Burgher Orphan Asylum

The Burgher Orphan Asylum is presented as a substantial charitable home for children and as one example of Holland’s civic care. At the skating gathering near Amsterdam, its boys appear in distinctive black tights and short, harlequin-style coats; a note clarifies that the institution’s red-and-black clothing is intended to deter wrongdoing, not to invite ridicule.

Institution and Purpose

The book identifies the Burgher Orphan Asylum as a home for several hundred boys and girls. It characterizes the institution as comfortable and places it within a broader Dutch tradition of charitable institutions, giving the asylum a practical social role beyond its brief appearance in the skating scene.

Uniform and Public Conduct

The asylum’s children wear garments quartered alternately in red and black. The vivid dress makes them conspicuous while they are out in the city, and the accompanying note explains its purpose: visibility is intended, in a measure, to deter wrongdoing. The explanation explicitly rejects a mocking interpretation of the uniforms.

Appearance at the Skating Gathering

At the great skating match near Amsterdam, boys from the Burgher Orphan Asylum are among the varied groups of spectators. Their black tights and short coats distinguish them amid the crowd, which the narrative describes through the different institutions, costumes, and social groups gathered to watch. The asylum enters the scene as part of this public variety, rather than through an individual child’s story.

Narrative Significance

The institution’s brief mention supports the book’s stated interest in Dutch customs and everyday life, presenting organized charity as part of the country’s social landscape. The detail of the uniform also gives the account a measured qualification: a conspicuous garment that might seem comic is explained as a deliberate means of encouraging orderly conduct, while the asylum itself is described as providing a comfortable home to hundreds of children.