Butte record., 1856-12-20

You must not find fault, dear friend
Propertius, with my cratic flights If
l am fist in Ireland, next in New
York, and now in Holland, attribute
it to your unnatural craving for the
strange and wonderful, and not to dry,
randomic fault in my dottings down :;
they are all regular enough-the irreg.
ulality is with you, who are attracted
by the curious patches in the old gar
ment; when many sober and more
merltorious texture passes by you un-
needed | am now in Holland, and
TO please you, must slur over the many
wonderful features and natural and ar
tifcial curiosities it contains. Its i'm
mense polders; "What are they 2"
you ask /: Tracts of land of many thous
ands of acres in extent, (that of BEEN
sted is fifteen English miles in curcum-
ferance,) below the level of the waters
around it, made fertile and dry by the
incessant industry of this people. |
never shall forget my surprise at the
first time on beholding this scene for
here ure reposing, in a security that the
spectator cannot help thinking fancied
and treacherous, hundreds of fat cows,
thousands of plump sheep, scores of
fine wheatfields, acres of beautiful gar
dens, all surrounded by great waters.
which, to all appearance, are depends
ant upon few crazy boxing mills and
amateur dykes, for their well being
All appears in an unnatural position.
Every road is a canal, and every high
way zee In our country such
state of things weuld prduce colds,
catarrhs, agnes, and fevers, wearing
you all to skeletons. Here, it has
contrary tendency, for its cows are
the fattest, its horses the sleckest, its
sheep the sweetest, its butter the fresh
est, its maidens the rosicsl, its wives
the plumpest, its men the hardest,
particularly in the sedcs honOris) its
children the sturdiest in creation. The
Hollanders are a sensible people, they
know that such country, besides
keeping out the river waters, required
something extraordinary to keep out
the river fogs and with this view, the
amazing gin distilleries of Schledam
were constructed. Schiedam-genu-
inc Schiedam-I see you smack your
lips at the word, friend p, and well
You may, for if there is anything that
entities it to the distinction of the nec-
tar eff the gods-but where am | wan
dering. | was going tie tell you about
an event which happened at Zaandam.
while l was sojourning there, and which
its good people talk of to this very day );
but be patient-this Zaandam, | must
tell you something about-the story
shall come by .and-by. This town, (the
fifth in extent) now numbering about
$4,000 inhabitants, is situated on the
portI shore OF the Y, between the
East and West Zaandam. Its houses
are all wood, and surrounded by a
square CANAL quite insulated, the one
from tie other. Each has garden
cultivated with the neatest care. At
o distance, the town has the strangest
appearauce--beautiful as strange );
something ike an animated map, high
iy colored, to please boys of our own
States. The houses are painted of
divers fancy colors, green and white
predominating On one side, called
the Zaan, there is sight that would
make the Oldest traveller wink again,
take off his "spees," wipe them thrice,
adjust them, and then ask himself the
question. ''Do | see. or dream that |
see 2" What does he see Why, a
thousand wind mills, all in one line, of
Ave miles, at least, in length; some of
them, indeed most of them, as high,
almost, as the Washington monument,
and as large as a military barracks.
Here they arc, all going round, and
round, in one mighty rivalry of at
tempting to achieve the most work in
the least time, whether it be grinding
corn, draining land, saving timber,