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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 15, 1903)
Where the Puritans Prayed in Holland J')- Ml inlf in n..i,i.l.ili- i ., i "" " ' "i" - - - - --..- - - -f OLD CHURCH AT ROTTEUDAM. MR. CARPENTER'S POTTfER. (Copyright, 1903, by Frank O. Carpenter.) 1 lOTTERDAM, Fob. 4. (Special Cor-- I respondence of The Bee.) Do you wnui lu flay nlLU ill? I1UBIB your Pilgrim fathers? You can do bo If you go to Delfsbaven, a village on the Maas two miles from Rotterdam. There la a church (here where Elder Brewster, Miles Standitib, John Alden, Prlscllla and the reat of the saints worshiped before they left on the Speedwell for Southampton, where they got the Mayflower, which landed them at Plymouth and on Its famous rock. They had been driven from England to Holland, where they settled at Leyden and lived for twelve years. The Dutch treated them well, but they wanted a land of their own. They bought a vessel at Delfahaven, and upon it made their first start for America. Tbey remained at Delfshaven some time before they sailed and during that time worshiped In the old church which still lands. I went there today on the top of a car, paying 4 cents for the round trip. We rode out through one of the fine residence sec tions of Rotterdam, past a beautiful park, and on through tenement streets which warmed with Dutch bablea and older chil dren as clean as new pins. We passed many wind mills on the farms outside the city, and In about half an hour found ourselves la one of the sleepiest towns of this sleepy Dutch country. It wasi Delfshaven, the port of tie city of Delft, which a few centuries ago was one of the important cities of Hol land, but is now almost forgotten except for Its blue porcelain dishes and tiles. Delfshaven has now but a few hundred people. It is composed of two and threc atory Dutch houses, old and black and quaint in the extreme. The roofs are steep and rldge-ahaprd, with little dormer win dows poking their heads out here and there. The houses are flush with the sidewalks, and the chief street has a canal running through It fll'ed with barges and fishing boats, upon which the boat families were cooking their suppers at the time of my Tlslt. There were many children in clogs run ning about,' some chasing each other and others climbing the trees with their clumsy feet. I posed three of the smallest of the (Iris on the wait of the canal, and had my on snap the camera at them to get a ample of how the littles ones looked when vnr Pilgrim Fathers were here. I say when they were here, for the children of Delfshaven dress about the same now as they did then, holding tight to the wooJen hoes of their forefathers. Indeed their mothers are quite as thrifty as were our Pilgrim foremothers; for the stately old dame In short skirts and lace cap, with a golden corkscrew over each eye, whose daughters I posed, looked on and laughed until I gave each of them 10 Dutch cents as present. She then came forward, and as I looked back I saw that all the coins bad found their way to her itching pr.lni to the evident disgust of the babies. A little further on I found the old church. It stands facing the canal Just below the drawbridge which crosses It. There are old houses on each side of It, and the street looks as though It were a slice taken out of the Middle Ages and dropped down Into the present. The church is made of well burnt brown bricks, with doors and window frames painted white. The windows are arched and tbey have many panes. Tho church has a clock tower and a cupola, and In its day It must have been one of the best of Its kind. The sexton lives In little house next door. She Is a kind old Dutch lady, who would be good looking if it were not that he has lost her front teeth. She has the whitest of caps, the rosiest of cheeks and a moat pleasant smile. She took me through the church and showed me Its curious fea tures, Including the pulpit Bible, which dates back to 1628, or. to eight years after the Pilgrims left Holland. She pointed out a none in the wall which was sent to the church by some of the people of Chicago, and said that the Chlcagoan had also taken away a atone from the floor. She aid that two of the gravestones had been taken by a Philadelphia man for the New England Society of Pennsylvania, and that ' i. - - ' 4 ','"','' i ' " v - of A DUTCH BUSINESS STREET. this society also had tho old alma box. This old church has been used since the Pilgrims left and H Is In use today. It has seats for about 200 people quaint oak benches, with reading desks In front of them, upon which lie many Bibles. The Bibles are In Dutch and they look as old as the church Itself. They are somewhat like the $4 kind sold by our itinerant book agents," each containing the hymns as well as the full text of the Scriptures. - Underneath each bench Is a little square ox-llko footstool with auger holes in the top. These stools are the only heating ar rangement of the church. Before service the sexton puts little pot cf glowing charcoal or peat In each stool and the women put their feet on the top of the stools and thus keep them warm during the long service. Tho peat must be well lighted and glowing or It will smoke, mak ing one think that tho church is on fl.-c. When I went up Into the pulpit I noticed there were holes In its floor, and was told that boxes of burning charcoal or peat were placed below It to keep the dominie hot. The' collections are taken up in little black bags fastened to long poles, which the elders carry about during each service. There are always two collections, one for the poor and the other for the church and the elders. The elders have seats of honor, not far from which Is the pew of the par son. The poor are given the poorest seats, being shoved away on benches behind the preacher. I took a look at the records of the church, ome of which chronicle the leaving of the Pllgrlnr.s on July 22, 1620, and then wrote my name In the signature book as all Americans who honor the Pilgrim Fathers and appreciate the hospitality of the Hol landers are requested to do with a dona tion. I also gave the donation. The Dutch are very much like other na tions as regards church-going. They at tend more regularly In the country than in the city. The village churches are full in the morning, and notwithstanding the long sermons the people usually sit out the service. The Brst chapter Is read by the schoolmaster, and in some churches a part of the collection la given to the school master. The offerings are more often cop per than silver, and in the poorer villages cent Is a common donation. The preach ers are not well paid, especially where they depend upon the people for their sal aries. The government gives certain yearly al lowances to the different churches. The Protestants, who are In the majority, get a little over inoo.000 a year, the Roman Catholics not helf so much, and the Jews only about $4,000. All religions are toler ated, but the royal family and the most of the people belong to the Dutch Reformed church, which is governed according to Presbyterian methods. Speaking of the schools, they are about as good as sny in Europe. The Dutch are noted for their Intelligence and learning and the government has for almost 100 years paid more or less attention to edu cational matters. Only lately, however, has education been compulsory, the school age being from ( to IS. Holland has four universities, with about 3,000 students. It has twenty-nine classi cal schools, with more than 2,000 students, and has academies and schools of all classes. There Is a national academy of art, a royal school of music, a horticultural school and a national normal college for drawing teachers as well as others for training.- There are also night schools for the working claases, industrial schools for the -women and In Amsterdam there is a school for the training of women chemists. In the fine arts academy at The Hague there are eight different cournes attended by about 500 students and other art schools In Amst?rdam and elsewhere. Tnc Dutch have housekeeping schools for girls, schools for butter making, fruit grow ing, horse doctorlnf and horseshoeing, and, in short, schools for almost everything under the sun. Lectures on agriculture are given to the farmers at the expense of the government, and in Utrecht the night schools have classes for carpenters, brick layers, stonecutters, goldsmiths, sculptors, painters and lithographers. Holland has also schools for the training of boys who ?xpect to enter the govern ment service, and especially the service of the colonies. In these schools the lan guages of Sumatra, Java and others of the East Indies are taught. The boys learn all about the chief religions of the natives, they study their laws, tholr prejudices and customs so that when they are sent out to govern them they are able to do so In telligently. I doubt, In fact, whether any government service Is so well educated and so efficient as that of the Dutch East In dies. Take for Instance a retired Javanese offi cial who was with me during this trip to Delfshaven. As we were riding back to Rotterdam he told me that he spoke Ger man, French and English as well as the Dutch, and that he could write and speak two of the languages of Java. He had to pass an examination In these languages before he was sent out to the East Indies, and this is the case with every man who represents Holland In her Asiatic colonies. I like Rotterdam. It is one of the quaint est cities of Europe, and at the same time the most business like. It Is somewhat like Venice, but more like Venice was in the middle ages, In the height of Its pros perity. Almost the whole city is a quay or dock. It Is cut up by canals, whlcn lead In am) out through the Ma as. and one wanders through street after street of tall, lean buildings. Uniting barges, launches and , sailing boats almost everywhere. ' Along the Bootupjes and in. the.is'anda it the Maas are enormous ships of every de scription, and In the canals smaller vessels abound. Venice Is a town of gondolas, Rot terdam is' one of business craft. There are no carts in Venice, '."be town boasts that It baa not a cow nor a horse in It. Rotter dam Is filled with wagons, carta and drays of all kinds. There are street cars and carriages. The canals have big drawbridges and swinging bridges, and when you are walking or driving along you frequently And your self suddenly In front cf a blank wall of boards twenty feet high. The whole street, car track and all, has noiselessly risen In front of you to let a string of boats or barges pass through the canal over which you are going. Some of the tridges swin? Upon pivots, others divide in the middle and rise upward; others are stationary or suspension bridges, in passing which the smokestacks, masts and spars of the barges wing back upon hinges as th?y go through. The traffic la by nj meanj confined to the fater. There are mo:e cart3 and drays than there are boats, and the streets are crowded with men carrying burdens, and t.'Ith dogs and women and boys hauling carts. Come with me to Hoogstraat and take a look at the Broadway of Rotterdam. This Is the chief busines street and it goes through the heart of the city. It ;s not more thar. thirty feet wide and its tall four and five-story houses lean across from side to side as though drunk and about to embrace. Take a stand in cne of the doorways and watch the cabs and carriages, the big wagons and the little carts, which Jam themselves this way and that. There comes a hay peddler dressed In a cap, blue smock and clogs. He has a cartload of grass, with two dogs harnessed In front of the axl?. He pushes and they strain acd pull as thoy run, barking, along. Behind tomes a bare headed woman with a green wheelbarrow filled 'with vegetables, and a bread peddler follows, dragging a long box upon wheels. Further up the street are more dog carts, and at every cart the dog dees all or Inlf the work. Indeed, I never knew v i at the expression "work like a dog" meant until I came here. Loads big enough for an American horse are pulled by Dutch dogs. There cornea one now, dragging a cart full of beer In bottles, which Its master is de livering to bis customers as he passes their doors. There is another behind pulling a load of sal, and others pass every few moments dragging cartloads of milk. Now turn your eyes from the dogs to the people. See how business-like they are. They have a solid look about them. The men are plainly dressed and there are more workmen than loafers. It Is rare that we see a tall hat, gloves or frock coat. The derby, the cap and business suits have taken their places. Many of the common women are bareheaded and the ladies ont shopping dress more plainly than in Lon don, Brussels or Paris. The typical Dutch costumes are passing away, and are only worn by the women from the country. There are two now who have on white caps, with gold corkscrews at each side of their eyes. With them is a young Dutchman with velvet pantaloons a yard wide and a short velvet coat, in front . of which his white flannel shirt shows out. He wears a soft hat with a turned-up brim, below which his thick hair has been . cropped off ao that U bangs down like a brush. Listen to the Dutch talking as you stand here on Hoogstraat. What a jargon! It Is not English, it is not German nor French, and it seems to be a mixture of all. Some of the store signs look like English on a drunk, and we have to study to make out what they mean. Over there U a jewelry ; store with the words, . "Nieuw Zllver Metaalwaren" above It, and further on a grocery store with the sign "Hoter cn Kaaa." Any one can see that the first sign .means silver and it is not bard to translate the second as butter and cheese. It is more difficult when you spell drug store , "Drogerljen," but any one could tell tint . "Schuwaaren" means shoes, "Koffle" coffee and "Sigaren" cigars.- , What bothers me most is the jaw-break- lng titles which the people use here for all sorts of firms.' For instance, when I ar rived In Rotterdam and wanted my trunks brought to the hotel I was advised to get t a man from the "Nederlandache-Maats- ' ! '(Continued on Eighth Page.)
