The record-union., 1898-12-06
GLIMPsEs OF HOLLAND.
PICTURESQUE VILLAGES WITH
LOCAL COLOR.

Costume Studies-Life on the Zuy-
der Zee-A C1ear-Seeing
+ Observer.
| Volendam, September S.-A days re-
| Taxation IN the open country was almost
Indispensable after the uproar and e2-
citement of the Dutch carnival, and |
have found it in what is undoubtedly
the most picturesque fishing village in
Holland. Omniscient Baedeker dis
misses Volendam with a single meager
line, and in this way aexempts it from.
the hurly- burly of tourist travel. Art
lists discovered it long ago and convert
ed it into a favorite sketching-p place,
agreeing among themselves to say AS
little as possible about its picturesque
| charms, so as not to divert to 1t the eX-
cursion traffic from the island of Mark
en- Every summer there is small
colony of art students in Volendam,
practicing upon fisherfolk in quaint cos
tune, red tiled roofs, brown haycocks,
the windmill behind the port, and fish
ing boats heading for the open sea.
The tourists go to Zaandam and Mark
en- in swarms, but return to Amsterdam
without seeing Volendam, the ideal
fishing haven of the Zuyder Zee; and
consequently the art students remain
in undisturbed possession OF the lew
habitable lodgings, and the natives are
unspoiled by close contact with the
great world.
The pilgrimage to Zaandam, with its
hundreds of windmills and with what
remains Of the hut of Peter the Great
two rooms with a loft above them--I
had already made; and had also taken
the usual excursion route to Marken,
strolling on the way through the dalry
village of Brock, with it's reputation tor
cleanliness next to goodness, and,
glancing at the quaint old houses, stau-
huis tower and Church of Monniken-
dam. These places are all travel-Worn
with daily professions of tourists, and
Ma1ken alone offers characteristic ef-
fects of color in the costumes of the
fishermen's families 1t is a ShinG ie
of sanddune of the Zuyder Zee, with
five or six clusters of f1shermen's S
houses The center of the island is
below the sea level and is encircled by
a dixie, which protects it against the
swirling waters outside. From the
top of the dixie the visitor sees fifty or
mere low frame cottages, painted green,
blue, brown and black and covered
with red tiles. Three or four orick
houses, an unpretentious church, res
taurant. a few shops and fleet OF
fishing boats complete the outfit CT
Marken with it's thousand fisher-Tolk
1t is a primitive community, With
life and customs of it's own. There are
signs of thrift and comfort in the tidy
cottages, but the costumes of the ten
ants are old-fashioned, the interiors are
plain and rough, and in front of me
doors are wooden shoes, or sabcts,
which are only worn outside. DribDles
of water are bridged here and there by
a single plank. A low palisade OF
boards in front of the door or a rougn
balustrade and platform at the end of
a house are the closest approaches to
external ornament, while indoors the
walls are adorned with the china,
spoons and cutlery in ordinary use.
Simple and quaint az Marken is, it
would have little interest for visitors
if the hardy fishermen and their wives
and children were not arrayed in char
acteristic costumes The men Wear
tight brown waistcoats, or jackets, las
tened with shoWy buttons to wide, lag
gy knickerbockers. The collars are
rolled low, so as to reveal red under
shirt, and above the wooden shoes al =
dark blue stockings. A cap of blue or
brown, red tie and a pipe complete
the outfit of full oworking dress The
women wear skirts of dark striped
stuff part of the way down, with the
rem ainder Of blue. with a brown band
at the bottom. The body is brown,
covered with hand embroidery in bright
colCrs The sleeves from shoulder 20
elbow are striped with black and white,
SON etimes with red and blue, and from
elbow to wrist are invariably made of
dark blue stuff On the head is
large white cap, with lace, out of which
drops a long curl of light hair on each
side. The stockings are blue or black,
and wooden shoes are on the feet. The
children's costumes are equally charac-
teriStic.
1t must be confessed, however that
Marken has lost the charm of unaffect-
ed simplicity It is on exhibition every
day, and no longer has it's life of home
ly isolation and contentment. The
light haired, blue eyed woman court OBJ
servation and are eager to draw stran-
gers into their houses and to exhibit
their household gods. The children, no
longer shy and demure, crowd about the
incoming tourist and beg for pennies.
There are so many tips to be had from
sightseers that the fishermen are los
ing interest in their calling, and remain
on Shore idling away their time. Cur
iosity shops have been introduced, and
the natives are posing for amateur pho
tographers at every town. Marken has
lost it's charm of primitive innocence,
and is rapidly degenerating into cos
tune show for the excursion trade. 1t
seems destined to share the fate of
Clovelly, in North Devon, where Kings
ley caught the inspiration for 'The
Three Fishers" but where men no lon-
ger work and women weep while the
harbor bar is moaning, for it has be-
come the daily goal of trippers, and
every native has learned the vulgar
tricks of the excursion traffic.
1t was with a feeling OF relief that l
cut myself adrift from the throng of
sightseers and bargained with tie
skipper of a fishing boat to take me and
a valued Tribune associate to Volen-
dam. 1t was the cleanest boat in which
have ever sailed, and the cabin under
the half deck fairly shone from con-