Thus, from that early day, a great love for fine porcelain has existed in the "Low Countries"--what we now know as Holland and Belgium. At the present time no field bears a better yield for the gleaner who seeks fine examples of old porcelain, and especially of the Oriental, than these countries. Thousands upon thousands of porcelains were imported into Holland after the year 1640, whence they were distributed over Europe. But Holland could not hold her monopoly of trade; France and England sought to grasp it, too, and England succeeded. During the last century England has steadily drawn the trade of the East to herself, and Holland has lost what England has gained. In the many changes consequent upon this, many stores of good porcelain gathered in Holland have gradually come to be sold to persons who wanted them more than the Dutch did. Out of this great trade with the Orientals it is easy to see that the Dutch should come to be connoisseurs and lovers of porcelain. It is also easy to see that a sufficient interest should spring up there, after the discovery of true porcelain at Dresden, to induce persons to attempt the manufacture in Holland. This was stimulated during the Seven Years' War, when the works at Meissen (Dresden) were closed, and for a time broken up. Then in Holland, as well as in other countries of Europe, there was an opportunity. The love for porcelain had grown great after the discoveries at Dresden, and the demand for it was vastly increased. The disturbances in Saxony, amounting to prohibition of the manufacture, gave other countries a possible chance to compete with the advantages of Saxony, which otherwise were overwhelming. Still, in Holland no great commercial success was reached. In none of these northern countries has the making of fine porcelain been an assured success. This is owing to many causes, among which we may point to-- 1. The genius of the people does not impel them. 2. The clay and the wood and the coal are not at their doors. 3. Other nations have taken the lead and driven them from the markets of the world, sometimes from their own. In the Low Countries we may mention as places where the manufacture was attempted--with, however, only a fictile life: Weesp, Loosdrecht, Arnheim, Amsterdam, Amstel--old and new--The Hague, Tournay, Brussels, Luxemburg, Lille (now in France). WEESP--HARD PASTE.--The first effort was made at Weesp, not far from Amsterdam, about 1764, during the Seven Years' War. For a short time, until 1771, fine and white porcelain was made here, but not in great quantities, and the attempt was not a commercial success. The marks were: [Illustration] At LOOSDRECHT (HARD PASTE), not far from Utrecht, De Moll began a small factory in 1772. He made a fine quality of china, closely following the Dresden. It had but a short existence. His mark was "M o L.," meaning _Manufactur oude Loosdrecht_.