and the would take out specimens from all the different portions of it then they would pile up the again and put the on over them as you would put an on a candle and finally after turning it over once more they would put it on the head and bind it all up again tight and secure with poles which they nailed in and around it the would then roll the in holland of the east queer signs off in order to put it on a cart and take it away the whole operation was performed with a degree of regularity and that was quite surprising the whole work of opening the examining it thoroughly weighing it selecting specimens and putting it up again was accomplished in less time than it has taken me here to describe it there were a great many other operations of this sort that arrested the attention of mr george and as they walked along the streets much of the which they saw thus landing from the ships or going on board of them was of great value and the ships in which it came were of immense size such as are engaged in the east india trade mr george said that they were the kind that he had often read about in history under the name of dutch east was very much amused at the signs over the doors of the shops in those streets where there were shops and in the efforts that he made to interpret them there was one which read s mr george said must mean for ships he was helped however somewhat in making this translation by observing what was exhibited in the windows of the shop and at the door there was another in which did not require any help to en walks about and mr dutch able him to it it was und thee another at first perplexed him it was this und s but by seeing that the place was a sort of blacksmith s shop that it must mean house and ship that is that it was a place for blacksmith s work for houses and ships over one of the doors was und s mr george said that br da was a place not � a r from and that the last part of the sign must mean house for selling beer then concluded that the first word must mean something connected with there was another en at first could not make any thing of this but on looking at the window he saw a painting of a horse s head with a handsome bridle upon it and a saddle on one side so he concluded it must mean a trunk and saddle he was the more convinced of the of this from the fact that the word for trunk or box in french is amused himself a long time in in this way the signs that he saw in the streets and he succeeded so well in it that ho told mr george that he believed he could learn the dutch language very easily if he were going to stay for any considerable time in holland ik holland wooden shoes bridges toll another thing tiiat much was to see the wooden shoes that were worn by the common people in the streets these shoes appeared to to be yer j large and clumsy the little wore and the noise that they made about the pay ments with them was yery id a great many places where the each other there were bridges leading the these bridges were of a yery construction they were all draw bridges and as boats and were continually passing along the it became necessary to raise them in order to let the go the machinery for ing these bridges and letting th em down again was yery curious and and mr e were both glad when in coming to the bridge they found it was up as it them an to watch the of passing the through boat and that went through had a toll to pay and the manner of collecting this toll was not the least singular part of the whole while the bridge was up and when the boat had passed nearly through the or as the case might be � for one half the boats and seemed to be by walks about for money the narrow draw the women � would get the money ready and then the who stood on the of the bridge would swing out to the boat one of the wooden shoes above described which was suspended by a long line from the end of a pole like a fishing pole the would swing out this shoe over the boat that was passing as a boy would swing his hook and out the water if he were going to catch fish the in the boat would take hold of it when it came within his reach and put the money into the toe of it the would then draw it in and taking out the money would carry it to his toll house which was a small building not bi er than a box that stood on the close by in one case came to a l� ridge which instead of being made to be raised entirely had only a narrow part in tiie centre just wide enough for the and of the ship to go through that could be moved when this part was lifted up to let a vessel pass it made only a very narrow opening such as a boy might jump across very easily in some places where the passing and of ships was very great there was a instead of a bridge in these cases there was a flat boat to pass to and from one side a in holland a sheet of water scenes in to the other with a pretty little landing of 