32 A CONTINENTAL TOUK. 



mouthed accompaniment, my sense of hearing was com- 

 pletely deadened, in so far as regarded the perception of 

 more delicate sounds. Among the ornaments which sur- 

 rounded the organ, there were a number of little angels 

 playing the fiddle, apparently in a very masterly style." 



THE STORKS. 



" Delft, July 23. — One of the most interesting and pic- 

 turesque features which I have yet witnessed in the 

 scenery of Holland is the appearance of the storks on the 

 chimney-tops, preening their feathers, and feeding their 

 callow young. The snowy whiteness of their plumage, 

 and their elegant and stately forms, have a fine effect 

 amidst the confusion of a populous and bustling city. 

 This bird, like the ibis among the ancient Egyptians, is 

 considered sacred by the Hollanders. It is never killed or 

 disturbed, however familiar or troublesome it may prove, 

 and that dwelling is considered as fortunate on which it 

 chooses to take up its abode. The young are, however, 

 sometimes captured and sold to slavery, which seems in 

 some degree inconsistent with the veneration which is 

 paid to the personal dignity of the parent bird. I am told 

 that they observe an astonishing regularity in their migra- 

 tions to and from the country. They usually make their 

 appearance in spring, towards the end of March, and 

 depart in the autumn, about the beginning of September. 



