The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1842-04-30

PARIS, January, 1912.

nave seen some hIn0rcans, VINO, alIer Staying
year in Europe spoke of it in such enthusiastic terms
of admiration, and of their own country with such
Indifference that they seemed dread the idea of re-
turning to spend their lives in unrefined, haci-
vlized, and democratic community. l have very lit
tie respect for the good the moral feeling OF
such people. He who contemplate the mass OF
vice and Indebtedness which Paris offers his view,
without turning back with pleasure to the happy album
dance the honest dealings, and the social virtues OF
his own country, has something wrong within him
He had better stay in Europe all his life for he will
never make good citizen at home In my opinion,
there be better lesson of patriotism than
years residence in Paris The American of common
and correct principles who observes with atten-
ton the character of the people, say nothing of po-
ltes) must return loving his country more than ever
and blessing his that he was born anaAmercan
For my own part though there are many things in
Paris that shall leave with great regret, shall bid
adeu to with dry eyes, and shall greet with plea
sure my return, the clear sky the rich fields the
| free and honest population of my native land.
In one of my last letters gave account ofmy
very agreeable tour in Holland l am much pressed
for time present. and cannot give you the remainder
of it with much detail but will merely recall some
OF the ODJec's WHICH came my
| notice.
| Before quitting Amsterdam. | made excursion
to the little village of Brock, which is famous for being
"the cleanesl in the world" 1t is about six miles
north of Amsterdam and stands up from the surface
| of the vast meadowand which forms the whole of
this par, of Holland like the Arab tents in the midst
of the great desert. 1t is small village, built around
| the banks Of little pond formed by the widening out
of the canal which by Brock by all the other
towns of Holland The most remarkable peculiarly
ofthe village is, that it has streets wide enough for
carriages and vsiters therefore Obliged to halt at
an inn the outside os the town, and explore It's In
| terror on foot. The little alleys which answer the
purposes of streets in other towns, about SIX feet
| in width, and paved 18th small bricks, and being ne
yer trodden but by the shoes of the inhabitants they
| are smooth and clean the well-tended gravel
walks of flower garden. Opon these miniature
streets open miniature yards counts, paved with
bricks ofvarious coors disposed in squares, tranges
and hundred other varieties of design so to form
a sort of Mosaic Each house has its separate
closure of painted pailngs and they all exhibit the
true Dutch taste of brght-colored painting, though
green is the predominant color. The larger houses,
which belong to rich retired tradesmen from Amster
which distinguishes the Dutch architecture more per-
haps than that Of any other country in the world
less it be unclassic America. The little
summer houses standing the banks o. the minia-
ture lake. in perfect keeping with every thing
around Them loaded with fancifu ornaments, and
clean, neat and spotlessly white if they had been
finished but yesterday. The gardens, too, fault
essly neat and some of them contain world of odd
| EMOTIONS and ''gimcIacks." Brock could not be
| without its canals, which, like the lake from which
they ramfy the Streets the houses and every thing
else in miniature, being only wide enough to let
one or two small toats pass. In word Brock is a
toaon in miniature, and strongly reminds one of
baby -heuse. The interior of the houses is, As may
be supposed, model Of cleanliness and order. The
Brocktes never enter without pulling of their shoes,
the door, and when the Emperor of Russia visited
Brock thirty years ago. he obliged to submit
the same ceremonial the lady of the house observing
ing, that if he were the Burgomaster of Brock
himself, he should not enter her house in boots.
gained admission into one of the less pretending
dwellings without being subjected to this dsagreeable
necessity 1t cheese making establishment that
l entered, and the good woman, who superntended
the operations, explained to me by signs, for our
tongues were of no use to us on the OCCASION the
various steps of the process from the churnng by
dog-po,oer machinery, to the moulding and drying.
Every thing exhibited degree of cleanliness
and order and the panks worn half through by
mere dint of scrubbing. part of the house is ar
ranged into winter habitaon for the cows and it
was as clean and neal as the rest of the establish
ment. From motives of cleanliness, the cows tails
are tied up to iron rings, and trough is placed be-
hind them with the view. After viewing the
rooms devoted the bped part of the household and
sufficiently complimentlng the housewife upon the
brightness Of her old and well rubbed cupboards and
the beauties of her many colored porcelain plates and
cups disposed in ornamental array about the rooms
took my leave of her and Of Brock and returned to
: Amsterdam.
6 This part Of Holland exhibits the characteristic
features of the country in their highest degree 1t is
one boundless and uninterrupted meadow as fiat and
as green newly drained marsh. Not tree nor
mound of earth varies the strange monoony, the
emptiness of this singular landscape. The little ca
nails, OF rather bitches, which ntersect the meadows
from point to point, answering the purpose of fen
ces) now and then herd of cattle dotting the rich
green surface and from time to time cluster of red
brick houses rising up to view far off in the distance
these with the dark of Amsterdam in the hori-
zon, all the objects which the eye dscerns il
! roams over the vast void, I" the boundless CONT
guilty of space" The view of such landscape Gre
ates strange feeling it is mixture of pleasure and
of dissatisfaction Of astonshment and of sad lonel
ness that it is impossible to shake off Nowhere on all
this green surface which is really so fertile and pro-
ductve is any thing visible which give signs of the
care and labor of the hasbandman: nowhere is the
sod broken by the plough the spade but all is
fiat smooth, UNMARRIED meadow The round-faced and