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Show Winter Life in Holland. In Holland the fun ol Winter fife takes many forms; and Winter facilitates locomotion, as the highways of Summei available for trekshuiis become the best thoroughfares for those who slate. In this way, directly the ice bears, visits are made and d stances travelled w hich cannot be done is Summer; and, instead of going round and round, as we do here, on a small confined space, the Dutch make up a party and visit some neighboring town or village. A bright Winter's morning is always exhilarating, especially to those whose red particles are doing their woik satislactorily; how much nioie so w hen cheerful conpany, liee exeicise, variety of character, and constant change of scene all tend to mark the day as a red letter one; and to crown all.comes the pleasant sensation of feeling deservedly tired, with a night's test well earned. Should the frost be sufficiently sevete, a river is most interesting, inter-esting, being on a laige scale and partaking par-taking more of ihe chaiacter o( a fair; which is the case, for instance, on the Maas, at Rotterdam. This is very well p ctured in some of the old Dutch engravings; engrav-ings; one paiticularly gives an admirable idea of the whole thing, showing-sledges, ice-boats, stalls, booths. N. w, tiie freezing freez-ing ol the Maas is most uncertain; while other waters ale frozen haid, the Rot-terdamers Rot-terdamers still remain land-bound. '1 he Maas tuns very strongly, andthedilficulty I is for the fust coating of ice to loitn. When a seveie frost catches the still water dining the night, then "once begun, soon done," and the crews, who turn their berths at night, wake up in the morning to find themselves frozen in. The canals naturally soon freeze over, and the trek-shuit trallu is supplanted sup-planted by baggage-sledges, large and small. Near duelling-houses are feen the little box-sledges for the children. They are precisely the same as t tie seventeenth century connivances; the child sits with just room for its (eel, and. with stick in each hand, pushes astern and propels itself ahead. The adult sledges aie in some cases s'mply g ige-ous, ige-ous, as Ihe opportunity aff .( Is great latitude lati-tude for form, great scope lor v.iti-'ty ol gear harness and trappings. Thev are generally of the swan outline, the "sle'gh eis"situng in the body, thediiver peich-ed peich-ed al tiie back, on the tail, ihe sweepin-j-irons following the cuives ol the sw an's ieck; over these run the reins. Ooe hoise generally constitutes ihe-ieum, tjut in an old engraviii2 time horses in single f.le are show n drawing a sledge de l.ixe.-Good Words. |