Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-16
ETcHINGS OF DUTCH LIFE
Quaint old Tea Garden Custom Of
Holland Becoming Popular
Again.

On the old, canal from Delft to Leyden
is a tea garden that has existed there time
out Of mind More than $50 years ago 1t
is mentioned In local chronicles and II is
on record that all the windows Of the
house and paviions were broken when
the awful gunpowder explosion destroyed
a large part Of Leyden in the eighteenth
century. The canals in those days were
the highways OF traffic, and all the finest
houses and most beautiful country seats
we're situated on It's borders, the edifces
turning their best side toward the water
so that the best rooms could command
a good view OF the passersby. IL the
house could not be brought sufficiently /
close To the canal border, a summer house,
generally circular in shape with windows
on all sides, was placed on the immediate
edge Of the water, often oyerhanging it. |
Every country seat and house had its own |
landing stage, rowing boat and boat
house.
OF course, the amusement resorts had
to conform to this preference for the wa
ter, so It is not so wonderful that nearly !
all the old Dutch tea gardens were placed |
near some busy canal These tea gardens |
were a great institution, where the |
burghers, with their families, would come |
on summer evenings to drink tea or eat
sour cream with rusks and sugar. Some |
days the gardens were filled all day long. |
At noon coffee and rolls were partaken of
there, and later on tea was again INDUCED |
in The children found plenty to amuse
| them, for there were swings, seesaws and
lots Of rowing boats.
Barges glided by continually, some towed
! by horses, others by men, women and
children. Often three or four children 'and
a little dog towCd heavily laden boat
| while the father of a family punted it
along with a pole and so eased the strain
for those on the towpath. But the passen-
ger barges were those looked for with the
greatest interest, for most of these would
stop at the landing stage of the tea gar
den and deposit goOdly load of new
visitors. n
The canals and freight barges are still
the same, but the gay green and white
painted passenger barges have passed from
the scene, and the tea garden itself has
gone through many vicisstudes. Some OF
the establishments led dreary existence
for many years, the paint on the summer
houses and pavilions getting dlngier and
dingler, and some crumbled into decay al
together None with any pretensions to
gentiiity visited the tea garden any more,
true to the old places. But there came an
astonishing revival, due chiefly to the BIZ
cycle and later to the automobile. The tea
garden has again become fashionable
and many a crumbling old establishment
has shone forth with new plate glass win
dows, extensive verandas and new paint
New summer houses have been built and
many new rowing boats are temptingly
: waiting along the landing stage All day
long the ola garden is filled with gay
5 young visitors.>
Sitting under the Towering linden trees
3 in the old garden watching the barge ;
! lazily gliding, with the cheerful tea kettle
humming its little song on it's warm stone
e near at hand, ones thoughts revert 10 the
r oldeh days when tea was first introduced
i into Holland. What revolution 1t created
i in the households. 1t will scarcely be be-
ieved that many family was almost
ruined by it. Tea was first brought into
Holland by the East India company and
9 Holland was drinking tea some time be-
fore France or England knew Of it. Ii
> the middle of -ths-seventeenth century tea
!, was given as medicine and some doctor.
= were so enthusiastic about its results tina
: they prescribed 1t as kind of elixir o.
. life warranted to cure every variety o
g Illness
Some people drank from ten to fit
a CUPS at sitting Tea was not taken witt
- milk in those days, but with sugar an,
/, saffron.
n But tea alone was not sufficient Il
o quench the thirst and bowl of brand
A. with ladle in it was passed around a
IN change. Tea was an expensive luxur,
10 in those days costing as much as 40 o
ID even 100 or 100 florins a pound, and ali tn
ar accessories Of the tea table had TO be O
"a extreme richness. A tea room was Sc
TO apart in ali stylish homes, with a spsca
If tea table and chairs, and this was ken
entirely for entertaining guests These te
IN tables were costly affairs, often of Japa
n nese lacquer work inlaid with silver. ivoF
s, and mother of pearl. The tea sets were q
Up the most delicate china and Japanes
% porcelain The teapots were often OF far
Of tastlc shapes. The square pots painte
with gold designs, were famous and va
liable. Others were hand-painted with tn
I'd family crest and arms. The dress of tn
a. company was Just as fine in it's kind a
ry the trappings of the tea table so that tn
n expenditure necessitated by tea drinkin
ly became so great that the moralists of III
re time poured forth the Walls OF their wrat
rt on tea, referring to Il as that destroy,
OF domestic peace" and that demolisher
1k the fortunes Of our citizens"
of Tea drinking has not been put down /
n the fuminatons Of its critics. but the ei
III aggerated veneratlon for tea may gra,
'o' ually give place to more quiet apprecii
Ms tion of its merits. Even now Hollan
~ ranks second In Europe as a tea drinklr
TN nation, following Immediately after Eni
- land In the quantity consumed each mea
To- Chicago News.