Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-11-06
ROTTERDAM.
The Quaint Ola Town and It's TnPer
turbably Good 1nhabitants.

]
turbabiy Good Inhabitants.
Nowadays, thanks to railways and
modern improvements. the approach to
nearly all towns is spoiled. You enter
Rotterdam on higher level than the
roofs of the houses. amid the usual mas
Of rail tracks, stacks of coal and sooty
serpentine water-hosc. The station and
the people about it look modern and
dirty and commonplace. The only
thing that strikes and makes one feel
that one is travelling In foreign country
II the inscriptions and advertisements
written in that queer Dutch language.
that seems now corruption Of English,
and now Of Gcrman-a language when
one is constantly on the point OF under
standing, but without ever quite achiev-
ing that happy result. Once outside the
station the charm begins. First OF all
there is the triumphant and monumental
windmill in the center Of the town, and
then. wherever you turn, you find
yourself in n labyrinth OF canals
crowded with ships and boats of all
kinds. bordered with Nrees and boule-
wards lined with lofty houses. The city
Is different from anything that can be
seen elsewhere in Europe. 1t is com
bination Of streets. quays, canals and
bridges. so complicated that you can
hardly feel sure whether it is 4 dock
yard or town. whether there is more
land than water. and more ships than
houses, for each canal Is crowded
with ships of all sizes. except
in the middle, where there re-
mains a dark green channel by which
the boats pass in and out. You are
moving along with the tranquil crowd
of Dutchmcn. with their serious air and
their broad yellow faces-but faces of
yellow such as you do not see else
where, the yellow of Parmesan cheese
with their blonde, reddish, or yellowish
hair; some of them bcardless, others
with fringe of hair around their faces.
such as the English call Ncwgatc frill;
and among them women, with equally
yellow faces, long teeth, broad launches,
and formlcss bodies. by no means re-
minding one of the robust beauties which
Rubens painted. The men in this crowd
are neither well-looking nor stalwart, but
small and lean; as for the women, they are
almost invariably very plain, and not al
ways so clean and tidy rs tradition re-
ports. Suddenly there is halt; the
crowd thickens, a balance-bridgc rises
in the air. ship or barge glidcs past;
the toll-taker swings wooden shoe, at
tached to rod and line, and angles for
the toll money; the bridge falls into
position again. and the crowds and the
carts pass away on. calmly seriously, as
if they were trying TO show the obser-
want stranger how good they can be.
Yet the streets of Rotterdam are full of
animation. Tramways run in every di-
rcction, and there is constant tinkling
of their bells to warn the innumerable
carts to clear the track But all the
movement is commercal you see very
few carriages, no display of elegancy
and very few showy shops. In
fact, the vast majority of
the shops in the streets Of Rot
terdam are tobacco and cigar shops, sill
versmiths and provision stores. The
profusion Of shops for the sale of eat
ables and household wares is extraordin-
ary. Evidently it is more profitable in
Rotterdam TO appeal to the palate than
to the eve.
With all their movement there is
singular calm reigning in the streets Of
Rotterdam. The faces of the passers-by
are stolid; there is no chatting, no ges.
ticulating. The population is imper.
turbably good. l was constantly struck
by this feature of the Dutch wherever I
went; they are preternaturally tranquil.
At Rotterdam, it may be argued. the
people are preoccupied with business,
and have no time TO be gay and noisy.
But at their holiday resorts they are
equally quiet One Sunday afternoon l
went down to Scheveningen, the famous
seaside resort, near the Hague. and l
WAS utterly astounded at the bearing OF
hardly halp think inU that thp whole