Zaandam.--The little Village of Broeck, celebrated for its
Cleanliness.--Strange Head-dresses.--The Hague.--Celebrated
Pictures.--Leyden.--Rotterdam.--Departure from Holland.
On my return from Utrecht to Amsterdam, Herr van Rees took me to Zaandam
and Broeck, an excursion which can be accomplished in a carriage in one
day.
Zaandam is famous as the place where Peter the Great worked for several
months as a carpenter in order to learn the art of ship-building. They
still show the wooden hut where he dwelt, and this is kept in the same
condition in which the great emperor left it. It consists of two plain
little rooms with a few wooden chairs and tables. To defend it from the
effects of the weather, a roof of brick-work has been built over it, and
in winter this is covered in at the sides with wooden planks. Zaandam,
with its thirteen thousand inhabitants, is a very cheerful little town.
Nearly every house is surrounded by its garden.
No less celebrated than Zaandam, but for another cause, is the little
village of Broeck, which has acquired fame by its exceeding cleanliness,
and that, moreover, in a country where the streets of the towns are
often cleaner than the interior of the houses in many other lands. I
expected, of course, to see something extraordinary, but must confess
that the reality surpassed my expectations.
The houses are all built of wood, and painted of some dark color. The
roofs are covered with glazed tiles, and the windows adorned with
handsome curtains, while every door-lock is so brightly polished as to
look as if it had been just fixed. All the houses stand in little
gardens, and each has three doors. One of these is never used but on
the most important events of life: when the bridegroom and bride go
forth to be married; when the child is carried to the font; and when man
is borne forth to take possession of his last earthly dwelling. This
strange fashion is found nowhere except in this village. Of the two
remaining doors, one is used for daily purposes of entrance and exit;
the other leads to the stable, which forms part of the building.
The somewhat narrow streets are bordered by wooden palings; behind the
houses room is left to drive in the cattle, to stack the harvest of hay,
etc. The streets were washed and swept so clean that, though they are
skirted by trees, I did not see a single leaf on the ground. The people,
I believe, keep no domestic animals except oxen and cows, for fear the
streets should be dirtied. Verily, this is carrying cleanliness to
extremes.
We went into several of the houses. The rooms showed the perfection of
cleanliness and adornment. The floors were covered with plain carpets or
mats, and every piece of furniture polished so highly that it looked
like new, though, to judge from the shape of the different pieces, they
evidently dated from the last century. The interior arrangements were
handsome enough, with plenty of glazed cupboards, full of all kinds of
rarities, particularly china, among which I noticed specimens of Chinese
and Japanese manufacture. I saw no beds; their place was supplied by
false cupboards in all the rooms, which are metamorphosed into couches
at night; but great was the store of bed and table linen. The floors of
these rooms must not be desecrated by shoes; like the Oriental, the
Dutch peasant leaves his slippers at the door. It certainly does not
cost him much trouble to divest himself of them, for they are of wood,
and he has only to kick them off. Not but that he has better ones for
Sundays and visiting days; it is only at his work that he is shod with
wood.
The cow-stables were far handsomer than those I had seen at Herr
Muysken’s establishment in the Lake of Haarlem. They consist of long
halls, with handsome ceilings, resting on pillars of wood. But a stable
of this kind is, in fact, only half a stable, for the cattle only live
in it during the winter. On the first of May the beasts are driven to
pasture, and there they remain until the first of November, and during
this time the farmer may be said to make a summer residence of his
stable. The hall is divided into compartments or rooms by partitions
four feet high, and in these rooms the family lives the whole of the
day, only using the real dwelling-house at night. The walls and pillars
of the hall are hung with glittering paraphernalia of china, plates,
dishes, and metal cans, and even pictures are seen there. The implements
for making butter and cheese are ranged in perfect order in the various
compartments, and every thing glistens and gleams as brightly as if it
had never been used. Not a stain, not an atom of dust is tolerated any
where.
It happened to be on a Sunday that we visited Broeck, and the villagers
were at church. We proceeded there to see them in their Sunday garb.
There was nothing peculiar in the costume of the men, who were all very
neat and tidy; but all the women wore that unhappy head-dress, common
throughout Holland, which seems to have been invented to deprive the
female sex of its chief natural ornament, for it entirely conceals the
hair.
This head-dress, probably invented of old by some dame of high degree
who had lost her hair, is worthy of a particular description. A hoop of
gilt metal encircles the head. This hoop is about an inch and a quarter
in width at the forehead, increasing to two inches at the back of the
head. This fillet is surmounted by a white cap, fitting tight to the
skull, and trimmed with broad folds of lace, while a long strip of the
same fabric hangs down over the shoulders. Chased gilt ornaments an
inch and a half long, and an inch broad, are attached to each temple,
producing very much the effect of the blinkers with which the bridles of
carriage-horses are furnished. Three little locks of silk hang down over
the eyes. This head-dress certainly has no pretensions to taste, but has
the advantage of being subject to no change in fashion. It is expensive
enough, costing generally from sixty to eighty Dutch guilders, and even
some hundreds in the cases of rich people, who ornament their coifs with
pearls and precious stones; but these are heir-looms, descending from
generation to generation.
Many women absolutely place a structure of straw, with a broad brim bent
upward in front and behind, on this wonderful cap when they go out, and
this queer affair they call a hat. I was astonished to find that girls
and women endowed by nature with beautiful hair subjected themselves to
this foolish fashion--the motive could scarcely be vanity.
In the remaining costume of the women I found nothing very worthy of
remark. On Sunday they all wear gowns of black merino. The fashionable
world dresses as it does every where else; and some of the citizens’
wives paid homage to the present fashion so far as to wear a stylish
bonnet over their hideous Dutch caps.
On the following morning, my indefatigable Mentor, Herr van Rees, took
me to the Hague to see his family.
The Hague, a city of eighty thousand inhabitants, does not look so
ancient as Amsterdam, but is very much cleaner, principally from the
fact that the Hague is not such a manufacturing and commercial city as
Amsterdam. Like all Dutch cities, it is intersected by numerous canals.
The Hague is the seat of government and the abode of the court, the
foreign embassadors, and officials generally. The king has several
palaces, not remarkable either for size or for their architecture. They
look merely like handsome private houses. The old chief palace, built in
the town itself, is a fortress surrounded by moats, and built on a low
mound or redoubt. The heavy gates, the tower, and especially the dark
color with which it is stained all over, give this place an appearance
of antiquity.
About the churches there is not much to be said. The cathedral is a very
handsome building, dreadfully disfigured by being surrounded by a number
of mean-looking little houses.
The picture gallery, here called the “Museum,” owes its celebrity
chiefly to two pictures, which are reckoned among the great masterpieces
of the Dutch school--a cattle-piece in life size, by Paul Potter, and
Rembrandt’s “Doctor,” or “Anatomist.”
The cattle-piece is so true to nature, so warm in tone, and powerful in
execution, that one almost wonders, after a lengthened contemplation of
the work, to see the bull, the sheep, the cow, and the shepherd remain
so still and motionless, expecting them to begin to move.
The other picture is just as extraordinary in its way, but I thought the
subject less attractive. The surgeon is dissecting a corpse. He has just
laid open the palm of the hand and the arm sufficiently to expose the
whole system of veins and nerves, and he is explaining these to his
audience. The calmness of the operator, to whom the business is
familiar, and the rapt attention of his hearers, some of whom are
hanging upon his words, while others gaze fixedly upon the dissected
subject, are admirably rendered; in my poor opinion, this picture is the
great painter’s masterpiece. Besides these two great paintings, there
are many charming pieces by Steen, Ostade, Rubens, and others.
Herr de Boer’s bazar is well worth a visit. I have seen similar
establishments in other great towns, but none to compare with this. The
objects to be seen are innumerable, and are arranged in the most
attractive manner in large halls. There is a great variety, in
particular, of Chinese and Japanese objects. That Nature may not be
forgotten amid the charms of Art, these halls are surrounded by
beautiful green-houses, which, with their palms and cactuses,
sugar-canes, and coffee-trees, remind the Hollander who has returned
from India of the El Dorado he has left. Another arrangement,
unfortunately not universal, is, that all who come to Herr de Boer’s
bazar, whether purchasers or visitors, are alike treated with great
civility and attention.
The Dutch seat of government possesses a very fine park, whose fresh
verdure, glorious trees, and blooming slopes reminded me of the parks in
England. Very charming, too, is the road from the Hague to Scheveningen,
a fishing village on the coast, some half a dozen miles from the city,
and a place much frequented by the townspeople in summer for bathing
purposes. The action of the waves here is said to be particularly
invigorating. Thick shady avenues for pedestrians, carriages, and horses
extend to the entrance of the village. Scarce a sunbeam struggles
through the thick foliage, so that there is coolness and refreshment on
the hottest day of summer. Unfortunately, however, real summer days are
very sparingly meted out to the Hollanders, the full power of the sun
being felt only for a short period in this land. It was in June that I
visited Holland, and yet it was only at noon that I found it agreeable
to lay aside my warm cloak. In the evening and the morning the
thermometer often showed only six to eight degrees Réaumur, and in the
night the mercury must have sunk some degrees lower. They told me,
however, that this year was an exceptionally cold one, and strong north
winds were continually blowing.
From the Hague I made a few excursions--one to the city of Leyden, and
another to the busy port of Rotterdam.
Leyden is a very dull place. In the busiest streets it is very easy to
count the passengers, and it very seldom happens that one must step
aside to avoid a passing carriage. But the place possesses great Art
treasures. The museums of Leyden are celebrated for their great
collections, particularly of specimens of animals, fishes, and reptiles,
and likewise of skulls of men of almost every race. The Museum of
Antiquities possesses many rolls of Egyptian papyrus, mummies, and
Egyptian and Buddhist idols.
Messrs. Leeman and Schlegel, the curators of these museums, were
obliging enough to conduct us through them in person. Unhappily, our
time was so limited that we could only give a passing glance at all
these wonders. The museums are separated, because it was impossible, we
were told, to find a single building with the requisite number of great
rooms. The collections are at present deposited in ordinary
dwelling-houses.
The Japanese Museum, an exceedingly complete collection of the natural
and artificial products of that country, is the private property of Dr.
Siebold.
If Leyden did not appear very attractive to me as a city, I was much
delighted with Rotterdam: if I had to fix my residence in one of the
cities of Holland, it should certainly be here. In this rich commercial
town there is business and bustle all day long, especially on the
canals, which are broader and deeper than those of the other towns, and
as navigable for great three-masted ships as for little cockboats.
Few towns offer such an aspect as Rotterdam, where marine colossi with
high masts, as well as smoking steamers, are seen parading, as it were,
through the middle of the city. I stood for hours at the window, and was
never weary of gazing. Yonder a great East Indiaman is slowly getting
under way; here a ship has just arrived from a long voyage, and the
sailors are shouting, waving their caps, and calling to their wives,
who, informed of the vessel’s arrival, stand waiting on the banks of the
canal. Here weighty chests of sugar and bags of coffee are being dragged
out of the hold of a ship and deposited in the huge warehouses; there
they are loading a brig with Dutch produce for conveyance abroad;
steamers of all sizes are swirling by every moment, and hundreds of
boats dart to and fro among them. To be able to see all this from my own
window seems so strange, that I rub my eyes, fancy myself in a dream,
and refuse to believe in the reality.
Rotterdam has many great and handsome houses; some are particularly
remarkable for having flat terraces instead of ordinary roofs. The park
adjoins one of the best streets; though less spacious than the Haagsche
Bosch, it is charmingly laid out.
In Rotterdam I took leave of my worthy and generous friend, Herr van
Rees. The good-nature of this gentleman was so great, that he wished to
take me through the whole of Holland, as far as Gueldres and Friesland;
but it would have been more than encroaching on my part to take
advantage of his liberal offer. I alleged that the time had come when I
must embark on my new journey, and that I must proceed at once to London
to make the necessary preparations.
My stay in Holland had been a brief one--about a fortnight. During this
time I had seen many interesting things, but few scenes of natural
beauty. In this respect Holland is poor. A great portion of the land,
having been won from the sea, necessarily consists of a continuous
plain, broken here and there only by low banks and “dunes,” about twenty
or thirty feet high. In Gueldres and Friesland, these “dunes,” or sandy
banks, are said to attain a height of from fifty to a hundred feet. The
views, therefore, show the same features every where--green meadows,
with cattle grazing, a few fields, pretty shrubberies, great massive
trees, and neat farms and villages. The picture thus presented is
cheerful enough, but when one has it continually before one’s eyes it
soon becomes monotonous, and creates a craving for the sight of
mountains, or, at least, of a range of hills.
The most striking objects to the traveler in Holland are the numerous
canals, great and small, which intersect both town and country in all
directions. Every patch of field, every meadow, is, as it were, a little
island, surrounded in all directions by canals two or three feet broad.
The part of Holland through which I passed consists principally of marsh
land. As far as the eye can reach, it rests upon pastures full of
fine-looking cattle, which constitute the chief wealth of the country.
In Holland there are about 1,130,000 head of cows, oxen, and calves, to
a population of 3,200,000 souls, a proportion to which no other country
presents a parallel. No wonder that Holland provides half the world with
butter and cheese.
The soil is decidedly fertile--witness the fat pastures and meadows, the
plentiful crops of great heavy corn-ears, and the strong, lofty trees. A
fruitful land is Holland, I will not deny, but certainly not a beautiful
one.