hese are they whose task
is done, and which are empty. They retire one by one upon the
great expanse of water, which, save in one spot, was a little
while ago deserted, and is now overspread with the vessels making
their various ways toward that green line on the horizon.

This is a conflict not of days, nor of years, nor of generations,
but of all time; and what the end will be none can foretell.
It is the concrete symbol of the everlasting fight of man with
nature, which means civilization. The day may come when, where
once Holland was, will be outspread the serene waters of the
sea, hiding beneath them the records of the stupendous struggle
of so many centuries. Or, perhaps, some mysterious shifting of
the ocean bottom may not only lift Holland out of peril, but
uncover mighty tracts of land which, in the prehistoric past,
belonged to Europe. Meanwhile it is easy to understand that the
people who can wage this ceaseless war for their homes and lives,
are the sons of those heroes who curbed the might of Spain, and
taught the world the lessons of freedom and independence.

THE END

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