_Dutch Language_ (Vol. i., p. 383.).--E. V. asks what are the best _modern_
books for acquiring a knowledge of the Dutch language. If E. V. insist upon
_modern_ books, he cannot have better than Hendrik Conscience's novels, or
Gerrits's _Zoon des Volks_. I would, however, advise him to get a volume of
Jacob Cats' _Poems_, the language of which is not antiquated, and is
idiomatic without being difficult to a beginner.