The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1902-08-01
FoyDERFUL BROCK
o,,c,NAL sPoTLEss TOWN is
: =. NORTHERN HOLLAND.


-. pInce-RuIes Which the In
...,ts Must Observe.
Ear up IN northern Holland among
I,tos and canals of the little king
,ios Broeck, the original Spotless
rn The palings of the fences of
aok are sky blue. The streets are
VI with shining bricks of many COL
THE houses are rose colored,
all gray. purple, light blue or pale
Tho doors are painted and gild-
For hours you may not see soul
4 / .bo streets or at the windows. The
.oots and houses, bridges, windows
"a harms show neatness and a bril-
1opcy that are absolutely painful. AT
rorv step new effect is disclosed,
scone is beheld, as if painted upon
dron curtain of a stage. Every
,,nc Is minute, compact, painted,
,,Ioss md clean. In the houses of
Rroeck for cleaning purposes you will
ID bir brooms, little brooms, tooth
.nsbes aqua forts, whiting for the
.,rdov ranes, rouge for the forks and
snoons coal dust for the copper, emery
Us the iron utensils, brick powder for
H. floors and even small splinters of
[rood with which to pick out the tiny
ne of straw in the cracks between the
frio,s Here are some of the rules of
his wonderful town:
citizens must leave their shoes at the
5oor whe. entering house.
before or after sunset no one Is allowed
h smoke excepting with a pipe having
[o,.sr 81 that the ashes will not be scat
tered upon the street.
ANY. 6na crossing the village on horse
hack nust get out of the saddle and lead
4 cusp.dor shall be kept by the front
door of each house, where it may be ac-
rassib,e rom the window.
I'd II is forbidden to cross the village in
carriaea or TO drive animals through the
streets.
In addition to these established rules
h is the custom for every citizen who
sees leaf or a bit of straw blown be-
N fore his house by the wind to pick it
I'M and throw it into the canal. The
. people 90 800 PAGES out of the village
B 10 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 to soil the pavements. At
one time the mania for cleaning in
Broeck reached such point that the
housewives of the village neglected
even their religious duties for scrub
bing and washing. lThe village pastor,
after trying every sort of persuasion,
preached long sermon, in which he
declared that every Dutchwoman who
had faithfully fulfilled her duties to-
ward God in this world would find in
the next a house packed full of furni-
ture and stored with the most various
and precious articles of use and orna-
meut 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
recompense and the thought of this
extreme happiness filled the women
with such fervor and piety that for
months thereafter the pastor had no
cause for complaint
Around every house in Brock are
buckets, benches, rakes, hoes and
stakes, all colored red. blue, white or
yellow The brilliancy and variety of
cOlors and the cleanliness, brightness
and miniature pomp of the place are
wonderful. At the windows there are
embroidered curtains, with rose col
ored ribbons. The blades, bands and
nails Of the gayIy 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 sort of wooden festoon, per-
forated like lace. The pointed ia
eades are surmounted with a small
weathercock, a little lance or some
thing resembling a bunch of flowers.
Nearly every house has two doors.
one in front and one behind, the last
Tor everyday entrance and exit and
the CORNER opened only on great occa-
sions, such as births, deaths and mar
riagCs.
ihe gardens are as peculiar as the
houses. The paths are hardly wide
enough to walk In. One could put
MS arm around the fowerbeds. The
dainty arbors would barely hold two
persons sitting close together. The lit
Tie myrtle hedges would scarcely reach
70 tae knees of four-year-old child.
Between the arbors and the flower
Deus run little canals which seem made
10 doat paper boats. They are crossed
~ miniature wooden bridges, with
coiored pillars and parapets. There
are ponds the size of bath, which
are almost concealed by lilliputian
boats tied with red cords to blue
stakes, tiny staircases and miniature
k'Ichen gardens, Everything could be
measured with the hand, crossed at a
leap demolished by a blow. More
over, there are trees cut in the shape
OF tans, plumes and disks. with their
trunks colored white and blue. At
every step one discovers new effect,
fresh combination of hues. a novel
caprice, some new absurdity.
The rooms are very tiny and resem-
DE so many baZaars There are porce-