Paul was not half so much disturbed by this announcement as he had been by the trying scene with Mr. Hamblin, a few days before. It is the guilt, and not the loss of honor, the disgrace, which is hard to bear when one is charged with misconduct or crime. He stood with folded arms, submissive to the authority of the principal, and satisfied that the truth would prevail in the end.

"Who is he?" asked one of the students in a suppressed tone, when the silence became painful.

"Captain Kendall," replied the principal; and this name produced a tremendous thrill in the hearts of the ship's company.

"No, sir! No, sir!" shouted some of the students.

"Silence, young gentlemen! I know how you feel," interposed Mr. Lowington. "Although it would seem to me impossible that Captain Kendall should have written this letter, Mr. Hamblin distinctly charges him with the act, and I am sorry to add that there is some evidence to prove the charge."

Mr. Lowington was more grieved than any other person on board, and it is more than probable that, in his great anxiety to avoid partiality, he ran into the opposite extreme, and exposed himself to the peril of doing injustice to his young friend.

"Captain Kendall, you will consider yourself under arrest, and report on board of the ship," added the principal, turning to Paul.

The young commander bowed submissively, and the boys wondered how he was able to take the matter so coolly.

"It's a shame!" exclaimed Terrill, in a low tone, to Pelham.

"Mr. Terrill," continued Mr. Lowington, "the command of the Josephine devolves upon you until further orders, and you will go to sea as soon as Mr. Fluxion returns."

The first lieutenant started when his name was called, and suspected that he was to be taken to task for the remark he had just made. It was fortunate for him, perhaps, that the principal did not hear his energetic words, or the command might have been given to the second lieutenant, for Terrill's impulsive nature would have led him into some intemperate speech, so deeply did he feel for the captain.

"I hope my command will be of very short duration, sir," said he, as the principal stepped down from the hatch.

"I hope so, Mr. Terrill," answered Mr. Lowington. "Captain Kendall, you will repair to the ship in the barge."

"I will be ready in a moment, sir," replied Paul, as he went below to obtain a few needed articles.

"Captain Kendall, I am downright sorry for this," said Terrill, following him into his state-room.

"Don't be at all disturbed about it," answered Paul, cheerfully. "I am glad Mr. Lowington has taken this course. I expect to be able to prove that I could not have written the letter, and I shall be restored as soon as we reach Rotterdam. It is a good deal better to be proved innocent than to be suspected of being guilty. Here is the key of the safe," he added, as he took it from his pocket and handed it to his successor.

"It's lucky for old Hamblin he isn't on board of the Josephine," said Terrill, with an ominous shake of the head. "I think the fellows would throw him overboard before the vessel gets to Rotterdam if he were."

"That isn't the right spirit, Terrill; and as a particular favor to me, I ask that you will not say a word about Mr. Hamblin. I have my own opinion in regard to him; and I suppose every fellow has; but the least said is the soonest mended. I hope you will not let the officers and crew indulge in any demonstrations of disapproval."

"Not let them! I can't help it. I believe if old Hamblin was on board, I would join with the rest of the fellows in making a spread eagle of him on the fore shrouds," answered the commander pro tem.

"Don't think of such a thing. Two wrongs won't make a right," said Paul, anxiously. "You and I have been first-rate friends, Terrill, and for my sake do not encourage or tolerate any demonstrations."

"I will do the best I can, but I feel just like making the biggest row I was ever in since I was born."

"Keep cool; you are going to sea right off, and you will have enough to do to look out for the vessel."

"I shall do as you tell me, if I can; but only because you wish it. I think the fellows ought to give a few hearty groans, so as to be sure no one mistakes their sentiments."

"Don't do it, Terrill," said Paul, as he led the way to the deck, with his bundle in his hand.

When they went on deck, Mr. Fluxion had just returned in the first cutter; and great was his astonishment, and that of the boat's crew, when informed of the exciting event which had just transpired. The interview with the Dutch skipper changed the current of thought on board for the moment; but as soon as he departed, nothing was talked of but the arrest of the captain.

Paul stepped into the barge with the principal, who was very sad and silent. As soon as they were on board of the Young America, and the barge hoisted up, orders were given to fill away again.

"What does that mean?" asked Perth, when the barge was hoisted up, as he ran up to Wilton.

"What?"

"Why, there is Captain Kendall on the quarter-deck of the ship, and the Josephine is getting under way without him."

"There's been a row somewhere; Kendall is one of the flunkies, but he's a good fellow for all that," added Wilton, who could not help giving Paul this tribute.

"I'll tell you what it is," said Howe,—who was one of the barge's crew, and had heard all the proceedings on board of the Josephine,—as he joined them, "Kendall has been suspended, broken, turned out of office for writing that letter to old Hamblin."

"Is that so?" demanded Perth.

"That's so; but all the fellows in the Josephine say he didn't do it."

"It would be a new idea for Kendall to do anything wrong—even to sneeze in prayer time."

The order to man the braces interrupted the conversation; but the news went through the ship even before she had begun to gather headway. The matter was thoroughly discussed, and it was perfectly understood that Mr. Hamblin had preferred the charge upon which Paul had been broken or suspended. The commander of the Josephine was almost as popular in the ship as he was in the consort; and the indignation against the professor of Greek was hardly less violent in the one than in the other.

"Captain Kendall, you will occupy the spare state-room in the after cabin, next to Flag-officer Gordon's," said Mr. Lowington to Paul, as they met after the ship was underway.

"Thank you, sir," replied the young commander, who had seated himself near the companion-way.

"As soon as supper is disposed of, I propose to examine into the charge. You shall have a fair trial."

"I have no doubt of that."

Mr. Lowington walked away, and Paul, who was much embarrassed by the continued expressions of sympathy extended to him by the officers of the ship, retired to his state-room to consider his line of defence.

Mr. Hamblin, satisfied before, was delighted now. Justice seemed to be extending her tardy hand in his favor. The rebel against his mighty will had been suspended, and was actually under arrest. Of course the principal had acknowledged the validity of the evidence he had presented. The motive for such an annoying practical joke was patent to all in the squadron, while the quality of the paper and the resemblance of the writing were enough to convict the offender.

The professor was enjoying his triumph, not vindictively, he persuaded himself, but in the sense that his own personal action and motives were on the eve of being justified. As the ship moved majestically down the river, he walked up and down, athwart ships, in a better mood to enjoy the scene which presented itself than ever before since he joined the squadron. He walked from rail to rail because Paul was seated on the quarter-deck, and he did not care to meet him. When the young commander went below, he walked fore and aft.

The deck was crowded with students waiting for the supper bell to ring; and many an ugly and dissatisfied look was bestowed upon him; but the learned gentleman, in his triumph, was too well pleased with himself to notice them. Mr. Hamblin involuntarily extended his walk, from time to time, until it was continued to the forecastle, where the crew were collected in large numbers. Hardly had he passed the foremast on his first round, than he was saluted by a universal groan, so deep and hearty that he stopped short and looked at the crowd. They were silent then.

"Young gentlemen," said the savant, sternly, "if that was intended as an expression of—"

The remark of censure was brought to an abrupt termination by a very annoying incident. Mr. Hamblin had halted directly under the weather fore yard-arm, braced up so as to take the wind on the beam. Before he had reached this point of his remark, a new fellow by the name of Little, remarkable for his agility, dropped from the yard directly upon the top of the learned gentleman's hat, in fact, sitting down upon his "tile" as fairly and squarely as though the deed had been done on purpose, bringing with him the slack of the weather clew-garnet.

The professor was prostrated to the deck by the weight of the little seaman,—for Little's name precisely described his stature,—while the unfortunate boy was thrown forward flat upon his face.

"O, I'm killed, I'm killed!" cried Little, rising with much real or apparent difficulty, and pressing one hand upon his hip.

"You rascal, you!" roared Mr. Hamblin from the inside of his hat, as a dozen boys sprang forward to pick him up.

The professor was not a fashionable man, and did not wear a hat which would simply rest upon the top of his head, or which would pinch the depository of his ancient lore, and the weight of the student had pressed it far down over his eyes. With some labor he extricated his learned pate from its imprisonment, and glanced with dismay at the hat—a new one which he had bought in Antwerp to replace the one he had lost overboard in the hurricane.

"You scoundrel!" repeated the savant, when he had removed the mutilated tile.

"He didn't mean to do it, sir," said Perth, pointing to the bloody face of Little; "he's almost killed himself."

"Are you hurt, Little?" demanded Mr. Lowington, rushing forward when he discovered what had happened.

"Yes, sir; almost killed," groaned the poor boy, making the wryest face a boy ever made, and twisting himself into a contortion of body which none but an India-rubber youth like himself could have accomplished.

"Pass the word for Dr. Winstock," added the principal, anxiously. "Are you much injured, Mr. Hamblin?"

"I believe there is a conspiracy to take my life," growled the professor, without replying to the direct question.

"Are you hurt, sir?"

"Not so much in body as in my feelings," answered Mr. Hamblin, holding out his damaged hat. "It was done on purpose, sir."

Dr. Winstock now appeared on the forecastle, and as Little seemed to be the greater sufferer, he attended to his case first. He examined the face of the boy, for by the most assiduous rubbing with his right hand while his left was devoted to the hip, he had contrived to besmear his face all over with the blood which flowed freely from his nose. The surgeon could find no wound on the face, and it was plain that there was nothing more terrible about the head than the nosebleed.

"Where are you hurt, Little?" asked the doctor.

"In the hip; it's broke!" replied the sufferer with an explosive groan.

Dr. Winstock laid the patient down upon the deck, and proceeded to examine him with the greatest care. He declared that no bones were broken.

"He appears to be suffering great pain," said the principal, anxiously.

"He has probably wrenched a muscle in his fall, and that is almost as painful as a broken bone. He has received no serious injury," replied the doctor, as he lifted the patient from the deck.

"I am glad it is no worse. How did it happen, Little?"

"I was coming in from the weather yard-arm, sir. I should have gone down the leech of the foresail if you had not told me not to, sir. O!" gasped Little, distorting his face, and doubling up his lithe little body.

"Never mind it now," added the principal, kindly.

"I feel a little better, sir. Mr. Hamblin began to say something to the fellows on deck, and I stopped to listen. O!"—and Little doubled up again. "I caught hold of the clew-garnet, sir—O! I was leaning down to hear what Mr. Hamblin said, and bore my whole weight on the clew-garnet. It wasn't belayed, sir,—O!—and it let me down."

Mr. Lowington desired to know what hands were stationed at the fore clew-garnets; but when they appeared, they were very confident they had belayed these ropes as usual. Little was advised to go below and turn in; but he preferred to remain on deck. As soon as the principal and the doctor had gone aft, the young reprobate turned to his companions, put his thumb to his bloody nose, and wiggled his fingers. Indeed, a remarkable cure seemed suddenly to have been wrought in his particular case; for he walked as nimbly as ever, until some of the officers came forward, when, unfortunately, he had a sudden relapse, from which he did not recover—when the "powers that be" were around—for several days.

After supper Paul was sent for, and repaired to the main cabin, where he found the principal, the surgeon, Mr. Hamblin, and several of the professors. Mr. Lowington stated the charge preferred against Captain Kendall, mentioning the evidence in support of it. He then inquired of the professor if he had anything to add to what he had already said on the subject.

Mr. Hamblin had something to add, but it was in the nature of an argument against the accused, rather than a statement of fact. He reviewed his life on board the Josephine since the troubles had commenced, enlarging upon the zeal with which he had discharged his duties. He gave his view of the difficulty between himself and the captain, as he had given it before; but he adduced no new proofs of the charges he preferred.

"The only question before us at the present time, Mr. Hamblin, is in regard to the authorship of the letter purporting to come from Monsieur Rogier," interposed Mr. Lowington. "Have you any new evidence to bring forward?"

"No, sir; I think the charge has been fully proved," replied Mr. Hamblin.

"Captain Kendall, if you have any defence to make, I am ready to hear it," added the principal, turning to Paul.

"I did not write the letter, and I had no knowledge whatever of it until Mr. Hamblin received it. Perhaps the writing resembles mine, but not very much. Will you let me take the letter, sir?"

The note was handed to him, and he pointed out several letters which were different from any in the exercises by which the similarity had been shown.

"Of course he would disguise the handwriting," interposed Mr. Hamblin.

"The writing alone would not prove anything," added Mr. Lowington.

"So far as the kind of paper is concerned," continued Paul, picking up the half quire which the professor had taken from his state-room, "I bought it in Antwerp for a particular purpose." He did not think it necessary to state that it was for his letters to Miss Grace Arbuckle.

"Are you quite sure you bought it in Antwerp?" demanded the professor.

"I shall prove that I did," replied Paul, indignantly. "I wish to say I had a hint that the officers and crew were very much dissatisfied with Mr. Hamblin, and—"

"With me!" exclaimed the savant, as though it were quite impossible for the students to be dissatisfied with him.

"Allow Captain Kendall to make his statement, if you please," said the principal.

"But, Mr. Lowington, his statement is incorrect. I have been on the best of terms with the majority of my pupils. Only a few of the worst of them have manifested any ill-will towards me."

"Go on, Captain Kendall," said the principal.

"I am prepared to prove all I say. If I had known that this investigation was to take place to-day, I should have asked for the attendance of several witnesses. I used all my influence to prevent any one from playing practical jokes upon Mr. Hamblin. I desire to have the first lieutenant of the Josephine, and Duncan, examined."

"What have they to do with it?" asked the professor, impatiently.

"After doing what I could to prevent others from annoying Mr. Hamblin by practical jokes, it is not likely that I should indulge in them myself."

"That is a good point; and to-morrow the witnesses shall be called," said Mr. Lowington.

"I will now ask Dr. Winstock to make his statement," added Paul, turning to the surgeon.

"The letter is postmarked 'Anvers,'" said the doctor, picking up the letter from the table. "It is utterly impossible that Captain Kendall had anything to do with this document."

"Why so, sir?" demanded Mr. Hamblin, nervously.

"This letter passed through the Antwerp post-office. If Captain Kendall had mailed it there, I should have seen him do it. He was not out of my sight a single moment from the time we left the Josephine till we returned to her. This paper," added the doctor, taking up the half quire, "was purchased in Antwerp. I went into the shop with Captain Kendall, and looked at the quality of it before it was done up."

"Are you satisfied, Mr. Hamblin?" asked the principal.

"No, sir, I am not," replied the professor, decidedly. "I am by no means certain that the paper on which this letter was written was obtained in Antwerp. It does not follow because Dr. Winstock did not see Mr. Kendall mail this letter, that it was not mailed by him. I did not see him mail it; Mr. Lowington did not see him mail it. He could have sent it to the post-office by a dozen of his confederates."

"Since Captain Kendall desires that the first lieutenant and Duncan should be heard, we will continue the examination till to-morrow," added the principal, rising from his chair.

The hearing was adjourned, and Paul returned to his room.



CHAPTER XVII.

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.



CHAPTER XVIII.

AN EXCURSION AMONG THE DIKES.

Terrill and Duncan, with the letters in their hands which they had just received, entered the main cabin. They were called upon, in the presence of Mr. Lowington and Mr. Hamblin, as well as Captain Kendall, to give their testimony, which went to show that the commander was thoroughly and heartily opposed to any demonstration against the obnoxious instructor.

"What did Mr. Kendall say to you?" asked Mr. Hamblin.

"He asked me to use my influence with the fellows to prevent anything being done, and wished me to let them all know that he would not tolerate anything irregular," replied Duncan.

"Did he, indeed!" sneered Mr. Hamblin.

"He did, indeed," answered Duncan, with a twinkle of the eye.

"How happened he to say as much as this to you?" demanded the professor.

"Because, being an old friend and schoolmate of Captain Kendall, I happened to tell him that the fellows were inclined to haze Mr. Hamblin."

"To haze me!" exclaimed Mr. Hamblin.

"I understand that we are to tell the whole truth here," added Duncan, who seemed to enjoy the confusion of the learned gentleman. "I didn't hear of any particular plans; but the fellows kept hinting at something."

"Did they, indeed?"

"They did, indeed."

"But you don't know what they were?"

"I do not, sir."

"Can you tell me who wrote the letter I asked you to translate?"

"No sir, I cannot."

Mr. Lowington asked some questions of the witness; and it was evident to him that the disaffection on board of the Josephine was more general than he had before suspected. Terrill was called upon to explain still further the position of the captain; and Duncan opened his letters, being, as all the boys were, anxious to hear from home. He had two letters. Besides the one from his mother, there was another postmarked at Cologne, which he read after he had finished the first.

As Duncan read this Cologne letter his face became quite red, and he was not a little agitated. By the time he had finished both of them, the first lieutenant had told all he knew in regard to the captain's position. He was very candid in making his statement, and took no pains to conceal the general disgust felt on board of the consort at the conduct of Mr. Hamblin; and he took no pains to conceal the fact that he shared the feelings of his shipmates.

"I should like to add something to my former statement, if you please, Mr. Lowington," said Duncan, rising, with the Cologne letter in his hand.

"What do you wish to add?" asked the principal.

"I know now who wrote the letter to Mr. Hamblin."

"Who?"

"Richard H. Linggold."

"Who is he?"

"He is an old schoolmate of mine, whom I met in Antwerp the afternoon we first went ashore there," replied Duncan, who now appeared to be considerably embarrassed.

"Was he a schoolmate of Mr. Kendall also?" demanded Mr. Hamblin, who was more anxious to connect the letter with him than to promote the discipline of the students.

"No, sir; I don't think Captain Kendall ever saw Linggold."

"We are to conclude, Duncan, that you put him up to this mischief," added Mr. Lowington.

"Yes, sir; I did," answered Duncan, candidly.

"Why did you virtually deny all knowledge of the letter when I appealed to the ship's company before the suspension of Captain Kendall," continued Mr. Lowington, sternly.

"I will explain. I met Linggold in Antwerp, and spent an hour with him at the Hotel St. Antoine, where he was staying with his uncle. He wanted to know about the academy squadron, and I told him all about both vessels. As the trouble we had had in the Josephine was uppermost in the minds of all of us, I told him all about that."

"Did you, indeed?'? said Mr. Hamblin.

"I did, indeed. I am willing to acknowledge that I intended to join with the rest of the fellows in hazing Mr. Hamblin."

"Are you, indeed?" sneered the professor, so wrathy that it was impossible for him to keep his seat, and he began to stride up and down the cabin.

"I am, indeed. About a dozen of us were going to write letters to Mr. Hamblin from all the big bugs, including Louis Napoleon, the King of Holland, the King of Belgium, and all the Ministers of State whose names we could find out."

"Were you, indeed?" gasped the savant, passing before the witness.

"We were, indeed. I told Linggold what we were going to do, and he promised to help me, being a first-rate French and German scholar; but I told him we didn't want any help, and that he would get me into a scrape if he meddled with the matter. I meant to have the letters mailed in some place where none of us ever went. I told Linggold I wanted him to take the letters and mail them at Cologne, and other places he went to in his travels; and he promised to do so. I didn't think of such a thing as his writing any letter after what I said. I left him then, and haven't seen or heard from him since till now. He must have written the letter right off, and mailed it at once, for it came on board the Josephine that night."

"Do you mean to say that you didn't know this letter was to be written?" demanded Mr. Hamblin, sharply.

"Yes, sir."

"When I asked you to give me a translation of it, were you not aware that it was a forgery?"

"I supposed it was."

"You knew it was!"

"No, sir; I did not. I had no knowledge whatever in regard to the writer. It did not occur to me, after what had passed between Linggold and me, that he wrote the letter. I believed it was done by some fellow on board. When the captain was arrested, all the fellows tried to find out who had sent the letter, but no one would acknowledge it."

"Did you write any letters of this description, Duncan?" asked the principal.

"No, sir. I had two conversations with the captain; and when he asked me to do what I could to prevent any tricks being played upon the professor, I determined not to have anything to do with the letters, or any practical jokes of any kind. I can bring a dozen fellows to prove that I said all I could to keep them from playing any tricks."

"What does your friend say in his letter?"

"He says the joke was so good he couldn't resist the temptation to send the first letter to the professor himself, and wants to know why I didn't send the letters to him that I promised?"

"Why didn't you?"

"After what the captain said, I persuaded the fellows not to write the letters, and I did not write any myself. This letter is on the same kind of paper as that," added Duncan, pointing to that which Paul had.

"Are you satisfied, Mr. Hamblin?" asked Mr. Lowington.

"No, sir, I am not," replied the professor, decidedly. "It appears that there was an organized conspiracy against me in the consort."

"But it does not appear that Captain Kendall had anything to do with it," added the principal, mildly.

"These boys are deceitful."

"Some of them are," replied Mr. Lowington, taking his pen and writing a few lines. "Duncan, I am not satisfied with your conduct."

"I am not satisfied with it myself, sir," answered Duncan. "Perhaps I ought to have known where that letter came from when Mr. Hamblin asked me to translate it; but I supposed some of the fellows on board had done it."

"Didn't you recognize the writing of your friend?"

"No, sir; it is very much like that of half a dozen fellows on board."

"It is very much like Mr. Kendall's," said Mr. Hamblin.

"Linggold, Captain Kendall, and myself, all learned to write in the same school."

"Then Mr. Kendall knows this Linggold?"

"No, sir; he didn't go to the school till Captain Kendall left."

"I suppose not," added the incredulous professor. "I am still of the opinion that Mr. Kendall wrote that letter."

"I am entirely satisfied that he did not write it. Duncan, you will remain on board of the ship. Mr. Terrill, you will return to the Josephine, pipe to muster, and read this order. Captain Kendall will return with you."

"What is the order?" demanded Mr. Hamblin.

"'All charges against Captain Kendall being disproved, he is hereby reinstated, and ordered to resume the command of the Josephine,'" replied the principal, reading the order.

"Mr. Lowington, I protest—"

"I have heard you patiently, Mr. Hamblin, and have given my decision," interposed the principal, directing the students present to retire.

Paul bowed to Mr. Lowington, and left the cabin. The investigation had ended as he had supposed from the beginning that it would end.

"Mr. Lowington, I protest against this decision," repeated Mr. Hamblin, angrily. "I feel obliged to say that there has been a great lack of judgment in managing this unpleasant business."

"And I feel obliged to remind you, Mr. Hamblin, that I am the principal of this academy squadron. My decision is final," replied Mr. Lowington, with dignity, as he rose from his chair and left the cabin.

"Snubbed by the boys, snubbed by the principal!" exclaimed the learned gentleman. "Dr. Winstock, did you ever witness a more ridiculous farce in your life?"

"Never, sir," replied the surgeon. "It seems to me that you insist upon condemning Captain Kendall, guilty or innocent."

"I have no doubt whatever of his guilt. Those boys are all in league with each other, Kendall included. There is a conspiracy to annoy me, and to get rid of me; but they will find they have mistaken their man in me, if they haven't in anybody else! Dr. Winstock, I tell you the letter Duncan held in his hand was a fiction! I have been with students all my life, and I know them."

"Why a fiction?"

"That Duncan, who is a very plausible young man, and a friend of Kendall, mind, is at the bottom of all this mischief. He wrote the Cologne letter himself. It was got up, and sent enclosed to the postmaster at Cologne, who of course forwarded it to Rotterdam. It is a trick to disprove the charge against Kendall."

Mr. Hamblin was very much excited, and developed his theory in full to the surgeon, who quietly pointed out its discrepancies. He insisted that the students of the Josephine had thorned and irritated him for the sole purpose of getting rid of him, and that Paul was at the bottom of the mischief.

"When Mr. Lowington has been among students as long as I have, he will understand them better," he added, triumphantly, for he was satisfied that he had established his position. "The Josephine is an utter failure! The plan is absurd and ridiculous. The senior professor has no authority; or it is divided with a boy who hates Greek!"

Dr. Winstock had heard quite enough on the subject, and it was a great relief to him when the dinner-bell rang. At this moment three times three rousing cheers came over the water from the Josephine. It was not difficult to determine the occasion of this demonstration; but Mr. Hamblin declared it was another evidence that the students in the consort were all in league, and that the captain of her, instead of being cheered, ought to be in the brig.

Before the dinner was finished, a Dutch steamer, which Mr. Fluxion had engaged, came alongside the ship, and all hands were piped on board. She then went to the Josephine, and received her company.

"This steamer does not seem to be much different from those we saw in England," said Paul, as he seated himself with Dr. Winstock where they could see the country on both sides of the river.

"Not very different, but it is very unlike an American boat," replied the surgeon.

"The steering apparatus is not like anything I ever saw before," added Paul. "The helmsman stands on a raised platform, and his wheel revolves horizontally."

"All the Rhine steamers have that arrangement."

"I think a wheel-house forward is ever so much better. I see the cook is a woman."

"Yes; all the Rhine steamers have female cooks. This boat, I believe, belongs to the Moerdyk line. Passengers from Antwerp come by railroad to Moerdyk, and there take the steamer to Rotterdam. This country is very favorable to railroads in being level, but very unfavorable in the number of rivers and cut-offs to be crossed, which it is impossible to bridge."

The steamer stood up the Leck, and turned into the Merwe, which is a branch five or six miles in length, connecting the Leck and the Waal. On each side was a dike, of course; but the view from the steamer showed only an ordinary bank. The top of it was broad, and occasionally there was a neat cottage or a little inn upon the top of it. The roof or chimney of a house beyond it was frequently observed, otherwise the uninformed traveller would not have suspected the character of the country. The embankment was studded with windmills, placed on the highest ground, to give the sails the full benefit of the wind. Some of them were used for grinding grain, some for sawing lumber, and others for forcing the water up from the low ground into the river.

The steamer passed from the Merwe into the Waal, and stood up the river. There was but little variation in the scenery. The wall of dikes on either side was uninterrupted. Sometimes they were lined with rows of trees, between which was the common road; at others they were bare and naked. The captain of the steamer told them that a portion of the country in the vicinity was lower than the bottom of the river. The whole region seemed to be saturated with water, and the wonder is that the people can go to bed at night with any assurance that they will not be drowned out before morning.

"There is the Castle of Loevestein," said the captain of the boat, who spoke good English, "and the fort below has the same name."

"Did you ever hear of it before?" asked Mr. Mapps, who was on the lookout for places of historical interest, as he turned to a group of seamen.

"You mentioned it this morning," replied one of the students.

"In what connection?"

"Some man had a wonderful escape from it," added another.

"Who was that man?"

"A Dutchman with a Latin name."

"Grotius, or De Groot," added Mr. Mapps. "The Stadtholder, Prince Maurice, the boy general and ruler, wished to make himself hereditary sovereign of the Netherlands, and was opposed by the judge, Barneveldt, and Grotius. The prince carried the day; Barneveldt was executed, and Grotius imprisoned in this castle, where he was kept nearly two years. He was very strictly guarded at first; but his wife, finding that the vigilance of the sentinels was relaxed, devised a scheme for effecting his liberation. The books, papers, and linen of the prisoner were conveyed to him in a large box, which the guards, having so often searched in vain for contraband articles, at last neglected to examine. The box, and the carelessness of the soldiers, suggested to the wife of Grotius the means of getting her husband out of the castle.

"She prepared the chest by boring some holes in it, for the admission of the air, and took her servant-girl into her confidence. The box was conveyed to the apartment of Grotius, and the project explained to him. He did not relish the idea of being shut up in a chest, and rolled about in a boat; but his wife's entreaties prevailed over his scruples. It was pretended that the box was filled with books which the learned man had borrowed in Gorcum, the town which you see on the other side of the river.

"The chest, containing the philosopher, was conveyed by the soldiers down to the boat, in charge of the servant-girl. When one of them complained of its weight, the man said it was the Arminian books which were so heavy; for Grotius was an Arminian in his theology. The soldier suggested that it was the Arminian himself; but this was intended as a joke, and the box was tumbled into the boat. The servant made a signal with her handkerchief to her mistress, who was looking out of the window, to indicate that all was right.

"When the boat reached Gorcum, the box was conveyed to the house of a friend of Grotius, of whom it was presumed that he had borrowed the books. The servant-girl told him that her master was in the box, and begged his assistance; but he was so terrified, in view of the consequences, that he refused to have anything to do with the matter. His wife, however, had more pluck in the service of a friend, and, having sent all her domestics out of the house on various errands, she opened the box, and released the philosopher from durance vile.

"Grotius, who had suffered no serious inconvenience from his confinement in the box, which was only three and a half feet long, was disguised as a mason, and, with a rule and trowel in his hand, was conducted to a boat, and sent into Belgium, where he was safe from pursuit.

"The philosopher's wife remained in the room occupied by her husband in the castle, and used every means to conceal his escape. She lighted the lamp in his room at dark, by which the governor of the prison was deceived. She was arrested and imprisoned for a short time; but when discharged, she joined her husband in Paris, whither he had gone."

"There is a frigate in the Dutch navy called the Marie van Reigersberch, named for the wife of Grotius," added the captain of the steamer, who had been an attentive listener to the story.

The steamer went but a short distance farther up the Waal, and then came about. She soon reached Dort, or Dordrecht, where she made a landing, and the students wandered for an hour through the streets of this ancient town.

"This is a musty old place," said Paul, as he walked up one of the streets with a canal in the middle of it, in company with Mr. Fluxion and the surgeon; "I shouldn't feel safe here unless I lived in a boat."

"Many of the people live in boats, as you perceive," added Mr. Fluxion, as he pointed to a gayly-painted craft, on the deck of which was a group of children.

At the little window in the stern sat a woman, sewing, while another was knitting near the cabin door. There were white muslin curtains at the stern ports, and what could be seen of the interior of the apartment indicated that it was kept extremely neat.

"I think I should prefer to live in something that would float, in case of accident," laughed the doctor, "especially in this part of Holland. The operation of the water is wonderful. The channel in front of Dort was formed by an inundation which separated the town from the main land, leaving it deep enough to float the largest Indiaman."

"The Leck, on which we sailed for a time after leaving Rotterdam, was a canal dug by the Romans to connect the Rhine and the Waal," added Mr. Fluxion. "A freshet cleaned it out, and tore away its banks so as to make the present broad river of it. In an inundation a few years later, seventy-two villages were swept away, and one hundred thousand people lost their lives. Thirty-five of these villages were never heard from afterwards, and not even their ruins could be found."

"I should emigrate if I lived here," said Paul.

"The people of Holland are very much attached to their country," replied Dr. Winstock.

"Well, they ought to be, on the principle that we like best what has cost us the most trouble to procure," added Paul. "It seems to me a great pity that people should struggle here to keep their heads above water, when we have so much spare land in America. We could take them all in without feeling it."

"Dutchmen would not feel at home on high ground."

"We could plant them down in Louisiana, and even treat them to an occasional inundation."

"Certainly we should be very happy to accommodate them with a country. We have a great many Dutchmen already, and they make thrifty, industrious, and useful people," continued the doctor. "But I think, if Holland were blotted out of existence, the world would miss it very much."

"This is a great lumber port," said Mr. Fluxion. "Those great rafts which float down the Rhine from Switzerland are mostly brought to this place. I hope the boys will have a chance to see one of those rafts, for they are stupendous affairs. One of them sometimes contains a hundred and fifty thousand dollars' worth of lumber, and has a crew of four or five hundred men."

"I think I heard Mr. Lowington say that we were to go down the Rhine," replied Paul.

"That is the Kloveniers Doelen," said Mr. Fluxion, as he led his companions into a back street and pointed out an old Gothic building. "It was here that the Protestant divines discussed the doctrines of the reformed religion, whose 'miraculous labors made hell tremble,' to quote the words of its presiding officer. The assembly is called in history the Synod of Dort. The building, as you may see by reading the sign, is now a low public house and dance-hall."

"Reading the sign!" exclaimed Paul, laughing; "a fellow would knock all the teeth out of his head in attempting to speak some of these words."

"But many of them are very like English words. A dike is a dijk."

"Steamboats are stoombooten," said Paul; "and a street is a straat. What are canals?"

"Grachten; the drawbridge is ophaalbruggen."

"Whew!" whistled Paul.

"But you can observe something like open-bridge in the sound. You see that the spiegels are very common here."

"I see they are; but I haven't the least idea what they are."

"The little mirrors placed outside the windows."

"I saw plenty of them in Antwerp."

"They are not as common there as in Holland, where they are to be seen attached to almost every house. By this contrivance a Dutch dame can see every person that passes in the street, without raising the blinds. But I think the hour is nearly up, and we must return to the steamer," said Mr. Fluxion.

The party went on board, and the steamer returned to Rotterdam by a different route from that by which she had come. The next day was Sunday. After the second service on board the ship, Mr. Fluxion, having occasion to go on shore, invited Paul to accompany him.

"It will not seem much like Sunday to you in Rotterdam," said the vice-principal, as they landed at the quai.

"I supposed the Dutch were very strict."

"Some of them are. Look down that street," said Mr. Fluxion, as he pointed to the broad avenue which bordered the great river. "You observe that the quais are all lined with ships. In the houses opposite live the merchants. They occupy the upper stories of the buildings, while the lower are used as counting-rooms and storehouses. The ship-owner sits at his parlor window and witnesses the unlading of his vessel."

They walked up to the Hotel des Pays-Bas, which the traveller is informed by its card is situated in the Korte Hoogstraat, wijk No. 287, where Mr. Fluxion desired to see a gentleman who had engaged to meet him there. In one of the public rooms a party were playing cards, drinking, and smoking, and talking Dutch in the most vehement manner. After a stay of an hour at the hotel, they returned to the quai, passing through Zandstraat, which was filled with people, shouting, singing, and skylarking. About every other shop appeared to be a drinking saloon, in which a fiddle or a hurdy-gurdy was making wild music, while the floor was crowded with men and women dancing.

In another street they encountered a mock procession of girls and boys, singing in the most stormy manner as they marched along. It was not at all like Sunday, and Paul was so shocked at the desecration of the day, that he was glad to regain the silence of his cabin in the Josephine.



CHAPTER XIX.

A RUN THROUGH HOLLAND.

Like that of all impulsive men, the wrath of Mr. Hamblin was short-lived, though he still felt that he was greatly abused, greatly distrusted, and greatly under-estimated; and the last was the greatest sin of all. After the first blast of his anger at the final decision of the principal had subsided, he was disposed to be more politic. Mr. Lowington had snubbed him, which was a great mistake on Mr. Lowington's part.

Mr. Hamblin knew that he was an older man than the principal, and he felt that he was a wiser one, and his employer ought to consult him, defer to his opinion, and take his advice. He did not do this to the extent the learned gentleman demanded; and the Academy Ship was the sufferer thereby, not himself. If Mr. Lowington could stand it, he could, disagreeable as it was. If Mr. Hamblin had been pecuniarily independent, he would have thrown up his situation, and visited the classic lands alone; but as he was not able to do this, he decided to submit to Mr. Lowington's caprices, and give the institution the benefit of his valuable services.

If the students had known of this decision, they would have remonstrated against it. As it was, they protested in their own way. On Saturday night, after the return of the students from the excursion, while the savant was promenading the deck for his needed exercise, not less than three practical jokes were played off upon him. The crew were squaring the yards, hauling taut the sheets, lifts, and braces, and putting the deck in order for Sunday. The professor was tipped over by getting entangled in a piece of rigging, a bucket of water was dashed upon his legs, and a portion of the contents of a slush-tub was poured upon him from the main-top. No one seemed to see him; the students appeared to be struck with blindness, so far as the learned gentleman was concerned. It is true that the rogues who pulled the brace, dashed the water, and upset the slush-tub, were immediately committed to the brig; but this did not seem to afford much comfort to the victim.

On Sunday morning it was necessary to commit three more; but the whole six were released in the evening, because they could not sleep in the brig. Mr. Lowington was annoyed quite as much as the professor; and when Mr. Fluxion came on board, he had a long conversation with him on the subject.

"I was a boy once, Mr. Lowington," said the vice-principal; "and I am free to say I would not have tolerated such an instructor as Mr. Hamblin. He hasn't a particle of sympathy with the students. He is haughty, stiff, and overbearing. He is imperious, fretful, snarling, and tyrannical. In a word, I don't blame the boys for disliking him."

"I am conscious that he is not the right person. In the case of Kendall, he protested against my decision, and had the impudence to tell me that I lacked judgment. I have engaged him for a year. What shall I do?" replied the principal.

"I hardly know; but we shall be in trouble as long as he is in the squadron. We must give the boys fair play, if we expect them to do their duty."

"I have kept Duncan on board the ship, and I suppose I must punish him," added Mr. Lowington. "He plotted mischief, but he has really done nothing."

"Excuse me," said Dr. Winstock, as he opened the door, but retreated when he saw that he disturbed a private interview.

"Come in, doctor; I wish to see you," replied the principal.

The surgeon was admitted to the conference, and the case stated to him.

"The pedagogue of the past is rapidly going out of fashion," said the doctor. "Our educational system is progressive, and it will no longer tolerate the teacher who is the petty tyrant he was twenty years ago. Mr. Hamblin is an old-school pedagogue. His will is law, which is all right to a certain extent. The teacher must be the judge between right and wrong; but he must be gentle and kind, and raise no false issues between his pupil and himself. Mr. Hamblin is not gentle and kind. He is capricious, wilful, and passionate."

"I agree with you in regard to Mr. Hamblin; but what shall I do?"

"Discharge him," replied the doctor, promptly. "Any instructor who cannot get along with Paul Kendall, without quarrelling, is not fit for his place. The students of the Josephine have hazed Mr. Hamblin out of pure sympathy for their captain."

"I have engaged Mr. Hamblin for a year from the 1st of July."

"I should pay him his salary in full, and let him depart in peace, if he would."

"We need his services as an instructor."

"So far as that is concerned, I will volunteer to take the department of mathematics. I was a tutor in college in that branch for a couple of years."

Mr. Lowington thanked the surgeon for this offer; and the call to divine service in the steerage terminated the interview. The principal's advisers spoke his own opinions; and the only thing that embarrassed him in getting rid of the obnoxious professor was the bad conduct of the students in regard to him. It was emphatically wrong for them to "haze" an unpopular professor; and Mr. Lowington was not willing to act under apparent compulsion.

The school studies were continued as usual through the forenoon of Monday. After dinner, dressed in their best uniforms, with bag and blanket, the students were conveyed to the shore for their trip through Holland, which was to occupy three or four days. The first afternoon was to be occupied in exploring Rotterdam, and, as usual, Paul Kendall and Dr. Winstock kept together.

"This is the Hoogstraat," said the doctor, when they reached the principal street of the city.

"Does that mean Hog Street?"

"Not at all," laughed Dr. Winstock. "It means the High Street. It is situated on the top of an old dike or dam, built to keep the Maas from overflowing the country behind it. One of these canals is formed out of the River Rotte. This stream and this dam gave the name of Rotterdam to the place."

"Whose statue is that?" asked Paul, when they came to a wide bridge over a broad canal.

"That is the statue of Erasmus, who was born in Rotterdam."

"Never heard of him."

"He was a noted theologian and classical scholar, who made his mark in the polemical discussions of Germany and Switzerland in the time of the Reformation. This is the Groote Markt, or market-place, of Rotterdam," added Dr. Winstock, when they had crossed the bridge.



It was a great square, in the middle of which the canal widened into a basin for the accommodation of the market boats, by which the meats and vegetables are brought from the country. There were plenty of dog teams passing in and out of this square, and at rest there, which amused the young Americans hugely. The vehicle—a little cart or wagon, sometimes large enough to contain four of the great polished brass milk-cans, holding from ten to twenty gallons, and sometimes no bigger than a baby carriage—was generally in charge of a woman. In some of them the dog was regularly harnessed in a pair of shafts; but in the larger ones there was a division of labor between the driver and the animals. The woman held the shafts, while the dogs, from two to six in number, were attached to various parts of the vehicle. If there were but two of them, they generally trotted under the wagon, being harnessed to the axletree; if more than two, the others were hitched on ahead of her, and at each side of her. The dogs were of all sorts and sizes, and seemed to be patient and well trained in the discharge of their duty. In some instances, while the woman held the shaft, a stout man walked behind, with a stick in his hand, officiating as general manager of the team, including his "vrow"!

"There's a row!" shouted Paul, as they approached the banks of the canal.

"That's not an uncommon scene in Holland," replied the doctor, laughing.

One of the first-class dog teams had incautiously been conducted too near another team, reposing, after the labors of the day, on the verge of the canal. Some canine demonstration on the part of the idle dogs, doubtless, excited the ire of the travelling team, and, without asking the woman's permission, the latter deserted the ranks, so far as their harness would permit, and "pitched into" the others, which sprang to their feet, and met the assailants half way. All the dogs howled, growled, and barked vehemently, and in a moment the two teams were rolling upon the ground, entangled in their rigging, snapping, biting, and kicking, in mad fury.

The woman seized a stick, and belabored the belligerents with great vigor; but the fight continued, in spite of her, until several women interfered, and dragged the cart of the idlers, clogs and all, out of the reach of the others. The driver, after severely whipping her charge, unsnarled their rigging, and went on her way. Paul had to stop and laugh frequently at these dog teams, the animals presented so many different phases of character. Some of them howled or barked as they trudged along; and many manifested a desire to make the acquaintance of other teams on their way, much to the annoyance of the driver, who would storm at them in Dutch, kick and whip them.

Many of the men, women, and children wore sabots, or wooden shoes, which Paul compared to canal boats, and went clumping and clattering along the streets like champion clog-dancers. The Flemish cap, worn by some of the peasant women, also amused Paul very much. From each side of the wearer's head, near the eye, projected a brass ornament, in the shape of a spiral spring, but each circle diminishing in size till the wire ended in a point, like a gimlet.

In the older parts of the city the tourists found brick buildings whose walls slant outwards, so that the eaves would project eighteen inches over the base, as farmers in New England sometimes build their corn-barns.

Rotterdam contains about as many canals as streets, which are frequently crossed by draw-bridges. Some of these are handsome iron structures, revolving on a balance, so as to make a passage on each side when open. Others were raised by heavy framework overhead; and in some of the bridges there was only an opening one or two feet wide, to permit the passing of the vessel's masts.

After examining the canals and bridges in this part of the city, Paul and the doctor walked to the church of St. Lawrence, which is noted for its great organ, ninety feet high, and containing sixty-five hundred pipes.

"Now, Paul, we will take a carriage and ride up to the park, and go from there to the railway station," said the doctor, as they left the Groote Kerk.

"What is that man eating?" asked Paul, as they passed through one of the dirtiest parts of the city, where, on the bank of the canal, a woman was standing behind a table loaded down with a heap of shellfish, just as they came from the mud.

The customer was taking them from the shells, drinking at intervals from a cup.

"They are a kind of mussel; I never had confidence enough to taste of them," laughed the doctor. "The condiments are in the cup, I suppose. Do you wish to try them?"

"No, I thank you; my stomach is not lined with zinc, and such a vile mess as that would be too much for it. Those cakes look better," added Paul, pointing to a stand where a man and woman were cooking waffles, or flapjacks, which were eaten by the purchasers in a neat little booth.

"Those are very nice," said the doctor. "We will try some of them. You never need have any suspicions of the neatness of these Dutch women."

They went into the booth, and were soon supplied with a couple of the cakes, hot from the furnace, and covered with powdered white sugar. Paul agreed that they were very nice.

"The signs amuse me quite as much as any thing else, and I am studying Dutch by their aid," said Paul, as they continued on their way.

"Read this, then," added the doctor, handing him a yellow paper bag he picked up in the street, on which was a shopkeeper's advertisement.

"I can read some of it," replied Paul; and the reader may help him.

In de Mooriaan. Deze en meer andere soorten van TABAK, SNUIF, SIGAREN, KOFFIJ, THEE ENZ zijn te bekomen bij D. B. SCHRETLEN, Zandstraat, Wijk 5, No. 447, ROTTERDAM.

"Tobacco, snuff, cigars, coffee—these are plain enough. What does 'Wijk 5' mean?"

"That is a division or ward of the city, like E. C. and W. C., in London."

The carriage was obtained, and they rode to the park, which, however, had no particular attractions. With the exception of the canals, and the manners and customs of the people, there is little to see in Rotterdam. On the way they met a funeral, the carriages of which were peculiar; and the driver of the hearse wore a black straw hat, with a brim more than a foot wide, and with great white bands at his neck.

At five o'clock the students had all collected at the station of the Hollandsche Spoorweg, or Holland Railroad; and in twenty minutes the train set them down at Delft, the port from which the Speedwell sailed with a portion of the Pilgrim Fathers of New England. The name of the town is derived from "delven," to dig. It contains twenty thousand inhabitants, and was formerly noted for its pottery manufacture, which was called Delft ware, from this place.

The party went immediately to the Prinsenhof, now a barrack, which was the building in which the Prince of Orange was assassinated. The spot where the murder took place was pointed out. A descriptive stone in the wall records the event. From this place they passed on to the Old Church, nearly opposite, which has a leaning tower, and saw the tomb of Van Tromp, the great Dutch admiral, the hero of thirty-two sea-fights. In the New Church is the monument of the Prince of Orange. His statue rests upon it; and at the feet of the great man is represented a little dog. The inscription was translated by Mr. Mapps, and the allusion to the dog afforded the professor an opportunity to tell a story.

"While the prince was asleep in his camp, near Mechlin, the Spaniards attempted to murder him," said he, "and would probably have succeeded had if not been for this little dog. As the assassins approached the tent, the dog discovered them, and jumped upon his master's bed, barking furiously, and tugging at the clothing with his feet and teeth. The prince was awakened, and succeeded in making his escape. When his master was killed, twelve years later, this dog pined away and died."

"Perhaps he died of old age," suggested one of the students.

"The story is, that he refused to eat from grief. I cannot vouch for it; but he was a good dog, and deserves the mention made of him on the tomb. This church contains the burial-vaults of the present royal family of Holland."

At six o'clock the train was off for The Hague, and arrived there in fifteen minutes. On the way, the spire of the church at Ryswick, where the treaty of 1697 mentioned in all the school histories, was framed, was pointed out to the students. Accommodations had been engaged in the city for the company and they remained here over night.

The Hague, or, as the Dutch call it, S'Gravenhage, and the French La Haye, is the capital, and has a population of eighty-one thousand. Though it was the residence of the stadtholders in former times, it was only a small village, and its notable features are of modern origin. Barneveldt was executed and the De Witts murdered here. The Picture Gallery and the Museum were specially opened for the young Americans. The works of art were hastily viewed, and the students passed into the Cabinet of Curiosities, of which there is a vast collection, including an immense number of dresses, implements, and models illustrating life in Japan and in China.

Among the historical relics are the armor worn by the admirals De Ruiter and Van Tromp; the portrait and sword of Van Speyk, who blew up his vessel on the Scheldt; a part of the bed of Czar Peter the Great, on which he slept while working at ship-building; the last shirt and waistcoat worn by William III. of England; the dress in which the Prince of Orange was murdered; the pistol of the assassin, with two of the bullets; a model of Peter's cabin at Zaandam, or Sardam, and many other objects of interest which seemed to bring the distant past before the eye of the beholders.

Early the next morning the students were roaming at will through the city, anxious to see what they could of its handsome streets, the principal of which is the Voorhout, lined with trees, and flanked with splendid edifices. After breakfast the train bore them on to Leyden. On the way, at the suggestion of Mr. Fluxion, the train, which was a special, was stopped, and the students were allowed half an hour to explore some beautiful gardens which abounded in this vicinity. Many of them belonged to the country seats of wealthy gentlemen, and were as magnificent as fairyland itself.

But what pleased Paul more than the gardens of rich men, was an opportunity to visit the house and grounds of a citizen in humbler life. Mr. Fluxion asked the permission, which was readily granted.

"You needn't take your shoes off here, as you must in some parts of Holland, before you enter a house; but you must wipe them very carefully," said the vice-principal. "The greatest sin against a Dutch housewife is to carry any dirt into her premises."

Paul made sure that not a particle of dust clung to his feet, and entered the cottage. It was plainly furnished; but everything was as clean, and white, and neat as though the room had been the interior of the upper bureau drawer. Dr. Winstock ventured the remark, that Dutch husbands must be the most miserable men in the world, since it could not but be painful to be so excruciatingly nice.

The proprietor of the house had about half an acre of land, which constituted his garden. It was laid out with winding walks and fanciful plats of ground, filled with the richest-hued flowers. It contained a pond and a canal, on a small scale; for a Dutchman would not be at home without a water prospect, even if it were only in miniature. At the end of the garden, overlooking the pond, there was a grotesque little summer house, large enough to accommodate the proprietor and his family. Here, of a summer afternoon, he smoked his pipe, drank his tea, coffee, or beer, while his wife plied her needle, and the children played at the door.

"What is that inscription on the house?" asked Paul, as they approached the building.

"Mijn genegenheid is voldam," replied Mr. Fluxion.

"Exactly so! I understand that, and those are my sentiments," laughed Paul; "but what does it all mean?"

"'My desire is satisfied,'" replied the vice-principal.

"He is a happy man if that is so," added the doctor.

"Many of the Dutch label their garden houses with a sentiment like that," continued Mr. Fluxion. "I have seen one somewhere which smacks of Yankee slang—'Niet zoo kwaalijk.'"

"I should say that was slang," interposed Paul.

"It means, 'Not so bad.'"

"Well, it isn't so bad, after all," added the doctor, glancing back at the "zomerhuis," as they retired, with many thanks to the proprietor for the privilege granted to them.

The hoarse croaking of the locomotive whistle, which appeared to have a cold in its head, drummed the students together again, and the train proceeded.

"This is the Rhine," said the doctor, as they went over a bridge.

"The Rhine!" exclaimed Paul, jumping out of his seat. "Why, it isn't anything!"

"That is true; but you must remember that this is the old Rhine,—the part which was dug out, robbed of the burden of its waters by the Yssel, the Leck, and the Waal. The Rhine of Germany is quite another affair. The mouth of the Rhine is eight miles below Leyden. It was closed for a thousand years."

"What became of its waters? They must have gone somewhere," said Paul.

"They disposed of themselves in various small streams, and worked their way to the ocean, or soaked into the sands. The mouth of the river was opened in 1809, by an engineer, under the direction of Louis Napoleon, King of Holland. But the ocean at high tide was higher than the river, and to prevent the sea from flowing back into the country and disturbing the system of dikes, immense gates were made in the sluiceways constructed for the purpose. When the tide comes in, these gates are shut. At low tide they are opened to let the water out. Indeed, this is true of all the canals, which are provided with gates at each end, like a dock. The dikes at the mouth of the Rhine are stupendous works; and as the foundation is nothing but sand, they are built on piles, and the face of them is of stone. This is Leyden."

"What is there here?" asked Paul, as they got out of the carriage.

"It has about the same sights as Delft, and also a celebrated university; but it is more noted for its siege by the Spaniards, in 1574, than for anything else. Doubtless Mr. Mapps will fight the battle over again."

Of course the professor of geography and history could not lose such a glorious opportunity, and in the Stadhuis, where the picture of Peter Vanderwerf, the burgomaster who so bravely defended the place in the memorable siege, was pointed out, he took advantage of the moment.

"The city had held out four months," said he, after introducing the topic, "when the worst came. The Prince of Orange had promised to assist the people by supplying them with food; but so close was the blockade of the place by the Spaniards, that it was impossible to do so. They were reduced to the very verge of starvation. Dogs, cats, rats, horses, were greedily eaten. Six thousand of the people died of pestilence, which came with the famine, and there was hardly force enough to bury the dead. Though pressed and threatened by the citizens, the inflexible burgomaster refused to surrender the town. At last a couple of carrier pigeons flew into the city, which brought the intelligence that the prince had cut the dikes, and sent Admiral Boiset to their relief when the rising waters should drive the Spaniards away. But the waters did not rise high enough to enable the admiral to approach, and the people prayed to Heaven for help. It came. A storm and a gale forced the waters far up the river to the walls of Leyden. Boiset, with eight hundred wild Zealanders, fought their way through the Spaniards, perched in the trees, in boats, or in such places above the water as they could find, and made his way into the town. A thousand of the enemy were drowned. Leyden was saved, and the people celebrate the day of their deliverance up to the present time.

"As a reward for their bravery and dogged perseverance, the prince gave them the choice of a university or exemption from a portion of their taxes. They chose the former, and the University of Leyden was the result."

After a hasty walk to a few of the points of interest in the town, the journey was resumed, and in twenty minutes the party was set down in Harlem. In the Groote Kerk of St. Bavon, they listened to the playing of another great organ, including imitations of bells, and the vox humana, or "nux vomica," as some of the students persisted in calling it. Harlem is famous for its hyacinths and tulips, the passion for which grew out of the great tulip mania, two hundred years ago, when single cuttings of these bulbs were sold for four thousand florins, and even at higher prices. They are raised not only in gardens, but in fields hundreds of acres in extent; for they are a very important article of commerce, the gardens of Europe being supplied from this vicinity.