Arrival in Holland.--Amsterdam.--Dutch Architecture.--Picture
Galleries.--Mr. Costa’s Diamond-cutting Works.--The Haarlem
Lake.--A Dutch Cattle-stable.--Utrecht.--The Students’ Festival.
I arrived in Amsterdam at midday on the 16th of June. My worthy friend,
Colonel Steuerwald, was waiting for me in the harbor. This gentleman is
one of my oldest traveling acquaintances. I first met him on my journey
from Gothenburg to Stockholm, afterward encountered him again at
Batavia, and here again in his own native land, where he welcomed me in
the heartiest manner, and introduced me at once to his family circle.
I staid in Holland till the 2d of July, and had an opportunity of
traveling through the greater part of this interesting country; but I
will merely indicate what I saw in as few words as possible, for it does
not come within the scope of my book to give detailed accounts of
well-known lands and cities.
The thing that struck me most in Amsterdam was the architecture of the
houses, which I can best liken to the old German style, as seen, for
instance, in Magdeburg. The houses, inhabited generally by a single
family, are very narrow, from two to four stories high, terminating in
fronted or rounded gable roofs. They are built of brick stained with a
dark brown tint, and in some instances ornamented with arabesques. The
streets have a singular appearance. The houses stand in straight rows,
but do not by any means rise in a perpendicular line. In some the under,
in others the upper, and in others, again, the middle story, bulges out
beyond the rest, the deviation from the perpendicular frequently
exceeding a foot. It would seem that such houses were peculiarly liable
to fall in; but, from the dates over the doors, I found that the
majority had stood for one, and not a few for two centuries. The narrow
steep staircase is a great drawback in Dutch houses. One ought to be a
born Hollander, and accustomed from childhood to the task of climbing
these stairs, to look upon them with equanimity, especially as in any of
these lofty narrow houses one seems to be mounting and descending the
stairs all day long. I need scarcely say that the houses of the rich,
the hotels, and similar buildings, are free from this inconvenience.
Equally surprised was I to notice that in houses where the ground floor
is arranged as a shop, the whole width of the front is thus occupied,
and no room left for a private door. The cook with her market-basket,
the water-carrier with his pails, the housewife and the visitors, have
all to go through warehouses sometimes filled with costly wares arranged
to the best advantage. Of course, too, the shop-door must be left open
on Sundays and holidays as on ordinary occasions.
These inconveniences are all caused by the high price of the ground.
Every one knows with what labor the greater part of the Dutch soil was
won from the sea, and how expensive it is to build on ground where the
foundation must be almost _created_, so to speak, by driving heavy
piles. Generally the building _below_ the ground costs quite as much as
all the rest of the structure.
Amsterdam is intersected by numerous canals, all sufficiently broad, and
crossed by 250 bridges. This town might indeed be called the Venice of
the North, but that the marble palaces, the bustle and life of the
southern people, the crowd of passing gondolas, and the melodious songs
of the boatmen, are all wanting. Amsterdam has, however, one advantage
over Venice in possessing fine broad streets running parallel with the
canals, so that carriages can be used in traversing the city. Many of
the streets are adorned with tall stately trees, which make the town
look very fresh and pleasant.
There are some handsome buildings, but none of remarkable appearance
except the royal palace--the council-house of old times. This is built
in a grand style, and beautified with excellent sculpture.
I must farther mention a few peculiarities of Amsterdam which greatly
surprised me. The first was, that in this great city of 200,000
inhabitants there are no stands for hired carriages; whoever wants to
drive out must send to the stable-keeper’s house, and wait until the
horses are harnessed. Another peculiarity struck me as very original: in
the middle of summer people may be seen traversing the paved streets in
sledges. These sledges--low carriage bodies mounted on frames of wood
and iron without wheels--are called “steepkoets,” and are used chiefly
by old people. The pace is very slow, but the traveling comfortable
enough.
The Zoological Garden, adjoining the town, is spacious and tastefully
laid out. The number of foreign animals is considerable, and had just
been increased by the arrival of several giraffes. The classes of birds
and reptiles were very fully represented.
The Museum contains a valuable collection of sea-shells and land-snails.
I visited two picture galleries, the Trippenhuis collection and that of
Herr van der Hoop. The word _van_, by the way, unlike the German _von_,
is not an indication of nobility; every Hollander may prefix it to his
name. The principal pictures I saw were “The Watchmen and----,” by
Rembrandt; Van der Helst’s “Meal;” Steen’s “Feast of St. Nicholas;” and
the “School by Moonlight” of Dow. The two galleries can boast of many
masterpieces by the above-mentioned artists and by various others, as
Ruysdael, Wouvermans, Ostade, etc.
The Van der Hoop gallery is in the Academy, and was a bequest from the
proprietor. The Academy hesitated long before accepting the valuable
present, the institution then lacking funds to pay the high legacy-duty.
I was much interested during my visit to the diamond-cutting works of
Herr Costa, reputed to be the chief establishment of the kind in
existence. The Dutch enjoy an acknowledged pre-eminence over all the
nations of Europe in the art of cutting diamonds; but in India they have
found their masters, as is proved by the great diamond in the possession
of the sultan, which was cut in Upper India. This diamond, the largest
known to exist, though convex on the under side, has been cut in facets
of uniform size, with an amount of skill which even the Hollanders are
unable to emulate.
The size of the manufactory is very striking when one considers the
smallness of the objects manipulated; the building is more than a
hundred feet long and three stories high.
The various operations are conducted in the following way: the rough
diamond passes first into the hands of the planer, then into those of
the cutter, and finally is handed to the grinder. The first of these
operators removes any defects that may be in the stone with a sharp
diamond, wherewith he files the gem, and then chips off the faulty
piece. The cutter gives the stone its proper shape by getting rid of the
corners and inequalities in the same way. The dust obtained by these
operations is carefully collected and husbanded, for the use of it is
indispensable in grinding the diamond. The grinder uses a leaden bullet
inclosed in wood, with the upper portion softened in the fire, so that
the stone may be pressed into it as far as necessary. The diamond is
then ground on a steel plate, on which a little diamond-dust has been
strewn. The great art consists in making the facets and corners
perfectly even, whereby the fire and beauty of the diamond are greatly
increased.
The turning of the grinding machine (by steam power) is so rapid that
the steel disk does not seem to move at all; it makes two thousand
revolutions per minute.
A great deal is lost by this grinding; thus the English crown diamond
Kôh-i-Noor was reduced one fourth in size on being cut the second time.
The first cutting of this beautiful diamond had proved a failure, and in
1852 the English government sent for a Dutch workman from Herr Costa’s
establishment to cut the stone artistically. The work occupied the
lapidary for six months, and the mere working expenses, apart from any
profit, which indeed the proprietor of the factory, Herr Costa, would
not accept, amounted to four thousand Dutch guilders, or something more
than £330 sterling. In Herr Costa’s works, of which he is sole owner,
125 workmen are employed, of whom five are planers, thirty cutters, and
ninety grinders. These men earn each from thirty to seventy and eighty
Dutch guilders per week.
In Amsterdam I saw also the sugar-refining works of Messrs. Spakler,
Neoten, and Fetterode. The sugar is refined by means of steam-engines. I
have seen the same thing done in other countries. This manufactory turns
out about 5,000,000 kilos (about 4885 tons, English weight) of sugar
every year. The greatest establishment of the kind in Holland
manufactures 16,000,000 kilos, and the entire produce amounts to
80,000,000.
Very near Amsterdam lies the famous Haarlem Lake, the draining of which
may be certainly reckoned among the most gigantic undertakings of the
present century. Where a few years ago great ships sailed, and where the
fisherman spread his nets, thousands of cows now graze, and beauteous
fields and meadows smile with verdure; nay, scattered houses, already
fast increasing, will soon probably expand into towns and villages.
The pumping out of this lake, which was about thirteen feet deep, was
begun in February, 1849, and the whole great work was completed in four
years. Engines of 400-horse power were set up in three different places;
each of these engines raised the pistons of eight pumps six times a
minute, and poured out the water into the canals leading to the sea. The
twenty-four pumps of the three engines discharged 20,340 kilderkins of
water per minute.
The area of land thus gained amounts to no less than 60,000 English
acres. The cultivation of this great tract was begun as early as 1853.
Herr Muyskens, who had the kindness to show me this new wonder of the
world, is the owner of a fair tract of the land, from which he carried
the first harvest last year. His house, too, was finished, and had been
built with much taste. Here I first saw how far the Hollanders’
predilection for cattle-breeding leads them; the cow-stable was
indisputably the handsomest part of the house. It must be borne in mind,
however, that the greater part of the Dutch soil consists of rich
pastures and meadows, and that stock-breeding is the chief source of the
Dutchman’s wealth; it is thus reasonable enough that every possible
effort should be made to develop this branch of farming. But I had
scarcely expected that their anxiety should go so far as to procure for
the cows cleaner and more comfortable dwellings than many well-to-do
people can boast in the less civilized countries of Europe, to say
nothing of other quarters of the world. The cow-house monopolized the
greater part of the building: its windows, of a handsome oval form, were
absolutely festooned with white curtains, looped up with gay ribbons.
The entrance door, of which the upper part was glazed, also boasted of a
curtain of dazzling whiteness. The interior of this establishment was in
the form of a lofty spacious hall. The stalls were just broad enough to
allow the hind feet of the cows to rest on the edge of a canal or gutter
a foot in depth, so that the straw might be kept perfectly clean. Just
over this gutter, and parallel with it, a rope had been stretched, and
to this rope the tails of the cows were tied, to prevent them from
whisking their sides and raising a dust. All these arrangements were
pleasing enough to the eye; but I fancy, if the poor animals had been
consulted, they would have voted for a little more freedom, although at
some sacrifice of neatness.
One compartment of the stable was partitioned off by a wall of planks
three feet high: it had a boarded floor, and formed quite a neat little
room, for the use of the farm attendants. The store-houses for milk,
cheese, and similar farm produce were as scrupulously clean as the
stable itself. The walls of the entrance halls, staircases, kitchen,
store-rooms, etc., in almost every house, are covered, to the height of
three or four feet from the ground, with tiles of white porcelain or
green clay, which are not so difficult to keep clean as whitewashed
walls.
It was at Herr Muysken’s house that, after a long abstinence, I enjoyed
the luxury of good milk to my coffee; milk pure and fresh as it comes
from the cow. One would think that in a country like Holland, where
there are so many cows, good milk could be had in abundance; but it is
not so; for the Hollander is such an enthusiast in making butter and
cheese, that, like the Swiss, he scarcely allows himself enough good
milk for domestic purposes. Almost every where, even in the wealthiest
families, the coffee was very indifferent.
While I am speaking of coffee-drinking, that most important subject for
us women, I can not help mentioning a custom prevalent throughout
Holland, which, in my humble opinion, is not very seemly or worthy of
imitation. As soon as the coffee or tea-drinking is over, the lady or
daughter of the house, or one of the female authorities, _washes_ the
tea-service at the table, in presence of the company. She pours a little
hot water in each of the cups, rinses them out, wipes them on a cloth,
and the business is done.
Herr Muyskens was kind enough to lead me right across the drained lake
to one of the three machines used for pumping out the water, and one or
other of which is occasionally put in requisition when there has been an
accumulation of rain-water. We came just in time to see one of these
machines at work.
We went on to Haarlem, where we saw the fine park, with the elegant
royal palace, and likewise a portion of the town. I noticed over the
door of a house an oval disk, about a foot and a half in length, covered
with pink silk, and ornamented with rich lace in ample folds. They told
me this was a sign that one of the inmates had recently become the
possessor of a baby. A strip of paper projecting above the disk
indicates that the new arrival is a girl. The custom dates from the old
warlike times, when the rough soldier respected the house where the
suffering mother lay, and the practice once prevailed throughout
Holland. It has now fallen into disuse, and is only kept up in Haarlem.
Besides Colonel Steuerwald, who paid me the kindest attention during my
stay in Holland, I was fortunate enough to meet another very amiable
friend, the “Resident” van Rees, whom the readers of my “Second Journey
round the World” will recollect I had encountered at Batavia. Herr van
Rees lived at the Hague; but as soon as he heard of my arrival in
Holland he came to Amsterdam to invite me to make a short tour through
his native country.
We began by an excursion to Utrecht, where a great Students’ Festival
happened to be going on when we arrived. The students are in the habit
of celebrating the foundation of the University by an annual
commemoration. The festivities are kept up for a whole week. They
comprise masked processions, concerts, balls, races, dinners,
illuminations, and much more of the same kind. This year the affair was
to be particularly brilliant. The worshipful students, it appears, were
divided into two factions, the aristocratic and the democratic. Each
party wished to out-shine the other, and had stipulated for an entire
week to carry out their laudable purpose.
We arrived in Utrecht during the aristocrats’ week. The concourse of
visitors was so great that we could not find room in any hotel;
fortunately for us, Herr and Frau Suermondt, friends of Herr van Rees,
received us with friendly hospitality in their house.
In the afternoon there was a procession. The students were all decked
out in the most costly dresses; nothing was to be seen but velvet,
satin, lace, and ostrich feathers. Some groups represented characters of
the sixteenth century; others figured as princes from Java, Hindostan,
etc., with their splendid retinues. There was even an Indian deity,
carried in a palanquin, and accompanied by a Malay band of music. Whole
scenes were represented in enormously long wagons, and some of these
were really very artistically arranged. Thus, for instance, a whole
house was shown, with the side walls taken out. A married pair sat at a
table; the wife had a child in her lap, and a second was playing about
at her feet; the family doctor and another friend were paying a visit,
chatting and drinking tea, while the maid was scouring the step in front
of the house.
On another wagon a wind-mill was perched; in front sat a man building a
boat, while a second mended his nets.
A third wagon showed the interior of a peasant’s farm, where butter was
being churned, sail-cloth woven, and ropes twisted. Next came a hunting
procession, the huntsmen carrying falcons on their wrists, and the whole
thing really capitally carried out. The procession was headed by
military music, and a second band brought up the rear. In the evening
the town was brilliantly illuminated with lamps of colored glass and gay
paper lanterns arranged in festoons along the streets and on both sides
of the canals. In some houses the whole façade was blazing with light,
and the portals and balustrades of the bridges glittered with thousands
of lamps. Some of the streets looked like fairy-land.
Toward midnight the procession came marching back with a number of
torches spitting forth blue and dark purple flames. The feast was not
over until two o’clock.
Gay and brilliant it was, I can not deny, but much too grand for
students. It might be allowable if the celebration only took place once
or twice in a century; even then a single day would be sufficient for
it; but in its present form the effect can not be beneficial. The young
men must occupy themselves for many weeks beforehand with their masks,
costumes, balls, and other delectations, much more than with their
studies. Moreover, the expenses are so great that only the rich can bear
them with ease; the poorer students must therefore abstain or run into
debt. For my part, I infinitely prefer the plain burlesque exhibited at
the Artists’ Festival at Munich, which, although inexpensive, was full
of merriment and wit, lasted only a day, and afforded as much, if not
more, pleasure to actors and spectators than could be extracted from
this students’ feast, with all its show and glitter.
The townspeople, too, are put to an amount of expense by the two
evenings’ illumination that must be any thing but welcome to the poorer
classes among them; but if they neglected to illuminate, the students
would be almost sure to break their windows or play them some other
silly trick.
Another custom of which I could not approve was the practice pursued by
the students of parading about the whole week in their fancy costumes,
as princes, knights, etc.
The second entertainment at which I was present consisted of a
horse-race and a few feats of horsemanship by professional
circus-riders. To say the truth, I expected something better. Tilting at
the ring, or a joust executed by the students in their fancy costumes,
would not have cost more, as they had dresses and horses all ready
provided, and would have been more worthy of the grand programme. On
this occasion I noticed how difficult it is to rouse the Hollander from
his phlegmatic repose. A Herr Loisset brought forward a beautiful and
marvelously trained horse, which performed such difficult feats as would
have called forth the loudest plaudits from any other audience. To my
surprise, the people remained as cold as ice, and Herr Loisset left the
circus with his horse without receiving the slightest token of
approbation.
The town of Utrecht is surrounded by very pretty shrubberies and
park-like plantations; but here, as every where else in Holland, the
want of hills and mountains is evident. There was not much to be seen in
the place. Of the churches, I only visited the Protestant cathedral,
allured by its majestic exterior. Unfortunately, I found the interior
defaced in an incredible way. As the church is very large, and the
congregation found a difficulty in hearing the sermons, a great and high
partition of boards had been erected--a church within the church. Of
course, this hideous plank-work, which occupies above half the entire
space, completely destroys the proper effect of the really beautiful
building.
My friendly host, Herr Suermondt, seemed reluctant to part with me, and
I readily accepted his hearty invitation to prolong my stay a little
while. The first days were devoted to the town itself and to the
fortifications; and here and there I snatched an hour for a visit to the
fine picture-gallery belonging to Herr Suermondt, and which he has
thrown open to strangers.
We also paid a visit to the favorite resort of the Utrechters--the
little village of Zeigst, a few miles from the town. The drive to this
place is charming. The road, paved with brick like most of the Dutch
high roads, leads us past pretty country houses with handsome gardens;
in many parts there are avenues of sturdy trees, of a thickness I have
seldom seen surpassed. Lime-trees, oaks, and beech-trees, and among the
latter particularly the red beeches, attain a height in Holland perhaps
unparalleled elsewhere.
In Zeigst there is an establishment of the Moravian brethren.