or, The Silver Skates 21

One of the old prisons of Amsterdam, called the “ Rasp-

house,” because the thieves and vagrants who were confined

there were employed
in rasping logwood,
had a cell for the
punishment of lazy
prisoners. In one
corner of this cell was
a pump, and in anoth-
er an opening, through
which a steady stream
of water was admit-
ted. The prisoner
could take his choice,
— either to stand still
and be drowned; or
to work for dear life
at the pump, and keep
the rising flood down
until relieved. Now,
it seems to me that,
throughout Holland,
Nature has introduced
this little diversion on
a grand scale. The
Dutch always have
been forced to pump
for their very exist-

 

A DUTCH PRISONER FORCED TO PUMP OR
DROWN.

ence, and probably must continue to do so to the end of time.

Every year millions of dollars are spent in repairing dikes

and regulating water-levels. If these important duties were