Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 244, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 October 1914 — The HIGHWAYS of HOLLAND [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The HIGHWAYS of HOLLAND

ALL Dutch towns, of course, have their cahale; thoroughfares as busy and frequented as their brick-paved high-roads, but the water villages have virtually nothing else. t>ne of the best-known of these is Aalsmeer. It may be attained by the prosaic means of the railway, though the man of sentiment will prefer to approach its idyllic shores by boat, or, at least, by pad, especially as the way to it leads through some of the most interesting and distinctive country in Holland. For Aalsmeer lies on the edge of the district known as the Haarlemer mere, a rich and fertile tract of land, which was covered a hundred years ago by a dangerous and' stormy inland sea, formed in the fifteenth century by floods from the River Rhine and the Y, Gradually this great lake spread till it became a menace to Leiden, Haarlem, Amsterdam and even ■Utrecht, and keeping the necessary dikes and sluices in order became a heavy burden in labor and expense. It was into these waters that 300 of the citizens of Haarlem were thrown, tied back to back, in the butchery by the Spaniards that took place after its siege and capitulation in the winter of 1672-3. Great Engineering Feat. Draining this large tract of land was so great a feat of engineering that though it was suggested by a Dutchman called Leeghwater as early as the seventeenth century, it was not undertaken till after 1836, when a more than usually violent storm whad caused great destruction of property from floods. Even then the scheme Was not

actually put into effect till more than ten years later. It took three years continual pumping to drain the Haarlemer Meer, but the reclaimed land was quickly taken up by cultivators. Now it is some of the most fertile country in Holland. It may be easily distinguished on the map by its being marked out in squares with blue lines for the intersecting canals, and even driving through it the visitor cannot help noticing the rectilinear character of its™ roads. Straight as they are, these roads are very pleasant in spring, especially when they traverse the f side of a broad canal fringed with waterplants in flower, yellow iris and pinkflowering rush; sweet-smelling, unfrequented roads, the haunt of rare birds, flt prelude to the enchanted village of Aalsmeer. Aalsmeer itself is now intersected by a road, but at the point where it crosses a bridge a charming vista opens on either side. Right and left, as far as the eye can reach, stretches the narroV towing-path that forms the village high-road of Aalsmeer, with canals on either side of it The houses, which appear sometimes to'be actually encircled by water, are connected with this towing-path by plank swing bridges. These are so constructed that a touch from the punt-pole of an approaching barge sends them back alongside of the bank, leaving a free passage on the waterway. The houses themselveß are surrounded by trees and trim gardens. Nothing could be prettier than this village, nothing could have a more unique charm. The people themselves are quite in the picture, for these remote villagers have preserved, in several instances, a dignified, beautiful type and a stately and primitive simplicity. Famed for Its Roses. Like Aalsmeer, the more modern water-village of Boskoop has its horticultural industry. Boskoop is everywhere famous for its roses; it is more accessible and far less poetic than Aalsmeer. Besides roses, azaleas and rhododendrons are grown here; but roses are the principal product. Already between three and four million plants are annually produced for sale, and the Industry is a growing one. The remote Friesland village of Olethoorn is of quite a different type. Here there is no industry to bring it into contact with the outside world, no railwar, and, except on one side, no road. Tall trees shade Itf* waterways oh either side, and throw deep green reflections upon their still surfaces. The

houses, prosperous-looking, well-kept, and ot a fair size, seclude themselves, each ohe in its own garden. A narrow path runs beside the water, which is crossed by high rickety-looking wooden bridges, raised above the water, so as to allow of the passage of a puntpole beneath them. The whole place is like a bower of green. The people themselves are no more apparent than some woodland animal; the only events that ever happen here are a wedding or a funeral procession, which both alike must make their way down the silent green streams. The village has its moment of life when the children come out of school and play on the narrow footpath, or run and crowd with a skill bom of long practice over the narrow plank bridges which .cross the intersecting canals. Not the least attractive part of the visit to Giethoorn is the journey there. The point of'departure is the charming little town of Meppel, half-way between Zwolle and the more northern towns of Friesland. Without having any historic or antiquarian associar tions, Meppel has an engaging individuality of its own, and it is surrounded by pleasant country and many hedges. Soihe distance from Meppel Is a village called Wanneperveen, and here a boat must be taken to Giethoorn. The boats are rough punts that will take a mast and sail, and are manned generally by a delightful old fisherman, picturesque and primitive as his tarry little craft. At first the stream winds among meadows, then it Slowly widens into a broad expanse of reeds That whisper and bow in the wind, apparently inaccessible and

guarding in their depths silent pools, where rare waterfowl nest, their harsh, unfamiliar cry borne on the wind to the passer-by. Finally this reedy waterway gives place to an open mere, and here the boatman deftly raises his sail and skims across to the village silent, shrouded in its trees, and having an inexpressible sense of remoteness. Of all the delightful experiences that a visit to Holland holds in store there is nothing quite like the passage of the gray gleaming waters of this Friesland mere, which divulges, as it were, the village of Giethoorn.

TYPICAL DUTCH CANAL