The Queen and Her People
aalen (smoked eels), dried scharretje (another species of the flounder tribe), poffertjes (the American “pop-overs”), olie-bollen (balls of paste fried in oil), wafelen (waffles), and hopjes (caramels, the last the most beloved of the various kinds of lekkers). In the meanwhile, the organs of the merry-go-rounds are noisily grinding out tunes that are “popular” the world over. When night comes, Bacchus is libated in a fashion worthy of the days of Rome's decline, and men and women mingle together with a licence unknown during the rest of the year.
In Amsterdam and other big towns the kermis has been abolished. This abolition was the cause of a two days' riot in the city lying at the influx of the Amstel into the Y.
Ranking next to the kermis is the Feast of St. Nicholas, kept on December 5, the
129
