The Queen and Her People
Hague, and Amsterdam, etc. An indoor game, reduced almost to parlour-golf, has taken its place in some localities, but even this game appears to be dying out.
It is to be regretted that the companies of doelen, who formed clubs akin to our archery clubs, but who did not belong to the army (doelen are “targeteers,” just as the Italian bersagliere derives his name from bersaglio, a target), are a thing of the past; for their prowess has been immortalized in many a painting, and their name is preserved in that of several hotels throughout the land.
Skating is, of course, the national pastime. Parties are made up to skim over the frozen rivers and canals from town to town, and much sleighing takes place in the towns after a fall of snow, the children being conveyed to school in sleighs. The Dutch excel in the exhilarating exercise of
137
