Page:Three Years in Europe.djvu/301

Rh Coming from Antwerp to Rotterdam I came over the celebrated bridge over the Hollandich Diep. Thirteen stone buttresses, each fifty feet long, support fourteen iron arches with a Span of 110 ft. each. Immediately after crossing this bridge the train came to Dordreht or Dort where in 1572 the first assembly of the independent states of Holland was held which led to the foundation of the Republic of the united Dutch Provinces. Shortly after leaving Dort the train crossed the Mass and came into Rotterdam situated on the right bank of that river. The Railway line runs northwards (towards Amsterdam) right through the town of Rotterdam over an iron viaduct,—another triumph of Dutch engineering skill.

Except as a typical old Dutch town and as an immense place of commerce, Rotterdam is not very interesting. It has almost as many canals as streets, and draw-bridges over the busy canals are frequently going up and down to let the vessels pass below and the men above alternately. The streets are regular, and the town considering its trade, is a pretty cleanly one,—but there is little to see except a succession of quays and docks and shipping on every side which remind one unpleasantly of the east end of London. I saw the church of St. Lawrence which though an old Gothic edifice will not bear comparison with the Belgian churches. I also saw the great market with the statue of Erasmus in it. The Stadhuis or town hall is an ordinary large house with a fine Ionic portico. The best part of Rotterdam for the tourist is