48 THE LAND OF PLUCK

nightcaps, and jackets, or wrappers,—which, it seems,
constitute the forenoon undress uniform of many a
Dutch lady who may shine resplendent later in the day.

And now comes the greatest oddity of all—the Tulip
Craze, or Tulipomania, as it is called, which raged over
Holland early
in the seven-
teenthcentury.
Have you not
read of it ?—
how the cul-
tivating and
owning of tu-
lips seemed for
a while to be
the only thing
men cared for ?
The first speci-
men seen in
Holland came
from Constan-
tinoplein1599.
Therarebeauty

 

 

of the flower—

 

 

called tulip on

THE TOWN PUMP AT KITWYK.

account of its
resemblance to a turban (tulipa)—at once attracted great
attention. Rich Hollanders sent to Constantinople direct
for the bulbs. They vied with one another in ol staining the
most beautiful varieties, and in having the finest tulip-