The glass of the cathedral is poor,
but there is a delicate green pattern on the vaulting which is very
charming. The koster is proudest of the pulpit, and of a figure of
the Virgin "which is carried in procession through the town every
evening between July 7th and 16th".
But I was not interested so much in particular things as in the
cathedral as a whole. To be in the midst of this grey Gothic
environment was what I desired, and after a little difficulty I
induced the koster to leave me to wander alone. It was the first
church in Holland with the old authentic thrill.
Bois le Duc (as it is more simple to call it) is a gay town with
perhaps the most spirited market place in the country. The stalls have
each an awning, as in the south of Europe, and the women's heads are
garlanded with flowers. I like this method of decoration as little
as any, but it carries with it a pleasant sense of festivity.
From Bois le Duc one may go due north to Utrecht and Amsterdam, passing
on the way Bommel, with its tall and impressive tower rising from its
midst. Or one may keep to the western route and reach Walcheren. That
is my present course, and Bommel may be left with a curious story
of the Spaniards in 1599. "Two brothers who had never seen, and had
always been inquiring for, each other, met at last by chance at the
siege, where they served in two different companies.
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