h human birds of passage with. Is
Frisia--Old Frisia--to lag behind? Impossible! Natural condition
as well as population and history give to our province a right to
claim a little attention and to be a hostess. We beg to refer to
the words of a Frenchman, M. Malte-Brun (quoted by one of the best
Frisian authors), the English translation of which words runs as
follows: "Eighteen centuries saw the river Rhine change its course,
and the Ocean swallow its shores, but the Frisian nation has remained
unchanged, and from an historical point of view deserves being taken
an interest in by the descendants of the Franks as well as of the
Anglo-Saxons and the Scandinavians."

It is not often to a Frenchman that the author of this guide has to
go for his purple patches. He is capable of producing them himself,
and there seems also always to be a Frisian poet who has said the
right thing. Thus (of Leeuwarden): "It is surrounded by splendid
fertile meadows, to all of which, though especially to those lying
near the roads to Marssum and Stiens, may be applied the words of
the Frisian poet Dr. E. Halbertsma:--

'Sjen nou dat lan, hwer jy op geane,
Dat ophelle is ut gulle se;
Hwer binne brusender lansdouwen,
Oerspriede mei sok hearlik fe?'

('Behold the soil you are walking on,
The soil, snatched from the waves;
Where are more luxurious meadows,
Where do you find such cattle?')

The farmer, living in the midst of this fine natural scenery, is to
be envied indeed: if the struggle for life does not weigh too heavily
upon him, his must be a life happier than that of thousands of other
people. Living and working with his own family and servants attached
to him, he made the right choice when he chose to breed his cattle
and improve his grounds to the best of his power. The parlour-windows
look out on the fields: the gay sight they grant has its effect on the
mood of those inside. The peasant sees and feels the beauty of life,
and it makes him thankful, and gives him courage to struggle and to
work on, where necessity requires it."

I gather from the account of Leeuwarden that the justices of that
city once knew a crime when they saw one--none quicklier. In 1536,
for example, they punished Jan Koekebakken in a twinkling for the
dastardly offence of marrying a married woman. This was his sentence:--

We command that the said Jan Koekebakken, prisoner, be conducted
by the executioner from the Chancer