(door Frances Maria (Frank) Field (1841-1927) echtg. Matt Parrott (1837-1900))

WATERLOO LADY IN EUROPE

Mrs Matt Parrott Writes of Old World Architecture
And Its Associations Germany and Holland Visited

In OLD COLOGNE
Grandest of the Gothic Cathedrals
600 Years in bulding
Begun in 1248 and Was Completed in 1880

Trip through the Land of Dykes, Canals and Wildmills -
Quaint People and Cutoms of Quaint Holland - A Restfull inn.

Special Correspondence. - Cities as
well, as people ares created. Man,
Gods's noblest work coming fresh from
his Maker's hand is often nearer
perfection in infancy than when
grown to maturity. While cities the
creation ....

... were massacred at Cologne and were
buried where they fell on the spot
now occupied by the church, which
was built many years later to perpetuate
their good deeds. Their bones
were then exhumed and used in the
panelling and wainscoating Very effective
they are too one large room
seems to be built entirely of them.
Brass effigies of the prominent
saints filled with their bones stand
in this room. Skulls elaborately
carved painted and brass bound all
showing the marks of the deadly arrows
by which they were shot are
pointed out and separately named by
the guide. The skull left foot and
the arm bones of St Ursula herself
having the most promient place
we look and listen wondering meanwhile
if they are sure they have not got
the bones mixed but our guide
assures us all is correct. Then shows
us a fine alabaster statue of St Ursula
in recumbent position with a white
dove at her feet and a queer
little stone tomb...

.. same plan as the "Battle of Gettysburg".
After seeing this picture we
rode out to the real thing the fashionable
seaside resort of Holland on
the North sea, about three miles out
from the Hague, by steam train. Returning
to Rotterdam we continued
our journey to Barendrecht. Here
we left the railway and followed some
of the by paths of Holland not known
to the majority of tourists. A drive
of two miles brought us to Rysoord
a village of 1,200 situated on the high
way from Rotterdam to Dordrecht.
Here is a resting and refreshment station
for bicycle and carriage riders.
Hotel Warendorf, a coffee house and
hostlery, kept by Herr Warendorf
opens its hospitable doors to all such
and also takes a limited number of
boarders by the week or month mostly
artists. The house built of stone
is divided in the lower part by a
hall which separates the large office
and bar room from the immense living room
where meals are served.
The kitchen is in the rear. Stairs as
steep as any ladder lead to the upper
floor where is a pleasant roomy studio
in front andmany sleeping rooms
at the back. A wing is added at the
side of the house in which are two
large rooms for banquets wedding
parties etc. A long wide porch runs
in front of these rooms and overlooks
the river. We were heartily welcomed
by Mevrow Warendorf whose
comely face beaming from her pretty
lace cap won our hearts at once.
As soon as we had shaken off the
dust of travel we descended to the
living room to supper, in the center
of which stood a great table of finest
mahogany which would set a collector
of antique furniture crazy. On this
was spread a bountiful meal. At
either end of the table stood small
metal and glass rests with lighted
lamps beneath holding pots of steaming
tea and chocolate. Near them
stood crocks of earthenware called
braiziers, full of red coals from burning
peat These were for making
toast. Cold meat, butter, cheese, jam
and a pitcher of milk stood on the
table while eggs served in any style
could be had for the asking. Bread
brown and white lay upon a small
table with a pile of clean plates and
a sharp knife. The custom of the
house is for each to go to this side
table, take a plate cut what bread
you like and take it to your place
at the large table help yourself to
tea and chocolate, toast your bread over the braziers, order your eggs
from the neat maid and then eat with a
relish you never felt before.

We fell in with the ways of the
house at once and enjoyed it, heartily.
At breakfast the most delicious oat
meal you ever tasted found boiling
hot over a small kerosene stove
in the fireplace at the end of the
room, a good addition to the bill of
fare. At 12 o'clock dinner a more
cermonlous meal of soup meat vegetables
and fruit for dessert is served encourse
by the maid. To this
is added a glass of beer if you wish.
At 4 o'clock, tea, bread and butter, cheese
and several kinds of cakes
and crackers are put on the table and
all who wish partake. This tea is
graced by the presence of Mevrow.
All other meals are served herself
and husband in their own rooms when
they are joined by the four servants,
people who have been in their employ
many years (the maid 18 years)
so they are quite like the family. The
price of board here was 80 cents a
day.
Nothing more restful can be thought
of than a few weeks at Rysoord. The
town is built on either bank of the river
Waal which here is both wide
and deep though not rapid. Many
large sailing boats carrying freight
pass up and down daily and every
house owns its own row boat. The houses
are small and low with very
steep roofs, mostly thatched with
straw and many moss grown. Pretty
gardens bright with bulbous plants
for which Holland is noted are seen
at the side or front of most houses.
A great deal of flax is raised here,
which in its blooming time makes the
fields gay with its pretty blue flowers.
We were too late for the bloom, but
were greatly interested in the harvesting
and visited the farm of one
of the largest flax growers in the
Netherlands to learn something of the
process. When ripe the flax is cut
the seed removed for oil, meal, and
next years planting. The straw is
then laid in the water of small canals
cut into the banks of the river then
covered with a thick coating of earth and
boards and left to rot for two
weeks save in very hot weather when
eight days will suffice. It is then removed
spread on the ground for a
time then gathered into very small
bundles which are tied at the top end
the bottom being spread out so they
will stand up like a tiny tent. When
dry it is either stacked or taken at
once to the mill where the husk is
broken and torn off leaving a grayish
white fibre. It is then shipped mostly
to England to the spinners and
weavers. During the rotting process
the flax scents the whole country
and it is hard to believe this brown
ill smelling stuff can be made into
many dainty fabrics we so often see
in stores.
Friday is market day at Dordrecht,
a city of 38000 when all the country
folk flock intotown to either buy or
sell. Of course we went to the market
the trip of four miles over
an excellent road was made by omnibus
a shabby street car looking vehicle
with seats inside for fourteen.
These were soon filled and others
stood on the platform or sat on steps
at the back. Two extra could sit
with the driver. I counted twenty grown
people and three children one
horse drawing the whole. I wondered
if there was no Henry Bergh in Holland.
The horse did not seem to
mind the load. The market is in the
street very like those in France and
presented a busy scene. Many of the
dealers singing the praises of their
wares with expression and sweetness
of voice that would do credit to first
class opera.
Here we saw many quaint costumes.
The women after the age of 18 wear
a large white cap of lace in shape
like an oldfashioned sun bonnet
which covers the hair completely and
is held in place with brass or gold
wire bands with twisted ends that
stand out like small horns. The
frill of the cap comes clear to the
shoulders. They are quaint looking
and becoming save when the wearer
will perch a modern straw hat trimmed
with coarse flowers on top of
all, which destroys the effect. We
returned in the evening our ride both
ways costing 35 Dutch (14
cents of our money), each. Rysoord
has Its share of queer customs. In
the twilight of our first night there
we saw many mosquitoes and in closing
our window to keep them out,
saw on the steps of a house near by
what looked like a dozen large white
ducks which called forth the remark
"Well with all those mosquitoes to
worry us all night and those duckes
to wake us at daylight in the morning we
shall ger but little sleep."But
strange toe say, Rysoord mosquitoes
bite not, neither do they sing, simply
share your room free of charge and
no sound came fromd the ducks. When
daylight came we found them to be
only the family shoes left at the
door so as not to soil the spotless
floor within.

As many of the people have rise
early, a person called clapperman
goes from house to house at 4 a.m.
knocking at the doors rousing the inmates
to their labors. When a death
occurs a man in black with long crape
streamers on his hat visits all friends
of this family, announces the death,
tells the cause, the age of the person
and invites the friends to attend the
funeral. He is called "The Tidings
Bringer."
One day Mevrow told us she had
an order for a swell dinner to be
given in het banquet hall the next
day. It was for the directors of the
savings bank, ons director being chosen
from each village in the district,
nine in all. The village doctor was
the Rysoord man. They came by ten
in the morning and stayed all day,
brught their books and the cash of
the bank in boxes and bags. All
who had any money in the bank were
told to send their bank books, which
were carefully looked over. The cash
was counted, the books balanced, a
fine dinner and supper eaten, lots of
beer drank and the meeting adhourned,
till next time, when they met in another
part of the district. It seemed
odd to us this toting the cash of a
bank about the country to count it.
We spent a wekk of unalloyed pleasure
in loverly Rysoord and sighted to
think of the time when it becomes
better known and an army of tourists
wear away the charm of its quaint
simplicity. One bright morning we
said good-bye to kind Mevrow and
turned our steps toward Belgium.
FRANCES