Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1876-05-17
Dutch Women.

AN English writer gives the following
glowing description of Dutch women:
| must first make the negative remark
that they do no: resemble Ruben's fat
Madonnas. Those represent Flemish Ia
dies, while the Dutch have very generally
dark hair and eyes, and, strange to say,
there is something Spanish looking in not
a few. The Dutch lady's face is grave
and thoughtful one. There is much quiet
dignity in it. 1t indicates great capacity
of emotion, but is not easily moved Nei-
ther does she speak too readily, but with
a certain calm deliberation, which gives a
quietness to her society unlike that of Ia
dies in general. Too much reticence of
tongue, however, is not considered a usual
female fault; the mention of it may exalt
my Dutch friends in the opinion of many,
! and, indeed, to my mind, there could
hardly be a better specimen of humanity
than good Dutch lady. She seems to be
altogether unique. / cannot associate her
with the ladies OF any other countries
have known. How industrious she is,
rising early and late taking rest! How
neat, without preciseness! How active
without tussiness How devoted to her
household and her family! How clever
with her needle and her scissors, both in
the useful and the ornamental, and about
so many things which we English ladies
despise; and yet how cultivated she is
without the least pretension To compose
admirably in two, even in three languages
beside her own, does not entitle any lady
there to the name of "blue stocking -
and far deeper studies than these are often
pursued without the least assumption of
that character. And what friends are
these Dutch ladies! How thoughtfully af-
fectionate, how considerably kind! Happy
they who can call them So! Their humble
sisters present very different appearance
from themselves, but still keep us far
from Rubens's pictures, having a much
| more compact and neat exterior, and be-
ing really remarkable for their general
prettiness. They are usually very fair,
although the braid of hair on the white
forehead, of which so little is seen, owing
to the stiff border of the snowy cap, is of
soft dark brown. This cap, with clean
print jacket, and buy-a broom black
skirt, short and full forms the costume of
the servants, neat and pretty race, and a
sturdy one, too, as anyone may perceive
who will walk through Dutch town
early on Saturday morning, and see how
a Dutch maiden can propel the upward
stream from her water-spout to the top.
most windows of the lofty houses. Really
she looks pretty as, with her fair, oval face
turned upward, whittier she sends her
streams, with her rounded arms bare, and
with many little movement Of her neat
and active person, she spreads her floods
around, remaining like naiad in the
midst of them. She looks pretty, | say,
quite pretty enough, at all events, to pre-
vent the jest from being sheer, when a
Dutch writer wittily exolaims, "Why
should we complain that we have no
fountains in our large towns, since each
Saturday every canalside and principa!
street is fountain, where hundreds OF
naiads, not of bronze or marble, but full
of life and vigor, shoot up streams of
water in graceful bows, rushing against
the loftiest windows with cheerful clatter,
and spreading freshness and GOODNESS all
around?"