The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1871-01-19

b"'aiI Daf, uuout seven miles Wlue by
twenty deep, aud the Zuyder Zee, forty
four leagues square, are invasions of the
sea in the thirteenth century In order
to protect Friesland il was necessary to
drive three rows Of piles distance of
twenty two leagues, each pile costing
seven forms. To protect the coast of
Harlem they had to build dyke of
Norway granite five miles long by forty
feet ia height. and which is buried two
hundred feet beneath the waves. Am
sterdam, which has two hundred and
sixty thousand inhabitants, is entirely
built on piles, frequently thirty feet
long. The foundations OF every town
aud village in Freslaud are artificial
cou; tructions. 1t is estimated that sew.
en- and half bilious of francs have
been expended on protective works be
tween the Scheldt aud the Dollart Life
has to be purchased in Holland. And
when from Harlem or Amsterdam you
see the enormous yellow surf beating
against that narrow strip of mud, and
enclosing it as far as the eye can reach.
it is evident that man, iu oasting this
sop to the monster, obtains safety at Il
low rate
Imagine, now, on this quagmire, the
ancient Gcrmunic tribes, SO many fishers
and hunters roaming about in hide boots
aud clad in seal skin TUNES, and est
mate if you can the effort those barba.
rians were forced to make 10 order to
create habitable soil and transform
themselves into civilized people Men
Of another stamp would not have sue
ceeded; the miiieu was too unfavorable.
In analogous conditions the Inferior
races of Canada aud Russian America
have remained savage; other wellen.
dowed races, the Cells of ireland and
the Highland Scotch, attained only to
Il chivalric standard of society and poetic
legends. Here there hid to be good
sound heads, a capacity to subject sen.
sation to thought, to patiently endure
ennui and fatigue, to accept privation
and labor in view Of remote end, in
short Germanic race, meaning by this
men organized to cooperate together,
to toll, to struggle, TO begin over and
overagain aud ameliorate increasingly, to
dixie streams, 10 oppose tides, to drain
the soil, to turn wind, water, fats and
argillaceous mud to account, to build
canals, ships and mills, to make brick,
raise cattle, and organize various manu-.
featuring and commercial enterprises
The difficulty being very great the mind
was absorbed in overcoming it, and.
turned wholly in this direction, was
diverted from other things. To subsist,
to obtain shelter, food aud raimeut, to
protect themselves against cold aud
damp, to accumulate stores and lay up
wealth left the settlers no time to think
of other matters; the mind got to be
wholly positive and practical. 1t is im
possible in such country to indulge
in revery, to philosophize u erman fash
ion, to stray off amidst chimeras Of the
fancy and through the world of meta
physical systems. One is Immediately
brought back to the earth. The neces
sity Of action is too universal. too ur-
gent, too constant; if people think at all,
it is to act. Under this steady pressure
the character forms; that which was
habit becomes instinct; the form acqur
ed by the parent is found hereditary in
the child, laborer, artisan, trader, factor,
h.,ll ~
nothing more, he is by birth aud with.
out effort what his ancestors got to be
through necessity aud constraiut.
This positive spirit, moreover, is
found to be tranqnilized. Compared
with other nations Of the same stock
aud with genius no less practical, the
denizens Of the Netherlands appear bet
ter balanced and more capable OF being
content We do not see in him the
violent passions, the militant disposition,
the overstrained will, the bull dog in.
stincts, the sombre aud grandiose pride
which three permanent couquests aud
the secular establishment OF political
strife have implanted 10 the English;
nor that restless aud exaggerated desire
for action which dry atmosphere, sud.
den changes from heat to cold, surplus
electricity, have implanted in the Amer.
leans of the United States. He lives
in moist and equable climate, one which
relaxes the nerves and developes the
lymphatic temperament, which moder
ates Instructions, explosions and impet
uosity of the spirit, soothing the asper-
tiles of passion and divertipg the char.
acter to the side of sensuality aud good
humor. You have already observed
this effect of climate in our comparisons
Of the genius aud the art Of the Vcne.
tians with those OF the Florentines
Here, moreover, events come to the aid
of climate, history laboring in the same
direction of physiology. The natives OF
these countries have not undergone like
their neighbors over the Channel, two
or three invasious, the ovcrrpaning OF
an entire people, Saxons, Danes and
Normans installed on their premises
they have not garnered heritage OF
hatred which oppression, resistance,
prolonged struggle warfare - at first
open and violent, aud afterwards spbdu
cd AMI legal-transmit from one gene
ration to another.
/ From the earliest times down we find
them engaged, as in the aye Of Pliny
in making salt, combined together, ac
cording to ancient usage, in bringing
under cultivation marshy grounds" fire.,
in their guilds, asserting their indepen
dence, claiming their rights and i'm
memorial privileges, devoted to whaling
trade and manufacturing, calling thei
towns ports, in brief, Us Guiccardin
describes them 10 the sixteenth centu