3. CUSTOM-HOUSE.

2. MONEY.

Accounts are kept in guilders and cents.

The Guilder, or Dutch florin, is worth 1s. 8d. English. It is divided into 20 stivers, and into 100 cents: 1 stiver 5 cents, is worth 1 penny English.

When the ducat has its full weight, it is generally taken for 5 guilders 60 cents: but its current value changes with the value of gold. Travellers ought, therefore, to provide themselves only with Williams, which are the newest gold coins: they have also the advantage of being current all over Germany. £30 35 Williams, after deducting commission.

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The difference between cents and centimes should be borne in mind. Cent, a Dutch and Belgian coin, is the of a guilder, or of 1s. 8d. Centime, a French coin, is the part of a franc, or of 10d. The cent is nearly equal to 2 centimes, and is worth about a of a penny English. The guilder is worth 2 French francs 5 sous.

Travellers should provide themselves with Dutch money at Rotterdam, or at the first town of Holland they enter, as French coins are not current here as they are in Belgium. The new Dutch coins are current also in Belgium, and up the Rhine as far as Cologne,

3. CUSTOM-HOUSE.

The Dutch custom-house officers are usually civil, and by no means troublesome in examining the baggage of persons not travelling with merchandise. A small fee here, as elsewhere, may expedite and tend to lighten the search in the traveller's portmanteau, but civility and a readiness to lay open the baggage is better still. As a general rule in this and other countries of the continent, parties travelling in their own carriage are subjected to very little inconvenience from the custom-house officers.

4. POSTING, DILIGENCES, ROADS, RAILROADS, AND MAPS.

Posting, The posting regulations introduced into Holland by the French still remain in force, and are nearly identical with those adopted in France and Belgium. The charges fixed by the tarif (1834) are 70 cents for every horse per post, making 1 guilder 41 cents for 2 horses, and 2 guilders 12 cents for 3 horses per post. The postilion is entitled to 35 cents per post; but, as in France, is restricted to the sum which the law allows only when he has not given satisfaction to his employers.

Half a post more than the real distance must be paid on entering and

quitting the Hague and Amsterdam. Where the roads are bad, the postmaster is allowed to attach an extra horse to carriages; in some cases, in winter only; in others, throughout the year.

Disputes about charges and distances may be settled by reference to the Post-book published by the Dutch Government, entitled Afstandswijzer voor de Stations der Koninklijke Nederlandsche Paardenposterij. The traveller in Holland is at liberty, if he pleases, to demand the strict observance of the laws contained in the post-book, regarding the number of horses and the charges for them. But custom is somewhat at variance with the post-book; and it is the common practice to charge 1 guilder for each horse per post, and to give 1 guilder also to the postilion. This is much dearer than the tarif, but, to make up for it, the traveller is not bound to take the number of horses required by the tarif, but a party of 4 or 5 may be drawn by 2 horses instead of 3.

The Dutch post is somewhat less than 5 English miles. The Dutch league (ure gaans), or the distance a man will walk in an hour, is 5555 métres = 34 English miles.

Diligences. On all the great roads which have no competing railroad numerous diligences run several times a day. They are very precise in the time of starting. They belong to private individuals or companies licensed by government. The best are those of Van Gend and Co.; they are roomy and convenient, travel at the rate of about 6 miles an hour, and are usually drawn by 3 horses yoked abreast. If more persons apply for places than can be accommodated in the coach, an additional carriage, or "by-chaise," is prepared, by which the passenger may proceed at the same rate of fare as by the main diligence.

A job carriage (glaswagan) with two horses may be hired for 14 guilders per diem, when taken for several days in succession, the same sum being charged for back fare. The average expense of a hired carriage and horses is about one fourth less than in England.

Roads. The high roads connecting the principal towns and villages of Holland are paved with bricks, and are excellent. The cross or secondary roads consist merely of loose sand, and are wretchedly bad, and in wet weather barely passable. There are no stones in a large part of Holland; but the want of stones is supplied by a small and tough kind of brick called klinker, which, after the foundation of the road is levelled, are placed edgewise close together, and the interstices filled with sand, so as to form a hard, smooth, and level highway, very pleasant to travel over. The average cost of making such a road is about 17,000 guild., more than 1400l. per English mile. As all heavy goods are conveyed by water, the wear and tear on the roads, traversed almost entirely by light carriages, is not very great. In many parts the roads run on the tops of the dykes; and, as there are no parapets or railings, there is at least the appearance of danger, and accidents sometimes happen.

The tolls are very high, sometimes equalling in one stage the expense of one post-horse. A carriage with 4 wheels and 2 horses pays from 6 to 8 stivers at each turnpike; and a toll generally occurs every 3 miles English. The passage money for crossing ferries is also high.

Railroads (Ijzeren-spoorweg) are opened from Amsterdam to Haarlem, the Hague, and Rotterdam, and from Amsterdam to Utrecht, and to Arnhem.

The

The latter is to be continued on to Duisberg to join the Prussian line to Cologne, as soon as the permission and co-operation of the Prussian government can be obtained. The Prussian government, however, are afraid of the Aachen and Cöln line being injured by the construction of the Dutch line. engines are made in England. The Dutch railways are generally well managed, and the station-houses well arranged. 2nd class carriages are protected from the weather: they are usually fitted up as chars-à-banc.

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Vigilantes

(cabs) and omnibuses ply to and from the stations. railways are not by law entitled to any gratuity.

The porters on the Dutch

The line from Rotterdam to Amsterdam deserves the attention of the engineer, from the number of canals which it has to cross, which presented considerable difficulty, overcome by ingenious expedients, such as rolling and swing-bridges. A large part of the line is founded on piles, often under water, and the roadway is laid on faggots bound together by stakes and wattles.

The best English Map of Holland and Belgium is that published by Mr. John Arrowsmith in 1835. The best foreign map is that of Casparus Muller. A new ordnance map of Holland was announced at the Hague last year (1848) in the following terms: Eene nieuwe Kaart van het Konigrijk der Nederlanden in zes Bladen, verwaarigd op het topographisch Bureau van het Department van Oorlog officielle Uitgave. Prijs bij Intekening: 5 guilders 25 cents. Boekhandel van de Erven Doorman te's Gravenhage.

There is also a good map of Holland, now rather scarce, on a scale of 250000 by Le Clercq, lieutenant of artillery, and lithographed by the Royal Military Academy, 1841.

5. TRAVELLING BY WATER. TREKSCHUITEN.

The canals of Holland are as numerous as roads in other countries, and afford the most abundant means of conveyance in every direction, and, from all the larger towns, several times a day.

BARGES, called TREKSCHUITEN (drag-boats), navigate the canals, and convey passengers and goods: they are nearly filled by a long low cabin, divided by a partition into two parts; the fore-cabin, called ruim, appropriated to servants and common people; and the after-cabin, or roef (roof), set apart for the better classes, and a little more expensive; it is smaller, and will contain 8 or 10 persons. The roof has a small open space at the stern, where you can stand upright and breathe the air beside the steersman. It is generally fitted up with neatness, and may be engaged by a party exclusively for their own use. barge is more commodious for night travelling and less fatiguing than the diligence, and the traveller may enjoy a comfortable sleep, provided the gnats permit. It must, however, be understood that Dutch people of any station rarely resort to the trekschuit,

The

The towing horse is ridden by a lad (het jagertie), who receives a few cents at each stage; and is well paid with a stiver. It is amusing to observe how quickly and neatly he passes the numerous bridges, disengaging the towingrope, and fastening it again, without impeding the progress of the vessel. Whenever the barge approaches another, coming in a contrary direction, the boatmen exchange the two monosyllables "huy" and " vull," indicating which is to go to the right and which to the left, and the one drops his rope for the other to pass over.

The advantages of the trekschuit are principally its cheapness. The usual cost of travelling by it is about a stiver a mile.

Its disadvantages are, 1st, That it rarely travels faster than 4 miles an hour. 2dly, Though the banks of the canal are often enlivened by gardens and villas, yet it sometimes happens that they are so high as to shut out all view, which is very tiresome and monotonous. 3dly, The annoyance of tobacco smoke and, 4thly, the trekschuit almost invariably stops on the outside of the town to which it is bound, and does not enter it. Hence you have sometimes to walk more than a mile to reach an inn, and are compelled to intrust your luggage to porters, who, though they do not deserve the character of thieves, which Mrs. Starke bestowed on them, at least are exorbitant in their charges; so that you are compelled to pay sometimes twice as much for the carriage of a portmanteau and bag into a town as for the whole passage by the boat.

The railways now established and extending through Holland will gradually divert much of the traffic from the old channel of the slow canal and trekschuit; still, notwithstanding all the désagrémens, for the mere novelty of the thing, no one should visit Holland without making trial of this, the national conveyance. On a fine day it is a very agreeable mode of travelling. Even those who travel in their own carriage should send it round by the road, and take their passage in a trekschuit for one stage; for instance, from Amsterdam to Broek or Alkmaar. Excepting on the lines where railways are opened, the communication is kept up constantly between all the great towns of Holland and the intervening places by trekschuits. A boat sets out several times a day, starting with the greatest punctuality; and if a passenger be not on board at the stroke of the clock, be runs a risk of losing his passage.

6. DRINKING WATER.

In the provinces of Holland, bordering on the sea, the water is generally very bad, not drinkable; and strangers should be careful to avoid it altogether, except externally, or they may suffer from bowel complaints, and be delayed on their journey. In many parts, good drinking water is brought in large stone bottles from Utrecht; so that Utrecht water must be asked for at inns. As a substitute for spring water, the effervescent waters of Seltzer, Geilnau, and Fachingen, all coming from the Brunnen of Nassau, are much drunk at meals; a large bottle costs about 5d. A very agreeable beverage is formed by mixing these waters with Rhenish or Moselle wine and sugar: some consider red Bor. deaux wine, or a little lemon-juice and sugar, added to the Seltzer water, a more palatable drink,

7. INNS.

Holland is an expensive country to live in; the wages of labour and taxes are very high; the inns are consequently nearly as dear as in England. Notwithstanding this, they are, on the whole, inferior to those of most other countries of Western Europe. Dutch inns and beds are, however, generally clean.

Charges. A bed-room, which may also be used as a sitting-room, costs, on an average, from 1 to 3 guilders; dinner at the table-d'hôte, 1 to 2 guilders; ditto in private, 2 to 3 guilders; breakfast with tea or coffee, 60 cents. A German traveller rates them thus: bed, 1 guilder; breakfast, 10 to 15 stivers; tea, ditto; dinner, with wine, 2 guilders. The dinner hour, at tables-d'hôte, is usually4 o'clock. The waiter is called Jan throughout Holland.

From to a guilder is given to the servants daily; but the cleaning of shoes and clothes is done by commissionaires, who also serve as laquais de place. They are amply paid with 1 or 2 guilders for a whole day's services, and with 1 guilder for a day. The Porter (Kruyer), who carries luggage from the coach or railway office to the inn, or vice versâ, is well paid with 10 stivers.

The beds, owing to the humidity of the climate, are often damp, and should be warmed with the warming-pan, a much employed article in Dutch households, The sheets are also dried by being laid over a wicker frame, beneath which a pan of peat is burnt.

8. A GENERAL VIEW OF HOLLAND.

There is not, perhaps, a country in Europe which will more surprise an intelligent traveller than Holland. Although so near to our coasts, and so easily accessible, it is too often passed over by the English in their haste to reach the picturesque scenes of the Rhine and Switzerland. The attractions of Holland are certainly of a different kind; but they are of a character so entirely peculiar, that whether a traveller visit this country at the outset or termination of his tour, he will be equally sure to find in it what he has not seen before.

The routes from Rotterdam to Amsterdam, and thence to Cologne, described

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in the following pages, may be fully explored in ten days or a fortnight; and there is certainly no road in Europe which in so small a space has so many curiosities to show, and upon which lie so many cities, great in commerce and renowned in history. To a stranger Holland appears hardly endurable as a country to reside in, but for a journey of two weeks the universal flatness and the monotony of scenery are not tiresome. The aspect of the country is too strange to fatigue, and, indeed, in sunny weather, is very fertile in picturesque effects.

A large part of Holland is a delta, formed of the alluvium deposited by the Rhine and other rivers, in the same manner as the Delta of Egypt has been formed by the Nile. The greater portion of it has been perseveringly rescued from the water, to whose dominion it may almost be said to belong, by the continual efforts and ingenuity of man, and in a long series of years. Much of it: is mud driven up by the sea, in return for what it carries away from some parts of the coast. Were human agency and care removed but for 6 months, the waves would, without doubt, regain their ancient dominion,so much of the land lies below the level of the sea; and an extensive tract of the country would be reduced to the state of those vast wastes, composed of sand and mud-banks, quite unfit for human habitation, which now lie at the mouths of the Nile and Mississippi. And yet these fields, gained with such difficulty, and preserved by constant watchfulness, from the waters, have been, in more instances than one, inundated by their owners during their contests with foreign foes; and Dutch patriotism has not hesitated to subject the land to temporary ruin in the desire of preserving liberty. The cutting of the dykes, and opening of the sluice-gates, which was resorted to in order to free Holland from Spanish tyranny, was a desperate resource, and in itself a national calamity, entailing beggary for some years upon a large portion of the population, owing to the length of time and the very great expense which a second recovery of the land from the sea required. This glorious sacrifice, however, served to show that it needs not the mountains of Switzerland nor the fastnesses of Tyrol to enable a brave people to defend their native land.

Holland may be considered in many respects as the most wonderful country, perhaps, under the sun: it is certainly unlike every other. What elsewhere would be considered as impossible has here been carried into effect, and incongruities have been rendered consistent. "The house built upon the sand " may here be seen standing; neither Amsterdam nor Rotterdam has any better foun dation than sand, into which piles are driven through many feet of superincumbent bog earth; and to form a correct idea of these and other wonderful cities and towns standing on the morass, one must not forget the millions of solid beams hidden under ground, which support them. We speak contemptuously of anything which is held together by straws, yet a long line of coast of several provinces is consolidated by no other means than a few reeds intermixed with straw whisps, or woven into mats. Without this frail but effectual support, the fickle dunes, or sand-hills, would be driven about into the interior, and would overwhelm whole districts of cultivated land. In Holland the laws of nature seem to be reversed; the sea is higher than the land; the lowest ground in the country is 24 feet below high-water mark, and, when the tide is driven high by the wind, 30 feet! In no other country do the keels of the ships float above the chimneys of the houses, and nowhere else does the frog, croaking from among the bulrushes, look down upon the swallow on the house-top. Where rivers take their course, it is not in beds of their own choosing; they are compelled to pass through canals, and are confined within fixed bounds by the stupendous mounds imposed on them by human art, which has also succeeded in overcoming the everywhere else resistless impetuosity of the ocean: here, and no where else, does the sea appear to have half obeyed the command, "Thus far shalt thou go," and no further."