Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-10-16
Letter From Holland.
From the New York Observer.

Letter from Holland
-.., From the New York Observer,
| wonder how many American children
would like to live in this curious country,
Surely, none who know much about the
eauty of our New England hills in sum-
mer, or have enjoyed coasting in winter,
could be satisfied here for it is the fat
test of all fiat lands Even those who are
"a little proud of their Dutch grandfathers
would be very glad they had emgrated
As you steam calmly and slowly up the
Meuse, river but little wider than good.
sized canal, the highest and most conspic-
uous objects in sight are the
wINDMILLs
Turn where you will, in every direction
stand armies of them, beating the air.
With their sails, some one hundred feet
long and eight feet wide, whirling rapidly,
you can easily fancy that in the dim twi-
light they would seem more like active
hobgoblins than the useful, Woodworking
creatures they really are; for they grind
the grain of the country, beside doing con-
slant duty in keeping the land, what there
is of it, dry, and the water in all The bitches
at the same level. At first, astonished at
the sight, you attempt to count them: but
they come In view so suddenly and rapidly
that you cease in utter dispair and gaze
bewildered at the multitude, and are only
comforted for your failure by remembering
that the guide-boo gives Holland 10000
of them.
The steamboat, or "sto omboot," as it is
called here, goes slowly along, stopping at
cid +oxupS r;tb bo,,ooe +,,,,,, i -
ends toward the street, among them bort,
where the famous Synou settled the arti-
Giles of faith of the Reformed Church :;
passing heavy, ungraceful ships, with
broad, queerly shaped bows and at Rot
terdam we take an equally slow railroad
train Tor
THE HAGUE.
Once the hunting seat of the Counts of
Holland, it was called ola Haye,o from
the hedge which surrounded their lodge !:
and so the city has since held the name
always so puzzIing 10 young students of
geography.
Here are the royal palaces and fine
picture gallery, which holds some remark
able paintings. One of them is of a young
bull, with white and brown spots standing
IN field quite like an American field, with
two or three sheep. COW. and an old
man near by. 1t is d natural scene
enough, but so very natural that it would
scarcely astonish you to see the animals
move, while you invoIuntarily wonder if
the bulls eye can have caught sight of
your scarlet necklie and if it will rouse his
fury,as scarlet always does rouse well-edu.
Gated bulls; and so you forget that it is
only bull done iu oils by Paul Potter, a
Holland painter, who died 2l8 years ago.
Yet you do not wonder that Napoleon
Bonaparte who after he had conquered
country, always carried it's most valued
possessions In art away to adorn Paris,
after the manner of the old Romans. who
always held their trlumphal professions
of captlves laden with spoils, refused the
Sl0n,00O which the Dutch Government
offered him to allow it to remain at the
Hague. 1t is considered PotLers's finest
work and valued at $4,000. There is
another, by Rembrandt, where the pro-
lessor IN Anatomy is showing the muscles
OF a dead mans arm TO his pupils re-
markabie, but not an attr active picture
from which we turn with pleasure to a
home scene, by Gerard Douw. A pretty,
checked baby in its cradle, while her
mother is engaged in some household
work, showing that good daughters helped
their mothers in Holland oven 200 wears
ago.
Its broad streets, ight-colored houses,
and pleasant drives, make the Hague an
attractive city and not unlike ether Con-
tinental towns. But
AMSTERDAM.
is very queer. Aim ost every street has a
canal through the centre, which divide
the city into 81 islands and are crossed by
nearly 300 bridges of wood and stone.
The whole city is built upon piles driven
into the ground, but it has stood longer
and seems quit as firm as many built On
solid land. The houses face each other
with gable ends, and in the narrow streets
lean forward as if the upper stories would
touch each other. Here is one of the finest
palaces in Europe. 1t stands in large,
open square, which these Hollanders call
the " damm," showing that words have
not always the same meanings: and
though the Hollanders are very proud of
their language and dislike exceedingly to
be mistaken for Germans III speech or GUS
toms, yet sometimes, to foreigner, it |
seems very much as if they simply took an
English or French word and placed the |
letters /, j." either in the centre or on
the end .a-s- 4a.
The royal palace was finished about
1865 and used first as a courthouse or city
hall. Napoleon l., however, made his
brother Louis, who was the father of the |
present ex-Emperor of the French, King
OF Holland, and this fine building was
used as his palace. 1t has many fine |
paintings, but is more remarkable for it's
marbles. Pillars of various kinds of col |
ored marble attract you everywhere while
the ballroom, l25 feet long and SIS feet
wide, is lined throughout with pure Ital |
ian Marble, the panels beautifully carved
in flowers and fruit, At one end stands
a colossal Fl cure Of Atlas. bent over by the
weight ofthe world on his shoulders. A
century and more ago, when Holland was
a great commercial power, besides boast
ing her Admiral Van Tromp, who was the
hero of 80 battles and who sailed with a
broom fastened to his masthead-a signal I
that he would sweep the seas clean of all !
opposing nayies-that statue did we'll |
enough but now, it would be difficult to !
believe that the whole world was in HoI- |
land. .
The strangest custom is that which |
makes the village of Brock place for all .
strangers to visit; but about its wonderful |
neatness and queer headdress which we
induced Dutch woman there to show us, |
must tell you another time.
BITTERSWEET. |