or, The Silver Skates 23

about to be renewed. Everywhere — upon the tops of trees,
upon the steeples of churches — human beings were clustered,
praying to God for mercy, and to their fellow-men for assistance.
As the storm at last was subsiding, boats began to ply in
every direction, saving those who were struggling in the water,
picking fugitives from roofs and tree-tops, and collecting the
bodies of those already drowned. No less than one hundred
thousand human beings had perished in a few hours, Thou-
sands upon thousands of dumb creatures lay dead upon the
waters; and the damage to property was beyond calculation.

Robles, the Spanish governor, was foremost in noble efforts
to save life, and lessen the horrors of the catastrophe. He
had formerly been hated by the Dutch, because of his Spanish
or Portuguese blood ; but, by his goodness and activity in their
hour of disaster, he won all hearts to gratitude. He soon
introduced an improved method of constructing the dikes, and
passed a law that they should in future be kept up by the
owners of the soil. ‘There were fewer heavy floods from this
time; though, within less than three hundred years, six fearful
inundations swept over the land.

In the spring there is always great danger of inland freshets,
especially in times of thaw, because the rivers, choked with
blocks of ice, overflow before they can discharge their rapidly
rising waters into the ocean. Add to this the sea chafing and
pressing against the dikes and it is no wonder that Holland
is often in a state of alarm. The greatest care is taken to
prevent accidents. Engineers and workmen are stationed all
along in threatened places; and a close watch is kept up
night and day. When a general signal of danger is given, the
inhabitants all rush to the rescue, eager to combine against
their common foe. As, everywhere else, straw is supposed to