taking up pieces of burning peat and dropping them into
the buckets of the children, and then filling their tea-kettles with
boiling water from great copper tanks on the stove. For this each
child paid her a Dutch cent, which is less than half of one of ours.

[Footnote 1: "Water and fire to sell."]

"I understand it," said Will, after they had stood at the door some
time, amused at the scene. "This saves poor people the expense of a
fire in the summer-time. They send here for hot water to make their
tea."

"Yes," said Greta, "and for the burning peat which cooks the potatoes
and the sausage for their supper."

"Why don't they use coal?" asked Martin. "It is ever so much better."

"No, the peat answers their purpose much better," said Will. "It burns
slowly, and gives out a good deal of heat for a long time."

"And the smell of it is so delicious," added Greta.

A little further on; the children came out on an open space, which
gave them a good view of the surrounding flat country, and of the
wind-mills that stand about Zaandam--a forest of towers. It was a
marvelous sight. Hundreds of giant arms were beating the air, as if
guarding the town from invisible enemies.

Greta was proud and pleased that her cousins were so impressed with
the great numbers of towers and the myriads of gigantic whirling
spokes.

"My father says there is nothing grander than this in all Holland,"
she said. "There are four hundred of them, and more, but you can't
see them all from here. Do you see that mill over yonder? That is my
father's, and we are going there to-morrow."

The boys could not distinguish one tower from another at that
distance.

"What kind of mill is it?" asked Will.

"A flour-mill."

"Are all these flour-mills?"

"Oh no! There are saw-mills, colza-oil mills, mustard-mills,
flax-mills, and other kinds I don't remember."

It was now nearly supper-time, and the little group returned home.

The next morning, the whole party--four grown-up people, four
youngsters, and four boats (the "Wilhelmina," the "Gouda," the
"America," and the "Columbus")--were all taken up the Zaan River in a
row-boat for about three miles, and then up a small stream to the mill
where they were to spend the day.

The first thing in order was the inspection of the mill, which was
unlike anything they had ever seen in America. The tower was of brick.
It was three stories high, over a basement. In the basement were the
stables and w