Morning journal and courier., 1891-01-01
A Land Of Queer Customs.

Mary MApes Dodge in the St Nicholas
 All things are reversed in Holland The main entrance to the finest public build ing in the country, the Palace, or late town hall, of Amsterdam, is its back door Bashful maidens hire beaux to escort them to the Kermis, or fair, on festival days. Timid citizens are scared in the dead of the night, by their own watchmen, whc At every quarter of the hour make such a noise with their wooden clsupers, one would suppose the town to be on fire. They go pumping over The bare cobbie- stones, while the driver holds dripping oil rag in advance of the runners to lessen friction You will see streets of water: and the country roads paved as nicely as Broadway. You will sec vessels hitched, like horses, to their owners door posts; and whole rows of sauare-peaked houses leaning over the street, as if they were getting ready to tumble Instead of sol emn striking clocks, you will hear church chimes playing snatches of operatic airs every quarter of an hour. by way of mark ing the time You will see looking glasses hanging outside of the dwellings; and pin cushions displayed on the street doors. The first are called spionnen (or spionnet- len) and are so arranged outside of the windows that persons sitting inside ca-, without being seen, enjoy a reflection of all that is going on in the street. They can lean. too, what visitor may be coming, and watch him rubbing his soies to a pol ish before entering. The pincushion means that a new baby has appeared in the household. If white or blue, the new conner is girl; if red, it is little Dutch nf -hza eSo showy affairs; some are not cushions at all, but merely shingles trimmed with rib
 bon or lace; and, among the poorest class, it is not uncommon to see merely a white | or red string tied to the door-latch-fit to-
 ken of the ID sager life the little stranger
 is destined to lead.
 Sometimes, instead of either pincushion
 or shingle, you will sec a large plAcard
 hung outside of the front door. Then you may know that somebody in the house
 if i'll, and his or her present condition is
 described on the placard for the benefit of inquiring friends; and sometimes, when ! such placard has been taken down, you | may meet a grimlooking man on the street dressed in black tights, short cloak, and | & high hat from which a long, black 1 streamer is flying. This is the Aanspre- ker, going from house 10 house to tell cer- tain persons that their friend is dead. He attends to funerals, and bears invitations to all friends whose presence may be de sired. A strange, weird-looking figure be is; and he wears a peculiar, professional cast of countenance that is anything but comforting
 No Wonder He Was Surprised. From the Portland oregoniAn
 The statement of the case of the mysii- fed young man published yesterday morn ing caught the eye of some one conversant with the facts in the case, and he has hastened to explain There was no inten- ton on the part of the lady who came to the door to either scare or hurt the young
 man, and the drenching he received WAS
 entirely accidental The unfortunate nnis-
 hap was as startling to the lady and as
 much regretted by her as by the innocent victim. The lady has a husband who has
 & psnscea for all the ills -hesl IS heir Is--
 his flesh st least-and on the evening in | question, not feeling we'll, he asked his
 wife to give him dose. The pansces is | composed of citrate of magnesia and some | other drug, which forms highly efferves- | cent compound, which has to be kept in
 bottles and with the corks strongly wired in. The lady had just cut the wire on one | oI Lnest DOll4es when A gltC came at The
 door. She could not put the bottle down
 for fear the cork would fly oui, so grasp
 ing the bottle in her right hand and plac-
 ing her thumb firmly on the cork, she
 started for the door. As she opened ii she felt the cork slowly rising, and being em-
 bArrassed on account of being armed with
 & concealed weapon, and scared for fear it
 would go of, she endeavored to point out
 to the gentleman the house of his friend,
 and while doing so her thumb slipped
 from the cork, loud explosion followed,
 and the stranger was, as ii seemed to the
 startled and distressed lady, knocked bod
 fly of the steps. The lady hastily closed
 the door and flew into the room where her
 husband was and told her tale of woe,
 which threw him into convulsions of
 laughter and quite drove all thoughts of
 sickness or medicine out of his mind. It ] is hoped this explanation will prove satis-
 factory to the young man, and that he will desist from further inquiries into the mys-
 terious affair.