THE DUTCH FISHERIES. No. I. THE HERRING FISHERY. THE Dutch have three sorts of fisheries, the Herring, the Cod, and the Whale. Formerly the Herring Fishery was the chief branch of their industry, their grand source of wealth; it was called, at the time we refer to, the golden mine of the republic. Though still their principal fishery, it has much declined since the beginning of the last century. On the establishment of the French domination in Holland it fell to nothing; revived at the restoration, but has not yet reached its ancient prosperity. The monument raised in the fifteenth century, at Berliet, in honour of William Beükelson, who first discovered the art of curing herrings, shows how much importance was attached at that early period to this branch of trade. The first cause of its decline lay in the wars of Holland, during the latter part of the eighteenth entury, when English vessels cruised continually in the North Sea, and captured the Dutch fishing vessels. Again, during what the Dutch called the French epoch, the period during which Holland shared all the fortunes of France, she had to submit to the consequences of such an alliance. France, though triumphant on the Continent, was, so to speak, besieged in all her ports, and Holland, a country essentially maritime, was in the same plight. Such fishing vessels as ventured out to sea were almost invariably made prizes of, especially near the mouth of the Maas, where English men-of-war were sure to be on the look out for them. Besides, the Dutch in general considered themselves as in a conquered country, an idea which encouraged all sorts of disorders. Smuggling was considered lawful, the fishery regulations were neglected, and what herring was caught, was cured so ill as to become spoilt when exported. the quay. They are all in beautiful order, and having their flags displayed, make a handsome appearance. Among the flags, one larger than the rest is hoisted astern, bearing the vessel's name, in gilt or black letters, on the white streak, the national flag having three horizontal streaks or bands. Crowds of curious persons come in from the neighbourhood, and as an eight days' fair commences at the same time, Vlaardingen wears a most animated appearance. It is usual at this time to go on board the vessels, and drink good health and a prosperous voyage to the captain, who regales his guests either in his little cabin or under an awning on deck. Generally, too, the owners and their friends visit the captain on board his ship, as well as his own friends and family. In former times much importance was attached to the sailing of the fleet on the 15th of June; but now, should the wind prove adverse, the vessels leave the harbour and lie at anchor in the Maas for two or three days, after which they must put to sea, or forfeit the government bounty. The fleet is attended by an extra ship, or tender, carrying additional hands to take the place of such as fall ill or meet with accidents; properly speaking, it is a moving hospital (ambulance). It cruises for a fortnight with the fleet, receiving the sick and disabled seamen, and replacing them with others; it then makes for Shetland Bay, in the islands of that name forming the northern extremity of Scotland, and the centre of the fishing operations; there it spends a fortnight in attending to the recovery of its invalids; that period expired, it rejoins the fleet and cruises for another fortnight, returning the cured seamen to their respective vessels, and taking back the men it had left to supply their place. Thus it alternates during the whole of the fishing season. The men often injure their hands with the nets, which excoriate their fingers and impregnate them with salt, although fenced with gloves of leather, doubled with thick worsted Iceland gloves. The tender which thus convoys the fleet has a carpenter and a cooper on board; these repair damages, and are of the utmost use. It has also an officer attached to it, who is specially charged with maintaining a strict observance of the fishing regulations, and with the prevention of smuggling in the Shetland Islands; he acts, indeed, as a sort of commissioner from the government. Vlaardingen, on the right bank of the Maas, and two leagues from where that river joins the sea, is the only town whose inhabitants now carry on the fishery with spirit; they employ in it about 100 vessels. A century and a half ago, Browershaven, in Zealand, sent out 200, but that port is now deserted. Maasslüis, at the mouth of the Maas, once counted 200, and has now only 20; Amsterdam has 15; Enkhuizen, on the Zuyder-Zee, instead of 200 which it once had, has now but three or four. Excepting Amsterdam, these towns had no other trade, and now their deserted harbours seem as if waiting for some new commerce to infuse a second life into them. Vlaardingen alone has escaped the general ruin, andjagers, (chasers,) are under orders of one of their continues to thrive; its fishing fleets are sent out by persons owning one or more vessels individually, or by joint-stock companies, owning up to 20. The greater number of vessels destined to the herring fishing, return from that for cod, towards the end of May, or early in June. Tarring, painting, engaging men, providing stores, and preparing sails and rigging, create a deal of bustle for a fortnight among the population of Vlaardingen, who amount to about 17,000. On the 10th or the 11th of June the captains and officers present themselves at the town-house, and swear that they will observe themselves, and see to the observance by others, of the fishery regulations; this done each hoists his colours. On the 14th of June, called colours' day, the people go to church, and pray to God for a blessing on the expedition. On leaving church they parade about the harbour, where the vessels are curiously placed, each having its prow turned right in shore, and its bow-sprit passing over The fishing is carried on from the 24th of June to the 30th of October. Twelve of the fastest sailing vessels are selected to carry home the first-caught herrings with the utmost speed. These vessels, called own number as admiral's ship. Each chaser has, in addition to its ordinary crew, an officer, called koopman, who keeps an exact account of the herrings taken on board, and of the vessels that supplied them. The fleet generally proceeds as far as Hookness, but it is not easy to say where the herrings are found in greatest plenty. The fishermen go northward or southward, according to their knowledge of the habits of the fish, or their experience, and often according to orders from the owners. Herring caught towards the north is preferable to that caught towards the south, the flavour being infinitely superior. It is forbidden to fish within five miles of the Scotch coast, by common accord of the British and Dutch governments; the former as a check upon smuggling, the latter because the herring caught near the land has the spawning sickness (kuitziekte). Britain insists, also, that rigorous measures be taken to prevent fraud. The luckless seamen who may be caught passing gin or tobacco into the hands of smugglers in Shetland Bay, are condemned by the Scotch judges to fines and imprisonment; the sentence is intimated to the captain of the person convicted, and executed on his return to Holland. On the 24th of June the nets are shot into the sea, and to fish sooner is forbidden, in order that all may start fair. That day accordingly is not forgotten at Vlaardingen; the owners meet together and dine; happy in the prospect of the success each anticipates for himself, many a toast is drank to the prosperity of the expedition. The fishing once commenced, the chasers above mentioned cruise about in all directions, and collect the first-caught herrings; these are again transferred to the vessel selected to sail first until its freight is full; then a second is freighted, and so on. As each receives its complement of herrings, or when the proper moment for sailing homewards has arrived, the admiral authorizes their departure by signing the koopman's invoice; this goes on until its own turn arrives, and then his ship sails the last. of the town steeple, with their eyes turned the whole day towards the sea. On descrying the expected chaser in the offing, notice is sent to the owners, and to the families of the men who form its crew; a flag also is hoisted from the steeple as a signal. No sooner is this flag perceived throughout the town and neighbourhood than a cry of joy resounds on every side; the inhabitants meet in the streets, everything gives note that the port is about to resume its activity, after being like a desert since the fleet sailed. The quay, and the street leading to it, are crowded; each wants to know what proportion his friends or relatives have contributed to the freight of herring, and this is soon known, as the koopman lands in a pinnace with the invoice in his hand, and gives it to one of the owners who reads it aloud. The vessel is straightway moored, and discharges its precious cargo, which is generally sold at 800 florins the ton, But before allowing the sale to commence, two carriages are despatched with the first-fruits to the king and his ministers. Each is attended by two personages, one of whom drives while the other waves a flag. Their mission is not without fatigue and danger, for they must gallop all the way, but the king in return gives them a gratuity. For the last five years there has been an association of shipowners, connected with the herring trade. It enjoys the protection of the government, and all must join it or forfeit their claim to the bounty, amounting to 700 florins. This association buys all the herring brought in by the fishing vessels, at prices fixed by a commission, but in reselling them it is free. The price fixed for the first ten vessels is higher than for the next ten, and the fall continues down to a minimum of 17 florins for the barrel of full herrings; above that for the maatjen, or best quality, and less for inferior qualities, such as the spawn-sick herring, (kuitziek,) the weak, (sleppen,) the ÿlen, the vrakken, &c. The maatjen are the fry of the preceding year, hence small sized but good, and in great request. The sleppen come from barrels which have somehow or other lost their salt, which makes the fish soft and insipid. The freight of the chaser first despatched is generally from 16 to 20 tons, that of the second 60, and so on, augmenting as the value of the herring falls, that of the admiral being above 300 tons. The chasers often come to port without a full freight, either from the fishing being bad, or from the time lost in the freighting of those sent first, leaving not enough of time to freight the remainder. When the season is far advanced, the admiral must send them off, else they might arrive all at once, and produce a glut of herring following on a scarcity. The chasers are called first, second, and so on, in the order of their leaving the fishing ground, not in that of their arrival at Vlaardingen; for it may happen that the fifth, for example, by meeting with contrary winds, or by being damaged in a gale, may come into port after the sixth. Once discharged, they may put to sea again as fishing vessels, whereas before they were not allowed to fish. All ought to have returned to port by the 4th of August, up to which date the fishing vessels are not allowed to come in and sell their herrings in competition with what the chasers have brought. Should any be forced to return in consequence of damages sustained at sea, the herring it has caught since the freighting of the last chaser, is not allowed to be sold until the 4th of August; if any arrives in port after the day fixed for their return, it is sent away to a foreign port. The captains are bound on oath to hand over all the herrings they take to the chasers, until the whole up to the last are freighted. The regulation which obliges chasers arriving past their time to The fresh-herring fishery is carried on at Schevego to a foreign port is a very wise one, for thus allningen, a village on the North Sea coast, about three the proprietors of vessels forming part of the chasers' union, participate in the loss; this late arrival, however, seldom happens. Moreover, all are not despatched to the port from which they sailed. The first always makes for Vlaardingen, the second for Hamburgh, the third for Maassluis, and so on; but Vlaardingen is the resort of several, and always of the admiral. It is a good speculation to send a chaser to Hamburgh, for if it arrive before the Embden fishermen, it is sure to sell its herrings well. The produce of all the herrings sold by the chasers is thrown into a common fund, and distributed among the members of the union, according to the quantity of fish supplied by the fishing vessels belonging to each, and charged against the common fund. The arrival of the first chaser at Vlaardingen is a real fête; it generally takes place about the end of June, or beginning of July. From the moment that the vessel is expected, two men are posted at the top Since the close of the French epoch, laws have been made on the manner of salting the herrings, and these are strictly observed. The sailors must put so much salt into each barrel; this preserves the fish, and has produced a revival of the trade. The Baltic, the north of Germany, and the interior of Holland, consume the greater part, and part goes also to the East Indies. miles from the Hague, and also by the inhabitants of the shores of the Zuyder-Zee. The vessels sent out from Scheveningen to this fishery are called bommens; they are flat, and far from elegant; this form is given them as a security against accidents among the numerous shoals and sand-banks of that coast. These hommens are of small size, and never go very far out to sea. The boats employed in the Zuyder-Zee are shaped differently, and have various other names, such as pinkens, sockkers, hengstens, &c. The same sort of craft may be seen at Scheveningen, but only for the petty fishing on the coast. The herring caught off Scheveningen and in the Zuyder-Zee is, in a great measure, affected with the spawning sickness. It is smoked for a single night and sold as sour herring (bokking); or, after being smoked for several days, it is sold as English sour herring, which is the better way. It is eaten also without being smoked. As the vessels destined for the great fishery are 104 forbidden to land unsalted herring, in like manner are the Scheveningen and Zuyder-Zee fishers forbidden to salt theirs. The reason is very simple. Great as is the abundance of herrings caught near the coast, the quality is inferior, and but for such prohibitions, the cost and trouble of procuring the rarer herring found on the north of Scotland, might deter persons from going for it. That taken so easily on the Dutch coast might engross the market, and so people would have bad fish at home, and the foreign trade would be injured; for even when salted the herring caught near the coast corrupts and becomes unwholesome food. Notwithstanding this, the abundance found in the Zuyder-Zee has given rise to a sort of commerce which must injure the salt-herring trade, and affect the health of consumers. For some years past Frenchmen have gone into the Zuyder-Zee, and bought herrings from the coasting fishers; these they gut and salt on board their own vessels, and then take them to France, where they are sold as herrings caught out at sea. These speculators come from Dieppe, Dunkirk, and other less considerable ports. THE MAGIC LANTERN AND PHANTASMAGORIA. THE Magic Lantern, so well known for its amusing effects, was invented by the celebrated German philosopher Kircher, who lived at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The principle on which it is constructed is much the same as that of the Camera Obscura*, but the arrangement is materially different. Fig. 1 represents a section of the lantern, showing the internal arrangement of the lenses; A is a lamp Fig. 1. The concave mirror may be of any concavity required, but the flame of the lamp must be placed as nearly as possible in the principal focal distance of the mirror, which may be found in the following manner. Suppose A в, Fig. 3. F B fig. 3, to be a section of a concave mirror, the curve of which could be described by placing one foot of a pair of compasses in the point c; if a line is drawn from c to the centre of the mirror at E, the point D, midway between c and E, will be the principal focal distance, and the rays of light received from the lamp by the mirror, will be reflected in parallel lines so as to fall with equal intensity upon the lens c (see fig. 1.) This lens must be of such a power that its focus shall be at or near the surface of the glass on which the picture is painted; the focus of a double convex lens in which the curves on both sides are alike, is equal to the diameter of a circle, of which its curve forms a portion. Thus, suppose в, fig. 4, to represent a lens, whose curved surface would form part of the circle, CD; by the rule given, the distance of its focus from the Fig. 4. A B centre of the lens would be equal to A B. D The Phantasmagoria produces its effects by the same optical arrangement as the Magic Lantern, but the pictures differ in having their back ground painted black, and instead of their being exhibited on a white opaque screen, they are seen through a transparent screen of calico oiled or wetted. The lantern is mounted on wheels, so as to be steadily rolled to a greater or a shorter distance from the transparent screen behind which it is placed, by this means increasing or diminishing the size of the projected image. In some cases, instead of being rolled along a platform or table, it is strapped round the body of the operator, who advances or recedes from the screen. C Fig. 5. B Another contrivance is attached to the lantern of the Phantasmagoria, which is not found in the Magic Lantern. The front lens of the instrument, instead of being fixed in a sliding tube, is placed at the end of a leather case containing a spring, whose action keeps it pressed outwards, acting like an old fashioned powder-puff. Two levers, A C and в C, fig. 5, are employed in the following manner, to regulate the action of this spring, and consequently bring the glass at its extremity nearer to, or allow it to recede further from, the slide on which the figures are painted. the lever A C, is fixed to the framework of the lantern nearest the exhibiter, where it works on a centre; at c it is attached to the lever C B, and the end B of this lever is fixed to the extremity of the leather tube, in the same manner as A is to the lantern, consequently, by bringing A and в nearer to each other, the glass is drawn back, and the spring of the tube itself will act in the contrary direction when left at liberty to do so. The object of this contrivance is to keep the lens at a proper focal distance from the screen. LONDON: A The end A of JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND. PUBLISHED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS, PRICE ONE PENNY, AND IN MONTHLY PARTS, PRICE SIXPENCE. THE RHEINGAU-THE MICE-TOWER-THE CASTLE there are none which can be put in comparison with OF EHRENFELS. Here Nature stood still, strewing with lavish hand, Her living beauty over hills and valleys, With lingering step IN a former paper *we gave a description of the little duchy of Nassau, which is bounded along its southern and western frontiers by the river Rhine. We now proceed to speak of that remarkably fertile and beautiful portion of it which lies between the border of the river and the Taunus Mountains, and which is known as the Rheingau, or district of the Rhine. It is a narrow strip of country, rather more than nine English miles in length, and of a varying breadth, never exceeding four miles. Its eastern limit, or the beginning of it to a traveller descending the Rhine, is at Wallauf, a little below Mentz, and its western limit or termination at Lorchausen; at least the tract comprised between these limits is that to which the name of Rheingau is generally applied by tourists, though, properly speaking, its eastern extremity is at Schierstein, a little above Wallauf, and its western extremity a little above Lorchausen. The Rheingau is celebrated over Europe for the loveliness of its scenery and the rich produce of its soil. Among the different wines with which we are acquainted at the present day, those of the Rhine hold a high place; and of the wines of the Rhine See Saturday Magazine, Vol. XI., p. 233. VOL. XII. those which are produced in the Rheingau. This paradise, (says a German writer, the Baron Von Gerning,) like the region of Naples, may be styled a portion of heaven fallen down to the earth. The majestic Rhine lingers in his course through it, and in honour of it forms nine verdant islands. The solemn Taunus throws his woody arms around it to protect it from the rough and boisterous north. Vine-covered hills, fields, and meadows, and human dwellings, are intermingled most agreeably; and in this Elysium we fly from place to place, in an overpowering ecstasy which defies description. Hallgarten, a village in the forest, with its Hyndelberg adorned with vines, lies in a charming situation close to the wood-covered heights. The well-preserved castle of Volrats has a most picturesque appearance amid its soft hills behind the beautifully enthroned Johannesberg. Further back the ruins mountain, towers above the wooded valley of Kiderich. of the burg of Scharfeustein, on a rocky vine-covered The mild vineyards stretch sweetly round the golden Markt-brunner Stralenberg, down to a narrow causeway (which is throughout protected by an old railing, but cut by a parapet wall), between Erbach and Hattenheim, where the important frontier fountain pours itself with a pleasing murmur into a sandstone basin (in the chapel, fitted up with elegant seats, erected in honour of it in the celebrated vintage-year 1811,) in order that travellers may refresh themselves with the water as well as the wine of MarkBrunn. A beautiful range of vine-hills again follows; we approach the Johannesberg, the Rothenberg, (so called from the red colour of its soil), and the Niederwald, and A road of five leagues in length from Schierstein, the comeverything assumes a more gay and southern appearance. mencement of the modern Rheingau, to Rüdesheim, comes in contact with eight other places, namely, Walluf, Elfeld, | Erbach, Hattenheim, Oesterich, Mittelheim, Winkel, and Geisenheim, most of which are surrounded by beautiful country seats, presenting a series of the most agreeable pictures to the delighted eye, and putting the friend of antiquity in mind of the villas of the Romans. Geisenheim, the streets of which are still unpaved, and which may be considered as a large village, has something distinguished and solemn about it in this respect. The Rhine between this place and Galshein, is more than half a league in breadth, which is the greatest breadth it ever attains between Basle and Holland, and the green-coloured majestic stream has now all the appearance of a lake. The Rheingau was originally a free Salic possession, and was divided into the Upper and Lower Bounds; the former comprehending the district along the mountains, and the latter the district along the banks of the river. It was next divided into Rhine townships and Forest townships; the frontier of the latter being protected by five strong bulwarks, which lowered immediately above the principal passes. Beyond this line were some Forest villages and cantons, over which the rulers of the Rheingau possessed a criminal jurisdiction, and which took part in the district assemblies. The whole territory was protected on the forest side by a frontier intrenchment, consisting of hedges and underwood tangled and plashed together, a species of barricade called gebück, which enabled its defenders in the Thirty Years' War, to obstruct for some time the progress of their antagonists. In the stirring and vigorous times of the middle ages, the inhabitants of the Rheingau were exposed to frequent feuds. In the thirteenth century they still had their particular gaugraves, or "counts of the gau.” This noble tract of country passed by degrees into the hands of the Archbishops of Mentz; and when it was finally united to their domains, the place of the gaugraves was supplied by vicegerents. The inhabitants had their separate constitution, defensive institutions, liberties and privileges, without the confirmation of which they would not pay homage to a new ruler. Additional rights and liberties were conferred on them by the Archbishop Adolphus the Second, whom they assisted in 1462 against Diether and the citizens of Mentz. They were also exempted from feudal service and compulsory military duty: They have a common saying among them that "the air of the Rheingau makes a man free." The old national maxim of Germany, "What we were not consulted in, that we will not assist in executing," was peculiarly in force among them. According to the descriptions of former times, the Rheingau was a free, obedient, incomparable portion of the territory of the church of Mentz." In return for the immunities respecting markets and customs, which they enjoyed, the inhabitants of the Rheingau preserved from the year 1200 the right of defence of the town of Mentz, a right which they still exercised in 1792..... The inhabitants of the Rheingau are kind, frank, hospitable, and, generally speaking, endowed with a certain innate hilarity which well becomes them. As the district was itself separated from the adjacent country by the Rhine and a trench, its inhabitants were in like manner a separate people. They yet form, as it were, only one family, especially the inhabitants of Rüdesheim, who are almost all related to each other, and who seldom marry elsewhere. Persons when they meet greet each other with the words, "Good time!" which, in a bad time, sounded doubly grateful. elected "wine-matron," With respect to climate, the Rheingau is spoken of as being indisputably the Geisenheim to Rüdesheim is the most beautiful of most southern zone in Germany. The road from the whole Rheingau; and a row of walnut and elmtrees affords also that grateful shade which is the more to be valued, because it is so seldom met with, in paid to the culture of the grape than to that of ornathis wine-region, where greater attention is generally mental or fruit-trees. The appearance of the Rheingau from the overhanging hills which divide it from the inland upper country of Nassau is very fine. The author of Bubbles from the Brunnens of Nassau, speaking of a view from one of the summits, a hill near the monastery of Eberbach, characterizes it as being, without any exception, the finest he had witnessed in the country. Uninterrupted by anything but its own long narrow islands, I beheld the course of the river from Johannisberg to Mainz, which two points formed from the grotto where I Between me and the water lay, basking in sunshine, the stood an angle of about one hundred and twenty degrees. Rhinegau covered with vineyards, or surrounded by large patches of corn which were evidently just ready for the sickle; but the harvest not having actually commenced, the only moving objects in the picture were young women with white handkerchiefs on their heads busily pruning the vines; and the Cöln [Cologne], or as it might more properly be termed, the English steam-boat, which immediately before me was gliding against the stream towards Mainz. On the opposite side of the Rhine an immense country highly cultivated, but without a fence, was to be seen. The Baron Von Gerning compares this enchanting tract of country when viewed from an adjacent height, to "a carpet of delight, skilfully woven by the formative hand of nature." A vale of pleasance spreads beneath our feet; The plains adorned with golden grain, the heights With golden grapes. Village to village joins; For where the earth the lightest toil rewards, With lavish hand does man delight to build. The natural advantages of the Rheingau will appear the more strikingly to the traveller, if he first traverse a portion of the upper country of Nassau, and then descend to the Taunus mountains. Every step that he takes in the descent will introduce him to a more genial climate and vegetation. In the summer-season the contrast will be particularly striking. Instead of breathing the keen light mountain air which appertains to the upper country, he feels himself overpowered by the burning sun, which is hurrying to maturity the abundant crops around him. The luxuriance which Nature has imparted to the vegetation of the Rheingau is not more remarkable than its variety. A writer already quoted, took the trouble to note down the different crops which he passed in riding from Frauenstein, which lies low in the Taunus range, to Mentz; and he gives the following list as well calculated to convey some idea of the produce of the highly-favoured belt or district of Nassau, (known by the name of the Rheingau,) which lies between the bottom of the Taunus hills and the Rhine: Vineyards, Plum-trees of various Strawberries, Currants, Clover of various sorts, Medlars, Fields of kidney beans, Turnips, The most delightful period of the year in the Rheingau is the season in which the vine puts forth its blossoms, when the whole country is filled with the most delightful fragrance, and that in which its ripened fruits are gathered and their juice expressed Fields of beans & peas, Standard apricots, for the wine-making. The men and women connected with the cultivation of the vine at times form processions with music and singing; in the ceremonies which accompany the end of the vintage a female is Indian corn, Peaches, Wheat of various sorts, Nectarines, Barley, Rye, Rape Gooseberries, Whortleberries, Cabbages of all sorts, Pears, of various sorts, omatos Spanish chestnuts, |