Morris tribune. [volume] (Morris, Minn.) 1880-2000, 1902-08-23
WONDERFUL BROOCH
MsaE ORIGINAL SPOTLESS TOWN IS
IN NORTHERN HOLLAND.


habitants Must Observe. .
Far up IN northern Holland anon.
1iae dikes and canals of the little king
dom lies Brock, the original Spotless
Town. The palings of the fences Of
Brock are sky blue. The streets are
paved with shining bricks of many col
+nrs. The houses are rose colored
black, gray. purple, light blue or pale
green. The doors are painted and gid
ed. For hours you may not see a SOU
in the streets or at the windows. The
streets and houses, bridges, windows
liancy that are absolutely painful. Al
every step new effect is disclosed, a
new scene is beheld, as if painted upon
the drop curtain Of a stage. Every
thing is minute, compact, painted,
spotless and clean. In the houses of
Brock for cleaning purposes you will
find big brocms, little brooms, tooth
brushes, aqua FORTS, whiting for the
window panes, rouge for the forks and
spoons, coal dust for the copper, emery
for the iron utensils, brick powder for
the floors and even small splinters of
wood with which to pick out the tiny
bits of straw in the cracks between the
bricks. Here are some of the rules of
this wonderful town:
Citizens must leave their shoes at the
door Wh6 entering a house.
Before or after sunset no one is allowed
to smoke excepting with a pipe having a
cover. SO that the ashes will not be scat
tered upon the street.
Any one crossing the village on horse
back must get out of the saddle and lead
the horse.
A cuspGor shall be kept by the front
door of each house. where it may be &C.
cessible from the window.
1t is forbidden to cross the village in a
carriage or to drive animals through the
.:treets.
In addition to these esta blished rules
it is the custom for every citizen who
sees leaf CT bit Of straw blown be-
fore his house by the wind to pick it
up and throw it into the canal. The
people go 500 PAGES out Of the village
to dust their shoes. Dozens of boys
are paid to blow the dust from be-
tween the bricks in the streets four
times an hour In certain houses the
guests are carried over the threshold
SO as not 10 soil the pavements. At
one time the mania for cleaning in
Brock reached such a point that the
housewives Of the village neglected
even their religious duties for scrub
bling and washing. The village pastor,
after trying every sort of persuasion,
preached a long sermon, in which he
declared that every DutchWoman who
had faithfully fulfilled her duties to.
the next a house packed full Of furni-
ture and stored with the most various
and precious articles Of use and orna-
ment which, not being distracted by |
other occupations, she would be able |
TO brush, wash and polish for all eter
nifty. The promise of this sublime
and the thought of this |
extreme happiness filed the women |
with such fervor and p1ety that for
months thereafter the pastor had no |
cause for complaint.
Around every house in Brock are
buckets, benches, rakes, hoes and |
stakes, all coIcred red, blue, white or
yellow. The Drilliancy and variety of
colors and the cleanliness, brightness
and miniature pomp Of the place are
wonderful. At the windows there are
curtains, with rose col
ored ribbons. The blades, bands and
nails of the gayly painted windmills
shine like silver. The houses are
brightly vanished and surrounded
with red and white ratings and fences
The panes OF glass in the windows are
bordered by many lines of different
hues. The trunks Of all the trees are
painted gray from root to branch.
Across the streams are many little
wooden bridges. each painted as white
as snow. The cutters are ornamented
with a sort OF wooden festoon, per-
fOrated like lace. The pointed ia
cades are surmounted with a small
Weathercock. a little lance or some
hing resembling a bunch of flowers
Nearly every house has two doors.
| I
sOr everyday entrance and exit and
he former opened only on great occa
'ions, such as births, deaths and mar
'iages.
The gardens are as peculiar as the
louses. The paths are hardly wide
enough to walk in. One could put
lis arm around the f1owerbeds. The
lainty arbors would barely hold two
PERSONS sitting close together. The lit
lie myrtle hedges would scarcely reach
o the knees of a four-year-old child.
the arbors and the flower
'eds run little canals which seem made
o float paper boats. They are crossed s
y miniature wooden bridges, with
olored pillars and parapets. There
re ponds the size Of a bath, which
re almost concealed by llliputian
oats tied with red cords to blue
takes, tiny staircases and miniature
dfchen gardens. Everything could be 6
aeasured with the hand, crossed at a '
zap, demolished by a blow. More l
yer, there are trees cut in the shape /