Ben was in
ecstasy with the scene.
Ludwig van Holp had been thinking how strange it was that the
English boy should know so much of Holland. According to
Lambert's account, he knew more about it than the Dutch did.
This did not quite please our young Hollander. Suddenly he
thought of something that he believed would make the "Shon Pull"
open his eyes; he drew near Lambert with a triumphant "Tell him
about the tulips!"
Ben caught the word tulpen.
"Oh, yes!" said he eagerly, in English, "the Tulip Mania--are you
speaking of that? I have often heard it mentioned but know very
little about it. It reached its height in Amsterdam, didn't it?"
Ludwig moaned; the words were hard to understand, but there was
no mistaking the enlightened expression on Ben's face. Lambert,
happily, was quite unconscious of his young countryman's distress
as he replied, "Yes, here and in Haarlem, principally; but the
excitement ran high all over Holland, and in England too for that
matter."
"Hardly in England, *{Although the Tulip Mania did not prevail in
England as in Holland, the flower soon became an object of
speculation and brought very large prices. In 1636, tulips were
publicly sold on the Exchange of London.
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