The Hillsborough recorder., 1868-01-15
THE LAND OF F THE wINDMILLs.

. letter 10 regard 20 Holland, which is a
model in its way, giving to young readers
q more definite and vivid conception of
the geography sfethat country than they
would be likely totget from their regular
school text books. We copy large part
Of the letter: 49,, sai.
/ am sure that every boy and girl who
reads the journal would take great pleasure
in visiting Holland, il is such a qoeer,
strange. funny place, and the people are SO
odd and curious.4 There are such scenes
n sannot be found anywhere else in the
wide world.a Most ofthe boys in New Eng
land earry knives in their pockets, and I
dare say there is net lad among oil of
them who may read this letter who has not
whitfield out . windmill, or, at least, Ia whir-
ligig; but there are mere windmilIs here
han they ever dreamed 1of---windmills in
the towns and cities. out in the country,
and NIL the shore of the sea--all in motion
where there is wind enough to iurn them.
Yesterday i could see nearly one hundred
at time. tlwas a gusty, breezy day, and
the storm clouds were flying in from the
German ocean, and there WAS a tremen-
dous commotion among the windmilis.
Each one seemed io be trying to whirl fas-
ter than the other. aai 49, ..sss ..e
Undoubtedly you have read Of the ex-
ploils el that crazy knight Don Quixote,
who saw windmill and thought it was
giant, and went at il full tilt, and 90, tum-
bled into the dirt by the great fans, which
went..round and round just rs if nothing had
happened; but ii he were alive in these
days. and were to visit Holland, he might
think with good reason that The land mas
full of giants. III .stat y.H a-.-saa>s.- ...-
WHAT THEY ARE FOR.
! You wonder, perhaps. what the people Of
this country can want OF SO many wind
mills; but let me tell you that If il had not
been for these mills in the past there would
be very few people in Holland now. The
windmills, in one sense, have made the
country what il is.
Looking upon your map of Holland you
will see that the river Rhine. which has its
source away south in the centre of Europe
among the mountains Of Switzerland, here
reaches the sea. When its gets within one
hundred miles oil the sea il splits itself into
dozen or more channels, all Of which, af-
ter winding and turning through a great
marsh. pour their waters into the ocean.
HOLLAND, therefore, was once great marsh
or bOg. There are very few stones in the
country; there are no mountains or hills,
but one dead level of marsh land.
Hundreds OF years ago the people who
lived near the mouth Of the Rhine saw that
the marsh land was very fertile, for the siIt
in the river brought down every year from
the mountains made the land very rich !;
they saw also. il they could only get rid ef
the water on the marshes, they might lay
out cabbage gardens and little farms. They
commenced by building dams here and
there--one on The branch of the Rhine call
ed the Ratter--and the place in time was
known as Rotterdam another on the An
stel. which was the origin Of the name oI
this eity-Amsterdsm. So all of the dams
in Holland came, not because the people
were 10 the habit Of using wicked words,
but because they built dams on the streams.
But the water soaked through the embank.
ments, aud every rain made their garden:
wet they dug bitches, into which the va
ter settled, and then conceived the idea o
building wiudmils for pumping the water
iHto the river.
:, They set one Of the forces Of pature-ths
wind--to work against another force
the rain and as gust Of wind will turn
several thousands of mills just as easily al
ii does one, they have conquered the rain
have forced the great river Rhine to qui
) the marshes, aud have begun to pump th'
ocean dry.
| That is the meaning Of all these giant
swinging their arms from one end Of th
year 70 The other--day and nigh,-wheneve
there is q breath Of air.
VI H~ THE COUNTRY.
j Tosee the country IS it 10, imagine