The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1882-12-03
A VISIT TO ZAARDAM.
BY SARAH oRNE JEWETT.

w . OuIu6U presently lulO udI-
rover canal, and soon reached Zaar-
dam. We did not have good first
impression of it. We had felt we
were adventures, and almost as if
no American travellers before us had
bethought themselves to make such
good use of a summer afternoon.
We had felt ourselves remote from
the beaten track of tourists, al
though we had found in the guide
book directions for going to Brock
by way of Zaardam. And yet it was
such quaint and pleasant corner of
the world that we had all the salts
faction of being the first discover
ers, until we, were fairly landed Oh
the little pier.
Then five men ian towards US IN
a great hurry. One claimed us for
his own, and began to talk in frag-
ments of English about Peter the
Greats house, while his neighboTs,
in voluble Dutch, implored us to
make arrangements to hire a We
hicle of them, in which to drive to
see all the rest of the world; and he
translated their threats and en-
treaties, when he could desist for a
moment from telling us something
we could not understand about
Peter the Great. Dutch numbers
are impossible for an American to
recognize by ear, and it was a great
relief when one of the men pulled a
crumpled paper from his pocket,
and pointed to printed
tariff, from which we learned
that for certain gulden we
conld be driven to Brock, and after
ward to the dollhouse, whence we
could cross the ferry to Amsterdam.
We were really tired when the
clamor ceased, and four men turned
their attention to putting in the
horse, while the fifth walked quietly
before us to the shrine of Zaardam.
1t was our first lock at q Dutch
village, except as we had hurried
through a part of the country on
the railway, day or two before
We thought that Brock itself, the
cleanest town in the world, could
hardly be cleaner than this. The
salt air blew across the sweet green
fields, the easements were
full Of flowers, and the sun
shine streamed in at the open doors.
All the people looked comfortable,
and nobody had seemed to take any
notice Of the excitement on the
wharf. We followed our guide
along the crooked thoroughfare !;
having suspicious that there might
be treasures waiting to be dis
covered in the orderly small shops,
and catching glimpses OF theinteriOr
OF the houses as we went by.
We were fully convinced that we
had not been the first strangers to
come to the town, when we reached
the home of the Russian Peter, if
we had failed to be before, for it was
so carved upon and written upon
with names of pilgrims that it was
like a page of the worlds census. 1t
was certainly well taken care of.
The old house was warped and bent
with age, but an outside shell and
cover had been built over it, so
that visitors could walk between
the walls of the two houses.
There had been not a few royal
pilgrims, whose portraits, compli-
ments with their autographs APP
pended. were hanging about the
walls in frames-a grander way of
leaving ones name, but much the
same thing as carving it with a jack
knife, that all the world may see.
It was easy to fancy the young
Russian coming home atnight tired
from his ship building, and sitting
in the three-cornered chair which Is
still part of the house furniture.
His thoughts must have been far
enough away from Zaardam; but
wonder that he ever lived to return
to his people, if he slept in the low
stored cupboard Of bed. guarded
with closed doors and built III the
wall of the kitchen.
The house stood just at the edge
of a field, quite apart from even the
smallest activities of Zaardam. 1t
seemed a pity to go to see it. 1t is
the most tired-ouJ little house /
have ever seen. 1t can hardly hold
itself up, and there is no business
or decay. The people take good
care of it, and prize it highly, as
well they may, since 1t brings them
so much money; but it appeared to
me like some human being who had
reached very great age, and be-
come an object of interest TO curios-
ity hunters. There was a garden
around the keepers lodge. Child
rem were strolling about and sailing
little boats in very small cana, ap-
parently made on purpose for them
AS we looked up and down
the wide canal, a sluggish and idle
waterway, it was pleasant to see
the doors opening directly upon it.
and the little boat-landings; and as
for the scarlet geraniums on the
wide window-sills, lay all leaned
over to look at themselves in the
water. The grass and weeds grew
ia most luxuriant fashion, and all
the vegetation was as vivid a green
asst ever can be in Ireland. Where.
ever there was bit Of ground large
enough a garden had been made
and with the children's voices chirp'
ing and calling. and the sound OF
laughter in one Of the houses neal
by, it was all as charming a glimpse
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