Dutch Life in Town and Country | Page 5

intrepid energy, crowned with success on
all sides, may even account for their belief that they were entrusted by
the Almighty with a special mission to bring liberty, equal rights, and
prosperity to other nations.

When, after Napoleon's downfall, the Netherlands constituted
themselves a kingdom, the depleted ranks of the aristocracy were soon
amply filled from these old patrician families. Clause 65 of the
Netherlands constitution says, 'The Queen grants nobility. No
Dutchman may accept foreign nobility.' This is the only occasion upon
which the word nobility appears in any code. No Act defines the status,
privileges, or rights of this nobility, because there are none. There is,
however, a 'Hooge Raad van Adel,' consisting of a permanent chairman,
a permanent secretary, and four members, whose functions it is to
report on matters of nobility, especially heraldic and genealogic, and on
applications from Town Councils which wish to use some crest or other.
This 'High Council of Nobility' acts under the supervision of the
Minister of Justice, and its powers are regulated by royal decrees, or
writs in council. The titles used are 'Jonkheer' (Baronet) and
'Jonkvrouw,' Baron and Baroness, 'Graaf' (Earl) and 'Gravin.' Marquess
and Duke are not used as titles by Dutch noblemen. If any man is
ennobled, ail his children, sons as well as daughters, share the privilege,
so there is no 'courtesy title;' officially they are indicated by the father's
rank from the moment of their birth, but as long as they are young it is
the custom to address the boys as 'Jonker,' the girls as 'Freule.'
For the rest, life at The Hague is very much like life everywhere else.
In summer there is a general exodus to foreign countries; in winter,
dinners, bazaars, balls, theatre, opera, a few officiai Court functions,
which may become more numerous in the near future if the young
Queen and Prince Henry are so disposed, are the order of the day. For
the present, 'Het Loo,' that glorious country-seat in the centre of
picturesque, hilly, wooded Gelderland, continues to be the favourite
residence of the Court, and only during the colder season is the palace
in the 'Noordeinde,' at The Hague, inhabited by the Queen.
Her Majesty, apparently full of youthful mirth and energy, enjoys her
life in a wholesome and genuine manner. State business is, of course,
dutifully transacted; but as the entire constitutional responsibility rests
with the Cabinet Ministers and the High Councils of State, she has no
need to feel undue anxiety about her decisions. She is well educated, a
strong patriot, and has on the whole a serions turn of mind, which came
out in pathetic beauty as she took the oath in the 'Nieuwe Kerk' of
Amsterdam at her coronation. How far she and her husband will

influence and lead Society life in Holland remains to be seen. Both are
young, and their union is younger still. During the late King's life and
Queen Emma's subsequent widowhood, society was for scores of years
left to itself, and of course it has settled down into certain grooves. But,
on the other hand, the tastes and inclinations of well-bred, well to do
people, with an inexhaustible amount of spare time on their hands, and
an unlimited appetite for amusement in their minds, are everywhere the
same. Of course, Ministerial receptions, political dinners, and the
intercourse of Ambassadors and foreign Ministers at The Hague form a
special feature of social life there, but here, again, The Hague is just
like European capitals generally.
Once every year the Dutch Court and the Dutch capital proper meet.
Legally, by the way, it is inaccurate to indicate even Amsterdam as the
capital of Holland; no statute mentions a capital of the kingdom, but by
common consent Amsterdam, being the largest and most important
town, is always accorded that title, so highly valued by its inhabitants.
The Royal Palace in Amsterdam is royal enough, and it is also
sufficiently palatial, but it is no Royal Palace in the strict sense of the
word. It was built (1649-1655), and for centuries was used, as a Town
Hall. As such it is a masterpiece, and one's imagination can easily go
back to the times when the powerful and masterful Burgomasters and
Sheriffs met in the almost oppressing splendour of its vast hall. It is an
ideal meeting-place for stern merchants, enterprising shipowners, and
energetic traders. Every hall, every room, every ornament speaks of
trade, trade, and trade again. And there lies some grim irony in the fact
that these merchants, whose meeting-place is surmounted by the proud
symbol of Atlas carrying the globe, offered that mansion as a residence
to their kings, when Holland and Amsterdam could no longer boast of
supporting the world by their wealth and their energy.
Here they meet once