countries. Etiquette may differ in small details, but on the whole the
world of society lives the same life, cultivates the same interests, and
amuses or bores itself in much the same fashion. It is _tout comme chez
nous_ in this as in nearly everything else.

On the whole, this elegant crowd shows a somewhat greater amount of
deference towards professionals than towards officials. Doctors, lawyers,
and parsons are clearly highly esteemed; it is the victory of intellect in
a fair field of encounter. In The Hague the officials beat them, but not
so much on account of their office as in consrquence of the fact that so
many are titled persons, highly connected and frequently well off. But
after the great Revolution and the Napoleonic times officialdom lost its
influence and social importance in Holland in consequence of the
demolition of the oligarchic, patrician Republic; and clause five of the
Netherlands constitution, which declares that 'Every Netherlander may be
appointed to every public office,' is a very real and true description of
the actual, visible facts of social life.




Chapter IV

The Position of Women



The Dutch woman, generally speaking, is not the 'new woman' in the sense
of taking any very definite part in the politics of the country. Neither
does she interest herself, or interfere, in ecclesiastical matters.