The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1880-08-13
A Dutch Village.

w OTlucNinBt0 Is CURIOUS Village.
Its trees and houses closely resemble a
big lot ofNurembcrg toys just unpacked.
Imagine double row of dwellings, all
squat, ali pretty. al spotlessly clean, all
painted in vivid colors, all built ex &.
actly in the same way, with the same
materials, placed in two long lines, SYM
metrically intersccted by straw-colored
woodwork. Before these two lines OF
houses plant two rows of little old trees,
with thick trunks and spare foliage, all
clipped, shaped and painted; all of the
same size, and forming kind OF screen,
no thicker or higher at one end than at
the ether, nor in the middle than mt the
two extremitics. Then. in the street
busted, cleaned, scraped unremittingly
where the houses are washed aud ,saxei
until you could not find 8 spot upon
them, nor SO much rs n straw lying
about, whel% the trees have brushed
and cOmbed look. and not leaf Is out
OF its place; picture population of hon
est folk all dressed after the same fash
ion-the son like the father and the ia
ther like the grandfather; the little girl
like the grown-up girl, and the mamma
like the old grandmother-and you have
WOrmeldingen as nearly rs can give
you an idea of the place. Be careful to
remember that each little house, taken
eparatcly, il pretty bonbon box; and
that the costumes taken seperat' ly are
charming. These peasants, great md
small. dressed entirely in velvet and
black cloth, with their knee brooches,
their coarse stockings, their shoes with
silver buckles their high waistcoats with
a double row of buttons in iiligree silver
their coats cut into tilt ir waists. their
belts with silver clasps and their
gold buttons at the neck, look re-
markably well. Complete this cos
tune by a or -cefully shaped felt
hat, the brim raised behind and
sloping in front, SO that it forms II
sort of visor, and you will have n no
ton of the dress which is worn in Zuid-
Beveland. This costume looks pretty
on children, elegant on the men and pic
turesque on the old people,; and 1t is
always and everywhere most original
and characteristic. The uniform of the
women-for i really must call it sO-is
equally curious and equally tasteful.
From their most tender youth to the pitt
less age at which the body bent by years,
bowed down toward the earth soon to
be its last resting place, the form and
arrangement of the women's attire are
unvariable. From the cradle to the
tomb all the stout peasants have bare
arms, the bust confined by very tight
bodice, over which lies, in graceful
folds, handkerchief, fastened by n
coral brooch. The lace is framed in n
colt with wide borders, which resem-
bles veil rather than a cap. A fiat
piece OF gold hangs down on the fore
head; corkscrews of gold adorn the
temples; on the neck is coral necklace;
rings and brooches abound-in a word,
these women wear profusion OF valua-
BILE ornaments. So much for the upper
part of the figure. which Is highly
adorned and generally slim and delicate.
The slenderness of the women's figures
is rendered more striking by an enor-
nous petticoat, three yards wide. which
Is held out by a monstrous hoop re-
sembling n bell; the body, from the
waist up, representing the haLdle, and
the two slender legs the clapper. When
seen from a distance thus attired and
standing still, the women might easily
be taken for large dol S. The ruined
houses, tue mutilated buildings, the
torn up squares transformed into pits
and holes, all form a hideous scene of
ruin and devastation; and in the midst
OF 1t all the author places group of
ptObby XII los lllt COS-
tune of the period, laughing behind
their fans at the indiscreet speeches of
q gallant cavalier. Perhaps he wants
to make the frightful picture that he
places before our eyes seem more strik-
ing from this contrast.
The interior of the vast and ancient
church presents mournful aspect. Its
wide nave terminates in a ruin; 1t is
separated by a wooden partition from a
gigantic transept, and the latter. trans
formed into covered passage which
leads from one end of the quarter to
another, opens upon a space once occu.
pied by the choir, which has long since
disappeared. Nothing can be more i'm
pressive than this great empty piece of
ground, covered with briers, where
there are few great trees, where the
grass grows hard, dry and scanty, as
though in n cemetery, and where the eye
seeks In vain among the undulatiors OF
the soil for traces of the vanquished
choir. Those great ogival bays, now
masked by common masonry, and those
majestic arcades, whose fine architec-
tural curves remain unfinished, produce
a dreary effect. Still more melancholy
Is the transept, which has been trans
formed into passage, and Is now a re-
ttbtttio AoA tOilD5t
statues and broken grave slabs. A great
company OF heroes have been laid To
rest In this noble sanctuary. The
ancient seigneurs of Bergen had their
place of sepulture within its precincts;
aud. after them, the governors OF the
city. Morgan, who repulsed the Duke
of Parma; Louis Of Kethel. who OPP
posed Spinosa, were inferred here. The
gratitude OF the inhabitants had decreed
pompous inscriptions, has reliefs and
statues TO these valiant heroes; they
rested under the shadow of great
porticos of marble; but the cannon of
l747 disturbed their eternal slumber,
and mingled their ashes by breaking
into their tombs. OF all these superb
monuments there remain only a few
fragments, and we may think ourselves
fortunate TO be able to make out from
whence they came.-Hauard's Heart Of
Holland.