BRIDGE AT ZUIDERWOUDE, NORTH HOLLAND (DATED 1799)
An extravagant use of paint is conspicuous in the country as well as the towns. It is renewed at frequent intervals and, in the main, it is well applied. Shutters and doors and window frames, and frequently the whole house front, are freely covered with it. But the effects are not unpleasing. They give to the villages an air of gaiety and freshness. Plain schemes of colour are wisely adhered to, while throughout a district one general note will be followed. On the island of Walcheren it is apple-green and white; north of Amsterdam bluey-green and cream; while the woodwork of the house at Beek (page [81]) is painted in the tones of buff that find favour in the locality of Nijmegen.
There are many other domestic features worthy of note to be seen in the villages of Holland; quaint appliances for wells, ingeniously worked (page [80]), or little bridges that span dividing dykes, and connect homesteads with the highways. One from Zuiderwoude, near the edge of the Zuider Zee, is illustrated on this page. It is built of brick relieved by a little stonework. On the keystone of the arch appears the date of 1799. The wooden gates above give access to the farm and the fields. The Dutch, too, have a marked fondness for natural beauty, as is demonstrated by the skill they display in laying-out open spaces. All towns can show flower gardens and lawns, or old fortifications overlooked by gaunt watch-towers, transformed into pleasant parks. Nijmegen and Arnhem are noteworthy in this respect. Very charming, too, are the village streets, of which that at Brigdamme (page [18]) is a typical instance. They are lined with many trees that afford kindly shade in summer and shelter from the wind, and gratify the eyes with traceries of green.
DIVISION II
EXTERIOR FEATURES—DOORS, WINDOWS, GABLES & ORNAMENTS
From the time when Dutch houses were built in a definite recognised style the features were always treated with skill and care. The many and crowded openings were accentuated. Doorways became imposing through the enrichment that surrounded them and windows were similarly emphasised. Panels, carvings, and ironwork decorated the walls, while the crowning gables, crow-stepped or curved, completed the richness of the buildings. Upon all these details, whether for a public building or private dwelling, great labour was expended. A careful examination of them discloses much inventive readiness and meritorious execution.