But enough.  A full recital would set all Young America rushing in a body toward the Zuyder Zee.

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Directions for Reading.—­In reading the first line of page 187, there will be a slight rising of the voice after each of the words, ditches’, canals’, ponds’, rivers’, and a slight falling of the voice after lakes’.[11]

This rising or falling of the voice is called inflection, and may be indicated as above.

Language Lesson.—­What is the meaning of “Young America”?

[11] See paragraph 7.

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LESSON XXXIX.

freight, cargo; that which forms a load.

convey’ance, the act of carrying.

jum’ble, a number of things crowded together without order.

bobbed, cut off short.

bewil’dering, confusing.

gild’ed, covered with a thin, surface of gold.

yoked, joined together with harness.

rare’ly, not often.

impris’oned, shut up or confined, as in a prison.

clat’tering, making a loud noise.

* * * * *

HOLLAND.

PART II.

Dutch cities seem, at first sight, to be a bewildering jumble of houses, bridges, churches, and ships, sprouting into masts, steeples, and trees.  In some cities boats are hitched, like horses, to their owners’ door-posts, and receive their freight from the upper windows.

[Illustration]

Mothers scream to their children not to swing on the garden gate for fear they may be drowned.  Water roads are more frequent there than common roads and railroads; water-fences, in the form of lazy green ditches, inclose pleasure-ground, farm, and garden.

Sometimes fine green hedges are seen; but wooden fences, such as we have in America, are rarely met with in Holland.  As for stone fences, a Hollander would lift his hands with astonishment at the very idea.

There is no stone there excepting those great masses of rock that have been brought from other lands to strengthen and protect the coast.

All the small stones or pebbles, if there ever were any, seem to be imprisoned in pavements, or quite melted away.  Boys, with strong, quick arms, may grow from aprons to full beards without ever finding one to start the water-rings, or set the rabbits flying.

The water roads are nothing less than canals crossing the country in every direction.  These are of all sizes, from the great North Holland Ship Canal, which is the wonder of the world, to those which a boy can leap.

Water-omnibuses constantly ply up and down these roads for the conveyance of passengers; and water-drays are used for carrying fuel and merchandise.