eriptive 
 
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 WIULIAM H. HAU 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
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 Descriptive Reading 
 
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 ILLUSTRATED BY TWELVE LANTERN 
 SLIDES 
 
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 WILLIAM H. RAU 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 1890 
 
Copyright, i8go, by William H. Ran, 
 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 1. Amsterdam, The King's Palace and Old Church. 
 
 2. Amsterdam, Monument and Dam. 
 
 3. Amsterdam, The Theatre. 
 
 4 Amsterdam, The River Amstel. 
 
 5. The Hague, House of Parliament. 
 
 6. The Hague, Museum of Art. 
 
 7 The Hague, The Humstee Canal. 
 
 8. Rotterdam, The Great Bridge. 
 
 9. Rotterdam, The Noord Blaak. 
 
 ID. Rotterdam, The Spui-Water-Canal. 
 
 11. Haarlem Cathedral. 
 
 12. Street in Monickendam. 
 
HOLLAND. 
 
 1. Amsterdam. The King's Palace and New 
 Church. — A short trip through Holland such as we 
 propose to make this evening can not be started at a 
 better point than the one now on the screen before us. 
 The King's Palace which we see occupying the greater 
 portion of the picture to the left, was erected in 1648, 
 and rests on a foundation of more than 13,000 piles. 
 The nature of the soil pretty much all over Holland 
 is such that no building is secure unless the founda- 
 tions be guarded in this manner. Houses have fre- 
 quently sunk into the mud and disappeared. The 
 palace was originally intended for a town-hall, and is 
 indeed better suited to that purpose than to the 
 ceremony and pomp inseparable from royalty. The 
 interior contains a fine council-chamber, throne-room, 
 various military and naval trophies, sculptures, paint- 
 ings, etc. 
 
 The open square, or Dam as it is called, can be 
 seen in the foreground, with the usual line of public 
 cabs drawn up in a row in front of the palace. Just 
 over the end of this row of cabs we observe the 
 the transept and tower of the New Church, a fine 
 gothic structure dating from 1408. It was finally 
 restored and completed after a number of destructive 
 fires and some terrible riots in the time of the Ana- 
 baptists. 
 
 An attentive study of the view before us reveals 
 the peculiar and characteristic manner in which large 
 
 (550 ) 
 
556 HOLLAND. 
 
 churches throughout the Netherlands are hemmed 
 in closely by very low and insignificant buildings. 
 The western end of the church is concealed by the 
 Palace. 
 
 2. Amsterdam. The Monument ard Dam. — 
 
 The view now before us has been taken from the 
 same standpoint as the preceding one, by merely 
 turning the camera a little to the right. 
 
 We here have a fine view of the Dam with its 
 numerous car-tracks or tramways, and we see how 
 the different thoroughfares lead to it. One of the 
 greatest of these, the Kalverstraat is behind us. 
 
 The handsome and lofty monument in the centre 
 was erected in 1856, in commemoration of the events 
 which transpired in 1830-31. The statue surmounting 
 it is the Goddess of Concord. Our picture shows us 
 the everyday life in this part of the city, with the 
 groups of gossipers, newspaper-sellers, persons drink- 
 ing at the fountain, employed about the cars, pedes- 
 trians, etc. 
 
 The Dam is situated in the middle of the city, on 
 the western side of the old dam or embankment from 
 which the city takes its name, and to which its origin 
 is owing. It, together with the Kalvcistraat, con- 
 stitutes the chief business portion of the city. 
 
 3. Amsterdam. The Theatre. — The modern 
 appearance of the buildings in this part of Amsterdam 
 as well as the whole character of the bridge and its 
 surroundings, would scarcely seem to justify the 
 assertion that we are looking at a locality seven hun- 
 dred years old. 
 
HOLLAND. 557 
 
 The Dutch are a very clever people, and have known 
 how to economize space in building their cities, as 
 well as how to be liberal with it in such neighborhoods 
 as the Dam and the vicinity of the Theatre. It must 
 not be forgotten that a great portion of Holland 
 (Hollow Land, as the word literally means) has been 
 reclaimed from the sea by an elaborate and expensive 
 system of dykes and pumping. This of course 
 renders ground very valuable, particularly in the 
 cities ; where, as we said a few minutes ago, the 
 foundations of the buildings have to be held up on 
 piles, thus rendering the work done below the surface 
 of the ground, in many cases as costly as the super- 
 structure itself Nevertheless, the cities of Holland 
 are remarkable for their handsome open places or 
 public squares, which are generally embellished with 
 the finest buildings, and agreeably shaded by trees as 
 we see in the view. The water in this picture is one 
 of the numerous canals that intersect the city and 
 greatly facilitate commerce. 
 
 4. Amsterdam. The River Amstel. — Before 
 leaving this strange city, which is nevertheless the 
 commercial capital of Holland, we shall find a short 
 walk around its streets very attractive. 
 
 A glance at the map of the city shows us a very- 
 uncommon plan of laying out. The river Amstet 
 flows into the city, which is shaped like an half-circle^ 
 on one side, somewhat as the handle is affixed to an 
 ordinary pan. The river is fairly wide in the city 
 between the stone docks at either side as can be seen 
 in the photograph, and will admit boats of about 
 eight feet draught. From the river, innumerable 
 
55 8 HOLLAND. 
 
 canals open off in various directions, so that mer- 
 chandise can be conveyed directly to the stores and 
 storehouses by water. 
 
 Our photograph has been taken in one of the rather 
 modern and openly built portions of the city. We 
 still see at the left, however, two houses with very 
 characteristic Dutch gables just at the left of the large 
 museum beyond the bridge, and a close examination 
 shows also the projecting beams supporting the block 
 and tackle by which goods are hoisted from the boats 
 or docks to the storerooms in the upper stories of the 
 houses. Storage of any other than the coarsest 
 articles in cellars is not practised in this city, since 
 the latter are always damp and not unfrequently con- 
 tain water. 
 
 5. The Hag-ue. Houses of Parliament. — Canals 
 or water-courses bordered with fine stone docks 
 planted with shade trees form a characteristic of Dutch 
 scenery — in the towns at least. Having just seen this 
 in Amsterdam, we here see it again in the beautiful 
 city of The Hague, at a point opposite the new 
 Houses of Parliament. The pleasant situation of 
 these State Buildings recalls on a small scale that of 
 the Houses of Parliament in London, each of them 
 liaving, so to speak, a water-front ; the ones in our 
 picture, however, if less pretentious, are certainly 
 better situated as regards that privacy so desirable for 
 all deliberative and legislative bodies. 
 
 The city of The Hague was formerly a hunting 
 resort for the Counts of Holland ; from this it takes 
 its name — 'S Graven Hage, in Dutch, meaning the 
 counts' hedge or enclosed place. It is the political 
 
HOLLAND. 559 
 
 capital of the country, and has been so since the i6th 
 century. 
 
 The characteristic quaint buildings and costumes of 
 the people still to be seen in many of the smaller 
 Dutch towns are not met with in The Hague, except 
 here and there in its older portions. The town has a 
 decidedly modern appearance, and is very pleasing 
 from its regular rows of houses and well-kept streets. 
 The great neatness of everything also, is a point that 
 must not be passed over in silencCc Dutch cleanliness 
 is proverbial. 
 
 O. The Hague. Museum of Art. — This substan- 
 tial building, recalling the earlier Colonial ones of our 
 own country in its general appearance, was erected 
 by Prince John Maurice of Nassau, the Dutch Gov- 
 ernor of Brazil, in the early part of the 17th century. 
 
 The splendid collection of paintings contained in 
 this Museum is famous the world over. It consists 
 of more than 300 works of the best Dutch and 
 Flemish masters. Among the very valuable of these 
 paintings we may mention Rembrandt's ** School of 
 Anatomy" painted for the Amsterdam guild of 
 surgeons in 1632, and his ^'Presentation in the 
 Temple." 
 
 We may pause here long enough to call to mind 
 that this great painter was the son of a miller, living 
 in Leyden, and was born about the year 1607. After 
 a busy and successful term of years devoted to paint- 
 ing, he suffered financial ruin in the great panic of 
 1653, and though continuing his active devotion to his 
 calling after passing through bankruptcy, died in 
 poverty in 1669, His works are remarkable for bold 
 
560 HOLLAND. 
 
 and striking contrasts of light and shade, and for the 
 relief and vigor in lighting thus obtained. They are 
 studied not only by portrait painters, but by profess- 
 ional portrait photographers also, at the present time. 
 The term ** Rembrandt Effect in Lighting" is an 
 everyday expression among the latter. 
 
 7. The Hague. The Humstee Canal. — We now 
 
 pass into one of the older portions of the Capital City 
 and obtain an excellent idea of the canals running 
 close to the houses, both being shaded with fine trees, 
 as we said a few moments ago. 
 
 A scene such as we now have before us is not very 
 easy to reproduce satisfactorily in a photograph, from 
 the fact that the luxuriant foliage hides the tops of the 
 houses. We must therefore ask our friends in the 
 audience to imagine that each of the houses, whose 
 doorways are seen to the right and left, terminates 
 above in a quaint rounded gable with a pulley-block 
 and supporting beam such as we pointed out in view 
 No. 4 of the River Amstel in Amsterdam. We will 
 further ask them to remember that what we said 
 about the cleanliness of things in Holland holds full 
 force in neighborhoods like this. Although the water 
 in the canal is somewhat muddy, it is quite free from 
 offensive refuse, and is liberally used by the brisk 
 housemaids in washing not only all parts of the 
 houses that can be washed, but also the street in 
 front of them. The traveller will often see a bevy of 
 these robust women, wearing their large wooden 
 shoes, industriously scrubbing the roadway, and 
 lifting the water from the canal by buckets which are 
 hooked to the ends of long poles and painted in 
 showy colors. 
 
HOLLAND. 561 
 
 One of the numerous drawbridges which open to 
 permit the passage of vessels is seen in the distance. 
 
 8. Rotterdam. The Great Bridge. — This very 
 pleasing river view of the great city of Rotterdam, 
 shows us one of the larger water courses busy with 
 marine traffic. Piles of goods of various kinds are 
 seen on the dock in the foreground only awaiting the 
 approach of a vessel to be shipped off to Java in 
 return for the delicious coffee from this island, which 
 forms a staple drink among the Dutch. There is a 
 great deal of commerce between Holland and the 
 East Indies, and some of the ponderous old-fashioned 
 wooden ships formerly known as ''East Indiamen," 
 may still be seen from time to time at the docks of 
 Rotterdam. 
 
 We again call to mind the great cleanliness of the 
 Dutch in our visit to such a locality as this, for we 
 are agreeably impressed by the absence of the filth 
 usually inseparable from seaport towns. Rotterdam 
 is a point of departure for the ports of the Mediter- 
 ranean and Baltic ; of England, France, etc. The 
 city is intersected by canals in the same way as we 
 have already seen in Amsterdam, but not quite to the 
 same extent. The tide rises in the river about eight 
 feet, and communication between the different sections 
 of the city can be made either by land or water as is 
 usual in these Dutch towns. 
 
 The railway to Antwerp crosses the large bridge 
 seen at the left. 
 
 9. Rotterdam. The Xoord Blaak.— We here 
 have a view of one of these canals in the centre of 
 
562 HOLLAND. 
 
 the town. It presents much the same characteristics 
 as the smaller ones already seen. The Dutch boats 
 are peculiar in having rather high bows and sterns, 
 as we see in the one at the right moored next the 
 dock. We must draw on our imagination a little to 
 realize the brilliant coloring in a scene like this. The 
 houses are built of red brick with white mortar; the 
 foliage is brilliantly green ; and these colors are 
 repeated in the shipping, as though chosen in imitation 
 of the prevailing ones in the streets. 
 
 The cleanliness of the Dutch is by no means con- 
 fined to the life on shore. Many of the common 
 boats used on the canals — ^just such ones as we see in 
 the view — are models of neatness. The little cabin 
 occupied by the boatman and his family is well-kept 
 and tastefully garnished with diminutive window- 
 curtains, and small pictures, and the brass or copper 
 kitchen utensils sparkle even more brightly than the 
 boatman's own" eyes after a glass of his favorite 
 "schnapps." 
 
 10. Rotterdam. The Spui- Water-Canal. — We 
 
 now turn to the more closely crowded and poorer 
 section of the great seaport and give our friends a 
 view that is characteristic of Holland towns in these 
 portions. We observe the narrowness and the height 
 of the houses, proving the value of ground. We also 
 observe the absence of outside blinds or window- 
 shutters, and the large windows to admit the light, 
 which in this part of the world is often dim and 
 foggy, and during the winter months reduced in length 
 to a few hours at mid-day. We also see some of the 
 older styles of roof-gables on the houses in the 
 distance. 
 
HOLLAND. 563 
 
 Having thus had a glimpse at the more crowded 
 sections of one of Holland's chief cities, and seen 
 how ground must be everywhere economized, we are 
 prepared to more fully understand the reasons for re- 
 claiming land from the sea, and why so much skill and 
 labor is bestowed in this direction. Pretty much the 
 whole of Holland, asbefore remarked, hasbeen reclaim- 
 ed from marshy ground or stretches of salt water below 
 the level of the North Sea. Each new map that is 
 issued shows an increase in the quantity of land re- 
 claimed, and it is only a question of time when the 
 Zuider Zee at the north shall have disappeared for 
 ever, and its place supplied by fertile fields. The 
 industry of the Dutch in thus making for themselves 
 the ground upon which they liv^e is as remarkable as 
 their National cleanliness. 
 
 11. Haarlem Cathedral. — The town of Haarlem, 
 within an hour's ride by rail of Amsterdam, is not 
 only one of the most attractive and neat of the 
 Dutch towns, but highly interesting from the number 
 of ancient buildings and old-fashioned streets still to 
 be Seen there. 
 
 Our photograph of the Cathedral and the large 
 open square adjoinmg has, been taken from the steps 
 of the State House which command a good view. 
 This huge and awkward looking structure or ** Great 
 Church," as the Dutch call it, is built of brick almost 
 exclusively, and is dedicated to Saint Bavo. The 
 curious tower contains a large and well-tuned chime 
 of bells, which are heard every fifteen minutes through- 
 out the day, and considerably increase the effect of the 
 picturesque surroundings. This Cathedral contains 
 
564 HOLLAND. 
 
 a famous organ with four manuals and 5000 pipes, 
 constructed in 1735. It was long considered the finest 
 instrument of its kind in existence. 
 
 The statue seen in the square near the left hand 
 partof thebuildingjsinhonorof Lousenz Janszoon of 
 Haarlem, surnamed Coster, for whom the Dutch 
 claim the invention of the art of printing. There is 
 Tiistorical evidence to prove that he cut letters on 
 wooden blocks and took impressions from them in 
 
 1423. 
 
 Next to the Cathedral this way, we observe the end 
 of the very curious Flesher's Hall or butchers' guild 
 house. It is a Renaissance building dating from 
 about the beginning of the 17th century. 
 
 Haarlem has always been celebrated for its horti- 
 culture and is the chief centre of the trade in " Dutch 
 bulbs." In 1636 there was a sort of mania on the 
 subject among the people, and immense sums were 
 gained and lost. A single bulb, on one occasion, 
 brought more than ;^5ooo. 
 
 12. Street in Monickendam. — For the conclud- 
 ing picture of our set on Holland, we have selected 
 one showing the streets of a town near Amsterdam on 
 the Zuider Zee. 
 
 Anybody walking through such a place as this 
 could not fail to be impressed with the air of quiet, 
 homely respectability pervading everything. Mon- 
 ickendam is by no means a busy place like the cities 
 we have already seen, or commercially important like 
 Haarlem, or even Edam, where the famous Dutch 
 cheeses are made. It would doubtless be difficult to 
 say just what the people in a place like this do to pass 
 
HOLLAND. 565 
 
 the time, except perhaps to repeat the endless scrub- 
 laings and washings, or in the case of the sterner sex, to 
 smoke huge painted clay pipes. 'The only difference 
 between Sunday sand week-days here is that the church- 
 bells, in the tower at the end of the street, tinkle a little 
 more often, and that the edifice is opened for religious 
 services. The stillness and sleepiness of the place 
 are much the same at all times. 
 
 The entire roadway is of bricks set on edge, as the 
 photograph shows. The pavements immdiately before 
 the houses are private property, however, as can be 
 seen by the railings ; and the privilege is accorded to 
 the owners of temporarily enclosing this space on 
 public occasions, such as state processions, etc. The 
 family and friends of the occupant will then be seen 
 comfortably seated in chairs outside of, and in front 
 of the houses. It will be noticed that the older 
 houses are turned with their gable-ends to the street, 
 while the more modern ones, such as the two-story 
 white one at the left, stand in the reverse way.