Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Sketch From Cologne, With A Peep Into Holland.
there lies a border town , to which circumstances once led me in company with a friend . As we entered the principal street , a gay scene presented itself ; for each side of the way was lined with booths ancl temples , filled with those gewgaws which give such a glittering- look to fairs in commercial countries on the continent . But you must see a fair in Holland to
understand what such things really are . At first we were delighted to find ourselves in the midst of so novel a scene , but soon discovered that our amusement was likely to be obtained at the cost of great inconvenience . " We entered the principal hotel ; it was small and crowded with people ; the landlady , fair , and plump ancl merry , with a cap of marvellous whiteness , ear-rings , and ' chain o * gowd , ' came forward to ask our will . She laughed gaily at our suggestions touching board and lodging , ancl pointed to the space at
the back of the hostelry . There , and in the street , vehicles of all descriptions were filled with revellers , who , prepared for all contingencies , hacl brought their baskets of provisions with them , and were now making substantial meals before beginning the evening ' s entertainment . In one old-fashioned * family coach , ' father and mother , ancl a series of ' steps and stairs , ' feasted
from a veritable pannier of good things ; sundry long-necked bottles and capacious flasks passing 'from hand to mouth , ' without need of 'table land' on which to rest . A few yards from , this ivas a great waggon , wherein the feast was just begun , for little was heard save the clatter of knives and glasses ; ere longhoweverone spokethen anotherthen came a man ' s laugh
, , , , , unmusical as the breaking of a heavy wave against a rock ; then women's voices chimed in like to a ripple on the pebbly shore , and soon no one voice was distinguishable from the other . The meal over , they descended from the waggon , ancl fell into groups ; the men lit their cigars , and the women led off the children .
" The ' family coach' had also emptied itself of its occupants , and only some ' odds and ends' of old women and then * grandchildren were left in the yard ; the rest were hurrying through the gateway to the street , where Ave could see the temples gradually lighting up ; and taming towards my friend , who by this time I hoped had made some satisfactory arrangement with our
blooming hostess , I saAV the place of the dame in snowy cap and golden ornaments , occupied by a stout , comely , round-faced , fair-haired German : he was the dame's husband ; and all the time he listened to my companion ' s history , he shook his head in silence . "Still my friend persevered , and still the grave landlord listened . The hostess came into thc doorway , evidently Avaiting
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
A Sketch From Cologne, With A Peep Into Holland.
there lies a border town , to which circumstances once led me in company with a friend . As we entered the principal street , a gay scene presented itself ; for each side of the way was lined with booths ancl temples , filled with those gewgaws which give such a glittering- look to fairs in commercial countries on the continent . But you must see a fair in Holland to
understand what such things really are . At first we were delighted to find ourselves in the midst of so novel a scene , but soon discovered that our amusement was likely to be obtained at the cost of great inconvenience . " We entered the principal hotel ; it was small and crowded with people ; the landlady , fair , and plump ancl merry , with a cap of marvellous whiteness , ear-rings , and ' chain o * gowd , ' came forward to ask our will . She laughed gaily at our suggestions touching board and lodging , ancl pointed to the space at
the back of the hostelry . There , and in the street , vehicles of all descriptions were filled with revellers , who , prepared for all contingencies , hacl brought their baskets of provisions with them , and were now making substantial meals before beginning the evening ' s entertainment . In one old-fashioned * family coach , ' father and mother , ancl a series of ' steps and stairs , ' feasted
from a veritable pannier of good things ; sundry long-necked bottles and capacious flasks passing 'from hand to mouth , ' without need of 'table land' on which to rest . A few yards from , this ivas a great waggon , wherein the feast was just begun , for little was heard save the clatter of knives and glasses ; ere longhoweverone spokethen anotherthen came a man ' s laugh
, , , , , unmusical as the breaking of a heavy wave against a rock ; then women's voices chimed in like to a ripple on the pebbly shore , and soon no one voice was distinguishable from the other . The meal over , they descended from the waggon , ancl fell into groups ; the men lit their cigars , and the women led off the children .
" The ' family coach' had also emptied itself of its occupants , and only some ' odds and ends' of old women and then * grandchildren were left in the yard ; the rest were hurrying through the gateway to the street , where Ave could see the temples gradually lighting up ; and taming towards my friend , who by this time I hoped had made some satisfactory arrangement with our
blooming hostess , I saAV the place of the dame in snowy cap and golden ornaments , occupied by a stout , comely , round-faced , fair-haired German : he was the dame's husband ; and all the time he listened to my companion ' s history , he shook his head in silence . "Still my friend persevered , and still the grave landlord listened . The hostess came into thc doorway , evidently Avaiting