Odd Bits of Travel with Brush and Camera

by Charles M. Taylor

There is a noticeable rivalry between the different families in regard to these treasures which are placed carefully away, as if too sacred for the light of day, and are shown to the visitor much as the guide employed in the mint allows one to touch a piece of gold or silver in the early process of coinage. Each family tries to outdo the others in its collection, and in the ancient appearance of the hoard. It is amusing to watch their faces, when exhibiting the wonders: they seem very uneasy if the stranger offers to touch one of the pieces, as though in terror lest it should thus lose some of those precious particles which enhance its value.

At another house I am allowed, as a great favor, to examine one of the dolls, and really the anxiety shown until the owner has placed it once more in its place in his collection is ludicrous. The most delicate human being, or a piece of frail egg-shell china could not be more tenderly handled.

These people are quite as quaint in appearance as in their customs. The old-time costume of the island is worn as in other parts of Holland, but here there is an intensity of ancientness, if I may use the expression, which must be seen in order to be fully appreciated. They really seem the remnants of a dead era, and in all their ways display a want of experience of the outside world, a lack of that perception which the men and women of to-day seem to inhale with the very atmosphere, which is truly astonishing. The marriage and betrothal customs are especially peculiar. We learn that an engaged couple cannot wed until five years have elapsed since the announcement of the betrothal; and should a death occur in either family in the meantime, it is considered such an ill omen that the engagement is broken off altogether: at the end of a year, however, a new engagement may be entered into, and after a second long period of waiting the wedding is consummated.

“Sheep, grazing upon the green pasture lands, form a homelike scene.”   (See page 185.)

There are many rigid rules of etiquette connected with these engagements; for instance: should the young lover, upon each meeting, neglect to impress a kiss upon the cheek of every member of the family of his fiancée, the contract is annulled. One can readily believe almost any statement regarding these strange people who seem like a peculiar race stranded upon a desert island. Still from ocular demonstration, we feel very certain that notwithstanding these stringent rules, there is no lack of weddings among the young people, for there is an overwhelming number of children upon the island.

Marken boasts of a hotel, and the owner and landlord tells us as he stands proudly upon its stoop, that this bold enterprise issued from his fertile brain, and that he is looking for a rich return for his venture. I respond with as much enthusiasm as I can gather upon this occasion, but fear he would receive but cold comfort from the true state of my mind on the subject. The building consists of six rooms which he pronounces quite modern. On the lower floor are a kitchen, ten feet by ten, and a dining-room, twelve by fourteen, which also serves as a barroom, sitting-room and smoking den, all rolled into one. Here the guests are supposed to reach the acme of ease and comfort. A bare wooden table and six chairs comprise the furniture of the room, and there is nothing else visible save the snowy muslin curtains which hang at the windows. Upstairs are three bedrooms, scantily furnished; here too the windows are curtained. The freshness of these rooms and their surroundings gives us the impression that they have never been occupied since the erection of the hotel a year ago, by any one of greater importance than the myriads of flies and mosquitoes which cling in lazy groups to the walls and ceilings. My sympathy goes out to these ignorant creatures who do not seem to have strength enough to get away, and seek their nourishment in other quarters.

We find tolerably comfortable accommodations here, and view things very philosophically on account of the curious and interesting life by which we are surrounded. The men and women in their odd costumes are rare pictures. The clothing worn here is of a style worn hundreds of years ago, and there is no consciousness on the part of its wearers that there is anything unusual in its appearance. “Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise,” and it is more than probable that they will continue to wear this antediluvian garb for centuries to come.