Fun has often been made of the names which the Dutch merchants give
to their country houses, but they seem to me often to be chosen with
more thought than those of similar villas in our country. Here are
a few specimens: Buiten Gedachten (Beyond Expectation), Ons Genoegen
(Our Contentment), Lust en Rust (Pleasure and Rest), Niet Zoo Quaalyk
(Not so Bad), Myn Genegenhied is Voldaan (My Desire is Satisfied),
Mijn Lust en Leven (My Pleasure and Life), Vriendschap en Gezelschap
(Friendship and Sociability), Vreugde bij Vrede (Joy with Peace), Groot
Genoeg (Large Enough), Buiten Zorg (Without Care). These names at any
rate convey sentiments which we may take to express their owners'
true feelings in their owners' own language; and as such I prefer
them to the "Chatsworths" and "Belle-vues," "Cedars" and "Towers,"
with which the suburbs of London teem. In a small inland street in
Brighton the other day I noticed a "Wave Crest".
The dunes extend for miles: an empty wilderness of sand with the
grey North Sea beyond. From the high points one sees inland not only
Haarlem, just below, but the domes and spires of Amsterdam beyond.
One may return to Haarlem by way of Bloemendaal, a green valley
with shady walks and a good hotel; or extend the drive to Haarlem's
watering-place Zaandvoort, which otherwise can be gained by steam-tram,
and where, says the author of _Through Noord-Holland_, "the billowing
is strong and strengthening".
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