She was of the middle size,
stoutly and firmly built, with a round, good-humoured face, dark
hair, clear, honest-looking hazel eyes, and a mouth which, though
wide, was expressive of decision and firmness. Her dress, which never
varied in style, consisted of a coloured petticoat of a thick woollen
material, a short bed-gown of striped cotton, confined round the
waist by the strings of a snow-white apron, a close-fitting, modest
cap, underneath the plaited border of which appeared her glossy hair,
neatly braided over her low, broad forehead; add to this a pair of
well-knit stockings, which the shortness of her petticoats afforded
ample opportunity of admiring, with heavy wooden shoes, and you have
a complete picture of Dutch Anna's costume. At the time I speak of,
the prejudice entertained by the mass of the people against
foreigners was much greater than in the present day, when the means
of communication between different countries are so much improved,
and the general diffusion of knowledge has shown the unreasonableness
of regarding with distrust and contempt those of our fellow-creatures
who have been born in a different climate, and trained in different
customs to our own.
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