Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-06-12
LIVELY TIMES IN HOLLAND.
A Young Girls Graphic Account OF
q Skating Trip.

Oar winter has been, as probably every
where else, exceptionally cold; an old
fashioned winter, and one that will
be recorded in the annals of history. and
not soon forgotten, writes little
girl from Holland to st. Nicholas. Ot
course, it has been the cause Of much
poverty and misery, and every one was
thankful when, after weeks of severe
frost, the thaw fell in; but much has
been done to soften the sufferings of the
poor, and those who went round to ask
for help did not ask in vain. On the
other hand, the whole country was alive
with wholesome merriment, caused by
the skating that was practiced over the
whole length and width of our watery
little land. Holland is very Characters
tic and very much at its advantage dur
ing such time, and am really thank
full that have lived through such win
ter, and also that it has come at period
of my life when have been able to join
In the universal movement.
As you know. great many OF the
people, especially the peasants, skate
very well. The country is cut up by
canals, running from one town to the
other, and from one village to the other;
along these waters slow barges travel
peacefully the whole summer through,
laden with Goals, wood, vegetables, pot
terry, and numberlesS other things:
great deal of traffic is done in this slow
but sure way, as it is a very cheap mode
of transport. But these same waters now
bore much livelier aspect. People OF
ell classes skated along lheir smooth sur
faces, and many have been the expedi-
tons planned and executed to skate from
one town to the other hating at several
small villages on the way, and thus see
ing the country in an original ana very
pleasant manner.
Ny sister and /, and several ladie' and
gentlemen, made charming excursion
on one of the finest and mldest days OF
the winter. The sun shone brightly,
the sky was blue, and although the
thermometer pointed below zero, it was
quite warm and delicious to skate. We
were quite large party, and went from
the Hague to Amsterdam, and thence
across the Y and farther over the inland
waters to Monnickendam, on skates OF
course. MOnnickendam lies at the Zui-
der Zee, which is kind Of bay formed
by the North Sea, and surrounded by
several provinces of our country. In
comparison with your grand lakes, II is
small, but we consider it quite a largo
water, and it is very rarely frozen over.
This year, however, it was one immense
surface of ice stretching itself out as far
as the eye could reach. 1t was quite the
thing this winter to go out and see it {,
so, Of course, we went there and visited
the small island of Marker which is sit
uated near the coast
The Zuidcr Zee was very curious and
interesting to see. Fancy an enormous
field of ice crowded with thousands OF
people all on skates, and moving swiftly
between them brightly painted sledges
with strong horses and jingling bells,
looking very picturesque. Also little ice
boats with large sails that come flying
across the frozen waters, looking like |
great birds, but keeping at little dis
lance from the crowd for fear Of acct
dents. A fair was held on the ice, where
therewcrc going on all kinds Of harmless
anusemsnts, and little tents where they
sold cakes and steaming hot milk and
chocolate. The whole scene, the bright,
moving, joyous crowd, made ME think
Of the pictures of the old masters, like
Teniers and Ostade, itwas so thoroughly
Dutch. But to think that this immense
solid surface, wherein you moved so
confidently, would melt again before the
year was much older and change itself
into tapping waves was hardly couceiy-
lblel