MORE ABOUT THE DIKES AND DITCHES.
The pilot of the ship was discharged at eight o'clock in the evening,
and the two vessels stood on their course to the northward, with a fresh
breeze from the south-west. They kept just outside of the continuous
chains of shoals on the coast, but for nearly the whole time within
sight of the numerous lighthouses which mark the various entrances of
the Scheldt and the Maas. The masters on duty were kept very busy in
consulting the charts and the sailing directions; but at one o'clock the
squadron was off the Brielle Gat, which is the deepest entrance to the
river.
There are two principal passages by which vessels may reach Rotterdam
from the sea. At the mouth of the Maas, or of the river which includes
the Rhine, Waal, and Maas, there is a large island called the Voorne. At
the north of it is the Brielle Gat, which is the most direct sea passage
to the city; but the bar at its mouth has only seven and a half feet of
water at low tide. At the south of the island is the Goeree Gat, by
which the largest ships must enter, passing through the island in a
canal.
The Dutch pilot who boarded the ship, after learning her draught,
declared that she could go over the bar of the Brielle Gat, and both
vessels went up by this passage. At five o'clock in the morning the
squadron came to anchor in the broad bay before the city of Rotterdam.
Paul Kendall, free from all care, and not much disturbed by the cloud
which hung over him, had turned out early to see the sights on the
river. He had a splendid prospect of windmills, dikes, and ditches. The
Dutch pilot spoke intelligible English, and the young inquirer laid him
under contribution for his stores of knowledge. Paul asked a great many
questions, which the pilot good-naturedly answered.
Vlaardingen, the principal port engaged in the herring fishery, was
pointed out to him. Every year this place sends out about a hundred and
fifty vessels, or more than one half of the whole number engaged in this
branch of the fisheries. On the 10th or 11th of June, in each year, the
officers of the herring fleet go to the _Stadhuis_, or town hall, and
take the prescribed oath to observe the laws regulating the fisheries of
Holland. Three days later they hoist their flags on board, and go to
church to pray for a season of success. On the following day, which is
kept as a holiday in the town, the fleet sails. The fishing season ends
on the 1st of November.
The herring are highly prized by the Dutch, and the first which are
caught by the fleet are sent home in the fastest vessels; and when they
are expected, watchmen are stationed in the Vlaardingen steeple to
announce their approach. The first kegs are sent to the king and his
chief officers of state. One of these first cargoes produces about
three hundred and twenty-five dollars, or eight hundred guilders.
With a dense cloud of smoke hanging above it stood the town of Schiedam,
which contains nearly two hundred distilleries for the manufacture of
gin. Holland gin and Schiedam schnapps are regarded by those who indulge
in these beverages as the best in the world. The place was surrounded by
windmills, which are a principal feature of the scenery in all parts of
Holland proper.
After breakfast the signal was hoisted for the Josephines to attend the
lecture on board the ship, and a boat was sent ashore, in charge of the
steward, to procure the mail. The students were perched in the rigging,
observing the strange scenes which presented themselves on every hand.
The river was full of market boats loaded with vegetables, the principal
of which was a coarse plant, with large, straggling leaves, used as
cabbage or greens. There were large and small steamers plying in every
direction, and the scene was quite lively.
The Josephine's ship's company came on board, and all hands were piped
to lecture. Professor Mapps was at his post, with the map of the
Netherlands hanging on the foremast. His description of the dikes and
ditches of Holland was very full; but such portions of it as have been
given by Mr. Stoute will be omitted.
"Young gentlemen," he began, "I have already called your attention to
the physical geography of the Netherlands. The Rhine, which in Germany
is the _Rhein_, and in Holland the _Rhyn_, has its mouths in Holland.
Its length is nine hundred and sixty miles, and it is of vast importance
to Europe in a commercial point of view, being navigable for large
vessels to Cologne, and nearly to its source for smaller ones, though
occasionally interrupted by falls and rapids above Basle. Vessels of one
hundred tons go up to Strasbourg.
"The Rhine enters Holland, and immediately divides into two branches,
the southern being the Waal, and the northern retaining the original
name. The Waal is the larger of the two, and flows west until it unites
with the Maas, or Meuse, in Belgium, on one of whose estuaries our ship
now floats. About ten miles below the Waal branch, the original Rhine
divides again, the northern branch being called the Yssel, which flows
north into the Zuyder Zee. Thirty miles below the Yssel, it divides for
a third time, the southern branch being called the Leek, of which the
arm that flows by Rotterdam is the more direct continuation, though all
these branches are connected by frequent cut-offs. The original Rhine
pursues its way to the German Ocean. The dunes, or sand-hills, formerly
closed up this branch, and for a long period the water did not flow
through it; but at the beginning of the present century a canal was
opened through the old bed.
"The Yssel formerly flowed into a fresh-water lake, where the Zuyder
Zee, or Southern Sea, now is. Nearly the whole of the space occupied by
this sea was then dry land; but the ocean, in the course of time, swept
away its barriers, and covered the region with water, which is
navigable, however, only for small vessels. Amsterdam is situated on an
arm of this sea, called the Ij, or Eye, as it is pronounced. From the
Helder, a point of land at the southern entrance to the Zuyder Zee, a
ship canal, fifty miles in length, extends to the city. This is the
'great ditch' of Holland. It is eighteen feet deep, and broad enough for
two large ships to pass each other, having a double set of locks at each
end, in order to keep the water of uniform height, as in a dock.
"You are already familiar with the peculiar conformation of Holland.
There is not a hill, a forest, or a ledge of rocks worth mentioning in
the whole region. A large portion of its territory has been redeemed
from the ocean by the most persevering labor, and by the most
unremitting care and watchfulness is it kept from destruction. The sea
is higher than the land, the lowest ground in the country being from
twenty-four to thirty feet below high-water mark. The keel of the Young
America, floating in some of the waters of Holland, would be higher than
the ridge-pole of the Dutchman's cottage on the other side of the dike.
"These low grounds, formerly swamps and lagoons, which lie below the sea
level, are called _polders_. These were originally charged with water,
and merely shutting out the sea was only half the battle. As in Ireland,
the principal fuel of the people is peat, or turf, ten million tons of
which are annually used. Immense excavations have been made in the
polders to obtain the peat; and the inhabitants stand an ultimate chance
of being robbed of their country by fire as well as by water.
"The natural lakes and the peat-holes--the latter from twelve to twenty
feet deep--formed extensive water-basins. Some of you will remember the
turf diggings in the great bog in Ireland, as we passed through it on
our way to Killarney. The peat was not dug out in trenches, but the
entire surface of the land was skimmed off, just as workmen in the city
dig away a hill. It was so in Holland; and you must understand that the
bottom of these peat-beds forms the land now improved as gardens and
farms.
"These depressions of the surface were filled with water. The first
thing to be done is to shut out the ocean and its tributaries--all those
rivers of which I have been speaking, that form a network of canals all
over the country. For this purpose a dike is built on the border of the
land to be enclosed. Take, for example, the Island of Ysselmonde,--the
land next south of us,--and Holland really consists of nothing but
islands formed by the rivers and the natural and artificial canals. It
will, therefore, be a correct specimen of the system of dikes and
ditches throughout the country, though some of the sections are subject
to greater or less difficulty in the drainage, owing to various causes,
which will be explained.
"When the dike around Ysselmonde is finished, the country is protected
from inundation from without. Sometimes in winter the river may be
blocked with ice, which stops the passage of the water. All the ice from
the Rhine and Meuse must pass through these rivers on their way to the
sea, and, being stopped in a narrow place, it forms a dam. In 1799 a
large portion of Holland was threatened with total destruction, on
account of one of these blockades. Behind the dam the water rose seven
feet in one hour, overflowing the dikes, and breaking through them. This
danger is incurred every winter; but disaster is generally warded off by
the vigilance of the dike-keepers.
"We will suppose that the dike we have built around Ysselmonde protects
it from the exterior water; but as the water in the Maas, at high tide,
or even at low tide, is above the surface of the polders, they cannot be
drained by the ordinary ditches; and it is necessary to remove the water
by mechanical means. For this purpose windmills are erected on the
dike,--as you see them in every direction,--many of which work
water-wheels, pumps being but seldom used. The apparatus for removing
the water is of several kinds, including a scoop-wheel, the screw of
Archimedes, and the inclined scoop-wheel. The water is not lifted to any
considerable height by these instruments.
"When the height to which the water is to be raised is too great to be
accomplished by the agency of one machine, a series of them is
introduced. Supposing the land in the middle of Ysselmonde to be twenty
feet below the level of the Maas, four series of operations would be
required to lift the water. The central portion is enclosed by a dike,
with a _ringsloot_, or canal, outside of it. The windmills raise the
water five feet. Outside of this, as the level of the land rises,
another canal and ditch are made, and the water is lifted another five
feet; and the process is repeated until the water is finally discharged
into the river. The ditches which separate the different tracts of land
are used as highways, for conveying the harvest to market, the
difference of level being overcome by locks. Of course the character of
these works depends upon the formation of the land.
"The soil of the polders thus drained is remarkably rich and productive.
The two chief exports of Holland are butter and cheese, the low lands
furnishing excellent pasturage for cattle.
"In the service of the government is a special corps of engineers,
called _Waterstaat_, who are employed in watching the waters and the
dikes, and in guarding against any breaking of the latter. In the winter
time, which is the period of the greatest peril to the dikes, these men,
many of whom are gentlemen of the highest scientific culture, are
stationed near the places where danger is apprehended. Buildings
containing all the necessary materials and tools for repairing the
embankments are provided, and, indeed, all precautions which skill, and
science, and care can bring are at hand; for the safety of the country
depends upon these structures.
"The coat of arms of one of the Dutch provinces is a lion swimming,
having this motto: _Luctor et emergo_, 'I strive and keep my head above
water,' which seems to be the whole business of the Dutch people,
figuratively and literally. If you visit the great dike of the Helder,
as I hope you will, you may stand on the low land within it, and hear
the thunder of the sea, as it beats against the dike, fifteen feet
higher than your head.
"The canals of Holland serve a triple purpose. They are the highways of
the country, they drain the land, and they serve as fences. You travel
all over the region in the canals, and all the productions are conveyed
upon them. The roads are for the most part built on the tops of the
dikes, but they are not solid enough to permit their use by
heavily-loaded wagons. Many of them are paved with bricks, on account of
their spongy nature, which answers very well for the passage of light
vehicles.
"The people seem to have a peculiar affection for these ditches, and you
will often find that the Dutchman has his little private canal,
extending around his house, apparently only to gratify his national
vanity, though perhaps really it is his fence. Even here in Rotterdam, I
have noticed a filthy ditch, from four to ten feet wide, between the
house and the road. It is nearly filled with water, which is covered
with a vile green scum. The wonder is, that this stagnant water does not
breed a pestilence.
"The principal canals are sixty feet wide, and six feet deep, though of
course many in the cities and elsewhere, intended for the passage of
large vessels, are broader and deeper.
"With this imperfect statement of the physical characteristics, as a
basis for your observation, I leave the subject to say a few words about
the government and history of the country.
"William III. is the present king of the Netherlands. He is forty-seven
years old, and is a lineal descendant of William of Orange, and a
grandson, on the mother's side, of Czar Paul I. of Russia. He has a
salary, or civil list, of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars a year,
which is pretty fair pay for ruling over a kingdom about the size of the
State of Maryland, or of Massachusetts and Connecticut united, and
containing a population about equal to that of the State of New York.
"The government is a limited monarchy, the whole legislative power being
vested in the two chambers called the States General. The First Chamber
consists of thirty-nine members, elected by provincial councils, from
those inhabitants who pay the highest grade of taxes. The Second Chamber
contains seventy-two members, elected by general ballot; but only those
who pay taxes to the amount of fifty dollars a year are voters. All
measures appropriating money for any purpose must originate in the
Second Chamber, which is the popular body, and become laws only when
assented to by the sovereign and the First Chamber. The king executes
the laws with the aid of seven ministers, who receive a salary of five
thousand dollars a year.
"Free toleration is allowed to all religious sects. Protestants are
largely in the majority, the proportion being as twenty to twelve.
Education is generally diffused among the people. In 1863 the revenue of
the Netherlands amounted to forty-one millions of dollars. The Dutch
have extensive colonial possessions in the East and West Indies, and on
the west coast of Africa. The regular home army contains fifty-nine
thousand officers and men. Its navy consists of fifty-eight steamers and
eighty-one sailing vessels.
"I do not think you will be likely to realize the poetic ideal of the
Dutchmen, young gentlemen. Though they drink a great deal of beer and
Schiedam schnapps, you will seldom find them intoxicated; and I have
never been able to see that they smoke any more than the people of our
own country. They are not necessarily fat and clumsy. The men are of
medium stature, in no special degree distinguished from other people in
Europe and America. The women are very domestic, and very cleanly in
their persons and in their dwellings. The Dutch people are prudent,
economical, beforehanded.
"In the brief sketch I gave you at Antwerp of the history of the
Netherlands, that of Holland was included up to the period of the murder
of the Prince of Orange, which occurred in 1584, while he was
Stadtholder of the Seven United Provinces. At his death, his son, Prince
Maurice, was elected Stadtholder in his father's place. He was then only
seventeen years of age, but he proved to be a young man of great
military ability, and commenced a glorious career, which ended only with
his life, in 1625. With the bright example of Prince Maurice before
them, I think our young captains of his age may be encouraged."
This remark "brought down the house," and more than fifty of the
students glanced at Paul Kendall, whose "improbable" achievements in the
Josephine were the admiration of everybody in the squadron, except
Professor Hamblin.
"Philip II. died in 1598, and his successor continued his efforts to
conquer the Dutch, but without success. By this time Holland had created
the most powerful navy in the world, and with her seventy thousand
seamen swept the commerce of the Spaniards from the seas, even in the
remotest waters of the globe. The galleons and treasure ships from the
colonies of Spain were captured, and their rich booty poured into the
exchequer of the Dutch. The monarch of Castile was almost impoverished
by these losses; and, deprived of the means to carry on the war of
subjugation, he agreed, in 1609, to a truce of twelve years.
"Religious dissensions then broke out in Holland, which soon assumed a
political turn. The Stadtholder, Prince Maurice, was ambitious to become
the hereditary sovereign of Holland, in which he was opposed by
Barneveldt, a venerable judge, aided by De Groot, or Grotius, a noted
Dutch scholar and statesman. The opposition were styled 'remonstrants.'
The judge was charged with a plot to hand his country over to the
tyranny of Spain; and though he was a pure patriot, he was condemned and
executed. Grotius, by an expedient which would have been deemed
improbable in a novel, escaped from the Castle of Loevestein.
"At the expiration of the truce, Spain renewed her efforts to conquer
Holland; but, after a war of twenty-seven years, the independence of the
country was acknowledged in the peace of Westphalia. During this period
the Dutch maintained their supremacy on the sea, attacking the Spanish
possessions in all parts of the world, and especially in the East
Indies, where they commenced the foundation of their empire in that part
of the globe.
"The growing naval power of Holland excited the apprehensions of
England, and war was the consequence, in which the Dutch Admirals Van
Tromp De Ruiter, and De Witt, as well as Admiral Blake of the British
navy, won imperishable renown.
"Prince Maurice was succeeded at his death by his brother Henry; but, in
1650, the office of Stadtholder was abolished, and that of Grand
Pensionary substituted. John De Witt held the position.
"In 1668, France having seized upon the Spanish Netherlands, Holland
united with England and Sweden to check the power of the French monarch;
but Charles II., subsidized by Louis XIV. of France, deserted his ally.
England and France united, won Sweden over, and formed a league against
Holland. Louis invaded Holland with an army six times as large as the
Dutch could bring into the field, and conquered three provinces. The
quarrel between the house of Orange and the party headed by the Grand
Pensionary still continued to rage. The supreme power was in the hands
of the States General. De Witt proposed to establish the government of
Holland in the East India possessions, as Portugal did in Brazil, rather
than submit. The representative of the house of Orange encouraged the
people to resist at home, and declared that he would 'die in the last
ditch.' As the formation of the country rendered it exceedingly probable
that the 'last ditch' was to be found somewhere in Holland, the advice
of this Prince of Orange was adopted. The popular current turned in his
favor, and against the Grand Pensionary, who was murdered by a mob at
The Hague.
"The Prince of Orange was elected Stadtholder, and is known as William
III. Instead of seeking the 'last ditch' himself, he opened it for the
benefit of the invaders. The dikes were cut, and the country was so
thoroughly inundated that the French army was forced to retire, after
sustaining very heavy losses. Peace was made with England in 1674, and
three years later, the Stadtholder married Mary, daughter of James, Duke
of York, who became king of England at the death of his brother Charles
II. By the revolution of 1688, William and Mary were declared joint
sovereigns of England.
"When William III. died, his cousin and next heir was not recognized as
Stadtholder of Holland, the anti-Orange party being in the ascendant. A
republic was again organized under Heinsius; but, in 1747, the prince
again prevailed, and the line of the Stadtholders was resumed under
William IV., who was succeeded by William V. In 1795 the Batavian
Republic was established, under the influence of the French Revolution,
France having conquered the country.
"In 1806, Napoleon remodelled the government, and placed his brother
Louis, the father of the present French emperor, upon the throne. Louis,
who was a very moderate and sensible man, offended his brother by ruling
his kingdom in the interest of Holland rather than France, and, after a
brief reign of four years, was compelled to abdicate. Napoleon then
annexed Holland to France.
"At the downfall of Napoleon the Netherlands were erected into a
kingdom, which included Belgium, as I have before stated, and the Prince
of Orange was made king, under the title of William I. The present
sovereign is his grandson. The Belgian Revolution of 1830 deprived
Holland of one half of its territory, and more than half of its people;
but these events I mentioned in my lecture at Antwerp."
Mr. Mapps retired, and Mr. Lowington took his place.
"Young gentlemen," said the principal, "this afternoon we shall make a
steamboat excursion to Dort, and through some of the arms of the sea, to
enable you to see Dutch life from the water. On Monday we shall start on
a grand excursion through Holland, visiting the following places in the
order in which they are mentioned: Delft, The Hague, Leyden, Harlem,
Amsterdam, Sardam, Broek, Alkmaar, The Helder, and Utrecht. The
programme will enable you to see all the interesting points of Holland,
including the capital, the drained lake of Harlem, and the great dike of
the Helder.
"The water of Holland is very bad, and drank in any considerable
quantities would probably make you sick. Spring water, brought from
Utrecht in stone jars, may be obtained in the large towns. Whenever it
is practicable, I shall see that you are supplied with it; but avoid the
common water. You will now resume your studies."
Mr. Hamblin took his place with the other professors, and the studies of
the ship went on as usual. The mail came on board, and, when school was
dismissed, the letters were distributed. The first lieutenant of the
Josephine and Duncan were invited to the main cabin to give their
evidence in regard to the trouble between Paul and the professor.