Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-07-18

the dash and spirit Of tho scenes we'll
rendered. No one c. an doubt that these
sets Of friends q Ad companions are
equally ready for fighting or revelliug
at moments iotice.
Harlem has been for centuries the
noted T ot for tulip-growing, but We
were to early TO see these flowers
bloor.. We went through some Of the
gsr' .ers, however, especially devoted
to the culture Of these bulbs, and on
,esving HARLEM for Leyden we saw
, acres Of hyacinths Of various tints
along the side Of the railway. The ct.
| feet was very good. We were told
that a hyacinth nearly black was grown
last year and considered great tri-
| umph, as tho attempt has been made
without success for many years.
Leyden is one Of the Oldest towns In
Holland, the all-conquering Romans
having penetrated so far, and it 10 even
said that Drusus built the castle whose
ruins pass under the name Of the Burgt.
The ruin consists Of circular build
| ipg recently covered with modern-look-
| ing battlements. The Town Hall is q
fine specimen of Dutch architecture in
red brick and white stone, and is of the
sixteenth century.
THE HAGUE.
Our next stopping-plsce was The
| Hague, the capital, though not the
largest town, Of Holland, charming
place of medium size. IL has central
park Of moderate dimensions, and out
side the town woods and drives Of con-
siderable extent. Many Of the canals
are bordered with fine trees, and the
public buildings are distinctive in char
acter. A double square resembling
two courts is surrounded by houses
| where many Of the important events in
Dutch history have taken place, and such
Q look Of the past clings round them still
that one can easily coDjure up the scenes.
ScheveningeD, Seaside resort, within
two miles Of The Hague and connected
with it by means of a tramway, has a
wide, sandy beach and good hotels, q
casino and restaurants, where the resi-
dents of The Hague go in crowds on
warm summer evenings. BY pleasant
drive from Schevenipgen we reached the
House in the Wood" royal resi-
dence of unpretending size but charm.
ing interior, situated in the forest-like
park that lies around the suburbs
Of The Hague. 1t was built in
I647 by the widow Of Prince Fred
erick Henry, Of Orange, in memory
of her husband, and was last inhabited
By the late Queen Sophie, the first wife
Of the present King of Holland and an
appreciatiye friend Of John Lathrop
Motley. The portrait Of the distin-
guished American historian of the
Netherlands hangs in the late Queens
reception.rocm. The chief apartment,
the octagonal Orange room, was deco
rated by the pupils Of Rubens, under
the orders of the Princess, who wished
to make it q sort of apotheosiS of her
husband. 1t is painted from top to bot
tom with scenes from the life of Prince
Frederick, beginning with the genii pre-.
siding over bis birth and going on to his
final triumph over his homo and foreign
foes. Though fine in its way and ad-
mirably preserved, it is somewhat
gaudy and lacks refinement and delicacy
of execution. The palace is low
building spread along a terrace, and
catches all the sun and light possible,
and is more like genial home of cult
waited people than the typical abode Of
a queen. Most Of the articles of value
were stamped with the crown and mi
tails of the Princess Royal, child OF
six years and heiress to the throne.
We are told that the old King is anx-
ious that under all circumstances this
attractive residence should fall to her.
FINE PAINTINGS.
The museum contains many foe
paintings, and is an excellent collection
for the study Of Dutch art, as it en-
braces examples Of most of the we'll
known painters. Tho two pictures
with the widest-spread fame are the
Anatomy Lesson Of Rembrandt and the
cattle piece of Paul Potter, though it
is perhaps hardly fair TO class them to-
eether. In the Anatomy Lesson the pro-
lessor is demonstrating to the seven other
surgeons around him the anatomy of the
arm. The picture is really group OF
portraits of staff Of surgeons, and was
painted for this corporation hall. The
faces of the men are remarkably intelli-
gent, and there is an absence of every
thing repulsive that is usually
10 prominent in copies Of this
picture. The living men are evidently
intent in thoughtful fashion on the
scientific work, and the poor dead one
is stretched out, and looks as if he
were even bodily removed worlds away
from the fellow-mortals round him.
One can hardly imagine stronger pic
ture of tho difference between the pre-
sence and absence Of the soul aud Of
how absolutely a mere husk the body
is after the soul has left it. In the
same gallery are numberless interiors,
reproducing Dutch life in the inn or the
cottage home, many landscapes, and
portraits. Tho two wives of Ruben's-
Isabella Brandt and Helen Fourmont-
are handsome women, and more re-
fined in their actual portraits than in
many Of the pictures where they were
ceaselessly introduced by their hus-
band for he had hdbit Of painting
them constantly in all kinds Of char
acters,
DELFT.
After leaving The Hague on our way
south we spent a few hours in seeing
the town of Delft, once celebrated for
its china. Now it is q bright, pic
turesque town, where canals and lazy
sailboats, masts, rigging, gabled
houses, and windmills combine and
dissolve and rearrangs themselves into
all kinds of grouping suitable foT
painting. There is no need for paint
era to study composition here-every
turn seems to bring up something ready
to begin on. In Delft William the ST.
lent, the founder Of Dutch independ-
| ence was ynurdered in l52l oftav