The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1910-05-21

not thought him SO tightly caught
that he could never escape.
HOLLAND.
Far across the water beyond the
home of the English is small coun-
try of a wonderfully brave people
At one time the greedy sea washing
over the lowlands of Holland used
to carry much of it's land into the
water The people there We're too
wise, though, to allow this to go on
forever, so hundreds of years ago
they began building high solid banks
along the shores to keep back the
angry waters. Much of the most fer.
tile lands of these Dutch people is
very marshy and lower than the sea-
but as long as the strong bikes bull.
along the shores are we'll kept the
sea can do no harm.
Thousands of men watch these
walls day and night. for they know
one little leak might cause miles OF
country to be flooded and many
homes to be washed away. Were it
not for the canals which run. here
and there all over this beautiful land
of flowers the country would be un-
drained and so marshy that it would
be of no use for homes nor farms
Sometimes there is SO much water to
be drained off that the canals can
not hold it all, so everywhere about
the busy little country the wooden
shoed people have built windmills to
pump the surplus water into the sea-
Usually when we travel We ride in
street cars, but the Dutch boys and
girls ride in the canal boats. In the
spring all through the country the
gardens and fields are gay with tu'
lips, daffodils, hyacinths and different
bulb flowers which grow in greater
varieties and more plentifully in Hol'
land than in any place in the world
At one time there was none Of these
flowers in the Dutch homes, but the
crusaders returning from Asia
brought back home bulbs and seeds
Of the priced blossoms. In no place
in all Europe is there such cheese
made as in Holland. The marshy
pasture lands are what is needed for
the thousands of cows which are
carefully rendered by the Dutch farm
ers. Milk, butter and cheese are the
chief food of the people as we'll as
their principal market product. The
people of Holland are known by their
love of hard work. Both men and
women are always working. The
women seem always to be cleaning.
for they even wash the outsides OF
their houses and scrub their pave
ments to keep them spotless. Many
of the Dutch people leave their
wooden shoes at the door before en-
tering the house, for the red brick
polished floors are kept shining like
glass. In the best homes there is
much heavy oak furniture beautifully
carved.
The large Dutch clock is the pride
of the family, for often it is handed
down through many generations. The
show beds kept for company are very
interesting, for they are beds built
into the walls and made Up with the
finest linen embroidered and trimmed
with rich lace. The heavy curtains
hanging in front of them keep every
particle of dust out. 50 that their
dainty finery might not be spoiled. In
the living room the sideboards and
shelves are beautified by rare old
delft china The shining copper and
brass mugs and pewter platters also
help decorate these rooms. Even in
the kitchen the jugs and many dishes
are of brass and copper, which must
be rubbed after every using. The
beautiful silver is so well taken care
of that it is not used every day. In
some parts of Holland the people are
extremely poor, so have very humble
houses Their dress is coarse and
plain, but in the more prosperous sec.
tions of the country the women's cos.
tunes are very rich and extravagant.
At one time the people of one dis
trict had so much wealth that the
women there wore close-ftting bon.
nets of solid gold. Many are still
seen, but they are partly covered by
spotless linen and lace.-Washingto
Star.