THE DUTCH HAVE TAKEN HOLLAND 67

her own. Ships were far too slow in those steamless
days to make fresh fish a desirable article of export. Here
was trouble! Notso. Up rose a Dutchman named William
Beukles, to invent the curing and pickling of herring.
The fish trade made Holland richer, more prosperous than
ever. In time, a monument was raised to the memory
of Beukles, for was he not a national benefactor ?

The Dutch delight in honoring their heroes, their states-
men, and inventors. You cannot be long among them
without hearing of one Laurens Janzoon Koster, to whom,
they insist, the world owes the art of printing with mov-
able types

 

the most important of human inventions.
Their cities are rich in memorials and monuments of
those whose wisdom and skill have proved a boon to
mankind. All along the paths of human progress we
can find Dutch footprints. In education, science, and
political economy, they have, many a time, led the way.

The boys and girls of Holland are citizens in a high
sense of the word. They soon learn to love their country,
and to recognize the fatherly care of its government. The
sense of common danger, and the necessity of all acting
together in common defense, has served to knit the affec-
tions of the people. In truth it may be said, for history
has proved it, that in every Dutch arm you can feel the
pulse of Holland. Throughout her early struggles, in the
palmy, glorious days of the republic, as well as now in
her cautious constitutional monarchy, the Dutch have
been patriots — mistaken and short-sighted at times, even
goaded to cruel deeds by the brutal wickedness of their
enemies, but always true to their beloved “Good Meadow.”