CHAPTER XXIV.

THE MAKING OF HOLLAND.

Unique Interest of Holland.--A Land Below Sea-Level.--Water as an Enemy.--Dykes as Protectors.--How Dykes are Made.--Sand Dunes.--Canals.--Wind-Mills.--Polders.--Entering Holland.--The Scenery and the Scenes.--Rotterdam and Erasmus.--Delft and William the Silent.--The Hague.--Rembrandt's "School of Anatomy."--A Presbyterian Queen.--A Presbyterian Preacher as Prime Minister.--Unpresbyterian Church Buildings.--Would the Destruction of all the Cathedrals have been a Loss or a Gain? 212