THE HARLAEM ORGAN.

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spectable houses near the windows. On inquiry, I found that these odd looking affairs contained looking glasses, and reflected to the inhabitants within the dwellings all that was passing in the street without-themselves being hid.

We reached Harlæm about noon. Towards evening we bent our steps towards the Cathedral for the purpose of hearing the organ par excellence. The edifice was once possessed by the Roman Catholics, but is now a place of worship for Protestants. It is very plain, with nothing to break the vast sp of the interior, has fine lofty arches,

effect to tones of the While some one went belfry to see the town,

and so much space as to give fine wonderful instrument it contains. for the organist, we mounted to the and were well paid; but the organ, after all, is the lion of Harlem and I must say, that when the performer arrived soon after our descent, and struck the keys, the volume of sweet sounds surpassed all my imagination, and, I fear, all description. At first, he called forth all its power and tones, and ceasing suddenly, we heard its echoes answering and reverberating through the long-drawn aisles and fretted vaults around and above us. Then in tones imitating the human voice, he gave tenor, treble, and bass solos, with a chorus as if from a whole choir;-you would scarcely believe there were no human voices assisting him. It seemed to me, indeed, in the dim twilight, almost supernatural-as if I listened to spirit-tongues. Then came a reveille with a trumpet, drum, and fife, with a trumpet echo in the distance; then music for dancing, with the patter of "twinkling feet;" then a merry peal of bells worthy a Fourth of July morning in Manhattan ; and lastly, an imitation of a storm, with the most natural thunder imaginable; beginning with low mutterings at a distance, rising gradually nearer, and finally crashing immediately above us with a terrific loudness that made us tremble for the next blinding

flash to come. The organist played about an hour, and then invited us to go up and look at the interior of this mighty instrument. There were three rows of keys which he struck with his hands, and two of pedals, which he played upon with his feet. His seat was about a yard and a half long, and the way he slid about upon this to manage the keys, the stops and the pedals, was a curiosity. It was really hard labor, and the performer was pale with exertion and covered with perspiration. This man plays for the congregation, and then of course strangers can hear him for nothing; but when he performs, as to-day, to display his powers and those of the instrument, he charges five dollars. I can only say that I would willingly have given five more had it not been too late. The organ itself is curious for its great beauty, size, and tone, but owes much to the ability. of the performer in drawing forth its deep, majestic, solemn notes; and both are in a measure indebted to the vastness of the structure in which it is placed.

The most unique place we have.yet seen is Rotterdam. Canals run in all directions through the city, with a carriage road on either side, and along the banks of the canal, rows of trees, which are planted not so much for beauty as utility-as the roots form a sort of net work, beneath the soil, giving strength to the dykes and preventing their being washed away by the sudden rush of the rising waters. As there are so many canals there must be a multitude of bridges; but the most singular sight was the vessels of all sizes and kinds, and from all parts of the world, filling these watery thoroughfares. Though not so large a city as New York, having but 80,000 inhabitants, yet as far as it does extend it is quite as thickly settled. Imagine then Broadway lined on each side with trees, and a canal running through it covered with shipping, and you have a good idea of Rotterdam. It was a pleasing thing to see among

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the green tree tops and tall chimney stacks how were mingled the taper masts, each giving forth the flag of its nation to the breeze, and none more frequently or more beautifully than our own stars and stripes." One does not know how to love and be proud of our own beautiful star-spangled banner, till he has seen its folds rolling out in the skies of a foreign land, where all else is strange. The canals in many parts of the city, with their pleasant walks and shady trees, would have a rather picturesque effect, were it not for the filthy vegetable matter floating upon the surface of the water. This same water is filtered and drank by the people here, but even after filtering, it looks about the color of stagnant rain-water. They might repeat the process for ever, ere it would become palatable to those used to our delightful Croton.

Amsterdam is a large city, with 200,000 busy inhabitants, many of whom are Jews. The canals, though not so numerous, as in Rotterdam, are very broad and deep. One, the ship canal, is one hundred and twenty feet wide, and deep enough for ships of the largest class. The water in them is either salt, coming from the sea, or brackish, so that all is used for culinary purposes and for drinking, is brought from a distance and retailed from carts and boats. They give a shilling for a jar full of about eight quarts, and in the winter, when the canals are frozen over, it is sold at a much higher price.

We left Amsterdam in a steamer for Hamburgh, sailing up the Zuyder Zee and the North Sea, and eighty miles up the Elbe, landing at Hamburgh about three o'clock Friday afternoon, in the midst of a pouring rain. Hamburgh is altogether a business place, containing little that is beautful or ornamental, and it still shows the effects of the destroying element which raged here so violently some fourteen months since, levelling most of its largest and most beauti

ful buildings. It has, however, some delightful walks and drives, and some fine views of the Elbe and the Elster, at the junction of which two rivers Hamburgh is located. They have here some of the prettiest costumes of any which we have anywhere seen, that of the maids who attend upon the children or go to market particularly. They have their hair combed smoothly down on either side of the face; and it is neatly braided behind, and tastefully arranged low down on the neck. On the back part of the head they wear a close fitting cap of gold or silver tissue, fastened on with broad bands of gay ribbon floating in long streamers behind a tight fitting bodice of some bright color, with a frill at the waist behind a skirt with broad gay stripes, short sleeves, and long black lace gloves; a long narrow basket carried under the arm, concealed by a large handsome shawl of bright gay colors, in which they seem to delight, completes the costume. Then there are the Dutch Flower girls from Vierland, who wear velvet slippers, red, blue or striped hose, a short full skirt of bright green, red or blue, with a border of black velvet round the bottom; a bodice of some dark color is laid over a vest of different shade or color; a small round straw hat with black bows and streamers falling from beneath it, and their loose white hanging sleeves, give a pretty effect. We passed one evening at a pavilion or café, where were a thousand people at least, sitting around little tables eating, chatting and listening to an orchestra of some of the first German performers. Sunday we rode a few miles out of town to a place of great resort, called Blankenhese, which is in the kingdom of Denmark. Parties were eating their breakfasts under the trees and in the saloons, and here, too, they had music. On the way, at the town of Altona, we passed the tomb of Klopstock, in front of the church, under a fine large shady tree. We went into a cemetery on our way; it was divided into plots

SAIL UP THE ELBE.

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by walks, like a garden path, each plot (devoted to a family) was covered with green turf and ornamented with flowering shrubs. Green moss mingled with bright flowers formed into wreaths, crosses, letters, and baskets of flowers, &c., ornamented the head-stones of almost every grave, some withered and dead, some fresh and green, but all testifying that those beneath had not been, while living, unloved or unhonored, and though dead, were not unremembered or forgotten. Soon after leaving the cemetery, we met a funeral procession bending their steps towards it, consisting not as with us of the friends of the departed, but of some sixteen or twenty hired mourners, who always perform upon these occasions as well as at marriage festivals. They were all dressed in black, with plaited ruffles round the neck, curled and powdered wigs, no hats, shorts, Spanish cloaks and swords. The hearse was shaped like a huge cantelope melon, black, and streaked with gold. It was borne by eight men, who walked with a slow and measured tread, but with a swaggering gait, making the hearse swing to and fro like a hammock; and this was all-no carriages or other procession. We rode out again after tea; the people were returning the streets were filled-the windows of the shops displayed all kinds of tempting things; and the people instead of going to church, were bending their steps towards the opera, which commences at six o'clock and closes at one, A. M., and this not in a Catholic country, but where the inhabitants are mostly Lutherans, or of the Greek church. Monday morning we left Hamburgh at four o'clock in a steamer. The sail up the Elbe is rather uninteresting, though up to Hamburgh it was very beautiful. It is navigable about two hundred and forty miles. The only things new to me were the immense rafts of timber which were floating down the river. We saw often some twelve or fifteen men towing a sloop up the river by a rope attached