Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-10-18
ATRYING NIGHT.

y
ago, lived in the town of Harlan, on the
coast OF Holland.
He was sturdy little fellow of 10, his
cheeks glowed with the hue of health and
his blue eyes beanie :. with the kindly
feelings with which the heart that beat
under bis rough little jacket was full.
Father" he said one day, ''may go
over the dyke and carry some cakes to
old blind Heinrich?"
YES" said his fat old father, knocking
the ashes out of his pipe, 'bUt be sure
not to stay too late in the evening or
your mother will be uneasy about you"
Now of course they spoke to each other
in Dutch, but as ne do not understand
that language, We will use our native
English.
s'All right, father" said little Hans, and
he put on the wooden cap his mother had
made for him, and set of on his jour
ney.
He soon reached the humble cottage of
the blind man.
"Ah, it is you, my little Hans" said the
cheerful voice Of old Heinrich, as he
heard the familiar footsteps on the gravel
path. "You always bring toe sunshine to
this cid heart OF mine. God bless you,
my dear little Hans"
"God bless you, my dear old Heinrich"
cried the boy, throwing his arms around
the old man. 81 have brought you some
cakes mother baked for you, and will
only wait TO see you eat one before go
home"
what" exclaimed the old pan, with
his mouth full of cake, "and you will not
wait to hear me tell the story of the water
sprite who loved mortal and gave up
her perpetual youth and beauty TO be
come his bride; or how the beautiful star
grew lonely in the sky and threw herself
down to the boat where her lover was row
ing, and the fragments struck the water
and became beautiful water lilies floating
on its smooth surface9"
E'No,n said Hans, shaking his head,
"your stories are very beautiful, Heinrich
and love TO hear them, but [ have prom
ised my father that I will come home
early this evening"
''Reaven bless the child that obeys his
father" said old Heinrich. III Will not
detain you. Embrace me, boy, and run
along home
As he went along by the canals, which
are used in Holland in the place of roads, |
Hans noticed that they were quite full OF
water, for il was in October, and there
had been heavy rains. Here he met three
women Juggling merrily at rope attach
ed to small boat in the canal: and there
Jolly fat fisherman smoking his pipe as
he lay in his little cart drawn by two dogs
his head propLed up by his basket of
fish, while his feet dangled over the front
of the tiny vehicle. Then he passed a
cool, clean dairy where the women were
busy making EdaEn cheeses, while others
were milking the cows fastened to the
walls of tho stables by knots in their
tails over nails. Here comes wealthy
burgher, driving his sleek, well-fed team,
for fine horses are abundant in Holland,
but many Of the people are too poor to
own them.
Now he sees poor family embarking |
on canal boat, moving TO another place |
in the hope Of lettering their fortune, |
taking with them all their worldly goods, |
their loving COWS, barking dogs, bleating |
goats, squawking geese, cackl1ng hens
and a squealing pig with string tied
around his foot by which his rebelious
majesty can be dragged.
Now Hans stops TO gather bunch of
blue forget-me nots to carry to his moth,
er, who loves these flowers SO well.
The road is gradually becoming more
solitary, and soon neither the joyous
shout of the villager returning to his cot
tage home, nor the rough voice of the
carter, gfumbling at his lazy horses, is
heard. There Is only the twitter of the
birds as they cuddle up in their warm
nests, and the whir of q huge windmill
that stretches its Immense vanes against
the distant sky, reminding one of q great
four armed giant. But Hans is not afraid;
he trudges steadily onward, whistling the
air of a merry song.
The little fellow now pereeives, how
ever, that the blue of the flowers in his
hand is scarcely distinguishable from the
green of the surrounding heritage, and
he looks up in some dismay. Yes, the
night is falling; not, however, 4 dark
winter night, but clear moonlight one,
in which every object is nearly as percep-
tihle as by day.
Hans thinks of his fathers warning to
him about coming home early, and is pre-
pairing TO quit the ravlne, in which he Is
almost buried, and go hack to the beach,
when suddenly slight noise, like the
trickling of water upon pebbles, attracts
attention. His heart is filled with fear,
for he looks up and sees there Is hole
in the wood of one of the large sluices,
which are huge gates placed at intervals
in the great dixie that protects Holland
from the encroachment of the German
sea, and the water is trickling through
and threatening the country with over
flow.
Now Hans understood the danger that
threatened his beloved home as thorough
ly as any intelligent Dutch boy would, but
some of US may not be so well Informed,
so l will try to explain to you what have
found out about it from books.
Holland is very singular country. In
fact, you may travel all over the world
and not find another one like it. Nearly
the whole region is below the level of the
saa, which is striving constantly but
fruitlessly to recover its ravished domain
The keels of its ships are above the chin
neys of it's buildings, and the frogs that
creak in the bulrushes of its bitches look
down upon the swallows tw.tterine on the
ho7setops.
Long years ago, the ocean said to the
Hollanders: "You shall have no country
here.n
Bat the Dutch people, who are sturdy
race, and brimfuI of energy in spite of
their miserable, moist climate, which
ranges from 20 degrees below zero to los
above, replied to the ocean:
ave will have country here"
So instead of sitting down weeping and
folding their arms, and letting their
homes and their families, their hocks and
their herds be swept away by the over
flows of the sea, they went TO work with g
hearty will and preserved their lands
from the winds and the waters and the
waves. Holland, more than any region
under the sun, illustrates the power of
industry and perseverance. 1t shows
from the first to the last that to the &C