n that very city, where the women
and children turned out, as well as the men, and formed mock funeral
processions through the town, to show the burgomasters that certain
new regulations, with regard to burying the dead would not be acceded
to--how at last they grew so unmanageable and threatened so much damage
to the city that the burgomasters were glad to recall the offensive law.

"There's the corner," said Jacob, pointing to some large buildings,
where, about fifteen years ago, the great corn houses sank down in the
mud. They were strong affairs and set up on good piles, but they had
over seven million pounds of corn in them, and that was too much."

It was a long story for Jacob to tell, and he stopped to rest.

"How do you know there were seven million pounds in them?" asked Carl
sharply. "You were in your swaddling clothes then."

"My father knows all about it" was Jacob's suggestive reply. Rousing
himself with an effort, he continued, "Ben likes pictures. Show him
some."

"All right," said the captain.

"If we had time, Benjamin," said Lambert van Mounen in English, "I
should like to take you to the City Hall, or Stadhuis. There are
building piles for you! It is built on nearly fourteen thousand of them,
driven seventy feet into the ground. But what I wish you to see there is
the big picture of Van Speyk blowing up his ship--great picture."

"Van WHO?" asked Ben.

"Van Speyk. Don't you remember? He was in the height of an engagement
with the Belgians, and when he found that they had the better of him
and would capture his ship, he blew it up, and himself, too, rather than
yield to the enemy."

"Wasn't that Van Tromp?"

"Oh, no. Van Tromp was another brave fellow. They've a monument to
him down at Delftshaven--the place where the Pilgrims took ship for
America."

"Well, what about Van Tromp? He was a great Dutch admiral, wasn't he?"

"Yes, he was in more than thirty sea fights. He beat the Spanish fleet
and an English one, and then fastened a broom to his masthead to show
that he had swept the English from the sea. Takes the Dutch to beat, my
boy!"

"Hold up!" cried Ben. "Broom or no broom, the English conquered him at
last. I remember all about it now. He was killed somewhere on the Dutch
coast in an engagement in which the English fleet was victorious. Too
bad," he added maliciously, "wasn't it?"

"Ahem! Where are we?" exclaimed Lambert, changing the subject. "Halloo!
The others are way ahead