iin ie Mita, a 9 SEBO ct And so I come to the Hague - a large city of international character, It is the capital of Holland in everything but name - that it cedes perforce to Amsterdam, The Court is at the Hague, the foreign embassies are there and in- ternational conferences are held in the imposing Peace Palace, You can spend a very gay evening in the Hague amid en- tertaining surroundings, with the click of glasses in one's ear as a background to the music, At one cafe I visited, the dance band “crooner” was a bit of a linguist and sang his songs in several languages for the benefit of the mixed clientel! Of course I visited the Mauritshius, the great picture gallery of The Hague, Here is reality -- the thing as the Masters did it, Holland, with her great painters of the past isa valuable trea- sure trove for the art student and art lover, The present-day Ministers of Holland now condust their affairs behind the red bricks of the Binnenhof, This was a most interesting building to visit, and I remember I! sat in the place of the Dutch "Butter King", as our guide explained the various points of interest of the Council Chamber, I stood also in the Courtyard of the Binnenhof and gazed atthat beautiful little building, the Ridderzoal (Knights Hall) which has been there since the year 1250, or be- fore, and in which Parliament is now opened. Near these buildings stands a grim old Spanish Prison. The old imple- ments of torture were extremely grue- some to behold. Of course one cannot leave The Hague without mentioning Sche veningen -- a rather frightening name. It is a lovely seaside place and I should like to join the bathers there in the summertime. Next £ visited Retterdams It is 4 city mostly for shipping. The chimneys get mixed up with the funnels and masts and a liner towers over the roof tops. And now Amsterdam, This city consid- ers Ltvselfy -eand. fightly so, the most ug important place in Holland. I spent a whole morning in the famous Ryksmuseum and so obtained a fleeting glance of the wonders which it contains. It was here that I saw Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" -- a huge canvass whose richness and beauty dominated the whole room. I wish I could pass on all I saw here but I have not the power. The canals of Amsterdam are surely the most beautiful in Holland, They are tree-bordered and the houses which . look down on them are restful and sed- ate. Their reflection on the still water is.so amazingly clear one might easily step into the canal in search of a front daor? The bridges which cross the canals are vaulted and the flower- sellers who ply their trade upon themin troduce an attractivenote of color with their baskets full of blooms. Although! was there in the winter, baskets fullof white lilies were being offeredfor sale at many street-corners, by the flower- venders’. There is a Jewish quarter in Amster- dam, a quarter of old houses in narrow streets,where the diamond merchants live. Rembrandt lived among these people for years. His house is now a museum, It is curious to find many gay little flower shops in the midst of such dreariness. The Jew's Market is brighter and one can buy there a great variety of things, One delightfulmemory I have of Amster dam were the bells in the spire of the old Church across the way from where I stayed. In London at night I can hear the clock fromthe neighboring tower boom the hour, slowly and firmly--but in Hol land there was nothingsedate about those bells. They would ring out in full song as though many bluebells had been given the power of sound in ecstasies of ring= ing tinkling melody at every hour. At each quarter hour they would chime such gay, tinkly little airs--I cannever for et their music and charm. ED. NOTE: This delightful travelogue by Miss E, Tweedie will be continuedin our next issue).