The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-11-10
SOME NEW o.

1OnhaNHN1Hh ~ WV - W oJ@aa
Those volumes we're translated into English
ny RUrH PUTNAM. but the translator OF
the fourth volume. which has just been
issued. is OSCAR A. BIERsrADT. The period
covered by the book before US In known
"a the golden ags Of the Netherlands. IL
carries the reauer fr,rn the beginning
IL tho Thirty Nears Var Ia the outbreak
~ the var % the Spanish Succession. We
shall contine our survey Of the present
g., volume 70 those parts which treat OF nom
political matters. and especially 10 the
tenth and nineteenth chapters, entitled
Land and People About 1880 and The
Netherlands at the End og the Seventeenth
Century"
In the middle Of the seventeenth century
it was Holland which attracted the most
attention of the Seven United Provinces.
The strength OF the Netherlands lay in the
cities of Holland. chief among which was
Amsterdam. Its magnificent canal in
crescent form, spanning the city in a con-
stantly widening circle, were set with
rows OF warehouses and dwellings,. Its
magazines and harbors. its churches and
orphan ssyiums, it's celebrated house OF
correction. it's arsenal. its city hall, the
eighth wonder Of the world first used
in 1885. were all worthy OF the proud city
which found its equal nowhere in the world
Lsyden. again. was praised an the most
beautiful city OF Europe. fourishing from
its trade in cloth and renowned for tts
scholars and its more than two thousand
students. Harlem, which after 1897 was
connected with Leyden by a canal. wac
the seat of the beer and linen industries.
Lttle and quiet Delft was a prosperous
town Of brewers and men living upon their
incomes. Ancient Dordrecht was the centre
of a brisk on the rivers. psrticu-
larry in French and Rhenish wines. Rotter-
dam through its with England
had already become one OF the greatest
ritiee of the land.
The Hollanders through their constant
meeting with other peoples all over the
world. by the settlement of many foreigners
among them and by tho influence OF French
civilization on the upper circles. were al
ready in the way TO lose some of their peCu-
narities. but they still preserved SINGH
larities enough to fascinate the foreign
traveller. Sir William Temple testifes to
their heslthy minds. their vigorous energy.
o~onstancy. patience and perseverance,. to
their ardor and power in work, 10 their
care for the poor and unfor-lnate. their
habitlal moderation in eating. tho simplicity
Of their dress. the respectability OF their
magistrates. the interest OF the citizens in
public affairs. their freedom OF thought.
speech and writing. their good laws, their
wholesome and robust appearance and their
tTugality, which caused them to save in
stead Of ~sousndering their earnings Upon
luxury and devote them to the adornment
Of house and garden. Noticeable also were
their astuteness and cleverness In inter-
course. tho neatness of their dwellings.
the purity OF their morals and the ennobling
influence Of the women on society. The
same Sir William Temple. who AZ English
Ambassador spent two years at The Hague.
Directs attention 70 the plainness and
simplicity Of the foremost Dutch seamen
and foremost Dutch statesmen ~ the Pc
Rod. I've Ruyter not being distinguished
outwaTIIy from an ordinary sea captain
or merchant. while De Witt was soberly
dressed and lived like a common citizen.
being followed upon the street by a single
servant, the one who waited on him and
his family at table. The same English
observer divided the Dutch people into
FIVE classes peasants. mariners. merchants,
men living upOn their incomes and noble
men and officers.
So evenly distributed was wealth i'm the
veil 90 do Class that according to our author
an estate Of 5000 TO 1000 gIilders might
he looked upon as the smallest fortune of a
rich man. Tho prevalent prosperity was
the result sc rho ilouTishing state Of cOm-
merce and industry which filed the foreign
onlooker with aInd1ernent and admiration.
Even the conImo laborer could earn from
twelve 10 fifteen stivers in q day. and the
constantly increasing number Of hospitals
and refugees for the INDECENT in the cities
and large villages shielded him from actual
misery. Sir William Temple noted that
the young som of the magistrates studied
law usually at Leyden and Utrecht 90 pre-
pare for Government positions and COM
pleted their education by a journey TO
France and England or to Italy. The class
Of the nobility WIS in Holland scarcely
slevated in consideration above that Of
the magistrates. T. was small in number.
partly as a result al The long Spanish war.
which had ~eNtinguished many families.
The society Of the Other provinces rom
formed more or less TO lie same type;
some were roughcr. however. and more
uncivili2ed in outward appearance. az we'll
as in inward characteristics. somewhat less
spoiled. roo. al leading "A less turbulent
life and enjoying less luxury. At the end
Of his observations on the people of HOl-
land. Temple remarks that a man would
choose rather 10 travel than 10 live i'm that
country. where the earth was better than
the air. profit more in request than honor.
where there was more sense than wit, more
good mature than good humor and more
wealth than pleasure: where a man finds
more things 10 remark than 20 desire and
more uersonz TO esteem than to love.
The old Dutch house. which "a early as
che beginning nf the sixteenth century
had been distinguished by its gable in
rho shape Of steps. still remained generally
faithful to this form Of building. although
It. was growing higher and narrower and
was moro lavishly decorated with adorn-
ments. which usually bore some relation
10 the - owners trade or business. The
ward. which formerly had been used for
q bleaching ground. had become more and
more n garden. Ornamented with flowers
and shrubs, with statues and pnTterres.
little fountains sDd hedges cut in figures
after The French style. with white SAND
and gravel artfully arranged in the form OF
mosaics. Formerly gardens had been
found more frequently outside the walls
of the towns. with a summer house tor the
centre ard stiff beds OF flowers and vexe-
tables. These outside gardens. indeed.
continIcd TO DO used nearly two centuries