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 threat to Haarlem, Amsterdam, and Leyden. And now they are seriously considering the draining of the Zuider Zee, an accomplishment that will add 1,400 square miles to their land. Holland may be called “toy-land,” or “the land of miniature,” but it is assuredly the “land of pluck,” for its citizens, undismayed by the numerous victories of sea and river, and by the terrible loss of life attendant upon them, pursue the even tenor of their way, for ever erecting new forts which are to repel the vigorous onslaught of the eternal enemy.

To return to the towns—the three most important ones—Rotterdam, Amsterdam, and The Hague. The town on the Rotte is given precedence because most travellers land there. It is the Liverpool or the Glasgow of Holland, and since 1830 the powerful rival of Antwerp. As you look up the haven, and catch a glimpse of a tall,