The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-09-10
HOLLAND.
Amsterdam and Other Dutch Towns.
ISos,, lyoud Ao,ysD

n
Nom "GOOd NeOS."
Amsterdam is one of the finest cities in Eu-
rope but one OF the most peculiar places a
traveller can see. The houses are all of bf ck
sold ana capGcous; the streets generally are
wide, often planted with trees, thronged and
active; It's wharves teemmg with life; its
shoOs al ed with wares from every part of the
globe. Ii is a rich city. You see at once that
mere IS one OF the great centres OF trade, one of
the great depols of exchange. Amsterdam is
built on piles. Every street has canal in the
con,Tc OF IT, through which boats and lighters
aie peTpe ullly psssing, giving to the whole
city an air OF activity which you scarcely
see anywhere e,se. The houses have
Almost alt settled upon theic ioundatoas and
scarcely S1ugle one stands perfectly perOea-
dlcular. Leaning every way, some of them lean
so much that III tue narrow streets, few of
which you see even in A nsterdam, they nearly
touch one another at the top. This gives the
whole city sirapge, tumble.down lool and
almost makes you AFRAID to trust yourself in
some places. stranger in merely walsInq
through Amsterdam will find constantly infinite
amusement. He will notice the novel and mic.
turcsque combination of water, trees idgps
ana sb piping ~ the very heart Of the city, The
quaint buildings in many OF the streets with
gables TO the sidewalk. the seIges used for carts,
tne aW w stating and gaping turkshC~ds before
the or shpl s, the brioht brass kettles IN the
WINDOWS CT hardware stores, the enormous pipes
eNpo'ed for sale IN toy shops. the draw-Dridces
constantly opening and shutting, the clean,
neat women with their tidy cap1 and white
aprons, aud their glazing silver and gold orna-
ments ON their heads, while, perhaps their feet
are enCascl IL huge wooden shoe9, with which
they 60 climbing along making a noise Ike a
morse, aud Shie he admIre5 many things he
will Ce coustraine to laugh sometimes outright
al the novelty OF the whole scene enacting be.
fore bls eyes. Onc thing he will be soon per.
fectly sure Of; and ii he has been in France, and
espec ally Italy, before, he will be sure that
everything here IS perfectly clean. Dust and all
kinds OF uncleGnliness IS the universal abhol.
renee OF all Holland. AnythiDg that water
aided by the broom and the mon, can wash
away or remove is sure to be removed. Every
shop and house Is sure 10 be clean if it is no.
The state House in Amsterdam is one of the
noblest bu''oiugs in Europe; ample solid ald
imposing. it is worthy OF the enterprise and
the wealth or great commercial capital. 1t
contains me very fine pictures, and is the
residence OF the King OF Holland when he comes
to the city. Louis Napoleon resided here some
time, and there were sill in the apartments
which be occupied some memorials of him
shown. The churches are noble old minister's in
the medieval style, but ha7ing been stripped in
the time of the Reformation OF all their pictures
and he walls whitewashed. they look bare; and,
as places of Protestant worship, are about as
uncomfortable as can well be imagined. Tue
Botanic Garden and the Geological Collection
are in good taste, and as extensive and well
arranged as anything you see i'll Europe, with
the exception o. Regents Park. Tue Geological
Gardens in London have no parallel In the
streets OF tbs strange city with peculiar feelings
reading the names on the sien-boaTds, and won
derne as we saw those which were familiar to
us, whether those who bore them retained any |
recollection OF those who had wandered from
thence INTO our own distant land, and whether |
they would be willing TO acknowledge kindred
with two strangers who had come from that laud
to look at the home of thclr ancestors.
From Amsterdam we made an excursion one
day 10 Brock, celebrated as the cleanest and
neatest place in the world; and, in fact il is so.
1t contains about eight hundred inhabitants,
mostly merchants, Landed proprietors, stock
holders and other persons OF fortune who have
reu1ed here to spend their leisure and enjoy
lie. You leave your carriage at the inn by
thr side of the village aud pOceed to inspect it
on foot. There is not street in it, or bridge, |
wide enough 10 admit a carriage. notice on |
smoke within the precincts of the town without
stopper on their pipes. The narrow streets
inteTsectiDg. it are paved with bricks or
small pebbles set in patterns; the paths
even from the trees are carefully
swept up every morning. The houses are not
large, standrg with their gables to the street.
constructed OF boards and scrupulously painted
white or green, many of them in a kind of
forid, gTotesque style, which is neither Grecian,
German, nor Chinese. One has pa,teboard.
looking font intended to represent temple;
another Is painted in all colors, as it were a
theatre; another is as plain as can be; while
still another seems to be the queerest, oldest
Thing you ever saw, something between bird
cage and Chinese temple. The front door is
always closed except on occasions OF funeral,
a wedding, or a christening; and, though the
marble steps are washed every day, no foot ever
steps upon them except upon these eXtraordi
nary occasions.
We were admitted into one, where we saw the
china all arranged in rows Just as our grand
mothers used to arrange it, the same little tiny
cups and sauceTs which we admired so much in
our juyenility. The fireplace, whitewashed
inside, and the chimney back covered with
foweIed pager, the trammels shining like silver,
and the pots and kettles as bright as new coined
dollars, the wood work secured with soap and
brush Until it showed marks of giving out. You
leave your shoes at the door and put on slippers,
and if you should bring in a particle of dust it
is not Improbable that you would give the good
lady q iii of Mysteries. We went into the school
and saw the children, and they were as clean a.
the lest. We dined at the hotel and the young
landlady put on her best cap, her ceanest apron
and her gold ornaments to wait on us. Every
thing but the plates and knives was silver;
certainly it was the cleanest dinner table aud
furniture we had ever seen. Eere the children
came out of school to see us Dutch Americans
and their teacher to ask US questions, through
our guide as interpreter.