Page:A Tour Through the Batavian Republic.djvu/198

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186
TOUR THROUGH

in England, that a person slightly moves his hat, but he must take it off his head, and continue uncovered till the man is past him to whom he pays the compliment. The ceremony of bowing is more strictly observed at Leyden and Haerlem, than at Rotterdam or the Hague. In either of the former cities, a stranger of decent appearance can scarcely walk in the streets without being obliged every minute to pull off his hat, to answer some civility of the same kind which he receives; and these compliments are paid him not only by opulent people, but by mechanics and labourers, who bow with all the gravity and politeness of their superiors.

The revolution has not altered in the least the national dress of the Dutch. Instead of cropped heads, pantaloons, and round hats, which I expected to find, most people have their hair full dressed and powdered, wear cocked hats, and the rest of their clothes in the old fashion. The term citizen is used to all persons of authority, when they are addressed in their official capacities; but in conversation, or private transactions, every