328 DUTCH WELCOME HOSPITALITY. 



greeted with the following civil address : " Daar komt weder 

 die verdoomde Engelsman ;" that is, "There comes again 

 the cursed Englishman." Though I had heard much of the 

 aversion these men entertain for all that is, British, and their 

 coarse language in general, I certainly had not expected that 

 they would have carried their animosity so far. Walking 

 straight up to the individual that had thus accosted me, I 

 said, in as good Dutch as I could muster, " My good friend, 

 in my country, when a stranger does us the honor to pay us 

 a visit, before even asking his errand or his name, much less 

 abusing him, we invite him to our table ; and, when he has 

 quenched his thirst and satisfied his hunger, we may prob- 

 ably inquire whence he comes or where he goes ;" and with 

 this I leaped into the saddle. The fellow clearly felt the re- 

 buke, for, on turning my horse's head away, he endeavored 

 to persuade me to stop ; but his rude salutation had quite 

 spoiled my appetite. 



As a rule, however, though frequently coarse and abrupt 

 in their language and conversation, they are undeniably hos- 

 pitable ; and when a person can converse with them in their 

 own language, and accommodate himself to their manners 

 and peculiarities, they are excellent fellows, as I have often 

 experienced. To several of their customs, nevertheless, the 

 stranger will find some difficulty in reconciling himself 



In these localities, on meeting a wayfaring man, the Dutch 

 Boer invariably thus, accosts him : " Good-day ! Where do 

 you come from ? Where are you going *? Are you married ? 

 How many children have you f and so forth. If you should 

 be so unfortunate as not to have entered into the marriage 

 state, he is astonished beyond measure, and looks upon you 

 with something like contempt. 



Like most people who are novices in a foreign language, I 

 committed at first sad mistakes, and many a joke and laugh 

 originated at my expense. Once, indeed, my awkwardness 

 cost me the loss of a supper, of which I stood greatly in need, 



