to keep it."</p>
+
+<p>So Rollo put his cap in his seat, and went down below. In a few minutes
+he returned, saying that there was a pretty little cabin down there,
+with small tables set out along the sides of it, and different parties
+of people getting ready for breakfast.</p>
+
+<p>"It is rather late for breakfast," said Mr. George. "It is after twelve
+o'clock."</p>
+
+<p>"Then perhaps they call it luncheon," said Rollo. "But I'd rather stay
+on deck. We might have something to eat here. Don't you think we could
+have it on this table?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," replied Mr. George, "that is what the table is put here for."</p>
+
+<p>"Well!" said Rollo, his eye brightening up at the idea.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"We can have it here, or we can wait and have it at the hotel in
+Rotterdam," said Mr. George. "You may decide. I'll do just as you say."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo finally concluded to wait till they arrived at Rotterdam, and then
+to have a good dinner all by themselves at some table by a window in the
+hotel, and in the mean time to devote himself, while on board the
+steamer, to observing the shores of the river, or arm of the sea,
+whichever it might be, on which they were sailing.</p>
+
+<p>The steamer had before this time set sail from the pier, and after
+backing out of a little sort of creek or branch where it had been
+moored, it entered a broad channel of deep water, and began rapidly to
+move along. The day was pleasant, and though the air was cool, Rollo and
+Mr. George were so well sheltered by the little porch by the side of
+which they were sitting, that they were very comfortable in all
+respects.</p>
+
+<p>Before long the channel of water in which the steamer was sailing became
+more narrow, and the steamer passed nearer a bank, which Rollo soon
+perceived was formed by a dike.</p>
+
+<p>"See, see! uncle George," said he. "There are the roofs of the houses
+over on the other side of the dike. We can just see the tops of them.
+The ground that the houses stand upon must be a great deal below the
+water."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George, "and see, there are the tops of the tall trees."</p>
+
+<p>The dike was very regular in its form, and it was ornamented with two
+rows of trees along the top of it. There were seats here and there under
+the trees, and some of these seats had people sitting upon them, looking
+at the passing boats and steamers. The water was full of vessels of all
+kinds, coming and going, or lying at anchor. These vessels were all of
+very peculiar forms, being built in the Dutch style, and not painted,
+but only varnished, so as to show beautifully the natural color of the
+wood of which they were made. They had what Rollo called <i>fins</i> on each
+side, which were made to be taken up or let down into the water, first
+on one side and then on the other, as the vessel was on different tacks
+in beating against the wind.</p>
+
+<p>Opposite to every place where there was a house over beyond the dike,
+there was a line of steps coming down the face of the dike on the hither
+side, towards the water, with a little pier, and a boat fastened to it,
+below. These little flights of steps, with the piers and the boats, and
+the seats under the trees on the top of the dike, and the roofs of the
+houses, and the tops of the trees beyond, all looked extremely pretty,
+and presented a succession of very peculiar and very charm<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>ing scenes to
+Mr. George and Rollo as the steamer glided rapidly along the shore.</p>
+
+<p>In some places the dike seemed to widen, so as to make room for houses
+upon the top of it. There were snug little taverns, where the captains
+and crews of the vessels that were sailing by could stop and refresh
+themselves, when wind or tide bound in their vessels, and now and then a
+shop or store of some kind, or a row of pretty, though very
+queer-looking, cottages. At one place there was a ferry landing. The
+ferry house, together with the various buildings appertaining to it, was
+on the top of the dike, and a large pier, with a snug and pretty basin
+by the side of it, below. There was a flight of stairs leading up from
+the pier to the ferry house, and also a winding road for carriages. At
+the time that the steamer went by this place, the ferry boat was just
+coming in with a carriage on board of it.</p>
+
+<p>There were a great many wind mills here and there along the dike. Some
+were for pumping up water, some for sawing logs, and some for grinding
+grain. These wind mills were very large and exceedingly picturesque in
+their forms, and in the manner in which they were grouped with the other
+buildings connected with them. Rollo wished very much that he could stop
+and go on shore and visit some of these wind mills, so as to see how
+they looked inside.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At length the vessels and ships seemed to increase in numbers, and Mr.
+George said that he thought that they must be approaching a town. Rollo
+looked upon the map and found that there was a large town named Dort,
+laid down on the shores of the river or branch on which they were
+sailing.</p>
+
+<p>"It is on the other side," said he. "Let us go and see."</p>
+
+<p>So they both rose from their seats and went round to the other side of
+the boat, and there, there suddenly burst upon their view such a maze of
+masts, spires, roofs, and wind mills, all mingled together in
+promiscuous confusion, as was wonderful to behold. In the centre of the
+whole rose one enormous square tower, which seemed to belong to a
+cathedral.</p>
+
+<p>This was Dort, or Dordrecht, as it is often called.</p>
+
+<p>As the steamer glided rapidly along the shores, and Mr. George and Rollo
+attempted to look into the town, they saw not streets, but canals.
+Indeed, the whole place seemed just level with the surface of the water,
+and far in the interior of it the masts of ships and the roofs of the
+houses were mingled together in nearly equal proportion.</p>
+
+<p>The steamer threaded its way among the fleets<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> of boats and shipping
+that lay off the town, and at length came to a stop at a pier. The
+passengers destined for this place began to disembark. Mr. George and
+Rollo stood together on the deck, looking at the buildings which lined
+the quay, and wondering at the quaint and queer forms which every thing
+that they saw assumed.</p>
+
+<p>"I should really like to go ashore here," said Mr. George, "and see what
+sort of a place it is."</p>
+
+<p>"Let us do it, uncle George!" said Rollo, eagerly. "Let us do it!"</p>
+
+<p>"Only we have paid to Rotterdam," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind," said Rollo. "It will not make much difference."</p>
+
+<p>But before Mr. George could make up his mind to go on shore, the
+exchange of passengers was effected, and the plank was pulled in, the
+ropes were cast off, and the steamer once more began to move swiftly
+along over the water.</p>
+
+<p>"It is too late," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George, "and on the whole it is better for us to go on."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In about an hour more the steamer began to draw near to Rotterdam. The
+approach to the town was indicated by the multitude of boats and vessels
+that were passing to and fro, and by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span> the numbers of steamers and wind
+mills that lined respectively the margins of the water and of the land.
+The wind mills were prodigious in size. They towered high into the air
+like so many lighthouses; the tops of the sails, as Mr. George
+estimated, reached, as the vanes revolved, up to not less than one
+hundred and fifty or two hundred feet into the air. It was necessary to
+build them high, in order that the sails might not be becalmed by the
+houses.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i081.jpg" width="600" height="363" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">DORT.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<p>At length the steamer stopped at a pier. Two policemen stood at the
+plank, as the passengers landed, and demanded their passports. Mr.
+George gave up his passport, as he was directed, and then he and Rollo
+got into a carriage and were driven to the hotel.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i083.jpg" width="600" height="320" alt="" title="chapter endpiece" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_V" id="Chapter_V"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter V.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Walks About Rotterdam.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>The hotel where Mr. George and Rollo were set down was a very
+magnificent edifice standing on the quay opposite to a line of steamers.
+On entering it, both our travellers were struck with the spaciousness of
+the hall and of the staircase, and with the sumptuous appearance in
+general of the whole interior. They called for a chamber. The
+attendants, as they soon found, all understood English, so that there
+was no occasion at present to resort to the language of signs, as Mr.
+George had supposed might be necessary. In answer to Mr. George's
+request to be shown to a room, the servant showed him and Rollo a very
+large and lofty apartment, with immense windows in front looking down
+upon the pier. On the back side of the room were two single beds.</p>
+
+<p>"This will do very well for us," said Mr. George.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Will you dine at the table d'hote?"<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> asked the waiter.</p>
+
+
+<p>The table d'hote is the public table.</p>
+
+<p>"At what time is the table d'hote?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"At half past four," said the waiter.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Mr. George, "we shall want to be out at that time. We will
+take something now as soon as we can have it. Can you give us a
+beefsteak?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said the waiter.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well. Give us a beefsteak and some coffee, and some bread and
+butter."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said the waiter. "Will you have two beefsteaks, or one
+beefsteak?"</p>
+
+<p>"Two," said Rollo, in an under tone to Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George, "and coffee for two, also."</p>
+
+<p>So the waiter left the travellers in their room, and went down stairs.
+In about ten minutes Mr. George and Rollo went down too. At the foot of
+the grand staircase they turned into the dining room, where they saw
+several tables set, and at one of them, near a window, were the
+preparations for their meal.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The window looked out upon the quay, and Rollo could see the men at work
+getting out hogsheads and bales of goods from a steamer that was moored
+there. Besides looking across to the quay, Rollo could also look up and
+down the street without putting his head out of the window. The way in
+which he was enabled to do this, was by means of looking glasses placed
+outside. These looking glasses were attached to an iron frame, and they
+were placed in an inclined position, so as to reflect the whole length
+of the street in through the window. Thus a person sitting at his ease
+within the room, could look up and down the street, as well as across
+it, at his pleasure.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo afterwards observed such looking glasses attached to the windows
+of almost all the houses in town.</p>
+
+<p>The dinner was soon brought in, and Mr. George and Rollo ate it with
+excellent appetites. Just as they had finished their meal, a
+neatly-dressed young man came to the table and asked them if they wished
+for some one to show them about the town.</p>
+
+<p>"Because," said he, "I am a <i>valet de place</i>, and I can take you at once
+to all the places of interest, and save you a great deal of time."</p>
+
+<p>"How much do you ask to do it?" asked Mr. George.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Five francs a day," said the man.</p>
+
+<p>"That's right," said Mr. George. "That's the usual price. But we shall
+not want you, at least for this afternoon. We may want you to-morrow. We
+shall stay in town a day or two."</p>
+
+<p>The young man said that he should be very happy to serve them if they
+should require his services, and then bowed and went away.</p>
+
+<p>After having finished their meal, Mr. George and Rollo set out to take a
+ramble about the town by themselves.</p>
+
+<p>"We will go in search of adventures," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George, "and if we lose our way, we shall be likely to
+<i>have</i> some adventures, for we cannot speak Dutch to inquire for it."</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind," said Rollo, "I'm not afraid. We will be careful which way
+we go."</p>
+
+<p>So they went out and took quite a long ramble through the town. The
+first aspect of the streets struck them with astonishment. The space was
+now more than half filled with docks and basins, and with canals in
+which ships and boats of every kind were moving to and fro. In fact
+almost every street consisted one half of canal, and one half of road
+way, so that in going through it you could have your choice of going in
+a boat or in a carriage. The water part of the streets was crowd<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>ed
+densely with vessels, some of them of the largest size, for the water
+was so deep in the canals that the largest ships could go all about the
+town.</p>
+
+<p>It was curious to observe the process of loading and unloading these
+vessels, opposite to the houses where the merchants who owned them
+lived. These houses were very large and handsome. The upper stories were
+used for the rooms of the merchant and his family, and the lower ones
+were for the storage of the goods. Thus a merchant could sit at his
+parlor window with his family about him, could look down upon his ship
+in the middle of the street before his house, and see the workmen
+unlading it and stowing the goods safely on his own premises, in the
+rooms below.</p>
+
+<p>In some of the streets the canal was in the centre, and there was a road
+way along by the houses on each side. In others there was a road way
+only on one side, and the walls of the houses and stores rose up
+directly from the water's edge on the other. It was curious, in this
+case, to see the men in the upper stories of these stores, hoisting
+goods up from the vessels below by means of cranes and tackles
+projecting from the windows.</p>
+
+<p>There was one arrangement in the streets which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> Rollo at first
+condemned, as decidedly objectionable in his mind, and that was, that
+the sidewalks were smooth and level with the pavement of the street,
+differing only from the street by being paved with bricks, while the
+road way was paved with stone.</p>
+
+<p>"I think that that is a very foolish plan," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"I should not have expected so crude a remark as that from so old and
+experienced a traveller as you," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, uncle George," said Rollo. "It is plainly a great deal better to
+have the sidewalk raised a little, for that keeps the wheels of the
+carts and carriages from coming upon them. Besides, there ought to be a
+gutter."</p>
+
+<p>"People that have never been away from home before," said Mr. George,
+"are very apt, when they first land in any strange country, and observe
+any strange or unusual way of doing things, or of making things, to
+condemn it at once, and say how much better the thing is in their
+country. But I thought that you had travelled enough to know better than
+that."</p>
+
+<p>"How so?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you see that after people have travelled more, they get their
+ideas somewhat enlarged, and they learn that one way of doing things may
+be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> best in one country, and another in another, on account of some
+difference in the circumstances or the wants of the two countries. So,
+when they see any thing done in a new or unusual manner, they don't
+condemn it, or laugh at it, until they have had time to find out whether
+there may not be some good reason for it."</p>
+
+<p>"But I don't see," said Rollo, "what possible good reason there can be
+for having the sidewalks made so that every cart that comes along can
+run over you."</p>
+
+<p>"And because you don't in a moment see every reason, does that make it
+certain that there cannot be any?" said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, no," replied Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Then if you had travelled to much purpose," said Mr. George, "you would
+suspend your judgment until you had inquired."</p>
+
+<p>It was not long before Rollo saw what the reason was for making the
+sidewalks in this way. Indeed, with a little reflection, he would
+probably have thought of it himself.</p>
+
+<p>The object was to make it easy to wheel and convey the goods from the
+ships across to the warehouses. For, as the ships and boats go into
+almost all the streets in the town, goods have to be wheeled across
+every where, from the margin of the quay to the warehouses of the
+merchants,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> and a range of curbstones and gutter would make an obstacle
+that would be very much in the way.</p>
+
+<p>Besides, contrary to Rollo's hastily formed opinion, there ought <i>not</i>
+to be any gutters in such a town as this, as far as the streets are
+perfectly level, from end to end; if gutters were made the water would
+not run in them. The only way to have the rain water carried off, is to
+form a gentle slope from the houses straight across the quay to the
+margin of the canal, and this requires that the connection between the
+sidewalk and the road way should be continuous and even. So that on
+every account the plan adopted in Rotterdam is the best for that town.</p>
+
+<p>I advise all the readers of this book, whether old or young, if they
+have not yet had an opportunity to learn wisdom by actual experience in
+travelling, to remember the lesson that Rollo learned on this occasion;
+and whenever, in their future travels, they find any thing that appears
+unusual or strange, not to condemn it too soon, simply because it is
+different from what they have been accustomed to at home, but to wait
+till they have learned whether there may not be some good cause for the
+difference.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo wished to stop continually, as he and his uncle walked along, to
+watch the operations of loading and unloading that were going on
+be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>tween the ships and the warehouses. At one place was a boat loaded
+with sails, which had apparently come from a sail maker's. The sails
+were rolled up in long rolls, and some people in a loft of a warehouse
+near were hoisting them up with tackles, and pulling them in at the
+windows.</p>
+
+<p>At another place two porters were engaged wheeling something in
+wheelbarrows across from a slip to the warehouse, stopping by the way at
+a little platform to have every wheelbarrow load weighed. One of the
+porters wheeled the loads from the ship to the platform, and the other,
+after they were weighed, wheeled them to the warehouse. At the platform
+sat a man with a little desk before him and a big book upon it, in which
+he entered the weight of each load as it came. As soon as the load was
+weighed the warehouse porter would take it from the platform, wheel it
+across the street to the warehouse, empty it there, and then bring back
+the empty wheelbarrow and set it down by the side of the platform. In
+the mean time the ship porter would have wheeled another load up to the
+platform from the ship, and by the time that the warehouse porter had
+come back, it would be weighed and all ready for him. The ship porter,
+when he brought the loaded wheelbarrow, would take back to the ship the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>
+empty one. The whole operation went on with so much regularity and
+system, and it worked so well in keeping all the men employed all the
+time, without either having to wait at all for the other, that it was a
+pleasure to witness it.</p>
+
+<p>At another place Mr. George himself, as well as Rollo, was much
+interested in seeing the process of tobacco inspection. There were a
+number of hogsheads of tobacco, with a party of porters, coopers,
+inspectors, and clerks examining them. It was curious to see how rapidly
+they would go through the process. The coopers would set a hogshead up
+upon its end, knock out the head, loosen all the staves at one end,
+whisk it over upon the platform of the scales, and then lift the
+hogshead itself entirely off, and set it down on one side, leaving the
+tobacco alone, in a great round pile, on the platform. Then when it was
+weighed they would tumble it over upon its side, and separate it into
+its layers, and the inspectors would take out specimens from all the
+different portions of it. Then they would pile up the layers again, and
+put the hogshead on over them, as you would put an extinguisher on a
+candle; and, finally, after turning it over once more, they would put it
+on the head, and bind it all up again tight and secure, with hoop poles
+which they nailed in and around it. The porters would then roll the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>
+hogshead off, in order to put it on a cart and take it away. The whole
+operation was performed with a degree of system, regularity, and
+promptness, that was quite surprising. The whole work of opening the
+hogshead, examining it thoroughly, weighing it, selecting specimens, and
+putting it up again, was accomplished in less time than it has taken me
+here to describe it.</p>
+
+<p>There were a great many other operations of this sort that arrested the
+attention of Mr. George and Rollo, as they walked along the streets.
+Much of the merchandise which they saw thus landing from the ships, or
+going on board of them, was of great value, and the ships in which it
+came were of immense size, such as are engaged in the East India trade.
+Mr. George said that they were the kind that he had often read about in
+history, under the name of Dutch East Indiamen.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo was very much amused at the signs over the doors of the shops, in
+those streets where there were shops, and in the efforts that he made to
+interpret them. There was one which read <span class="smcap">Scheep's Victualij</span>, which Mr.
+George said must mean victualling for ships. He was helped, however,
+somewhat in making this translation by observing what was exhibited in
+the windows of the shop, and at the door. There was another in which
+Rollo did not require any help to en<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>able him to translate it. It was
+<span class="smcap">Tabak, Koffy, und Thee</span>. Another at first perplexed him. It was this:
+<span class="smcap">Huis und Scheep's Smedery</span>. But by seeing that the place was a sort of
+blacksmith's shop, Rollo concluded that it must mean house and ship
+smithery, that is, that it was a place for blacksmith's work for houses
+and ships.</p>
+
+<p>Over one of the doors was <span class="smcap">Oosterhouts und Breda's Bier Huis</span>. Mr. George
+said that Breda was a place not far from Rotterdam, and that the last
+part of the sign must mean house for selling Breda beer. Rollo then
+concluded that the first word must mean something connected with
+oysters. There was another, <span class="smcap">Koffer en Zadel Makerij</span>. At first Rollo
+could not make any thing of this; but on looking at the window he saw a
+painting of a horse's head, with a handsome bridle upon it, and a saddle
+on one side. So he concluded it must mean a trunk and saddle makery. He
+was the more convinced of the correctness of this from the fact that the
+word for trunk or box, in French, is <i>coffre</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo amused himself a long time in interpreting in this way the signs
+that he saw in the streets, and he succeeded so well in it that he told
+Mr. George that he believed he could learn the Dutch language very
+easily, if he were going to stay for any considerable time in Holland.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Another thing that amused Rollo very much, was to see the wooden shoes
+that were worn by the common people in the streets. These shoes appeared
+to Rollo to be very large and clumsy; but even the little children wore
+them, and the noise that they made, clattering about the pavements with
+them, was very amusing.</p>
+
+<p>In a great many places where the streets intersected each other, there
+were bridges leading across the canals. These bridges were of a very
+curious construction. They were all draw bridges, and as boats and
+vessels were continually passing and repassing along the canals, it
+became frequently necessary to raise them, in order to let the vessels
+go through. The machinery for raising these bridges and letting them
+down again, was very curious; and Rollo and Mr. George were both glad,
+when, in coming to the bridge, they found it was up, as it gave them an
+opportunity to watch the man&oelig;uvre of passing the vessel through.</p>
+
+<p>Every boat and vessel that went through had a toll to pay, and the
+manner of collecting this toll was not the least singular part of the
+whole procedure. While the bridge was up, and when the boat had passed
+nearly through, the helmsman, or helmswoman, as the case might be,&mdash;for
+one half the boats and vessels seemed to be steered by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> women,&mdash;would
+get the money ready; and then the tollman, who stood on the abutment of
+the bridge, would swing out to the boat one of the wooden shoes above
+described, which was suspended by a long line from the end of a pole,
+like a fishing pole. The tollman would swing out this shoe over the boat
+that was passing through, as a boy would swing his hook and sinker out
+over the water if he were going to catch fish. The helmsman in the boat
+would take hold of it when it came within his reach, and put the money
+into the toe of it. The tollman would then draw it in, and, taking out
+the money, would carry it to his toll house, which was a small building,
+not much bigger than a sentry box that stood on the pier close by.</p>
+
+<p>In one case Rollo came to a bridge, which, instead of being made to be
+raised entirely, had only a very narrow part in the centre, just wide
+enough for the masts and rigging of the ship to go through, that could
+be moved. When this part was lifted up to let a vessel pass, it made
+only a very narrow opening, such as a boy might jump across very easily.</p>
+
+<p>In some places where the passing and repassing of ships was very great,
+there was a ferry instead of a bridge. In these cases there was a
+flat-bottomed boat to pass to and from one side<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> to the other, with a
+pretty little landing of stone steps at each end. Rollo was much
+entertained by these ferries. He said it was crossing a street by water.
+And it was exactly that, and no more. The place where he first crossed
+one of these ferries was precisely like a broad street of water, with
+ships and boats going to and fro upon it, instead of carriages, and a
+very wide brick sidewalk on each side. The ferry was at the crossing, at
+the place where another street intersected it.</p>
+
+<p>As the houses on each side of these streets were very large and
+handsome, and as there were rows of beautiful trees on the margin of the
+water, and as every thing about the water, and the ships, and the quays,
+and the sidewalks, was kept very neat and clean, the whole view, as it
+presented itself to Rollo and Mr. George while they were crossing in the
+boat, was exceedingly attractive and exciting.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George and Rollo remained in Rotterdam several days before they were
+satisfied with the curious and wonderful spectacles which it presented
+to view. In one of their walks they made the entire circuit of the town,
+and Mr. George agreed with Rollo in the opinion that this was one of the
+most interesting walks they had ever taken.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i099.jpg" width="600" height="363" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE FERRY BOAT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<p>The way led along a smooth and beautiful road, which was neatly paved,
+and kept very nice and clean. On the right hand side there extended
+along the whole length of it a wide canal, with boats all the time going
+to and fro. This canal looked brimming full. The water, in fact, came up
+within a few inches of the level of the road. The line of the road was
+formed by a smooth and straight margin of stone,&mdash;like the margin of a
+fountain,&mdash;with little platforms extending out here and there, where
+neatly-dressed girls and women were washing.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>On the other side of the road, down ten feet or more below the level of
+it, was a range of houses, with yards, gardens, and fields about them.
+The way to these houses was by paths leading down from the dike on which
+the road was built, and across little bridges built over a small canal
+which extended between them and the dike. This small canal was for the
+draining of the land on which the houses stood. The water in this canal
+had a gentle flow towards the end of the street, where there was a wind
+mill to pump it up into the great canal on the other side of the street.</p>
+
+<p>As Rollo and Mr. George walked along this road, it was very curious to
+them to see the water on one side so much higher than the land on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> the
+other. At the intervals between the houses they obtained glimpses of the
+interior of the country, which consisted of level fields lying far below
+where they were standing, and intersected in every direction by small
+canals, which served the purpose at the same time of fences, roads, and
+drains. There seemed to be no other divisions than these between the
+lands of the different proprietors, and no other roads for bringing home
+the hay or grain, or other produce which might be raised in the fields.</p>
+
+<p>In pursuing their walk around the town, our travellers were continually
+coming to objects so curious in their construction and use, as to arrest
+their attention and cause them to stop and examine them. At one place
+they saw a little ferry boat, which looked precisely like a little
+floating room. It was square, and had a roof over it like a house, with
+seats for the passengers below. This boat plied to and fro across the
+canal, by means of a rope fastened to each shore, and running over
+pulleys in the boat.</p>
+
+<p>"We might take this ferry boat," said Mr. George, "and go across the
+canal into the town again. See, it lands opposite to one of the
+streets."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo, "but I would rather keep on, and go all around the
+town outside."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"We might go over in the ferry boat just for the fun of it," said Mr.
+George, "and then come back again."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Rollo. "How much do you suppose the toll is?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Mr. George. "It can't be much, it is such a small
+boat, and goes such a little way; and then, besides, I know it must be
+cheap, or else there could not so many of these girls and women go back
+and forth."</p>
+
+<p>For while they had been looking at the boat, as they gradually
+approached the spot, they had seen it pass to and fro with many
+passengers, who, though they were very neatly dressed, were evidently by
+no means wealthy or fashionable people.</p>
+
+<p>So Mr. George and Rollo went to the margin of the road where the ferry
+boat had its little landing place, and when it came up they stepped on
+board. The ferryman could only talk Dutch, and so Mr. George could not
+ask him what was to pay. The only thing to be done was to give him a
+piece of silver, and let him give back such change as he pleased. Mr.
+George gave him a piece of money about as big as half a franc, and he
+got back so much change in return that he said he felt richer than he
+did before.</p>
+
+<p>At another place they came to a bridge that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> led across the canal. This
+bridge turned on a pivot placed out near the middle of the canal, so
+that it could be moved out of the way when there was a boat to go by. A
+man was turning it when Mr. George and Rollo came along. They stopped to
+witness the operation. They were quite amused, not merely with the
+man&oelig;uvring of the bridge, but with the form and appearance of the
+boat that was going through. It seemed to be half boat and half house.
+There was a room built in it, which rose somewhat above the deck, and
+showed several little windows with pretty curtains to them. There was a
+girl sitting at one of these windows, knitting, and two or three
+children were playing about the deck at the time that the boat was going
+through the bridge.</p>
+
+<p>Farther on the party came to an immense wind mill, which was employed in
+pumping up water. This wind mill, like most of the others, was built of
+brick. It rose to a vast height into the air, and there its immense
+sails were slowly revolving. The wind mill was forty or fifty feet in
+diameter at the base, and midway between the base and the summit was a
+platform built out, that extended all around it. The sails of the mill,
+as they revolved, only extended down to this platform, and the platform
+itself was above<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> the roofs of the four-story houses that stood near.</p>
+
+<p>At the foot of this wind mill Mr. George and Rollo could see the water
+running in under it, through a sluice way which led from a low canal,
+and on the other side they could see it pouring out in a great torrent,
+into a higher one.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Besides making this circuit around the town, Mr. George and Rollo one
+evening took a walk in the environs, on a road which led along on the
+top of a dike. The dike was very broad, and the descent from it to the
+low land on each side was very gradual. On the slopes on each side, and
+along the margin on the top, were rows of immense trees, that looked as
+if they had been growing for centuries. The branches of these trees met
+overhead, so as to exclude the sun entirely. They made the road a
+deeply-shaded avenue, and gave to the whole scene a very sombre and
+solemn expression. On each side of the road, down upon the low land
+which formed the general level of the country, were a succession of
+country houses, the summer residences of the rich merchants of
+Rotterdam. These houses were beautifully built; and they were surrounded
+with grounds ornamented in the highest degree. There were winding
+walks,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> and serpentine canals, and beds of flowers, and pretty bridges,
+and summer houses, and groves of trees, and every thing else that can
+add to the beauty of a summer retreat.</p>
+
+<p>All these scenes Mr. George and Rollo looked down upon as they sauntered
+slowly along the smooth sidewalk of the dike, under the majestic trees
+which shaded it. The place where they were walking on the dike was on a
+level with the second story windows of the houses.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i106.jpg" width="600" height="483" alt="" title="chapter endpiece" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_VI" id="Chapter_VI"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VI.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Doing the Hague.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>"And now what is the next place that we shall come to?" said Rollo to
+Mr. George one morning after they had been some days in Rotterdam.</p>
+
+<p>"The Hague," replied Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, yes," said Rollo, "that is the capital. We shall stop there a good
+while I suppose, because it is the capital."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Mr. George, "I shall go through it just as quick as I can for
+that very reason. I have a great mind not to stop there at all."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo, surprised, "what do you mean by
+that?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, the Hague," rejoined Mr. George, "is the place where the king
+lives, and the princes, and the foreign ambassadors, and all the
+fashionable people; and there will be nothing to see there, I expect,
+but palaces, and picture galleries, and handsome streets, and such
+things, all of which we can see more of and better in Paris or London."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Still we want to see what sort of a place the Hague is," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George, "and I expect to do that in a very short time,
+and then I shall go on to Haarlem, where they have had such a time with
+their pumping."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George and Rollo packed up their valise, paid their bill at the
+hotel, and set off for the station.</p>
+
+<p>"Let's go to the station by water," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Mr. George, "if you will engage a boat."</p>
+
+<p>"I know a place not far from here where there is a boat station," said
+Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>So Rollo led the way until they came to a bridge, and there, by the side
+of the bridge, were some stairs leading down to the water. There were
+several boats lying at the foot of the stairs, and boatmen near, who all
+called out in Dutch, "Do you want a boat?" At least that was what Rollo
+supposed they said, though, of course, he could not understand their
+language. Rollo walked down the steps, and got into one of the boats,
+and Mr. George followed him.</p>
+
+<p>"I can't speak Dutch," said Rollo to the boatman, "but that is the way
+we want to go." So saying, Rollo pointed in the direction which led
+towards the station. The man did not under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>stand a word that Rollo had
+said; but still, by hearing it, he learned the fact that Rollo did not
+speak the language of the country, and by his signs he knew that he must
+go the way that he pointed. So he began to row the boat along.</p>
+
+<p>"We cannot go quite to the station by the boat," said Rollo, "but we can
+go pretty near it, and we can walk the rest of the way."</p>
+
+<p>"How will you find out the way," asked Mr. George, "through all these
+canals?"</p>
+
+<p>"I can tell by the map," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>So Rollo sat down on a seat at the stern of the boat, and taking out his
+map, which was printed on a pocket handkerchief, he spread it on his
+knee, and began to study out the canals.</p>
+
+<p>"There," said he, "we are going along this canal, now; and there, a
+little way ahead from here, is a bridge that we shall go under. Then we
+shall make a turn," continued Rollo, still studying his map. "We shall
+have to go a very round-about way; but that is no matter."</p>
+
+<p>So they went on, Rollo at each turn pointing to the boatman which way he
+was to go. Sometimes the boat was stopped for a time by a jam in the
+boats and vessels before it, as a hack might be stopped in Broadway in
+New York. Sometimes it went under bridges, and sometimes through dark
+archways, where Rollo could hear<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> carriages rumbling over his head in
+the streets above.</p>
+
+<p>At length the boat reached the point which Rollo thought was nearest to
+the station; and the man, at a signal which Rollo gave him, stopped at
+some steps. Rollo paid the fare by holding out a handful of money in his
+hand, and letting the man take what was right, watching him, however, to
+see that he did not take too much.</p>
+
+<p>Then Mr. George and Rollo both went ashore, and walked the rest of the
+way to the station.</p>
+
+<p>In the European railroad stations there are different waiting rooms for
+the different classes of travellers. Mr. George sometimes took second
+class carriages, and sometimes first. For short distances he generally
+went first class, and as it was only a few miles to the Hague from
+Rotterdam, he now went into the first class waiting room. There was a
+counter for refreshment in one corner of the room, and some sofas along
+the sides. Mr. George sat down upon one of the sofas, putting his valise
+on the floor at the end of it. Rollo said that he would go out and take
+a little walk around the station, for it was yet half an hour before the
+train was to go.</p>
+
+<p>In a few minutes after Rollo had gone, there came to the door, among
+other carriages, one<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> from which Mr. George, to his great surprise, saw
+Mr. and Mrs. Parkman get out. Mr. George's first thought was to go out
+by another door, and make his escape. But he checked this impulse,
+saying to himself,</p>
+
+<p>"It would be very ungenerous in me to abandon my old friend in his
+misfortune; so I will stay."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Parkman seemed very much delighted, as well as surprised, to see Mr.
+George again; and Mrs. Parkman gave him quite a cordial greeting,
+although she half suspected that Mr. George did not like her very well.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George asked her how she liked Holland, so far as she had seen it.</p>
+
+<p>"Not much," said she. "The towns are not pretty. The streets are all
+full of canals, and there is nothing to be seen but boats and ships. And
+what ugly wooden shoes they wear. Did you ever see any thing so ugly in
+all your life?"</p>
+
+<p>"They look pretty big and clumsy," said Mr. George, "I must admit; but
+it amuses me to see them."</p>
+
+<p>"At the Hague I expect to find something worth seeing," continued Mrs.
+Parkman. "That's where the king and all the great people live, and all
+the foreign ambassadors. If William had only got letters of introduction
+to some of them!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> He might have got them just as well as not. Our
+minister at London would have given him some if he had asked for them.
+But he said he did not like to ask for them."</p>
+
+<p>"Strange!" said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," rejoined Mrs. Parkman, "I think it is not only strange, but
+foolish. I want to go to some of the parties at the Hague, but we can't
+stop. William says we can only give one day to the Hague."</p>
+
+<p>"O, you can do it up quite well in one day," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"If you would only go with us and show us how to do it," said Mrs.
+Parkman.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. Parkman. "Do, George. Go with us. Join us for one day.
+I'll put the whole party entirely under your command, and you shall have
+every thing your own way."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George did not know what to reply to this proposition. At last he
+said that he would go and find Rollo, and consult him on the subject,
+and if Rollo approved of it they would consent to the arrangement.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Parkman laughed at hearing this. "Why," said she, "is it possible
+that you are under that boy's direction?"</p>
+
+<p>"Not exactly that," said Mr. George. "But then he is my travelling
+companion, and it is not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> right for one person, in such a case, to make
+any great change in the plan without at least first hearing what the
+other has to say about it."</p>
+
+<p>"That's very true," replied Mrs. Parkman. "Do you hear that, William?
+You must remember that when you are going to change the plans without
+asking my consent."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Parkman said this in a good-natured way, as if she meant it in
+joke. It was one of those cases where people say what they wish to have
+considered as meant in a joke, but to be taken in earnest.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George went out to look for Rollo. He found him lying on the grass
+by the side of a small canal which flowed through the grounds, and
+reaching down to the water to gather some curious little plants that
+were growing upon it. Mr. George informed him that Mr. and Mrs. Parkman
+were at the station, and that they had proposed that he himself and
+Rollo should join their party in seeing the Hague.</p>
+
+<p>"And I suppose you don't want to do it," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, yes," said Mr. George, "I've taken a notion to accept the proposal
+if you like it. We'll then do the Hague in style, and I shall get back
+into Mrs. Parkman's good graces. Then we will bid them good by, and
+after that you and I will travel on in our own way."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Rollo, "<i>I</i> agree to it."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George accordingly went back into the station, and told Mr. and Mrs.
+Parkman that he and Rollo would accept their invitation, and join with
+them in seeing what there was in the Hague.</p>
+
+<p>"And then, after that," said Mr. George, "we shall come back to Delft,
+while you go on to Amsterdam."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you would go on with us," said Mr. Parkman.</p>
+
+<p>"We can't do that very well," said Mr. George. "We want to try a Dutch
+canal once, and a good place to try it is in going from the Hague to
+Delft. It is only about four or five miles. We are going there by the
+canal boat, and then coming back on foot."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George had taken care in planning the course which he and Rollo were
+to pursue after leaving the Hague, to contrive an expedition which he
+was very sure Mrs. Parkman would not wish to join in.</p>
+
+<p>"O, Mr. George!" she exclaimed, "what pleasure can there be in going on
+a canal?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why, the canal boats are so funny!" said Rollo. "And then we see such
+curious little places all along the banks of them, and we meet so many
+boats, carrying all sorts of things."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't think it would be very agreeable for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span> a lady," said Mr. George;
+"but Rollo and I thought we should like to try it."</p>
+
+<p>Just at this moment the door leading to the platform opened, and a man
+dressed in a sort of uniform, denoting that he was an officer of the
+railroad, called out in Dutch that the train was coming. The ladies and
+gentlemen that were assembled in the waiting room immediately took up
+their bags and bundles, and went out upon the platform. As they went
+out, Mr. George, in passing the man in uniform, slipped a piece of money
+into his hand, and said to him in an under tone, first in French and
+then in English,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"A good seat by a window for this lady."</p>
+
+<p>The officer received the money, made a bow of assent, and immediately
+seemed to take the whole party under his charge. When the train arrived,
+and had stopped before the place, there was a great crowd among the new
+passengers to get in and procure seats. The officer beckoned to Mr.
+George to follow him, but Mrs. Parkman seemed disposed to go another
+way. She was looking eagerly about here and there among the carriages,
+as if the responsibility of finding seats for the party devolved upon
+her.</p>
+
+<p>"What shall we do?" said she. "The cars are all full."</p>
+
+<p>"Leave it to me," said Mr. George to her in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> an under tone. "Leave it
+entirely to me. You'll see presently."</p>
+
+<p>The officer, finding the carriages generally full, said to Mr. George,
+in French, "Wait a moment, sir." So Mr. George said to the rest of the
+party&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"We will all stand quietly here. He'll come to us presently."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mrs. Parkman, "when all the seats are taken. We shan't get
+seats at all, William."</p>
+
+<p>"You'll see," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>In a moment more the officer came to the party, and bowing respectfully
+to Mrs. Parkman, he said,</p>
+
+<p>"Now, madam."</p>
+
+<p>He took out a key from his pocket, and unlocked the door of a carriage
+which had not before been opened, and standing aside, he bowed to let
+Mrs. Parkman pass.</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Parkman was delighted. There was nobody in the carriage, and so she
+had her choice of the seats. She chose one next the window on the
+farther side. Her husband took the seat opposite to her.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah!" said she, with a tone of great satisfaction, "how nice this is!
+And what a gentlemanly conductor! I never had the conductor treat me so
+politely in my life."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Parkman was put in excellent humor by this incident, and she said,
+towards the end of the journey, that she should have had a delightful
+ride if the country had not been so flat and uninteresting. To Mr.
+George and Rollo, who sat at the other window, it appeared extremely
+interesting, there was so much that was curious and novel to be seen.
+The immense green fields, with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep
+feeding every where, and separated from each other by straight and
+narrow canals instead of fences; the boats passing to and fro, loaded
+with produce; the little bridges built over these canals here and there,
+for the foot paths, with the gates across them to keep the cattle from
+going over; the long road ways raised upon dikes, and bordered by
+quadruple rows of ancient and venerable trees, stretching to a boundless
+distance across the plains; and now and then a wide canal, with large
+boats or vessels passing to and fro,&mdash;these and a multitude of other
+such sights, to be seen in no other country in the world, occupied their
+attention all the time, and kept them constantly amused.</p>
+
+<p>At length the train arrived at the station for the Hague, and the whole
+party descended from the carriage.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, William," said Mr. George, "give me<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> the ticket for your trunk,
+and you yourself take Mrs. Parkman into the waiting room and wait till I
+come."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Mr. Parkman, "I cannot let you take that trouble."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," said Mr. George. "You said that I should have the entire
+command. Give me the ticket."</p>
+
+<p>So Mr. Parkman gave him the ticket, and Mr. George went out. Rollo
+remained with Mr. and Mrs. Parkman. In a few minutes Mr. George
+returned, and said that the carriage was ready. They all went to the
+door, and there they found a carriage waiting, with Mr. and Mrs.
+Parkman's trunk upon the top of it. A man was holding the door open for
+the party to get in. As soon as they had all entered, Mr. George put a
+few coppers into the hand of the man at the door, and said to him,</p>
+
+<p>"Hotel Belview."<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a></p>
+
+
+<p>"<span class="smcap">Hotel Belview</span>!" shouted the man to the coachman. On hearing this
+command the coachman drove on.</p>
+
+<p>The road that led into the town lay along the banks of a canal, and
+after going about half a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> mile in this direction, the horses turned and
+went over a bridge. They were now in the heart of the town, but the
+party could not see much, for the night was coming on and the sky was
+cloudy. It was cold, too, and Mrs. Parkman wished to have the windows
+closed. The carriage went along a narrow street, crossing bridges
+occasionally, until at length it came to a region of palaces, and parks,
+and grounds beautifully ornamented. Finally it stopped before a large
+and very handsome hotel. The hotel stood in a street which had large and
+beautiful houses and gardens on one side, and an open park, with deer
+feeding on the borders of a canal, on the other.</p>
+
+<p>Two or three very nicely dressed servants came out when the carriage
+stopped, and opened the door of it in a very assiduous and deferential
+manner.</p>
+
+<p>"Wait here in the carriage," said Mr. George, "till I come."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he himself descended from the carriage, and went into the
+house, followed by two of the waiters that had come to the door.</p>
+
+<p>In about two minutes he came out again.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said he to Mrs. Parkman, "I think you will like the rooms."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, he helped Mrs. Parkman out of the carriage, and gave her his
+arm to conduct her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> into the house. At the same time he said to one of
+the waiters,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"See that every thing is taken out of the carriage, and pay the
+coachman."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, sir," said the waiter.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George led Mrs. Parkman up a broad and handsome staircase. He was
+preceded by one waiter and followed by two others. These waiters had
+taken every thing from the hands of the party, especially from Mrs.
+Parkman, so that they were loaded with bags, cloaks, and umbrellas,
+while the travellers themselves had nothing to carry.</p>
+
+<p>At the head of the staircase the waiter, who was in advance, opened a
+door which led to a large drawing room or parlor, which was very
+handsomely decorated and furnished. The windows were large, and they
+looked out upon a handsome garden, though it was now too dark to see it
+very distinctly.</p>
+
+<p>As Mrs. Parkman turned round again, after trying to look out at the
+window, she saw a second waiter coming into the room, bringing with him
+two tall wax candles in silver candlesticks. The candles had just been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>
+lighted. The waiter placed them on the table, and then retired.</p>
+
+<p>"And now," said Mr. George to the other waiter, "we want a good fire
+made here, and then let us have dinner as soon as you can."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i122.jpg" width="600" height="352" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE DINNER.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Very well, sir," replied the waiter; and so saying he bowed
+respectfully and retired.</p>
+
+<p>A neatly-dressed young woman, in a very picturesque and pretty cap, had
+come into the room with the party, and while Mr. George had been
+ordering the fire and the dinner, she had shown Mrs. Parkman to her
+bedroom, which was a beautiful and richly furnished room with two single
+beds in it, opening out of the parlor. On the other side of the parlor
+was another bedroom, also with two beds in it, for Mr. George and
+Rollo.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p>
+
+
+<p>Mr. and Mrs. Parkman remained in their room for a time, and when they
+came out they found the table set for dinner, and a very pleasant fire
+burning in the grate.</p>
+
+<p>"Mr. George," said she, "I wish we had you to make arrangements for us
+all the time."</p>
+
+<p>"It would be a very pleasant duty," said Mr. George. "You are so easily
+satisfied."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Parkman seemed much pleased with this compliment. She did not for a
+moment doubt that she fully deserved it.</p>
+
+<p>About eight o'clock that evening, Mr. George<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> asked Mrs. Parkman at what
+time she would like to have breakfast the next morning.</p>
+
+<p>"At any time you please," said she; "that is, if it is not too early."</p>
+
+<p>"How would half past nine do?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"I think that will do very well," said Mrs. Parkman.</p>
+
+<p>"We will say ten, if you prefer," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"O, no," said she, "half past nine will do very well."</p>
+
+<p>So Mr. George rang the bell, and when the waiter came, he ordered a
+sumptuous breakfast, consisting of beefsteaks, hot rolls, coffee,
+omelet, and every thing else that he could think of that was good, and
+directed the waiter to have it ready at half past nine.</p>
+
+<p>"I shall also want a carriage and a pair of horses to-morrow," continued
+Mr. George, "and a commissioner."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, sir," said the waiter; "and what time shall you wish for the
+carriage?"</p>
+
+<p>"What time, Mrs. Parkman?" repeated Mr. George, turning to the lady.
+"Shall you be ready by half past ten to go out and see the town?"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mrs. Parkman, "that will be a very good time."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, sir," said the waiter; and he bowed and retired.</p>
+
+<p>The next morning, when the different members of the party came out into
+the breakfast room, they found the table set for breakfast. At half past
+nine all were ready except Mrs. Parkman. She sent word by her husband
+that she would come out in a few minutes.</p>
+
+<p>"There is no hurry," said Mr. George. "It will be time enough to have
+breakfast when she comes."</p>
+
+<p>In about fifteen minutes she came. Mr. George asked her very politely
+how she had spent the night; and after she had sat a few minutes talking
+by the fire, he said that they would have breakfast whenever she wished.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said she, "I am ready any time. Indeed, I was afraid that I
+should be late, and keep you waiting. I am very glad that I am in
+season."</p>
+
+<p>So Mr. George rang the bell; when the waiter came, he ordered breakfast
+to be brought up.</p>
+
+<p>While the party were at breakfast, a very nicely-dressed waiter, with a
+white napkin over his arm, stood behind Mrs. Parkman's chair, and
+evinced a great deal of alertness and alacrity in offering her every
+thing that she required. When<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> the breakfast was nearly finished, Mr.
+George turned to him and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Is the commissioner ready, John, who is to go with us to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said the waiter.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you to go down and send him up," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>So the waiter went down stairs to find the commissioner, and while he
+was gone Mr. George took out a pencil and paper from his pocket.</p>
+
+<p>"I am going to ask him," said Mr. George to Mrs. Parkman, "what there is
+to be seen here, and to make a list of the places; and then we will go
+and see them all, or you can make a selection, just as you please."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Mrs. Parkman. "I should like that."</p>
+
+<p>Accordingly, when the commissioner came in, Mr. George asked him to
+name, in succession, the various objects of interest usually visited by
+travellers coming to the Hague; and as he named them, Mr. George
+questioned him respecting them, so as to enable Mrs. Parkman to obtain a
+somewhat definite idea of what they were. The commissioner enumerated a
+variety of places to be seen, such as the public museum of painting,
+several private museums, the old palace, the new palace, two or three
+churches,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> the town hall, and various other sights which tourists,
+arriving at the Hague, usually like to view. Mr. George made a list of
+all these, and opposite to each he marked the time which the
+commissioner said would be required to see it well. After completing
+this list, he said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"And there is a great watering place on the sea shore, not far from
+this, I believe."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said the commissioner, "about three miles."</p>
+
+<p>"Is it a pleasant ride there?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," replied the commissioner. "It is a <i>very</i> pleasant ride. You
+can go one way and return another. It is a very fashionable place. The
+queen and the princesses go there every summer."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well; it takes about two hours and a half, I suppose, to go there
+and return," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said the commissioner.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Mr. George. "Have the carriage ready in&mdash;&mdash; Shall we
+say half an hour, Mrs. Parkman? Shall you be ready in half an hour?"</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Parkman said that she should be ready in half an hour, and so Mr.
+George appointed that time, and then the commissioner went away.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. George added up all the periods of time that the commissioner had
+said would be required for the several sights, and found that there
+would be time for them to see the whole, and yet be ready for the
+afternoon train for Amsterdam, where Mr. and Mrs. Parkman were going
+next. So Mrs. Parkman concluded not to omit any from the list, but to go
+and see the whole.</p>
+
+<p>In half an hour the carriage was at the door, and in ten or fifteen
+minutes afterwards Mrs. Parkman was ready. Just before they went, Mr.
+George rang the bell again, and called for the bill, requesting the
+waiter to see that every thing was charged&mdash;carriage, servants,
+commissioner, and all. When it came, Mr. Parkman took out his purse,
+expecting to pay it himself, but Mr. George took out his purse too.</p>
+
+<p>"The amount," said Mr. George, looking at the footing of the bill, "is
+forty-five guilders and some cents. Your share is, say twenty-two
+guilders and a half."</p>
+
+<p>"No, indeed," said Mr. Parkman. "My share is the exact footing of the
+bill. You have nothing to do with this payment."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George. "I have just one half to pay for Rollo and me.
+We are four in all, and Rollo and I are two."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Parkman seemed extremely unwilling to allow Mr. George to pay any
+thing at all; but Mr. George insisted upon it, and so the bill was paid
+by a joint contribution.</p>
+
+<p>All this time the carriage was ready at the door, and the gentlemen,
+attended by two or three waiters, conducted Mrs. Parkman down to the
+door. The party then drove, in succession, to the various places which
+the commissioner had enumerated. There were museums consisting of a
+great many rooms filled with paintings, and palaces, where they were
+shown up grand staircases, and through long corridors, and into suites
+of elegant apartments, and churches, and beautiful parks and gardens,
+and a bazaar filled with curiosities from China and Japan, and a great
+many other similar places. Mr. George paid very particular attention to
+Mrs. Parkman during the whole time, and made every effort to anticipate
+and comply with her wishes in all respects. In one case, indeed, I think
+he went too far in this compliance, and the result was to mortify her
+not a little. It was in one of the museums of paintings. Mrs. Parkman,
+like other ladies of a similar character to hers, always wanted to go
+where she could not go, and to see what she could not see. If, when she
+came into a town, she heard of any place to which, for any reason,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> it
+was difficult to obtain admission, that was the very place of all others
+that she wished most to see; and if, in any museum, or palace, or
+library that she went into, there were two doors open and one shut, she
+would neglect the open ones, and make directly to the one that was shut,
+and ask to know what there was there. I do not know as there was any
+thing particularly blameworthy in this. On the contrary, such a feeling
+may be considered, in some respects, a very natural one in a lady. But,
+nevertheless, when it manifests itself in a decided form, it makes the
+lady a very uncomfortable and vexatious companion to the gentleman who
+has her under his care.</p>
+
+<p>In one of the rooms where our party went in the museum of paintings,
+there was a door near one corner that was shut. All the other
+doors&mdash;those which communicated with the several apartments where the
+pictures were hung&mdash;were open. As soon as Mrs. Parkman came in sight of
+the closed door, she pointed to it and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"I wonder what there is in that room. I suppose it is something very
+choice. I wish we could get in."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Parkman paid, at first, no attention to this request, but continued
+to look at the pictures around him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I wish you would ask some of the attendants," she continued, "whether
+we cannot go into that room."</p>
+
+<p>"O, no," replied her husband. "If it was any thing that it was intended
+we should see, the door would be open. The fact that the door is shut is
+notice enough that, we are not to go in there."</p>
+
+<p>"I'm convinced there are some choice pictures in there," said Mrs.
+Parkman; "something that they do not show to every body. Mr. George, I
+wish you would see if you can't find out some way to get in."</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly," said Mr. George, "I will try."</p>
+
+<p>So Mr. George walked along towards one of the attendants, whom he saw in
+another part of the room,&mdash;putting his hand in his pocket as he went, to
+feel for a piece of money. He put the piece of money into the
+attendant's hand, and then began to talk with him, asking various
+indifferent questions about the building; and finally he asked him where
+that closed door led to.</p>
+
+<p>"O, that is only a closet," said the attendant, "where we keep our
+brooms and dusters."</p>
+
+<p>"I wish you would just let us look into it," said Mr. George. "Here's
+half a guilder for you."</p>
+
+<p>The man looked a little surprised, but he took the half guilder,
+saying,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Certainly, if it will afford you any satisfaction."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George then went back to where he had left the rest of his party,
+and said to Mrs. Parkman,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"This man is going to admit us to that room. Follow Him. I will come in
+a moment."</p>
+
+<p>So Mr. George stopped to look at a large painting on the wall, while
+Mrs. Parkman, with high anticipations of the pleasure she was to enjoy
+in seeing what people in general were excluded from, walked in a proud
+and stately manner to the door, and when the man opened it, saw only a
+small, dark room, with nothing in it but brooms, dust pans, and lamp
+fillers. She was exceedingly abashed by this adventure, and for the rest
+of that day she did not once ask to see any thing that was not
+voluntarily shown to her.</p>
+
+<p>After visiting all the places of note in the town, the coachman was
+ordered to drive to the watering place on the sea shore. It was a very
+pleasant drive of about three miles. Just before reaching the shore of
+the sea, the road came to a region of sand hills, called <i>dunes</i>, formed
+by the drifting sands blown in from the beach by the winds. Among these
+dunes, and close to the sea shore, was an immense hotel, with long wings
+stretching a hundred feet on each side, and a row<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> of bath vans on the
+margin of the beach before it. The beach was low and shelving, and it
+could be traced for miles in either direction along the coast, whitened
+by the surf that was rolling in from the German Ocean.</p>
+
+<p>After looking at this prospect for a time, and watching to see one or
+two of the bathing vans drive down into the surf, in order to allow
+ladies who had got into them to bathe, the party returned to the
+carriage, and the coachman drove them through the village, which was
+very quaint and queer, and inhabited by fishermen. The fishing boats
+were drawn up on the shore in great numbers, very near the houses. Rollo
+desired very much to go and see these boats and the fishermen, and
+learn, if he could, what kind of fish they caught in them, and how they
+caught them. But Mrs. Parkman thought that they had better not stop.
+They were nothing but common fishing boats, she said.</p>
+
+<p>The carriage returned to the Hague by a different road from the one in
+which it came. It was a road that led through a beautiful wood, where
+there were many pleasant walks, with curious looking Dutch women going
+and coming. As the party approached the town, they passed through a
+region of parks, and palaces, and splendid mansions of all kinds. Mrs.
+Parkman was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> curious to know who lived in each house, and Mr. George
+contrived to communicate her inquiries to the coachman, by making signs,
+and by asking questions partly in English and partly in German. But
+though the coachman understood the questions, Mrs. Parkman could not
+understand the answers that he gave, for they were Dutch
+names,&mdash;sometimes long and sometimes short; but whether they were long
+or short, the sounds were so uncouth and strange that Mrs. Parkman
+looked terribly distressed in trying to make them out.</p>
+
+<p>At length the carriage arrived at the hotel again; and there the porters
+put on the baggage belonging both to Mr. and Mrs. Parkman, and to Mr.
+George and Rollo. It then proceeded to the station. Mr. George and Rollo
+waited there until the train for Amsterdam arrived, and then took leave
+of Mr. and Mrs. Parkman as they went to their seats in the carriage.
+Mrs. Parkman shook hands with Mr. George very cordially, and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"We are very much obliged to you, Mr. George, for your company to-day.
+We have had a very pleasant time. I wish that we could have you to
+travel with us all the time."</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>"I think she ought to be obliged to you," said Rollo, as soon as the
+train had gone.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Not at all," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Not at all?" repeated Rollo. "Why not? You have done a great deal for
+her to-day."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Mr. George. "All that I have done has not been for her sake,
+but for William's. William is an excellent good friend of mine, and I am
+very sorry that he has not got a more agreeable travelling companion."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i135.jpg" width="600" height="456" alt="" title="chapter endpiece" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_VII" id="Chapter_VII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VII.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Correspondence.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>One day, when Mr. George and Rollo were at the town of Leyden, it began
+to rain while they were eating their breakfast.</p>
+
+<p>"Never mind," said Rollo. "We can walk about the town if it does rain."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George, "we can; but we shall get tired of walking about
+much sooner if it rains, than if it were pleasant weather. However, I am
+not very sorry, for I should like to write some letters."</p>
+
+<p>"I've a great mind to write a letter, too," said Rollo. "I'll write to
+my mother. Don't you think that would be a good plan?"</p>
+
+<p>"Why,&mdash;I don't know,"&mdash;said Mr. George, speaking in rather a doubtful
+tone. "It seems to me that it would be hardly worth while."</p>
+
+<p>"Why not?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, the postage is considerable," said Mr. George, "and I don't
+believe the letter would be worth what your father would have to pay for
+it;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> that is, if it is such a letter as I suppose you would write."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, what sort of a letter do you suppose I should write?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"O, you would do as boys generally do in such cases," replied his uncle.
+"In the first place you would want to take the biggest sheet that you
+could find to write the letter upon. Then you would take up as much of
+the space as possible writing the date, and <i>My dear mother</i>. Then you
+would go on for a few lines, saying things of no interest to any body,
+such as telling what day you came to this place, and what day to that.
+Perhaps you'd say that to-day is a rainy day, and that yesterday was
+pleasant&mdash;just as if your mother, when she gets your letter, would care
+any thing about knowing what particular days were rainy and what
+pleasant, in Holland, a week back. Then, after you had got about two
+thirds down the page, you would stop because you could not think of any
+thing more to say, and subscribe your name with ever so many scrawl
+flourishes, and as many affectionate and dutiful phrases as you could
+get to fill up the space.</p>
+
+<p>"And that would be a letter that your father, like as not, would have to
+pay one and sixpence or two shillings sterling for, to the London
+postman."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Rollo laughed at this description of the probable result of his proposed
+attempt to write a letter; but he laughed rather faintly, for he well
+recollected how many times he had written letters in just such a way. He
+secretly resolved, however, that when they came in from their walk, and
+Mr. George sat down to his writing, he would write too, and would see
+whether he could not, for once, produce a letter that should be at least
+worth the postage.</p>
+
+<p>After they came in from their walk, they asked the landlady to have a
+fire made in their room; but she said they could not have any fire, for
+the stoves were not put up. She said it was the custom in Holland not to
+put the stoves up until October; and so nobody could have a fire in any
+thing but foot stoves until that time. The foot stoves, she said, would
+make it very comfortable for them.</p>
+
+<p>So she brought in two foot stoves. They consisted of small, square
+boxes, with holes bored in the top, and a little fire of peat in an
+earthen vessel within. Rollo asked Mr. George to give him two sheets of
+thin note paper, and he established himself at a window that looked out
+upon a canal. He intended to amuse himself in the intervals of his
+writing in watching the boats that were passing along the canal.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>He took two sheets of note paper instead of one sheet of letter paper,
+in order that, if he should get tired after filling one of them, he
+could stop, and so send what he had written, without causing his father
+to pay postage on any useless paper.</p>
+
+<p>"Then," thought he, "if I do <i>not</i> get tired, I will go on and fill the
+second sheet, and my mother will have a double small letter. A double
+small letter will be just as good as a single large one."</p>
+
+<p>This was an excellent plan.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo also took great pains to guard against another fault which boys
+often fall into in writing their letters; that is, the fault of growing
+careless about the writing as they go on with the work, by which means a
+letter is produced which looks very neat and pretty at the beginning,
+but becomes an ill-looking and almost illegible scrawl at the end.</p>
+
+<p>"I'll begin," said he, "as I think I shall be able to hold out; and I'll
+hold out to the end just as I begin."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo remained over his letter more than three hours. He would have
+become exceedingly tired with the work if he had written continuously
+all this time; but he stopped to rest very often, and to amuse himself
+with observing what was passing before him in the street and on the
+canal.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Mr. George was occupied all this time in writing <i>his</i> letter, and each
+read what he had written to the other that same evening, after dinner.
+The two letters were as follows:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Mr. George's Letter</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="author">
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"<span class="smcap">Leyden, Holland</span>, September 27.</span><br />
+</p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">"<span class="smcap">My Dear Edward</span>:<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>"We have been travelling now for several days in Holland, and it is one
+of the most curious and amusing countries to travel in that I have ever
+seen.</p>
+
+<p>"We all know from the books of geography which we study at school, that
+Holland is a very low country&mdash;lower in many places than the ocean; and
+that the water of the ocean is kept from overflowing it by dikes, which
+the people built ages ago, along the shores. I always used to suppose
+that it was only from the sea that people had any danger to fear of
+inundations; but I find now that it is not so.</p>
+
+<p>"The people have to defend themselves from inundations, not only on the
+side towards the sea, but also quite as much, if not more, on the side
+towards the land, from the waters of the River<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> Rhine. The River Rhine
+rises in Switzerland, and flows through various countries of Europe
+until it comes to the borders of Holland, and there it spreads out into
+innumerable branches, and runs every where, all over the country. It
+would often overflow the country entirely, were it not that the banks
+are guarded by dikes, like the dikes of the sea. The various branches of
+the rivers are connected together by canals, which are also higher than
+the land on each side of them. Thus the whole country is covered with a
+great network of canals, rivers, and inlets from the sea, with water in
+them higher than the land. When the tide is low in the sea, the surplus
+water from these rivers and canals flows off through immense sluices at
+the mouth of them. When the tide comes up, it is kept from flowing in by
+immense gates, with which the sluices are closed. They call the tracts
+of land that lie lower than the channels of water around them,
+<i>polders</i>. That is rather a queer name. I suppose it is a Dutch name.</p>
+
+<p>"The polders all have drains and canals cut in them. As we ride along in
+the railway carriages we overlook these polders. They look like immense
+green fields, extending as far as you can see, with straight canals
+running through them in every direction, and crossing each other at
+right angles. These canals, in the bottom of the pol<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>ders, are about six
+feet wide. They are wide enough to prevent the cattle from jumping
+across them, and so they serve for fences to divide the fields from each
+other. They also serve for roads, for the Dutchmen use boats on their
+farms to get in their hay and produce, instead of carts.</p>
+
+<p>"The water that collects in these low canals and drains, which run
+across the polders, cannot flow out into the large canals, which are
+higher than they are, and so they have to pump it out. They pump it out
+generally by means of wind mills. So wherever you go, throughout all
+Holland, you find an immense number of wind mills. These wind mills are
+very curious indeed. Some of them are immensely large. They look like
+lighthouses. The large ones are generally built of brick, and some of
+them are several hundred years old. The sails of the big ones are often
+fifty feet long, and sometimes eighty feet. This makes a wheel one
+hundred and sixty feet in diameter. When you stand under one of these
+mills, and look up, and see these immense sails revolving so high in the
+air that the lowest point, when the sail comes round, is higher than the
+tops of the four story houses, the effect is quite sublime.</p>
+
+<p>"With these wind mills they pump the water up from one drain or canal to
+another, till they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> get it high enough to run off into the sea. In some
+places, however, it is very difficult to get the water into the sea even
+in this way, even at low tides. The River Amstel, for instance, which
+comes out at Amsterdam, and into which a great many canals and channels
+are pumped, is so low at its mouth that the sea is never, at the lowest
+tides, more than a foot and a half below it. At high tides the sea is a
+great deal above it. The average is about a foot above. Of course it
+requires a great deal of management to get the waters of the river out,
+and avoid letting the water of the sea in. They do it by immense
+sluices, which are generally kept shut, and only opened when the tide is
+low.</p>
+
+<p>"In the mean time, if it should ever so happen that they could not
+succeed in letting the water out fast enough, it would, of course,
+accumulate, and rise in the rivers, and press against the dikes that run
+along the banks of it, till at last it would break through in some weak
+place; and then, unless the people could stop the breach, the whole
+polder on that side would be gradually overflowed. The inundation would
+extend until it came to some other dike to stop it. The polder that
+would first be filled would become a lake. The lake would be many miles
+in extent, perhaps, but the water in it would not usually be very
+deep<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>&mdash;not more than eight or ten feet, perhaps; though in some cases
+the polders are so low, that an inundation from the rivers and canals
+around it would make the lake twenty or thirty feet deep.</p>
+
+<p>"Of course, in ancient times, when a portion of the country became thus
+submerged, it was for the people to consider whether they would abandon
+it or try to pump all that water out again, by means of the wind mills.
+They would think that if they pumped it out it would be some years
+before the land would be good again; for the salt in the water would
+tend to make it barren. So they would sometimes abandon it, and put all
+their energy into requisition to strengthen the dikes around it, in
+order to prevent the inundation from spreading any farther. For water,
+in Holland, tends to spread and to destroy life and property, just as
+fire does in other countries. The lakes and rivers, where they are
+higher than the land, are liable to burst their barriers after heavy
+rains falling in the country, or great floods coming down the rivers, or
+high tides rise from the sea, and so run into each other; and the people
+have continually to contend against this danger, just as in other
+countries they do against spreading conflagrations.</p>
+
+<p>"In the case of spreading fire, water is the great friend and helper of
+man; and in the case<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> of these spreading inundations of water, it is
+wind that he relies upon. The only mode that the Dutch had to pump out
+the water in former times was the wind mills. When the rains or the
+tides inundated the land, they called upon the wind to help them lift
+the water out to where it could flow away again.</p>
+
+<p>"There was a time, two or three hundred years ago, when all the wind
+mills that the people could make, seem not to have been enough to do the
+work; and there was one place, in the centre of the country, where the
+water continued to spread more and more&mdash;breaking through as it spread
+from one polder to another&mdash;until, at last, it swallowed up such an
+extent of country as to form a lake thirty miles in circumference. This
+lake at last extended very near to the gates of Haarlem, and it was
+called the Holland Lake. You will find it laid down on all the maps of
+Holland, except those which have been printed within a few years. The
+reason why it is not laid down now is, because a few years ago, finding
+that the wind mills were not strong enough to pump it out, the
+government concluded to try what virtue there might be in steam. So they
+first repaired and strengthened the range of dikes that extended round
+the lake. In fact, they made them double all around, leaving a space
+between for a canal.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> They made both the inner and outer of these dikes
+water-tight; so that the water should neither soak back into the lake
+again, after it was pumped out, nor ooze out into the polders beyond.
+The way they made them water-tight was by lining them on both sides with
+a good thick coating of clay.</p>
+
+<p>"When the dikes enclosing the lake were completed, the engineers set up
+three very powerful steam engines, and gave to each one ten or twelve
+enormous pumps to work. These pumping engines were made on such a grand
+scale that they lifted over sixty tuns of water at every stroke. But yet
+so large was the lake, and so vast the quantity of water to be drained,
+that though there were three of the engines working at this rate, and
+though they were kept at work night and day, it took them a year and a
+half to lay the ground dry. The work was, however, at last accomplished,
+and now, what was the bottom of the lake is all converted into pastures
+and green fields. But they still have to keep the pumps going all the
+time to lift out the surplus water that falls over the whole space in
+rain. You may judge that the amount is very large that falls on a
+district thirty miles round. They calculate that the quantity which they
+have to pump up now, every year, in order to keep the land from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> being
+overflowed again, is over fifty millions of tuns. And that is a quantity
+larger than you can ever conceive of.</p>
+
+<p>"And yet the piece of ground is so large, that the cost of this pumping
+makes only about fifty cents for each acre of land, which is very
+little.</p>
+
+<p>"Besides these great spreading inundations, which Holland has always
+been subject to from the lakes and rivers in the middle of the country,
+there has always been a greater danger still to be feared from the ice
+freshets of the Rhine, and other great rivers coming from the interior
+of the country. The Rhine, you know, flows from south to north, and
+often the ice, in the spring, breaks up in the middle of the course of
+the river, before it gets thawed in Holland. The broken ice, in coming
+down the stream towards the north, is kept within the banks of the
+stream where the banks are high; but when it reaches Holland it is not
+only no longer so confined, but it finds its flow obstructed by the ice
+which there still remains solid, and so it gets jammed and forms dams,
+and that makes the water rise very fast. At one time when such a dam was
+formed, the water rose seven feet in an hour. At such times the pressure
+becomes so prodigious that the dikes along the bank of the river are
+burst, and water, sand, gravel, and ice, all pour over together upon<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>
+the surrounding country, and overwhelm and destroy every thing that
+comes in its way.</p>
+
+<p>"Some of the inundations caused in Holland by these floods and freshets
+have been terrible. In ancient times they were worse than they are now;
+because now the dikes are stronger, and are better guarded. At one
+inundation that occurred about sixty years ago, eighty thousand persons
+were drowned. At another, three hundred years earlier, one hundred
+thousand perished. Think what awful floods there must have been.</p>
+
+<p>"But I cannot write any more in this letter. I have taken up so much
+space and time in telling you about the inundations and freshets, that I
+have not time to describe a great many other things which I have seen,
+that are quite as curious and remarkable as they. But when I get home I
+can tell you all about them, in the winter evenings, and read to you
+about them from my journal.</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Your affectionate brother,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 10em;">"<span class="smcap">George</span>."</span><br /><br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Rollo's Letter</span>.</p>
+
+<p class="author">
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"<span class="smcap">Leyden</span>, Tuesday, September 27.</span>
+</p>
+<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">"<span class="smcap">My Dear Mother</span>:</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>"Uncle George and I are having a very fine time indeed in travelling
+about Holland; it is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> such a funny country, on account of there being so
+many canals. The water is all smooth and still in all the canals,
+(except when the wind blows,) and so there must be excellent skating
+every where in the winter.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish it was winter here now, for one day, so that uncle George and I
+could have some Dutch skating.</p>
+
+<p>"There must be good skating every where here in the winter, for there is
+water every where, and it is all good water for skating. In the fields,
+instead of brooks running in crooked ways and tumbling over rocks, there
+are only long and narrow channels of smooth water, just about wide
+enough to skate upon, and reaching as far as you can see.</p>
+
+<p>"The people here speak Dutch, and they cannot understand me, and I
+cannot understand them. And that is not the worst of it; they can't
+understand that <i>I can't understand</i> them. Sometimes the woman that
+comes to make my bed tells me something in Dutch, and I tell her that I
+can't understand. I know the Dutch for 'I can't understand.' Then she
+says, 'O!' and goes on to tell me over again, only now she tries to
+speak plainer&mdash;as if it could make any difference to me whether she
+speaks plain or not. I shake my head, and tell her I can't understand
+any thing. I tell her<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> in French, and in English, and in Dutch. But it
+does not do any good, for she immediately begins again, and tells me the
+whole story all over again, trying to speak plainer than ever. I suppose
+she thinks that any body can understand Dutch, if she only speaks it
+plain enough to them.</p>
+
+<p>"When I want any thing of them, I always tell them by signs. The other
+evening, uncle George and I wanted some candles. So I rang the bell, and
+a woman came. I went to the door of the room, and made believe that I
+had two candlesticks in my hand, and that I was bringing them in. I
+made believe put them on the table, and then sat down and opened a book,
+and pretended that I was reading by the light of them. She understood me
+immediately. She laughed, and said, 'Ya, ya!' and went off out of the
+room to get the candles.</p>
+
+<p>"Ya, ya, means yes, yes.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Another time we wanted a fire. So when the woman came in, I shivered,
+and made believe that I was very cold, and then I went to the fireplace,
+and made believe warm myself. Then I pointed to the fireplace, and made
+a sign for her to go away and bring the fire to put there. But instead
+of going, she told me something in Dutch, and shook her head; and when I
+said I could not understand it, she told me over again; and finally she
+went away, and sent the landlady. The landlady could<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span> speak a little
+English. So she told me that we could not have any fire except in foot
+stoves, for the fireplace stoves were not put up.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i52.jpg" width="600" height="357" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE BOAT FAMILY.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"It is very curious to walk about the streets, and see the boats on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>
+canals, and what the people are carrying back and forth in them. I watch
+them sometimes from the windows of the hotel, especially when it rains,
+and we cannot go out. They have every thing in these boats. They use
+some of them instead of houses; and the man who owns them lives in them
+with his wife and children, and sometimes with his ducks and chickens.</p>
+
+<p>"I often see the little children playing on the decks of the boat. Once
+I saw one that had a dog, and he was trying to teach him to cipher on a
+slate. His mother and the other children were on the boat too.</p>
+
+<p>"The people use their dogs here to draw carts. They have three or four
+sometimes harnessed in together. The dogs look pretty poor and lean, but
+they draw like good fellows. You would be surprised to see what great
+loads they draw. They draw loads of vegetables to market, and then, when
+the vegetables are sold, they draw the market women home in the empty
+carts.</p>
+
+<p>"Only they don't mind very well, when they are told which way to go. I
+saw a boy yesterday<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span> riding along in a cart, with a good big dog to draw
+him, and when he came to a street where he wanted him to turn down, the
+dog would not turn. The boy hallooed out to him in Dutch a good many
+times, and finally the boy had to jump down out of the cart, and run and
+seize him by the collar, and <i>pull</i> him round.</p>
+
+<p>"It is not a great deal that they use dog carts to bring things to
+market, for generally they bring them in boats. They take almost every
+thing to and fro along the canals in boats; and it is very curious to
+stand on a bridge and look down on the boats that pass under, and see
+how many different kinds of boats there are, and how many different
+kinds of things they have in them. This morning, I saw one that had the
+bottom of it divided into three pens for animals. In the first pen were
+two great cows, lying down on the straw; in the second pen were several
+sheep; and in the third there were as many as a dozen small pigs, just
+big enough to be roasted. I suppose it was a farmer bringing in his
+stock to market.</p>
+
+<p>"Sometimes they row the boats along the canal, and sometimes they push
+them with setting poles. They have the longest setting poles in some of
+the boats that I ever saw. There is an iron pike at one end of the pole,
+and a wooden knob at the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> other. When they are pushing the boat by means
+of one of these poles, they run the ironed end of it down to the bottom,
+and then the man puts his shoulder to the little knob at the other end
+and pushes. As the boat goes on, he walks along the boat from the bow to
+the stern, pushing all the way as hard as he can push.</p>
+
+<p>"When they are out of town the men pull the boats along the canals by
+means of a long cord, which is fastened to a strap over their shoulders.
+With this strap they walk along on the tow-path of the canal, pulling in
+this way&mdash;so that if the cord should break, I should think they would
+fall headlong on the ground.</p>
+
+<p>"I saw a man and a woman the other day pulling a double boat, loaded
+with hay, along a canal. The hay was loaded across from one boat to the
+other. It made as much as five or six of the largest cart loads of hay
+that I ever saw. I was surprised to see that a man and a woman could
+draw so much. They drew it by long lines, and by straps over their
+shoulders. The woman's line was fastened to one of the boats, and the
+man's to the other.</p>
+
+<p>"The people travel a great deal in boats in these parts of the country,
+where there are no railroads. Uncle George and I took a little journey
+in one, the other day. I wanted to go very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> much, but uncle George was
+afraid, he said, that they might take us somewhere where there would be
+nobody that could talk English, and so we might get into some serious
+difficulty. But he said that he would go with me a few miles, if I could
+find a canal boat going to some place that we knew. So I found one going
+to a town called Delft. We knew that place, because we had come through
+it, or close by it, by the railway.</p>
+
+<p>"Uncle George said that it was an excellent plan to go there, for then,
+if we got tired of the canal boat in going, we could come home by a
+railroad train.</p>
+
+<p>"So we went; and we had a very pleasant time, indeed. I found the canal
+boat by going to the place where the boats all were, and saying, <i>Delft,
+Delft</i>, to the people; and then they pointed me to the right boat. So we
+got in. When the captain came for the fare, I took out a handful of
+money, and said <i>Delft</i>, and also pointed to uncle George. So he took
+out enough to pay for uncle George and me to go to Delft. At least I
+suppose he thought it was enough, though I thought it was very little.</p>
+
+<p>"We had a very pleasant sail to Delft. The banks of the canal are
+beautiful. They are green and pretty every where, and in some places
+there were beautiful gardens, and summer houses, and pavilions close
+upon the shore.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"But now I begin to be tired of writing. I should have been tired a
+great while ago, only I have stopped to rest pretty often, and to look
+out the window, and see what is going by on the canal.</p>
+
+<p>"There is a boat coming now with a mast, and I don't see what they are
+going to do, for there is a bridge here, and it is not a draw bridge.
+Almost all the bridges are draw bridges, but this one is not. So I don't
+see how he is going to get by.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, I see how it is! The mast is on a hinge, so that it can turn down
+backward, and lie along flat on the deck of the boat. It is going down
+now.</p>
+
+<p>"Now it is down, and the boat is going under the bridge.</p>
+
+<p>"But good by, mother, for it is time for me to stop.</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"Your affectionate and dutiful son,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;">"<span class="smcap">Rollo</span>.</span>
+</p>
+
+<p>"P. S. This is the longest letter that I ever wrote."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_VIII" id="Chapter_VIII"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter VIII.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">The Commissioner</span>.</h3>
+
+
+<p><span class="smcap">As</span> may well be imagined, the best use to which the green fields of
+Holland can be put, is the raising of grass to feed cattle; for the
+wetness of the land, which makes it somewhat unsuitable to be ploughed,
+causes grass to grow upon it very luxuriantly. Accordingly, as you ride
+through the country along the great railway lines, you see, every where,
+herds of cattle and flocks of sheep feeding in the meadows that extend
+far and wide in every direction.</p>
+
+<p>The cattle are kept partly for the purpose of being fatted and sent to
+market for beef, and partly for their milk, which the Dutch farmers make
+cheese of. Dutch cheeses are celebrated in every part of the world.</p>
+
+<p>In the neighborhood of Amsterdam there are a number of dairy villages
+where cheeses are made, and some of them are almost always visited by
+travellers. They are great curiosities, in fact, on account of their
+singular and most extraor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>dinary neatness. Cleanliness is, in all parts
+of the world, deemed a very essential requisite of a dairy, and the
+Dutch housewives in the dairy villages of Holland have carried the idea
+to the extreme. The village which is most commonly visited by strangers
+who go to Amsterdam, is one called Broek. It lies to the north of
+Amsterdam, and at a distance of about five or six miles from it.</p>
+
+<p>One day when Mr. George and Rollo arrived in Amsterdam, Mr. George, just
+at sundown, looked out at the window of the hotel, and said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Rollo, I think it is going to be a superb day to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"So do I," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"At least," said Mr. George, "I should think so if I were in America.
+The wind has all gone down, and the western sky is full of golden clouds
+shining in roseate splendor."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George enunciated these high-sounding words in a pompous and
+theatrical manner, which made Rollo laugh very heartily.</p>
+
+<p>"And, to descend from poetry to plain prose," said Mr. George, "I think
+we had better take advantage of the fine weather to go to Broek
+to-morrow."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Rollo, "that plan suits me exactly."</p>
+
+<p>Rollo was always ready for any plan which involved the going away from
+the place where he was, to some new place which he had not seen before.</p>
+
+<p>"But how are we going to find the way there?" said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"I shall take a commissioner," said Mr. George. "I am going to Saandam,
+too, where Peter the Great learned ship carpentry."</p>
+
+<p>"I have heard something about that," said Rollo, "but I don't know much
+about it."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, Peter the Great was emperor of Russia," said Mr. George, "and he
+wished to introduce ship building into his dominions. So he came to
+Holland to learn about the construction of ships, in order that he might
+be better qualified to take the direction of the building of a fleet in
+Russia. Saandam was the place that he came to. While he was there he
+lived in a small, wooden house, near the place where the ship building
+was going on. That house is there now, and almost every body that comes
+to this part of the country goes to see it."</p>
+
+<p>"How long ago was it that he was there?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"It was more than one hundred and fifty years ago," said Mr. George.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I should not think a wooden house would have lasted so long," said
+Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"It would not have lasted so long," replied Mr. George, "if they had not
+taken special pains to preserve it. They have built a brick house around
+it and over it, to protect it from the weather, and so it has been
+preserved. Now I think we had better go to-morrow and see Broek, and
+also Saandam, and I am going to take a commissioner."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George had employed a commissioner once before, as the reader will
+perhaps recollect, namely, at the Hague; and perhaps I ought to stop
+here a moment to explain more fully what a commissioner is. He is a
+servant hired by the day to conduct strangers about the town where they
+reside, and about the environs, if necessary, to show them what there is
+that is curious and wonderful there. These men are called, sometimes
+commissioners and sometimes <i>valets de place</i>, and in their way they are
+very useful.</p>
+
+<p>If a traveller arrives at a hotel in the morning, at any important town
+in Europe, before he has been in his room fifteen minutes he generally
+hears a knock at his door, and on bidding the person come in, a
+well-dressed looking servant man appears and asks,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Shall you wish for a commissioner, sir, to-day?"</p>
+
+<p>Or if the gentleman, after remaining in his room a few minutes, takes
+his wife or his daughter, or whomever he may have travelling with him,
+and goes out from the door of the hotel, he is pretty sure to be met
+near the door by one or more of these men, who accost him earnestly,
+saying,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Do you want a commissioner, sir?" Or, "Shall I show you the way, sir?"
+Or, "Would you like to see the museum, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>When a traveller intends to remain some days in a place, he has
+generally no occasion for a commissioner; since, in his rambles about
+the town, he usually finds all the places of interest himself, and in
+such a case the importunities of the commissioners seeking employment
+are sometimes annoying to him. But if his time is very short, or if he
+wishes to make excursions into the neighborhood of a town where he does
+not understand the language of the people, then such a servant is of
+very great advantage.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George thought that his proposed excursion to Broek and Saandam was
+an occasion on which a commissioner could be very advantageously
+employed. Accordingly, after he and Rollo had finished their dinner,
+which they took<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> at a round table near a window in the coffee room, he
+asked Rollo to ring the bell.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo did so, and a waiter came in.</p>
+
+<p>"Send me in a commissioner, if you please," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well, sir," said the waiter, with a bow.</p>
+
+<p>The waiter went out, and in a few minutes a well-dressed and very
+respectable looking young man came in, and advancing towards Mr. George,
+said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Did you wish to see a commissioner, sir?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George. "I want to make some inquiries about going to
+Broek and to Saandam, to-morrow. I want to know what the best way is to
+go, and what the expenses will be."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, Mr. George took out a pencil and a piece of paper from his
+pocket, in order to make a memorandum of what the commissioner should
+say.</p>
+
+<p>"In the first place," asked Mr. George, "what is your name? I shall want
+to know what to call you."</p>
+
+<p>"My name is James," said the commissioner.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, now, James," said Mr. George, "I want you to tell me what the
+best way is to go, and what all the expenses will be. I want to know
+every thing beforehand."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, sir," said James, "we shall go first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> by the ferry boat across to
+the Y,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> and there we shall take the <i>trekschuyt</i> for a short distance
+on the canal."</p>
+
+
+<p>"And how much will that cost?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"For the three, forty-five cents," said James.</p>
+
+<p>He meant, of course, Dutch cents. It takes two and a half Dutch cents to
+make one American cent.</p>
+
+<p>"There," continued James, "we take a carriage."</p>
+
+<p>"And how much will the carriage be?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"To go to Broek and back, and then to Saandam, will be ten guilders."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George made memoranda of these sums on his paper, as James named
+them.</p>
+
+<p>"And the tolls," continued James, "will be one guilder and twenty-five
+cents more."</p>
+
+<p>"And the driver?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>In most of the countries of Europe, when you make a bargain for the
+carriage, the driver's services are not included in it. He expects a fee
+besides.</p>
+
+<p>"The driver, fifty cents. Half a guilder," said James.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Is that enough for him?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said James, "that's enough."</p>
+
+<p>"We will call it seventy-five cents," said Mr. George. So saying, he
+wrote seventy-five.</p>
+
+<p>"Then there will be some fees to pay, I suppose," said Mr. George, "both
+at Broek and at Saandam."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said James. "We pay twenty-five cents at the dairy,
+twenty-five cents at the garden, and twenty-five to the hostler. That
+makes seventy-five. And the same at Saandam, to see the hut of Peter the
+Great, and the house. That makes one guilder fifty centimes."</p>
+
+<p>"Is that all?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"There will be forty-five cents for the ferry, coming back," said James.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George added this sum to the column, and then footed it up. The
+amount was nearly fifteen guilders.</p>
+
+<p>"We will call it fifteen guilders," said he. "To-morrow I will give you
+fifteen guilders, and you will pay all expenses. And then what shall I
+have to pay you for your services?"</p>
+
+<p>"My charge is four guilders for the day," said James.</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Mr. George. "And at what time in the morning will it
+be best to set out?"</p>
+
+<p>"There is a boat at nine o'clock," said James.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Then we will leave here at half past eight. We will have breakfast,
+Rollo, at eight. Or perhaps we can have breakfast at Broek. Is there a
+hotel there, James?"</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said James. "There is a hotel there."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well. Then we will wait till we get there before we take
+breakfast, and we will expect you at half past eight. Our room is number
+eleven."</p>
+
+<p>The arrangement being thus fully made, the commissioner, promising to be
+punctual, bowed and retired.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "to-morrow we will have a good time.
+After I give the commissioner the fifteen guilders, I shall have no
+further care or responsibility, but shall be taken along over the whole
+ground as if I were a child under the care of his father."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i166.jpg" width="600" height="351" alt="" title="chapter endpiece" />
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_IX" id="Chapter_IX"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter IX.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">The Great Canal</span>.</h3>
+
+<p>The commissioner knocked at Mr. George's door at the time appointed. Mr.
+George and Rollo were both ready. Mr. George counted out the fifteen
+guilders on the table, and James put them in his pocket. The party then
+set out.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George wished to stop by the way to put a letter in the post office,
+and to pay the postage of it. He desired to do this personally, for he
+wished to inquire whether the letter would go direct. So James led them
+by the way of the post office, and conducted Mr. George into the office
+where foreign letters were received, and the payment of postage taken
+for them. Here James served as interpreter. Indeed, it is one of the
+most important duties of a commissioner to serve as an interpreter to
+his employer, whenever his services are required in this capacity.</p>
+
+<p>When the letter was put in, the party resumed their walk. The
+commissioner went on before, carrying Mr. George's travelling shawl and
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> umbrella, and Mr. George and Rollo followed. The way lay along a
+narrow street, by the side of a canal. There were a thousand curious
+sights to be seen, both among the boats on the canal and along the road;
+but Rollo could not stop to examine them, for the commissioner walked
+pretty fast.</p>
+
+<p>"I wish he would not walk so fast," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah, yes," said Mr. George, "he is right this morning, for we want to
+get to the pier in time for the boat. But in walking about the town to
+see it, it would be a great trouble to us."</p>
+
+<p>"To-morrow we will go about by ourselves," said Rollo, "and stop when
+and where we please."</p>
+
+<p>"We will," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>At last the party came out to what may be called the front of the city,
+where they could look off upon the harbor. This harbor is a sheet of
+water called the Y, which has been before referred to. The morning was
+bright and beautiful, and the water was covered with ships, steamers,
+barges, boats, and vessels of every form and size, going to and fro. The
+steamers passed swiftly, but the sailing vessels scarcely moved, so calm
+and still was the morning air. The sun was shining, and the whole scene
+presented to Mr. George's and Rollo's view, as they looked out over the
+water, was extremely brilliant and beautiful.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The commissioner led the way out over a long pier supported by piles, to
+a sort of landing platform at a distance from the shore. This place was
+quite large. It had a tavern upon it, and a great many different offices
+belonging to the different lines of steamers, and piers projecting in
+different directions for the different boats and steamers to land at. It
+stood at some distance from the shore, and the whole had the appearance
+of a little village on an island. It would have been an island indeed,
+if there had been any land about it; but there was not. It was built
+wholly on piles.</p>
+
+<p>Here were crowds of people going and coming on this stage, some having
+just landed from the different steamers that had just arrived, and some
+about to embark in others that were going away. Small boats were coming,
+too, over the water, with passengers in them, among whom were many
+peasant girls, whose foreheads and temples were adorned with a profusion
+of golden ornaments, such as are worn by the ladies of North Holland.
+Rollo looked this way and that as he passed along the stage, and he
+wished for time to stop and examine what he saw; but the commissioner
+walked rapidly on, and led the way to the ferry boat.</p>
+
+<p>"You will walk on board," said James, "while I get the tickets."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>So Mr. George and Rollo went over the plank on board the boat, while
+James turned to a little office that stood near to get the tickets.</p>
+
+<p>There was a man standing at the end of the plank to collect the tickets
+as the passengers came on board. Mr. George, as he passed, pointed back
+to the office where James had gone. The man bowed, and he and Rollo
+passed on.</p>
+
+<p>"How independent we are!" said Mr. George. "I shall have nothing to do
+with making any payments all day to-day, and it will seem as if we were
+travelling free."</p>
+
+<p>The ferry boat was of a very singular construction, and most singular
+looking people they were who were on board of it. It had a great flat
+deck, which was of an oval form, and was spreading out very wide at the
+sides. There were seats here and there in different places, but no
+awning or shelter of any kind overhead. Rollo was glad of this, for the
+morning was so fine, and the view on every side was so magnificent, that
+he was very much pleased to have it so wholly unobstructed.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as the chimes of the city clocks began to strike for nine, the
+various steamboats began to shoot out in different directions from the
+piers of the landing, and soon the ferry boat began to move, too. She
+moved, however, very slowly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What a slow and clumsy boat!" said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"I'm glad she is slow," replied Mr. George, "for I want to look about. I
+should be willing to be an hour in going across this ferry."</p>
+
+<p>The prospect on every side was, indeed, very fine. On looking back they
+could see the buildings of the town extending far and wide for miles,
+with domes, and towers, and spires, and tops of trees, and masts of
+ships rising together every where above the tops of the houses. The
+water of the harbor was covered with ships and steamers passing to and
+fro&mdash;those near glittering in the sun, while the distant ones were half
+lost in a smoky haze that every where softened and concealed the
+horizon. Mr. George and Rollo gazed earnestly on this scene, looking now
+in this direction, and now in that, but not speaking a word.</p>
+
+<p>When they were about half across the Y, James came to Mr. George, and
+said,&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"This ferry boat connects with a steamer on the canal, which goes to the
+Helder, and also with various trekschuyts. We shall take a trekschuyt to
+go for a short distance?&mdash;as far as to the place where we shall get a
+carriage."</p>
+
+<p>"Very well," said Mr. George. "Arrange it as you think best. Then we
+shall go a short distance on the great canal."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said James. "You will like to see a little of the canal."</p>
+
+<p>"I shall, indeed," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>The great canal of which James here spoke is the grandest work of the
+kind in Holland, and perhaps in the world. If you look at the map you
+will see that Amsterdam stands somewhat in the interior of the country,
+and that the only approach to it, by sea, is through a great gulf called
+the Zuyder Zee. Now, the water in the Zuyder Zee is shallow. There are
+channels, it is true, that are tolerably deep; but they are very winding
+and intricate, and they are so surrounded with shoals and sand banks as
+to make the navigation very difficult, especially for ships of large
+size.</p>
+
+<p>The people, accordingly, conceived the plan of digging a canal across
+the country; from Amsterdam to the nearest place where there was deep
+water on the sea. This was at a point of land called the Helder.</p>
+
+<p>The reason why there was deep water there, was, that that was the outlet
+for the Zuyder Zee, and the water rushing in there when the tide is
+rising, and out again when it goes down, keeps the channel deep and
+clear.</p>
+
+<p>So it was determined to make a canal from the Helder to Amsterdam. But
+the land was lower,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> almost all the way, than the sea. This rendered it
+impossible to construct the canal so as to make it of the same level
+with the sea, without building up the banks of it to an inconvenient
+height. Besides, it was just as well to make the canal lower than the
+sea, and then to build gates at each end of it, to prevent the sea water
+from coming in.</p>
+
+<p>"Then how were the ships to get in?" asked Rollo, when Mr. George
+explained this to him.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, there were two ways," replied Mr. George, "by which ships might
+get in. You see, although the canal is lower than the sea is generally,
+there is an hour or two every day when the tide goes down, in which the
+two are about on a level. Accordingly, by opening the gates when the
+tide is low, a communication would be made by which the vessels could
+sail in and out."</p>
+
+<p>"But that would be inconvenient, I should think," said Rollo, "not to
+have the gates open but twice a day."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George; "and so, to enable them to admit ships at any
+time, they have built <i>locks</i> at each end."</p>
+
+<p>"Like the locks in a common canal in America?" said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Mr. George; "and by means of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> these locks, ships can be
+taken in and out at any time."</p>
+
+<p>"I don't exactly understand how they do it," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Let me explain it to you, then," replied Mr. George. "Listen
+attentively, and picture to your mind precisely what I describe, and see
+if you understand.</p>
+
+<p>"First," continued Mr. George, "imagine that you are down by the sea
+shore, where the canal ends. The water in the sea is higher than it is
+in the canal, and there are two sets of gates, at a little distance from
+each other, near the mouth of the canal, which keep the water of the sea
+from flowing in."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo, "I can picture that to my mind. But how far apart are
+the two sets of gates?"</p>
+
+<p>"A little farther apart," said Mr. George, "than the length of the
+longest ship. Of course one pair of these locks is towards the sea, and
+the other towards the canal. I will call the first the sea gates, and
+the other the canal gates. The space between the two gates is called the
+lock."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo, "I understand all that."</p>
+
+<p>"Now," continued Mr. George, "a ship comes in, we will suppose, and is
+to be taken into the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> canal. First, the men open the sea gates. The sea
+can now flow into the lock, but it cannot get into the canal, because
+the canal gates are still shut."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"And, now you see," continued Mr. George, "that as the water in the lock
+is high, and on a level with the sea, the ship can sail into the lock."</p>
+
+<p>"But it can't get down into the canal," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"No," replied Mr. George, "not yet. But now the men shut the sea gates,
+and thus shut the ship in. They then open the passages through the canal
+gates, and this lets the water out of the lock until it subsides to the
+level of that in the canal, and the ship settles down with it. But the
+sea cannot come in, for the sea gates, that are now behind the ship, are
+shut. When the water in the lock has gone down to the canal level, then
+they can open the gates, and the ship can sail along out of the lock
+into the canal.</p>
+
+<p>"Thus they lock the ship down into the canal at one end, and when she
+has passed through the canal, they lock her up into the Y again at the
+other."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo. "I understand it now.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span> And shall we go into the canal
+through the locks in this way?"</p>
+
+<p>"I don't know," said Mr. George. "I'll ask James."</p>
+
+<p>So Mr. George beckoned to James to come to him, and asked him whether
+they should enter the canal through the lock.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said James. "The ferry boat does not go into the canal at all. We
+go into a little dock or harbor by the side of it, and the passengers
+walk over the dike, and down to the canal, where they find the boats
+ready for them that they are to take."</p>
+
+<p>"Why don't they pass from those boats through the locks, and let them
+come across to Amsterdam?" asked Rollo, "and then we might get on board
+them there, and so not have to change from one boat to the other."</p>
+
+<p>"Because it takes some time, and some trouble," said James, "to pass any
+thing through the locks, and it is not worth while to do it, except in
+case of large and valuable ships. So the boats and steamers that ply
+along the canal are left inside the lock, and the passengers are taken
+to and from them by the ferry boat."</p>
+
+<p>The ferry boat, by this time, began to approach the shore. It entered
+into a little opening in the land, which formed a sort of harbor. Here
+the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> passengers were landed at a wharf, which was surrounded by small
+buildings. Thence they ascended what was evidently a large dike. When
+they reached the top of the dike they saw below them, on the other side
+of it, the beginning of the canal. It lay several feet lower than the
+water of the harbor in which they had left the ferry boat; but it was
+quite wide, and it was bordered by broad dikes with avenues of trees
+upon them, on either side. On one side, under the trees, was a tow path,
+and on the other a broad and smoothly gravelled road.</p>
+
+<p>Two boats were lying moored to the wharves at the side of the canal. One
+was a long, sharp, and narrow steamer, which was going through the whole
+length of the canal to the Helder. The other was a trekschuyt, or canal
+boat, which was going only a short way, to the nearest village.</p>
+
+<p>The passengers that came in the ferry boat divided into two parties, as
+they came down the dike. One party went to the steamer, the other to the
+trekschuyt. Mr. George and Rollo, of course, went with the last.</p>
+
+<p>The trekschuyt was a curious sort of boat. It was built like the Noah's
+ark made for children to play with; that is, it was a broad boat, with a
+house in it. The roof of the house, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> formed the deck of the boat,
+was flat, and there were seats along the sides of it, and a railing
+behind them on the margin, to keep people from falling off. At each end
+of the house were two flights of steps, leading up to the roof or deck,
+and below them another flight, which led down to the little cabins
+below.</p>
+
+<p>As soon as Rollo got on board, he first ran up on the deck. He sat down
+on the seat upon one side, and then, after looking about a moment, he
+ran over to the other side, and sat down there. Then he got up, and said
+that he was going below to look at the cabins.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George, all the time, stood quietly on the deck, looking at the
+canal, and at the country around. He could see the canal extending, in a
+winding direction, across the country; but the view of it was soon lost,
+as the winding of its course brought the dikes on the sides of it in the
+way so that they concealed the water. He could, however, trace its
+course for some distance, by the masts and sails of vessels which he saw
+at different distances rising among the green trees. Along the dike, on
+one side, was a high road, and on the other, a tow path. Different boats
+were coming and going in the part of the canal that was near. They were
+drawn by long and slender lines, that were fastened to a tall mast set
+up<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> near the bows of the boat. Some were drawn by men, and some by
+horses.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i179.jpg" width="600" height="343" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE TREKSCHUYT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Before the trekschuyt had gone far, after it commenced its voyage, a
+great ship was seen coming on the canal. She was coming from the Helder.
+It was a ship that had come from the West Indies, and was going to
+Amsterdam. The wind was contrary for her, and they could not use their
+sails, and so they were drawing her along by horses. There were two
+teams of horses, eight in each team. The view of these teams, walking
+along the tow path, with the immense ship following them in the canal,
+presented a very imposing spectacle.</p>
+
+<p>The trekschuyt started before the Helder steamer; but it had not gone
+far before Rollo, who had now ascended to the deck again, saw her coming
+up behind very rapidly.</p>
+
+<p>"I tell you what it is, uncle George," said he, "I wish you and I were
+on board that steamer, and were going along the whole length of the
+canal."</p>
+
+<p>"So do I," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Could not we get on board?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Mr. George. "We cannot change our plan to-day very well. But
+now that we have found the way, we can come over here any morning we
+please, and take the Helder steamer."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Let's come," said Rollo, eagerly. "Let's come to-morrow."</p>
+
+<p>"We'll see about that," said Mr. George. "See, here comes a market
+boat."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo. "The man is towing it, and his wife is steering."</p>
+
+<p>"Now we will see how they pass," said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>There was no difficulty about passing, for as soon as the man who was
+towing the market boat found that the trekschuyt had come up to his
+line, he stopped suddenly, and the advance of his boat caused his line
+to drop into the water. The trekschuyt then sailed right over it. By
+this simple man&oelig;uvre, boats and vessels could pass each other very
+easily, and generally the man&oelig;uvre was executed in a prompt and very
+skilful manner. But once, when they were passing a boat, the woman who
+was steering it put the helm the wrong way, and though the captain of
+the trekschuyt, and also the husband of the woman, who was on the shore,
+shouted to her repeatedly in a loud and angry manner, she could not get
+it right again in time to avoid a collision. The trekschuyt gave the
+boat a dreadful bump as it went by. Fortunately, however, it did no
+harm, except to frighten the poor woman, and break their tow line.</p>
+
+<p>After going on in this way for fifteen or twenty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> minutes along the
+canal, the trekschuyt arrived at its place of destination, and Mr.
+George and Rollo disembarked at a little village of very neat and pretty
+houses, built along the dike on one side of the canal.</p>
+
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i183.jpg" width="600" height="446" alt="" title="chapter endpiece" />
+</div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_X" id="Chapter_X"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter X.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">The Dairy Village.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>Mr. George and Rollo walked ashore in a very independent manner, having
+the commissioner to attend to the tickets. They went up to the top of
+the dike, and waited for the commissioner to come to them.</p>
+
+<p>"While I am getting the carriage ready," said the commissioner, when he
+came, "perhaps you will like to take a walk on the bridge, where there
+is a very fine view. But first, perhaps, you will look at the carriage,
+and choose the one that you will like."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, James led the way into a sort of stable, where there were a
+great many very nice and pretty carriages, arranged very snugly
+together. Mr. George was surprised to see so many. He asked James how it
+happened.</p>
+
+<p>"O, there is a great deal of travelling on the roads about here," said
+James. "The country is very rich and populous, and the people of
+Amsterdam come out a great deal."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Some of the carriages were very elegant. One of these an hostler took
+out, and told Mr. George that he could have it if he chose. There was
+another which was much less elegant, but it was more open.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us take the open one," said Rollo. "We can see so much better."</p>
+
+<p>So they decided upon the open one; and then, while the hostlers were
+harnessing the horses, Mr. George and Rollo went forward to the bridge.</p>
+
+<p>The bridge led over a branch canal, which here comes into the main
+canal. The road to it lay along the dike, and formed the street of a
+little village. It was paved with bricks placed edgewise, and was as
+neat as a parlor floor. The houses were all on one side. They were very
+small; but they were so neat and pretty, and the forms of them were so
+strange and queer, that they looked like play houses, or like a scene in
+fairy land, rather than like the real habitations of men.</p>
+
+<p>There were pretty gardens by them, which extended down the slope of the
+dike. The slopes of the dikes are always very gradual, and very nice
+gardens can be made on them.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George and Rollo stood on the bridge, and looked up and down the
+canals on either side. They saw boats, with people in them, getting
+ready to set out on their voyages.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I wonder where that canal leads to?" said Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"O, it goes off into the interior of the country, some where," said Mr.
+George. "The country is as full of canals as Massachusetts is of roads."</p>
+
+<p>"I should like, very much," said Rollo, "to get on board that boat with
+that man, and go with him wherever he is going."</p>
+
+<p>"So should I, if I knew Dutch," said Mr. George, "so that I could talk
+with him as we sailed along."</p>
+
+<p>"How pretty it is all about here," said Rollo. "What a queer
+village,&mdash;built on a bank! And what a funny road! It looks like a play
+road."</p>
+
+<p>The road, where it led through the village, did, indeed, present a very
+singular appearance. It was very narrow indeed, being barely wide enough
+for one carriage to pass, and leaving scarcely room on the side for a
+child to crowd up against the house, and let it go by. On the other side
+was a row of trees, with green grass beneath, covering the banks of the
+canal.</p>
+
+<p>After Mr. George and Rollo had been standing a few minutes on the bridge
+they saw that the carriage was nearly ready. So they went back to the
+place and got in. The top of the carriage was turned entirely down, so
+that they could see about them in every direction as they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> rode along.
+James mounted on the box outside, with the driver.</p>
+
+<p>"Now," said Rollo, in a tone of great satisfaction, "we will have a very
+first rate ride."</p>
+
+<p>The carriage drove along through the little street, which has already
+been described. Rollo could reach his hand out and almost touch the
+houses as they rode by. There were little shops kept in some of the
+houses, and the things that were for sale were put up at the windows.
+They looked exactly as if children had arranged them for play.</p>
+
+<p>After leaving the village the road turned and followed the dike of a
+branch canal. The views on every side were extremely beautiful. The
+canal was carried along between its two banks, high above the rest of
+the country, and here and there, at moderate distances from each other,
+wind mills were to be seen busy at work pumping up water from the drains
+in the fields, and pouring it into the canal. The fields were covered
+with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and here and there were
+parties of men mowing the grass or loading the new-made hay into boats,
+that lay floating in the small canals which bordered the fields.</p>
+
+<p>In looking about over the country, there were wind mills to be seen in
+all directions, their long arms slowly revolving in the air, and
+interspersed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> among them were the masts and sails of sloops and
+schooners, that were sailing to and fro along the canals. As the water
+of these canals was often hidden from view by the dikes which bordered
+them, it seemed as if the ships and steamers were sailing on the land in
+the midst of green fields and trees, and smiling villages.</p>
+
+<p>After going on in this way for an hour or more, the carriage approached
+the village which Mr. George and Rollo were going to see. The village
+lay on the borders of a canal, which was here quite broad, and as the
+road approached it on the other side of the canal, it was in full view
+for Mr. George and Rollo as the party approached it. The houses were
+close to the margin of the water. They were very neat and pretty, and
+were, most of them, painted green. Many of them had little canals by the
+side of them, like lanes of water leading into the rear of the houses,
+and the prettiest little porticoes, and trellises, and piazzas, and
+pavilions, and summer houses were seen in every part. The road went
+winding round a wide basin, and then, after crossing a bridge, the
+carriage stopped at an inn.</p>
+
+<p>The inn was entirely outside of the village. The commissioner said that
+they must walk through the village, for there was no carriage road
+through it at all.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>So Mr. George and Rollo dismounted, and the hostlers came out from the
+stable to unharness the horses.</p>
+
+<p>"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "we will go in and order a breakfast, and
+then we will take our walk through the village while it is getting
+ready."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo. "I should like some breakfast very much."</p>
+
+<p>"What shall we have?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"What you like," replied Rollo. "You always get good breakfasts."</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said Mr. George, "we will tell them the old story."</p>
+
+<p>Just at this moment James came up to the door of the hotel where Mr.
+George and Rollo had been standing during this conversation.</p>
+
+<p>"You may order breakfast for us, James," said Mr. George, "and let them
+have it ready for us when we get back from our walk."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," said James. "And what will you have?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Biftek aux pommes</i>,"<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> said Mr. George, "and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> coffee. And let them
+give us some of their best cheese."</p>
+
+
+<p>The commissioner went in to give the order.</p>
+
+<p>"Uncle George," said Rollo, "I think you'll be known all through this
+country as the beefsteak and fried potato man."</p>
+
+<p>Mr. George laughed.</p>
+
+<p>"Well," said he. "There could not be a more agreeable idea than that to
+be associated with my memory."</p>
+
+<p>The truth is, that both Mr. George and Rollo liked the <i>biftek aux
+pommes</i> better than almost any thing else that they could have, whether
+for breakfast or dinner.</p>
+
+<p>After having given the order for the breakfast to a very nice and
+tidy-looking Dutch girl, whose forehead and temples were adorned with a
+profusion of golden ornaments, after the fashion of the young women of
+North Holland, the commissioner came back, and the whole party set out
+to walk through the village. There were no streets, properly so called,
+but only walks, about as wide as the gravel walks of a garden, which
+meandered about among the houses and yards, in a most extraordinary
+manner. There were beautiful views, from time to time, presented over
+the water of the canal on which the village was situated; and there were
+a great number of small canals which seemed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> to penetrate every where,
+with the prettiest little bridges over them, and landing steps, and
+bowers, and pavilions along the borders of them, and gayly-painted boats
+fastened at kitchen doors, and a thousand other such-like objects,
+characteristic of the intimate intermingling of land and water which
+prevails in this extraordinary country.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i191.jpg" width="600" height="352" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE DAIRY VILLAGE.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p>
+<p>Every thing was, however, on so small a scale, and so scrupulously neat
+and pretty, that it looked more like a toy village than one built for
+the every-day residence of real men.</p>
+
+<p>After walking on for about a quarter of a mile, the commissioner said
+that he would show them the interior of one of the dairy houses, where
+the cheeses were made,&mdash;for the business of this town was the making of
+cheeses from the milk of the cows that feed on the green polders that
+lie all around them.</p>
+
+<p>"The stalls for the cows," said James, "are in the same house in which
+the family lives; but the cows are not kept there in summer, and so we
+shall find the stalls empty."</p>
+
+<p>So saying, James turned aside up a little paved walk which led to the
+door of a very pretty looking house. He opened the door without any
+ceremony, and Mr. George and Rollo went in.</p>
+
+<p>The door was near one end of the house, and it opened into a passage way
+which extended<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> back through the whole depth of it. On one side was a
+row of stalls, or cribs, for the cows. On the other, were doors opening
+into the rooms used for the family. A very nice looking Dutch woman, who
+had apparently seen the party from her window, came out through this
+side door into the passage way, to welcome them when they came.</p>
+
+<p>The stalls for the cows were all beautifully made, and they were painted
+and decorated in such an extraordinary manner, that no one could have
+imagined for what use they were intended. The floors for them were made
+of the glazed tiles so often used in Holland, and the partitions between
+them were nicely rubbed as bright as a lady's sideboard. The cribs, too,
+were now, in the absence of the cows, occupied with various little
+<i>&eacute;tag&egrave;res</i>, and sets of shelves, which were covered with fancy cups and
+saucers, china images, and curiosities of all sorts,&mdash;the Dutch
+housewives taking a special pride in the collection of such things.</p>
+
+<p>The row of cribs was separated from the floor of the passage way by a
+sort of trench, about a foot and a half wide and ten inches deep, and
+outside this trench, and also within it, at the entrances to the cribs,
+were arrayed a great number of utensils employed in the work of the
+dairy, such as tubs, cans, cheese presses, moulds, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> other such
+things. These were all beautifully made, and being mounted with brass,
+which had received the highest polish by constant rubbing, they gave to
+the whole aspect of the place an exceedingly gay and brilliant
+appearance.</p>
+
+<p>Some of this apparatus was in use. There were tubs standing, with the
+curd or whey in them, and cheeses in press or in pickle, and various
+other indications that the establishment was a genuine one, and was then
+in active operation. The cheeses were of the round kind, so often seen
+for sale at the grocers' stores in Boston and New York. They looked like
+so many big cannon balls.</p>
+
+<p>After walking down the passage way that led by the side of cribs, and
+examining all these things in detail, the party returned to the door
+where they had come in, and then, turning to the left, went into the
+rooms of the house. The first room was the bedroom. The second was the
+parlor. These rooms were both completely crowded with antique looking
+furniture, among which were cabinets of Chinese ware, and ornaments of
+every kind; and all was in such a brilliant condition of nicety and
+polish, as made the spectacle wonderful to behold.</p>
+
+<p>The bed was in a recess, shut up by doors.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> When the doors were opened
+the bed place looked precisely like a berth on board ship.</p>
+
+<p>After looking at all these things as long as they wished, Mr. George and
+Rollo bade the woman good by, and James gave her half a guilder. The
+party then withdrew.</p>
+
+<p>"Well, uncle George," said Rollo, "and what do you think of that?"</p>
+
+<p>"I think it is a very extraordinary spectacle," said Mr. George. "And it
+is very curious to think how such a state of things has come about."</p>
+
+<p>"And how has it come about?" asked Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, here," replied Mr. George, "for a thousand years, for aught I
+know, the people have been living from generation to generation with no
+other employment than taking care of the cows that feed on the polders
+around, and making the milk into cheese. That is a business which
+requires neatness. Every kind of dairy business does. So that here is a
+place where a current was set towards neatness a thousand years ago, and
+it has been running ever since, and this is what it has come to."</p>
+
+<p>Talking in this manner of what they had seen, Mr. George and Rollo
+returned to the inn, and there they found an excellent breakfast. They<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>
+were waited upon at the table by the young woman who had so many golden
+ornaments in her hair; and besides the <i>biftek aux pommes</i>, and the
+coffee, and the hot milk, and the nice butter, there was the half of one
+of the round cheeses, such as they had seen in process of making at the
+dairy.</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i197.jpg" width="600" height="498" alt="" title="chapter endpiece" />
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h2><a name="Chapter_XI" id="Chapter_XI"></a><span class="smcap">Chapter XI.</span></h2>
+
+<h3><span class="smcap">Conclusion.</span></h3>
+
+
+<p>After finishing their breakfast, Mr. George and Rollo entered the
+carriage again, and returned by the same way that they came, for some
+miles towards Amsterdam, until they came to the place where the road
+turned off to go to Saandam. After proceeding for some distance upon one
+of the inland dikes, they came at length to the margin of the sea, and
+then for several miles the road lay along the great sea dike, which here
+defends the land from the ingress of the ocean.</p>
+
+<p>"Ah," said Mr. George, as soon as they entered upon this portion of the
+road, "here we come to one of the great sea dikes. How glad I am."</p>
+
+<p>"So am I," said Rollo. "I wanted to see one of the sea dikes."</p>
+
+<p>"It is very much like the others," said Mr. George, "only it is much
+larger."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo, "and see how it winds about along the shore."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In looking forward in the direction in which Rollo pointed, the dike
+could be traced for a long distance in its course, like an immense
+railroad embankment, winding in and out in a most remarkable manner, in
+conformity to the indentations of the shore. In one respect it differed
+from a railroad embankment, namely, in being bordered and overshadowed
+by avenues of immense trees, which showed how many ages ago the dike had
+been built. There is not a railroad embankment in the world that has
+been built long enough for such immense trees to have had time to grow.</p>
+
+<p>The carriage road lay along the top of the dike, which was very broad,
+and the slopes of it, towards the water on one side, and towards the low
+meadow lands on the other, were very gradual. Men were at work every
+where along these slopes, cutting the second crop of grass, and making
+it into hay. Where the hay was ready to be got in, the men were at work
+loading it into boats that lay in the little canals that extend along
+the sides of the dike at the foot of the slopes.</p>
+
+<p>Wind mills were to be seen every where, all about the horizon. As the
+road approached Saandam, these mills became more and more numerous.</p>
+
+<p>"I mean to see if I can count them," said Rollo.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"You cannot count them, I am sure," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>Rollo began; but when he got up to a hundred, he gave up the undertaking
+in despair. Mr. George told him that he read in the guide book that
+there were four thousand wind mills in that region.</p>
+
+<p>Some of these wind mills were very small indeed; and there were two or
+three which looked so "cunning," as Rollo said, that he wished very much
+that he had one of them to take with him to America.</p>
+
+<p>The use of these very small wind mills was to pump up the water from
+some very limited tract of land, which, for some reason or other,
+happened to lie a few inches lower than the rest.</p>
+
+<p>At last, after an infinite number of turnings and windings, by means of
+which every part of the surrounding country was brought in succession
+into view before Mr. George and Rollo as they sat in their carriage,
+they arrived at the town of Saandam.</p>
+
+<p>The town consists of two streets, one on each embankment of a great
+canal. The streets are closely built up for many miles along the canal,
+but the town does not extend laterally at all, on account of the ground
+falling off immediately to very low polders.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
+<img src="images/i202.jpg" width="600" height="353" alt="" title="" />
+<span class="caption">CABIN OF PETER THE GREAT.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>After entering the street the commissioner left the carriage, in order
+that the horses might rest, and led Mr. George and Rollo on a walk
+through the prettiest part of the town. They walked about half a mile
+along the canal on one side, and then, crossing by a ferry, they came
+back on the other side.</p>
+
+<p>In the course of this walk they went to see the hut where Peter the
+Great lived while he was in Holland engaged in studying ship building in
+the ship yards of Saandam. The hut itself was old and dilapidated; but
+it was covered and protected by a good, substantial building of brick,
+with open arches all around, which allowed the hut to be seen, while the
+roof and walls of the building protected it from the rain. The hut was
+situated in a very pretty little garden.</p>
+
+<p>There were two rooms in the hut, and one of them&mdash;the one shown in the
+engraving&mdash;had a very curious-looking Dutch fireplace in one corner of
+it, and a ladder to go up to the loft above. The chairs were very
+curious indeed; the seats being three-cornered, and the back and arms
+being constructed in a very singular manner.</p>
+
+<p>The walls of the rooms were perfectly covered, in every part, with the
+names of visitors, who had come from all countries to see the rooms.
+Besides these, there were a great many volumes of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> books filled with
+names. These books lay on a great table, which stood at one side of the
+room. There was one of the books which was not yet full, and this one
+lay open on the table, with a pen and ink near it, in order that fresh
+visitors, as fast as they came, might enter their names.</p>
+
+<p>After looking at this cabin as long as they wished, and entering their
+names in the book, Mr. George and Rollo left the hut and returned
+through one of the main streets of the town to the place where they had
+left their carriage. The carriage was soon ready for them, and they set
+out to go back to Amsterdam.</p>
+
+<p>They had a delightful drive back, going as they came, on the top of the
+great sea dike. On one side they could look off over a wide expanse of
+water, with boats, and steamers, and ships moving to and fro in every
+direction over it. On the other side they overlooked a still wider
+expanse of low and level green fields, intersected every where with
+canals of water and avenues of trees, and with a perfect forest of wind
+mills in the horizon.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>As they were riding quietly along upon this dike on the return to
+Amsterdam, Rollo had the opportunity of imparting to Mr. George some
+valuable information in respect to Peter the Great.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I am glad that I have had an opportunity to see the workshop of Peter
+the Great," said Mr. George. "It is very curious indeed. But I don't
+know much about Peter the Great. The first opportunity I get I mean to
+read an account of his life, and I advise you to do the same."</p>
+
+<p>"I have read about him," said Rollo. "I found a book about him in a
+steamboat that we came in, and I read all about his coming to Holland."</p>
+
+<p>"Then tell me about it," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, you see," said Rollo, "he was at war with the Turks, and he fought
+them and drove them off to the southward, until at last he came to the
+Sea of Asoph. Then he could not fight them any more, unless he could get
+some ships. So he made a law for all the great boyars of his kingdom,
+that every one of them must build or buy him a ship. What are boyars,
+uncle George?"</p>
+
+<p>"Nobles," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"I thought it must be something like that," replied Rollo.</p>
+
+<p>"The old nobility of those Russian countries are called boyars," said
+Mr. George; "but I don't know why. Most of the common people are slaves
+to them."</p>
+
+<p>"Well, at any rate," said Rollo, "he made a law that every one of them,
+or at least all that were rich enough, should build or buy him a ship;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>
+but they did not know how to build ships themselves, and so they were
+obliged to send to Holland for ship builders. They built more and better
+ships in Holland in those days than in any country in the world."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, I suppose so," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"The boyars did not like it very well to be obliged to build these
+ships," continued Rollo. "And there was another thing that they disliked
+still more."</p>
+
+<p>"What was that?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Why, the emperor made them send off their sons to be educated in
+different foreign countries," replied Rollo. "You see, in those days
+Russia was very little civilized, and Peter concluded that it would help
+to introduce civilization into the country, if the sons of the principal
+men went to other great cities for some years, to study sciences and
+arts. So he sent some of them to Paris, and some to Berlin, and some to
+Amsterdam, and some to Rome. But most of them did not like to go."</p>
+
+<p>"That's strange," said Mr. George. "I should have thought they would
+have liked to go very much."</p>
+
+<p>"At least their fathers did not like to send them," said Rollo; "perhaps
+on account of the expense; and some of the young men did not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> like to
+go. There was one that was sent to Venice, in order that he might see
+and learn every thing that he could there, that would be of advantage to
+his own country; but he was so cross about it that when he got to Venice
+he shut himself up in his house, and declared that he would not see or
+learn any thing at all."</p>
+
+<p>"He was a very foolish fellow, I think," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo, "I think he was. But I've seen boys in school act
+just so. They get put out with the teacher for something or other, and
+then they won't try to understand the lesson."</p>
+
+<p>"That is punishing themselves, and not the teacher," said Mr. George.
+"But go on about Peter."</p>
+
+<p>"After a while," continued Rollo, "Peter concluded to make a journey
+himself. His plan was to go to all the most civilized countries, and
+into all the finest cities in Europe, and see what he could learn that
+would be of use in his own dominions. So he fitted out a grand
+expedition. He took a number of ambassadors, and generals, and great
+potentates of all kinds with him. These men were dressed in splendid
+uniforms, and travelled in great state, and had grand receptions in all
+the great towns that they came to. But Peter himself did nothing of the
+kind. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> dressed plainly, like a common man, so that wherever he went
+he could ramble about at liberty, and see what he wanted to see in peace
+and quietness, while all the people were running after the procession of
+ambassadors and grandees."</p>
+
+<p>"That was a good plan," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"An excellent plan," rejoined Rollo. "In some of the seaports that he
+visited, he used to put on a sort of a pea jacket, such as the Dutch
+skippers wore, and go about in that, along the wharves and docks, and
+look at all the shipping.</p>
+
+<p>"But he was most interested in going to Holland," continued Rollo, "for
+that was the country where they built the best ships. Besides, the first
+vessel that he ever saw happened to be a Dutch vessel. I forgot to tell
+you about that."</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," replied Mr. George, "tell me now."</p>
+
+<p>"Why, it was some years before this time," said Rollo,&mdash;"two or three I
+believe,&mdash;that he first saw a vessel. There was a country place with a
+handsome house and pleasure grounds, belonging to the royal family. I
+forget what the name of it was. But that is no matter. One time, after
+Peter came to the throne, he went out to this country place to spend a
+few days. He found on the grounds a sort of artificial winding canal or
+pond, with pretty trees on the banks of it. On this canal was a yacht,
+which had been built in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> Holland and brought there, for the people to
+sail in when they came to that palace. The yacht had not been used much,
+and was lying neglected at the wharf. But Peter immediately had it put
+in order, and took a sail in it, and he liked it very much indeed."</p>
+
+<p>"Was it the first vessel that he ever saw?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," said Rollo, "I believe it was; or at least it was the first that
+he ever particularly noticed. He liked sailing in it, and then, besides,
+there was one of his officers there, who had travelled in other
+countries in Europe where people had ships and navies, and he told Peter
+what great advantages they gained from them, not only in carrying goods
+from place to place, but in transporting armies, and fighting their
+enemies at sea.</p>
+
+<p>"Peter thought a great deal about this, and when he went back to Moscow,
+which was then the capital, he inquired and found that there were some
+people from Holland there. He asked them if they knew how to build
+ships. Some of them said they did. Then he asked them if they could not
+build him some small vessels, just like the Dutch ships of war. They
+said they could. So he made a bargain with them, and they built him
+several.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Do you know how many?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Not exactly," replied Rollo. "There were several small vessels, and I
+remember that there were four frigates, and each frigate had four guns.
+I don't suppose the guns were very large."</p>
+
+<p>"Four guns is a very small armament for a frigate," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes," replied Rollo, "very small indeed. But you see, Peter did not
+want them for real service, but only for models, as it were."</p>
+
+<p>"And what did he do with them, when they were done?" asked Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"They were launched into a lake there was in that part of the country,"
+said Rollo, "and there the emperor used to sail about in them, and have
+sham fights.</p>
+
+<p>"But all this, you must understand," continued Rollo, "took place two or
+three years before Peter drove the Turks off from the southern part of
+his empire, so as to get to the sea. And it was not till then that he
+began to have real ships built of large size. And now, when he was going
+to Holland, he of course remembered the old Dutch yacht which he had on
+his pleasure grounds, and the small frigates which they had built him,
+and the large ones too, which they had built for the boyars, and he felt
+a great interest in going to see the ship yards. He determined that
+while he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> was in Holland he would spend as much time as he could in
+learning all about ship building.</p>
+
+<p>"It is very curious about the emperor and his company's entering
+Amsterdam," continued Rollo. "When the government there heard that he
+was coming, they made grand preparations to receive him. They got the
+cannon all ready on the ramparts to fire salutes, and drew out the
+soldiers, and all the doors and windows were crowded with spectators.
+They prepared a great number of illuminations, too, and fireworks, for
+the night. But just before the party arrived at Amsterdam, the emperor
+slipped away in a plain dress, and left the ambassadors, and generals,
+and grandees to go in by themselves. The people of Amsterdam did not
+know this. They supposed that some one or other of the people dressed so
+splendidly, in the procession, was Peter; and so they shouted, and waved
+their flags and their handkerchiefs, and fired the cannon, and made a
+great parade generally."</p>
+
+<p>"And Peter himself was not there at all?" said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Rollo. "He slipped away, and came in privately with a few
+merchants to accompany him. And instead of going to the great palace
+which the government of Amsterdam had provided and fitted up for him, he
+left that to his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> ambassadors, and went himself to a small house, by a
+ship yard, where he could be at liberty, and go and come when he
+pleased."</p>
+
+<p>"And afterwards, I suppose he went to Saandam," said Mr. George.</p>
+
+<p>"Yes, sir," replied Rollo. "Saandam was a great place for building ships
+in those days. They say that while he was there, he went to work
+regularly, like a ship carpenter, as if he wished to learn the trade
+himself. But I don't believe he worked a great deal."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Mr. George. "I presume he did not. He probably took the
+character and dress of a workman chiefly for the purpose of making
+himself more at home in the ship yards and about the wharves. Indeed, I
+can't see what useful end could be gained by his learning to do work
+himself. He could not expect to build ships himself when he should
+return to Russia."</p>
+
+<p>"No," said Rollo. "I expect he wanted to see exactly how the ships were
+built, and how the yards were managed, and he thought he could do this
+better if he went among the workmen as one of their number."</p>
+
+<p>"I presume so," said Mr. George. "I am very glad you found the book, and
+I am much obliged to you for all this information."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Soon after this Mr. George and Rollo arrived safely at Amsterdam.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>Rollo and Mr. George remained, after this, some days in Amsterdam; and
+they were very much entertained with what they saw there in the streets,
+and with the curious manners and customs of the people.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes">
+
+<h3>FOOTNOTES</h3>
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> See <a href='#frontis'><b>Frontispiece.</b></a></p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> A Hansom cab is made like an old-fashioned chaise, only
+that it is set very low, so that it is extremely easy to step in and out
+of it, and the seat of the driver is high up behind. The driver drives
+<i>over the top of the chaise</i>! Thus the view for the passengers riding
+inside is wholly unobstructed, and this makes the Hansom cab a very
+convenient and pleasant vehicle for two persons to ride in, through the
+streets of a new and strange town.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Pronounced <i>tahble dote</i>.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> In French, <i>Hotel Belle Vue</i>; but Mr. George gave it the
+English pronunciation, because the pronunciation of words in Holland is
+much more like the English than like the French.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> Almost all the bedrooms in the hotels on the continent of
+Europe are furnished thus with two single beds, instead of one double
+one. It is the custom for every body to sleep alone.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> Edward was Mr. George's brother. He was a boy about twelve
+years old.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> The Y is the name of the sheet of water which lies before
+Amsterdam. It is a sort of harbor.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Pronounced <i>biftek-o-pom</i>. This is a very favorite
+breakfast in France, and every where, in fact, throughout Europe. Mr.
+George liked it better than any thing else, not only for his breakfast,
+but also for his dinner. It consists of very tender beefsteaks,
+deliciously seasoned, and accompanied with sliced potatoes, fried in a
+peculiar manner, and arranged all around the margin of the dish.</p></div>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+
+<h2>PUBLICATIONS OF</h2>
+
+<h3>BROWN, TAGGARD &amp; CHASE,</h3>
+
+<p class="center">SUCCESSORS TO<br /><br />
+
+W. J. REYNOLDS &amp; CO., No. 24 Cornhill, Boston.</p>
+
+
+<h2>ROLLO'S TOUR IN EUROPE:</h2>
+
+<h4>BEING A NEW SERIES OF</h4>
+
+<h3>ROLLO BOOKS,</h3>
+
+<h3>BY REV. JACOB ABBOTT.</h3>
+
+<h4>IN SIX VOLUMES, BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED.</h4>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Extract from the Preface.</i></p>
+
+<p>In this series of narratives we offer to the readers of the Rollo Books
+a continuation of the history of our little hero, by giving them an
+account of the adventures which such a boy may be expected to meet with
+in making a tour of Europe. The books are intended to be books of
+instruction rather than of mere amusement; and, in perusing them, the
+reader may feel assured that all the information which they contain, not
+only in respect to the countries visited, but to the customs, usages,
+and modes of life that are described, and also in regard to the general
+character of the incidents and adventures that the young travellers meet
+with, is in most strict accordance with fact. The main design of the
+narratives is, thus, the communication of useful knowledge; and
+everything which they contain, except what is strictly personal, in
+relation to the actors in the story, may be depended upon as exactly and
+scrupulously true.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Notices of the Press.</i></p>
+
+<p>We know of no books that are so eagerly sought for by good boys and
+girls as Mr. Abbott's new series of "Rollo Books."&mdash;<i>Hartford Christian
+Secretary.</i></p>
+
+<p>Mr. Abbott has a singularly successful faculty of conveying instruction
+with entertainment, and of interesting all classes of readers, but more
+particularly the young. All will say that the more we have of such
+useful and pleasant volumes the better.&mdash;<i>Salem Register.</i></p>
+
+<p>They give excellent lessons in Geography and History, in the most
+pleasing forms. They are beautifully printed, and illustrated with fine
+engravings.&mdash;<i>New Haven Palladium.</i></p>
+
+<p>There is no wonder that the "Rollo Books" are so extremely popular, for
+we doubt if many of us "children of a larger growth" can escape their
+fascination.&mdash;<i>Salem Observer.</i></p>
+
+<p>A careful perusal of the volume under notice (Switzerland) will give the
+young reader not only as good a geographical knowledge of the country it
+describes as would be obtained at a term at school, but will acquaint
+him with the habits, manners, and characteristics of the people of
+Switzerland.&mdash;<i>American Citizen</i>.</p>
+
+<p>No living man is his equal in story-telling for the young, and the book
+will find its way into thousands of homes.&mdash;<i>Hartford Republican.</i></p>
+
+<p>They contain a great deal of useful information, conveyed in a most
+pleasing and interesting manner.&mdash;<i>Boston Post.</i></p>
+
+<p>Written by one who has made the tour through which he carries his young
+hero, and who, from long experience, knows how to please and instruct
+his young readers, these volumes possess just the qualities to attract
+those for whom they are intended.&mdash;<i>Norfolk Co. Journal.</i></p>
+
+<p>The author has admirably combined the pleasing with the instructive, so
+that while the youthful reader is charmed by the narrative, he also
+gains valuable information with regard to those far-off places famed in
+story and song.&mdash;<i>Boston Olive Branch.</i></p>
+
+<p>A correspondent of the New York <i>National Magazine</i> says;&mdash;"The volumes
+are beautifully illustrated, and written in the charming and instructive
+style of the author. We saw one of our New England governors, lately
+returned from a European tour, quite absorbed in the volume upon Paris,
+while travelling in a railway car, a short time since."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<h2>CUSHING'S MANUAL.</h2>
+
+<h4>Price 38 cents.</h4>
+
+<h3>NOTICES OF A NEW WORK ON PARLIAMENTARY RULES,</h3>
+
+<h3>By LUTHER S. CUSHING,</h3>
+
+<h4>TWELVE YEARS CLERK OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.</h4>
+
+<p class="center"><i>From S. H. Walley, late Speaker of the Massachusetts House of
+Representatives.</i></p>
+
+<p>I have taken great pleasure in examining the pages of this work, and do
+not hesitate to express most fully my approbation of its plan and
+execution.</p>
+
+<p>On two or three questions of minor importance, I might come to different
+conclusions from the author;&mdash;but, inasmuch as he has devoted much time
+to a careful research into the subject of parliamentary rules and
+practice, I am free to admit, that I should feel great distrust in any
+opinions which I have held, even on these questions, where they differ
+from those expressed by Judge Cushing, without very careful
+re&euml;xamination and study.</p>
+
+<p>This Manual is much needed. There is no work, in this country, which is
+adapted near as well, in my judgment, to assist those who are called
+upon to preside in public assemblies, to discharge their duties
+acceptably and profitably to the community.</p>
+
+<p>I sincerely hope and believe that this publication will receive the
+countenance and approbation to which it seems to me so justly entitled.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p class="center"><i>From the Law Reporter, Edited by Peleg W. Chandler, Esq.</i></p>
+
+<p>Hon. Luther S. Cushing has prepared for the press a new Manual of
+Parliamentary Practice. Having examined the manuscript of this work with
+considerable care, we take occasion to say, that it will be a valuable
+accession to the libraries of those who are called upon to preside in
+deliberative assemblies; and we believe the necessity of such a work as
+this has been very generally felt in our country where almost every
+citizen is occasionally called upon to exercise the duties of a
+presiding officer. The work is founded upon the well-established rules
+and customs of the British Parliament, and Mr. Cushing divests himself
+of all local usages prevailing in different parts of this country;
+maintaining in the outset, that no assembly can ever be subject to any
+other rules than those which are of general application, or which it
+specially adopts for its own government; and denying explicitly that the
+rules adopted and practised upon by a legislative assembly thereby
+acquire the character of general laws.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">PUBLISHED BY<br />
+
+BROWN, TAGGARD &amp; CHASE,<br />
+(SUCCESSORS TO W. J. REYNOLDS &amp; CO.,)<br /><br />
+
+NO. 24 CORNHILL<br />
+FOR SALE BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<h2>THE COLUMBIAN GLEE BOOK.</h2>
+
+<h3>OR, MUSIC FOR THE MILLION.</h3>
+
+<h4>IN THREE PARTS.</h4>
+
+<blockquote><p><i>Part I.&mdash;Comprising the largest number of choice Glees, Quartets,
+Trios, Songs, Opera Choruses, &amp;c., ever before published in one
+Collection.</i></p>
+
+<p><i>Part II.&mdash;Consisting of Sacred Anthems, Choruses, Quartets, &amp;c., for
+Select Societies and Concerts.</i></p>
+
+<p><i>Part III.&mdash;Containing most of the old popular Continental Psalm Tunes.</i></p>
+</blockquote>
+
+<p>Thus making the most complete collection, in all its features, ever
+before published.</p>
+
+<p class="center">By I. B. WOODBURY, author of the "Dulcimer," "The Cythara," &amp;c. &amp;c.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Extract from the Preface.</i></p>
+
+<p>Here may be found Glees, Quartets, Trios and Songs, suited to every
+occasion. If merry, here are pieces that will add to merriment; if sad,
+harmonies that will soothe sadness. If longing for home fill the mind,
+the dear scenes that cluster there are painted in many a song. Requiems
+to the loved departed are also here. Indeed, almost every scene to which
+the chequered life of man is subject is here made the refrain of song.
+For the Sabbath eve, when</p>
+
+<p>
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"Softly fades the twilight ray</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">Of the holy Sabbath day,"</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>and when music is particularly acceptable, the old tunes our fathers
+sang may be found in Part III. Part II. is somewhat more elaborate, and
+adapted to Sacred Concerts. That the book may tend to make man happier
+and better is the sincere desire of the author.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<h3>THE AMERICAN VOCALIST.</h3>
+
+<h4>A SELECTION OF TUNES, ANTHEMS, SENTENCES AND HYMNS,</h4>
+
+<p class="center"><i>Old and new. Designed for the Church, the Vestry, or the Parlor.</i></p>
+
+<p>Adapted to every variety of metre in common use, and appropriate to
+every occasion where God is worshipped and men are blessed. From the
+compositions of Billings, Holden, Maxim, Edson, Holyoke, Read, Kimball,
+Morgan, Wood, Swan, &amp;c. &amp;c., and eminent American authors now living, as
+well as from distinguished European composers. Embracing a greater
+variety of Music for Congregations, Societies, Singing Schools, and
+Choirs, than any other collection extant.</p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">In Three Parts. By Rev. D. H. Mansfield.</span></p>
+
+<p>The publishers have received, <i>unsolicited</i>, the highest recommendations
+from gentlemen of musical education; and they respectfully call the
+attention of leaders of choirs and teachers of singing schools
+throughout New England, to this work, before purchasing their books for
+fall and winter schools. Nearly one hundred thousand copies have been
+sold since it was first published.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<h3>THE CYTHARA.</h3>
+
+<h4>A NEW AND EXTENSIVE COLLECTION OF SACRED MUSIC.</h4>
+
+<p>Comprising <span class="smcap">Psalm and Hymn Tunes</span>, of every variety and metre, <span class="smcap">Anthems</span>,
+<span class="smcap">Chants</span>, <span class="smcap">an Oratorio, Set Pieces, etc.</span></p>
+
+<p class="center"><span class="smcap">By</span> I. B. WOODBURY.</p>
+
+<p class="center">Author of the "Dulcimer," of which more than 140,000 copies have been
+sold.</p>
+
+<p>Mr. Woodbury's long residence in Europe, and his intimate acquaintance
+with the music and musical people of every section of our country, their
+wants and predilections, have imparted to him advantages hardly
+vouchsafed to any other man. To these qualifications he brings the vigor
+and elasticity of early manhood, and, after years of untiring and
+energetic devotion to this one subject, he has produced a volume of
+Sacred Music, rich in melody, chaste and harmonious in composition,
+simple in arrangement, and thoroughly adapted to the wants of his own
+country.</p>
+
+
+<p class="center">B. T. &amp; C. have for sale <i>all the Music Books</i> published. Traders,
+Teachers, and others supplied at the lowest cash price.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p>
+
+<hr style="width: 45%;" />
+
+<p>COLBURN'S FIRST LESSONS. Intellectual Arithmetic, upon the Inductive
+Method of Instruction. By Warren Colburn.</p>
+
+<p>"Colburn's First Lessons, the only faultiest school book that we have,
+has made a great change in the mode of teaching Arithmetic, and is
+destined to make a still greater. It should be made the basis of
+instruction in this department."&mdash;<i>From the School and Schoolmaster.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Warren Colburn's First Lessons has had many imitators, but no
+equals."&mdash;<i>From the Massachusetts Common School Journal for April,
+1852.</i></p>
+
+<p>"I have always considered Colburn's First Lessons in Arithmetic the most
+valuable school book that has made its appearance in this country.
+Constant use of it for more than twelve years has entirely confirmed my
+opinion.&mdash;<i>George B. Emerson.</i></p>
+
+<p>"I have no hesitation in saying that this book is not only the best in
+this country, but, so far as my information extends, <i>the best in the
+world</i>."&mdash;<i>Thomas Sherwin, Esq., of the Boston High School.</i></p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>WORCESTER'S HISTORY. Elements of History, Ancient and Modern. By <span class="smcap">J. E.
+Worcester, LL.D.</span> A new edition, brought down to the Present Time, and
+printed from entirely new stereotype plates. 438 pp.</p>
+
+<p>Worcester's History has for many years occupied a high place among text
+books. The new edition, being printed from entirely new stereotype
+plates, is a great improvement upon former editions. Applicants for
+admission into the Freshman class at Harvard College are examined in
+this book.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>SMELLIE'S PHILOSOPHY. The Philosophy of Natural History. By <span class="smcap">Wm. Smellie</span>.
+With an Introduction and Addition by Dr. John Ware, of Cambridge, Mass.
+12mo, 360 pp.</p>
+
+<p>Smellie's Philosophy is a valuable book for High Schools and Academies,
+and is used extensively in every part of the country.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>NORTHEND'S BOOK KEEPING. The Common School Book Keeping; being a simple
+and practical system, by Single Entry. Designed for the use of Public
+Schools, and adapted to the wants of Mechanics, Farmers, and Retail
+Merchants; containing various forms of Notes, Receipts, Orders, Bills,
+and other useful matter; in two books, a Day-book and Ledger. By Charles
+Northend, author of "National Writing Book," "National Speaker," etc.</p>
+
+<p>In preparing this system the author has endeavored to make a plain,
+practical, and <i>economical</i> work, suited to the wants of common schools
+and retail merchants in every department of business.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>CUSHING'S MANUAL. Rules of Proceeding and Debate in Deliberative
+Assemblies. By Luther S. Cushing, for twelve years Clerk of
+Massachusetts House of Representatives.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>BENTLEY'S PICTORIAL PRIMER. For beginners. One of the most beautiful
+school books published.</p>
+
+<p>Copies of all the above book will be sent to school committees, for
+examination, on application.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<h3>MY UNCLE TOBY'S LIBRARY,</h3>
+
+<h4>By FRANCIS FORRESTER, Esq.,</h4>
+
+<p class="center">Consists of <span class="smcap">twelve volumes</span>, elegantly bound, and Illustrated with
+upwards of SIXTY BEAUTIFUL ENGRAVINGS.</p>
+
+<ul class="none"><li>1. <i>Arthur Ellerslie</i>, or The Brave Boy.</li>
+<li>2. <i>Redbrook</i>, or Who'll buy my Watercresses?</li>
+<li>3. <i>Minnie Brown</i>, or The Gentle Girl.</li>
+<li>4. <i>Ralph Ratler</i>, or The Mischief Maker.</li>
+<li>5. <i>Arthur's Temptation</i>, or The Lost Goblet.</li>
+<li>6. <i>Aunt Amy</i>, or How Minnie Brown Learned to be a Sunbeam.</li>
+<li>7. <i>The Runaway</i>, or Punishment of Pride.</li>
+<li>8. <i>Fretful Lillia</i>, or The Girl who was compared to a Sting-nettle.</li>
+<li>9. <i>Minnie's Pic-nic</i>, or a Day in the Woods.</li>
+<li>10. <i>Cousin Nelly</i>, or The Pleasant Visit.</li>
+<li>11. <i>Minnie's Playroom</i>, or how to Play Calisthenica.</li>
+<li>12. <i>Arthur's Triumph</i>, or Goodness Rewarded.</li></ul>
+
+
+
+<p>The books are so written that, while each number is a complete story in
+itself, there is, nevertheless, a connection between the whole series.</p>
+
+<hr style='width: 45%;' />
+
+<p>In addition to their own publications, B. T. &amp; C. are supplied with a
+large stock of School Books, Music Books, and Stationery, which they
+offer to purchasers <i>at lowest prices</i>.</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Rollo in Holland, by Jacob Abbott
+
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+
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+</body>
+</html>
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@@ -0,0 +1,5358 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Rollo in Holland, by Jacob Abbott
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Rollo in Holland
+
+Author: Jacob Abbott
+
+Release Date: October 12, 2007 [EBook #22972]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ROLLO IN HOLLAND ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by D. Alexander, Janet Blenkinship and the Online
+Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
+file was produced from images generously made available
+by The Internet Archive)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ROLLO IN HOLLAND,
+
+BY
+
+JACOB ABBOTT.
+
+
+BOSTON: BROWN, TAGGARD & CHASE,
+
+SUCCESSORS TO W. J. REYNOLDS & CO., 25 & 29 CORNHILL.
+
+1857.
+
+Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857, by
+JACOB ABBOTT,
+In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of
+Massachusetts.
+
+STEREOTYPED AT THE
+BOSTON STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY. Damrell & Moore, Printers, Boston.
+
+
+
+
+[Illustration: ROLLO IN HOLLAND.]
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+CHAPTER                                                             PAGE
+
+  I.--PREPARATIONS,                                                   11
+  II.--A BAD TRAVELLING COMPANION,                                    26
+  III.--THE MAIL STEAMER,                                             44
+  IV.--ENTERING HOLLAND,                                              67
+  V.--WALKS ABOUT ROTTERDAM,                                          86
+  VI.--DOING THE HAGUE,                                              109
+  VII.--CORRESPONDENCE,                                              138
+  VIII.--THE COMMISSIONER,                                           160
+  IX.--THE GREAT CANAL,                                              169
+  X.--THE DAIRY VILLAGE,                                             186
+  XI.--CONCLUSION,                                                   200
+
+ENGRAVINGS.
+
+  ROLLO IN HOLLAND.--(Frontispiece.)                                PAGE
+  VIEW IN HOLLAND,                                                    10
+  THE HANSOM CAB,                                                     33
+  LANDING FROM THE MAIL BOAT,                                         57
+  DORT,                                                               83
+  THE FERRY BOAT,                                                    101
+  THE DINNER,                                                        124
+  THE BOAT FAMILY,                                                   154
+  THE TREKSCHUYT,                                                    181
+  THE DAIRY VILLAGE,                                                 193
+  CABIN OF PETER THE GREAT,                                          204
+
+
+  ROLLO'S TOUR IN EUROPE.
+
+  ORDER OF THE VOLUMES.
+
+  ROLLO ON THE ATLANTIC.
+  ROLLO IN PARIS.
+  ROLLO IN SWITZERLAND.
+  ROLLO IN LONDON.
+  ROLLO ON THE RHINE.
+  ROLLO IN SCOTLAND.
+  ROLLO IN GENEVA.
+  ROLLO IN HOLLAND.
+  ROLLO IN NAPLES.
+  ROLLO IN ROME.
+
+[Illustration: VIEW IN HOLLAND.]
+
+
+
+
+ROLLO IN HOLLAND.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I.
+
+PREPARATIONS.
+
+
+Holland is one of the most remarkable countries on the globe. The
+peculiarities which make it remarkable arise from the fact that it is
+almost perfectly level throughout, and it lies so low. A very large
+portion of it, in fact, lies below the level of the sea, the waters
+being kept out, as every body knows, by immense dikes that have stood
+for ages.
+
+These dikes are so immense, and they are so concealed by the houses, and
+trees, and mills, and even villages that cover and disguise them, that
+when the traveller first sees them he can hardly believe that they are
+dikes. Some of them are several hundred feet wide, and have a good broad
+public road upon the top, with a canal perhaps by the side of it, and
+avenues of trees, and road-side inns, and immense wind mills on the
+other hand. When riding or walking along upon such a dike on one side,
+down a long slope, they have a glimpse of water between the trees. On
+the other, at an equal distance you see a green expanse of country, with
+gardens, orchards, fields of corn and grain, and scattered farm houses
+extending far and wide. At first you do not perceive that this beautiful
+country that you see spreading in every direction on one side of the
+road is below the level of the water that you see on the other side; but
+on a careful comparison you find that it is so. When the tide is high
+the difference is very great, and were it not for the dikes the people
+would be inundated.[1]
+
+[Footnote 1: See Frontispiece.]
+
+Indeed, the dikes alone would not prevent the country from being
+inundated; for it is not possible to make them perfectly tight, and even
+if it were so, the soil beneath them is more or less pervious to water,
+and thus the water of the sea and of the rivers would slowly press its
+way through the lower strata, and oozing up into the land beyond, would
+soon make it all a swamp.
+
+Then, besides the interpercolation from the soil, there is the rain. In
+upland countries, the surplus water that falls in rain flows off in
+brooks and rivers to the sea; but in land that is below the level of
+the sea, there can be no natural flow of either brooks or rivers. The
+rain water, therefore, that falls on this low land would remain there
+stagnant, except the comparatively small portion of it that would be
+evaporated by the sun and wind.
+
+Thus you see, that if the people of Holland were to rely on the dikes
+alone to keep the land dry, the country would become in a very short
+time one immense morass.
+
+To prevent this result it is necessary to adopt some plan to raise the
+water, as fast as it accumulates in the low grounds, and convey it away.
+This is done by pumps and other such hydraulic engines, and these are
+worked in general by wind mills.
+
+They might be worked by steam engines; but steam engines are much more
+expensive than wind mills. It not only costs much more to make them, but
+the expense of working them from day to day is very great, on account of
+the fuel which they require. The necessary attendance on a steam engine,
+too, is very expensive. There must be engineers, with high pay, to watch
+the engine and to keep it always in order, and firemen to feed the
+fires, and ashmen to carry away the ashes and cinders. Whereas a wind
+mill takes care of itself.
+
+The wind makes the wind mills go, and the wind costs nothing. It is
+true, that the head of the mill must be changed from time to time, so as
+to present the sails always in proper direction to the wind. But even
+this is done by the wind itself. There is a contrivance by which the
+mill is made to turn itself so as to face always in the right direction
+towards the wind; and not only so, but the mill is sometimes so
+constructed that if the wind blows too hard, it takes in a part of the
+sails by its own spontaneous action, and thus diminishes the strain
+which might otherwise be injurious to the machinery.
+
+Now, since the advantages of wind mills are so great over steam engines,
+in respect especially to cheapness, perhaps you will ask why steam is
+employed at all to turn machinery, instead of always using the wind. The
+reason is, because the wind is so unsteady. Some days a wind mill will
+work, and some days it will lie still; and thus in regard to the time
+when it will do what is required of it, no reliance can be placed upon
+it. This is of very little consequence in the work of pumping up water
+from the sunken country in Holland; for, if for several days the mills
+should not do their work, no great harm would come of it, since the
+amount of water which would accumulate in that time would not do any
+harm. The ground might become more wet, and the canals and reservoirs
+get full,--just as brooks and rivers do on any upland country after a
+long rain. But then, after the calm was over and the wind began to blow
+again, the mills would all go industriously to work, and the surplus
+water would soon be pumped up, and discharged over the dikes into the
+sea again.
+
+Thus the irregularity in the action of the wind mills in doing such work
+as this, is of comparatively little consequence.
+
+But in the case of some other kinds of work,--as for example the driving
+of a cotton mill, or any other great manufactory in which a large number
+of persons are employed,--it would be of the greatest possible
+consequence; for when a calm time came, and the wind mill would not
+work, all the hands would be thrown out of employ. They might sometimes
+remain idle thus a number of days at a time, at a great expense to their
+employers, or else at a great loss to themselves. Sometimes, for
+example, there might be a fine breeze in the morning, and all the hands
+would go to the mill and begin their work. In an hour the breeze might
+entirely die away, and the spinners and weavers would all find their
+jennies and looms going slower and slower, and finally stopping
+altogether. And then, perhaps, two hours afterwards, when they had all
+given up the day's work and gone away to their respective homes, the
+breeze would spring up again, and the wind mill would go to work more
+industriously than ever.
+
+This would not answer at all for a cotton mill, but it does very well
+for pumping up water from a great reservoir into which drains and canals
+discharge themselves to keep a country dry.
+
+And this reminds me of one great advantage which the people of Holland
+enjoy on account of the low and level condition of their country; and
+that is, it is extremely easy to make canals there. There are not only
+no mountains or rocks in the way to impede the digging of them, but,
+what is perhaps a still more important advantage, there is no difficulty
+in filling them with water. In other countries, when a canal is to be
+made, the very first question is, How is it to be filled? For this
+purpose the engineer explores the whole country through which the canal
+is to pass, to find rivers and streams that he can turn into it, when
+the bed of it shall have been excavated; and sometimes he has to bring
+these supplies of water for a great distance in artificial channels,
+which often cross valleys by means of great aqueducts built up to hold
+them. Sometimes a brook is in this way brought across a river,--the
+river itself not being high enough to feed the canal.
+
+The people of Holland have no such difficulties as these to encounter in
+their canals. The whole country being so nearly on a level with the sea,
+they have nothing to do, when they wish for a canal, but to extend it in
+some part to the sea shore, and then open a sluice way and let the water
+in.
+
+It is true that sometimes they have to provide means to prevent the
+ingress of too much water; but this is very easily done.
+
+It is thus so easy to make canals in Holland, that the people have been
+making them for hundreds of years, until now almost the whole country is
+intersected every where with canals, as other countries are with roads.
+Almost all the traffic, and, until lately, almost all the travel of the
+country, has been upon the canals. There are private canals, too, as
+well as public. A farmer brings home his hay and grain from his fields
+by water, and when he buys a new piece of land he makes a canal to it,
+as a Vermont farmer would make a road to a new pasture or wood lot that
+he had been buying.
+
+Rollo wished very much to see all these things--but there was one
+question which it puzzled him very much to decide, and that was whether
+he would rather go to Holland in the summer or in the winter.
+
+"I am not certain," said he to his mother one day, "whether it would not
+be better for me to go in the winter."
+
+"It is very cold there in the winter," said his mother; "so I am told."
+
+"That is the very thing," said Rollo. "They have such excellent skating
+on the canals. I want to see the boats go on the canals, and I want to
+see the skating, and I don't know which I want to see most."
+
+"Yes," said his mother, "I recollect to have often seen pictures of
+skating on the Dutch canals."
+
+"And I read, when I was a boy," continued Rollo, "that the women skate
+to market in Holland."
+
+Rollo here observed that his mother was endeavoring to suppress a smile.
+She seemed to try very hard, but she could not succeed in keeping
+perfectly sober.
+
+"What are you laughing at, mother?" asked Rollo.
+
+Here Mrs. Holiday could no longer restrain herself, but laughed
+outright.
+
+"Is it about the Dutch women skating to market?" asked Rollo.
+
+"I think they must look quite funny, at any rate," said Mrs. Holiday.
+
+What Mrs. Holiday was really laughing at was to hear Rollo talk about
+"when he was a boy." But the fact was, that Rollo had now travelled
+about so much, and taken care of himself in so many exigencies, that he
+began to feel quite like a man. And indeed I do not think it at all
+surprising that he felt so.
+
+"Which would you do, mother," said Rollo, "if you were I? Would you
+rather go in the summer or in the winter?"
+
+"I would ask uncle George," said Mrs. Holiday.
+
+So Rollo went to find his uncle George.
+
+Rollo was at this time at Morley's Hotel, in London, and he expected to
+find his uncle George in what is called the coffee room. The coffee room
+in Morley's Hotel is a very pleasant place. It fronts on one side upon a
+very busy and brilliant street, and on another upon a large open square,
+adorned with monuments and fountains. On the side towards the square is
+a bay window, and near this bay window were two or three small tables,
+with gentlemen sitting at them, engaged in writing. There were other
+tables along the sides of the room and at the other windows, where
+gentlemen were taking breakfast. Mr. George was at one of the tables
+near the bay window, and was busy writing.
+
+Rollo went to the place, and standing by Mr. George's side, he said in
+an under tone,--
+
+"Uncle George."
+
+Every body speaks in an under tone in an English coffee room. They do
+this in order not to interrupt the conversation, or the reading, or the
+writing of other gentlemen that may be in the room.
+
+"Wait a moment," said Mr. George, "till I finish this letter."
+
+So Rollo turned to the bay window and looked out, in order to amuse
+himself with what he might observe in the street, till his uncle George
+should be ready to talk with him.
+
+He saw the fountains in the square, and a great many children playing
+about the basins. He saw a poor boy at a crossing brushing the pavement
+industriously with an old broom, and then holding out his hand to the
+people passing by, in hopes that some of them would give him a
+halfpenny. He saw a policeman walking slowly up and down on the
+sidewalk, wearing a glazed hat, and a uniform of blue broadcloth, with
+his letter and number embroidered on the collar. He saw an elegant
+carriage drive by, with a postilion riding upon one of the horses, and
+two footmen in very splendid liveries behind. There was a lady in the
+carriage, but she appeared old, and though she was splendidly dressed,
+her face was very plain.
+
+"I wonder," said Rollo to himself, "how much she would give of her
+riches and finery if she could be as young and as pretty as my cousin
+Lucy."
+
+"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, interrupting Rollo's reflections, "what
+is the question?"
+
+"Why, I want to know," said Rollo, "whether you think we had better go
+to Holland in the winter or in the summer."
+
+"Is it left to you to decide?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Why, no," said Rollo, "not exactly. But mother asked me to consider
+which I thought was best, and so I want to know your opinion."
+
+"Very well," said Mr. George, "go on and argue the case. After I have
+heard it argued I will decide."
+
+Rollo then proceeded to explain to his uncle the advantages,
+respectively, of going in the summer and in the winter. After hearing
+him, Mr. George thought it would be decidedly better to go in the
+summer.
+
+"You see," said he, "that the only advantage of going in the winter is
+to see the skating. That is very important, I know. I should like to
+see the Dutch women skating to market myself, very much. But then, in
+the winter you could see very little of the canals, and the wind mills,
+and all the other hydraulic operations of the country. Every thing would
+be frozen up solid."
+
+"Father says that he can't go now very well," continued Rollo, "but that
+I may go with you if you would like to go."
+
+Mr. George was just in the act of sealing his letter as Rollo spoke
+these words; but he paused in the operation, holding the stick of
+sealing wax in one hand and the letter in the other, as if he was
+reflecting on what Rollo had said.
+
+"If we only had some one else to go with us," said Mr. George.
+
+"Should not we two be enough?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Why, you see," said Mr. George, "when we get into Holland we shall not
+understand one word of the language."
+
+"What language do they speak?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Dutch," said Mr. George, "and I do not know any Dutch."
+
+"Not a word?" asked Rollo.
+
+"No," said Mr. George, "not a word. Ah, yes! I know one word. I know
+that _dampschiff_ means steamboat. _Damp_, I suppose, means steam."
+
+Then Rollo laughed outright. Dampskiff, he said, was the funniest name
+for steamboat that he ever heard.
+
+"Now, when we don't know a word of the language," added Mr. George, "we
+cannot have any communication with the people of the country, but shall
+be confined entirely to each other. Now, do you think that you could get
+along with having nobody but me to talk to you for a whole fortnight?"
+
+"Yes, indeed!" said Rollo. "But then, uncle George," he continued, "how
+are you going to get along at the hotels without knowing how to speak to
+the people at all?"
+
+"By signs and gestures," said Mr. George, laughing. "Could not you make
+a sign for something to eat?"
+
+"O, yes," said Rollo; and he immediately began to make believe eat,
+moving his hands as if he had a knife and fork in them.
+
+"And what sign would you make for going to bed?" asked Mr. George.
+
+Here Rollo laid his head down to one side, and placed his hand under it,
+as if it were a pillow, and then shut his eyes.
+
+"That is the sign for going to bed," said Rollo. "A deaf and dumb boy
+taught it to me."
+
+"I wish he had taught you some more signs," said Mr. George. "Or I wish
+we had a deaf and dumb boy here to go with us. Deaf and dumb people can
+get along excellently well where they do not understand the language,
+because they know how to make so many signs."
+
+"O, we can make up the signs as we go along," said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George. "I don't think that we shall have any great
+difficulty about that. But then it would be pleasanter to go in a little
+larger party. Two people are apt to get tired of each other, when there
+is nobody else that they can speak a single word to for a whole
+fortnight. I don't think that I should get tired of you. What I am
+afraid of is, that you would get tired of me."
+
+There was a lurking smile on Mr. George's face as he said this.
+
+"O, uncle George!" said Rollo, "that is only your politeness. But then
+if you really think that we ought to have some more company, perhaps the
+Parkmans are going to Holland, and we might go with them."
+
+"I would not make a journey with the Parkmans," said Mr. George, "if
+they would pay all my expenses, and give me five sovereigns a day."
+
+"Why, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo; "I thought you liked Mr. Parkman
+very much."
+
+"So I do," said Mr. George. "It is his wife that I would not go with."
+
+"O, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo again.
+
+Rollo was very much surprised at hearing this declaration; and it was
+very natural that he should be surprised, for Mrs. Parkman was a young
+and beautiful lady, and she was very kindhearted and very amiable in
+her disposition. Mr. Parkman, too, was very young. He had been one of
+Mr. George's college classmates. He had been married only a short time
+before he left America, and he was now making his bridal tour.
+
+Mr. George thought that Mrs. Parkman was very beautiful and very
+intelligent, but he considered her a very uncomfortable travelling
+companion. I think he judged her somewhat too harshly. But this was one
+of Mr. George's faults. He did not like the ladies very much, and the
+faults which he observed in them, from time to time, he was prone to
+condemn much too harshly.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II.
+
+A BAD TRAVELLING COMPANION.
+
+
+The reason why Mr. George did not like his friend Mr. Parkman's young
+wife was not because of any want of natural attractiveness in her
+person, or of amiableness in her disposition,--for she was beautiful,
+accomplished, and kindhearted. But for all this, from a want of
+consideration not uncommon among young ladies who are not much
+experienced in the world, she was a very uncomfortable travelling
+companion.
+
+It is the duty of a gentleman who has a lady under his charge, in making
+a journey, to consult her wishes, and to conform to them so far as it is
+possible, in determining where to go, and in making all the general
+arrangements of the journey. But when these points are decided upon,
+every thing in respect to the practical carrying into effect of the
+plans thus formed should be left to the gentleman, as the executive
+officer of the party; just as in respect to affairs relating to
+housekeeping, or any thing else relating to a lady's department, the
+lady should be left free to act according to her own judgment and taste
+in arranging details, while in the general plans she conforms to the
+wishes of her husband. For a lady, when travelling, to be continually
+making suggestions and proposals about the baggage or the conveyances,
+and expressing dissatisfaction, or wish for changes in this, that, or
+the other, is as much a violation of propriety as it would be for the
+gentleman to go into the kitchen, and there propose petty changes in
+respect to the mode of cooking the dinner--or to stand by his wife at
+her work table, and wish to have her thread changed from this place to
+that--or to have some different stitch to be used in making a seam. A
+lady very naturally feels disturbed if she finds that her husband does
+not have confidence enough in her to trust her with such details.
+
+"I will make or mend for you whatever you may desire," she might say,
+"and I will get for your dinner any thing that you ask for; but in the
+way of doing it you ought to leave every thing to my direction. It is
+better to let me have my own way, even if your way is better than mine.
+For in matters of direction there ought always to be only one head, even
+if it is not a very good one."
+
+And in the same manner a gentleman might say when travelling with a
+lady,--
+
+"I will arrange the journey to suit your wishes as far as is
+practicable, and will go at such times and by such conveyances as you
+may desire. I will also, at all the places where we stop, take you to
+visit such objects of interest and curiosity as you wish to see. But
+then when it comes to the details of the arrangements to be made,--the
+orders to servants and commissioners, the determination of the times for
+setting out, and the bargains to be made with coachmen and
+innkeepers,--it is best to leave all those things to me; for it always
+makes confusion to have two persons give directions at the same time."
+
+To say this would be right in both cases,--there must always be _one_ to
+command. A great many families are kept in continual confusion by there
+being two or more ladies who consider themselves more or less at the
+head of it--as, for instance, a wife and a sister, or two sisters and a
+mother. Napoleon used to say that _one_ bad general was better than
+_two_ good ones; so important is it in war to have unity of command. It
+is not much less important in social life.
+
+Mrs. Parkman did not understand this principle. Mr. George had seen an
+example of her mode of management a day or two before, in taking a walk
+with her and her husband in London. They were going to see the tunnel
+under the Thames, which was three or four miles down the river from
+Morley's Hotel, where they were all lodging.
+
+"Which way would you like to go?" asked Mr. Parkman.
+
+"Is there more than one way?" asked his wife.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Parkman, "we can take a Hansom cab, and drive down
+through the streets, or we can walk down to the river side, and there
+take a boat. The boats are a great deal the cheapest, and the most
+amusing; but the cab will be the most easy and comfortable, and the most
+genteel. We shall have to walk nearly half a mile before we get to the
+landing of the boats."
+
+"Is there much difference in the price?" asked Mrs. Parkman.
+
+"Not enough to be of any consequence," replied her husband. "It will
+make a difference of about one and a half crown; for by the boats it
+would be only two or three pence, while by the cab it will be as many
+shillings. But that is of no consequence. We will go whichever way you
+think you would enjoy the most."
+
+"You may decide for me," said Mrs. Parkman. "I'll leave it entirely to
+you. It makes no difference to me."
+
+"Then, on the whole, I think we will try the boat," said Mr. Parkman;
+"it will be so much more amusing, and we shall see so much more of
+London life. Besides, we shall often read and hear about the steamers on
+the Thames when we return to America, and it will be well for us to have
+made one voyage in them. And, Mr. George, will you go with us?"
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George.
+
+So they all left the hotel together, and commenced their walk towards
+the bridge where the nearest landing stage for the Thames boats lay.
+
+They had not gone but a very short distance before Mrs. Parkman began to
+hang rather heavily upon her husband's arm, and asked him whether it was
+much farther that they would have to walk.
+
+"O, yes," said Mr. Parkman. "I told you that we should have to walk
+about half a mile."
+
+"Then we shall get all tired out," said his wife, "and we want our
+strength for walking through the tunnel. It does not seem to be worth
+while to take all this trouble just to save half a crown."
+
+Mr. Parkman, though he had only been married a little more than a month,
+felt something like a sense of indignation rising in his breast, that
+his wife should attribute to him such a motive for choosing the river,
+after what he had said on the subject. But he suppressed the feeling,
+and only replied quietly,--
+
+"O, let us take a cab then, by all means. I hope you don't suppose that
+I was going to take you by the boat to save any money."
+
+"I thought you said that you would save half a crown," rejoined his
+wife.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Parkman, "I did, it is true."
+
+Mr. Parkman was too proud to defend himself from such an imputation,
+supported by such reasoning as this; so he only said, "We will go by a
+cab. We will take a cab at the next stand."
+
+Mr. George instantly perceived that by this change in the plan, he was
+made one too many for the party, since only two can ride conveniently in
+a Hansom cab.[2] So he said at once, that he would adhere to the
+original plan, and go by water.
+
+[Footnote 2: A Hansom cab is made like an old-fashioned chaise, only
+that it is set very low, so that it is extremely easy to step in and out
+of it, and the seat of the driver is high up behind. The driver drives
+_over the top of the chaise_! Thus the view for the passengers riding
+inside is wholly unobstructed, and this makes the Hansom cab a very
+convenient and pleasant vehicle for two persons to ride in, through the
+streets of a new and strange town.]
+
+"But, first," said he, "I will go with you to the stand, and see you
+safe in a cab."
+
+So they turned into another street, and presently they came to a stand.
+There was a long row of cabs there, of various kinds, all waiting to be
+employed. Among them were several Hansoms.
+
+Mr. Parkman looked along the line to select one that had a good horse.
+The distance was considerable that they had to go, and besides Mr.
+Parkman knew that his wife liked always to go fast. So when he had
+selected the best looking horse, he made a signal to the driver. The
+driver immediately left the stand, and drove over to the sidewalk where
+Mr. Parkman and his party were waiting.
+
+Mr. Parkman immediately opened the door of the cab to allow his wife to
+go in; but she, instead of entering, began to look scrutinizingly into
+it, and hung back.
+
+"Is this a nice cab?" said she. "It seems to me that I have seen nicer
+cabs than this.
+
+"Let us look," she added, "and see if there is not a better one
+somewhere along the line."
+
+The cabman, looking down from his exalted seat behind the vehicle, said
+that there was not a nicer cab than his in London.
+
+"O, of course," said Mrs. Parkman. "They always say that. But _I_ can
+find a nicer one, I'm sure, somewhere in the line."
+
+So saying she began to move on. Mr. Parkman gave the cabman a silver
+sixpence--which is equal to a New York shilling--to compensate him
+for having been called off from his station, and then followed his wife
+across the street to the side where the cabs were standing. Mrs. Parkman
+led the way all down the line, examining each hack as she passed it; but
+she did not find any one that looked as well as the first.
+
+[Illustration: THE HANSOM CAB.]
+
+"After all," said she, "we might as well go back and take the first
+one." So she turned and began to retrace her steps--the two gentlemen
+accompanying her. But when they got back they found that the one which
+Mr. Parkman had first selected was gone. It had been taken by another
+customer.
+
+Mr. George was now entirely out of patience; but he controlled himself
+sufficiently to suppress all outward manifestation of it, only saying
+that he believed he would not wait any longer.
+
+"I will go down to the river," said he, "and take a boat, and when you
+get a carriage you can go by land. I will wait for you at the entrance
+to the tunnel."
+
+So he went away; and as soon as he turned the corner of the street he
+snapped his fingers and nodded his head with the air of a man who has
+just made a very lucky escape.
+
+"I thank my stars," said he to himself, "that I have not got such a lady
+as that to take care of. Handsome as she is, I would not have her for a
+travelling companion on any account whatever."
+
+It was from having witnessed several such exhibitions of character as
+this that Mr. George had expressed himself so strongly to Rollo on the
+subject of joining Mr. Parkman and his wife in making the tour of
+Holland.
+
+But notwithstanding Mr. George's determination that he would not travel
+in company with such a lady, it seemed to be decreed that he should do
+so, for he left London about a week after this to go to Holland with
+Rollo alone; and though he postponed setting out for several days, so as
+to allow Mr. and Mrs. Parkman time to get well under way before them, he
+happened to fall in with them several times in the course of the
+journey. The first time that he met with them was in crossing the
+Straits of Dover.
+
+There are several ways by which a person may go to Holland from London.
+The cheapest is to take a steamer, by which means you go down the
+Thames, and thence pass directly across the German Ocean to the coast of
+Holland. But that makes quite a little voyage by sea, during which
+almost all persons are subject to a very disagreeable kind of sickness,
+on account of the small size of the steamers, and the short tossing
+motion of the sea that almost always prevails in the waters that lie
+around Great Britain.
+
+So Mr. George and Rollo, who neither of them liked to be seasick,
+determined to go another way. They concluded to go down by railway to
+Dover, and then to go to Calais across the strait, where the passage is
+the shortest. Mr. and Mrs. Parkman had set off several days before them,
+and Mr. George supposed that by this time they were far on their way
+towards Holland. But they had been delayed by Mrs. Parkman's desire to
+go to Brighton, which is a great watering place on the coast, not far
+from Dover. There Mr. and Mrs. Parkman had spent several days, and it so
+happened that in going from Brighton to Dover they met, at the junction,
+the train that was bringing Mr. George and Rollo down from London; and
+thus, though both parties were unconscious of the fact, they were
+travelling along towards Dover, after leaving the junction, in the same
+train, and when they stepped out of the carriages, upon the Dover
+platform, there they were all together.
+
+Mr. Parkman and Mr. George were very glad to see each other; and while
+they were shaking hands with each other, and making mutual explanations,
+Mrs. Parkman went to the door of the station to see what sort of a place
+Dover was.
+
+She saw some long piers extending out into the water, and a great many
+ships and steamers lying near them. The town lay along the shore,
+surrounding an inner harbor enclosed by the walls of the piers. Behind
+the town were high cliffs, and an elevated plain above, on which a great
+number of tents were pitched. It was the encampment of an army. A little
+way along the shore a vast promontory was seen, crowned by an ancient
+and venerable looking castle, and terminated by a range of lofty and
+perpendicular cliffs of chalk towards the sea.
+
+"What a romantic place!" said Mrs. Parkman to herself. "It is just such
+a place as I like. I'll make William stay here to-day."
+
+Just then she heard her husband's voice calling to her.
+
+"Louise!"
+
+She turned and saw her husband beckoning to her. He was standing with
+Mr. George and Rollo near the luggage van, as they call it in England,
+while the railway porters were taking out the luggage.
+
+Mrs. Parkman walked towards the place.
+
+"They say, Louise," said Mr. Parkman, "that it is time for us to go on
+board the boat. She is going to sail immediately."
+
+"Ah! but, William," said Mrs. Parkman, "let us stay here a little while.
+Dover is such a romantic looking place."
+
+"Very well," said Mr. Parkman, "we will stay if you like. Are you going
+to stay, Mr. George?"
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George; "Rollo and I were going to stay till this
+afternoon. There is a boat to cross at four o'clock."
+
+It was about eleven o'clock in the morning when this conversation
+occurred. The porter stood by all the time with Mr. Parkman's two trunks
+in his charge, waiting to have it decided when they were to go.
+
+"I should think, sir," said the porter, "that as you have a lady with
+you, you would find this boat better. This is a tidal steamer, but the
+four o'clock is the mail boat, and it will be pretty rough this
+afternoon. There is a breeze coming up."
+
+"O, never mind the breeze," said Mrs. Parkman. "We are used to it,
+porter. We've crossed the Atlantic."
+
+"Very well," said Mr. Parkman, "we will wait until four o'clock."
+
+"Then I'll put the luggage in the luggage room," said the porter, "and
+take it to the boat at half past three. That's the way to the hotel," he
+added, pointing the way.
+
+There are several very nice hotels in Dover, but the one which the
+porter referred to is one of the finest and most beautifully situated
+hotels in Europe. It is a large and handsome edifice, built in modern
+style, and it stands close to the railroad station, on a point of land
+overlooking the sea. The coffee room, which, unlike other English coffee
+rooms, is used by both ladies and gentlemen, is a very spacious and
+splendidly decorated apartment, with large windows on three sides of it,
+overlooking the sea and the neighboring coasts. Each sash of these
+windows is glazed with one single pane of plate glass, so that whether
+they are shut or open there is nothing to intercept the view. The room
+is furnished with a great number of tables, each large enough to
+accommodate parties of four or six, and all, except two or three in
+different parts of the room that are reserved for reading and writing,
+are covered with neat white table cloths, and other preparations more or
+less advanced for breakfasts or dinners that may have been ordered,
+while at almost all times of the day, a greater or less number of them
+are occupied by parties of tourists, their bags and baskets lying on the
+neighboring chairs.
+
+It was into this room, so occupied, that our travellers were ushered as
+they walked from the station into the hotel.
+
+Mrs. Parkman walked forward, and took her seat near a window. The
+gentlemen attended her.
+
+"What a magnificent view!" said she.
+
+The view was indeed magnificent. Across the water was to be seen the
+coast of France, lying like a low cloud close to the horizon. Ships, and
+steamers, and fish boats, and every other sort of craft were seen plying
+to and fro over the water,--some going out, others coming in. Through
+one of the windows in the end of the room, Mrs. Parkman could see the
+castle crowning its bold and lofty promontory, and the perpendicular
+cliffs of chalk, with the sea beating against the base of them below.
+Through the opposite window, which of course was at the other end of the
+room, the view extended down the coast for a great distance, showing
+point after point, and headland after headland, in dim perspective--with
+a long line of surf rolling incessantly upon the beach, which seemed, in
+that direction, interminable.
+
+After looking for some time at the view from the windows, Mrs. Parkman
+turned to observe the company in the room, and to watch the several
+parties of new comers as they successively entered. She wished to see if
+there were any young brides among them. While she was thus engaged, her
+husband selected a table that was vacant, and ordered breakfast. Mr.
+George and Rollo did the same at another table near.
+
+While Mr. George and Rollo were at the table drinking their coffee, Mr.
+George asked Rollo what he supposed the porter meant by saying that the
+eleven o'clock boat was a tidal boat.
+
+"_I_ know," said Rollo. "I read it in the guide book. The tidal steamers
+go at high tide, or nearly high tide, and if you go in them you embark
+from the pier on one side, and you land at the pier on the other. But
+the mail steamers go at a regular hour every day, and then when it
+happens to be low tide, they cannot get to the pier, and the passengers
+have to land in small boats. That is what the porter meant when he said
+that it would not be pleasant for a lady to go in the mail steamer. It
+is very unpleasant for ladies to be landed in small boats when the
+weather is rough."
+
+"I don't believe that Mrs. Parkman understood it," said Mr. George.
+
+"Nor I either," said Rollo.
+
+"I presume she thought," added Mr. George, "that when the porter spoke
+about the rough sea, he only referred to the motion of the steamer in
+going over."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "but what he really meant was, that it would be bad
+for her to get down from the steamer into the small boat at the landing.
+I am afraid that she will not like it, though I think that it will be
+real good fun."
+
+"Very likely it will be fun for _you_," said Mr. George.
+
+"I would a great deal rather go across in a mail steamer at low tide
+than in any other way," said Rollo.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III.
+
+THE MAIL STEAMER.
+
+
+Rollo's explanation in respect to the mail steamer was correct. As has
+before been stated in some one or other of the volumes of this series,
+the northern coast of France is low, and the shore is shelving for
+almost the whole extent of it, and there are scarcely any good harbors.
+Immense sandy beaches extend along the coast, sloping so gradually
+outward, that when the tide goes down the sands are left bare for miles
+and miles towards the sea. The only way by which harbors can be made on
+such a shore is to find some place where a creek or small river flows
+into the sea, and then walling in the channel at the mouth of the creek,
+so as to prevent it being choked up by sand. In this way a passage is
+secured, by which, when the tide is high, pretty good sized vessels can
+get in; but, after all that they can do in such a case, they cannot make
+a harbor which can be entered at low tide. When the tide is out, nothing
+is left between the two piers, which form the borders of the channel,
+but muddy flats, with a small, sluggish stream, scarcely deep enough to
+float a jolly boat, slowly meandering in the midst of them towards the
+sea.
+
+The harbor of California is such a harbor as this. Accordingly, in case
+a steamer arrives there when the tide is down, there is no other way but
+for her to anchor in the offing until it rises again; and the
+passengers, if they wish to go ashore, must clamber down the side of the
+vessel into a small boat, and be pulled ashore by the oarsmen. In smooth
+weather this is very easily done. But in rough weather, when both
+steamer and boat are pitching and tossing violently up and down upon the
+waves, it is _not_ very easy or agreeable, especially for timid ladies.
+
+After finishing their breakfast, Mr. George and Rollo went out, and they
+rambled about the town until the time drew near for the sailing of the
+boat. Then they went to the station for the luggage, and having engaged
+a porter to take it to the boat, they followed him down to the pier till
+they came to the place where the boat was lying. After seeing the trunk
+put on board they went on board themselves. A short time afterwards Mr.
+and Mrs. Parkman came.
+
+The steamer, like all the others which ply between the coasts of France
+and England, was quite small, and the passengers were very few. There
+were only four or five ladies, and not far from the same number of
+gentlemen. As the passage was only expected to occupy about two hours,
+the passengers did not go below, but arranged themselves on seats upon
+the deck--some along the sides of the deck by the bulwarks, and some
+near the centre, around a sort of house built over the passage way which
+led down into the cabin.
+
+Soon after Mr. and Mrs. Parkman came on board, Mr. Parkman said to his
+wife,--
+
+"Now, Louise, my dear, you will be less likely to be sick if you get
+some good place where you can take a reclining posture, and so remain
+pretty still until we get over."
+
+"O, I shall not be sick," said she. "I am not at all afraid."
+
+So she began walking about the deck with an unconcerned and careless
+air, as if she had been an old sailor.
+
+Pretty soon Mr. George saw two other ladies coming, with their husbands,
+over the plank. The countenances of these ladies were very pleasing, and
+there was a quiet gentleness in their air and manner which impressed Mr.
+George very strongly in their favor.
+
+As soon as they reached the deck, and while their husbands were
+attending to the disposal of the luggage, they began to look for seats.
+
+"We will get into the most comfortable position we can," said one of
+them, "and keep still till we get nearly across."
+
+"Yes," said the other, "that will be the safest."
+
+So they chose good seats near the companion way, and sat down there, and
+their husbands brought them carpet bags to put their feet upon.
+
+In about fifteen minutes after this the steamer put off from the pier,
+and commenced her voyage. She very soon began to rise and fall over the
+waves, with a short, uneasy motion, which was very disagreeable. The
+passengers, however, all remained still in the places which they had
+severally chosen,--some reading, others lying quiet with their eyes
+closed, as if they were trying to go to sleep.
+
+Mr. Parkman himself tried to do this, but his wife would not leave him
+in peace. She came to him continually to inquire about this or that, or
+to ask him to look at some vessel that was coming in sight, or at some
+view on the shore. All this time the wind, and the consequent motion of
+the steamer, increased. Scudding clouds were seen flitting across the
+sky, from which there descended now and then misty showers of rain.
+These clouds gradually became more frequent and more dense, until at
+length the whole eastern sky was involved in one dense mass of
+threatening vapor.
+
+It began to grow dark, too. The specified time for sailing was four
+o'clock; but there was a delay for the mails, and it was full half past
+four before the steamer had left the pier. And now, before she began to
+draw near the French coast, it was nearly half past six. At length the
+coast began slowly to appear. Its outline was dimly discerned among the
+misty clouds.
+
+Long before this time, however, Mrs. Parkman had become quite sick. She
+first began to feel dizzy, and then she turned pale, and finally she
+came and sat down by her husband, and leaned her head upon his shoulder.
+
+She had been sitting in this posture for nearly half an hour, when at
+length she seemed to feel better, and she raised her head again.
+
+"Are we not nearly there?" said she.
+
+"Yes," said her husband. "The lighthouse is right ahead, and the ends of
+the piers. In ten minutes more we shall be going in between them, and
+then all the trouble will be over."
+
+Rollo and Mr. George were at this time near the bows. They had gone
+there to look forward, in order to get as early a glimpse as possible
+of the boats that they knew were to be expected to come out from the
+pier as soon as the steamer should draw nigh.
+
+"Here they come!" said Rollo, at length.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George. "I see them."
+
+It was so nearly dark that the boats could not be seen distinctly.
+Indeed there was not much to be discerned but a black moving mass,
+slowly coming out from under the walls of the pier.
+
+The steamer had now nearly reached the ground where she was to anchor,
+and so the seamen on the forecastle took in the foresail, which had been
+spread during the voyage, and the helmsman put down the helm. The head
+of the steamer then slowly came round till it pointed in a direction
+parallel to the shore. This carried the boats and the pier somewhat out
+of view from the place where Mr. George and Rollo had been standing.
+
+"Now we can see them better aft," said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and they will board us aft too; so we had
+better be there ready."
+
+Accordingly Mr. George and Rollo went aft again, and approached the
+gangway on the side where they supposed the boats would come.
+
+In going there they passed round first on the other side of the entrance
+to the cabin, where the two ladies were sitting that have already been
+described. As they went by one of the gentlemen came to them and said,--
+
+"Keep up your courage a few minutes longer. We are very near the pier.
+In ten minutes we shall be in smooth water, and all will be over."
+
+The ladies seemed much relieved and rejoiced to hear this, and then the
+gentleman went with Mr. George and Rollo towards the gangway, in order
+that they might make further observations. He was joined there a moment
+afterwards by his companion. Now, these gentlemen, as it happened, knew
+nothing about the plan of landing in boats. They had made no particular
+inquiry at Dover in respect to the steamer that they had come in, but
+took it for granted that she would go into the harbor as usual, and land
+the passengers at the pier. Their attention had just been attracted to
+the singular movement of the steamer, when Rollo and Mr. George came up.
+
+"_What!_" said one of them, speaking with a tone of surprise, and
+looking about eagerly over the water. "We are coming to, Mr. Waldo. What
+can that mean?"
+
+Just then the little fleet of boats, six or seven in number, began to
+come into view from where the gentlemen stood. They were dimly seen at a
+distance, and looked like long, black animals, slowly advancing over the
+dark surface of the water, and struggling fearfully with the waves.
+
+"What boats can those be?" said Mr. Waldo, beginning to look a little
+alarmed.
+
+He was alarmed not for himself, but for his wife, who was very frail and
+delicate in health, and ill fitted to bear any unusual exposure.
+
+"I am sure I cannot imagine," replied the other.
+
+"It looks marvellously as if they were coming out for us," said Mr.
+Waldo.
+
+"Can it be possible, Mr. Albert, that we are to land in boats such a
+night as this?" continued he.
+
+"It looks like it," replied the other. "Yes, they are really coming
+here."
+
+The boats were now seen evidently advancing towards the steamer. They
+came on in a line, struggling fearfully with the waves.
+
+"They look like spectres of boats," said Mr. George to Rollo.
+
+Mr. Albert now went round to the other side of the companion way, to the
+place where the two ladies were sitting.
+
+"Ladies," said he, "I am very sorry to say that we shall be obliged to
+land in boats."
+
+"In boats!" said the ladies, surprised.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Albert, "the tide is out, and I suppose we cannot go
+into port. The steamer has come to, and the boats are coming
+alongside."
+
+The ladies looked out over the dark and stormy water with an emotion of
+fear, but they did not say a word.
+
+"There is no help for it," continued the gentleman; "and you have
+nothing to do but to resign yourselves passively to whatever comes. If
+we had known that this steamer would not go into port, we would not have
+come in her; but now that we are here we must go through."
+
+"Very well," said the ladies. "Let us know when the boat for us is
+ready."
+
+Mr. Albert then returned to the gangway, where Rollo and Mr. George were
+standing. The foremost boat had come alongside, and the seamen were
+throwing the mail bags into it. When the mails were all safely stowed in
+the boat, some of the passengers that stood near by were called upon to
+follow. Mr. George and Rollo, being near, were among those thus called
+upon.
+
+"Wait a moment," said Mr. George to Rollo, in a low tone. "Let a few of
+the others go first, that we may see how they manage it."
+
+It proved to be rather difficult to manage it; for both the steamer and
+the boat were rocking and tossing violently on the waves, and as their
+respective motions did not at all correspond, they thumped against each
+other continually, as the boat rose and fell up and down the side of
+the steamer in a fearful manner. It was dark too, and the wind was
+blowing fresh, which added to the frightfulness of the scene.
+
+A crowd of people stood about the gangway. Some of these people were
+passengers waiting to go down, and others, officers of the ship, to help
+them. The seamen in the boat below were all on the alert too, some
+employed in keeping the boat off from the side of the ship, in order to
+prevent her being stove or swamped, while others stood on each side of
+the place where the passengers were to descend, with uplifted arms,
+ready to seize and hold them when they came down.
+
+There was a little flight of steps hanging down the side of the steamer,
+with ropes on each side of it in lieu of a balustrade. The passenger who
+was to embark was directed to turn round and begin to go down these
+steps backward, and then, when the sea lifted the boat so that the
+seamen on board could seize hold of him, they all cried out
+vociferously, "LET GO!" and at the same moment a strong sailor grasped
+him around the waist, brought him down into the bottom of the boat in a
+very safe, though extremely unceremonious manner.
+
+After several gentlemen and one lady had thus been put into the boat,
+amid a great deal of calling and shouting, and many exclamations of
+surprise and terror, the officer at the gangway turned to Mr. George,
+saying,--
+
+"Come, sir!"
+
+There was no time to stop to talk; so Mr. George stepped forward, saying
+to Rollo as he went, "Come right on directly after me;" and in a moment
+more he was seized by the man, and whirled down into the boat, he
+scarcely knew how. Immediately after he was in, there came some
+unusually heavy seas, and the steamer and the boat thumped together so
+violently that all the efforts of the seamen seemed to be required to
+keep them apart.
+
+"Push off!" said the officer.
+
+"Here, stop! I want to go first," exclaimed Rollo.
+
+"No more in this boat," said the officer. "Push off!"
+
+"Never mind," said Rollo, calling out to Mr. George, "I'll come by and
+by."
+
+"All right," said Mr. George.
+
+By this time the boat had got clear of the steamer, and she now began to
+move slowly onward, rising and falling on the waves, and struggling
+violently to make her way.
+
+"I am glad they did not let me go," said Rollo. "I would rather stay
+and see the rest go first."
+
+Another boat was now seen approaching, and Rollo stepped back a little
+to make way for the people that were to go in it, when he heard Mrs.
+Parkman's voice, in tones of great anxiety and terror, saying to her
+husband,--
+
+"I cannot go ashore in a boat in that way, William. I cannot possibly,
+and I will not!"
+
+"Why, Louise," said her husband, "what else can we do?"
+
+"I'll wait till the steamer goes into port, if I have to wait till
+midnight," replied Mrs. Parkman positively. "It is a shame! Such
+disgraceful management! Could not they find out how the tide would be
+here before they left Dover?"
+
+"Yes," replied Mr. Parkman. "Of course they knew perfectly well how the
+tide would be."
+
+"Then why did not they leave at such an hour as to make it right for
+landing here?"
+
+"There _are_ boats every day," said Mr. Parkman, "which leave at the
+right time for that, and most passengers take them. But the mails must
+come across at regular hours, whether the tide serves or not, and boats
+must come to bring the mails, and they, of course, allow passengers to
+come in these boats too, if they choose. We surely cannot complain of
+that."
+
+"Then they ought to have told us how it was," said Mrs. Parkman. "I
+think it is a shameful deception, to bring us over in this way, and not
+let us know any thing about it."
+
+"But they did tell us," said Mr. Parkman. "Do not you recollect that the
+porter at the station told us that this was a mail boat, and that it
+would not be pleasant for a lady."
+
+"But I did not know," persisted Mrs. Parkman, "that he meant that we
+should have to land in this way. He did not tell us any thing about
+that."
+
+"He told us that it was a mail boat, and he meant by that to tell us
+that we could not land at the pier. It is true, we did not understand
+him fully, but that is because we come from a great distance, and do not
+understand the customs of the country. That is our misfortune. It was
+not the porter's fault."
+
+"I don't think so at all," said Mrs. Parkman. "And you always take part
+against me in such things, and I think it is really unkind."
+
+All this conversation went on in an under tone; but though there was a
+great deal of noise and confusion on every side, Rollo could hear it
+all. While he was listening to it,--or rather while he was _hearing_ it,
+for he took no pains to listen,--the gentleman who had been talking
+with Mr. Waldo, and whom the latter had called Mr. Albert, went round to
+the two ladies who were waiting to be called, and said,--
+
+"Now, ladies, the boat is ready. Follow me. Say nothing, but do just as
+you are told, and all will go well."
+
+[Illustration: LANDING FROM THE MAIL BOAT.]
+
+So the ladies came one after the other in among the crowd that gathered
+around the gangway, and there, before they could bring their faculties
+at all to comprehend any thing distinctly amid the bewildering
+confusion of the scene, they found their bags and shawls taken away from
+them, and they themselves turned round and gently forced to back down
+the steps of the ladder over the boiling surges, when, in a moment more,
+amid loud shouts of "LET GO!" they were seized by the sailors in the
+boat, and down they went, they knew not how, for a distance of many feet
+into the stern of the boat, where they suddenly found themselves seated,
+while the boat itself was rocking violently to and fro, and thumping
+against the side of the steamer in a frightful manner.
+
+The officer, who had charge of the debarkation on the deck of the
+steamer above, immediately called to Mrs. Parkman.
+
+"Come, madam!" said he.
+
+"No," said she, "I can't possibly go ashore in that way."
+
+"Then you will have to stay on board all night."
+
+"Well, I'd rather stay on board all night," said she.
+
+"And you will have to go back to Dover, madam," continued the officer,
+speaking in a very stern and hurried manner, "for the steamer is not
+going into the pier at all."
+
+Then immediately turning to Rollo, he said, "Come, young man!"
+
+So Rollo marched up to the gangway, and was in a moment whirled down
+into the boat, as the others had been. Immediately afterwards the boat
+pushed off, and the sailors began to row, leaving Mr. and Mrs. Parkman
+on board the steamer. How they were to get to the shore Rollo did not
+know.
+
+Rollo began to look about over the water. It had become almost entirely
+dark, and though the moon, which was full, had, as it happened, broken
+out through the clouds a short time before, when they were getting into
+the boats, she had now become obscured again, and every thing seemed
+enveloped in deep gloom. Still Rollo could see at a short distance
+before him the other boats slowly making their way over the wild and
+stormy water. He could also see the ends of the piers dimly defined in
+the misty air, and the tall lighthouse beyond, with a bright light
+burning in the lantern at the top of it.
+
+"We shall only be a few minutes, now," said one of the gentlemen. "It is
+not far to the piers."
+
+The boat went on, pitching and tossing over the waves, with her head
+towards the piers. The pilot who steered the boat called out continually
+to the oarsmen, and the oarsmen shouted back to him; but nobody could
+understand such sailor language as they used. At length, on looking
+forward again, Rollo saw that the boats before him, instead of going on
+in a line towards the land, were slowly scattering in all directions,
+and that their own boat, instead of heading towards the pier as at
+first, gradually turned round, and seemed to be going along in a
+direction parallel to the coast, as the steamer had done.
+
+"What!" exclaimed Mr. Albert, on observing this, "we are not going
+towards the piers. Where can we be going?"
+
+The other gentleman shook his head, and said he did not know.
+
+The ladies remained quietly in their places. There was evidently nothing
+for them to do, and so they concluded, very sensibly, to do nothing.
+
+The boat slowly turned her head round, all the time pitching and tossing
+violently on the billows, until finally she was directed almost towards
+the steamer again.
+
+"What can be the matter?" asked one of the gentlemen, addressing the
+other. "We are not heading towards the shore." Then turning towards the
+pilot, he said to him,--
+
+"What is the matter? Why cannot we go in?"
+
+The pilot, who spoke English very imperfectly, answered, "It is a bar.
+The water is not enough."
+
+"There is a bar," said the gentleman, "outside the entrance to the
+harbor, and the water is not deep enough even for these boats to go
+over. We can see it."
+
+Rollo and the others looked in the direction where the gentleman
+pointed, and he could see a long, white line formed by the breakers on
+the bar, extending each way as far as the eye could reach along the
+shore. Beyond were to be dimly seen the heads of the piers, and a low
+line of the coast on either hand, with the lighthouse beyond, towering
+high into the air, and a bright and steady light beaming from the summit
+of it.
+
+"I hope the tide is not going _down_," said the gentleman, "for in that
+case we may have to wait here half the night."
+
+"Is the tide going down, or coming up?" he said, turning again to the
+pilot.
+
+"It will come up. The tide will come up," answered the pilot.
+
+"What does he say?" asked one of the ladies in a whisper.
+
+"He says that the tide will come up," replied the gentleman. "Whether he
+means it is coming up now, or that it will come up some time or other, I
+do not know. We have nothing to do but to remain quiet, and await the
+result."
+
+The clouds had been for some time growing darker and darker, and now it
+began to rain. So the gentlemen took out their umbrellas and spread
+them, and the party huddled together in the bottom of the boat, and
+sheltered themselves there as well as they could from the wind and rain.
+They invited Rollo to come under the umbrellas too, but he said that the
+rain would not hurt his cap, and he preferred to sit where he could look
+out and see what they would do.
+
+"Very well," said one of the gentlemen. "Tell us, from time to time, how
+we get along."
+
+So Rollo watched the manoeuvring of the boat, and reported, from time
+to time, the progress that she was making. It was not very easy for him
+to make himself heard, on account of the noise of the winds and waves,
+and the continual vociferations of the pilot and the seamen.
+
+"We are headed now," said he, "right away from the shore. We are pointed
+towards the steamer. I can just see her, working up and down in the
+offing.
+
+"Now the men are backing water," he continued. "We are going stern
+foremost towards the bar. I believe they are going to try to back her
+over."
+
+The boat now rapidly approached the line of breakers, moving stern
+foremost. The roar of the surf sounded nearer and nearer. At length the
+ladies and gentlemen under the umbrellas looked out, and they saw
+themselves in the midst of rolling billows of foam, on which the boat
+rose and fell like a bubble. Presently they could feel her thump upon
+the bottom. The next wave lifted her up and carried her towards the
+shore, and then subsiding, brought her down again with another thump
+upon the sand. The pilot shouted out new orders to the seamen. They
+immediately began to pull forward with their oars. He had found that the
+water was yet too shallow on the bar, and that it would be impossible to
+pass over. So the sailors were pulling the boat out to sea again.
+
+The ladies were, of course, somewhat alarmed while the boat was thumping
+on the bar, and the boiling surges were roaring so frightfully around
+them; but they said nothing. They knew that they had nothing to do, and
+so they remained quiet.
+
+"We are clear of the bar, now," said Rollo, continuing his report. "I
+can see the breakers in a long line before us, but we are clear of them.
+Now the sailors are getting out the anchor. I can see a number of the
+other boats that are at anchor already."
+
+The anchor, or rather the grapnel which served as an anchor, was now
+thrown overboard, and the boat came to, head to the wind. There she
+lay, pitching and tossing very uneasily on the sea. The other boats were
+seen lying in similar situations at different distances. One was very
+near; so near, that instead of anchoring herself, the seamen threw a
+rope from her on board the boat where Rollo was, and so held on by her,
+instead of anchoring herself. In this situation the whole fleet of boats
+remained for nearly an hour. Rollo kept a good lookout all the time,
+watching for the first indications of any attempt to move.
+
+At length he heard a fresh command given by the pilot, in language that
+he could not understand; but the sailors at the bows immediately began
+to take in the anchor.
+
+"They are raising the anchor," said he. "Now we are going to try it
+again. There is one boat gone already. She is just coming to the bar.
+She is now just in the breakers. I can see the white foam all around
+her. She is going in. Now she is over. I can see the whole line of foam
+this side of her. Our boat will be there very soon."
+
+In a very few minutes more the boat entered the surf, and soon began to
+thump as before at every rise and fall of the seas. But as each
+successive wave came up, she was lifted and carried farther over the
+bar, and at last came to deep water on the other side.
+
+"It is all over now," said one of the gentlemen, "and, besides, it has
+stopped raining." So he rose from his place and shut the umbrella. The
+ladies looked around, and to their great joy saw that they were just
+entering between the ends of the piers. The passage way was not very
+wide, and the piers rose like high walls on each side of it; but the
+water was calm and smooth within, and the boats glided along one after
+another in a row, in a very calm and peaceful manner. At length they
+reached the landing stairs, which were built curiously within the pier,
+among the piles and timbers, and there they all safely disembarked.
+
+On reaching the top of the stairs, Rollo found Mr. George waiting for
+him.
+
+"Uncle George," said Rollo, "here I am."
+
+"Have you had a good time?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "excellent."
+
+"And what became of Mr. and Mrs. Parkman?"
+
+"I don't know," said Rollo; "I left them on board the steamer. She
+declared that she would not come in a small boat."
+
+"You and I," said Mr. George, "will go off to-morrow morning by the
+first train, and go straight to Holland as fast as we can, so as to get
+out of their way."
+
+"Well," said Rollo. "Though I don't care much about it either way."
+
+Mr. George, however, carried his plan into effect. The next day they
+went to Antwerp; and on the day following they crossed the Belgian
+frontier, and entered Holland.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV.
+
+ENTERING HOLLAND.
+
+
+Rollo and Mr. George went into Holland by the railway. It was a long
+time before Rollo learned that in travelling from one European country
+to another, he was not to expect any visible line of demarcation to show
+the frontier. Boys at school, in studying the shape and conformation of
+different countries on the map, and seeing them marked by distinct
+colored boundaries, are very apt to imagine that they will see
+something, when travelling from one country to another, to show them by
+visible signs when they pass the frontier.
+
+But there is nothing of the kind. The green fields, the groves, the
+farmhouse, the succession of villages continues unchanged as you travel,
+so that, as you whirl along in the railway carriage, there is nothing to
+warn you of the change, except the custom house stations, where the
+passports of travellers are called for, and the baggage is examined.
+
+"Uncle George," said Rollo, after looking out of the window at a place
+where the train stopped, twenty or thirty miles from Antwerp, "I think
+we are coming to the frontier."
+
+"Why so?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Because the Belgian custom house is at this station, and the next will
+be the Dutch custom house."
+
+Rollo knew that this was the Belgian custom house by seeing the word
+DOUANE over one of the doors of the station, and under it the words
+VISITE DES BAGAGES, which means _examination of baggage_. There were
+besides a great many soldiers standing about, which was another
+indication.
+
+"How do you know that it is the Belgian custom house?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Because all these soldiers are in the Belgian uniform," said he. "I
+know the Belgian uniform. I don't know the Dutch uniform, but I suppose
+I shall see it at the next station."
+
+Rollo was perfectly right in his calculations. The last station on the
+line of the railway in Belgium was the frontier station for Belgium, and
+here travellers, coming from Holland, were called upon to show their
+passports, and to have their baggage examined. In the same manner the
+first station beyond, which was the first one in Holland, was the
+frontier station for that country, and there passengers going from
+Belgium into Holland were stopped and examined in the same way.
+
+After going on a few miles from the Belgium station, the whistle blew
+and the train began to stop.
+
+"Here we are!" said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George; "and now comes the time of trial for the musical
+box."
+
+Rollo had bought a musical box at Antwerp, and he had some fears lest he
+might be obliged to pay a duty upon it, in going into Holland. Mr.
+George had told him that he thought there was some danger, but Rollo
+concluded that he would take the risk.
+
+"They have no business to make me pay duty upon it," said he to Mr.
+George.
+
+"Why not?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Because it is not for merchandise," said Rollo. "It is not for sale. I
+have bought it for my own use alone."
+
+"That has nothing to do with it," said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes it has, a great deal to do with it," replied Rollo.
+
+There might have been quite a spirited discussion between Mr. George and
+Rollo, on this old and knotty question, over which tourists in Europe
+are continually stumbling, had not the train stopped. The moment that
+the motion ceased, the doors of all the carriages were opened, and a man
+passed along the line calling out in French,--
+
+"Gentlemen and ladies will all descend here, for the examination of
+passports and baggage."
+
+Mr. George and Rollo had no baggage, except a valise which they carried
+with them in the carriage. Mr. George took this valise up and stepped
+down upon the platform.
+
+"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "if they find your musical box and charge
+duty upon it, pay it like a man."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "I will."
+
+"And don't get up a quarrel with the custom house officer on the
+subject," continued Mr. George, "for he has the whole military force of
+the kingdom of Holland at his command, and what he says is to be done,
+in this territory, must be done."
+
+So saying, Mr. George, valise in hand, followed the crowd of passengers
+through a door, over which was inscribed the Dutch word for baggage. In
+the centre of this room there was a sort of low counter, enclosing a
+sort of oblong square. Within the square were a number of custom house
+officers, ready to examine the baggage which the porters and the
+passengers were bringing in, and laying upon the counter, all around the
+four sides of the square.
+
+Mr. George brought up his valise, and placed it on the counter. A custom
+house officer, who had just examined and marked some other parcels,
+turned to Mr. George's just as he had unlocked and opened it.
+
+"Have you any thing to declare?" said the officer.
+
+"Nothing, sir," said Mr. George.
+
+The officer immediately shut the valise, and marked it on the back with
+a piece of chalk, and Mr. George locked it and took it away.
+
+"Are you through?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George.
+
+Mr. George then took the valise and followed a crowd of passengers, who
+were going through a door at the end of the room opposite to where they
+came in. There was an officer in uniform on each side of this door.
+These officers examined every bag, valise, or parcel that the passengers
+had in their hands, to see if they had been marked by the examiners, and
+as fast as they found that they were marked, they let them pass.
+
+Following this company, Mr. George and Rollo came soon to another small
+room, where a man was sitting behind a desk, examining the passports of
+the passengers and stamping them. Mr. George waited a moment until it
+came his turn, and then handed his passport too. The officer looked at
+it, and then stamped an impression from a sort of seal on one corner of
+it. He also wrote Mr. George's and Rollo's name in a big book, copying
+them for this purpose from the passport.
+
+He then handed the passport back again, and Mr. George and Rollo went
+out, passing by a soldier who guarded the door. They found themselves
+now on the railway platform.
+
+"Now," said Rollo, "I suppose that we may go and take our seats again."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George. "We are fairly entered within the dominions of
+his majesty the king of Holland."
+
+"And no duty to pay on my music box," said Rollo.
+
+Rollo took a seat by a window where he could look out as the train went
+on, and see, as he said, how Holland looked. The country was one immense
+and boundless plain, and there were no fences or other close enclosures
+of any kind. And yet the face of it was so endlessly varied with rows of
+trees, groves, farm houses, gardens, wind mills, roads, and other
+elements of rural scenery, that Rollo found it extremely beautiful. The
+fields were very green where grass was growing, and the foliage of the
+trees, and of the little ornamental hedges that were seen here and there
+adorning the grounds of the farm houses, was very rich and full. As
+Rollo looked out at the window, a continued succession of the most
+bright and beautiful pictures passed rapidly before his eyes, like those
+of a gayly painted panorama, and they all called forth from him
+continually repeated exclamations of delight. Mr. George sat at his
+window enjoying the scene perhaps quite as much as Rollo did, though he
+was much less ardent in expressing his admiration.
+
+"See these roads, uncle George," said Rollo; "they run along on the tops
+of the embankment like railroads. Are those dikes?"
+
+"No," said Mr. George. "The dikes are built along the margin of the sea,
+and along the banks of rivers and canals, to take the water out. These
+are embankments for the roads, to raise them up and keep them dry."
+
+There were rows of trees on the sides of these raised roads, which
+formed beautiful avenues to shelter the carriage way from the sun. These
+avenues could sometimes be seen stretching for miles across the country.
+
+"Now, pretty soon," said Rollo, "we shall come to the water, and then we
+shall take a steamboat."
+
+"Then we do not go all the way by the train," said Mr. George.
+
+"No," said Rollo. "The railroad stops at a place called Moerdyk, and
+there we take a steamer and go along some of the rivers.
+
+"But I can't find out by the map exactly how we are to go," he
+continued, "because there are so many rivers."
+
+Rollo had found, by the map, that the country all about Rotterdam was
+intersected by a complete network of creeks and rivers. This system was
+connected on the land side with the waters of the Rhine, by the immense
+multitude of branches into which that river divides itself towards its
+mouth, and on the other side by innumerable creeks and inlets coming in
+from the sea. This network of channels is so extensive, and the water in
+the various branches of it is so deep, that ships and steamers can go at
+will all about the country. It would be as difficult to make a railroad
+over such a tract of mingled land and water as this, as it is easy to
+navigate a steamer through it; and, accordingly, the owners of the line
+had made arrangements for stopping the trains at Moerdyk, and then
+transferring the passengers to a steamer.
+
+"I have great curiosity," said Rollo, "to see whether, when we come to
+the water, we shall go _up_ to it, instead of _down_ to it."
+
+"Do you think that we shall go up to it?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"I don't know," replied Rollo. "We do in some parts of Holland. In some
+places, according to what the guide book says, the land is twenty or
+thirty feet below the level of the water, and so when you come to the
+shore you go _up an embankment_, and there you find the water on the
+other side, nearly at the top of it."
+
+When at length the train stopped at Moerdyk, the conductor called out
+from the platform that all the passengers would descend from the
+carriages to embark on board the steamer. Rollo was too much interested
+in making the change, and in hurrying Mr. George along so as to get a
+good seat in the steamer, to make any observation on the comparative
+level of the land and water. There was quite a little crowd of
+passengers to go on board; and as they walked along the pier towards the
+place where the steamer was lying, all loaded with as many bags, cloaks,
+umbrellas, or parcels of some sort, as they could carry, Rollo and Mr.
+George pressed on before them, Rollo leading the way. The steamer was a
+long and narrow boat, painted black, in the English fashion. There was
+no awning over the deck, and most of the passengers went below.
+
+"I don't see what they are all going below for," said Rollo. "I should
+think that they would wish to stay on deck and see the scenery."
+
+So Rollo chose a seat by the side of a small porch which was built upon
+the deck over the entrance to the cabin, and sat down immediately upon
+it, making room for Mr. George by his side. There was a little table
+before him, and he laid down his guide book and his great coat upon it.
+
+"Now," said he, "this is good. We have got an excellent seat, and we
+will have a first rate time looking at Holland as we go along."
+
+Just then a young man, dressed in a suit of gray, and with a spy glass
+hanging at his side, suspended by a strap from his shoulder, and with a
+young and pretty, but rather disdainful looking lady on his arm, came
+by.
+
+"Now, Emily," said he, "which would you prefer, to sit here upon the
+deck or go below?"
+
+"O George," said she, "let us go below. There's nothing to be seen on
+the deck. The country is every where flat and uninteresting."
+
+"We might see the shores as we go along," suggested her husband.
+
+"O, there's nothing to be seen along the shores," said she; "nothing but
+bulrushes and willows. We had better go below."
+
+So Emily led George below.
+
+"Rollo," said Mr. George, "if you would like to take a bet, I will bet
+you the prettiest Dutch toy that you can find in Amsterdam, that that is
+another Mrs. Parkman."
+
+"I think it very likely she is," said Rollo. "But, uncle George, what do
+you think they have got down below? I've a great mind to go down and
+see."
+
+"Very well," said Mr. George.
+
+"And will you keep my place while I am gone?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "or you can put your cap in it to keep it."
+
+So Rollo put his cap in his seat, and went down below. In a few minutes
+he returned, saying that there was a pretty little cabin down there,
+with small tables set out along the sides of it, and different parties
+of people getting ready for breakfast.
+
+"It is rather late for breakfast," said Mr. George. "It is after twelve
+o'clock."
+
+"Then perhaps they call it luncheon," said Rollo. "But I'd rather stay
+on deck. We might have something to eat here. Don't you think we could
+have it on this table?"
+
+"Yes," replied Mr. George, "that is what the table is put here for."
+
+"Well!" said Rollo, his eye brightening up at the idea.
+
+"We can have it here, or we can wait and have it at the hotel in
+Rotterdam," said Mr. George. "You may decide. I'll do just as you say."
+
+Rollo finally concluded to wait till they arrived at Rotterdam, and then
+to have a good dinner all by themselves at some table by a window in the
+hotel, and in the mean time to devote himself, while on board the
+steamer, to observing the shores of the river, or arm of the sea,
+whichever it might be, on which they were sailing.
+
+The steamer had before this time set sail from the pier, and after
+backing out of a little sort of creek or branch where it had been
+moored, it entered a broad channel of deep water, and began rapidly to
+move along. The day was pleasant, and though the air was cool, Rollo and
+Mr. George were so well sheltered by the little porch by the side of
+which they were sitting, that they were very comfortable in all
+respects.
+
+Before long the channel of water in which the steamer was sailing became
+more narrow, and the steamer passed nearer a bank, which Rollo soon
+perceived was formed by a dike.
+
+"See, see! uncle George," said he. "There are the roofs of the houses
+over on the other side of the dike. We can just see the tops of them.
+The ground that the houses stand upon must be a great deal below the
+water."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and see, there are the tops of the tall trees."
+
+The dike was very regular in its form, and it was ornamented with two
+rows of trees along the top of it. There were seats here and there under
+the trees, and some of these seats had people sitting upon them, looking
+at the passing boats and steamers. The water was full of vessels of all
+kinds, coming and going, or lying at anchor. These vessels were all of
+very peculiar forms, being built in the Dutch style, and not painted,
+but only varnished, so as to show beautifully the natural color of the
+wood of which they were made. They had what Rollo called _fins_ on each
+side, which were made to be taken up or let down into the water, first
+on one side and then on the other, as the vessel was on different tacks
+in beating against the wind.
+
+Opposite to every place where there was a house over beyond the dike,
+there was a line of steps coming down the face of the dike on the hither
+side, towards the water, with a little pier, and a boat fastened to it,
+below. These little flights of steps, with the piers and the boats, and
+the seats under the trees on the top of the dike, and the roofs of the
+houses, and the tops of the trees beyond, all looked extremely pretty,
+and presented a succession of very peculiar and very charming scenes to
+Mr. George and Rollo as the steamer glided rapidly along the shore.
+
+In some places the dike seemed to widen, so as to make room for houses
+upon the top of it. There were snug little taverns, where the captains
+and crews of the vessels that were sailing by could stop and refresh
+themselves, when wind or tide bound in their vessels, and now and then a
+shop or store of some kind, or a row of pretty, though very
+queer-looking, cottages. At one place there was a ferry landing. The
+ferry house, together with the various buildings appertaining to it, was
+on the top of the dike, and a large pier, with a snug and pretty basin
+by the side of it, below. There was a flight of stairs leading up from
+the pier to the ferry house, and also a winding road for carriages. At
+the time that the steamer went by this place, the ferry boat was just
+coming in with a carriage on board of it.
+
+There were a great many wind mills here and there along the dike. Some
+were for pumping up water, some for sawing logs, and some for grinding
+grain. These wind mills were very large and exceedingly picturesque in
+their forms, and in the manner in which they were grouped with the other
+buildings connected with them. Rollo wished very much that he could stop
+and go on shore and visit some of these wind mills, so as to see how
+they looked inside.
+
+At length the vessels and ships seemed to increase in numbers, and Mr.
+George said that he thought that they must be approaching a town. Rollo
+looked upon the map and found that there was a large town named Dort,
+laid down on the shores of the river or branch on which they were
+sailing.
+
+"It is on the other side," said he. "Let us go and see."
+
+So they both rose from their seats and went round to the other side of
+the boat, and there, there suddenly burst upon their view such a maze of
+masts, spires, roofs, and wind mills, all mingled together in
+promiscuous confusion, as was wonderful to behold. In the centre of the
+whole rose one enormous square tower, which seemed to belong to a
+cathedral.
+
+This was Dort, or Dordrecht, as it is often called.
+
+As the steamer glided rapidly along the shores, and Mr. George and Rollo
+attempted to look into the town, they saw not streets, but canals.
+Indeed, the whole place seemed just level with the surface of the water,
+and far in the interior of it the masts of ships and the roofs of the
+houses were mingled together in nearly equal proportion.
+
+The steamer threaded its way among the fleets of boats and shipping
+that lay off the town, and at length came to a stop at a pier. The
+passengers destined for this place began to disembark. Mr. George and
+Rollo stood together on the deck, looking at the buildings which lined
+the quay, and wondering at the quaint and queer forms which every thing
+that they saw assumed.
+
+"I should really like to go ashore here," said Mr. George, "and see what
+sort of a place it is."
+
+"Let us do it, uncle George!" said Rollo, eagerly. "Let us do it!"
+
+"Only we have paid to Rotterdam," said Mr. George.
+
+"Never mind," said Rollo. "It will not make much difference."
+
+But before Mr. George could make up his mind to go on shore, the
+exchange of passengers was effected, and the plank was pulled in, the
+ropes were cast off, and the steamer once more began to move swiftly
+along over the water.
+
+"It is too late," said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and on the whole it is better for us to go on."
+
+In about an hour more the steamer began to draw near to Rotterdam. The
+approach to the town was indicated by the multitude of boats and vessels
+that were passing to and fro, and by the numbers of steamers and wind
+mills that lined respectively the margins of the water and of the land.
+The wind mills were prodigious in size. They towered high into the air
+like so many lighthouses; the tops of the sails, as Mr. George
+estimated, reached, as the vanes revolved, up to not less than one
+hundred and fifty or two hundred feet into the air. It was necessary to
+build them high, in order that the sails might not be becalmed by the
+houses.
+
+[Illustration: DORT.]
+
+At length the steamer stopped at a pier. Two policemen stood at the
+plank, as the passengers landed, and demanded their passports. Mr.
+George gave up his passport, as he was directed, and then he and Rollo
+got into a carriage and were driven to the hotel.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V.
+
+WALKS ABOUT ROTTERDAM.
+
+
+The hotel where Mr. George and Rollo were set down was a very
+magnificent edifice standing on the quay opposite to a line of steamers.
+On entering it, both our travellers were struck with the spaciousness of
+the hall and of the staircase, and with the sumptuous appearance in
+general of the whole interior. They called for a chamber. The
+attendants, as they soon found, all understood English, so that there
+was no occasion at present to resort to the language of signs, as Mr.
+George had supposed might be necessary. In answer to Mr. George's
+request to be shown to a room, the servant showed him and Rollo a very
+large and lofty apartment, with immense windows in front looking down
+upon the pier. On the back side of the room were two single beds.
+
+"This will do very well for us," said Mr. George.
+
+"Will you dine at the table d'hote?"[3] asked the waiter.
+
+[Footnote 3: Pronounced _tahble dote_.]
+
+The table d'hote is the public table.
+
+"At what time is the table d'hote?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"At half past four," said the waiter.
+
+"No," said Mr. George, "we shall want to be out at that time. We will
+take something now as soon as we can have it. Can you give us a
+beefsteak?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said the waiter.
+
+"Very well. Give us a beefsteak and some coffee, and some bread and
+butter."
+
+"Yes, sir," said the waiter. "Will you have two beefsteaks, or one
+beefsteak?"
+
+"Two," said Rollo, in an under tone to Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and coffee for two, also."
+
+So the waiter left the travellers in their room, and went down stairs.
+In about ten minutes Mr. George and Rollo went down too. At the foot of
+the grand staircase they turned into the dining room, where they saw
+several tables set, and at one of them, near a window, were the
+preparations for their meal.
+
+The window looked out upon the quay, and Rollo could see the men at work
+getting out hogsheads and bales of goods from a steamer that was moored
+there. Besides looking across to the quay, Rollo could also look up and
+down the street without putting his head out of the window. The way in
+which he was enabled to do this, was by means of looking glasses placed
+outside. These looking glasses were attached to an iron frame, and they
+were placed in an inclined position, so as to reflect the whole length
+of the street in through the window. Thus a person sitting at his ease
+within the room, could look up and down the street, as well as across
+it, at his pleasure.
+
+Rollo afterwards observed such looking glasses attached to the windows
+of almost all the houses in town.
+
+The dinner was soon brought in, and Mr. George and Rollo ate it with
+excellent appetites. Just as they had finished their meal, a
+neatly-dressed young man came to the table and asked them if they wished
+for some one to show them about the town.
+
+"Because," said he, "I am a _valet de place_, and I can take you at once
+to all the places of interest, and save you a great deal of time."
+
+"How much do you ask to do it?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Five francs a day," said the man.
+
+"That's right," said Mr. George. "That's the usual price. But we shall
+not want you, at least for this afternoon. We may want you to-morrow. We
+shall stay in town a day or two."
+
+The young man said that he should be very happy to serve them if they
+should require his services, and then bowed and went away.
+
+After having finished their meal, Mr. George and Rollo set out to take a
+ramble about the town by themselves.
+
+"We will go in search of adventures," said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and if we lose our way, we shall be likely to
+_have_ some adventures, for we cannot speak Dutch to inquire for it."
+
+"Never mind," said Rollo, "I'm not afraid. We will be careful which way
+we go."
+
+So they went out and took quite a long ramble through the town. The
+first aspect of the streets struck them with astonishment. The space was
+now more than half filled with docks and basins, and with canals in
+which ships and boats of every kind were moving to and fro. In fact
+almost every street consisted one half of canal, and one half of road
+way, so that in going through it you could have your choice of going in
+a boat or in a carriage. The water part of the streets was crowded
+densely with vessels, some of them of the largest size, for the water
+was so deep in the canals that the largest ships could go all about the
+town.
+
+It was curious to observe the process of loading and unloading these
+vessels, opposite to the houses where the merchants who owned them
+lived. These houses were very large and handsome. The upper stories were
+used for the rooms of the merchant and his family, and the lower ones
+were for the storage of the goods. Thus a merchant could sit at his
+parlor window with his family about him, could look down upon his ship
+in the middle of the street before his house, and see the workmen
+unlading it and stowing the goods safely on his own premises, in the
+rooms below.
+
+In some of the streets the canal was in the centre, and there was a road
+way along by the houses on each side. In others there was a road way
+only on one side, and the walls of the houses and stores rose up
+directly from the water's edge on the other. It was curious, in this
+case, to see the men in the upper stories of these stores, hoisting
+goods up from the vessels below by means of cranes and tackles
+projecting from the windows.
+
+There was one arrangement in the streets which Rollo at first
+condemned, as decidedly objectionable in his mind, and that was, that
+the sidewalks were smooth and level with the pavement of the street,
+differing only from the street by being paved with bricks, while the
+road way was paved with stone.
+
+"I think that that is a very foolish plan," said Rollo.
+
+"I should not have expected so crude a remark as that from so old and
+experienced a traveller as you," said Mr. George.
+
+"Why, uncle George," said Rollo. "It is plainly a great deal better to
+have the sidewalk raised a little, for that keeps the wheels of the
+carts and carriages from coming upon them. Besides, there ought to be a
+gutter."
+
+"People that have never been away from home before," said Mr. George,
+"are very apt, when they first land in any strange country, and observe
+any strange or unusual way of doing things, or of making things, to
+condemn it at once, and say how much better the thing is in their
+country. But I thought that you had travelled enough to know better than
+that."
+
+"How so?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Why, you see that after people have travelled more, they get their
+ideas somewhat enlarged, and they learn that one way of doing things may
+be best in one country, and another in another, on account of some
+difference in the circumstances or the wants of the two countries. So,
+when they see any thing done in a new or unusual manner, they don't
+condemn it, or laugh at it, until they have had time to find out whether
+there may not be some good reason for it."
+
+"But I don't see," said Rollo, "what possible good reason there can be
+for having the sidewalks made so that every cart that comes along can
+run over you."
+
+"And because you don't in a moment see every reason, does that make it
+certain that there cannot be any?" said Mr. George.
+
+"Why, no," replied Rollo.
+
+"Then if you had travelled to much purpose," said Mr. George, "you would
+suspend your judgment until you had inquired."
+
+It was not long before Rollo saw what the reason was for making the
+sidewalks in this way. Indeed, with a little reflection, he would
+probably have thought of it himself.
+
+The object was to make it easy to wheel and convey the goods from the
+ships across to the warehouses. For, as the ships and boats go into
+almost all the streets in the town, goods have to be wheeled across
+every where, from the margin of the quay to the warehouses of the
+merchants, and a range of curbstones and gutter would make an obstacle
+that would be very much in the way.
+
+Besides, contrary to Rollo's hastily formed opinion, there ought _not_
+to be any gutters in such a town as this, as far as the streets are
+perfectly level, from end to end; if gutters were made the water would
+not run in them. The only way to have the rain water carried off, is to
+form a gentle slope from the houses straight across the quay to the
+margin of the canal, and this requires that the connection between the
+sidewalk and the road way should be continuous and even. So that on
+every account the plan adopted in Rotterdam is the best for that town.
+
+I advise all the readers of this book, whether old or young, if they
+have not yet had an opportunity to learn wisdom by actual experience in
+travelling, to remember the lesson that Rollo learned on this occasion;
+and whenever, in their future travels, they find any thing that appears
+unusual or strange, not to condemn it too soon, simply because it is
+different from what they have been accustomed to at home, but to wait
+till they have learned whether there may not be some good cause for the
+difference.
+
+Rollo wished to stop continually, as he and his uncle walked along, to
+watch the operations of loading and unloading that were going on
+between the ships and the warehouses. At one place was a boat loaded
+with sails, which had apparently come from a sail maker's. The sails
+were rolled up in long rolls, and some people in a loft of a warehouse
+near were hoisting them up with tackles, and pulling them in at the
+windows.
+
+At another place two porters were engaged wheeling something in
+wheelbarrows across from a slip to the warehouse, stopping by the way at
+a little platform to have every wheelbarrow load weighed. One of the
+porters wheeled the loads from the ship to the platform, and the other,
+after they were weighed, wheeled them to the warehouse. At the platform
+sat a man with a little desk before him and a big book upon it, in which
+he entered the weight of each load as it came. As soon as the load was
+weighed the warehouse porter would take it from the platform, wheel it
+across the street to the warehouse, empty it there, and then bring back
+the empty wheelbarrow and set it down by the side of the platform. In
+the mean time the ship porter would have wheeled another load up to the
+platform from the ship, and by the time that the warehouse porter had
+come back, it would be weighed and all ready for him. The ship porter,
+when he brought the loaded wheelbarrow, would take back to the ship the
+empty one. The whole operation went on with so much regularity and
+system, and it worked so well in keeping all the men employed all the
+time, without either having to wait at all for the other, that it was a
+pleasure to witness it.
+
+At another place Mr. George himself, as well as Rollo, was much
+interested in seeing the process of tobacco inspection. There were a
+number of hogsheads of tobacco, with a party of porters, coopers,
+inspectors, and clerks examining them. It was curious to see how rapidly
+they would go through the process. The coopers would set a hogshead up
+upon its end, knock out the head, loosen all the staves at one end,
+whisk it over upon the platform of the scales, and then lift the
+hogshead itself entirely off, and set it down on one side, leaving the
+tobacco alone, in a great round pile, on the platform. Then when it was
+weighed they would tumble it over upon its side, and separate it into
+its layers, and the inspectors would take out specimens from all the
+different portions of it. Then they would pile up the layers again, and
+put the hogshead on over them, as you would put an extinguisher on a
+candle; and, finally, after turning it over once more, they would put it
+on the head, and bind it all up again tight and secure, with hoop poles
+which they nailed in and around it. The porters would then roll the
+hogshead off, in order to put it on a cart and take it away. The whole
+operation was performed with a degree of system, regularity, and
+promptness, that was quite surprising. The whole work of opening the
+hogshead, examining it thoroughly, weighing it, selecting specimens, and
+putting it up again, was accomplished in less time than it has taken me
+here to describe it.
+
+There were a great many other operations of this sort that arrested the
+attention of Mr. George and Rollo, as they walked along the streets.
+Much of the merchandise which they saw thus landing from the ships, or
+going on board of them, was of great value, and the ships in which it
+came were of immense size, such as are engaged in the East India trade.
+Mr. George said that they were the kind that he had often read about in
+history, under the name of Dutch East Indiamen.
+
+Rollo was very much amused at the signs over the doors of the shops, in
+those streets where there were shops, and in the efforts that he made to
+interpret them. There was one which read SCHEEP'S VICTUALIJ, which Mr.
+George said must mean victualling for ships. He was helped, however,
+somewhat in making this translation by observing what was exhibited in
+the windows of the shop, and at the door. There was another in which
+Rollo did not require any help to enable him to translate it. It was
+TABAK, KOFFY, UND THEE. Another at first perplexed him. It was this:
+HUIS UND SCHEEP'S SMEDERY. But by seeing that the place was a sort of
+blacksmith's shop, Rollo concluded that it must mean house and ship
+smithery, that is, that it was a place for blacksmith's work for houses
+and ships.
+
+Over one of the doors was OOSTERHOUTS UND BREDA'S BIER HUIS. Mr. George
+said that Breda was a place not far from Rotterdam, and that the last
+part of the sign must mean house for selling Breda beer. Rollo then
+concluded that the first word must mean something connected with
+oysters. There was another, KOFFER EN ZADEL MAKERIJ. At first Rollo
+could not make any thing of this; but on looking at the window he saw a
+painting of a horse's head, with a handsome bridle upon it, and a saddle
+on one side. So he concluded it must mean a trunk and saddle makery. He
+was the more convinced of the correctness of this from the fact that the
+word for trunk or box, in French, is _coffre_.
+
+Rollo amused himself a long time in interpreting in this way the signs
+that he saw in the streets, and he succeeded so well in it that he told
+Mr. George that he believed he could learn the Dutch language very
+easily, if he were going to stay for any considerable time in Holland.
+
+Another thing that amused Rollo very much, was to see the wooden shoes
+that were worn by the common people in the streets. These shoes appeared
+to Rollo to be very large and clumsy; but even the little children wore
+them, and the noise that they made, clattering about the pavements with
+them, was very amusing.
+
+In a great many places where the streets intersected each other, there
+were bridges leading across the canals. These bridges were of a very
+curious construction. They were all draw bridges, and as boats and
+vessels were continually passing and repassing along the canals, it
+became frequently necessary to raise them, in order to let the vessels
+go through. The machinery for raising these bridges and letting them
+down again, was very curious; and Rollo and Mr. George were both glad,
+when, in coming to the bridge, they found it was up, as it gave them an
+opportunity to watch the manoeuvre of passing the vessel through.
+
+Every boat and vessel that went through had a toll to pay, and the
+manner of collecting this toll was not the least singular part of the
+whole procedure. While the bridge was up, and when the boat had passed
+nearly through, the helmsman, or helmswoman, as the case might be,--for
+one half the boats and vessels seemed to be steered by women,--would
+get the money ready; and then the tollman, who stood on the abutment of
+the bridge, would swing out to the boat one of the wooden shoes above
+described, which was suspended by a long line from the end of a pole,
+like a fishing pole. The tollman would swing out this shoe over the boat
+that was passing through, as a boy would swing his hook and sinker out
+over the water if he were going to catch fish. The helmsman in the boat
+would take hold of it when it came within his reach, and put the money
+into the toe of it. The tollman would then draw it in, and, taking out
+the money, would carry it to his toll house, which was a small building,
+not much bigger than a sentry box that stood on the pier close by.
+
+In one case Rollo came to a bridge, which, instead of being made to be
+raised entirely, had only a very narrow part in the centre, just wide
+enough for the masts and rigging of the ship to go through, that could
+be moved. When this part was lifted up to let a vessel pass, it made
+only a very narrow opening, such as a boy might jump across very easily.
+
+In some places where the passing and repassing of ships was very great,
+there was a ferry instead of a bridge. In these cases there was a
+flat-bottomed boat to pass to and from one side to the other, with a
+pretty little landing of stone steps at each end. Rollo was much
+entertained by these ferries. He said it was crossing a street by water.
+And it was exactly that, and no more. The place where he first crossed
+one of these ferries was precisely like a broad street of water, with
+ships and boats going to and fro upon it, instead of carriages, and a
+very wide brick sidewalk on each side. The ferry was at the crossing, at
+the place where another street intersected it.
+
+As the houses on each side of these streets were very large and
+handsome, and as there were rows of beautiful trees on the margin of the
+water, and as every thing about the water, and the ships, and the quays,
+and the sidewalks, was kept very neat and clean, the whole view, as it
+presented itself to Rollo and Mr. George while they were crossing in the
+boat, was exceedingly attractive and exciting.
+
+Mr. George and Rollo remained in Rotterdam several days before they were
+satisfied with the curious and wonderful spectacles which it presented
+to view. In one of their walks they made the entire circuit of the town,
+and Mr. George agreed with Rollo in the opinion that this was one of the
+most interesting walks they had ever taken.
+
+[Illustration: THE FERRY BOAT.]
+
+The way led along a smooth and beautiful road, which was neatly paved,
+and kept very nice and clean. On the right hand side there extended
+along the whole length of it a wide canal, with boats all the time going
+to and fro. This canal looked brimming full. The water, in fact, came up
+within a few inches of the level of the road. The line of the road was
+formed by a smooth and straight margin of stone,--like the margin of a
+fountain,--with little platforms extending out here and there, where
+neatly-dressed girls and women were washing.
+
+On the other side of the road, down ten feet or more below the level of
+it, was a range of houses, with yards, gardens, and fields about them.
+The way to these houses was by paths leading down from the dike on which
+the road was built, and across little bridges built over a small canal
+which extended between them and the dike. This small canal was for the
+draining of the land on which the houses stood. The water in this canal
+had a gentle flow towards the end of the street, where there was a wind
+mill to pump it up into the great canal on the other side of the street.
+
+As Rollo and Mr. George walked along this road, it was very curious to
+them to see the water on one side so much higher than the land on the
+other. At the intervals between the houses they obtained glimpses of the
+interior of the country, which consisted of level fields lying far below
+where they were standing, and intersected in every direction by small
+canals, which served the purpose at the same time of fences, roads, and
+drains. There seemed to be no other divisions than these between the
+lands of the different proprietors, and no other roads for bringing home
+the hay or grain, or other produce which might be raised in the fields.
+
+In pursuing their walk around the town, our travellers were continually
+coming to objects so curious in their construction and use, as to arrest
+their attention and cause them to stop and examine them. At one place
+they saw a little ferry boat, which looked precisely like a little
+floating room. It was square, and had a roof over it like a house, with
+seats for the passengers below. This boat plied to and fro across the
+canal, by means of a rope fastened to each shore, and running over
+pulleys in the boat.
+
+"We might take this ferry boat," said Mr. George, "and go across the
+canal into the town again. See, it lands opposite to one of the
+streets."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "but I would rather keep on, and go all around the
+town outside."
+
+"We might go over in the ferry boat just for the fun of it," said Mr.
+George, "and then come back again."
+
+"Well," said Rollo. "How much do you suppose the toll is?"
+
+"I don't know," said Mr. George. "It can't be much, it is such a small
+boat, and goes such a little way; and then, besides, I know it must be
+cheap, or else there could not so many of these girls and women go back
+and forth."
+
+For while they had been looking at the boat, as they gradually
+approached the spot, they had seen it pass to and fro with many
+passengers, who, though they were very neatly dressed, were evidently by
+no means wealthy or fashionable people.
+
+So Mr. George and Rollo went to the margin of the road where the ferry
+boat had its little landing place, and when it came up they stepped on
+board. The ferryman could only talk Dutch, and so Mr. George could not
+ask him what was to pay. The only thing to be done was to give him a
+piece of silver, and let him give back such change as he pleased. Mr.
+George gave him a piece of money about as big as half a franc, and he
+got back so much change in return that he said he felt richer than he
+did before.
+
+At another place they came to a bridge that led across the canal. This
+bridge turned on a pivot placed out near the middle of the canal, so
+that it could be moved out of the way when there was a boat to go by. A
+man was turning it when Mr. George and Rollo came along. They stopped to
+witness the operation. They were quite amused, not merely with the
+manoeuvring of the bridge, but with the form and appearance of the
+boat that was going through. It seemed to be half boat and half house.
+There was a room built in it, which rose somewhat above the deck, and
+showed several little windows with pretty curtains to them. There was a
+girl sitting at one of these windows, knitting, and two or three
+children were playing about the deck at the time that the boat was going
+through the bridge.
+
+Farther on the party came to an immense wind mill, which was employed in
+pumping up water. This wind mill, like most of the others, was built of
+brick. It rose to a vast height into the air, and there its immense
+sails were slowly revolving. The wind mill was forty or fifty feet in
+diameter at the base, and midway between the base and the summit was a
+platform built out, that extended all around it. The sails of the mill,
+as they revolved, only extended down to this platform, and the platform
+itself was above the roofs of the four-story houses that stood near.
+
+At the foot of this wind mill Mr. George and Rollo could see the water
+running in under it, through a sluice way which led from a low canal,
+and on the other side they could see it pouring out in a great torrent,
+into a higher one.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Besides making this circuit around the town, Mr. George and Rollo one
+evening took a walk in the environs, on a road which led along on the
+top of a dike. The dike was very broad, and the descent from it to the
+low land on each side was very gradual. On the slopes on each side, and
+along the margin on the top, were rows of immense trees, that looked as
+if they had been growing for centuries. The branches of these trees met
+overhead, so as to exclude the sun entirely. They made the road a
+deeply-shaded avenue, and gave to the whole scene a very sombre and
+solemn expression. On each side of the road, down upon the low land
+which formed the general level of the country, were a succession of
+country houses, the summer residences of the rich merchants of
+Rotterdam. These houses were beautifully built; and they were surrounded
+with grounds ornamented in the highest degree. There were winding
+walks, and serpentine canals, and beds of flowers, and pretty bridges,
+and summer houses, and groves of trees, and every thing else that can
+add to the beauty of a summer retreat.
+
+All these scenes Mr. George and Rollo looked down upon as they sauntered
+slowly along the smooth sidewalk of the dike, under the majestic trees
+which shaded it. The place where they were walking on the dike was on a
+level with the second story windows of the houses.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI.
+
+DOING THE HAGUE.
+
+
+"And now what is the next place that we shall come to?" said Rollo to
+Mr. George one morning after they had been some days in Rotterdam.
+
+"The Hague," replied Mr. George.
+
+"Ah, yes," said Rollo, "that is the capital. We shall stop there a good
+while I suppose, because it is the capital."
+
+"No," said Mr. George, "I shall go through it just as quick as I can for
+that very reason. I have a great mind not to stop there at all."
+
+"Why, uncle George!" exclaimed Rollo, surprised, "what do you mean by
+that?"
+
+"Why, the Hague," rejoined Mr. George, "is the place where the king
+lives, and the princes, and the foreign ambassadors, and all the
+fashionable people; and there will be nothing to see there, I expect,
+but palaces, and picture galleries, and handsome streets, and such
+things, all of which we can see more of and better in Paris or London."
+
+"Still we want to see what sort of a place the Hague is," said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "and I expect to do that in a very short time,
+and then I shall go on to Haarlem, where they have had such a time with
+their pumping."
+
+Mr. George and Rollo packed up their valise, paid their bill at the
+hotel, and set off for the station.
+
+"Let's go to the station by water," said Rollo.
+
+"Well," said Mr. George, "if you will engage a boat."
+
+"I know a place not far from here where there is a boat station," said
+Rollo.
+
+So Rollo led the way until they came to a bridge, and there, by the side
+of the bridge, were some stairs leading down to the water. There were
+several boats lying at the foot of the stairs, and boatmen near, who all
+called out in Dutch, "Do you want a boat?" At least that was what Rollo
+supposed they said, though, of course, he could not understand their
+language. Rollo walked down the steps, and got into one of the boats,
+and Mr. George followed him.
+
+"I can't speak Dutch," said Rollo to the boatman, "but that is the way
+we want to go." So saying, Rollo pointed in the direction which led
+towards the station. The man did not understand a word that Rollo had
+said; but still, by hearing it, he learned the fact that Rollo did not
+speak the language of the country, and by his signs he knew that he must
+go the way that he pointed. So he began to row the boat along.
+
+"We cannot go quite to the station by the boat," said Rollo, "but we can
+go pretty near it, and we can walk the rest of the way."
+
+"How will you find out the way," asked Mr. George, "through all these
+canals?"
+
+"I can tell by the map," said Rollo.
+
+So Rollo sat down on a seat at the stern of the boat, and taking out his
+map, which was printed on a pocket handkerchief, he spread it on his
+knee, and began to study out the canals.
+
+"There," said he, "we are going along this canal, now; and there, a
+little way ahead from here, is a bridge that we shall go under. Then we
+shall make a turn," continued Rollo, still studying his map. "We shall
+have to go a very round-about way; but that is no matter."
+
+So they went on, Rollo at each turn pointing to the boatman which way he
+was to go. Sometimes the boat was stopped for a time by a jam in the
+boats and vessels before it, as a hack might be stopped in Broadway in
+New York. Sometimes it went under bridges, and sometimes through dark
+archways, where Rollo could hear carriages rumbling over his head in
+the streets above.
+
+At length the boat reached the point which Rollo thought was nearest to
+the station; and the man, at a signal which Rollo gave him, stopped at
+some steps. Rollo paid the fare by holding out a handful of money in his
+hand, and letting the man take what was right, watching him, however, to
+see that he did not take too much.
+
+Then Mr. George and Rollo both went ashore, and walked the rest of the
+way to the station.
+
+In the European railroad stations there are different waiting rooms for
+the different classes of travellers. Mr. George sometimes took second
+class carriages, and sometimes first. For short distances he generally
+went first class, and as it was only a few miles to the Hague from
+Rotterdam, he now went into the first class waiting room. There was a
+counter for refreshment in one corner of the room, and some sofas along
+the sides. Mr. George sat down upon one of the sofas, putting his valise
+on the floor at the end of it. Rollo said that he would go out and take
+a little walk around the station, for it was yet half an hour before the
+train was to go.
+
+In a few minutes after Rollo had gone, there came to the door, among
+other carriages, one from which Mr. George, to his great surprise, saw
+Mr. and Mrs. Parkman get out. Mr. George's first thought was to go out
+by another door, and make his escape. But he checked this impulse,
+saying to himself,
+
+"It would be very ungenerous in me to abandon my old friend in his
+misfortune; so I will stay."
+
+Mr. Parkman seemed very much delighted, as well as surprised, to see Mr.
+George again; and Mrs. Parkman gave him quite a cordial greeting,
+although she half suspected that Mr. George did not like her very well.
+
+Mr. George asked her how she liked Holland, so far as she had seen it.
+
+"Not much," said she. "The towns are not pretty. The streets are all
+full of canals, and there is nothing to be seen but boats and ships. And
+what ugly wooden shoes they wear. Did you ever see any thing so ugly in
+all your life?"
+
+"They look pretty big and clumsy," said Mr. George, "I must admit; but
+it amuses me to see them."
+
+"At the Hague I expect to find something worth seeing," continued Mrs.
+Parkman. "That's where the king and all the great people live, and all
+the foreign ambassadors. If William had only got letters of introduction
+to some of them! He might have got them just as well as not. Our
+minister at London would have given him some if he had asked for them.
+But he said he did not like to ask for them."
+
+"Strange!" said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," rejoined Mrs. Parkman, "I think it is not only strange, but
+foolish. I want to go to some of the parties at the Hague, but we can't
+stop. William says we can only give one day to the Hague."
+
+"O, you can do it up quite well in one day," said Mr. George.
+
+"If you would only go with us and show us how to do it," said Mrs.
+Parkman.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. Parkman. "Do, George. Go with us. Join us for one day.
+I'll put the whole party entirely under your command, and you shall have
+every thing your own way."
+
+Mr. George did not know what to reply to this proposition. At last he
+said that he would go and find Rollo, and consult him on the subject,
+and if Rollo approved of it they would consent to the arrangement.
+
+Mrs. Parkman laughed at hearing this. "Why," said she, "is it possible
+that you are under that boy's direction?"
+
+"Not exactly that," said Mr. George. "But then he is my travelling
+companion, and it is not right for one person, in such a case, to make
+any great change in the plan without at least first hearing what the
+other has to say about it."
+
+"That's very true," replied Mrs. Parkman. "Do you hear that, William?
+You must remember that when you are going to change the plans without
+asking my consent."
+
+Mrs. Parkman said this in a good-natured way, as if she meant it in
+joke. It was one of those cases where people say what they wish to have
+considered as meant in a joke, but to be taken in earnest.
+
+Mr. George went out to look for Rollo. He found him lying on the grass
+by the side of a small canal which flowed through the grounds, and
+reaching down to the water to gather some curious little plants that
+were growing upon it. Mr. George informed him that Mr. and Mrs. Parkman
+were at the station, and that they had proposed that he himself and
+Rollo should join their party in seeing the Hague.
+
+"And I suppose you don't want to do it," said Rollo.
+
+"Why, yes," said Mr. George, "I've taken a notion to accept the proposal
+if you like it. We'll then do the Hague in style, and I shall get back
+into Mrs. Parkman's good graces. Then we will bid them good by, and
+after that you and I will travel on in our own way."
+
+"Well," said Rollo, "_I_ agree to it."
+
+Mr. George accordingly went back into the station, and told Mr. and Mrs.
+Parkman that he and Rollo would accept their invitation, and join with
+them in seeing what there was in the Hague.
+
+"And then, after that," said Mr. George, "we shall come back to Delft,
+while you go on to Amsterdam."
+
+"I wish you would go on with us," said Mr. Parkman.
+
+"We can't do that very well," said Mr. George. "We want to try a Dutch
+canal once, and a good place to try it is in going from the Hague to
+Delft. It is only about four or five miles. We are going there by the
+canal boat, and then coming back on foot."
+
+Mr. George had taken care in planning the course which he and Rollo were
+to pursue after leaving the Hague, to contrive an expedition which he
+was very sure Mrs. Parkman would not wish to join in.
+
+"O, Mr. George!" she exclaimed, "what pleasure can there be in going on
+a canal?"
+
+"Why, the canal boats are so funny!" said Rollo. "And then we see such
+curious little places all along the banks of them, and we meet so many
+boats, carrying all sorts of things."
+
+"I don't think it would be very agreeable for a lady," said Mr. George;
+"but Rollo and I thought we should like to try it."
+
+Just at this moment the door leading to the platform opened, and a man
+dressed in a sort of uniform, denoting that he was an officer of the
+railroad, called out in Dutch that the train was coming. The ladies and
+gentlemen that were assembled in the waiting room immediately took up
+their bags and bundles, and went out upon the platform. As they went
+out, Mr. George, in passing the man in uniform, slipped a piece of money
+into his hand, and said to him in an under tone, first in French and
+then in English,--
+
+"A good seat by a window for this lady."
+
+The officer received the money, made a bow of assent, and immediately
+seemed to take the whole party under his charge. When the train arrived,
+and had stopped before the place, there was a great crowd among the new
+passengers to get in and procure seats. The officer beckoned to Mr.
+George to follow him, but Mrs. Parkman seemed disposed to go another
+way. She was looking eagerly about here and there among the carriages,
+as if the responsibility of finding seats for the party devolved upon
+her.
+
+"What shall we do?" said she. "The cars are all full."
+
+"Leave it to me," said Mr. George to her in an under tone. "Leave it
+entirely to me. You'll see presently."
+
+The officer, finding the carriages generally full, said to Mr. George,
+in French, "Wait a moment, sir." So Mr. George said to the rest of the
+party--
+
+"We will all stand quietly here. He'll come to us presently."
+
+"Yes," said Mrs. Parkman, "when all the seats are taken. We shan't get
+seats at all, William."
+
+"You'll see," said Mr. George.
+
+In a moment more the officer came to the party, and bowing respectfully
+to Mrs. Parkman, he said,
+
+"Now, madam."
+
+He took out a key from his pocket, and unlocked the door of a carriage
+which had not before been opened, and standing aside, he bowed to let
+Mrs. Parkman pass.
+
+Mrs. Parkman was delighted. There was nobody in the carriage, and so she
+had her choice of the seats. She chose one next the window on the
+farther side. Her husband took the seat opposite to her.
+
+"Ah!" said she, with a tone of great satisfaction, "how nice this is!
+And what a gentlemanly conductor! I never had the conductor treat me so
+politely in my life."
+
+Mrs. Parkman was put in excellent humor by this incident, and she said,
+towards the end of the journey, that she should have had a delightful
+ride if the country had not been so flat and uninteresting. To Mr.
+George and Rollo, who sat at the other window, it appeared extremely
+interesting, there was so much that was curious and novel to be seen.
+The immense green fields, with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep
+feeding every where, and separated from each other by straight and
+narrow canals instead of fences; the boats passing to and fro, loaded
+with produce; the little bridges built over these canals here and there,
+for the foot paths, with the gates across them to keep the cattle from
+going over; the long road ways raised upon dikes, and bordered by
+quadruple rows of ancient and venerable trees, stretching to a boundless
+distance across the plains; and now and then a wide canal, with large
+boats or vessels passing to and fro,--these and a multitude of other
+such sights, to be seen in no other country in the world, occupied their
+attention all the time, and kept them constantly amused.
+
+At length the train arrived at the station for the Hague, and the whole
+party descended from the carriage.
+
+"Now, William," said Mr. George, "give me the ticket for your trunk,
+and you yourself take Mrs. Parkman into the waiting room and wait till I
+come."
+
+"No," said Mr. Parkman, "I cannot let you take that trouble."
+
+"Certainly," said Mr. George. "You said that I should have the entire
+command. Give me the ticket."
+
+So Mr. Parkman gave him the ticket, and Mr. George went out. Rollo
+remained with Mr. and Mrs. Parkman. In a few minutes Mr. George
+returned, and said that the carriage was ready. They all went to the
+door, and there they found a carriage waiting, with Mr. and Mrs.
+Parkman's trunk upon the top of it. A man was holding the door open for
+the party to get in. As soon as they had all entered, Mr. George put a
+few coppers into the hand of the man at the door, and said to him,
+
+"Hotel Belview."[4]
+
+[Footnote 4: In French, _Hotel Belle Vue_; but Mr. George gave it the
+English pronunciation, because the pronunciation of words in Holland is
+much more like the English than like the French.]
+
+"HOTEL BELVIEW!" shouted the man to the coachman. On hearing this
+command the coachman drove on.
+
+The road that led into the town lay along the banks of a canal, and
+after going about half a mile in this direction, the horses turned and
+went over a bridge. They were now in the heart of the town, but the
+party could not see much, for the night was coming on and the sky was
+cloudy. It was cold, too, and Mrs. Parkman wished to have the windows
+closed. The carriage went along a narrow street, crossing bridges
+occasionally, until at length it came to a region of palaces, and parks,
+and grounds beautifully ornamented. Finally it stopped before a large
+and very handsome hotel. The hotel stood in a street which had large and
+beautiful houses and gardens on one side, and an open park, with deer
+feeding on the borders of a canal, on the other.
+
+Two or three very nicely dressed servants came out when the carriage
+stopped, and opened the door of it in a very assiduous and deferential
+manner.
+
+"Wait here in the carriage," said Mr. George, "till I come."
+
+So saying, he himself descended from the carriage, and went into the
+house, followed by two of the waiters that had come to the door.
+
+In about two minutes he came out again.
+
+"Yes," said he to Mrs. Parkman, "I think you will like the rooms."
+
+So saying, he helped Mrs. Parkman out of the carriage, and gave her his
+arm to conduct her into the house. At the same time he said to one of
+the waiters,--
+
+"See that every thing is taken out of the carriage, and pay the
+coachman."
+
+"Very well, sir," said the waiter.
+
+Mr. George led Mrs. Parkman up a broad and handsome staircase. He was
+preceded by one waiter and followed by two others. These waiters had
+taken every thing from the hands of the party, especially from Mrs.
+Parkman, so that they were loaded with bags, cloaks, and umbrellas,
+while the travellers themselves had nothing to carry.
+
+At the head of the staircase the waiter, who was in advance, opened a
+door which led to a large drawing room or parlor, which was very
+handsomely decorated and furnished. The windows were large, and they
+looked out upon a handsome garden, though it was now too dark to see it
+very distinctly.
+
+As Mrs. Parkman turned round again, after trying to look out at the
+window, she saw a second waiter coming into the room, bringing with him
+two tall wax candles in silver candlesticks. The candles had just been
+lighted. The waiter placed them on the table, and then retired.
+
+"And now," said Mr. George to the other waiter, "we want a good fire
+made here, and then let us have dinner as soon as you can."
+
+[Illustration: THE DINNER.]
+
+"Very well, sir," replied the waiter; and so saying he bowed
+respectfully and retired.
+
+A neatly-dressed young woman, in a very picturesque and pretty cap, had
+come into the room with the party, and while Mr. George had been
+ordering the fire and the dinner, she had shown Mrs. Parkman to her
+bedroom, which was a beautiful and richly furnished room with two single
+beds in it, opening out of the parlor. On the other side of the parlor
+was another bedroom, also with two beds in it, for Mr. George and
+Rollo.[5]
+
+[Footnote 5: Almost all the bedrooms in the hotels on the continent of
+Europe are furnished thus with two single beds, instead of one double
+one. It is the custom for every body to sleep alone.]
+
+Mr. and Mrs. Parkman remained in their room for a time, and when they
+came out they found the table set for dinner, and a very pleasant fire
+burning in the grate.
+
+"Mr. George," said she, "I wish we had you to make arrangements for us
+all the time."
+
+"It would be a very pleasant duty," said Mr. George. "You are so easily
+satisfied."
+
+Mrs. Parkman seemed much pleased with this compliment. She did not for a
+moment doubt that she fully deserved it.
+
+About eight o'clock that evening, Mr. George asked Mrs. Parkman at what
+time she would like to have breakfast the next morning.
+
+"At any time you please," said she; "that is, if it is not too early."
+
+"How would half past nine do?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"I think that will do very well," said Mrs. Parkman.
+
+"We will say ten, if you prefer," said Mr. George.
+
+"O, no," said she, "half past nine will do very well."
+
+So Mr. George rang the bell, and when the waiter came, he ordered a
+sumptuous breakfast, consisting of beefsteaks, hot rolls, coffee,
+omelet, and every thing else that he could think of that was good, and
+directed the waiter to have it ready at half past nine.
+
+"I shall also want a carriage and a pair of horses to-morrow," continued
+Mr. George, "and a commissioner."
+
+"Very well, sir," said the waiter; "and what time shall you wish for the
+carriage?"
+
+"What time, Mrs. Parkman?" repeated Mr. George, turning to the lady.
+"Shall you be ready by half past ten to go out and see the town?"
+
+"Yes," said Mrs. Parkman, "that will be a very good time."
+
+"Very well, sir," said the waiter; and he bowed and retired.
+
+The next morning, when the different members of the party came out into
+the breakfast room, they found the table set for breakfast. At half past
+nine all were ready except Mrs. Parkman. She sent word by her husband
+that she would come out in a few minutes.
+
+"There is no hurry," said Mr. George. "It will be time enough to have
+breakfast when she comes."
+
+In about fifteen minutes she came. Mr. George asked her very politely
+how she had spent the night; and after she had sat a few minutes talking
+by the fire, he said that they would have breakfast whenever she wished.
+
+"Yes," said she, "I am ready any time. Indeed, I was afraid that I
+should be late, and keep you waiting. I am very glad that I am in
+season."
+
+So Mr. George rang the bell; when the waiter came, he ordered breakfast
+to be brought up.
+
+While the party were at breakfast, a very nicely-dressed waiter, with a
+white napkin over his arm, stood behind Mrs. Parkman's chair, and
+evinced a great deal of alertness and alacrity in offering her every
+thing that she required. When the breakfast was nearly finished, Mr.
+George turned to him and said,--
+
+"Is the commissioner ready, John, who is to go with us to-day?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said the waiter.
+
+"I wish you to go down and send him up," said Mr. George.
+
+So the waiter went down stairs to find the commissioner, and while he
+was gone Mr. George took out a pencil and paper from his pocket.
+
+"I am going to ask him," said Mr. George to Mrs. Parkman, "what there is
+to be seen here, and to make a list of the places; and then we will go
+and see them all, or you can make a selection, just as you please."
+
+"Very well," said Mrs. Parkman. "I should like that."
+
+Accordingly, when the commissioner came in, Mr. George asked him to
+name, in succession, the various objects of interest usually visited by
+travellers coming to the Hague; and as he named them, Mr. George
+questioned him respecting them, so as to enable Mrs. Parkman to obtain a
+somewhat definite idea of what they were. The commissioner enumerated a
+variety of places to be seen, such as the public museum of painting,
+several private museums, the old palace, the new palace, two or three
+churches, the town hall, and various other sights which tourists,
+arriving at the Hague, usually like to view. Mr. George made a list of
+all these, and opposite to each he marked the time which the
+commissioner said would be required to see it well. After completing
+this list, he said,--
+
+"And there is a great watering place on the sea shore, not far from
+this, I believe."
+
+"Yes, sir," said the commissioner, "about three miles."
+
+"Is it a pleasant ride there?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied the commissioner. "It is a _very_ pleasant ride. You
+can go one way and return another. It is a very fashionable place. The
+queen and the princesses go there every summer."
+
+"Very well; it takes about two hours and a half, I suppose, to go there
+and return," said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes, sir," said the commissioner.
+
+"Very well," said Mr. George. "Have the carriage ready in---- Shall we
+say half an hour, Mrs. Parkman? Shall you be ready in half an hour?"
+
+Mrs. Parkman said that she should be ready in half an hour, and so Mr.
+George appointed that time, and then the commissioner went away.
+
+Mr. George added up all the periods of time that the commissioner had
+said would be required for the several sights, and found that there
+would be time for them to see the whole, and yet be ready for the
+afternoon train for Amsterdam, where Mr. and Mrs. Parkman were going
+next. So Mrs. Parkman concluded not to omit any from the list, but to go
+and see the whole.
+
+In half an hour the carriage was at the door, and in ten or fifteen
+minutes afterwards Mrs. Parkman was ready. Just before they went, Mr.
+George rang the bell again, and called for the bill, requesting the
+waiter to see that every thing was charged--carriage, servants,
+commissioner, and all. When it came, Mr. Parkman took out his purse,
+expecting to pay it himself, but Mr. George took out his purse too.
+
+"The amount," said Mr. George, looking at the footing of the bill, "is
+forty-five guilders and some cents. Your share is, say twenty-two
+guilders and a half."
+
+"No, indeed," said Mr. Parkman. "My share is the exact footing of the
+bill. You have nothing to do with this payment."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George. "I have just one half to pay for Rollo and me.
+We are four in all, and Rollo and I are two."
+
+Mr. Parkman seemed extremely unwilling to allow Mr. George to pay any
+thing at all; but Mr. George insisted upon it, and so the bill was paid
+by a joint contribution.
+
+All this time the carriage was ready at the door, and the gentlemen,
+attended by two or three waiters, conducted Mrs. Parkman down to the
+door. The party then drove, in succession, to the various places which
+the commissioner had enumerated. There were museums consisting of a
+great many rooms filled with paintings, and palaces, where they were
+shown up grand staircases, and through long corridors, and into suites
+of elegant apartments, and churches, and beautiful parks and gardens,
+and a bazaar filled with curiosities from China and Japan, and a great
+many other similar places. Mr. George paid very particular attention to
+Mrs. Parkman during the whole time, and made every effort to anticipate
+and comply with her wishes in all respects. In one case, indeed, I think
+he went too far in this compliance, and the result was to mortify her
+not a little. It was in one of the museums of paintings. Mrs. Parkman,
+like other ladies of a similar character to hers, always wanted to go
+where she could not go, and to see what she could not see. If, when she
+came into a town, she heard of any place to which, for any reason, it
+was difficult to obtain admission, that was the very place of all others
+that she wished most to see; and if, in any museum, or palace, or
+library that she went into, there were two doors open and one shut, she
+would neglect the open ones, and make directly to the one that was shut,
+and ask to know what there was there. I do not know as there was any
+thing particularly blameworthy in this. On the contrary, such a feeling
+may be considered, in some respects, a very natural one in a lady. But,
+nevertheless, when it manifests itself in a decided form, it makes the
+lady a very uncomfortable and vexatious companion to the gentleman who
+has her under his care.
+
+In one of the rooms where our party went in the museum of paintings,
+there was a door near one corner that was shut. All the other
+doors--those which communicated with the several apartments where the
+pictures were hung--were open. As soon as Mrs. Parkman came in sight of
+the closed door, she pointed to it and said,--
+
+"I wonder what there is in that room. I suppose it is something very
+choice. I wish we could get in."
+
+Mr. Parkman paid, at first, no attention to this request, but continued
+to look at the pictures around him.
+
+"I wish you would ask some of the attendants," she continued, "whether
+we cannot go into that room."
+
+"O, no," replied her husband. "If it was any thing that it was intended
+we should see, the door would be open. The fact that the door is shut is
+notice enough that, we are not to go in there."
+
+"I'm convinced there are some choice pictures in there," said Mrs.
+Parkman; "something that they do not show to every body. Mr. George, I
+wish you would see if you can't find out some way to get in."
+
+"Certainly," said Mr. George, "I will try."
+
+So Mr. George walked along towards one of the attendants, whom he saw in
+another part of the room,--putting his hand in his pocket as he went, to
+feel for a piece of money. He put the piece of money into the
+attendant's hand, and then began to talk with him, asking various
+indifferent questions about the building; and finally he asked him where
+that closed door led to.
+
+"O, that is only a closet," said the attendant, "where we keep our
+brooms and dusters."
+
+"I wish you would just let us look into it," said Mr. George. "Here's
+half a guilder for you."
+
+The man looked a little surprised, but he took the half guilder,
+saying,--
+
+"Certainly, if it will afford you any satisfaction."
+
+Mr. George then went back to where he had left the rest of his party,
+and said to Mrs. Parkman,--
+
+"This man is going to admit us to that room. Follow Him. I will come in
+a moment."
+
+So Mr. George stopped to look at a large painting on the wall, while
+Mrs. Parkman, with high anticipations of the pleasure she was to enjoy
+in seeing what people in general were excluded from, walked in a proud
+and stately manner to the door, and when the man opened it, saw only a
+small, dark room, with nothing in it but brooms, dust pans, and lamp
+fillers. She was exceedingly abashed by this adventure, and for the rest
+of that day she did not once ask to see any thing that was not
+voluntarily shown to her.
+
+After visiting all the places of note in the town, the coachman was
+ordered to drive to the watering place on the sea shore. It was a very
+pleasant drive of about three miles. Just before reaching the shore of
+the sea, the road came to a region of sand hills, called _dunes_, formed
+by the drifting sands blown in from the beach by the winds. Among these
+dunes, and close to the sea shore, was an immense hotel, with long wings
+stretching a hundred feet on each side, and a row of bath vans on the
+margin of the beach before it. The beach was low and shelving, and it
+could be traced for miles in either direction along the coast, whitened
+by the surf that was rolling in from the German Ocean.
+
+After looking at this prospect for a time, and watching to see one or
+two of the bathing vans drive down into the surf, in order to allow
+ladies who had got into them to bathe, the party returned to the
+carriage, and the coachman drove them through the village, which was
+very quaint and queer, and inhabited by fishermen. The fishing boats
+were drawn up on the shore in great numbers, very near the houses. Rollo
+desired very much to go and see these boats and the fishermen, and
+learn, if he could, what kind of fish they caught in them, and how they
+caught them. But Mrs. Parkman thought that they had better not stop.
+They were nothing but common fishing boats, she said.
+
+The carriage returned to the Hague by a different road from the one in
+which it came. It was a road that led through a beautiful wood, where
+there were many pleasant walks, with curious looking Dutch women going
+and coming. As the party approached the town, they passed through a
+region of parks, and palaces, and splendid mansions of all kinds. Mrs.
+Parkman was curious to know who lived in each house, and Mr. George
+contrived to communicate her inquiries to the coachman, by making signs,
+and by asking questions partly in English and partly in German. But
+though the coachman understood the questions, Mrs. Parkman could not
+understand the answers that he gave, for they were Dutch
+names,--sometimes long and sometimes short; but whether they were long
+or short, the sounds were so uncouth and strange that Mrs. Parkman
+looked terribly distressed in trying to make them out.
+
+At length the carriage arrived at the hotel again; and there the porters
+put on the baggage belonging both to Mr. and Mrs. Parkman, and to Mr.
+George and Rollo. It then proceeded to the station. Mr. George and Rollo
+waited there until the train for Amsterdam arrived, and then took leave
+of Mr. and Mrs. Parkman as they went to their seats in the carriage.
+Mrs. Parkman shook hands with Mr. George very cordially, and said,--
+
+"We are very much obliged to you, Mr. George, for your company to-day.
+We have had a very pleasant time. I wish that we could have you to
+travel with us all the time."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+"I think she ought to be obliged to you," said Rollo, as soon as the
+train had gone.
+
+"Not at all," said Mr. George.
+
+"Not at all?" repeated Rollo. "Why not? You have done a great deal for
+her to-day."
+
+"No," said Mr. George. "All that I have done has not been for her sake,
+but for William's. William is an excellent good friend of mine, and I am
+very sorry that he has not got a more agreeable travelling companion."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII.
+
+CORRESPONDENCE.
+
+
+One day, when Mr. George and Rollo were at the town of Leyden, it began
+to rain while they were eating their breakfast.
+
+"Never mind," said Rollo. "We can walk about the town if it does rain."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George, "we can; but we shall get tired of walking about
+much sooner if it rains, than if it were pleasant weather. However, I am
+not very sorry, for I should like to write some letters."
+
+"I've a great mind to write a letter, too," said Rollo. "I'll write to
+my mother. Don't you think that would be a good plan?"
+
+"Why,--I don't know,"--said Mr. George, speaking in rather a doubtful
+tone. "It seems to me that it would be hardly worth while."
+
+"Why not?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Why, the postage is considerable," said Mr. George, "and I don't
+believe the letter would be worth what your father would have to pay for
+it; that is, if it is such a letter as I suppose you would write."
+
+"Why, what sort of a letter do you suppose I should write?" asked Rollo.
+
+"O, you would do as boys generally do in such cases," replied his uncle.
+"In the first place you would want to take the biggest sheet that you
+could find to write the letter upon. Then you would take up as much of
+the space as possible writing the date, and _My dear mother_. Then you
+would go on for a few lines, saying things of no interest to any body,
+such as telling what day you came to this place, and what day to that.
+Perhaps you'd say that to-day is a rainy day, and that yesterday was
+pleasant--just as if your mother, when she gets your letter, would care
+any thing about knowing what particular days were rainy and what
+pleasant, in Holland, a week back. Then, after you had got about two
+thirds down the page, you would stop because you could not think of any
+thing more to say, and subscribe your name with ever so many scrawl
+flourishes, and as many affectionate and dutiful phrases as you could
+get to fill up the space.
+
+"And that would be a letter that your father, like as not, would have to
+pay one and sixpence or two shillings sterling for, to the London
+postman."
+
+Rollo laughed at this description of the probable result of his proposed
+attempt to write a letter; but he laughed rather faintly, for he well
+recollected how many times he had written letters in just such a way. He
+secretly resolved, however, that when they came in from their walk, and
+Mr. George sat down to his writing, he would write too, and would see
+whether he could not, for once, produce a letter that should be at least
+worth the postage.
+
+After they came in from their walk, they asked the landlady to have a
+fire made in their room; but she said they could not have any fire, for
+the stoves were not put up. She said it was the custom in Holland not to
+put the stoves up until October; and so nobody could have a fire in any
+thing but foot stoves until that time. The foot stoves, she said, would
+make it very comfortable for them.
+
+So she brought in two foot stoves. They consisted of small, square
+boxes, with holes bored in the top, and a little fire of peat in an
+earthen vessel within. Rollo asked Mr. George to give him two sheets of
+thin note paper, and he established himself at a window that looked out
+upon a canal. He intended to amuse himself in the intervals of his
+writing in watching the boats that were passing along the canal.
+
+He took two sheets of note paper instead of one sheet of letter paper,
+in order that, if he should get tired after filling one of them, he
+could stop, and so send what he had written, without causing his father
+to pay postage on any useless paper.
+
+"Then," thought he, "if I do _not_ get tired, I will go on and fill the
+second sheet, and my mother will have a double small letter. A double
+small letter will be just as good as a single large one."
+
+This was an excellent plan.
+
+Rollo also took great pains to guard against another fault which boys
+often fall into in writing their letters; that is, the fault of growing
+careless about the writing as they go on with the work, by which means a
+letter is produced which looks very neat and pretty at the beginning,
+but becomes an ill-looking and almost illegible scrawl at the end.
+
+"I'll begin," said he, "as I think I shall be able to hold out; and I'll
+hold out to the end just as I begin."
+
+Rollo remained over his letter more than three hours. He would have
+become exceedingly tired with the work if he had written continuously
+all this time; but he stopped to rest very often, and to amuse himself
+with observing what was passing before him in the street and on the
+canal.
+
+Mr. George was occupied all this time in writing _his_ letter, and each
+read what he had written to the other that same evening, after dinner.
+The two letters were as follows:--
+
+                            MR. GEORGE'S LETTER.
+
+                                         "LEYDEN, HOLLAND, September 27.
+
+  "MY DEAR EDWARD:[6]
+
+[Footnote 6: Edward was Mr. George's brother. He was a boy about twelve
+years old.]
+
+"We have been travelling now for several days in Holland, and it is one
+of the most curious and amusing countries to travel in that I have ever
+seen.
+
+"We all know from the books of geography which we study at school, that
+Holland is a very low country--lower in many places than the ocean; and
+that the water of the ocean is kept from overflowing it by dikes, which
+the people built ages ago, along the shores. I always used to suppose
+that it was only from the sea that people had any danger to fear of
+inundations; but I find now that it is not so.
+
+"The people have to defend themselves from inundations, not only on the
+side towards the sea, but also quite as much, if not more, on the side
+towards the land, from the waters of the River Rhine. The River Rhine
+rises in Switzerland, and flows through various countries of Europe
+until it comes to the borders of Holland, and there it spreads out into
+innumerable branches, and runs every where, all over the country. It
+would often overflow the country entirely, were it not that the banks
+are guarded by dikes, like the dikes of the sea. The various branches of
+the rivers are connected together by canals, which are also higher than
+the land on each side of them. Thus the whole country is covered with a
+great network of canals, rivers, and inlets from the sea, with water in
+them higher than the land. When the tide is low in the sea, the surplus
+water from these rivers and canals flows off through immense sluices at
+the mouth of them. When the tide comes up, it is kept from flowing in by
+immense gates, with which the sluices are closed. They call the tracts
+of land that lie lower than the channels of water around them,
+_polders_. That is rather a queer name. I suppose it is a Dutch name.
+
+"The polders all have drains and canals cut in them. As we ride along in
+the railway carriages we overlook these polders. They look like immense
+green fields, extending as far as you can see, with straight canals
+running through them in every direction, and crossing each other at
+right angles. These canals, in the bottom of the polders, are about six
+feet wide. They are wide enough to prevent the cattle from jumping
+across them, and so they serve for fences to divide the fields from each
+other. They also serve for roads, for the Dutchmen use boats on their
+farms to get in their hay and produce, instead of carts.
+
+"The water that collects in these low canals and drains, which run
+across the polders, cannot flow out into the large canals, which are
+higher than they are, and so they have to pump it out. They pump it out
+generally by means of wind mills. So wherever you go, throughout all
+Holland, you find an immense number of wind mills. These wind mills are
+very curious indeed. Some of them are immensely large. They look like
+lighthouses. The large ones are generally built of brick, and some of
+them are several hundred years old. The sails of the big ones are often
+fifty feet long, and sometimes eighty feet. This makes a wheel one
+hundred and sixty feet in diameter. When you stand under one of these
+mills, and look up, and see these immense sails revolving so high in the
+air that the lowest point, when the sail comes round, is higher than the
+tops of the four story houses, the effect is quite sublime.
+
+"With these wind mills they pump the water up from one drain or canal to
+another, till they get it high enough to run off into the sea. In some
+places, however, it is very difficult to get the water into the sea even
+in this way, even at low tides. The River Amstel, for instance, which
+comes out at Amsterdam, and into which a great many canals and channels
+are pumped, is so low at its mouth that the sea is never, at the lowest
+tides, more than a foot and a half below it. At high tides the sea is a
+great deal above it. The average is about a foot above. Of course it
+requires a great deal of management to get the waters of the river out,
+and avoid letting the water of the sea in. They do it by immense
+sluices, which are generally kept shut, and only opened when the tide is
+low.
+
+"In the mean time, if it should ever so happen that they could not
+succeed in letting the water out fast enough, it would, of course,
+accumulate, and rise in the rivers, and press against the dikes that run
+along the banks of it, till at last it would break through in some weak
+place; and then, unless the people could stop the breach, the whole
+polder on that side would be gradually overflowed. The inundation would
+extend until it came to some other dike to stop it. The polder that
+would first be filled would become a lake. The lake would be many miles
+in extent, perhaps, but the water in it would not usually be very
+deep--not more than eight or ten feet, perhaps; though in some cases
+the polders are so low, that an inundation from the rivers and canals
+around it would make the lake twenty or thirty feet deep.
+
+"Of course, in ancient times, when a portion of the country became thus
+submerged, it was for the people to consider whether they would abandon
+it or try to pump all that water out again, by means of the wind mills.
+They would think that if they pumped it out it would be some years
+before the land would be good again; for the salt in the water would
+tend to make it barren. So they would sometimes abandon it, and put all
+their energy into requisition to strengthen the dikes around it, in
+order to prevent the inundation from spreading any farther. For water,
+in Holland, tends to spread and to destroy life and property, just as
+fire does in other countries. The lakes and rivers, where they are
+higher than the land, are liable to burst their barriers after heavy
+rains falling in the country, or great floods coming down the rivers, or
+high tides rise from the sea, and so run into each other; and the people
+have continually to contend against this danger, just as in other
+countries they do against spreading conflagrations.
+
+"In the case of spreading fire, water is the great friend and helper of
+man; and in the case of these spreading inundations of water, it is
+wind that he relies upon. The only mode that the Dutch had to pump out
+the water in former times was the wind mills. When the rains or the
+tides inundated the land, they called upon the wind to help them lift
+the water out to where it could flow away again.
+
+"There was a time, two or three hundred years ago, when all the wind
+mills that the people could make, seem not to have been enough to do the
+work; and there was one place, in the centre of the country, where the
+water continued to spread more and more--breaking through as it spread
+from one polder to another--until, at last, it swallowed up such an
+extent of country as to form a lake thirty miles in circumference. This
+lake at last extended very near to the gates of Haarlem, and it was
+called the Holland Lake. You will find it laid down on all the maps of
+Holland, except those which have been printed within a few years. The
+reason why it is not laid down now is, because a few years ago, finding
+that the wind mills were not strong enough to pump it out, the
+government concluded to try what virtue there might be in steam. So they
+first repaired and strengthened the range of dikes that extended round
+the lake. In fact, they made them double all around, leaving a space
+between for a canal. They made both the inner and outer of these dikes
+water-tight; so that the water should neither soak back into the lake
+again, after it was pumped out, nor ooze out into the polders beyond.
+The way they made them water-tight was by lining them on both sides with
+a good thick coating of clay.
+
+"When the dikes enclosing the lake were completed, the engineers set up
+three very powerful steam engines, and gave to each one ten or twelve
+enormous pumps to work. These pumping engines were made on such a grand
+scale that they lifted over sixty tuns of water at every stroke. But yet
+so large was the lake, and so vast the quantity of water to be drained,
+that though there were three of the engines working at this rate, and
+though they were kept at work night and day, it took them a year and a
+half to lay the ground dry. The work was, however, at last accomplished,
+and now, what was the bottom of the lake is all converted into pastures
+and green fields. But they still have to keep the pumps going all the
+time to lift out the surplus water that falls over the whole space in
+rain. You may judge that the amount is very large that falls on a
+district thirty miles round. They calculate that the quantity which they
+have to pump up now, every year, in order to keep the land from being
+overflowed again, is over fifty millions of tuns. And that is a quantity
+larger than you can ever conceive of.
+
+"And yet the piece of ground is so large, that the cost of this pumping
+makes only about fifty cents for each acre of land, which is very
+little.
+
+"Besides these great spreading inundations, which Holland has always
+been subject to from the lakes and rivers in the middle of the country,
+there has always been a greater danger still to be feared from the ice
+freshets of the Rhine, and other great rivers coming from the interior
+of the country. The Rhine, you know, flows from south to north, and
+often the ice, in the spring, breaks up in the middle of the course of
+the river, before it gets thawed in Holland. The broken ice, in coming
+down the stream towards the north, is kept within the banks of the
+stream where the banks are high; but when it reaches Holland it is not
+only no longer so confined, but it finds its flow obstructed by the ice
+which there still remains solid, and so it gets jammed and forms dams,
+and that makes the water rise very fast. At one time when such a dam was
+formed, the water rose seven feet in an hour. At such times the pressure
+becomes so prodigious that the dikes along the bank of the river are
+burst, and water, sand, gravel, and ice, all pour over together upon
+the surrounding country, and overwhelm and destroy every thing that
+comes in its way.
+
+"Some of the inundations caused in Holland by these floods and freshets
+have been terrible. In ancient times they were worse than they are now;
+because now the dikes are stronger, and are better guarded. At one
+inundation that occurred about sixty years ago, eighty thousand persons
+were drowned. At another, three hundred years earlier, one hundred
+thousand perished. Think what awful floods there must have been.
+
+"But I cannot write any more in this letter. I have taken up so much
+space and time in telling you about the inundations and freshets, that I
+have not time to describe a great many other things which I have seen,
+that are quite as curious and remarkable as they. But when I get home I
+can tell you all about them, in the winter evenings, and read to you
+about them from my journal.
+
+                       "Your affectionate brother,
+                                           "GEORGE."
+
+
+                            ROLLO'S LETTER.
+
+                                         "LEYDEN, Tuesday, September 27.
+
+  "MY DEAR MOTHER:
+
+"Uncle George and I are having a very fine time indeed in travelling
+about Holland; it is such a funny country, on account of there being so
+many canals. The water is all smooth and still in all the canals,
+(except when the wind blows,) and so there must be excellent skating
+every where in the winter.
+
+"I wish it was winter here now, for one day, so that uncle George and I
+could have some Dutch skating.
+
+"There must be good skating every where here in the winter, for there is
+water every where, and it is all good water for skating. In the fields,
+instead of brooks running in crooked ways and tumbling over rocks, there
+are only long and narrow channels of smooth water, just about wide
+enough to skate upon, and reaching as far as you can see.
+
+"The people here speak Dutch, and they cannot understand me, and I
+cannot understand them. And that is not the worst of it; they can't
+understand that _I can't understand_ them. Sometimes the woman that
+comes to make my bed tells me something in Dutch, and I tell her that I
+can't understand. I know the Dutch for 'I can't understand.' Then she
+says, 'O!' and goes on to tell me over again, only now she tries to
+speak plainer--as if it could make any difference to me whether she
+speaks plain or not. I shake my head, and tell her I can't understand
+any thing. I tell her in French, and in English, and in Dutch. But it
+does not do any good, for she immediately begins again, and tells me the
+whole story all over again, trying to speak plainer than ever. I suppose
+she thinks that any body can understand Dutch, if she only speaks it
+plain enough to them.
+
+"When I want any thing of them, I always tell them by signs. The other
+evening, uncle George and I wanted some candles. So I rang the bell, and
+a woman came. I went to the door of the room, and made believe that I
+had two candlesticks in my hand, and that I was bringing them in. I
+made believe put them on the table, and then sat down and opened a book,
+and pretended that I was reading by the light of them. She understood me
+immediately. She laughed, and said, 'Ya, ya!' and went off out of the
+room to get the candles.
+
+"Ya, ya, means yes, yes.
+
+"Another time we wanted a fire. So when the woman came in, I shivered,
+and made believe that I was very cold, and then I went to the fireplace,
+and made believe warm myself. Then I pointed to the fireplace, and made
+a sign for her to go away and bring the fire to put there. But instead
+of going, she told me something in Dutch, and shook her head; and when I
+said I could not understand it, she told me over again; and finally she
+went away, and sent the landlady. The landlady could speak a little
+English. So she told me that we could not have any fire except in foot
+stoves, for the fireplace stoves were not put up.
+
+[Illustration: THE BOAT FAMILY.]
+
+"It is very curious to walk about the streets, and see the boats on the
+canals, and what the people are carrying back and forth in them. I watch
+them sometimes from the windows of the hotel, especially when it rains,
+and we cannot go out. They have every thing in these boats. They use
+some of them instead of houses; and the man who owns them lives in them
+with his wife and children, and sometimes with his ducks and chickens.
+
+"I often see the little children playing on the decks of the boat. Once
+I saw one that had a dog, and he was trying to teach him to cipher on a
+slate. His mother and the other children were on the boat too.
+
+"The people use their dogs here to draw carts. They have three or four
+sometimes harnessed in together. The dogs look pretty poor and lean, but
+they draw like good fellows. You would be surprised to see what great
+loads they draw. They draw loads of vegetables to market, and then, when
+the vegetables are sold, they draw the market women home in the empty
+carts.
+
+"Only they don't mind very well, when they are told which way to go. I
+saw a boy yesterday riding along in a cart, with a good big dog to draw
+him, and when he came to a street where he wanted him to turn down, the
+dog would not turn. The boy hallooed out to him in Dutch a good many
+times, and finally the boy had to jump down out of the cart, and run and
+seize him by the collar, and _pull_ him round.
+
+"It is not a great deal that they use dog carts to bring things to
+market, for generally they bring them in boats. They take almost every
+thing to and fro along the canals in boats; and it is very curious to
+stand on a bridge and look down on the boats that pass under, and see
+how many different kinds of boats there are, and how many different
+kinds of things they have in them. This morning, I saw one that had the
+bottom of it divided into three pens for animals. In the first pen were
+two great cows, lying down on the straw; in the second pen were several
+sheep; and in the third there were as many as a dozen small pigs, just
+big enough to be roasted. I suppose it was a farmer bringing in his
+stock to market.
+
+"Sometimes they row the boats along the canal, and sometimes they push
+them with setting poles. They have the longest setting poles in some of
+the boats that I ever saw. There is an iron pike at one end of the pole,
+and a wooden knob at the other. When they are pushing the boat by means
+of one of these poles, they run the ironed end of it down to the bottom,
+and then the man puts his shoulder to the little knob at the other end
+and pushes. As the boat goes on, he walks along the boat from the bow to
+the stern, pushing all the way as hard as he can push.
+
+"When they are out of town the men pull the boats along the canals by
+means of a long cord, which is fastened to a strap over their shoulders.
+With this strap they walk along on the tow-path of the canal, pulling in
+this way--so that if the cord should break, I should think they would
+fall headlong on the ground.
+
+"I saw a man and a woman the other day pulling a double boat, loaded
+with hay, along a canal. The hay was loaded across from one boat to the
+other. It made as much as five or six of the largest cart loads of hay
+that I ever saw. I was surprised to see that a man and a woman could
+draw so much. They drew it by long lines, and by straps over their
+shoulders. The woman's line was fastened to one of the boats, and the
+man's to the other.
+
+"The people travel a great deal in boats in these parts of the country,
+where there are no railroads. Uncle George and I took a little journey
+in one, the other day. I wanted to go very much, but uncle George was
+afraid, he said, that they might take us somewhere where there would be
+nobody that could talk English, and so we might get into some serious
+difficulty. But he said that he would go with me a few miles, if I could
+find a canal boat going to some place that we knew. So I found one going
+to a town called Delft. We knew that place, because we had come through
+it, or close by it, by the railway.
+
+"Uncle George said that it was an excellent plan to go there, for then,
+if we got tired of the canal boat in going, we could come home by a
+railroad train.
+
+"So we went; and we had a very pleasant time, indeed. I found the canal
+boat by going to the place where the boats all were, and saying, _Delft,
+Delft_, to the people; and then they pointed me to the right boat. So we
+got in. When the captain came for the fare, I took out a handful of
+money, and said _Delft_, and also pointed to uncle George. So he took
+out enough to pay for uncle George and me to go to Delft. At least I
+suppose he thought it was enough, though I thought it was very little.
+
+"We had a very pleasant sail to Delft. The banks of the canal are
+beautiful. They are green and pretty every where, and in some places
+there were beautiful gardens, and summer houses, and pavilions close
+upon the shore.
+
+"But now I begin to be tired of writing. I should have been tired a
+great while ago, only I have stopped to rest pretty often, and to look
+out the window, and see what is going by on the canal.
+
+"There is a boat coming now with a mast, and I don't see what they are
+going to do, for there is a bridge here, and it is not a draw bridge.
+Almost all the bridges are draw bridges, but this one is not. So I don't
+see how he is going to get by.
+
+"Ah, I see how it is! The mast is on a hinge, so that it can turn down
+backward, and lie along flat on the deck of the boat. It is going down
+now.
+
+"Now it is down, and the boat is going under the bridge.
+
+"But good by, mother, for it is time for me to stop.
+
+                  "Your affectionate and dutiful son,
+                                                 "ROLLO.
+
+"P. S. This is the longest letter that I ever wrote."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII.
+
+THE COMMISSIONER.
+
+
+AS may well be imagined, the best use to which the green fields of
+Holland can be put, is the raising of grass to feed cattle; for the
+wetness of the land, which makes it somewhat unsuitable to be ploughed,
+causes grass to grow upon it very luxuriantly. Accordingly, as you ride
+through the country along the great railway lines, you see, every where,
+herds of cattle and flocks of sheep feeding in the meadows that extend
+far and wide in every direction.
+
+The cattle are kept partly for the purpose of being fatted and sent to
+market for beef, and partly for their milk, which the Dutch farmers make
+cheese of. Dutch cheeses are celebrated in every part of the world.
+
+In the neighborhood of Amsterdam there are a number of dairy villages
+where cheeses are made, and some of them are almost always visited by
+travellers. They are great curiosities, in fact, on account of their
+singular and most extraordinary neatness. Cleanliness is, in all parts
+of the world, deemed a very essential requisite of a dairy, and the
+Dutch housewives in the dairy villages of Holland have carried the idea
+to the extreme. The village which is most commonly visited by strangers
+who go to Amsterdam, is one called Broek. It lies to the north of
+Amsterdam, and at a distance of about five or six miles from it.
+
+One day when Mr. George and Rollo arrived in Amsterdam, Mr. George, just
+at sundown, looked out at the window of the hotel, and said,--
+
+"Rollo, I think it is going to be a superb day to-morrow."
+
+"So do I," said Rollo.
+
+"At least," said Mr. George, "I should think so if I were in America.
+The wind has all gone down, and the western sky is full of golden clouds
+shining in roseate splendor."
+
+Mr. George enunciated these high-sounding words in a pompous and
+theatrical manner, which made Rollo laugh very heartily.
+
+"And, to descend from poetry to plain prose," said Mr. George, "I think
+we had better take advantage of the fine weather to go to Broek
+to-morrow."
+
+"Very well," said Rollo, "that plan suits me exactly."
+
+Rollo was always ready for any plan which involved the going away from
+the place where he was, to some new place which he had not seen before.
+
+"But how are we going to find the way there?" said Rollo.
+
+"I shall take a commissioner," said Mr. George. "I am going to Saandam,
+too, where Peter the Great learned ship carpentry."
+
+"I have heard something about that," said Rollo, "but I don't know much
+about it."
+
+"Why, Peter the Great was emperor of Russia," said Mr. George, "and he
+wished to introduce ship building into his dominions. So he came to
+Holland to learn about the construction of ships, in order that he might
+be better qualified to take the direction of the building of a fleet in
+Russia. Saandam was the place that he came to. While he was there he
+lived in a small, wooden house, near the place where the ship building
+was going on. That house is there now, and almost every body that comes
+to this part of the country goes to see it."
+
+"How long ago was it that he was there?" asked Rollo.
+
+"It was more than one hundred and fifty years ago," said Mr. George.
+
+"I should not think a wooden house would have lasted so long," said
+Rollo.
+
+"It would not have lasted so long," replied Mr. George, "if they had not
+taken special pains to preserve it. They have built a brick house around
+it and over it, to protect it from the weather, and so it has been
+preserved. Now I think we had better go to-morrow and see Broek, and
+also Saandam, and I am going to take a commissioner."
+
+Mr. George had employed a commissioner once before, as the reader will
+perhaps recollect, namely, at the Hague; and perhaps I ought to stop
+here a moment to explain more fully what a commissioner is. He is a
+servant hired by the day to conduct strangers about the town where they
+reside, and about the environs, if necessary, to show them what there is
+that is curious and wonderful there. These men are called, sometimes
+commissioners and sometimes _valets de place_, and in their way they are
+very useful.
+
+If a traveller arrives at a hotel in the morning, at any important town
+in Europe, before he has been in his room fifteen minutes he generally
+hears a knock at his door, and on bidding the person come in, a
+well-dressed looking servant man appears and asks,--
+
+"Shall you wish for a commissioner, sir, to-day?"
+
+Or if the gentleman, after remaining in his room a few minutes, takes
+his wife or his daughter, or whomever he may have travelling with him,
+and goes out from the door of the hotel, he is pretty sure to be met
+near the door by one or more of these men, who accost him earnestly,
+saying,--
+
+"Do you want a commissioner, sir?" Or, "Shall I show you the way, sir?"
+Or, "Would you like to see the museum, sir?"
+
+When a traveller intends to remain some days in a place, he has
+generally no occasion for a commissioner; since, in his rambles about
+the town, he usually finds all the places of interest himself, and in
+such a case the importunities of the commissioners seeking employment
+are sometimes annoying to him. But if his time is very short, or if he
+wishes to make excursions into the neighborhood of a town where he does
+not understand the language of the people, then such a servant is of
+very great advantage.
+
+Mr. George thought that his proposed excursion to Broek and Saandam was
+an occasion on which a commissioner could be very advantageously
+employed. Accordingly, after he and Rollo had finished their dinner,
+which they took at a round table near a window in the coffee room, he
+asked Rollo to ring the bell.
+
+Rollo did so, and a waiter came in.
+
+"Send me in a commissioner, if you please," said Mr. George.
+
+"Very well, sir," said the waiter, with a bow.
+
+The waiter went out, and in a few minutes a well-dressed and very
+respectable looking young man came in, and advancing towards Mr. George,
+said,--
+
+"Did you wish to see a commissioner, sir?"
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George. "I want to make some inquiries about going to
+Broek and to Saandam, to-morrow. I want to know what the best way is to
+go, and what the expenses will be."
+
+So saying, Mr. George took out a pencil and a piece of paper from his
+pocket, in order to make a memorandum of what the commissioner should
+say.
+
+"In the first place," asked Mr. George, "what is your name? I shall want
+to know what to call you."
+
+"My name is James," said the commissioner.
+
+"Well, now, James," said Mr. George, "I want you to tell me what the
+best way is to go, and what all the expenses will be. I want to know
+every thing beforehand."
+
+"Well, sir," said James, "we shall go first by the ferry boat across to
+the Y,[7] and there we shall take the _trekschuyt_ for a short distance
+on the canal."
+
+[Footnote 7: The Y is the name of the sheet of water which lies before
+Amsterdam. It is a sort of harbor.]
+
+"And how much will that cost?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"For the three, forty-five cents," said James.
+
+He meant, of course, Dutch cents. It takes two and a half Dutch cents to
+make one American cent.
+
+"There," continued James, "we take a carriage."
+
+"And how much will the carriage be?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"To go to Broek and back, and then to Saandam, will be ten guilders."
+
+Mr. George made memoranda of these sums on his paper, as James named
+them.
+
+"And the tolls," continued James, "will be one guilder and twenty-five
+cents more."
+
+"And the driver?" asked Mr. George.
+
+In most of the countries of Europe, when you make a bargain for the
+carriage, the driver's services are not included in it. He expects a fee
+besides.
+
+"The driver, fifty cents. Half a guilder," said James.
+
+"Is that enough for him?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Yes, sir," said James, "that's enough."
+
+"We will call it seventy-five cents," said Mr. George. So saying, he
+wrote seventy-five.
+
+"Then there will be some fees to pay, I suppose," said Mr. George, "both
+at Broek and at Saandam."
+
+"Yes, sir," said James. "We pay twenty-five cents at the dairy,
+twenty-five cents at the garden, and twenty-five to the hostler. That
+makes seventy-five. And the same at Saandam, to see the hut of Peter the
+Great, and the house. That makes one guilder fifty centimes."
+
+"Is that all?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"There will be forty-five cents for the ferry, coming back," said James.
+
+Mr. George added this sum to the column, and then footed it up. The
+amount was nearly fifteen guilders.
+
+"We will call it fifteen guilders," said he. "To-morrow I will give you
+fifteen guilders, and you will pay all expenses. And then what shall I
+have to pay you for your services?"
+
+"My charge is four guilders for the day," said James.
+
+"Very well," said Mr. George. "And at what time in the morning will it
+be best to set out?"
+
+"There is a boat at nine o'clock," said James.
+
+"Then we will leave here at half past eight. We will have breakfast,
+Rollo, at eight. Or perhaps we can have breakfast at Broek. Is there a
+hotel there, James?"
+
+"Yes, sir," said James. "There is a hotel there."
+
+"Very well. Then we will wait till we get there before we take
+breakfast, and we will expect you at half past eight. Our room is number
+eleven."
+
+The arrangement being thus fully made, the commissioner, promising to be
+punctual, bowed and retired.
+
+"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "to-morrow we will have a good time.
+After I give the commissioner the fifteen guilders, I shall have no
+further care or responsibility, but shall be taken along over the whole
+ground as if I were a child under the care of his father."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX.
+
+THE GREAT CANAL.
+
+The commissioner knocked at Mr. George's door at the time appointed. Mr.
+George and Rollo were both ready. Mr. George counted out the fifteen
+guilders on the table, and James put them in his pocket. The party then
+set out.
+
+Mr. George wished to stop by the way to put a letter in the post office,
+and to pay the postage of it. He desired to do this personally, for he
+wished to inquire whether the letter would go direct. So James led them
+by the way of the post office, and conducted Mr. George into the office
+where foreign letters were received, and the payment of postage taken
+for them. Here James served as interpreter. Indeed, it is one of the
+most important duties of a commissioner to serve as an interpreter to
+his employer, whenever his services are required in this capacity.
+
+When the letter was put in, the party resumed their walk. The
+commissioner went on before, carrying Mr. George's travelling shawl and
+the umbrella, and Mr. George and Rollo followed. The way lay along a
+narrow street, by the side of a canal. There were a thousand curious
+sights to be seen, both among the boats on the canal and along the road;
+but Rollo could not stop to examine them, for the commissioner walked
+pretty fast.
+
+"I wish he would not walk so fast," said Rollo.
+
+"Ah, yes," said Mr. George, "he is right this morning, for we want to
+get to the pier in time for the boat. But in walking about the town to
+see it, it would be a great trouble to us."
+
+"To-morrow we will go about by ourselves," said Rollo, "and stop when
+and where we please."
+
+"We will," said Mr. George.
+
+At last the party came out to what may be called the front of the city,
+where they could look off upon the harbor. This harbor is a sheet of
+water called the Y, which has been before referred to. The morning was
+bright and beautiful, and the water was covered with ships, steamers,
+barges, boats, and vessels of every form and size, going to and fro. The
+steamers passed swiftly, but the sailing vessels scarcely moved, so calm
+and still was the morning air. The sun was shining, and the whole scene
+presented to Mr. George's and Rollo's view, as they looked out over the
+water, was extremely brilliant and beautiful.
+
+The commissioner led the way out over a long pier supported by piles, to
+a sort of landing platform at a distance from the shore. This place was
+quite large. It had a tavern upon it, and a great many different offices
+belonging to the different lines of steamers, and piers projecting in
+different directions for the different boats and steamers to land at. It
+stood at some distance from the shore, and the whole had the appearance
+of a little village on an island. It would have been an island indeed,
+if there had been any land about it; but there was not. It was built
+wholly on piles.
+
+Here were crowds of people going and coming on this stage, some having
+just landed from the different steamers that had just arrived, and some
+about to embark in others that were going away. Small boats were coming,
+too, over the water, with passengers in them, among whom were many
+peasant girls, whose foreheads and temples were adorned with a profusion
+of golden ornaments, such as are worn by the ladies of North Holland.
+Rollo looked this way and that as he passed along the stage, and he
+wished for time to stop and examine what he saw; but the commissioner
+walked rapidly on, and led the way to the ferry boat.
+
+"You will walk on board," said James, "while I get the tickets."
+
+So Mr. George and Rollo went over the plank on board the boat, while
+James turned to a little office that stood near to get the tickets.
+
+There was a man standing at the end of the plank to collect the tickets
+as the passengers came on board. Mr. George, as he passed, pointed back
+to the office where James had gone. The man bowed, and he and Rollo
+passed on.
+
+"How independent we are!" said Mr. George. "I shall have nothing to do
+with making any payments all day to-day, and it will seem as if we were
+travelling free."
+
+The ferry boat was of a very singular construction, and most singular
+looking people they were who were on board of it. It had a great flat
+deck, which was of an oval form, and was spreading out very wide at the
+sides. There were seats here and there in different places, but no
+awning or shelter of any kind overhead. Rollo was glad of this, for the
+morning was so fine, and the view on every side was so magnificent, that
+he was very much pleased to have it so wholly unobstructed.
+
+As soon as the chimes of the city clocks began to strike for nine, the
+various steamboats began to shoot out in different directions from the
+piers of the landing, and soon the ferry boat began to move, too. She
+moved, however, very slowly.
+
+"What a slow and clumsy boat!" said Rollo.
+
+"I'm glad she is slow," replied Mr. George, "for I want to look about. I
+should be willing to be an hour in going across this ferry."
+
+The prospect on every side was, indeed, very fine. On looking back they
+could see the buildings of the town extending far and wide for miles,
+with domes, and towers, and spires, and tops of trees, and masts of
+ships rising together every where above the tops of the houses. The
+water of the harbor was covered with ships and steamers passing to and
+fro--those near glittering in the sun, while the distant ones were half
+lost in a smoky haze that every where softened and concealed the
+horizon. Mr. George and Rollo gazed earnestly on this scene, looking now
+in this direction, and now in that, but not speaking a word.
+
+When they were about half across the Y, James came to Mr. George, and
+said,--
+
+"This ferry boat connects with a steamer on the canal, which goes to the
+Helder, and also with various trekschuyts. We shall take a trekschuyt to
+go for a short distance?--as far as to the place where we shall get a
+carriage."
+
+"Very well," said Mr. George. "Arrange it as you think best. Then we
+shall go a short distance on the great canal."
+
+"Yes, sir," said James. "You will like to see a little of the canal."
+
+"I shall, indeed," said Mr. George.
+
+The great canal of which James here spoke is the grandest work of the
+kind in Holland, and perhaps in the world. If you look at the map you
+will see that Amsterdam stands somewhat in the interior of the country,
+and that the only approach to it, by sea, is through a great gulf called
+the Zuyder Zee. Now, the water in the Zuyder Zee is shallow. There are
+channels, it is true, that are tolerably deep; but they are very winding
+and intricate, and they are so surrounded with shoals and sand banks as
+to make the navigation very difficult, especially for ships of large
+size.
+
+The people, accordingly, conceived the plan of digging a canal across
+the country; from Amsterdam to the nearest place where there was deep
+water on the sea. This was at a point of land called the Helder.
+
+The reason why there was deep water there, was, that that was the outlet
+for the Zuyder Zee, and the water rushing in there when the tide is
+rising, and out again when it goes down, keeps the channel deep and
+clear.
+
+So it was determined to make a canal from the Helder to Amsterdam. But
+the land was lower, almost all the way, than the sea. This rendered it
+impossible to construct the canal so as to make it of the same level
+with the sea, without building up the banks of it to an inconvenient
+height. Besides, it was just as well to make the canal lower than the
+sea, and then to build gates at each end of it, to prevent the sea water
+from coming in.
+
+"Then how were the ships to get in?" asked Rollo, when Mr. George
+explained this to him.
+
+"Why, there were two ways," replied Mr. George, "by which ships might
+get in. You see, although the canal is lower than the sea is generally,
+there is an hour or two every day when the tide goes down, in which the
+two are about on a level. Accordingly, by opening the gates when the
+tide is low, a communication would be made by which the vessels could
+sail in and out."
+
+"But that would be inconvenient, I should think," said Rollo, "not to
+have the gates open but twice a day."
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George; "and so, to enable them to admit ships at any
+time, they have built _locks_ at each end."
+
+"Like the locks in a common canal in America?" said Rollo.
+
+"Yes," said Mr. George; "and by means of these locks, ships can be
+taken in and out at any time."
+
+"I don't exactly understand how they do it," said Rollo.
+
+"Let me explain it to you, then," replied Mr. George. "Listen
+attentively, and picture to your mind precisely what I describe, and see
+if you understand.
+
+"First," continued Mr. George, "imagine that you are down by the sea
+shore, where the canal ends. The water in the sea is higher than it is
+in the canal, and there are two sets of gates, at a little distance from
+each other, near the mouth of the canal, which keep the water of the sea
+from flowing in."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "I can picture that to my mind. But how far apart are
+the two sets of gates?"
+
+"A little farther apart," said Mr. George, "than the length of the
+longest ship. Of course one pair of these locks is towards the sea, and
+the other towards the canal. I will call the first the sea gates, and
+the other the canal gates. The space between the two gates is called the
+lock."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "I understand all that."
+
+"Now," continued Mr. George, "a ship comes in, we will suppose, and is
+to be taken into the canal. First, the men open the sea gates. The sea
+can now flow into the lock, but it cannot get into the canal, because
+the canal gates are still shut."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo.
+
+"And, now you see," continued Mr. George, "that as the water in the lock
+is high, and on a level with the sea, the ship can sail into the lock."
+
+"But it can't get down into the canal," said Rollo.
+
+"No," replied Mr. George, "not yet. But now the men shut the sea gates,
+and thus shut the ship in. They then open the passages through the canal
+gates, and this lets the water out of the lock until it subsides to the
+level of that in the canal, and the ship settles down with it. But the
+sea cannot come in, for the sea gates, that are now behind the ship, are
+shut. When the water in the lock has gone down to the canal level, then
+they can open the gates, and the ship can sail along out of the lock
+into the canal.
+
+"Thus they lock the ship down into the canal at one end, and when she
+has passed through the canal, they lock her up into the Y again at the
+other."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo. "I understand it now. And shall we go into the canal
+through the locks in this way?"
+
+"I don't know," said Mr. George. "I'll ask James."
+
+So Mr. George beckoned to James to come to him, and asked him whether
+they should enter the canal through the lock.
+
+"No," said James. "The ferry boat does not go into the canal at all. We
+go into a little dock or harbor by the side of it, and the passengers
+walk over the dike, and down to the canal, where they find the boats
+ready for them that they are to take."
+
+"Why don't they pass from those boats through the locks, and let them
+come across to Amsterdam?" asked Rollo, "and then we might get on board
+them there, and so not have to change from one boat to the other."
+
+"Because it takes some time, and some trouble," said James, "to pass any
+thing through the locks, and it is not worth while to do it, except in
+case of large and valuable ships. So the boats and steamers that ply
+along the canal are left inside the lock, and the passengers are taken
+to and from them by the ferry boat."
+
+The ferry boat, by this time, began to approach the shore. It entered
+into a little opening in the land, which formed a sort of harbor. Here
+the passengers were landed at a wharf, which was surrounded by small
+buildings. Thence they ascended what was evidently a large dike. When
+they reached the top of the dike they saw below them, on the other side
+of it, the beginning of the canal. It lay several feet lower than the
+water of the harbor in which they had left the ferry boat; but it was
+quite wide, and it was bordered by broad dikes with avenues of trees
+upon them, on either side. On one side, under the trees, was a tow path,
+and on the other a broad and smoothly gravelled road.
+
+Two boats were lying moored to the wharves at the side of the canal. One
+was a long, sharp, and narrow steamer, which was going through the whole
+length of the canal to the Helder. The other was a trekschuyt, or canal
+boat, which was going only a short way, to the nearest village.
+
+The passengers that came in the ferry boat divided into two parties, as
+they came down the dike. One party went to the steamer, the other to the
+trekschuyt. Mr. George and Rollo, of course, went with the last.
+
+The trekschuyt was a curious sort of boat. It was built like the Noah's
+ark made for children to play with; that is, it was a broad boat, with a
+house in it. The roof of the house, which formed the deck of the boat,
+was flat, and there were seats along the sides of it, and a railing
+behind them on the margin, to keep people from falling off. At each end
+of the house were two flights of steps, leading up to the roof or deck,
+and below them another flight, which led down to the little cabins
+below.
+
+As soon as Rollo got on board, he first ran up on the deck. He sat down
+on the seat upon one side, and then, after looking about a moment, he
+ran over to the other side, and sat down there. Then he got up, and said
+that he was going below to look at the cabins.
+
+Mr. George, all the time, stood quietly on the deck, looking at the
+canal, and at the country around. He could see the canal extending, in a
+winding direction, across the country; but the view of it was soon lost,
+as the winding of its course brought the dikes on the sides of it in the
+way so that they concealed the water. He could, however, trace its
+course for some distance, by the masts and sails of vessels which he saw
+at different distances rising among the green trees. Along the dike, on
+one side, was a high road, and on the other, a tow path. Different boats
+were coming and going in the part of the canal that was near. They were
+drawn by long and slender lines, that were fastened to a tall mast set
+up near the bows of the boat. Some were drawn by men, and some by
+horses.
+
+[Illustration: THE TREKSCHUYT.]
+
+Before the trekschuyt had gone far, after it commenced its voyage, a
+great ship was seen coming on the canal. She was coming from the Helder.
+It was a ship that had come from the West Indies, and was going to
+Amsterdam. The wind was contrary for her, and they could not use their
+sails, and so they were drawing her along by horses. There were two
+teams of horses, eight in each team. The view of these teams, walking
+along the tow path, with the immense ship following them in the canal,
+presented a very imposing spectacle.
+
+The trekschuyt started before the Helder steamer; but it had not gone
+far before Rollo, who had now ascended to the deck again, saw her coming
+up behind very rapidly.
+
+"I tell you what it is, uncle George," said he, "I wish you and I were
+on board that steamer, and were going along the whole length of the
+canal."
+
+"So do I," said Mr. George.
+
+"Could not we get on board?" asked Rollo.
+
+"No," said Mr. George. "We cannot change our plan to-day very well. But
+now that we have found the way, we can come over here any morning we
+please, and take the Helder steamer."
+
+"Let's come," said Rollo, eagerly. "Let's come to-morrow."
+
+"We'll see about that," said Mr. George. "See, here comes a market
+boat."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo. "The man is towing it, and his wife is steering."
+
+"Now we will see how they pass," said Rollo.
+
+There was no difficulty about passing, for as soon as the man who was
+towing the market boat found that the trekschuyt had come up to his
+line, he stopped suddenly, and the advance of his boat caused his line
+to drop into the water. The trekschuyt then sailed right over it. By
+this simple manoeuvre, boats and vessels could pass each other very
+easily, and generally the manoeuvre was executed in a prompt and very
+skilful manner. But once, when they were passing a boat, the woman who
+was steering it put the helm the wrong way, and though the captain of
+the trekschuyt, and also the husband of the woman, who was on the shore,
+shouted to her repeatedly in a loud and angry manner, she could not get
+it right again in time to avoid a collision. The trekschuyt gave the
+boat a dreadful bump as it went by. Fortunately, however, it did no
+harm, except to frighten the poor woman, and break their tow line.
+
+After going on in this way for fifteen or twenty minutes along the
+canal, the trekschuyt arrived at its place of destination, and Mr.
+George and Rollo disembarked at a little village of very neat and pretty
+houses, built along the dike on one side of the canal.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X.
+
+THE DAIRY VILLAGE.
+
+
+Mr. George and Rollo walked ashore in a very independent manner, having
+the commissioner to attend to the tickets. They went up to the top of
+the dike, and waited for the commissioner to come to them.
+
+"While I am getting the carriage ready," said the commissioner, when he
+came, "perhaps you will like to take a walk on the bridge, where there
+is a very fine view. But first, perhaps, you will look at the carriage,
+and choose the one that you will like."
+
+So saying, James led the way into a sort of stable, where there were a
+great many very nice and pretty carriages, arranged very snugly
+together. Mr. George was surprised to see so many. He asked James how it
+happened.
+
+"O, there is a great deal of travelling on the roads about here," said
+James. "The country is very rich and populous, and the people of
+Amsterdam come out a great deal."
+
+Some of the carriages were very elegant. One of these an hostler took
+out, and told Mr. George that he could have it if he chose. There was
+another which was much less elegant, but it was more open.
+
+"Let us take the open one," said Rollo. "We can see so much better."
+
+So they decided upon the open one; and then, while the hostlers were
+harnessing the horses, Mr. George and Rollo went forward to the bridge.
+
+The bridge led over a branch canal, which here comes into the main
+canal. The road to it lay along the dike, and formed the street of a
+little village. It was paved with bricks placed edgewise, and was as
+neat as a parlor floor. The houses were all on one side. They were very
+small; but they were so neat and pretty, and the forms of them were so
+strange and queer, that they looked like play houses, or like a scene in
+fairy land, rather than like the real habitations of men.
+
+There were pretty gardens by them, which extended down the slope of the
+dike. The slopes of the dikes are always very gradual, and very nice
+gardens can be made on them.
+
+Mr. George and Rollo stood on the bridge, and looked up and down the
+canals on either side. They saw boats, with people in them, getting
+ready to set out on their voyages.
+
+"I wonder where that canal leads to?" said Rollo.
+
+"O, it goes off into the interior of the country, some where," said Mr.
+George. "The country is as full of canals as Massachusetts is of roads."
+
+"I should like, very much," said Rollo, "to get on board that boat with
+that man, and go with him wherever he is going."
+
+"So should I, if I knew Dutch," said Mr. George, "so that I could talk
+with him as we sailed along."
+
+"How pretty it is all about here," said Rollo. "What a queer
+village,--built on a bank! And what a funny road! It looks like a play
+road."
+
+The road, where it led through the village, did, indeed, present a very
+singular appearance. It was very narrow indeed, being barely wide enough
+for one carriage to pass, and leaving scarcely room on the side for a
+child to crowd up against the house, and let it go by. On the other side
+was a row of trees, with green grass beneath, covering the banks of the
+canal.
+
+After Mr. George and Rollo had been standing a few minutes on the bridge
+they saw that the carriage was nearly ready. So they went back to the
+place and got in. The top of the carriage was turned entirely down, so
+that they could see about them in every direction as they rode along.
+James mounted on the box outside, with the driver.
+
+"Now," said Rollo, in a tone of great satisfaction, "we will have a very
+first rate ride."
+
+The carriage drove along through the little street, which has already
+been described. Rollo could reach his hand out and almost touch the
+houses as they rode by. There were little shops kept in some of the
+houses, and the things that were for sale were put up at the windows.
+They looked exactly as if children had arranged them for play.
+
+After leaving the village the road turned and followed the dike of a
+branch canal. The views on every side were extremely beautiful. The
+canal was carried along between its two banks, high above the rest of
+the country, and here and there, at moderate distances from each other,
+wind mills were to be seen busy at work pumping up water from the drains
+in the fields, and pouring it into the canal. The fields were covered
+with herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, and here and there were
+parties of men mowing the grass or loading the new-made hay into boats,
+that lay floating in the small canals which bordered the fields.
+
+In looking about over the country, there were wind mills to be seen in
+all directions, their long arms slowly revolving in the air, and
+interspersed among them were the masts and sails of sloops and
+schooners, that were sailing to and fro along the canals. As the water
+of these canals was often hidden from view by the dikes which bordered
+them, it seemed as if the ships and steamers were sailing on the land in
+the midst of green fields and trees, and smiling villages.
+
+After going on in this way for an hour or more, the carriage approached
+the village which Mr. George and Rollo were going to see. The village
+lay on the borders of a canal, which was here quite broad, and as the
+road approached it on the other side of the canal, it was in full view
+for Mr. George and Rollo as the party approached it. The houses were
+close to the margin of the water. They were very neat and pretty, and
+were, most of them, painted green. Many of them had little canals by the
+side of them, like lanes of water leading into the rear of the houses,
+and the prettiest little porticoes, and trellises, and piazzas, and
+pavilions, and summer houses were seen in every part. The road went
+winding round a wide basin, and then, after crossing a bridge, the
+carriage stopped at an inn.
+
+The inn was entirely outside of the village. The commissioner said that
+they must walk through the village, for there was no carriage road
+through it at all.
+
+So Mr. George and Rollo dismounted, and the hostlers came out from the
+stable to unharness the horses.
+
+"Now, Rollo," said Mr. George, "we will go in and order a breakfast, and
+then we will take our walk through the village while it is getting
+ready."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo. "I should like some breakfast very much."
+
+"What shall we have?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"What you like," replied Rollo. "You always get good breakfasts."
+
+"Well," said Mr. George, "we will tell them the old story."
+
+Just at this moment James came up to the door of the hotel where Mr.
+George and Rollo had been standing during this conversation.
+
+"You may order breakfast for us, James," said Mr. George, "and let them
+have it ready for us when we get back from our walk."
+
+"Yes, sir," said James. "And what will you have?"
+
+"_Biftek aux pommes_,"[8] said Mr. George, "and coffee. And let them
+give us some of their best cheese."
+
+[Footnote 8: Pronounced _biftek-o-pom_. This is a very favorite
+breakfast in France, and every where, in fact, throughout Europe. Mr.
+George liked it better than any thing else, not only for his breakfast,
+but also for his dinner. It consists of very tender beefsteaks,
+deliciously seasoned, and accompanied with sliced potatoes, fried in a
+peculiar manner, and arranged all around the margin of the dish.]
+
+The commissioner went in to give the order.
+
+"Uncle George," said Rollo, "I think you'll be known all through this
+country as the beefsteak and fried potato man."
+
+Mr. George laughed.
+
+"Well," said he. "There could not be a more agreeable idea than that to
+be associated with my memory."
+
+The truth is, that both Mr. George and Rollo liked the _biftek aux
+pommes_ better than almost any thing else that they could have, whether
+for breakfast or dinner.
+
+After having given the order for the breakfast to a very nice and
+tidy-looking Dutch girl, whose forehead and temples were adorned with a
+profusion of golden ornaments, after the fashion of the young women of
+North Holland, the commissioner came back, and the whole party set out
+to walk through the village. There were no streets, properly so called,
+but only walks, about as wide as the gravel walks of a garden, which
+meandered about among the houses and yards, in a most extraordinary
+manner. There were beautiful views, from time to time, presented over
+the water of the canal on which the village was situated; and there were
+a great number of small canals which seemed to penetrate every where,
+with the prettiest little bridges over them, and landing steps, and
+bowers, and pavilions along the borders of them, and gayly-painted boats
+fastened at kitchen doors, and a thousand other such-like objects,
+characteristic of the intimate intermingling of land and water which
+prevails in this extraordinary country.
+
+[Illustration: THE DAIRY VILLAGE.]
+
+Every thing was, however, on so small a scale, and so scrupulously neat
+and pretty, that it looked more like a toy village than one built for
+the every-day residence of real men.
+
+After walking on for about a quarter of a mile, the commissioner said
+that he would show them the interior of one of the dairy houses, where
+the cheeses were made,--for the business of this town was the making of
+cheeses from the milk of the cows that feed on the green polders that
+lie all around them.
+
+"The stalls for the cows," said James, "are in the same house in which
+the family lives; but the cows are not kept there in summer, and so we
+shall find the stalls empty."
+
+So saying, James turned aside up a little paved walk which led to the
+door of a very pretty looking house. He opened the door without any
+ceremony, and Mr. George and Rollo went in.
+
+The door was near one end of the house, and it opened into a passage way
+which extended back through the whole depth of it. On one side was a
+row of stalls, or cribs, for the cows. On the other, were doors opening
+into the rooms used for the family. A very nice looking Dutch woman, who
+had apparently seen the party from her window, came out through this
+side door into the passage way, to welcome them when they came.
+
+The stalls for the cows were all beautifully made, and they were painted
+and decorated in such an extraordinary manner, that no one could have
+imagined for what use they were intended. The floors for them were made
+of the glazed tiles so often used in Holland, and the partitions between
+them were nicely rubbed as bright as a lady's sideboard. The cribs, too,
+were now, in the absence of the cows, occupied with various little
+_etageres_, and sets of shelves, which were covered with fancy cups and
+saucers, china images, and curiosities of all sorts,--the Dutch
+housewives taking a special pride in the collection of such things.
+
+The row of cribs was separated from the floor of the passage way by a
+sort of trench, about a foot and a half wide and ten inches deep, and
+outside this trench, and also within it, at the entrances to the cribs,
+were arrayed a great number of utensils employed in the work of the
+dairy, such as tubs, cans, cheese presses, moulds, and other such
+things. These were all beautifully made, and being mounted with brass,
+which had received the highest polish by constant rubbing, they gave to
+the whole aspect of the place an exceedingly gay and brilliant
+appearance.
+
+Some of this apparatus was in use. There were tubs standing, with the
+curd or whey in them, and cheeses in press or in pickle, and various
+other indications that the establishment was a genuine one, and was then
+in active operation. The cheeses were of the round kind, so often seen
+for sale at the grocers' stores in Boston and New York. They looked like
+so many big cannon balls.
+
+After walking down the passage way that led by the side of cribs, and
+examining all these things in detail, the party returned to the door
+where they had come in, and then, turning to the left, went into the
+rooms of the house. The first room was the bedroom. The second was the
+parlor. These rooms were both completely crowded with antique looking
+furniture, among which were cabinets of Chinese ware, and ornaments of
+every kind; and all was in such a brilliant condition of nicety and
+polish, as made the spectacle wonderful to behold.
+
+The bed was in a recess, shut up by doors. When the doors were opened
+the bed place looked precisely like a berth on board ship.
+
+After looking at all these things as long as they wished, Mr. George and
+Rollo bade the woman good by, and James gave her half a guilder. The
+party then withdrew.
+
+"Well, uncle George," said Rollo, "and what do you think of that?"
+
+"I think it is a very extraordinary spectacle," said Mr. George. "And it
+is very curious to think how such a state of things has come about."
+
+"And how has it come about?" asked Rollo.
+
+"Why, here," replied Mr. George, "for a thousand years, for aught I
+know, the people have been living from generation to generation with no
+other employment than taking care of the cows that feed on the polders
+around, and making the milk into cheese. That is a business which
+requires neatness. Every kind of dairy business does. So that here is a
+place where a current was set towards neatness a thousand years ago, and
+it has been running ever since, and this is what it has come to."
+
+Talking in this manner of what they had seen, Mr. George and Rollo
+returned to the inn, and there they found an excellent breakfast. They
+were waited upon at the table by the young woman who had so many golden
+ornaments in her hair; and besides the _biftek aux pommes_, and the
+coffee, and the hot milk, and the nice butter, there was the half of one
+of the round cheeses, such as they had seen in process of making at the
+dairy.
+
+[Illustration]
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI.
+
+CONCLUSION.
+
+
+After finishing their breakfast, Mr. George and Rollo entered the
+carriage again, and returned by the same way that they came, for some
+miles towards Amsterdam, until they came to the place where the road
+turned off to go to Saandam. After proceeding for some distance upon one
+of the inland dikes, they came at length to the margin of the sea, and
+then for several miles the road lay along the great sea dike, which here
+defends the land from the ingress of the ocean.
+
+"Ah," said Mr. George, as soon as they entered upon this portion of the
+road, "here we come to one of the great sea dikes. How glad I am."
+
+"So am I," said Rollo. "I wanted to see one of the sea dikes."
+
+"It is very much like the others," said Mr. George, "only it is much
+larger."
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "and see how it winds about along the shore."
+
+In looking forward in the direction in which Rollo pointed, the dike
+could be traced for a long distance in its course, like an immense
+railroad embankment, winding in and out in a most remarkable manner, in
+conformity to the indentations of the shore. In one respect it differed
+from a railroad embankment, namely, in being bordered and overshadowed
+by avenues of immense trees, which showed how many ages ago the dike had
+been built. There is not a railroad embankment in the world that has
+been built long enough for such immense trees to have had time to grow.
+
+The carriage road lay along the top of the dike, which was very broad,
+and the slopes of it, towards the water on one side, and towards the low
+meadow lands on the other, were very gradual. Men were at work every
+where along these slopes, cutting the second crop of grass, and making
+it into hay. Where the hay was ready to be got in, the men were at work
+loading it into boats that lay in the little canals that extend along
+the sides of the dike at the foot of the slopes.
+
+Wind mills were to be seen every where, all about the horizon. As the
+road approached Saandam, these mills became more and more numerous.
+
+"I mean to see if I can count them," said Rollo.
+
+"You cannot count them, I am sure," said Mr. George.
+
+Rollo began; but when he got up to a hundred, he gave up the undertaking
+in despair. Mr. George told him that he read in the guide book that
+there were four thousand wind mills in that region.
+
+Some of these wind mills were very small indeed; and there were two or
+three which looked so "cunning," as Rollo said, that he wished very much
+that he had one of them to take with him to America.
+
+The use of these very small wind mills was to pump up the water from
+some very limited tract of land, which, for some reason or other,
+happened to lie a few inches lower than the rest.
+
+At last, after an infinite number of turnings and windings, by means of
+which every part of the surrounding country was brought in succession
+into view before Mr. George and Rollo as they sat in their carriage,
+they arrived at the town of Saandam.
+
+The town consists of two streets, one on each embankment of a great
+canal. The streets are closely built up for many miles along the canal,
+but the town does not extend laterally at all, on account of the ground
+falling off immediately to very low polders.
+
+[Illustration: CABIN OF PETER THE GREAT.]
+
+After entering the street the commissioner left the carriage, in order
+that the horses might rest, and led Mr. George and Rollo on a walk
+through the prettiest part of the town. They walked about half a mile
+along the canal on one side, and then, crossing by a ferry, they came
+back on the other side.
+
+In the course of this walk they went to see the hut where Peter the
+Great lived while he was in Holland engaged in studying ship building in
+the ship yards of Saandam. The hut itself was old and dilapidated; but
+it was covered and protected by a good, substantial building of brick,
+with open arches all around, which allowed the hut to be seen, while the
+roof and walls of the building protected it from the rain. The hut was
+situated in a very pretty little garden.
+
+There were two rooms in the hut, and one of them--the one shown in the
+engraving--had a very curious-looking Dutch fireplace in one corner of
+it, and a ladder to go up to the loft above. The chairs were very
+curious indeed; the seats being three-cornered, and the back and arms
+being constructed in a very singular manner.
+
+The walls of the rooms were perfectly covered, in every part, with the
+names of visitors, who had come from all countries to see the rooms.
+Besides these, there were a great many volumes of books filled with
+names. These books lay on a great table, which stood at one side of the
+room. There was one of the books which was not yet full, and this one
+lay open on the table, with a pen and ink near it, in order that fresh
+visitors, as fast as they came, might enter their names.
+
+After looking at this cabin as long as they wished, and entering their
+names in the book, Mr. George and Rollo left the hut and returned
+through one of the main streets of the town to the place where they had
+left their carriage. The carriage was soon ready for them, and they set
+out to go back to Amsterdam.
+
+They had a delightful drive back, going as they came, on the top of the
+great sea dike. On one side they could look off over a wide expanse of
+water, with boats, and steamers, and ships moving to and fro in every
+direction over it. On the other side they overlooked a still wider
+expanse of low and level green fields, intersected every where with
+canals of water and avenues of trees, and with a perfect forest of wind
+mills in the horizon.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+As they were riding quietly along upon this dike on the return to
+Amsterdam, Rollo had the opportunity of imparting to Mr. George some
+valuable information in respect to Peter the Great.
+
+"I am glad that I have had an opportunity to see the workshop of Peter
+the Great," said Mr. George. "It is very curious indeed. But I don't
+know much about Peter the Great. The first opportunity I get I mean to
+read an account of his life, and I advise you to do the same."
+
+"I have read about him," said Rollo. "I found a book about him in a
+steamboat that we came in, and I read all about his coming to Holland."
+
+"Then tell me about it," said Mr. George.
+
+"Why, you see," said Rollo, "he was at war with the Turks, and he fought
+them and drove them off to the southward, until at last he came to the
+Sea of Asoph. Then he could not fight them any more, unless he could get
+some ships. So he made a law for all the great boyars of his kingdom,
+that every one of them must build or buy him a ship. What are boyars,
+uncle George?"
+
+"Nobles," said Mr. George.
+
+"I thought it must be something like that," replied Rollo.
+
+"The old nobility of those Russian countries are called boyars," said
+Mr. George; "but I don't know why. Most of the common people are slaves
+to them."
+
+"Well, at any rate," said Rollo, "he made a law that every one of them,
+or at least all that were rich enough, should build or buy him a ship;
+but they did not know how to build ships themselves, and so they were
+obliged to send to Holland for ship builders. They built more and better
+ships in Holland in those days than in any country in the world."
+
+"Yes, I suppose so," said Mr. George.
+
+"The boyars did not like it very well to be obliged to build these
+ships," continued Rollo. "And there was another thing that they disliked
+still more."
+
+"What was that?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Why, the emperor made them send off their sons to be educated in
+different foreign countries," replied Rollo. "You see, in those days
+Russia was very little civilized, and Peter concluded that it would help
+to introduce civilization into the country, if the sons of the principal
+men went to other great cities for some years, to study sciences and
+arts. So he sent some of them to Paris, and some to Berlin, and some to
+Amsterdam, and some to Rome. But most of them did not like to go."
+
+"That's strange," said Mr. George. "I should have thought they would
+have liked to go very much."
+
+"At least their fathers did not like to send them," said Rollo; "perhaps
+on account of the expense; and some of the young men did not like to
+go. There was one that was sent to Venice, in order that he might see
+and learn every thing that he could there, that would be of advantage to
+his own country; but he was so cross about it that when he got to Venice
+he shut himself up in his house, and declared that he would not see or
+learn any thing at all."
+
+"He was a very foolish fellow, I think," said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "I think he was. But I've seen boys in school act
+just so. They get put out with the teacher for something or other, and
+then they won't try to understand the lesson."
+
+"That is punishing themselves, and not the teacher," said Mr. George.
+"But go on about Peter."
+
+"After a while," continued Rollo, "Peter concluded to make a journey
+himself. His plan was to go to all the most civilized countries, and
+into all the finest cities in Europe, and see what he could learn that
+would be of use in his own dominions. So he fitted out a grand
+expedition. He took a number of ambassadors, and generals, and great
+potentates of all kinds with him. These men were dressed in splendid
+uniforms, and travelled in great state, and had grand receptions in all
+the great towns that they came to. But Peter himself did nothing of the
+kind. He dressed plainly, like a common man, so that wherever he went
+he could ramble about at liberty, and see what he wanted to see in peace
+and quietness, while all the people were running after the procession of
+ambassadors and grandees."
+
+"That was a good plan," said Mr. George.
+
+"An excellent plan," rejoined Rollo. "In some of the seaports that he
+visited, he used to put on a sort of a pea jacket, such as the Dutch
+skippers wore, and go about in that, along the wharves and docks, and
+look at all the shipping.
+
+"But he was most interested in going to Holland," continued Rollo, "for
+that was the country where they built the best ships. Besides, the first
+vessel that he ever saw happened to be a Dutch vessel. I forgot to tell
+you about that."
+
+"Yes," replied Mr. George, "tell me now."
+
+"Why, it was some years before this time," said Rollo,--"two or three I
+believe,--that he first saw a vessel. There was a country place with a
+handsome house and pleasure grounds, belonging to the royal family. I
+forget what the name of it was. But that is no matter. One time, after
+Peter came to the throne, he went out to this country place to spend a
+few days. He found on the grounds a sort of artificial winding canal or
+pond, with pretty trees on the banks of it. On this canal was a yacht,
+which had been built in Holland and brought there, for the people to
+sail in when they came to that palace. The yacht had not been used much,
+and was lying neglected at the wharf. But Peter immediately had it put
+in order, and took a sail in it, and he liked it very much indeed."
+
+"Was it the first vessel that he ever saw?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," said Rollo, "I believe it was; or at least it was the first that
+he ever particularly noticed. He liked sailing in it, and then, besides,
+there was one of his officers there, who had travelled in other
+countries in Europe where people had ships and navies, and he told Peter
+what great advantages they gained from them, not only in carrying goods
+from place to place, but in transporting armies, and fighting their
+enemies at sea.
+
+"Peter thought a great deal about this, and when he went back to Moscow,
+which was then the capital, he inquired and found that there were some
+people from Holland there. He asked them if they knew how to build
+ships. Some of them said they did. Then he asked them if they could not
+build him some small vessels, just like the Dutch ships of war. They
+said they could. So he made a bargain with them, and they built him
+several.
+
+"Do you know how many?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"Not exactly," replied Rollo. "There were several small vessels, and I
+remember that there were four frigates, and each frigate had four guns.
+I don't suppose the guns were very large."
+
+"Four guns is a very small armament for a frigate," said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes," replied Rollo, "very small indeed. But you see, Peter did not
+want them for real service, but only for models, as it were."
+
+"And what did he do with them, when they were done?" asked Mr. George.
+
+"They were launched into a lake there was in that part of the country,"
+said Rollo, "and there the emperor used to sail about in them, and have
+sham fights.
+
+"But all this, you must understand," continued Rollo, "took place two or
+three years before Peter drove the Turks off from the southern part of
+his empire, so as to get to the sea. And it was not till then that he
+began to have real ships built of large size. And now, when he was going
+to Holland, he of course remembered the old Dutch yacht which he had on
+his pleasure grounds, and the small frigates which they had built him,
+and the large ones too, which they had built for the boyars, and he felt
+a great interest in going to see the ship yards. He determined that
+while he was in Holland he would spend as much time as he could in
+learning all about ship building.
+
+"It is very curious about the emperor and his company's entering
+Amsterdam," continued Rollo. "When the government there heard that he
+was coming, they made grand preparations to receive him. They got the
+cannon all ready on the ramparts to fire salutes, and drew out the
+soldiers, and all the doors and windows were crowded with spectators.
+They prepared a great number of illuminations, too, and fireworks, for
+the night. But just before the party arrived at Amsterdam, the emperor
+slipped away in a plain dress, and left the ambassadors, and generals,
+and grandees to go in by themselves. The people of Amsterdam did not
+know this. They supposed that some one or other of the people dressed so
+splendidly, in the procession, was Peter; and so they shouted, and waved
+their flags and their handkerchiefs, and fired the cannon, and made a
+great parade generally."
+
+"And Peter himself was not there at all?" said Mr. George.
+
+"No," said Rollo. "He slipped away, and came in privately with a few
+merchants to accompany him. And instead of going to the great palace
+which the government of Amsterdam had provided and fitted up for him, he
+left that to his ambassadors, and went himself to a small house, by a
+ship yard, where he could be at liberty, and go and come when he
+pleased."
+
+"And afterwards, I suppose he went to Saandam," said Mr. George.
+
+"Yes, sir," replied Rollo. "Saandam was a great place for building ships
+in those days. They say that while he was there, he went to work
+regularly, like a ship carpenter, as if he wished to learn the trade
+himself. But I don't believe he worked a great deal."
+
+"No," said Mr. George. "I presume he did not. He probably took the
+character and dress of a workman chiefly for the purpose of making
+himself more at home in the ship yards and about the wharves. Indeed, I
+can't see what useful end could be gained by his learning to do work
+himself. He could not expect to build ships himself when he should
+return to Russia."
+
+"No," said Rollo. "I expect he wanted to see exactly how the ships were
+built, and how the yards were managed, and he thought he could do this
+better if he went among the workmen as one of their number."
+
+"I presume so," said Mr. George. "I am very glad you found the book, and
+I am much obliged to you for all this information."
+
+Soon after this Mr. George and Rollo arrived safely at Amsterdam.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+Rollo and Mr. George remained, after this, some days in Amsterdam; and
+they were very much entertained with what they saw there in the streets,
+and with the curious manners and customs of the people.
+
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+
+PUBLICATIONS OF
+
+BROWN, TAGGARD & CHASE,
+
+SUCCESSORS TO
+
+W. J. REYNOLDS & CO., No. 24 Cornhill, Boston.
+
+ROLLO'S TOUR IN EUROPE:
+
+BEING A NEW SERIES OF
+
+ROLLO BOOKS,
+
+BY REV. JACOB ABBOTT.
+
+IN SIX VOLUMES, BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED.
+
+_Extract from the Preface._
+
+In this series of narratives we offer to the readers of the Rollo Books
+a continuation of the history of our little hero, by giving them an
+account of the adventures which such a boy may be expected to meet with
+in making a tour of Europe. The books are intended to be books of
+instruction rather than of mere amusement; and, in perusing them, the
+reader may feel assured that all the information which they contain, not
+only in respect to the countries visited, but to the customs, usages,
+and modes of life that are described, and also in regard to the general
+character of the incidents and adventures that the young travellers meet
+with, is in most strict accordance with fact. The main design of the
+narratives is, thus, the communication of useful knowledge; and
+everything which they contain, except what is strictly personal, in
+relation to the actors in the story, may be depended upon as exactly and
+scrupulously true.
+
+_Notices of the Press._
+
+We know of no books that are so eagerly sought for by good boys and
+girls as Mr. Abbott's new series of "Rollo Books."--_Hartford Christian
+Secretary._
+
+Mr. Abbott has a singularly successful faculty of conveying instruction
+with entertainment, and of interesting all classes of readers, but more
+particularly the young. All will say that the more we have of such
+useful and pleasant volumes the better.--_Salem Register._
+
+They give excellent lessons in Geography and History, in the most
+pleasing forms. They are beautifully printed, and illustrated with fine
+engravings.--_New Haven Palladium._
+
+There is no wonder that the "Rollo Books" are so extremely popular, for
+we doubt if many of us "children of a larger growth" can escape their
+fascination.--_Salem Observer._
+
+A careful perusal of the volume under notice (Switzerland) will give the
+young reader not only as good a geographical knowledge of the country it
+describes as would be obtained at a term at school, but will acquaint
+him with the habits, manners, and characteristics of the people of
+Switzerland.--_American Citizen_.
+
+No living man is his equal in story-telling for the young, and the book
+will find its way into thousands of homes.--_Hartford Republican._
+
+They contain a great deal of useful information, conveyed in a most
+pleasing and interesting manner.--_Boston Post._
+
+Written by one who has made the tour through which he carries his young
+hero, and who, from long experience, knows how to please and instruct
+his young readers, these volumes possess just the qualities to attract
+those for whom they are intended.--_Norfolk Co. Journal._
+
+The author has admirably combined the pleasing with the instructive, so
+that while the youthful reader is charmed by the narrative, he also
+gains valuable information with regard to those far-off places famed in
+story and song.--_Boston Olive Branch._
+
+A correspondent of the New York _National Magazine_ says;--"The volumes
+are beautifully illustrated, and written in the charming and instructive
+style of the author. We saw one of our New England governors, lately
+returned from a European tour, quite absorbed in the volume upon Paris,
+while travelling in a railway car, a short time since."
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+CUSHING'S MANUAL.
+
+Price 38 cents.
+
+NOTICES OF A NEW WORK ON PARLIAMENTARY RULES,
+
+By LUTHER S. CUSHING,
+
+TWELVE YEARS CLERK OF THE MASSACHUSETTS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.
+
+_From S. H. Walley, late Speaker of the Massachusetts House of
+Representatives._
+
+I have taken great pleasure in examining the pages of this work, and do
+not hesitate to express most fully my approbation of its plan and
+execution.
+
+On two or three questions of minor importance, I might come to different
+conclusions from the author;--but, inasmuch as he has devoted much time
+to a careful research into the subject of parliamentary rules and
+practice, I am free to admit, that I should feel great distrust in any
+opinions which I have held, even on these questions, where they differ
+from those expressed by Judge Cushing, without very careful
+reexamination and study.
+
+This Manual is much needed. There is no work, in this country, which is
+adapted near as well, in my judgment, to assist those who are called
+upon to preside in public assemblies, to discharge their duties
+acceptably and profitably to the community.
+
+I sincerely hope and believe that this publication will receive the
+countenance and approbation to which it seems to me so justly entitled.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+_From the Law Reporter, Edited by Peleg W. Chandler, Esq._
+
+Hon. Luther S. Cushing has prepared for the press a new Manual of
+Parliamentary Practice. Having examined the manuscript of this work with
+considerable care, we take occasion to say, that it will be a valuable
+accession to the libraries of those who are called upon to preside in
+deliberative assemblies; and we believe the necessity of such a work as
+this has been very generally felt in our country where almost every
+citizen is occasionally called upon to exercise the duties of a
+presiding officer. The work is founded upon the well-established rules
+and customs of the British Parliament, and Mr. Cushing divests himself
+of all local usages prevailing in different parts of this country;
+maintaining in the outset, that no assembly can ever be subject to any
+other rules than those which are of general application, or which it
+specially adopts for its own government; and denying explicitly that the
+rules adopted and practised upon by a legislative assembly thereby
+acquire the character of general laws.
+
+
+PUBLISHED BY
+
+BROWN, TAGGARD & CHASE,
+
+(SUCCESSORS TO W. J. REYNOLDS & CO.,)
+
+NO. 24 CORNHILL
+
+FOR SALE BY ALL BOOKSELLERS.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE COLUMBIAN GLEE BOOK.
+
+OR, MUSIC FOR THE MILLION.
+
+IN THREE PARTS.
+
+_Part I.--Comprising the largest number of choice Glees, Quartets,
+Trios, Songs, Opera Choruses, &c., ever before published in one
+Collection._
+
+_Part II.--Consisting of Sacred Anthems, Choruses, Quartets, &c., for
+Select Societies and Concerts._
+
+_Part III.--Containing most of the old popular Continental Psalm Tunes._
+
+Thus making the most complete collection, in all its features, ever
+before published.
+
+By I. B. WOODBURY, author of the "Dulcimer," "The Cythara," &c. &c.
+
+_Extract from the Preface._
+
+Here may be found Glees, Quartets, Trios and Songs, suited to every
+occasion. If merry, here are pieces that will add to merriment; if sad,
+harmonies that will soothe sadness. If longing for home fill the mind,
+the dear scenes that cluster there are painted in many a song. Requiems
+to the loved departed are also here. Indeed, almost every scene to which
+the chequered life of man is subject is here made the refrain of song.
+For the Sabbath eve, when
+
+  "Softly fades the twilight ray
+  Of the holy Sabbath day,"
+
+and when music is particularly acceptable, the old tunes our fathers
+sang may be found in Part III. Part II. is somewhat more elaborate, and
+adapted to Sacred Concerts. That the book may tend to make man happier
+and better is the sincere desire of the author.
+
+       *       *       *       *       *
+
+THE AMERICAN VOCALIST.
+
+A SELECTION OF TUNES, ANTHEMS, SENTENCES AND HYMNS,
+
+_Old and new. Designed for the Church, the Vestry, or the Parlor._
+
+Adapted to every variety of metre in common use, and appropriate to
+every occasion where God is worshipped and men are blessed. From the
+compositions of Billings, Holden, Maxim, Edson, Holyoke, Read, Kimball,
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