The herald., 1898-09-27
TIE DEATH OF A M1oHTx RIVER
Long Before It Reaches the Sea ths
Rhine Loses Strength and Beauty

The second time ! was at Leyden !
went to see the death Of the marvsloui
river. The first time crossed the old
Rhine, had stopped on the bridge
asking myself whether that small AMI
humble stream Of water was really thi
same river that had seMln rushing II
thunder over the rocks at Schaffhausen
spreading majestically before MayencA
passing in triumph under the fortres,
Of Ehrenbreitstein, beating in sonoroui
cadence at the foot Of the Seven cathed,
rails, princely castles, fertile hills, steer
rocks. famous ruins, cities. groves and
gardens; everywhere covered with YES.
sells Of all sorts, and saluted with music
and song; and thinking Of These thinsA
with my gaze fixed upon the ntttl
stream shut in between two fiat and
desert shores. had repeated, rs this
the Rhine?"
The vicissitudes which accompany tn,
agony and death Of this great river II
Holland are such as really to excite
sense Of pity. From the neighborhoo(
Of Emmerick, before reaching the
Dutch frontier, 1t has lost all the beauty
OF Its banks, and flows In great curve,
through vast and ugly flats. which seen
W n thC dPPLOdSu ~ Olu akes Al
Millingen 1t runs entirely In the territory
of Holland: a little farther on 1t ddvides
The main branch shamefully loses IT.
name. and goes to throw itself into the
Meuse. The other branch, insulted By
the title Of the Dannerden Canal, flows
nearly to the city Of Arnhem, when Il
once more divides into two branches.
One empties into the Gulf Of Zuyder-Zea
The other. still called, out OF compassion.
the Lower Rhine. goes as far as the vii
lage OF Duurstede, where 1t divides fol
the third time; humiliation now Of
old date. One Of these branches, chang.
Ing Its name like coward. throws itself
Into the Meuse at Rotterdam; the other.
still called the Rhine. but with the ri.
diculous surname OF Curved" reaches
Utrecht with difficulty, when for the
fourth time It again divides. capricious
as an old man In his dotage. One part.
denying its old name, drags itself as far
as Muiden, where 1t falls into the Zuyder-
Zee; the otheA with the name OF Old
Rhine, or simply The Old, flows slowly
to the city of Leyden, whose streets Il
crosses almost without giving a sign Of
movement, and Is finally gathered into
one canal by which 1t goes to its miser-
able death on the North Sea.
But 1t is not many years since this
pitiful end was denied 1t. From the year
S39. in which a furious tempest had ac-
cumulated mountains Of sand at its
mouth, until the beginning Of the pres
ent century the Old Rhine lost itself in
the sand before reaching the sea and
covered a vast tract Of country with
pools and marshes. Under the reign Of
Louis Bonaparte the waters were COL
lected into large canal. protected by
three enormous siuice gates, and from
that time the Rhine flows directly to
the sea. These sluices are the greatest
monument in Holland. and, perhaps, the
most admirable hydraulic work In Eu-
rope. The dykes, which protect the
mouth Of the canal. the walls, pillars and
gates, present altogether the aspect Of q
cycfopean fortress. against which It
seems that not only that sea. but the
united forces Of all seas, must break a.
against a gigantic mountain.
That enormous fortihcation which, on
a desert shore, defends dying river and
a fallen city from the ocean, has some
thing Of solemnity which commands re-
spect and admirat.on-De Amicis' 'Hol-
land and Its People"