The Planters' banner. [volume] (Franklin, Attakapas Co., Lou.) 1849-1872, 1872-02-21
II Brown, in Harper's Msgsxinel
Travelling In Holland.

Not many years ago most of the travelling
in Holland was done by the canals on trsks-
schuiten (dragboats,) which conveyed pas
sengers and goods to every part of the king"
dom. These boats are still largely used in
carving freight, and passengers who have
not the means to travel on the railway. by
which all the important points of the coun-
trv are now connected. The tFekschuit has
a fore cabin (ruim) appropriated to servant:
and peasants, and after cabin (roefl SET
apart for the better classes, who by-the-by'
even before the railways were built. very
seldom patronized this kind Of vessel.
II ia a yerv slow and tedious mode OF
iourneying, but yet so well adapted. - II
would seem. to the Dutch nature. that
have often wondered it felt the need OF any
other. Noone can be said to have seen hoi-
land properly who has not been somewnere
On q trekschuit. I have made number OF
short Journeys on those singular barges' ana
would have gone all over the kingdom on
,ham. could have been assured that nad
five hundred years of life to spare; Inc
trekschuit is ususlly drawn oy only ou.
horse. and the distance made averages ABOUT
fonr miles an hour. This is very exc'u"e'
of course, especially to man addic!ea %
o1rress trains; but it is questionable II tho
uarvons tension and cerebral agitat'on
oansea bv such extraordinary speed oe NOT
y rockless waste of the vital forces. nave
saan lame geese pass trekschult ~ "s
n-ootest celeritv, as hare passes neog0-
SSon and several times, when got on the
st host to walk a little. fancied it was moving
rapidly in the opposite direction. l nav .ss
stated that the average movement OF tn.
..;on.l harpe is four miles an hour. os'c
"a this on Information; but think II must
Sa mistake, arising from my imperfect 40
14ud}ntance with the 1unssege. Inc ssa'o-
ment must have been mile in four hours !;
and. now that 1 reflect, am convinced that
the two phrases. in classic Dutch, are
sasSy rarely sas ns. sps'se to ,s:
traveller. as the general fare Is hardly .
silver 1.-TWO cents a mile. If time, how
ever, be money, as we Columbians believe.
no Amsterdam banker can, with all his
wealth, afford the luxury Of a snail-rivsling
trekschuit. The lad (hetjagertie) whe rides
the towing horse enjoys himself exceedingly
on these lightnisg-like expeditions. He rs-
ceives at each stage a few cents 10 Dutch
cent is less than two -fifths of the American
I cent?, and at the end of the journey 10
blessed with a silver, which 50 elates the
youth that he Immediately rushes into pfodi-
galty.. A rumor was current in Breda.
when l was last there. that one of the horse
riding lads had stirred his companions to
their depths by amassing fortune OF forty
stivers. The story was so marvellous that I
inquired into it, and discovered that It had
been grossly exaggerated. The boy had
been working steadily for several months.
and had accumulated in that time the SUN Of
four stivers. He had nothing in the world
besides, and this nothing had been added BY
rumor to the original figure. in the form OF
a zero. swelling the amount beyond oil ordi'
nary bounds, and accidentally. but shame
fully. abusing the public credulity.