family moved to Naarden, where life was less expensive than in Am- 

 sterdam. Here strenuous efforts were made to find a position. On the 

 recommendation of a friend Derk obtained a situation as clerk in 

 the Haarlem booking-of fice of the Hollandsche IJzeren Spoorweg Maat- 

 schappij '), so that at the beginning of 1854 the family had to break 

 up again. 



They found a suitable house in Haarlem at the end of St. Janstraat, 

 not f ar from the Lage Bolwerk. It had a fairly large garden in front 

 and at back. Here Derk in his spare time grew vegetables, for he was 

 fond of gardening, and was a great lover of nature. During the many 

 walks he took with wife and children on his few free days the eyes of 

 his youngest son were no doubt opened to the beauty of nature, which 

 afterwards became his alpha and omega. Also in Haarlem Derk had a 

 hard life. The exigencies of the railway service resulted in Derk's 

 hours being long and irregular, and frequently his working day ex- 

 tended from half past six in the morning until half past ten at night 

 with variable periods off duty in bet ween. With such opportunities as 

 his scanty leisure afforded he still found time to teach the subjects of 

 the elementary school to the children for whom he could not afford 

 schooling. To the three R's he added French, English, a little German, 

 drawing, and the clements of cosmography and physics. In this way 

 the Beijerinck children were educated, and, when afterwards they 

 w^ent to school, they were not behindhand. The dear, gentle, yet equ- 

 ally energetic mother taught her daughters needlework and house- 

 keeping. 



Martinus as a boy was sensitive, and kind, with a strong sense of 

 justice. If during play with his sisters he happened to f all and hurt 

 himself , and the mother thought that he had not been looked after 

 properly, he always said "They could not help it", for fear that they 

 would get into trouble. 



In spite of the greatest economy, the house was too big, and at last 

 the family went to live in a workman's cottage which, although newly 

 built, was poky and inconvenient. Wife and husband had seen better 

 days, and were thoroughly miserable in the new^ house. More trouble 

 came when, some time later, the husband feil ill, but both bore up 

 bravely. 



In 1859, when Martinus was eight years old, his father was trans- 

 ferred to Leiden, where he got a post in the goodsoffice of the same 

 railway, and where he could make use of his knowledge of English, 

 French and German. However, his situation there was far from 

 pleasant. His immediate superior was a former coachman who brow- 

 beat the better-bred man, and lost no opportunity of asserting him- 

 self at his expense. 



For the children the four years at Leiden were very pleasant. They 

 now had a better house, situated on the Mare 2) at some distance from 



>) Holland Railway Company. 

 ') A water course. 



