Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1883-05-12

however, is Schiedam or gin, of which they
consume large quantity. Entering one
of these places, number of silent and
grave.looking individuals may be seen sit
ting around the table and presenting more
the appearance of solemn Court OF JUS
tice or inquisition than reunion of con-
vivial spirits. They are putting at their
long, thin clay. pipes, now and then taking
pull at their Schiedam and uttering short
remarks. This spariDg of words contrasts
greatly with the laxative spirit of their
neighbors, the Belgians.
Saying good.by to Breda we took the
coach OF Van Client & Co. for Rotterdam.
This company resembles somewhat Wells,
Fargo & Co., except that Van Client & Co.
enjoy greater pri, ileges in Holland than
the American company here. They have
been granted the exclusive privilege by the
Dutch Government to transport the mail,
passengers and freight wherever there are
no railroads, which are scarce in Holland,
and even where they exist Van Client &
Co. do profitable business. The COM
pany is known under the name of
MEssAGERIEs VAN CLIENT,
And extends its business through Holland,
Belgium and the northern part of France.
1t has its office in every city and village in
those countries. With all the water facil-
tiles existing in summer, we were COM
PEELED to travel by stage, as everything was
frozen and covered with ice. In few
hours we arrived at the Goedereeshe Deep,
large body of water, now covered with
ice. Here we were transferred to boats,
provided with runners, and used as regular
sleds. Several men were pushing these
novel vehicles ahead. One Of them carried
the passengers, huddled together, while the
other was laden with the baggage. As the
ice was covered with snow, the same as the
land we had left, and as both land and
water were nearly on level, we could
hardly realize that we were travelling on
the liquid element Our discomfort caused
much grumhling and sneers ameng the pas
sengers. But we soon had occasion to be-
come reconciled to our strange way of trav-
cling, for, as our boat was heavily laden,
it broke through the ice in several places !;
and it became evident that, had we been in
a coach, we would have made the acquaint.
apce of a world of fish. A strange and
disagreeable ssnsation it is to find yourself
suddenly crashing through the ice, with
the water splashing all around you. We
thanked God that
OUR SLED WAS A REAL BOAT.
It was surprising to see the dexterity of
our guides. At the moment of our break
ing through the ice they jumped into the
boat as if nothing had happened, and with
their long poles and hooks they worked
forward az long as the ice would break.
Then they would pull the boat on the ice
again if solid enough to bear the weight.
and the Journey continued. Occasionally
thew get ducking, but accidents seldom
happen. Reaching the shore we again
took the stage, aud after crossing the river
Mouse we found ourselves in Rotterdam
This city has over 100, 900 inhabitants, and
is seaport of some Importance. Its steam
ship lines connect with East India and
America, as well as with number of Eu-
ropean ports The inland navigation en-
braces the rivers Rhine and Meuse, or
Mas, as it is called there, and several ca
nails. The streets are mostly old-fashioned
and not noteworthy. There are, however,
a few remarkable buildings, such as the
Court house, Cathedral, Admiralty, East
India Company, Exchange, etc. 1t has
also several institutions of learning and in
dustrial societies. The great scholar Eras.
mus was born here, and the celebrated
Admirals De Witt and Van Braakel are
buried in the cathedral We noticed along
the wharves huge piles of round cheese
piled up like SO many cannon ballg, ready
for shipment. Who does not know these
red balls called Dutch cheese, hard as
brick, and which can be found in all parts
of the world? A malicious aatirist once
said that the Dutch used them as cannon
balls at the siege of Antwerp when they
ran out of ammunition and we really be-
lieve that they are hard enough to do some
mischief if they were used in that way.