Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1857-03-14

man ingenuity can devise.
The siork is great favolie. This bird is
one Of the humblest creatures ever seen. They
are seen in great numbers ia the cities as well
as in the rural parts Of Holland This bird is
regarded almost with veneraion, and to kill one
of them is considered little less than murder.
They generally dwell on the roofs of houses.
About the middle Of August they emgraie to
southern climate, and spend the winter in Egypt
and the sonlhern part of Africa. They are re-
ceiSed with peculiar joy on their return from
their annual tour, and il is considered a lucky
omen, il one of them, after lowering in mid.ar
over some farm house, at last settles on the
house or barn.
The stork is very useful to the Dutch in dis.
posing Of the odal and refuse that would other
wise fill the streets, for as far as his appetite
is concerned, he is little else than an animated
common sewer. lie was esteemed by the an
clients saint among birds.
A great number of these birds are kept in
the market at Hague, on account of the arms
of the city being a stork rampant.
The lecturer next referred to the excessive
use of wooden shoes and tobacco. The former
are worn by all the rusi;cs, and are popular,
both on account Of their cheapness, (as they
cost only eight cents pair, and never require
any patching.) and their thickness, which keeps
their feet dry, and is grea, recommendation in
their damp soil. They are Of different, patterns,
according to the amount of work required to
finish them, and often very large and clumsy.
1t is somewhat remarkable that these should
be tolerated in Holland, in spite Of their advan.
,ages, as the people are fond of quiet, and de-
vote the greater part Of ihe leisure to sitting
still and smoking.
An admirable feature in their character, in
these days of profuse and exitavasant display,
is the love Of simple pleasures. The Holland
ers understand, as we'll as any other nation, the
art Of deyising the maximum Of enjoyment from
the minimum of expenditure.
This is already shown by the national fond.
ness for gardening. Every man. from the
humbest justice Of peace 10 the most disin-
guished bank president, devotes his leisure to
this pursuit, with an ardor that is seldom seen
elsewhere.
The results of their labors are everywhere
manifest in the number oftwin pleasure grounds
and beds Of flowers, that form wreath of rare
DN"h'J "'c""N t'Si Sts iulal
as if Flora and her attendant nymphs had pass
ed over it, scattering bouquets and garlands in
careless profuson. No garden Is complete
without its summer house, little pavilion cree.
ted on the highest spot in the garden. and thas
overlooking it. Here the family meet every
fair afternoon and evening, TO enjoy themselves
in the way that pleases them best.
Every one of these little synagogues is plac-
ed near some canal or pond, and as the water
i7.tnsnn- r5e,, .d;n.,. >-~-G>-u-.r WIN,
cannot afford q cottage Of his own in the sub
urbs, looks forward 10 the time with eagerness
when sudden rise in the price of wooden
shoes, cheese, or snuff, or a successful opera
tion on the street note shaving, will bring him
the means. IL he cannot build, he at least buys
him small lot near the city walls, where he
lays out a garden and erecis pavilion, and
thiiher he resorts with his family evenings, TO
take their tea, and gossip by themselves -
There are whole streets lined on each side with
rows Of these little tea-gardens, near Amster-
dam and other large cities.
1t is in Holland more than any other coun,
try, that one sees the connection between the
present and times long gone b. The trace oi
the past is everywhere apparent The whole
country is covered with it, like the gorgeous
glories of the setting sun.
Their minds, however, are not sterile and
barren, without an oasis. AS natural result
of the influences that surround him from hi:
youth up, the Hollander is the personiicatior
of patriotism.
As might be expected from their devotion tC
the past, the Hollanders as a nation are fear.
fully slow in all their institutions. They look
with suspicion on all our modern improvements
and regard most Of them as useless Innovations
There is such quality as excess of smart
ness, and if the Dutch, from inordinate caution
have gone to the other extreme, it is charitabl,
to suppose that they are right. II nation ev
or earned the privilege Of enjoying their old ag'
in quiet, free from the results of carping criti
cism, it is they. Their progress from theil
earliest years was an ncessani struggle.
They are enjoying the fruits of their con
stancy at this time, and actually possess the no
best proof of the invincibily Of seli-reliant la
Dor, and the most cheering encouragement II
others no, to weary in well-doing, that TIL
world contains And while our own nation i,
rapidly advancing 10 the position that Hollan
once occupied, we may well study her history
and lay firmly the foundation of our own pros
: perity, that we may pass through our trials,
! they must come, as successfully as she did
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3 Holland--Its Soil and Agriculture--Drain