class="nowrap">´), and Utrecht (u´-trekt; Dutch, oo´-trekt).

AMSTERDAM

This most interesting city is situated where the River Amstel enters the Zuyder Zee (zy´-der zee; Danish, zoi´-der zay). Just where the city lies there is an arm of the sea which goes by the odd name of Y or Ij (pronounced eye). Amsterdam is the chief commercial city of Holland; though in some branches of business Rotterdam disputes its supremacy. The city is of odd, semicircular shape, and is intersected by canals, which run in curves like the rows of seats in an amphitheater. Each of these semicircular canals marks the line of the city walls and moat at different times. Other canals cross these in such a manner as to cut the city up into a number of islands. The old part of the city lies in the very center, inclosed by the inner semicircular canal. At one end of this canal is the “Weepers’ Tower,” which takes its name from the fact that it stands at the head of what was the old harbor, and was the scene, therefore, in ancient times, of many sad leavetakings. There wives and sweethearts said goodby to the men who went “down to the sea in ships.”

THE GATE OF THE STADTHOLDER,
THE HAGUE

THE NEW THEATER, AMSTERDAM

Amsterdam is supposed to have originated about 1204, when Gysbrecht II, Lord of Amstel, built a castle there. It came to be really important about the end of the sixteenth century, when the wars with Spain had ruined Antwerp, and many merchants, manufacturers, and artists left there and settled in Amsterdam. The population of the city today is close to 600,000, and it is one of the busiest markets in Europe, doing a large business in imports, especially in the products of the Dutch colonies.

Copyright, American Press Association

PALACE OF PEACE, THE HAGUE

The city, moreover, is very beautiful. The main canals are lined with avenues of elms, and they offer a picturesque appearance and a pleasant shade. The streets are full of life, and their interest is enhanced by the varied activities of those who walk and ride on the paved roads and others who ply oddly constructed boats through the waterways.

A CITY BUILT ON PILES

The costumes, while not so picturesque as those to be found in the country districts, are interesting to the traveler from other lands. The houses are built on piles driven into the soft soil—a fact that the witty old Erasmus of Rotterdam turned to jest by saying that he knew a city whose inhabitants dwelt in the tops of trees like rooks.

There are so many things in Amsterdam of historic, literary, and art interest that no one can expect to “do the city” and do it thoroughly in the brief time usually allotted by the ordinary tourist. For the student of art there is enough to fill a month’s time. The home city of Rembrandt naturally holds the interest of an artist, and the Ryks Museum contains a wonderful collection of Dutch art and Historic relics.

Copyright, American Press Association

THE RIDDERZAAL, THE HAGUE

The old Ridderzaal on the Brennenhof is the ancient castle of the counts of Holland. The most modern improvements, such as electricity and telephones, have been installed in this ancient structure. The grand assembly hall seats two hundred and eighty, and is lighted by eight immense chandeliers of antique style, containing fifty-four lights each

RYKS MUSEUM

This museum is an impressive stone and brick building, constructed in 1877-1885, and filling nearly three acres of ground. It holds a place among the greatest museums of the world, and in its devotion to its own particular subject—Dutch art and history—it is unique. It is not the lover of art alone who will find the place fascinating: the historian will be held by the military, naval, and colonial collection; the antiquarian will linger over the old works in gold and silver, the models of ships of different periods, antique books and furniture, textiles and stained glass; while the artist will regard the picture galleries as a treasure house.

For the artist, if interested in the Dutch masters of art, the museum is the one particular place in Europe. There about him he will find some of the most celebrated works of Rembrandt, Franz Hals, Paul Potter, Jan Steen (stane), Hobbema (hob´-be-mah), and other Dutch painters.

The picturesque old buildings of Amsterdam, especially those in the inner city, will delight the visitor. Many of these have great historic interest—notable among them Admiral de Ruyter’s (ry´-ter; Dutch, roi´-ter) house, bearing his portrait in relief on its front, and a little beyond that the old Montalbans Tower.

Copyright, Underwood & Underwood

A STREET IN AMSTERDAM

The Royal Palace is a solid building which was begun in 1648, just after the Peace of Westphalia, and was finished in the course of seven years at a cost of 8,000,000 florins ($3,216,000). It is not a beautiful building; but in its structure and its inner equipments it is interesting as showing the character of Dutch life and government. You bring from a visit to the palace an impression of the solidity, power, and the enduring virtues that are the ancestral inheritance of the Hollander.

No visit to Amsterdam is complete without a sight of the Zoölogical Garden, which is one of the best in Europe, and a trip out to the unique little Island of Marken. There in that odd spot you will find all the picturesqueness of Holland in solid deposit. Gaily colored costumes are everywhere; houses are queer in structure and in furnishing; and manners and habits of life are peculiar and interesting. But let the visitor be cautious in Marken. It has of recent years come to be a show place, stocked with all sorts of Dutch articles of no special value, most of which are manufactured solely to catch the fancy of the unwary tourist.

HAARLEM

On returning from Marken the traveler will find it worth his while to run west to the quaint old town of Haarlem (hahr´-lem). This is the city of the governor of the province of North Holland, and is one of the cleanest and neatest towns in the Netherlands. Its population is something over 70,000, and it has the appearance of prosperity and welfare. During the Middle Ages, Haarlem was the residence of the counts of Holland, and was the scene of several important military engagements between the Dutch and the Spaniards. It is famous for its horticulture, and furnishes bulbs to every country in Europe and North America. Along about the middle of spring a wonderful sight may be seen in the lands surrounding Haarlem. Whole fields of hyacinths, crocuses, anemones, tulips, lilies, etc., offer a brilliant variety of color and fill the air with delicious perfume. It is a feast for the senses indeed!