The age-herald., 1898-09-08
A DAY IN A
 DUTCH FAMILY

l From the London Chronicle.
 It is given to comparatively few to pay visits in Holland, for the Dutch are rather | chary of opening their doors to foreigners. With public attehton turned to the little l country for the sake of it's youthful queen, 1 there may be some who would like to re- 1 ceive the impression of an average English | girl as to an average Dutch home.
 used to wake very early in the Hague. | Not nearly so early, however, as the busy
 servants, in their short skirts and tight | lace caps. They rise to clean the streets 1 in front of their masters houses as streets
 are surely never cleaned elsewhere.
 Springless carts jog over the uneven peb-
 bles of the zeestraat, largely freighted
 with glittering milk cans and tidy old women. Fruit and vegetable vendors l shriek the nature of their wares with l harsh insistence of most -murdering | sort. So I get up and dress, and finger at | the window Truth to tell, the Dutch | breakfast is not altogether tempting. The | windows are closed, and Mynheer has ob- l viously only just put out his first cigar Nor are the toilets of Mevrow and Jufrow l quite complete or enhanced by certain | popular English hair-curlers. On the other
 hand, the tea from Java is delicious, the | ham worthy of York.
 l With the freshest of eggs one need not 1 depend upon either the inevitable cheese l or the queer sausage. More especially as | the butter is perfection, despite the dam I aging circumstance that we helped our | selves with own knives. As to the 1 Dutch little breads" they are assuredly | the best in the world Before the meal, 1 all pray in silence that has Quaker inl- | pressiveness of it's own. Then Mynheer, in l a sonorous voice and with an indescribable 1 ascent, reads chapter from the French | Testament. This ended, he vanishes, ana l the ladies begin the arduous labors or l housekeeping. Mynheer was rich; his eel | lar would have won the respect of an al 1 derman. Nevertheless, every article or food plate, china, and linen is locked up, and weighted out and talked over to an l exasperating degree
 Honest Chrsties, the Friesand cook, l was radiant on Sundays with dangling ear
 rings of gold fligree and skulcap of pure | gold under the fine thread lace that is an | heirloom. But she was never trusted to | take coffee or sugar at discretion. Sne | had an aged mother, whose wooden shoes | were too often heard clicking in the back l yard. Her spotless kitchen was scrubbed l and rubbed at some unearthly hour. As | to the store closet, crowded with potted vegetables, with dried meats, with podded | vanilla from Paramaribo, and scented | spices from Sumatra, that is altogether | the sacred domain of Meyrow. Lunch came at 1 o'clock. It rather resembied | breakfast, save for hot dish of beefsteak l and of those round. fioury potatoes that | grow incomparabiy in the region of sandy 1 Scheveningen. There was tea, there was | milk, there were wines of all kinds. Mev-
 row was resplendent in rich silks by this | time, the Jufrow prettily reminiscent Of | the English modes she So much admired. | For Monday was reception day, and by 2 | o'clock visitors. chiefly ladies, dropped in | plentifully. Also newly-married couple | who had previously been much discussed. | The bridegroom was of ancient family, | and-horror of horrors!-the bride was but l bourgeoise, and very shy of the fire of | critical eyes directed toward her, despite | her smart new clothes. l At 5:3O came dinner and two guests. Of l course they were cousins. but, for all that, | some of the best wines were brought out. | Port and sherry are served with rich soup, | claret with the rest of the repaSt. We have | over-roasted beef, carved after the abomi- l nable Dutch fashion. by which the carver | Wh1ttleS the meat siWdy CilipS- hl'S | carrots in an exquisite cream sauce; curry | a pHollandaise with the rice in a pulp. | Next irrelevantly comes delicious mayon- l naise of salmon, and, finally. sugary pud- | dings and a handsome dessert of fine fruit. At this stage the Rhine wines make their | appearance Mynheer calls toast after toast | in old Rudesheim: nor does he neglect to | press his choice liquors Heads are strong | in Holland; even the ladies sip their tiny | glasses of "Parfa,t Amour" The best china
 was used on this oocasion-rare old Delft,
 valued at twenty and thirty fiorins each l piece.
 We did not finger for coffee but put on | our hats and got into the big old-fashioned | carriage that took us to Het den Bosch; in 1 other words to the very beautiful beech | woods that surround the Hague, where the | spacious buildings belonging to the White
 club made an agreeable rendezvous for the gay world of the capital. The night was fine | and warm, and, wonderful to relate not at all damp The band of the Grenadiers was | playing the pretty music of the Dame
 Blanche Very few people listened. The
 Dutch are not a musical nation though ew-
 eryone told mo with pride that these same | Grenadiers had once wrested the gold medal from the "Guides" of Belgian celebrity. We
 had not, indeed, much time to attend, for
 every moment hats were raised and greet | ings exchanged with profound bows Mev-
 row brewed tea of alarming strength bofi-
 ing her water on a quaint stove that was, in fact a pail of blazing charcoal. Our cir
 cle enlarged. Every possible attention was
 shown to the solitary foreigner. Dutch gen.
 tlemen are prodigal enough of gallantries
 which do not sound amiss whispered in French At 10 all was over. and we went
 home to more tea and fruit and wine. Bed at last. at about midnight--a square, soft
 bed. with tent-lke curtains. Had been an
 orthodox Dr,tchwoman, these would have
 been closely drawn. As it was, @ gentle air
 from my open windows lulled me peacefully
 to sleep.
 HAVANA TOBACCO STILL SCARCE
 From the New York Tribune