iant, hiding the besieged damsels' beauty behind their shields, so that
the monster's appetite might not be whetted by their charms.

Schouwen on the one hand, Tholen on the other, seemed to fall apart as
Brederode cast us upon the broad bosom of the Oster Scheldt, steering
for North Beveland, and told us legends the while of that strange
archipelago which has for its arms a lion swimming in deep waters. He
told of the yellow-haired Siren, who would sing to lure sailors to her
rock because she was bored by the society of the Merman, her husband;
how some fisherman one night caught her in a net, and, because she was
beautiful, would not give her back to the Merman, though he begged and
prayed, offering a rich bribe of pearls and coral; how the Merman swam
away at last, cursing the fishermen and their country, vowing never to
rest till he and his brothers, with their own hands, had brought enough
sand to choke all the city ports.

He told, too, of the tempests which throw on the shores of Zeeland's
little isles the bodies of strange mummied monsters, part man, part
boat; and of still, clear dawnings when the fisherfolk of Domburg can
discern, far down under the green water, pagan temples of marble, and
gleaming statues more perfect than any fashioned by known sculptors,
even the greatest masters, when Greek art was in its prime. He told of
the great dyke building, and how, at high tide, the North Sea beats
fiercely on Zeeland's locked door. He told of the inundations, and how
Schouwen, North and South Beveland, Tholen and Walcheren, had all been
devoured by the sea, only to rise up again braver and stronger than
before. He told how the men of Zeeland had fought against the men of
Spain in the old, bad days; and it was all very interesting and
instructive; but how was I to oppose my frail vow against such a tide
of information? There were no dykes built round my resolve to propose to
Nell within the space of four and twenty hours; and between Alb's
eloquence and the L.C.P.'s persistence, it dissolved like a Dutch town
in an inundation.

Still I was not as furious as I ought to have been. My steeples and
chimneys remained above water, and the sky was so cloudless that I could
not despair. It seemed like old times to hear Alb holding forth upon the
history, drama, and legend of the little country of which he is so
proud, and in spite of myself my heart was warm for him. I rather
wondered how Nell had contrived to harden he