Page:The silent prince - a story of the Netherlands (IA cu31924008716957).pdf/227

 “I am using the past tense advisedly, for a terrible misfortune befell us and all who lived in our vicinity. A great deluge has wiped out the whole of Friesland, and at least twenty thousand persons in this province alone have been drowned. Sometimes it would seem as though for our sins God had turned His face from us. But, my dear son, the wrath of God is light, compared with the fury of man. He has sorely stricken us, but it is God's hand still—and it is right.

“It was All Saints’ Day when the gale, which had been blowing for a week from the northeast, reached a climax. We knew that Job Segerson’s farm and all the farms about were many feet below the sea level, and for days the wind had blown the spray completely over the dyke into the meadows beyond. Still, we did not fear any immediate danger. This great dyke had withstood the gales of centuries, and we felt confident it would weather this one. Besides, the wind could not always blow from the northeast.

“Despite our hopes, the storm continued unabated. Day after day the wind blew steadily from the same quarter, as if determined to bring death and destruction. The relentless waters of the Atlantic Ocean were piled up against the dyke, and we all felt that we must prepare for the worst. The cattle were turned loose from the barn to make shift for themselves. The members of the family went