New-York tribune., 1879-09-26
TRAVELLING IN HOLLAND.
crvrp,1 ASPECT OF THE TOWNS.

lFRoM An ocCAsIoNAL CORRESPONDENT OF TIE f'ihVNhi
ROTTERDAM. Aug. 2S.-I forget who 1T was that
described Holland rs n country which craWs MY
feet of water .; but of the substantial accuracy ct
the description tourist tins Summer Is nncomiort-
ably convinced. With the floods Of ram thr"urh
the entire season. added TO the long familiar knock
ing of the North Sea at her ilood-gates and DYKES
Holland has about as much wafer III, around ana
over her as she can comfortably dispose 0i. lhA'
uneasy sense which Is never entirely absent ho' "
foreigner when he sees Dutchman digging IN
Rcld-that field and Dutchman may SD
dc " fall through us unpeasantly sng-
prsted just now. Then. too, Holland seen
cry needs sunshine to make It tocrahle lor
any considerable time. Under leaden SKY. ard
through fogs and sheets Of driving rain, us "reaIy
polders and willows aud windmills. the masts MS
ing here and there in the open fields A. II the earth
had closed over a fleet the low, rounded Dunes ana
the slow clumsy barges creeping along the lhl''-
minahe canals are enough to drive any one p"'
Dutchman to despair. 1t is now two weeks sIhce
from the belfry of Antwerp Cathedral while Inc
s,v.ct hells cI,imcd Souvenir de Rome below,
looked over into the Holland " Hats across the
Srheldt. Ten days of the fourteen 1t has ralheu'
and not all Of the remainder have been ei"dles ny
any means; and the hotel men everywhere, from
Roosendaol to Amsterdam. shake their heads, and
So -
quiet refinement and simple. kindly courtesy of The
Dutch furnish pleasant contrast 70 the pushing
sclhshncss. offensive table manners and hoisterouS
copvivialty If the German tourists. II has become
so common to make the word "1)ri ch synonym
for everything eioi or stupid that even some oih-
crwise weinfcrwcd people are blind 10 me r'ai
culture and yigor of tie Netherllnder II he seems
pheematc as be smokes HIS meerschaum on the
ouavs of the Spaarnr or SITS beneath the'fTcrs oil
the ilocrcneracht hrs mcditatons nevertheless take
practical shape IN ships and in coloniH enterprise
and come back 20 hls hgh-gabiod houses IN bales OF
cotton. spices apd japanese gods bionzes and p'r
celaIn. The sea has been hi nard schoolma~t'r ~
engineering. Next 90 keeping his native land
from theyomcity OF the SpanlTd Ids great prob
lem has been 10 Keep 10 above water. lhc Auisieb
the Roitr, the Scgic the Zlaa mast have dams and
be has bnili the dams and made Amsterdam, Rot
ter,ialn. schiedam and Ziaudnm lie conironts the
ocean with granite M Eelder, and makes TIE Rhine
wash the sand from its own little month at h1t-
wiki III his churche, with their wonderfully curved
pupIts and great sounling-boar Is suggest intermi-
nable s,rnors on sleepy Summer Sunday after
moons. there must hc IN awJl>ins under t.e
sto-m th,ir hgh-built ORGANS make" Magnificent
Instruments they arr llaarirm las lot thc only
one by any means. Let &c DE- remembered That ii'i-
land. so flr from lug passive amid the
general frneat Of religions taoGeA', has q
raiioa9l-tic movement ia the heart of lis own
piott.i.n.i,n Q!c as Aggressive, not 10 say quite
as formidable, as many OF tfose which nave pre-
ccdc 10 in Germany.
In lis deep quietuic. moreover, our Dutchman is
not wholly selfish. H. has thoast Tor ihc sailor
who pilots his -pc -lad.n oaik-. as well as for ,Ae
ship. thems.ycs on thsir wa from the Ccle1es.
His "Zcemau.hoolH displays its seu ou ihe "dam,'
ID M 4 r4
sore one has an eye 90 he wife and babes 81 home.
Ills society for the public wclfars7 VIII nos ven-
fure upou The name ln the vcruscularl Bumhe-s
Il. 600 members and sprs ada its arms over al
Holland, establishing Sunday caoDs, normal
schools. public lectures. reading rooms, savings
banks for widow, aud orphans, and libraries
Among the oh corporation pictures for which
Holland Is so famous, one finds not only "banqreis
of Ar,uehrsicrs" and directors e spinning fac-
tories" and the "guild Of stallnccstcr," Int also
" Governors of Hospitals" and "laly managers Of
orphinagcs;' and tho. who would know something
Of more ruodcru Dltch charities viii find much to
interest them IL Dr. L!oidGs Charities OF Europe
Even The idiot has enlisted tic clogt and has repaid
The patience Of Dutch phiiantTopi-ts
-Four years ago, when came 10 Rotterdam from
Antwerp, we wo.e ferned over the Mans
IL a steamboat. and joited in crowded
omnibus 20 the HAGUE station, GA the
outskirts Of the town. Now Tie river is spauucd by
twomarnifcent bridges, and the tram deposits you
at the Bcurs station within few minutes Of your
hotel on tine B0omrjos, where tie names Of tie
shirs, which vou read from your window, and The
japanese figures on your wallpaper, bring 20 you
FAINT favor of the Orient, even in this busiest and
most unattractive OF Dutch cities. The Kerns."
or annual far. was at nigh tide. a space equal TO
several squares devoted to the purpose, but the
rcvery and trade particularly the latter. overows
into q side street here and there, where canvas
booths TEEN with appeals TO tie popular appetite,
above al with pOilertcs. sort of molassos cake or
gingerbread acres Of which Il had almost said are
displayed i'm and piles decorated with frosted
sugar in all Imaginable coors and devices. and,
with half-reyealed plums and curranis, Civ
ing appetizing hints "how rich the soul of
sweetness dwclls within" One could not help
thinking OF Mr.. Curiiss description Of Mrs. Poll
phai's ball" the apotbeOsis of gilt ging,rhfead"
Passing through these side canals OF temptation, 10
the main centre Of the ful and IIihc, the sccne
ranged IN streets gIngerbreadbo0th-, shooting
galleries, circuses. harlequin shows, wax figures
puppet shows each the centre Of its own crowd |
The air Is saturated with the blare OF harmonious
and huge barrel-OIgans for which the |
Dutchmen seem TO have a,srocial tondneSs.
In the streets of Dutch city, let |
me say parenthetcally, they are worse |
nuisance than in New-YOrk and that Is saying |
good deal In the shooting booths the paper horses
IOch, ana lhe Junpln. Idchh hlch anu noo, anu tHc
white clav pipes sticking mp III myriads every |
where shivcr continually at the crack of the little
rifles. Round aud round fly the whrligigs 10 the |
blaze OF tho organs. the unfortunate horse
AT the axis patiently tramping his weary track, |
while the huge scaEoldiug, bediZened with velvet |
and spangles and ablaze with lights. bears round |
Its laughing throng OF men and women, boys and |
girls. mounted on wooden lions, Others seated |
IN groups in little curtained compartments. On q |
platform in front OF huge tent, occasionally |
lighted up with glare of red stage-lire. Harlequin
and Columbine tumble and cap and thwack each !
other as an earnest of higher leapIng and harder |
thwacks and more wonderful gymnastics within. |
Now and then open door half-Iaiscd cnrtain |
gives glimpse of an amphltheatre Grove ded with |
cxptcfant faces while In front Of the various shows,