energetic and faithful directors; a local hospital admitting people of all
religions denominations has grown up by his untiring energy; and he
prepared the basis upon which younger men afterwards built what is now a
model institution in Holland; nor does he forget the poor and the orphans,
to whom he gives quite half his time, though how much of his money he
gives them nobody knows, least of all he himself.

The Reverend Mr. Barendsen, the third arrival, is a very different person.
His sermons are eloquent; he is a fluent speaker--too fluent, some say,
for words and phrases come so easily to him that the lack of thought is
not always felt by this preacher, although noticed by his flock. Now, a
sermon for Dutch Protestants is a difficult thing; it has to be long
enough to fill nearly a whole service of about two hours; and it is
listened to by educated and uneducated people, who all expect to be
edified. Dominee Barendsen, like so many of his colleagues, tries to meet
this difficulty by giving light nourishment in an attractive form. But if
his sermons do not succeed as well as his kind intentions deserve, his
influence is firmly established by his sympathetic personality. He may be
much more superficial than his two friends; he may be less dogged, less
tenacious than they; yet his fertile brain, his quick intelligence, and
his serious character have won for him a unique position, and his public
influence is very great. Both doctor and parson meet and mix in the best
society of the town, but the slums of the poor are also equally well known
to them; neither is a member of the Town Council, but the same
institutions have their common support. Livings in Holland are not
over-luxurious; and the consequence is that many 'Dominees' go out
lecturing, or make an additional income by translating or writing books.
Some of Holland's best and most successful authors and poets are, or were,
clergymen, such as Allard Pierson, P. A. de Genestet, Nicolaas Beets
(Hildebrand), Coenraad Busken Huet, J. J. L. ten Kate, Dr. Jan ten Brink,