during the service, or
take them off, as they please. Amsterdam is one of the most charitable
cities in the world, and is noted for its almshouses, asylums,
hospitals. In one orphan asylum there are seven or eight hundred boys
and girls, who are kept there till they are twenty years old, and then
sent out with a good trade. They wear a peculiar dress, to prevent them
from being admitted to theatres, rum-shops, and other improper places;
for the keepers of these establishments are severely punished if they
permit any of the children of the public charitable institutions to
enter their places. A contribution for the poor is taken up every Sunday
in the churches by the deacons, who use a thing like a shrimp-net with a
long handle, having a little bell for the benefit of those who wish to
look the other way when it is thrust in their faces."

"That's a good idea; but, I suppose, the Dutch have invented some small
coin for these occasions," laughed Paul.

"A stiver, or five Dutch cents, equal to less than two of our cents, is
small enough. There are a great many poor people in Amsterdam who live
entirely in cellars. As you have seen, a great many families live in
vessels, keeping a pig, hens, and ducks on board, and sometimes even
have a little garden on deck. When the Dutchman gets married and sets up
in life, he obtains a small boat of from one to three tons, and goes to
housekeeping on board. If they prosper, they buy a bigger craft; but his
home, his wife, and children are on the water."

The dike which surrounds Amsterdam has been planted with trees, and
converted into boulevards. There were formerly twenty-six bastions upon
it, constituting the fortifications of the city; but, being no longer
useful for defence, windmills have been erected upon them, to grind the
grain for the city. The four streets bordering the principal canals are
hardly to be surpassed in Europe. The buildings, which are mostly of
brick, are unique, with fantastic gables and projecting eaves. Many of
the streets are lined with trees on the banks of the canals. On the
whole, the students were more interested in Amsterdam than in any other
city they had visited, partly, perhaps, on account of its oddity. As
long as there was light to see, they continued their rambles, and then
retired early, in order to be prepared for a fresh start the next day.

At five o'clock in the morning the party took a steamer for Zaandam, or
Sardam. Leaving the shore, t