Page:Things Seen In Holland (1912).djvu/61

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The Netherlands

Binnenhof quarter, nowadays so well known to all through the sittings of the Peace Conference, the monuments are few, the city's chief feature consisting in rich modern dwellings. The famed Bosch, or wood, in which stands the Huis ten Bosch, the Dutch Trianon, is a perfect oasis. According to tradition, it is, like the wood of Haarlem, the remains of an ancient forest spared by the Spaniards, who were not wont to show mercy to anything Dutch. Among the trees in the Bosch are to be found some said to have been planted by Jacob Cats, the humorous burgher poet, and by Jakoba van Beieren (Jacqueline of Bavaria, Countess of Holland). The Huis was built in 1647 by Princess Amalia von Solms, consort of Frederik Hendrik of Orange. Among its treasures is an octagonal room covered with paintings, not by Dutch, but by Flemish

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