The Alaska daily empire., 1914-11-04
GLIMPSE OF LA HAGUE
 .--. Gertrude Malletle.

Gertrude Malletle. ssss.ssss.....s.......,..
 Aa the war creeps northward the scythe Of mfitarism swings low ovor the channel coast and up on the Hol- land shores the wlndml.a Of prosress wat sad rimors. Back in the Middle Ages the Counts Of Holland chose for themselves q hunting-lodge, and they named tho place Counts Flaw. Later came tho FrenchmGn and called it La Faye, and it was left for thc Teutonlc gutterals to know it as La Hague. Since its very beginnings La Hague has been rather the symbol Of things peaceful, from its quaint and lovely gardens, to its famous peace confer ences. But today the armored train Of civilization rumbIes on it's way belching the black smoke of empire lust to dull tho blue skies of Europe as the soaring ray of the searchlight seeks what it may scathe
 AS that was our last glimpse Of loved Louyain, our last moment with in the storied walls Of Rheims Cathe- dral. so may today give us our last look at the beauty of Wilhelmina's capital. The gaity of color, the strange warmth of the peace, the completeness of the entity of the town" the urbanity Of everybody make one feel that the old quaint world of 1t all is not quite ripe for destruction. Arnold Bennett in his charming book, The Log of the Yelsa, remarks that Hollands sailors group ed in twoes and threes of Saturday night may think they are calculating and apportioning the weeks profits, but in reality they are playing at mas terpieces by Rembrandt
 Imagine yourelf guest on the Vel So and see La Hague with Mir Benn- ett: ''We entered The Hague through canals pitted by heavy rain, the banks of which showed many suburban resi- dences, undistinguished, but set in the midst of good gardens. And because 1t was the holiday week-the week containing the Queens birthday-and we desired quletude, we obtained per mission to lie at the private quay oil the gas-workers. The creators of the Hague gas-works have made only one mistake; they ought to have accom- plished their act much earlier, so that Balsac could have described it; for example, in The Alkahest," which has the best imaginative descriptions of Dutch life yet written. The Hague gas-works are like a toy; gigantic. but toy. Impossible to believe that inI this vast. clean, scrubbed, swept ex- panse, where every bi. of coal is scru- pulously in place. real gas is mada. To believe, you must go into the city and see the gas actually burning. Even at the immense travelling cranes, when at work or otherwise, have the air of life-size playthings. Our quay was bordered with aowerbeds. The worlSmen, however, seemed quite real workmen, realistically dirty. who were not playing at work, nor rising at five thirty a. ID. out of mere joyous ecsta- sy
 Nor did the bargemen, who day and night ceaselessly and silently propell- ed their barges past us into the city by means of poles and sweat, seem to be toying with existence. The proces. sion of these barges never stopped. On the Queens birthday. when our ship was dressed and the whole town was fagegd, it went on. just as the decorated trans and tram-drivers went on. Some of tho bargos pene- trated right through the populous dis tricts, and emerged into oligarchic quarter of the ministries. bureaus. off cial residences, palaces, parks, art dealers, and ships of expensive finger ie--the quarter, as in every capital, where tho precious traditions of cor rectness. patriotism, red-tapes, order luxury, and tho moral grandeur of de vising rules for the nice conduct of others arc carefully conserved and nourished. This quarter was very well done, and the bargemen in their perspiring industry might have had the good taste to keep out.
 The business center of The Hague, lying between the palaces and the gas works, is cramped, crowded, and unimpressive. The cafes do not gilt ! ter, and everybody knows that the IT. ] lumination of the cafes, yelled in cost. ly curtains at window and door, show ed stray dazzling shafts of light, but whether the true greatness of Holland was hidden in these seductive arcana l never knew. Even in the holiday week the principal cafes were empty ing soon after ten o'clock.
 On the other hand. the large stores were still open at that hour, and the shop girls. whose pale faces made an admirable contrast with their black robes, were stil serving ladies there in. At intervals. in the afternoon one saw chic woman. moving with con of her own elegance; but she was exceptional The rest might have run over for the day from Haar- lem. Delft Utrecht, or Leyden. In the really excellent and well-frequent. ed music halls there was no elegance either. l have never seen anywhere better music hall entertainments than in Holland. In certain major capitals Of Europe and elsewhere the public | is not apt to prove it's own essential