ON GETTING THERE 7 



difficulties of the Boer War. But one cannot 

 help feeling that, just as the French Revolution 

 and the '45 are not in the nature of the people, 

 neither are the ways and doings of Renaissance 

 Italy. 



From Amsterdam one goes by train to Haarlem, 

 capital of the bulb country ; and if one holds any 

 hearsay opinions as to the unexcitable nature 

 of the Dutch people, one corrects them on the 

 way. Phlegmatic in big matters they may be, but 

 in small ones — -No. It is only necessary to observe 

 them seeing each other off at the railway station 

 or starting one of their not too expeditious trains 

 to realise that. The excitement of getting the 

 people in, of arranging seats when in, closing 

 windows and placing the inordinate quantity of 

 packages everyone seems to carry, is astonishing 

 to the Englishman. So too, rather, is the amount 

 of help and service required by the exceedingly 

 capable Holland women. A Holland lady never 

 seems to think of opening a carriage door for her- 

 self ; one imagines she would almost sooner go past 

 the desired station than do so, though such a 

 catastrophe could not well happen, for, in good 

 time, she uplifts her voice and excitedly calls upon 

 all and sundry to let her out, if no one has, unasked, 



