150 Hans Brinker

“LESSON 62.—-THE HERO OF HAARLEM.

“¢ Many years ago, there lived in Haarlem, one of the prin-
cipal cities of Holland, a sunny-haired boy of gentle disposi-
tion. His father was a s/uicer; that is, a man whose business
it was to open and close the sluices, or large oaken gates that
are placed at regular distances across the entrance of the
canals to regulate the amount of water that shall flow
into them.

‘The sluicer raises the gates more or less, according to the
quantity of water required, and closes them carefully at night,
in order to avoid all possible danger of an over-supply running
into the canal, or the water would soon overflow it, and inun-
date the surrounding country. Asa great portion of Holland
is lower than the level of the sea, the waters are kept from
flooding the land only by means of strong dikes, or barriers,
and by means of these sluices, which are often strained to the
utmost by the pressure of the rising tides. Even the little
children in Holland know that constant watchfulness is re-
quired to keep the rivers and ocean from overwhelming the
country, and that a moment’s neglect of the sluicer’s duty may
bring ruin and death to all.”

[“* Very good,” said the teacher. ‘“ Now, Susan.’’]

“One lovely autumn afternoon, when the boy was about
eight years old, he obtained his parents’ consent to carry some
cakes to a blind man who lived out in the country, on the
other side of the dike. The little fellow started on his errand
with a light heart, and, having spent an hour with his grate-
ful old friend, he bade him farewell, and started on his home-
ward walk.

“Trudging stoutly along by the canal, he noticed how the