The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-02-15

", FEBRUARY 10, 1908.
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East indies, and this is the 7-I caso With
every man who represents Holland In her
Asnstio colonies.
A Dutch Venice.
like Rotterdam. It Ia one OF tho
auaintest cities OF Europe, and Mt the
same tifno, one OF the most business-lke
It Is somewhat like Venice. but moro like
Venice whs In tho middle, ages, In tho
height OF Its prosperity Almost tise
whole city Is n quay or dock. It Is cut
up by canals. which lead in and out
through tho Mas. and one wnnders
through street after street of tall. lean
buildings, finding barges. launches and
sailing boats almost everywhere.
Along tho Boompjes and in tho islands
OF the Mas arc enormous ships OF every
description and in tho canals smaller
vessels abound. Venice Is a town OF gon-
dolas, Rotterdam Is ono OF business craft.
There are no carts in Venice Tho town
boasts that 1t has not COW nor a horse
In 1t. Rotterdam is filed with wagons.
carts and drays of all kinds. There are
street cars and carriages.
The canals have big drnwbridges and
swinging bridges, and when you are walk
ing or driving along you frequently find
yourself suddenly in front OF black
wall OF boards twenty foot high. Tho
whole street, car track and all. has noise
| lessly risen in front of you to let string
OF boats or barges pass through the canal
over which you are going. Some Of the
bridges swing upon pivots, others divide
In. the middle and rise upward. Others
are stationary or suspension bridges, In
passing which tho smokestacks. masts
and spars Of the barges swing back upon
hinges ns they go through.
The traffic is by no means confined to
the water. There are more carts and
drays than there are boats. and tho streets
are crowded with men carrying burdens,
and with dogs and women and boys
hauling carts. Come with me to Hoog-
STRAIT and 1t goes through the heart OF
the city. It Is not more than thirty feet
wide and all Its tall four and fwe-story
houses lean across from side to side as
though drunk and about to embrace
Take a stand in one Of the doorways
and watch the cabs and carriages, the
big wagons and the little carts which jam
themselves this way and that. There
comes hay peddler dressed In a cap.
blue smock and clogs. He has a CARLOAD
Of grass, with two dogs i1arnessed in
| front OF the axle. Flo pushes and they
strain and pull as they run barking along.
Behind comes a bareheaded woman with
| q green wheelbarrow filled with vege-
| tables. and q bread peddler follows. drag
ging long box upon wheels.
Where the Dogs Work.
| Further up the street are more dog
carts and at every cart the dogs does all
or half Of the work. Indeed. I never
knew what the expression work like
dog meant until I came here. Loads
| big enough for an American horse arc
pulled by Dutch dogs. There comes one
now, dragging cart full OF beer in bot
| ties, which its master is delivering to
his customers as he passes their doors.
There Is another behind pulling a load
OF salt, and others pass every few mo.
ments dragging carloads Of milk.
Now turn your eyes from tho dogs to
the people, See how business like they
| are. They have q solid look about them.
The men are plainly dressed and there
are more workmen than loafers. It Is
rare that we see tall hat. gloves or
frock coat. The derby. the cap and bust
ness suits have taken their places Many
of the common women are bare-headed
and the ladies out shopping dress more
| plainly than In London, Brussels or Paris.
| The typical Dutch costumes are passing
away. and arc only worn by the women
from the country. There are two now
who have on white caps with gold cork
screws at each side OF their eyes, With
them Is young Dutchman with velvet
| pehAS<A1oollo ydEu WlO0 stUU q 8nOCL vel
| vet coat In frontstof (which Ibis white
flannel shirtEEhowssbut.ss He. wears soft
hat with a turned-up brim. below which
fds thick HAIR has been cropped of 80
that 1t hangs down like brush.
An Impossible Language.
Listen to the Dutch talking as you
stand here on Hoogstraat. What jar
gon 1t is not English. 1t is not German
nor French and It seems to be mixture
nf n rsf fbo ofa or 1oo
English on drunk, and we have to
study to make out what they mean.
Over there is a jewelry store with the
| words "Nieuw Zilver AIetaalwaren'' above
| 1t, and further on grocery store with
the sign "Boter en- Kaas:" Any one can
see that the first sign meana silver and
It Is not hard to translate the second
as butter and cheese. It is more diff
cult when you spell drug store "'Droger-
ijen,' but any one could tell that ''Schu-l
warren" means shoes, "Koffie" coffee
and "Siragen' cigars.
What bothers me most Is the Jaw
breaking titles which, the people use here
for all sorts Of FIRMS. For instance when
I arrived in Rotterdam and wanted my
trunks brought to the hotel I was advised
to get man from the "Nederlandsche-
Maatschappy-tot-A Dlenstver-
richting." was almost stunned when
the policeman ratified out the name, and
was surprised to learn that 1t meant
only a porter with push cart, and that
notwithstanding his title his charges
were but fifteen cents for the service.
About an hour later I wanted to go to
see machine factory and was told that
the "..ederlandsche voor Scheeps en-
Werktuigbouw-'F Fl jencord''' was one OF
the largest. employing thousands work.
men; and when I asked II could not
see the American consul general tho
Same day, my landlord informed me I
could, for he lived ON Van Volenhoyen-
STRAIT, and could drive there on my re-
turn from the factory. Indeed, I can't
remember the simplest of these Dutch
directions. and find the language almost
MS difficult as the Choctaw or the Chi
nese.
HOSTETTER'S LOSSES.