MAARTJIA

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 135, 9 June 1928, Page 15

MAARTJIA

Maartjia is a typical little Dutch girl from Egmont/aan dcr Hocf, a wee village near the coast about five miles from Alkmaar, a town famous for its wonderful cheese markets. The children in Holland seem to have been bom mature, so.seldom does one see them at play. Boys attired in long trousers and peaked caps look like small men. The lilllc girls knit incessantly while they follow the cows to,paslure or care for the smaller children, and try to keep them from falling into the canals. Maartjia on a Sunday morning is attired in her best, and is wearing at least seven petticoats under her voluminous skirt. Soon the church bells will begin to ring, and Maartjia will saunter forlh sedately. First through the village street with its quaint little houses so immaculate, with their lovely gardens. Then along the canal, beside the soft green willows, some gnarled and picturesque, bending far down over the waters, others tall and stalely, proud in their strength and beauty. Suddenly a blaze of colour meets her eye. Under the bright sky acres of brilliance stretch before her, red, yellow, mauve, orange, a glory of many hues: the tulips! Maartjia's heart leaps in response to all this beauty. Childlike, she wonders why she feels as though she were already in church. After a moment of this silent prayer, she goes her way. Now she is passing a stable; a cow looks out at her over the open top of the wide door. Maartjia things the cow is smiling at her, her eyes are so gentle and tender, her nose such a pretty colour. She tiptoes over and peeps1 llirough the little window. Freshly laundered curtains are drawn back from the small square panes; she looks through the spotless glass; the floor is of cement and has been newly scrubbed; a little stream of clear water runs through the barn, she can just hear the soft clean sound of it. There are three stalls. Over each stall hangs a round Delft plaque, blue and white, lovely in design. Maartjia greets the cows gayly and goes on her way, feeling very, very happy. .