The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-07-18
Qke0ntelEiqenttn:
rTiROPEAN CORRESPOND
ENCE.
Letter from Rev. ID. w. Fisher,
oI wheeling.

AhSlEhbAsAi AAS
Editors Of the IntClllgencer;
Nv lat letter, il you have received
and published II, gave my Impressions O.
scotland. After leaving that part o
Great Britain, my next ten days o
travel were spent in England, in visiting
Tho Lake country, the manufacturing
district that centers at Leeds, Bedford
the home Of Bunyan, and London. Blu
pass all this by for the present, becaus!
il is my purpose to return TO Englant
and spend a little season there altel
having completed my journey over q
part q the Continent Of Europe. II il
therefore only fair, on all sides, that
should reserve until the last my views ~
regard to that portion OF Great Britain
CROSSING TO THE CONTINENT.
From Harwich, in England, crossed
to Rotterdam, Holland, in company win
couple Of friends, who are my assoc s..S,
ates in travel for this part Of the journey.
The voyage is over the North Sea- ana 10
accumulated in ten or twelve houEs'
porso1s Who are familiar only with the
rim across The English Channel to France
49, uiP R a will appreciate the superior
advantage Of this route When say 'nN
We Ind a splendid steamer, q sea as
synootL a. the Ohio river. and that we
%cnt IN bed In a comfortable state-room
'nJ slept soupdly all night. The horror
Of travellers is the sea.sickness Of the
British Channel. p
A STRANGE, LAND. '
We woke next morning on the Nice,
Mas or Meuse, one Of the branches by
which the Rhine finds It's way to the sea.
And the first impression made when We
went on deck was the strangeness Of the
scenes. We are evidently in region
very different from any which we have
vet beheld. Holland, I may say paren.
ihetically, ia one Of the most novel coun:
tries in ali Europe, in the estimation of
nm American. Venice is not 80 quaint
ns Rotterdam or Amsterdam; but look at
the landscape as We pass up this river !
The question arises here, and will return
a hundred times again az we travel over
The country, is Holland part Of the con-
tinent Of Europe, or is II, more properly
speaking, a series Of Islands? No body
can conclusiyely answer the inquiry.
The sea is Just over there, and is n little
higher than the land. The dykes keep it
from overlooking very large part OF the
Kingdom, and there are canals every
where. Away across the fiat meadows,
and far in the interior, you can see the
white sails Of ships or the smoke OF
steamboats,, as they make their way over
these watery highroads, and wind mills
are forever tossing their giant arms in
the mir, rs they pump water or do other
work, in every direction to which you
turn your eyes.
Alithis is strange enough, but wait
until you reach Rotterdam, or 20 on to
Amsterdam. These cities are built mainly
upon ground artifcialIy made and upon
pilCs driven into the earth. These piles
frequently give way, and the consequence
is that hundreds OF the houses are out Of
shape. Sometimes they lean out at the
top, and sometimes they are let down in
the middle. They look good deal as il
they had been on a spree and had been
suddenly caught by some magic spell and
fixed in their Keeling positions. 1t is the
business Of an officer to examine them,
and so long as he pronounces them az
safe they are occupied. The gable ends
are quite rs frequently turned as the
sides, turned toward the street. At the
top is sort Of crane by which any heavy
or large object can be elevated to the
windows, and at them received into the
upper stories. The reason Of this is that
the stairs are 40 narrow and steep that
they cannot be used for such purposes.
Al the windows small mirrors arc arrang-
ed externally so that the inmates can see
what i passing in the streets while they
remain invisible. A friend suggests that
il is an admirable arrangement by which
to save ones self from JOres, you can see
them coming and need no. go to the door
TO answer their calls. There are canals
everywhere in the streets. In the older
parts OF these cities sometimes there are no
payements. The walls Of the houses rise
directly ont Of the water, ms they do in
Venice, The streets are crooked and Of
ten narrow, though when there is canal
they arc not infrequently lined with rows
Of trees. The women may be seen in
every direction with a neat white cap up
on their heads and engaged in scrubbing
or shaking and beating rugs or carpets.
These seem to be their most prominent
occupations. Here and there under the
shade Of the trees tables are set before a
and on them you can have
meal served, or il you fall in with the
customs OF the country, YOU can have
your beer and then sit and smoke your
pipe.
THE HoLLANDER.
The real Hollander Tor Dutchman, not
Is quite different looking per.
sou from him whom we have been taught
In America 10 picture to ourselves.
now remember only TO have seen one
large man in the country. He was
servant ut the palace in the
Hague. Men and women arc rather
small in stature, and with sharp faces
rather than round. However, in anoth.
err particular our ideal is correct. He
does love his pipe and his glass Of beer.
The principal business OF the men has
been declared by some traveller to be color
inc meerschaanss. That is an exaggera-
lion. He smokes, but he also works. A
true Dutchman ia always busy, but never
in a hurry.
TmUMrHs OF LABOR AND SKILL.
And he has achieved wonders. he has
made his country, In sense which is not
often true Of a people. Holland has had
a hand to hand fight with the mighty
ocean for centuries. By the erection d
dykes vast tracts Of land have been
forced from the arms Of the sea which
had long been stretched over them. And
by these walls alone ia the ocean kept, in
time OF storm, from rolling far toward
the interior, even beyond its natural
boundaries, and sweeping Holland with
devastation. Safety Is insured only by
like that Of a city against q
Al =.