From Paris to Antwerp--Along the Route--Thrifty Farmers--Antwerp--Dogs in Harness--The River--Old Churches--Chimes--An Inappreciative Listener--Steen Museum--Instruments of Torture--Lace Industry--Living Expenses--Hospitality--The City of Windmills--Watery Highways--A City of Canals--The Maas River--The Houses on the Canals--Travel by Boat--Novel Scenes--Costly Headgear--Dutch Costumes--Powerful Draught Horses--No Bonbons--Chocolate Candy--In the Market-Place--The Belle of the Market--Photographs--Wooden Shoes--Drawbridges--Blowing the Horn--Ancient Relics--The Sword of Columbus 101
Amsterdam--The People of Holland--Amstel River--Merry Excursionists--Interesting Institutions--Origin of the City--Source of Prosperity--A Cousin to Venice--Ninety Islands--Beams and Gables--Block and Tackle--Old Salesmen--Street Markets--Haarlem--Railway Travel at Home and Abroad--Ancient Buildings--Historic Associations--In the Canal--Groote Kerk--The Great Organ--Picturesque Subjects--Zandvoort--Eau de Cologne--The Beach--Dutch Sail Boats--Seamen--Hooded Chairs--Peddlers--Music in Holland and Germany--Gypsies--We Meet an Artist--Hospitality--A Banquet 127
EXCURSIONS TO BROEK AND THE ISLAND OF MARKEN
A Charming Journey--Fellow-Passengers--National Costumes--The Children--A Lovely Landscape--Holstein Cattle--Windmills--Irrigation--Farmers--A Typical Dutch Village--Washing-Day--The Red, White and Blue--Suppose a Bull Should Appear--A Brilliant Picture--Drawing the Canal Boat--Honesty and Cleanliness--A Thrifty and Industrious People--Farming and Cheese-making--As Evening Falls--Scenes for an Artist--Dead Cities of Holland--Monnikendam--Behind the Age--City Lamps--Houses and People--The Island of Marken--An Isolated Wonderland--First Impressions--Rare Holidays--The Family Doctor--Absence of the Men--The Fishing--Healthy and Industrious Population--The Women of Marken--Pretty Girls--They Will not be Taken--A Valuable Experience--Photographs 149
Marken Homes--Beds in the Wall--Family Heirlooms--An Ancient Clock--Precious Treasures--Quaint Customs--Betrothed Couples--The Hotel--Its Interior--A Lack of Patrons--Costumes of a By-gone Age--Farewell to Marken--Remote Districts--Monnikendam--Ancient Houses--Hotel de Posthoorn--The Postman of the Past--A Difficult Stairway--We Stroll about the Town--Our Retinue--In Front of the Hotel--Such Curious Children--Supper--We Visit the Shops--Pantomime--A Novel Experience--They Cannot Understand--No Candles--We Attract a Crowd--The Clothing Store--A Marken Suit--"Too High"--Bargaining--A Stranger to the Rescue 177