The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-02-21
A PEEP AT HOLLAND.
MANNERS, CUSTOMS AND chARAc-
TERlSTIcs OF THE PEOPLE.

AOrivss1On VI s00 nSSoe1sy '" -
Extrsms-'sMan's Faithful Frisnd"-A
Novel wsy OF Measuring Distsnoe-Lovs
Of Money the Ruling Passion.
A traveller who has recently returned
from tour Of Europe thus communicates
to the New York Times his impressions Of
Holland and its inhabitants:
"That which more than anything else
arrests the attention of foreigner visiting
Holland for the first time is the fact that
large portion Of tbs country is from to
20 feet below the high water mark at Am
sterdam. Indeed its name, Holland, or
'Hollowland,' is derived from It's peculiar
Typographical CONFORMATION. But for the
expenditure Of vast sums Of money and
unceasing watchfulness and tireless indus
try In maintaining the barriers against the
encroachments of the sea, much OF the
country would be submerged. Nearly
$40, 900, 900 has been expended In con-
structing the I, 800 miles of defensive dikes,
which seem to soy to the waves, as did
king Canute, Thus far shalt thou come,
but no farther lH a1s
1.-THE Dutch people are generally below
the middle stature, inclined to corpulency
and remarkable for q heavy, awkward
mien. The women have exceedingly beau
tiful compilations. Their skins are Of q
pure white, but generally they fail In ex-
preston and resemble fine waxwork. 1t Is
not little remarkable that they retain
their exquisite compilations even beyond
threescore and ten. And yet you would
not call the Dutch women beautiful-their
persons are too short and robust. Your
- h. ka
same as suggested by the representations
at Nine. Tussaud's or the Eden Musee.
"The fashionable ladies of Holland dress
like those Of England and America, but
fashion has little to do in the rural dis
tricts of Holland. The peasant women
wear caps of immaculate Wilderness, re-
sembling somewhat the white portion OF
the headdress Of our sisters of charity, fit
ting closely to the head and surmounted
by an outer hood of wooden or silk; this
when visiting or travelling. When at
home their headdress is an immense hat Of
straw nearly as large as an umbrella,
adorned with representations of stars,
birds, beasts, etc. Their waists are OF ex-
travagant lengths and the other portions
of their dress are stuffed and padded to a
degree that Knocks proportion and sym
metry. This distinctive and never chang
ing fashion Is handed down from mother
to daughter and Is substantially just as 1t
was in the days of the Duke of Alva.
"The most striking feature Of the Dutch
character Is antagonism to dirt and filth,
their extravaganza efforts to insure cleanli-
ness in some instances amounting almost
| to insanity. 1t Is scrub, scrub, scrub, even
when the foreign eye fails to detect any
| thing Objectionable. The Dutch house
| wife sets apart certain day for the cleans
ing Of, say, the bedroom, and upon that
| day the bedroom must be cleaned. Even
| II no dirt be discernible, sufficient time
| has elapsed for it's accumulation, she rea-
sons; 1t Is the bedrooms day, and 1t must
pass the ordeal
"The lower parts of many OF the north
Holland houses are lined with white Dutch
tiles, and some of the rooms are pave(
with small square tiles, put togethel
without cement. The kitchen furniture
lin copper, tin, pewter and iron-afford
! a striking proof of the mistress regard To-
neatness in arrangement and cleanliness
in appearance. The beds and tables ar
covered with the finest linen and the rooms
are adorned with pictures and the yards
and gardens with flowers. The houses II
almost every portion of the province o
North Holland present a gay appearance
The windows and doors are general,
painted green and the most lavish use o
water Is indyilged In, not only the win
dows, but the entire fronts OF the houses
being washed two or three times each week
The same care Is extended to the streets II
which the more opulent inhabitants reside
1.-THE traveller is impressed with the FAC
that Holland Is emphatically country o
large towns, no less than 40 having abov,
10, 900 population, more than 100, 00'
and (Amsterdam) upward of 300, 600 In
habitants. The larger towns are sur
rounded by market gardens, many o
| which are small, every inch of land beint
cultivated to the highest possibility o
productiveness. These small gardeners d.
not keep horses as beasts of burden, sine
their maintenance would involve to-
considerable expense. They employ dogs
which are as much members Of the famil.
as the sons or daughters These dogs ar
powerful brutes, capable of drawing load
out of all proportion to their size.
1.-The custom of smoking Is so prevalen
in Holland that genuine Dutch boor
instead of describing distances between
places by miles or hours, will say tow
or house Is so many pipes away. Thus
man may reach Delft from Rotterdam II
four pipes, but II he go on to The Hagu
he will consume seven pipes during tn
journey. All Dutchmen Of the lowe
class, and not few In the higher walk
of life, carry in their pockets ali requisite
for smoking-an enormous box holding a
least half a pound Of tobacco, pipe o
clay or ivory according to inclination o
means, instruments to cleanse 1t, prick
er to remove distractions from the stem
cover of brass to prevent sparks or ashe
from flying about, and bountiful suppl,
of matches. A Dutchman in HOLLAND
without pipe would be rara avis, am
such pipes! Some of them are of an an
tiquity which entities them to veneration
but certainly not to respect, and so mon
strous In size that as weapons OF offense o
defense they would certainly prove for
midable.
"The chief characteristics of the Dutcl
are patience, ingenuity and perseverance
Their natural temperament Is pblegmatic
and the results achieved by their labor
are due rather to continued application
than arduous exertion. The love of none.