Once I let myself get persuaded to play for a very low tariff a short game of ecarte with a French administration officer; the friend played the game excellently though he had terrible luck with it, sothat from the 30 games I only could win 2 and thus lost 14 francs; since then I have categorised ecarte also under the dicegames, whilst in my opinion that luck and bad luck certainly exsist was substantiated.
The journey with Messageries in general wasn’t easy even though the food and drinks were free; the care for the passengers was not great and the food not at all according to Dutch taste; in the Red Sea in the extreme heat it was chaos on deck, mainly because of the 2nd class passengers, whose dinner was finished earlier than ours and who didn’t care to pinch our lazy chairs. So us Dutchies were very pleased when we set foot on the wharf in Marseille on 5th September.
With a little steamer the passengers and their luggage were brought across to the custom’s office, where the luggage had to be inspected; I also acted on behalf of Mrs. v. Lennep and experienced no trouble at all; when I indicated I had nothing to declare.
So we could leave immediately to Hotel Terminus, where we would have lunch before our trip with the express train to Paris. Awaiting this I went to the nearby station and asked 4 full and 8 half tickets for Paris, whilst I requested a seperate compartment in the train, which carriage was placed on the rails in front of the hotel and we could use it all day.
A few hours after arrival the family Blokzeyl came also in hotel Terminus and I heard that they had a lot of trouble at the customs; they had declared that they had some bottles with an Indian sweetdrink with them and consequently had to unpack everything. The Resident asked me how I had taken care of the train tickets and then I offered him to come with him. At the ticket office he asked for 8 whole and a half trainticket, mentioning that his youngest son was under age; “Where is that child?” was the answer, and only after I had declaired that the inquirer had spoken the truth he got the neccessary tickets.
After I took a drive with the kids in a carriage through the city we had dinner together with the Blokzeyls and v. Lenneps in the restaurant of hotel Terminus, where I ate particularly well from the delicious South European fruit. The most delicious and biggest peach I ever ate, I gobbled up for 1 franc, whilst the cheaper grapes were also tasting very nice.
At 6 pm exactly we stepped out of the restaurant directly in the for us reserved 1st class waggon, which was almost immediately picked up by the train of the P.L.M., which quite soon steamed away full speed.
The waggons were still of the old fashioned type without a side entrance or w.c., so we were quite lucky I had my levelling instrument with me and had supplied ourselves with a good amount of bottles of water. It was remarkable that I needed one or the other the most due to the large amount of fruit I had enjoyed; but it was already dark and the children nearly all slept, sothat the instrument could easily be emptied through the window.
When we arrived in Paris I checked with Mrs. v. Lennep in in hotel du Helder in the Rue de la Paix; resident Blokzeyl followed our example. This hotel had been recommended in Deli, because you could speak Dutch there and there was an excellent restaurant du Lion d’Or attached to it; one had forgotten to mention that it was also excellently expensive.
We got a beautiful warm supper and spent the night there; Mrs. v. Lennep and I had to pay together with our 8 children 162 and Resident Blokzeyl with 6 sprouts 194. Another result of the man’s particular clumsyness.
On the 7th September we left by train to Holland; at a small station in the North of France the train stopped to exchange the engine and our doors opened; we were then gazed at by a large crowds, who made all kinds of assumptions who and what the family with 8 children and 2 black servents would be. “Ah!” a youngster finally called out:”I know it, it is a school!”.
In Roosendaal we were welcomed by my eldest brother Gerrit, my sister tante Joh and my brother in law de Jongh; the last one and my brother both offered to take the 4 children on in their home and after some discussions in the waitingroom of the station, we decided, that we first stay in Gelderland during the month of September and would then definitely decide which of the two foster homes we would choose; the husband of tante Joh found himself too old to have 4 children around him in the long run, however 2 girls could stay during September with him in Terborg, so brother in law de Jongh returned home home alone to the Hague with the message that I would come the following day, whilst the others travelled via den Bosch and Nijmegen to Gelderland.
In Nijmegen my second brother Anton stood at the station; he looked like a dead body and had lost his voice completely after catching a cold after a singing practice, as he told me whispering; his lungs and vocal cords were heavily affected.
In Dieren tante Joh left us, to reach Terborg via Doesburg, taking Carey and her godchild Jop with her whilst Gerrit and I went on to Zutphen, where we arrived half an hour later.
Gerrit had a large family; he had lost his wife Cornelie de Thouars, who left him 5 daughters and 1 son; after that he remarried with the widow Weenink, who herself also had 2 sons and 2 daughters. The 2nd wife was also gone when I arrived and so the household was run by the girls who were there; the eldest of them Marie was married in Deventer with Gerrit Nikkels, the 3rd Rein was working as a bookkeeper in the business, the 4th was manageress of the drawingschool in the building of the working class in Amsterdam, the 5th teacher’s aid in Loenen, whilst the son was working in the business.
Of the Weeninks the eldes son was officer in Bergen op Zoom the youngest one employe in a delicatesse; one of the three girls was teacher’s aid in Abcoude.
So of the 11 children were 6 female persons left, certainly plenty to look after my 4 little nippers.
My birh house was through the purchase of the block next door considerably enlarged and so the locality was large enough; even for me there was a large room with recess available.
The cousins received me and the children real hearty and these were quite soon the best of friends with them; they were put to bed after a decent supper, for Boewang, who didn’t want to have a bar of a European bed a mattress was spread on the ground.
Like I had promised the next day I went to the Hague and arrived there towards the afternoon. From station Rijnspoor I walked in to the city and bought a small supply cigars in the Spuistraat with the firm Boele & Co, by which I was not very surprised, that the owner recognised me immediately; yet I had been away for more than 16 years.
Further I went through the Veenestraat and the Oude Molstraat, to see my parental house and the Vette Hen which is situated directly opposite once more, walked through de Molstraat and Prinsenstraat, who in those days were not yet pulled through to the Postoffice, and further along the Veenkade ( Now called Toussaintkade ) in the direction of Piet Heinstraat and Zoutmanstraat where my mother and brother in law de Jongh were living.
On the Veenkade I suddenly heard someone calling my christian name and turning around, I recognised my old flame Marie Roermeester, who embraced me in the street and insisted that I go to her mother’s house for a minute; she told me that she recognised me on my gait. I had to stay talking a little bit and she wanted me badly to played a duet with her. She still looked young, however I got a fright when I saw her neglected teeth and suddenly didn’t feel attracted to her anymore; so I did disappear rather quickly.
Arriving at Zoutmanstraat no. 43 I flew straight away to the second story, where my mother had her room and it was a scene a good painter worthy to see the face of the good old woman, when I poked my nose around the door.
She had after the death of my father, who had died a year earlier, moved in with the de Jonghs, though still kept struggling, she was coughing heavily and therefore was sitting nearly straight up in bed night and day.
I stayed a few days in the Hague to get to know the situation in the household of the de Jonghs well and to spend 2 days with my sister Cato, who lived with her husband and 5 step children in the Tasmanstraat no. 64.
I spent two pleasant days with the Benards, made some music with Leonard and was treated by my fat sister to my favourite dishes known to her and which she cooked to perfection.
In the Zoutmanstraat however I found the dinner meagre and not nice; the maindish consisted of potatoes, who were served with a dangerouslys long ladle. The place was not roomy and I had to sleep in my mother’s room on a shake down bed, whom besides I disturbed since I already woke and got up at sunrise. Nobody in the house was up yet and so I went for a walk; several girls then called me a night reveller, because they were not used to see a gentleman in the street at that hour.
One and the other made me decide not to accept the offer of my brother in law, although indeed I would certainly have been able to barter a cheap condition; so I returned to Zutphen and told my brother Gerrit that I would be happy to leave my children with him. We agreed that I would pay 50 guilders per child per month for food, accommodation and clothing; I could pay what I could miss monthly and later on what I would still be owing, I would for that take a life insurance. The condition I found quite acceptable and I have never regretted it.
After a few days I went to Terborgh to meet my brother in law v.d.Werff and I have to say that getting aquainted was particularly easy; he was a real conversationist with very liberal ideas, loved tante Joh and was really nice with my Carey and Jop, who in a few days were already nearly used to make themselves understood in the complete Dutch environment and gave my brother in law the name of Uncle with the white beard.
Tante Joh was as always full of care for the girls, who stuck on her like burs.
My sister and brother in law didn’t have much social life in Terborgh, they were particularly friendly with the state’s receiver Mikmak, whose wife was often poorly and where tante Joh then took the whole running of the household for her account.
The Mikmaks remained very grateful for tante Joh until her death and supported her in her widow years in a very considerate way.
When I returned to Zutphen I stayed there several days in the family circle, made quite a long walk with one of the nieces, went with my brother to the social club or in the evening to Deventer to visit Gerrit Nikkels and his wife Marie.
However there wasn’t much variation in the small town; the friends of the family fell outside my direction; the only outing of which I think with pleasure was the performance in the theatre building by the great German actor Possard, who gave a fantastic performance of Freund Fritz and Nathan der Weise.
My borhter then found that I could not stay in Zutphen in the end and better to live in a larger town in rooms to find the neccessary distraction. There was choice between the Hague and Amsterdam; I prefered Amsterdam, because I would be more free there in my movements, and besides I did have some good friends there.
Therefore I wrote to my cousin Betsy to look for decent quarters for me, who found several; when I arrived in great Mokem the choice was soon made and I rented a room with recess in the Jan Steen straat no. 30 with the stipulation that I, after a month could move to the front room with adjacent small room for a price of 30 guilders a month.
So again I fell back in my real bachelor’s life, got up late and drank coffee in my own room and had dinner for 1 guilder in a restaurant in the Kalverstraat.
Further I became a member of the social club Zeemanshoop, where soon enough in the afternoon I could play a regular omber game. My partners were the ltnt.col. v.d. Blijk, Dr. Kees Munting and major Heijl, at which later also a civilian Vermeulen joined. Quite soon this one was given the nickname colonel, sothat the bystanders and serving personnel mentioned that title when speaking to him.
After a short while the players, exept for the colonel, came to an agreement to start our own afternoon table with one or the other cook, for which we found opportunity with a cook on the Heerengracht and where could eat very nicely for 1 guilder; whoever at our party had won, had to take care of a nice drink after dinner with the dessert, which we bought every time at the firm Hagen in the Kalverstraat, whose little shop still exists.
After dinner we went somewhere for a game of billiards and afterwards to a theatre.
footnote:
Moken is a local name for Amsterdam.
We especially liked it at Prot in the Plantage Middellaan; we sat there all the time in the first row of stalls with our legs in the air and a glass of beer in front of us and then had a chat with the flutist of the orchestra; he told us that he earned his living at Prot’s, though for no money in the world he would let his daughter enter the theatre world.
I do have to agree now, that sometimes it was a bit shocking there, but we enjoyed the funny operettes which were held there.
It was logic that I visited my niece Betsy very often and I went many times to her office to have a cup of coffee in the Gebouw van de Werkende Stand. To reach this office and the adjacent drawing school one had to climb 88 steps; it was a real heavy job. During one of my visits an ugly old Jew came to speak to Betsy about the placing of his daughter at the drawing school, and when he learnt that I was an uncle of Betsy, he suggested to let his daughter inside, who had been standing waiting in the porch; he went outside and came back with her, saying: Here you have Cor Citroen, a girl like a flower!
Of course we laughed about his remark, still I had to admit later on that I never saw such a pretty Jewish lady.
It goes without saying that I repeatedly made a trip to Zutphen to visit my children, who now were all 4 of them together; at one of those visits I found our Jop very ill with a high temperature. Dr. Quanjer diagnosed pneumonia after a few days and she soon landed in a life threatening situation and pulled bits off her blanket; through the loving aunt Johanna ( the little nippers called the cousins aunt due to the large difference in age ) and through the administering of tonics like Portwine champaign and camphor by Dr. Quanjer the child was luckily saved.
At another visit I found Carey suffering of typhoidlike fevers, which didn’t want to go despite the caring treatment of Dr. Quanjer. He himself suggested to request consultation of an older Dr., Dr. Ort who had vaccinated me already as a child and who had a very good name as a pediatrician.
Dr. Ort came and assured me that he would never have acted different than his younger collegue; still both aesculapiuses tried to create a reaction and smeared the whole top body of the child with iodine tincture, which had surprising results and soon improvement commenced.
Repeatedly I asked the old doctor for the consultation bill, though in vain; not until years after my return when Dr. Ort had died, I received a bill from the heirs, which ran into the sum of F. 4.25.
I honoured the Hague also by my visits for my mother and further family. A visit to my only collegue Van Dentschz who was on leave, was also on the program; he lived with his mother at the Bierkade, though when I arrived there, the maid told me that Sir had temporarily gone to Lochem; to this I answered, that she had to tell him upon arrival that an engineer officer had been; he would understand who I was; suddenly I heard someone calling at the top of the stairs: Is Mr. engineer officer, then let him come upstairs.
Had I described v.D. as a real silent person, his mother on the contrary was a real chatterbox; as a rattle her story went how her son had gotten engaged with a certain Miss Numans, he hadn’t dared ask her himself, but had given this job to his sister and with success; later about the marriage!
Betsy lived in Amsterdam at a very neat floor in the West-end,; now and then she invited me there on the evenings she gave to her friends; at one of those I got to meet the two ladies Polkijn and during the course of the conversation it showed, that they were sisters of Mrs. v. Dapperen, who with her husband upon arrival in the Dutch East Indies had stayed with us in Tjalatjap; this gave reason that the same ladies told me at a next occasion, that her father who was a retired ltnt.col. of the administration of the Navy wanted me to know that he would appreciate it particulartly to get aquainted to me.
I promised to pay him a visit in the near future at the Kloveniers Burgwal, where he lived in a solid old fashioned house.
No sooner said than done and from this first visit grew repeats and invitations for dinner and evening parties, which I more and more began to appreciate.
It didn’t take all that long to I fall in love with one of the girls and started to chase her; so I knew that she went to gymnastic classes one evening. Since in those days it was not considered proper for a young lady to walk alone along the street I waited for her at the exit of the gymnastic’s hall and with her consent send the porter away and brought her home myself, whilst of course we did not take the shortest route and during these evening walks it came to a declaration between us.
The next day I requested to speak to Mr. Polkijn and for the time being I got permission from him for our engagement; he declaired that he was worried to give this, because his daughter who had married to v. Dapperen had died so soon in the Dutch East Indies.
During the same time I received a letter from Marie Nikkels in Deventer, in which she told me she wanted to come to Amsterdam for a while and in view of the busy circle of work her sister Betsy asked me if I wanted to chaperone her; I could not refuse her request in the given circumstances and quite soon already Marie showed up, gave me her rich wallet and we really did enjoy all the remarkable things which Amsterdam presented; in the evening Betsey came along with us and the trip of his wife had costed Gerrtit Nikkels quite a lot of money.
Both cousins already discovered quite soon that something between me and the girls Polkijn was going on; out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh, and speaking of both sisters, I had told that I made such pleasant music with the youngest Anna; ”Then you are in love with Cor”, called Marie; the clever girl could see through me.
Of course Cor and I knew how to find each other in the street and then we walked together.
How provincial even a large city can be will show from the fact that several of these walks, even on the same day were signalled on to the old man by certain people of the personnel of the Maatschappij Nederland, where papa Polkijn was working.
I pleaded that it would be of no use to further keep our engagement a secret and papa admitted.
For us it was quieter to walk now and I could introduce the future Mrs. Kerlen to Betsy at her office.
My time table started to look very regular and pleasant; after lunch I fetched Cor and walked with her, which always ended on the Dam, where I put her on the horsedrawn tram to the Weesperzijde, so she could do some housework, whilst I went to the social club Zeemanshoop. To explain this I must say, that Papa Polkijn had moved from the Kloveniers-burgerwal to a modern top story in the Mauritsstraat, corner Weesperzijde, shortly after our engagement .
When Cor had finished her daily tasks, she came to meet me following the arranged route to the Heerengracht, where I still had a table and then we went out together. Only on Sundays I was all day in the family circle. To that circle also belonged the eldest daughter Charlotte, a bitter old maid, with whom I could never sympathise; she had been engaged in her youth with a marine officer, who left her; since then she had become selfish and both sisters Cor and Anna didn’t like her either.
When the shifting was completely finished I took Cor to Zutphen to get to know the children and my brother’s family.
The reception was from both sides really heartly and we stayed a few days in my place of birth.
When we returned we took the 2 eldest girls with us to Amsterdam where they were spoiled by the new Opa. I took the girls back to Zutphen and then took Jop and Johan with me.
They were already home when the old Mr. P. came home from his office and called on top of the 43 steps staircase: “Opa Opa” all the time, which the old gentleman seemed to appreciate very much.
I only went one day to the Hague with Cor to visit my mother and sister; tante Joh and v.d. Werff were now too in the Hague, they had only just moved from Terborgh, mainly because the family Mikman had been transferred too, so they couldn’t have us stay with them, that’s why our stay was so short.
When spring came in the country I started to feel symptoms of the Tjilatjap malaria again, and this caused by the Amsterdam canals, I had to spend longer periods in Zutphen. Whilst I was there, I got an invitation of my collegue von Dentschz to be a witness for his oncoming marriage. At the appointed day I stepped on the train to Lochem and there I met captain Rost van Tonnigen and the cavalry captain Bothnia Andree, who both belonged to the invited guests.