Pièce 204 - Letter from Janet Trevelyan to Elizabeth Trevelyan

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Middelburg. - Their last morning in the Netherlands; this is 'perhaps the most picturesque place' they have been to; they have enjoyed themselves very much and Bessie's friends and relations have been very kind. The Paul Hubrechts took them in at the Hague, and also recommended they visit Middelburg. Mr Muller, the magistrate, said they must visit him at Alkmaar as he still remembers a stay at the Shiffolds long ago, so they lunched at a nearby country restaurant and saw a farm with 'about 25 of those heavenly black & white cows' in the barn; he then showed them the town, and 'brought out some thrilling old maps of the siege' which George 'devoured'. Muller sometimes come to England to consult on prison reform, and thinks the British are 'fairly up to date about all that. Thinks Mary has 'loved the whole place quite passionately' and wants to come and learn Dutch from Bessie; she herself loves it 'as much as [she] ever could a country in this latitude!': found Delft, Leiden, the Hague, Alkmaar and Middelburg all 'exquisite in their different ways' - but guilders do not go as far as lire, so she jokes that they 'can ever afford to come again'.