[Transcriber's Note: Bold text is surrounded by =equal signs= and italic
text is surrounded by _underscores_.]
Our Little Dutch Cousin
THE
Little Cousin Series
(TRADE MARK)
Each volume illustrated with six or more full-page plates in
tint. Cloth, 12mo, with decorative cover,
per volume, 60 cents
LIST OF TITLES
BY MARY HAZELTON WADE
(unless otherwise indicated)
=Our Little African Cousin=
=Our Little Alaskan Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Arabian Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little Armenian Cousin=
=Our Little Australian Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Brazilian Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Brown Cousin=
=Our Little Canadian Cousin=
By Elizabeth R. MacDonald
=Our Little Chinese Cousin=
By Isaac Taylor Headland
=Our Little Cuban Cousin=
=Our Little Dutch Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little Egyptian Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little English Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little Eskimo Cousin=
=Our Little French Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little German Cousin=
=Our Little Greek Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Hawaiian Cousin=
=Our Little Hindu Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little Indian Cousin=
=Our Little Irish Cousin=
=Our Little Italian Cousin=
=Our Little Japanese Cousin=
=Our Little Jewish Cousin=
=Our Little Korean Cousin=
By H. Lee M. Pike
=Our Little Mexican Cousin=
By Edward C. Butler
=Our Little Norwegian Cousin=
=Our Little Panama Cousin=
By H. Lee M. Pike
=Our Little Philippine Cousin=
=Our Little Porto Rican Cousin=
=Our Little Russian Cousin=
=Our Little Scotch Cousin=
By Blanche McManus
=Our Little Siamese Cousin=
=Our Little Spanish Cousin=
By Mary F. Nixon-Roulet
=Our Little Swedish Cousin=
By Claire M. Coburn
=Our Little Swiss Cousin=
=Our Little Turkish Cousin=
L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
New England Building, Boston, Mass.
[Illustration: PIETER AND WILHELMINA]
Our Little Dutch Cousin
By
Blanche McManus
Author of "Our Little English Cousin," "Our Little
French Cousin," "Our Little Scotch Cousin," etc.
_Illustrated by_
The Author
[Illustration]
Boston
L. C. Page & Company
_PUBLISHERS_
_Copyright, 1906_
BY L. C. PAGE & COMPANY
(INCORPORATED)
_All rights reserved_
THE LITTLE COUSIN SERIES
(_Trade Mark_)
Fifth Impression, July, 1909
Preface
OUR little Dutch cousins have much in common with little American
cousins, not so much perhaps with respect to present-day institutions
and manners and customs, as with the survivals and traditions of other
days, when the Dutch played so important a part in the founding of the
new America.
It was from Holland, too, from the little port of Delfshaven, that the
Pilgrim Fathers first set sail for the New World, and by this fact alone
Holland and America are bound together by another very strong link,
though this time it was of English forging.
No European country, save England, has the interest for the American
reader or traveller that has "the little land of dikes and windmills,"
and there are many young Americans already familiar with the ways of
their cousins from over the seas from the very fact that so many of them
come to Holland to visit its fine picture-galleries, its famous and
historic buildings, its tulip-gardens, and its picturesque streets and
canals, which make it a paradise for artists.
Our little Dutch cousins mingle gladly with their little American
cousins, and the ties that bind make a bond which is, and always has
been, inseverable.
Contents
CHAPTER PAGE
I. PIETER AND WILHELMINA 1
II. THE AMERICAN COUSIN 23
III. THE LAND OF DIKES AND WINDMILLS 34
IV. THE KERMIS 53
V. THE BICYCLE RIDE 63
VI. WHERE THE CHEESES COME FROM 81
List of Illustrations
PAGE
PIETER AND WILHELMINA _Frontispiece_
"'HOW OLD IS COUSIN THEODORE, MOTHER?' ASKED WILHELMINA" 27
"'I'M GOING TO SNAP-SHOT ONE OF THEM WITH MY CAMERA'" 48
AT THE KERMIS 61
ON THE ROAD TO DELFSHAVEN 66
"THE CHILDREN STOOD IN THE BOWS" 98
[Illustration: _Map of HOLLAND
showing places mentioned in
Our Little Dutch Cousin_]
Our Little Dutch Cousin
CHAPTER I.
PIETER AND WILHELMINA
WHAT do you think of a country where you can pick up sugar-plums along
the road? Well, this was just what Pieter and Wilhelmina were going to
do as, hand in hand, they flew up the road as fast as their little
wooden shoes would let them, to meet a carriage which was rapidly
approaching. Behind the carriage ran a crowd of children, laughing and
tumbling over each other.
"Oh! they are throwing the 'suikers' now; run faster, Wilhelmina,"
panted Pieter; and, sure enough, as the carriage went by, a shower of
candies fell all about them. One piece dropped right in Wilhelmina's
mouth, which of course was open, because she had been running so hard.
But there was no time to laugh, as the children were all scrambling hard
to pick up the sweets. Then they tried to catch up with the carriage
again, but it was nearly out of sight by this time, and so one by one
the young folk stopped to count up their gains, and compare them with
one another.
This was a wedding-party returning from church. In the carriage sat the
bride and groom. The carriage sat high up on its two great wheels, and
was gaudily painted and gaily decked with flowers and ribbons.
Pieter and Wilhelmina had been on the lookout for this bridal party with
more than usual interest, for two relatives of the bride had come to
their mother a few days before to invite her to the wedding ceremony,
and the children thought these young men had looked very fine in their
best clothes, with flowers stuck in the sides of their caps.
The bride had her arms full of candies, and, as was the custom, she
threw them out to the children as they drove along. The little Dutch
children call these candies "suikers." As you may imagine, this is a
great treat for them, and accordingly the children of Holland take more
of an interest in weddings than do the children of other countries.
"Put all the 'suikers' in my apron, Pieter," said Wilhelmina, "and let
us go and show them to the mother," and the children quickly ran back
home.
Wilhelmina and Pieter were twins, so it does not matter whether we say
Wilhelmina or Pieter first, and they looked so much alike that when they
stood together in the high grass by the side of the canal which ran in
front of their home, it was hard to tell one from the other if it had
not been for Pieter's cap.
They both had round, rosy faces, and round, blue eyes, and yellow hair,
only you would not know that Wilhelmina had any hair at all, for it was
completely hidden by her cap. They both wore little wooden shoes, and it
was a marvel how fast they could run in them, for they seem to be on the
point of dropping off most of the time, but, strange to say, they never
do.
Holland is the dearest little wee country in the world. Uncle Sam could
put it in his vest pocket. It looks like a country just made to play in.
Its houses are so small and trim, all set about with neat little gardens
and trees, which look as if they had been cut out of wood, like the
trees in the "Noah's arks." There are little canals and little bridges
everywhere, and little towns scattered here and there all over the
broad, flat country. You could go to all of the principal cities of this
little land in one day, and you can stand in one of the church towers
and see over half the country at a glance. The only things that look big
are the windmills.
What do you think of a garden gate without any fence? But this is just
the sort of a gate that the twins entered when they arrived home.
Instead of a fence there was a small canal which divided the garden from
the road, and of course the gate was in the middle of a small bridge,
otherwise how could they have got across the canal?
At the front door they both left their shoes on the steps outside, for
Dutch people never think of bringing their dirty shoes into the house.
Then they opened only half of the front door and went in. Many Dutch
doors are made in two parts, the upper half remaining open most of the
time, like a window, while the lower half is closed like an ordinary
door.
"Oh, mamma, see what a lot of 'suikers' the bride threw to us," said
Wilhelmina, running up to Mevrouw Joost, who was bustling about the
china cupboard in the living-room.
"And she was such a pretty bride, too, with a lovely dress; and there
were flowers twined all about the carriage, and a wreath on the horse's
head, and long streamers of white ribbon wound around the whip," she
continued breathlessly.
"And we got more 'suikers' than any one else," put in Pieter.
"Yes, it was a gay party. I saw them pass by the house," said Mevrouw
Joost, smilingly, as she ate a "suiker."
"Baby Jan must have one too," said Wilhelmina, as she went over to play
with the baby who was kicking and crowing in his great carved cradle
near the window. Jan was the household pet, and there had been a great
celebration when he was a week old.
All the friends of the Joost family were invited to come and see the
baby, a red pincushion having been hung out beside the front door to
let everybody know that there was a new baby boy within. When the guests
arrived, they were given rusks to eat, a kind of sweet bread, covered
with aniseed and sugar, called "muisjes," which really means "mice."
Before, when the friends had come to pay their respects to Wilhelmina
and Pieter, there had been two kinds of "muisjes." One had a sort of
smooth white icing on the top, and that was Wilhelmina's, while Pieter's
rusks had lumps of sugar sticking up all over them.
The Dutch are the neatest people in the world. They are always washing
and rubbing and dusting things, and one could no more find a spider's
web in Mevrouw Joost's home than they could a white elephant.
The floor of the living-room was made of tiny red bricks, waxed and
polished until they shone like glass. There was much heavy oak
furniture, beautifully carved; a big round table stood in the centre,
and on one side was a great dresser or sideboard. The chairs were solid
and big, with high backs and straw seats, and some of them were painted
dark green, with curious little pictures and decorations also painted on
them.
One end of the square room was filled by what looked like two big
cupboards with heavy green curtains hanging in front of them, but one of
the curtains was drawn partly back and one could see that they were two
great beds instead, built into the wall just like cupboards. These were
the "show-beds," and were not for constant use, but mostly for ornament.
Mevrouw Joost was very proud of these beds and kept them always made up
with her very finest linen, trimmed with rich lace, and her most
brilliantly coloured embroidered coverlids, the whole being piled so
high that the beds nearly reached the ceiling. There was barely enough
room on top for the two enormous eider-down pillows, with gay covers
and lace ruffles, which lay on each of the beds and completed their
furnishings.
Some Dutch houses have a separate room for these "show-beds," which we
should call a parlour, but Mevrouw Joost had her "show-beds" where she
could enjoy their magnificence every day.
She had her "show-room," too, but kept it most beautifully and tightly
closed up, so that not a ray of light or a speck of dirt could come in,
for it was only used on some great occasion.
Another side of the living-room was nearly filled by the huge fireplace,
covered with square, blue Delft tiles, on each of which was a picture
which told a story from the Bible. The ceiling was crossed with great
beams of wood, and a wainscoting of wood went all around the room.
On the sideboard, on the shelves above the beds, and over the mantel
were fine pieces of rare old Delft china, which is a beautiful deep
blue. It is very rare now, and much prized by the Dutch Mevrouws. There
was also a quantity of copper and brass jugs and pewter platters, while
by the fireplace hung a big brass warming-pan, which is a great pan with
a cover and a long handle. On a cold and damp winter's night Mevrouw
Joost filled it with red-hot coals, and warmed the household beds by
slipping it in and out between the sheets.
There were spotless white curtains at the tiny windows, and everything
shone under the housewife's brisk rubbings.
Back of the sitting-room was the kitchen, with another big fireplace, in
which was set the cooking-stove. Around the walls were many bright
copper pans and pots of all kinds.
There were big brass jugs to hold milk, and kegs with brass hoops in
which they stow away their butter. The Dutch are so fond of polishing
things that they put brass on everything, it would seem, just for the
joy of rubbing it afterward.
Many of the commoner things were made beautiful as well. The
knife-handles were carved, and on many of the brass bowls and platters
were graceful patterns. One would see a little cow carved on the big
wooden butter-spoon, or a tiny windmill on the handle of a fork, while
the great churn that stood in the corner of the kitchen had gay pictures
painted upon it. From this you may judge what a pleasant and attractive
room Mevrouw Joost's kitchen was.
"Why are you putting out all the best china and the pretty silver
spoons, mother?" asked Wilhelmina.
"The father is showing a visitor through the tulip-gardens. It is the
great merchant, Mynheer Van der Veer, from Amsterdam. He has come to
buy some of the choice plants, for he says truly there are no tulips in
all Holland as fine as ours," and the good lady drew herself up with a
pardonable pride, as she polished the big silver coffee-pot, which
already shone so Wilhelmina might see her face in it like a mirror.
"Can I help you, mother?" asked Wilhelmina. She would have liked nothing
better than to handle the dainty cups and saucers, but she knew well
that her mother would not trust this rare old china to any hands but her
own, for these cups and saucers had been handed down through many
generations of her family, as had the quaint silver spoons with the long
twisted handles, at the end of which were little windmills, ships,
lions, and the like, all in silver.
"No, no, little one, you are only in the way; go out into the garden and
tell your father not to delay too long or our guest will drink cold
coffee," said Mevrouw, bustling about more than ever.
Wilhelmina was eager enough to see the great Mynheer, so she joined
Pieter, who had already slipped out, and together they went toward the
bulb-gardens, where Mynheer and their father were looking over the
wonderful tulips.
Pieter and Wilhelmina lived in a quaint little house of one story only,
built of very small red brick, with a roof of bright red tiles. The
window-frames were painted white, and the window-blinds a bright blue,
while the front door was bright green. There was a little garden in
front, and the paths all followed tiny canals, which were spanned here
and there by small bridges. In one corner was a pond, on which floated
little toy ducks and fish, and it was great fun for the children to wind
up the clockwork inside of these curious toys, and watch them move about
as if they were alive. But on this afternoon the twins were thinking of
other things, and kept on to the bulb-gardens. Here was a lovely
sight,--acres and acres of nothing but tulips of all colours, and
hyacinths, and other bulbs which Mynheer Joost grew to send to the big
flower markets of Holland and other countries as well; for, as Mevrouw
Joost had said, their tulips were famous the world over. Mynheer Joost
took great pains with his bulbs, and was able to grow many varieties
which could not be obtained elsewhere.
The tulip is really the national flower of Holland, so the Dutch (as the
people of Holland are called) are very fond of them, and you see more
beautiful varieties here than anywhere else. Every Dutchman plants
tulips in his garden, and there is a great rivalry between neighbours as
to who can produce the most startling varieties in size and colour.
Pieter and Wilhelmina were never tired of hearing their father tell of
the time all Holland went almost crazy over tulips. This was nearly
three hundred years ago, after the tulip had just been brought to
Holland, and was a much rarer flower than it is to-day. It got to be the
fashion for every one to raise tulips, and they sold for large sums of
money. Several thousands of "guldens" (a "gulden" is the chief Dutch
coin) were paid for a single bulb. People sold their houses and lands to
buy tulips, which they were able to sell again at a great profit.
Everybody went wild over these beautiful flowers, rich and poor alike,
men, women, and children. Everybody bought and sold tulips, and nobody
thought or talked about anything but the price of tulips. At last the
Dutch government put a stop to this nonsense, and down tumbled the
prices of tulips.
In spite of this, the Dutch love for the flower still continued, and
to-day one may see these great fields of tulips and hyacinths and other
bulb-plants covering miles and miles of the surface of Holland, just as
do wheat-fields in other lands.
There is a large and continually growing trade in these plants going on
all over Holland, and Mynheer Joost was always able to sell his plants
for as big a price as any others in the market. The principal
tulip-gardens are in the vicinities of the cities of Leyden and Haarlem,
and from where Wilhelmina and Pieter now stood, in the midst of their
father's tulip-beds, they could see the tower of the Groote Kerk, or
Great Church, of Haarlem.
Mynheer Joost sold a very rare variety, which only he knew how to grow,
and which was named the "Joost;" it was almost pure black, with only a
tiny red tip on each petal. It was the pride of his heart, and he often
told the children that he hoped some day to be able to turn it into a
pure black one; and then what a fortune it would bring them all! So
Pieter and Wilhelmina watched its growth almost as carefully as did
their father.
"There is Mynheer and the father now, looking at the 'great tulip,'"
said Pieter. This was the way they always spoke of this wonderful plant.
But Wilhelmina suddenly grew shy at the sight of the great man. "Come,
let us hide," she said, and she tried to draw Pieter behind one of the
large glass houses, in which were kept many of the rarer plants. But
Pieter wanted to see Mynheer Van der Veer, the well-known merchant who
owned so many big warehouses in Amsterdam, and also a tall, fine house
on one of the "grachten" of that city, which is the name given to the
canals.
Mynheer was a portly old gentleman, and was dressed much as would be a
merchant in any great city; in a black suit and a silk hat, for the
wealthy people of the big cities of Holland do not wear to-day the
picturesque costumes of the country people. It is only in the country
and small towns that one sees the quaint dress which often has changed
but little from what it was hundreds of years ago. But the Joost family,
like many another in the country, were very proud of their old-time
dress, and would not have changed it for a modern costume for anything,
and though Mynheer Joost was also a wealthy man, he was dressed in the
same kind of clothes as those worn by his father and grandfather before
him. He had on big, baggy trousers of dark blue velvet, coming only to
the knee, and fastened at the waist with a great silver buckle; a
tight-fitting vest or coat, with two rows of big silver buttons down the
front, and around his neck was a gay-coloured handkerchief. On his head
was a curious high cap, and on his feet the big wooden shoes, nicely
whitened.
Each of the men were smoking big cigars, for the Dutch are great
smokers, and are never without a pipe or cigar.
Mynheer Van der Veer had finished selecting his tulips, and now caught
sight of the twins, who were standing shyly together, holding hands as
usual, behind a mass of crimson and yellow tulips.
"Aha! these are your two young ones, my friend; they, too, are sturdy
young plants.
"You look like one of your father's finest pink tulips, little one," he
continued, patting Wilhelmina's pink cheeks.
You might not think it was a compliment to be called a tulip, but you
must not forget what a high regard the Dutch have for these flowers. So
Wilhelmina knew that she was receiving a great compliment, and grew
pinker than ever, and entirely forgot the message which her mother had
given her.
"And, Pieter, some day I suppose that you will be growing rare tulips
like your father," said Mynheer, peering at the lad over the rims of his
glasses.
"Pieter helps me greatly now, out of school hours, and Wilhelmina can
pack blossoms for the market as well as our oldest gardener," said
Mynheer Joost, who thought that there were no children in Holland the
equal of his twins. "But you must let the Vrouw give you some of her
cakes and coffee before you leave, Mynheer," he continued as he led the
way back to the house.
The Dutch are very hospitable, and are never so happy as when they are
giving their visitors nice things to eat and drink, and it would be
considered very rude to refuse any of these good things; but then nobody
wants to.
Mynheer Van der Veer was soon seated at the big oak table, which was
covered with a linen cloth finely embroidered, and edged with a deep
ruffle of lace. On it were the plates of Delftware filled with many
kinds of cakes and sweet biscuits, which the Dutch call "koejes;"
besides, there were delicious sweet rusks, which Mevrouw Joost brought
hot from the oven. Then she poured the hot water on to the coffee from a
copper kettle which stood on a high copper stand by the side of the
table. The silver coffee-pot itself stood on a porcelain stand at one
end of the table, and under this stand was a tiny flame burning from an
alcohol-lamp in order to keep the coffee warm.
There was no better coffee to be had in all Holland than Mevrouw
Joost's, and how good it tasted, to be sure, out of the dainty china
cups,--real china, for they had been brought from the Far East by a
great-uncle of the Joosts who had engaged in the trade with China at the
time when there were nothing but sailing ships on the seas. After the
coffee came brandied cherries, served in little glasses.
"When the young people come to Amsterdam again, Mynheer Joost, you must
bring them to see me," said the merchant, "and perhaps the young man
will want to leave even his tulips when he sees what is in the big
warehouses."
The twins' eyes shone and they pinched each other with delight at the
mere thought of a visit to the wonderful city house of the great
merchant in wealthy Amsterdam, the largest city in their country.