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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Vanished towers and chimes of Flanders, by 
+George Wharton Edwards
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Vanished towers and chimes of Flanders
+
+Author: George Wharton Edwards
+
+Release Date: March 9, 2009 [EBook #28288]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VANISHED TOWERS CHIMES OF FLANDERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Bergquist and The Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Transcriber's Note
+
+ The punctuation and spelling from the original text have been faithfully
+ preserved. Only obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
+
+
+ [Illustration: The Great Cloth Hall: Ypres]
+
+ [Illustration:
+
+ VANISHED TOWERS and CHIMES of FLANDERS
+
+ _Written and Pictured by_ George Wharton Edwards
+
+ The Penn Publishing Company 1916
+
+ _PHILADELPHIA_]
+
+
+ COPYRIGHT
+
+ 1916 BY
+
+ GEORGE
+
+ WHARTON
+
+ EDWARDS
+
+
+
+
+Vanished Towers and Chimes of Flanders
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+
+The unhappy Flemish people, who are at present much in the lime-light,
+because of the invasion and destruction of their once smiling and happy
+little country, were of a character but little known or understood by
+the great outside world. The very names of their cities and towns
+sounded strangely in foreign ears.
+
+Towns named Ypres, Courtrai, Alost, Furnes, Tournai, were in the
+beginning of the invasion unpronounceable by most people, but little by
+little they have become familiar through newspaper reports of the
+barbarities said to have been practised upon the people by the invaders.
+Books giving the characteristics of these heroic people are eagerly
+sought. Unhappily these are few, and it would seem that these very
+inadequate and random notes of mine upon some phases of the lives of
+these people, particularly those related to architecture, and the music
+of their renowned chimes of bells, might be useful.
+
+That the Fleming was not of an artistic nature I found during my
+residence in these towns of Flanders. The great towers and wondrous
+architectural marvels throughout this smiling green flat landscape
+appealed to him not at all. He was not interested in either art, music,
+or literature. He was of an intense practical nature. I am of course
+speaking of the ordinary or "Bourgeois" class now. Then, too, the class
+of great landed proprietors was numerically very small indeed, the land
+generally being parcelled or hired out in small squares or holdings by
+the peasants themselves. Occasionally the commune owned the land, and
+sublet portions to the farmers at prices controlled to some extent by
+the demand. Rarely was a "taking" (so-called) more than five acres or so
+in extent. Many of the old "Noblesse" are without landed estates, and
+this, I am informed, was because their lands were forfeited when the
+French Republic annexed Belgium, and were never restored to them. Thus
+the whole region of the Flemish littoral was given over to small
+holdings which were worked on shares by the peasants under general
+conditions which would be considered intolerable by the Anglo-Saxon. A
+common and rather depressing sight on the Belgian roads at dawn of day,
+were the long lines of trudging peasants, men, women and boys hurrying
+to the fields for the long weary hours of toil lasting often into the
+dark of night. But we were told they were working for their own profit,
+were their own masters, and did not grumble. This grinding toil in the
+fields, as practised here where nothing was wasted, could not of course
+be a happy or healthful work, nor calculated to elevate the peasant in
+intelligence, so as a matter of fact the great body of the country
+people, who were the laborers, were steeped in an extraordinary state of
+ignorance.
+
+If their education was neglected, they are still sound Catholics, and it
+may be that it was not thought to be in the interest of the authorities
+that they should be instructed in more worldly affairs. I am not
+prepared to argue this question. I only know that while stolid, and
+unemotional ordinarily, they are intensely patriotic. They became highly
+excited during the struggle some years ago to have their Flemish tongue
+preserved and taught in the schools, and I remember the crowds of people
+thronging the streets of Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges, with bands of music
+playing, and huge banners flying, bearing in large letters legends such
+as "Flanders for the Flemings." "Hail to the Flemish Lion" and "Flanders
+to the Death." All this was when the struggle between the two parties
+was going on.
+
+The Flemings won, be it recorded.
+
+Let alone, the Fleming would have worked out his own salvation in his
+own way. The country was prosperous. The King and Queen were popular,
+indeed beloved; all seemed to be going well with the people. Although
+Belgium was not a military power such as its great neighbors to the
+north, the east, and the south, its army played an important part in the
+lives of the people, and the strategical position which the country held
+filled in the map the ever present question of "balance"; the never
+absent possibility of the occasion arising when the army would be called
+upon to defend the neutrality of the little country. But they never
+dreamed that it would come so soon.... One might close with the words of
+the great Flemish song of the poet Ledeganck:
+
+     "Thou art no more,
+     The towns of yore:
+ The proud-necked, world-famed towns,
+ The doughty lion's lair;"
+
+ (Written in 1846.)
+
+ [THE AUTHOR]
+ Greenwich, Conn.
+   April, 1916.
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+                                              PAGE
+
+ MALINES, AND SOME OF THE VANISHED TOWERS       17
+
+ SOME CARILLONS OF FLANDERS                     41
+
+ DIXMUDE                                        55
+
+ YPRES                                          65
+
+ COMMINES                                       85
+
+ BERGUES                                        93
+
+ NIEUPORT                                       99
+
+ ALOST                                         111
+
+ COURTRAI                                      119
+
+ TERMONDE (DENDERMONDE)                        133
+
+ LOUVAIN                                       147
+
+ DOUAI                                         157
+
+ OUDENAARDE                                    163
+
+ FURNES                                        171
+
+ THE ARTISTS OF MALINES                        181
+
+ A WORD ABOUT THE BELGIANS                     199
+
+
+
+
+List of Illustrations
+
+ The Great Cloth Hall: Ypres        _Frontispiece_
+
+ Title page decoration
+
+                                                                PAGE
+
+ The Tower of St. Rombauld: Malines                               18
+
+ Malines: A Quaint Back Street                                    22
+
+ Porte de Bruxelles: Malines                                      26
+
+ The Beguinage: Dixmude                                           34
+
+ Detail of the Chimes in the Belfry of St. Nicholas: Dixmude      42
+
+ The Belfry: Bergues                                              46
+
+ The Old Porte Marechale: Bruges                                  50
+
+ The Ancient Place: Dixmude                                       56
+
+ The Great Jube, or Altar Screen: Dixmude                         58
+
+ The Fish Market: Dixmude                                         60
+
+ No. 4, Rue de Dixmude: Ypres                                     72
+
+ Arcade of the Cloth Hall: Ypres                                  76
+
+ Gateway, Wall, and Old Moat: Ypres                               80
+
+ The Belfry: Commines                                             88
+
+ The Towers of St. Winoc: Bergues                                 94
+
+ The Tower of the Templars: Nieuport                             100
+
+ The Town Hall--Hall of the Knights Templar: Nieuport            103
+
+ Tower in the Grand' Place: Nieuport                             104
+
+ The Town Hall: Alost                                            112
+
+ The Belfry: Courtrai                                            120
+
+ The Broël Towers: Courtrai                                      124
+
+ The Museum: Termonde                                            138
+
+ The Cathedral: Louvain                                          148
+
+ The Town Hall: Louvain                                          150
+
+ The Town Hall: Douai                                            158
+
+ The Town Hall: Oudenaarde                                       164
+
+ Old Square and Church: Oudenaarde                               166
+
+ The Fish Market: Ypres                                          172
+
+ The Church of Our Lady of Hanswyk                               190
+
+
+
+
+Malines
+
+[Illustration: VANISHED TOWERS _and_ CHIMES OF FLANDERS]
+
+
+
+
+Malines
+
+
+The immense, flat-topped, gray Gothic spire which dominated the
+picturesque line of low, red-tiled roofs showing here and there above
+the clustering, dark-green masses of trees in level meadows, was that of
+St. Rombauld, designated by Vauban as "the Eighth Wonder of the World,"
+constructed by Keldermans, of the celebrated family of architects. He it
+was who designed the Bishop's Palace, and the great town halls of
+Louvain, Oudenaarde, and Brussels, although some authorities allege that
+Gauthier Coolman designed the Cathedral. But without denying the power
+and artistry of this latter master, we may still believe in the
+well-established claim of Keldermans, who showed in this great tower the
+height of art culminating in exalted workmanship. Keldermans was
+selected by Marguerite and Philip of Savoie to build the "Greatest
+Church in Europe," and the plans, drawn with the pen on large sheets of
+parchment pasted together, which were preserved in the Brussels Museum
+up to the outbreak of the war, show what a wonder it was to have been.
+These plans show the spire complete, but the project was never realized.
+
+Charles the Fifth, filled with admiration for this masterpiece, showered
+Keldermans with honors; made him director of construction of the towns
+of Antwerp, Brussels, and Malines, putting thus the seal of artistic
+perfection upon his dynasty.
+
+[Illustration: The Tower of St. Rombauld: Malines]
+
+Historical documents in the Brussels Library contained the following:
+
+"The precise origin of the commencements of the Cathedral of Malines is
+unknown, as the ancient records were destroyed, together with the
+archives, during the troubles in the sixteenth century. The 'Nefs' and
+the transepts are the most ancient, their construction dating from the
+thirteenth century. It is conjectured that the first three erections of
+altars in the choir and the consecration of the monument took place in
+March, 1312. The great conflagration of May, 1342, which destroyed
+nearly all of the town, spared the church itself, but consumed the
+entire roof of heavy beams of Norway pine. The ruins remained thus for a
+long period because of lack of funds for restoration, and in the
+meantime services were celebrated in the church of St. Catherine. It was
+not until 1366 that the cathedral was sufficiently repaired to be used
+by the canons. Once begun, however, the repairs continued, although
+slowly. But the tower remained uncompleted as it was at the outbreak of
+the Great War, standing above the square at the great height of 97.70
+metres." On each face of the tower was a large open-work clock face, or
+"cadran," of gilded copper. Each face was forty-seven feet in diameter.
+These clock faces were the work of Jacques Willmore, an Englishman by
+birth, but a habitant of Malines, and cost the town the sum of ten
+thousand francs ($2000). The citizens so appreciated his work that the
+council awarded him a pension of two hundred florins, "which he enjoyed
+for fourteen years."
+
+St. Rombauld was famous for its chime of forty-five bells of remarkable
+silvery quality: masterpieces of Flemish bell founding. Malines was for
+many hundreds of years the headquarters of bell founding. Of the master
+bell founders, the most celebrated, according to the archives, was Jean
+Zeelstman, who practised his art for thirty years. He made, in 1446,
+for the ancient church of Saint Michel at Louvain (destroyed by the
+Vandals in 1914) a large bell, bearing the inscription: "Michael
+prepositus paradisi quem nonoripicant angelorum civis fusa per Johann
+Zeelstman anno dmi, m. ccc. xlvi."
+
+The family of Waghemans furnished a great number of bell founders of
+renown, who made many of the bells in the carillon of the cathedral of
+St. Rombauld; and there was lastly the Van den Gheyns (or Ghein), of
+which William of Bois-le-Duc became "Bourgeoisie" (Burgess) of Malines
+in 1506. His son Pierre succeeded to his business in 1533, and in turn
+left a son Pierre II, who carried on the great repute of his father. The
+tower of the Hospice of Notre Dame contained in 1914 a remarkable old
+bell of clear mellow tone--bearing the inscription: "Peeter Van den
+Ghein heeft mi Ghegotten in't jaer M.D. LXXX VIII." On the lower rim
+were the words: "Campana Sancti spiritus Divi Rumlodi." Pierre Van den
+Ghein II had but one son, Pierre III, who died without issue in 1618.
+William, however, left a second son, from whom descended the line of
+later bell founders, who made many of the bells of Malines. Of these
+Pierre IV, who associated himself with Pierre de Clerck (a cousin
+german), made the great "bourdon" called Salvator.
+
+During the later years of the seventeenth century, the Van den Gheyns
+seem to have quitted the town, seeking their fortunes elsewhere, for the
+foundry passed into other and less competent hands.
+
+In Malines dwelt the Primate of Belgium, the now celebrated Cardinal
+Mercier, whose courageous attitude in the face of the invaders has
+aroused the admiration of the whole civilized world. Malines, although
+near Brussels, had, up to the outbreak of the war and its subsequent
+ruin, perhaps better preserved its characteristics than more remote
+towns of Flanders. The market place was surrounded by purely Flemish
+gabled houses of grayish stucco and stone, and these were most
+charmingly here and there reflected in the sluggish water of the rather
+evil-smelling river Dyle.
+
+Catholicism was a most powerful factor here, and the struggle between
+Luther and Loyola, separating the ancient from the modern in Flemish
+architecture, was nowhere better exemplified than in Malines. It has
+been said that the modern Jesuitism succeeded to the ancient mysticism
+without displacing it, and the installation of the first in the very
+sanctuary of the latter has manifested itself in the ornamentation of
+the ecclesiastical edifices throughout Flanders, and indeed this fact is
+very evident to the travelers in this region. The people of Malines
+jealously retained the integrity of their ancient tongue, and many books
+in the language were published here. Associations abounded in the town
+banded together for the preservation of Flemish as a language. On fête
+days these companies, headed by bands of music, paraded the streets,
+bearing large silken banners on which, with the Lion of Flanders, were
+inscriptions such as "Flanders for the Flemish," and "Hail to our
+Flemish Lion." On these occasions, too, the chimes in St. Rombauld were
+played by a celebrated bell-ringer, while the square below the tower was
+black with people listening breathlessly to the songs of their
+forefathers, often joining in the chorus, the sounds of the voices
+carrying a long distance. On the opposite side of the square, in the
+center of which was a fine statue of Margaret of Austria, adjoining the
+recently restored "Halles," a fine building in the purest Renaissance
+was being constructed, certainly a credit to the town, and an honor to
+its architect, attesting as it did the artistic sense and prosperity of
+the people. This, too, lies now in ashes--alas!
+
+Flanders fairly bloomed, if I may use the expression, with exquisite
+architecture, and this garden spot, this cradle of art, as it has well
+been called, is levelled now in heaps of shapeless ruin.
+
+[Illustration: Malines: A Quaint Back Street]
+
+Certainly in this damp, low-lying country the Gothic style flourished
+amazingly, and brought into existence talent which produced many
+cathedrals, town halls, and gateways, the like of which were not to be
+found elsewhere in Europe. These buildings, ornamented with lace-like
+traceries and crowded with statuary, their interiors embellished with
+choir screens of marvelous detail wrought in stone, preserved to the
+world the art of a half-forgotten past, and these works of incomparable
+art were being cared for and restored by the State for the benefit of
+the whole world. Here, too, in Malines was a most quaint "Beguinage," or
+asylum, in an old quarter of the town, hidden away amid a network of
+narrow streets: a community of gentle-mannered, placid-faced women, who
+dwelt in a semi-religious retirement after the ancient rules laid down
+by Sainte Begga, in little, low, red-roofed houses ranged all about a
+grass-grown square. Here, after depositing a considerable sum of money,
+they were permitted to live in groups of three and four in each house,
+each coming and going as she pleased, without taking any formal vow.
+Their days were given up to church, hospital, parish duties and work
+among the sick and needy: an order, by the way, not found outside of
+Flanders.
+
+Each day brought for them a monotonous existence, the same duties at the
+same hours, waking in a gentle quietude, rhythmed by the silvery notes
+of the convent bell recalling them to the duties of their pious lives,
+all oblivious of the great outside world. Each Beguinage door bore the
+name of some saint, and often in a moss-covered niche in the old walls
+was seen a small statue of some saint, or holy personage, draped in
+vines.
+
+The heavy, barred door was nail studded, and furnished usually with an
+iron-grilled wicket, where at the sound of the bell of the visitor a
+panel slid back and a white-coiffed face appeared. This secluded quarter
+was not exclusively inhabited by these gentle women, for there were
+other dwellings for those that loved the quiet solitude of this end of
+the town.
+
+The Malines Beguinage was suppressed by the authorities in 1798, and it
+was not until 1804 that the order was permitted to resume operations
+under their former rights, nor were they allowed to resume their quaint
+costume until the year 1814.
+
+In the small church on my last visit I saw the portrait of the Beguine
+Catherine Van Halter, the work of the painter I. Cossiers, and another
+picture by him representing the dead Christ on the knees of the Virgin
+surrounded by disciples. Cossiers seemed to revel in the ghastliness of
+the scene, but the workmanship was certainly of a very high order. The
+Beguine showed me with much pride their great treasure, a tiny, six-inch
+figure of the Crucifixion, carved from one piece of ivory by Jerome due
+Quesnoy. It was of very admirable workmanship, the face being remarkable
+in expression. Despatches (March, 1916) report this Beguinage entirely
+destroyed by the siege guns. One wonders what was the fate of the
+saintly women.
+
+On the Place de la Boucherie in Malines was the old "Palais," which was
+used as a museum and contained many ill-assorted objects of the greatest
+interest and value, such as medals, embroideries, weapons, and a fine
+collection of ancient miniatures on ivory. There was also a great iron
+"Armoire Aux Chartes," quite filled with priceless parchments, great
+vellum tomes, bound in brass; large waxen seals of dead and gone rulers
+and nobles; heavy volumes bound in leather, containing the archives. And
+also a most curious strong box bound in iron bands, nail studded, and
+with immense locks and keys, upon which reclined a strange, wooden
+figure with a grinning face, clad in the moth-eaten ancient dress of
+Malines, representing "Op Signorken" (the card states), but the
+attendant told me it was the "Vuyle Bridegroom," and related a story of
+it which cannot be set down here, Flemish ideas and speech being rather
+freer than ours. But the people, or rather the peasants, are devoted to
+him, and there were occasions when he was borne in triumph in
+processions when the town was "en fête."
+
+The ancient palace of Margaret of York, wife of Charles the Bold, who
+after the tragic death of her consort retired to Malines, was in the Rue
+de l'Empereur. It was used latterly as the hospital, and was utterly
+destroyed in the bombardment of 1914.
+
+The only remnant of the ancient fortifications, I found on my last visit
+in 1910, was the fine gate, the "Porte de Bruxelles," with a small
+section of the walls, all reflected in an old moat now overgrown with
+moss and sedge grass. There were, too, quaint vistas of the old tower of
+Our Lady of Hanswyk and a number of arched bridges along the banks of
+the yellow Dyle, which flows sluggishly through the old town.
+
+On the "Quai-au-sel," I saw in 1910, a number of ancient façades, most
+picturesque and quaintly pinnacled. There also a small botanical garden
+floriated most luxuriantly, and here again the Dyle reflected the mossy
+walls of ancient stone palaces, and there were rows of tall, wooden,
+carved posts standing in the stream, to which boats were moored as in
+Venice.
+
+[Illustration: Porte de Bruxelles: Malines]
+
+Throughout the town, up to the time of the bombardment, were many quaint
+market-places, all grass grown, wherein on market days were
+tall-wheeled, peasant carts, and lines of huge, hollow-backed,
+thick-legged, hairy horses, which were being offered for sale. And there
+were innumerable fountains and tall iron pumps of knights in armor;
+forgotten heroes of bygone ages, all of great artistic merit and value;
+and over all was the dominating tower of St. Rombauld, vast, gray, and
+mysterious, limned against the pearly, luminous sky, the more
+impressive perhaps because of its unfinished state. And so, however
+interesting the other architectural attractions of Malines might be, and
+they were many, it was always to the great cathedral that one turned,
+for the townspeople were so proud of the great gray tower, venerated
+throughout the whole region, that they were insistent that we should
+explore it to the last detail. "The bells," they would exclaim, "the
+great bells of Saint Rombauld! You have not yet seen them?"
+
+St. Rombauld simply compelled one's attention, and ended by laying so
+firm a hold upon the imagination that at no moment of the day or night
+was one wholly unconscious of its unique presence. By day and night its
+chimes floated through the air "like the music of fairy bells," weird
+and soft, noting the passing hours in this ancient Flemish town. For
+four hundred years it had watched over the varying fortunes of this
+region, gaining that precious quality which appealed to Ruskin, who
+said, "Its glory is in its age and in that deep sense of voicefulness,
+of stern watching, of mysterious sympathy, nay, even of approval or
+condemnation, which we feel in walls that have long been washed by the
+passing waves of humanity."
+
+From below the eye was carried upward by range upon range of exquisite
+Gothic detail to the four great open-work, gilded, clock discs, through
+which one could dimly see the beautiful, open-pointed lancets behind
+which on great beams hung the carillon bells, row upon row.
+
+No words of mine can give any idea of the rich grayish brown of this old
+tower against the pale luminous sky, or the pathetic charm of its wild
+bell music, shattering down through the silent watches of the night,
+over the sleeping town, as I have heard it, standing by some silent,
+dark, palace-bordered canal, watching the tall tower melting into the
+immensity of the dusk, or by day in varying light and shade, in storm
+and sunshine, with wind-driven clouds chasing each other across the sky.
+
+The ascent of the tower was a formidable task, and really it seemed as
+if it must have been far more than three hundred and fifty feet to the
+topmost gallery, when I essayed it on that stormy August day. It was not
+an easy task to gain admittance to the tower; on two former occasions,
+when I made the attempt, the _custode_ was not to be found. "He had gone
+to market and taken the key to the tower door with him," said the
+withered old dame who at length understood my wish. On this day,
+however, she produced the key, a huge iron one, weighing, I should say,
+half a pound, from a nail behind the green door of the entry. She
+unlocked a heavy, white-washed door into a dusty, dim vestibule, and
+then proceeded to lock me in, pointing to another door at the farther
+end, saying, as she returned to her savory stew pot on the iron stove,
+"Montez, Montez, vous trouverez l'escalier." The heavy door swung to by
+a weight on a cord, and I was at the bottom step of the winding stairway
+of the tower. For a few steps upward the way was in darkness, up the
+narrow stone steps, clinging to a waxy, slippery rope attached to the
+wall, which was grimy with dust, the steps sloping worn and uneven.
+Quaint, gloomy openings in the wall revealed themselves from time to
+time as I toiled upwards, openings into deep gulfs of mysterious gloom,
+spanned at times by huge oaken beams. Here and there at dim landings,
+lighted by narrow Gothic slits in the walls, were blackened, low
+doorways heavily bolted and studded with iron nails. The narrow slits of
+windows served only to let in dim, dusty beams of violet light. Through
+one dark slit in the wall I caught sight of the huge bulk of a bronze
+bell, green with the precious patina of age, and I fancied I heard
+footsteps on the stairway that wound its way above.
+
+It was the watchman, a great hairy, oily Fleming, clad in a red sort of
+jersey, and blue patched trousers. On the back of his shock of pale,
+rope-colored hair sat jauntily a diminutive cap with a glazed peak. In
+the lobes of his huge ears were small gold rings.
+
+I was glad to see him and to have his company in that place of cobwebs
+and dangling hand rope. I gave him a thick black cigar which I had
+bought in the market-place that morning, and struck a match from which
+we both had a light. He expressed wonder at my matches, those paper
+cartons common in America, but which he had never before seen. I gave
+them to him, to his delight. He brought me upwards into a room crammed
+with strange machinery, all cranks and levers and wires and pulleys, and
+before us two great cylinders like unto a "Brobdingnagian" music box. He
+drew out a stool for me and courteously bade me be seated, speaking in
+French with a strong Flemish accent. He was, he said, a mechanic, whose
+duty it was to care for the bells and the machinery. He had an assistant
+who went on duty at six o'clock. He served watches of eight hours. There
+came a "whir" from a fan above, and a tinkle from a small bell somewhere
+near at hand. He said that the half hour would strike in three minutes.
+Had I ever been in a bell tower when the chimes played? Yes? Then
+M'sieur knew what to expect.
+
+I took out my watch, and from the tail of my eye I fancied that I saw a
+gleam in his as he appraised the watch I held in my hand. He drew his
+bench nearer to me and held out his great hairy, oily paw, saying, "Let
+me see the pretty watch." "Not necessary," I replied, putting it back in
+my pocket and calmly eying him, although my heart began to beat fast. I
+was alone in the tower with this hairy Cerberus, who, for all I knew,
+might be contemplating doing me mischief.
+
+If I was in danger, as I might be, then I resolved to defend myself as
+well as I was able. I had an ammonia gun in my pocket which I carried to
+fend off ugly dogs by the roadside, which infest the country. And this I
+carried in my hip pocket. It resembled somewhat a forty-four caliber
+revolver. I put my hand behind me, drew it forth, eying him the while,
+and ostentatiously toyed with it before placing it in my blouse side
+pocket. It had, I thought, an instantaneous effect, for he drew back,
+opening his great mouth to say something, I know not what nor shall I
+ever know, for at that instant came a clang from the machinery, a
+warning whir of wheels, the rattle of chains, and one of the great
+barrels began to revolve slowly; up and down rattled the chains and
+levers, then, faint, sweet and far off, I heard a melodious jangle
+followed by the first notes of the "Mirleton" I had so often heard below
+in the town, but now subdued, etherealized, and softened like unto the
+dream music one fancies in the night. The watchman now grinned
+reassuringly at me, and, rising, beckoned me with his huge grimy hand to
+follow him. Grasping my good ammonia gun I followed him up a wooden
+stairway to a green baize covered door. This he opened to an inferno of
+crash and din. The air was alive with tumult and the booming of heavy
+metal. We were among the great bells of the bottom tier. Before us was
+the "bourdon," so called, weighing 2,200 pounds, the bronze monster upon
+which the bass note was sounded, and which sounded the hour over the
+level fields of Flanders. Dimly above I could see other bells of various
+size, hanging tier upon tier from great, red-painted, wooden beams
+clamped with iron bands.
+
+I contrived to keep the watchman ever before me, not trusting him,
+although his frank smile somewhat disarmed my suspicion. It may be I did
+him an injustice, but I liked not the avaricious gleam in his little
+slits of eyes.
+
+The bells clanged and clashed as they would break from their fastenings
+and drop upon us, and my brain reeled with the discord. On they beat and
+boomed, as if they would never stop. No melody was now apparent, though
+down below it had seemed as if their sweetness was all too brief. Up
+here in the tower they were not at all melodious; they were rough,
+discordant, and uneven, some sounding as though out of tune and cracked.
+All of the mystery and glamour of sweet tenderness, all their pathos and
+weirdness, had quite vanished, and here amid the smell of lubricating
+oil and the heavy, noisy grinding of the cog wheels, and the rattle of
+iron chains, all the poetry and elusiveness of the bells was certainly
+wanting.
+
+All at once just before me a great hammer raised its head, and then
+fell with a sounding clang upon the rim of a big bell; the half hour had
+struck. All about us the air resounded and vibrated with the mighty
+waves of sound. From the bells above finally came the hum of faint
+harmonics, and then followed silence like the stillness that ensues
+after a heavy clap of thunder.
+
+Cerberus now beckoned me to accompany him amongst the bells, and showed
+me the machinery that sets this great marvel of sound in motion. He
+showed me the huge "tambour-carillon," with barrels all bestudded with
+little brass pegs which pull the wires connected with the great hammers,
+which in their turn strike the forty-six bells, that unrivaled chime
+known throughout Flanders as the master work of the Van den Gheyns of
+Louvain, who were, as already told, the greatest bell founders of the
+age.
+
+The great hour bell weighing, as already noted, nearly a ton, required
+the united strength of eight men to ring him. Cerberus pointed out to me
+the narrow plank runway between the huge dusty beams, whereon these
+eight men stood to their task. The carillon tunes, he told me, were
+altered every year or so, and to do this required the entire changing of
+the small brass pegs in the cylinders, a most formidable task, I
+thought. He explained that the cutting of each hole costs sixty
+_centimes_ (twelve cents) and that there were about 30,000 holes, so
+that the change must be quite expensive, but I did not figure it out
+for myself.
+
+The musical range of this carillon chime of Malines may be judged by the
+fact that it was possible to play, following on the hour, a selection
+from "Don Pasquale," and on the half and quarter hours a few bars from
+the "Pre aux Clercs." Every seven and a half minutes sounded a few
+jangling sweet notes, and thus the air over the old town of Malines and
+the small hamlets surrounding it both day and night was musical with the
+bells of the carillon.
+
+On fête days a certain famous bell ringer was engaged by the authorities
+to play the bells from the _clavecin_. This is a sort of keyboard with
+pedals played by hand and foot, fashioned like a rude piano. The work is
+very hard, one would think, but I have heard some remarkable results
+from it. In former times the office of "carilloneur" was a most
+important position, and, as in the case of the Van den Gheyn family of
+Louvain, it was hereditary. The music played by these men, those
+"morceaux fugues," once the pride and pleasure of the Netherlands, is
+now the wonder and despair of the modern bell ringer, however skillful
+he may be.
+
+[Illustration: The Beguinage: Dixmude]
+
+Cerberus informed me that sometimes months pass without a visit from a
+stranger to his tower room, and that he had to wind up the mechanism
+of the immense clock twice each day, and that of the carillon separately
+three times each twenty-four hours, and that it was required of him that
+he should sound two strokes upon the "do" bell after each quarter, to
+show that he was "on the job," so to speak.
+
+I told him I thought his task a hard and lonely one, and I offered him
+another of the black cigars, which he accepted with civility, but I kept
+my hand ostentatiously in my blouse pocket, where lay the ammonia gun,
+and he saw plainly that I did so. I am inclined now to think that my
+fears, as far as he was concerned, were groundless, but nevertheless
+they were very real that day in the old tower of Saint Rombauld.
+
+He began his task of winding up the mechanism, while I mounted the steep
+steps leading upwards to the top gallery. Here on the open gallery I
+gazed north, east, south, and west over the placid, flat, green-embossed
+meadows threaded with silver, ribbon-like waterways, upon which floated
+red-sailed barges. Below, as in the bottom of a bowl, lay Malines, its
+small red-roofed houses stretching away in all directions to the remains
+of the ancient walls, topped here and there with a red-sailed windmill,
+in the midst of verdant fresh fields wooded here and there with clumps
+of willows, where the armies of the counts of Flanders, and the Van
+Arteveldes, fought in the olden days.
+
+I could see the square below where, in the Grand' Place, those doughty
+Knights of the Golden Fleece had gathered before the pilgrimage to the
+Holy Land. Now a few dwarfed, black figures of peasants crawled like
+insects across the wide emptiness of it. Here among the startled
+jackdaws I lounged smoking and ruminating upon the bells, oily Cerberus,
+and his lonely task, and inhaling the misty air from the winding canals
+in the fertile green fields below--appraising the values of the pale
+diaphanous sky of misty blue, harmonizing so exquisitely with the tender
+greens of the landscape which had charmed Cuyp and Memling, until the
+blue was suffused with molten gold, and over all the landscape spread a
+tender and lovely radiance, which in turn became changed to ruddy flames
+in the west, and then the radiance began to fade.
+
+Then I bethought me that it was time I sought out the terrible Cerberus,
+the guardian of the tower, and induce him peaceably to permit me to go
+forth unharmed. I confess that I was coward enough to give him two
+francs as a fee instead of the single one which was his due, and then I
+stumbled down the long winding stairway, grasping the slippery hand rope
+timorously until I gained the street level, glad to be among fellow
+beings once more, but not sorry I had spent the afternoon among the
+bells of the Carillon of Saint Rombauld--those bells which now lie
+broken among the ashes of the tower in the Grand' Place of the ruined
+town of Malines.
+
+
+
+
+Some Carillons of Flanders
+
+
+
+
+Some Carillons of Flanders
+
+
+It is worth noting that nearly all of the noble Flemish towers with
+their wealth of bells are almost within sight (and I had nearly written,
+sound) of each other. From the summit of the tower in Antwerp one could
+see dimly the cathedrals of Malines and Brussels, perhaps even those of
+Bruges and Ghent in clear weather. Haweis ("Music and Morals") says that
+"one hundred and twenty-six towers can be seen from the Antwerp
+Cathedral on a fair morning," and he was a most careful observer. "So
+these mighty spires, gray and changeless in the high air, seem to hold
+converse together over the heads of puny mortals, and their language is
+rolled from tower to tower by the music of the bells."
+
+"Non sunt loquellae neque sermones, audiantur voces eorum," (there is
+neither speech nor language, but their voices are heard among men).
+
+This is an inscription copied by Haweis in the tower at Antwerp, from a
+great bell signed, "F. Hemony Amstelo-damia, 1658."
+
+Speaking of the rich decorations which the Van den Gheyns and Hemony
+lavished on their bells, he says, "The decorations worked in bas relief
+around some of the old bells are extremely beautiful, while the
+inscriptions are often highly suggestive, and even touching." These
+decorations are usually confined to the top and bottom rims of the bell,
+and are in low relief, so as to impede the vibration as little as
+possible. At Malines on a bell bearing date "1697, Antwerp" (now
+destroyed) there is an amazingly vigorous hunt through a forest with
+dogs and all kinds of animals. I did not see this bell when I was in the
+tower of St. Rombauld, as the light in the bell chamber was very dim.
+The inscription was carried right around the bell, and had all the grace
+and freedom of a spirited sketch.
+
+[Illustration: Detail of the Chimes in Belfry of St Nicholas: Dixmude]
+
+On one of Hemony's bells dated 1674 and bearing the inscription,
+"Laudate Domini omnes Gentes," we noticed a long procession of cherub
+boys dancing and ringing flat hand bells such as are even now rung
+before the Host in street processions.
+
+Some of the inscriptions are barely legible because of the peculiarity
+of the Gothic letters. Haweis mentions seeing the initials J.R. ("John
+Ruskin") in the deep sill of the staircase window; underneath a slight
+design of a rose window apparently sketched with the point of a compass.
+Ruskin loved the Malines Cathedral well, and made many sketches of
+detail while there. I looked carefully for these initials, but I could
+not find them, I am sorry to say.
+
+Bells have been strangely neglected by antiquaries and historians, and
+but few facts concerning them are to be found in the libraries. Haweis
+speaks of the difficulty he encountered in finding data about the chimes
+of the Low Countries, alleging that the published accounts and rumors
+about their size, weight, and age are seldom accurate or reliable. Even
+in the great libraries and archives of the Netherlands at Louvain,
+Bruges, or Brussels the librarians were unable to furnish him with
+accurate information.
+
+He says: "The great folios of Louvain, Antwerp, and Mechlin (Malines)
+containing what is generally supposed to be an exhaustive transcript of
+all the monumental and funereal inscriptions in Belgium, will often
+bestow but a couple of dates and one inscription upon a richly decorated
+and inscribed carillon of thirty or forty bells. The reason of this is
+not far to seek. The fact is, it is no easy matter to get at the bells
+when once they are hung, and many an antiquarian who will haunt tombs
+and pore over illegible brasses with commendable patience will decline
+to risk his neck in the most interesting of belfries. The pursuit, too,
+is often a disappointing one. Perhaps it is possible to get half way
+around a bell and then be prevented by a thick beam, or the bell's own
+wheel from seeing the outer half, which, by perverse chance, generally
+contains the date and the name of the founder.
+
+"Perhaps the oldest bell is quite inaccessible, or, after a half hour's
+climbing amid the utmost dust and difficulty, we reach a perfectly blank
+or commonplace bell."
+
+He gives the date of 1620, as that when the family of Van den Gheyns
+were bringing the art of bell founding to perfection in Louvain, and
+notes that the tower and bells of each fortified town were half civic
+property. Thus the curfew, the carolus, and the St. Mary bells in
+Antwerp Cathedral belong to the town.
+
+"Let us," he says, "enter the town of Mechlin (Malines) in the year
+1638. The old wooden bridge (over the river Dyle) has since been
+replaced by a stone one. To this day the elaborately carved façades of
+the old houses close on the water are of incomparable richness of
+design. The peculiar ascent of steps leading up to the angle of the
+roof, in a style borrowed from the Spaniards, is a style everywhere to
+be met with. The noblest of square florid Gothic towers, the tower of
+St. Rombauld (variously spelled St. Rombaud, St. Rombaut, or St. Rombod)
+finished up to three hundred and forty-eight feet, guides us to what is
+now called the Grand' Place, where in an obscure building are the
+workshops and furnaces adjoining the abode of Peter Van den Gheyn, the
+most renowned bell founder of the seventeenth century, born in 1605. In
+company with his associate, Deklerk, arrangements are being made for the
+founding of a big bell.
+
+"Before the cast was made there was no doubt great controversy between
+the mighty smiths, Deklerk and Van den Gheyn: plans had to be drawn out
+on parchment, measurements and calculations made, little proportions
+weighed by fine instinct, and the defects and merits of ever so many
+bells canvassed. The ordinary measurements, which now hold good for a
+large bell, are, roughly, one-fifteenth of the diameter in thickness,
+and twelve times the thickness in height. Describing the foundry
+buildings: The first is for the furnaces, containing the vast caldron
+for the fusing of the metal; in the second is a kind of shallow well,
+where the bell would have to be modeled in clay.
+
+"The object to be first attained is a hollow mold of the exact size and
+shape of the intended bell, into which the liquid metal is poured
+through a tube from the furnace, and this mold is constructed in the
+following simple but ingenious manner:
+
+"Suppose the bell to be six feet high, a brick column of about that
+height is built something in the shape of the outside of a bell. Upon
+the smooth surface of this solid bell-shaped mass can now be laid
+figures, decorations, and inscriptions in wax; a large quantity of the
+most delicately prepared clay is then produced, the model is slightly
+washed with some kind of oil to prevent the fine clay from sticking to
+it, and three or four coats of the fine clay in an almost liquid state
+are daubed carefully all over the model. Next, a coating of common clay
+is added to strengthen the mold to the thickness of some inches. And
+thus the model stands with its great bell-shaped cover closely fitting
+over it.
+
+"A fire is now lighted underneath, the brick work in the interior is
+heated, through the clay, through the wax ornaments and oils, which
+steam out in vapor through two holes at the top, leaving their
+impressions on the inside of the cover (of clay).
+
+[Illustration: The Belfry: Bergues]
+
+"When everything is baked thoroughly hard, the cover is raised bodily
+into the air by a rope, and held suspended some feet exactly above the
+model. In the interior of the cover thus raised will, of course, be
+found the exact impression in hollow of the outside of the bell. The
+model of clay and masonry is then broken up, and its place is taken by
+another perfectly smooth model, only smaller--exactly the size of the
+inside of the bell, in fact. On this the great cover now descends, and
+is stopped in time to leave a hollow space between the new model and
+itself. This is effected simply by the bottom rim of the new model
+forming a base, at the proper distance upon which the rim of the clay
+cover may rest in its descent.
+
+"The hollow space between the clay cover and second clay mold is now the
+exact shape of the required bell, and only waits to be filled with
+metal.
+
+"So far all has been comparatively easy; but the critical moment has now
+arrived. The furnaces have long been smoking; the brick work containing
+the caldron is almost glowing with red heat; a vast draft passage
+underneath the floor keeps the fire rapid; from time to time it leaps up
+with a hundred angry tongues, or in one sheet of flame, over the
+furnace-imbedded caldron. Then the cunning artificer brings forth his
+heaps of choice metal, large cakes of red coruscated copper from
+Drontheim, called 'Rosette,' owing to a certain rare pink bloom that
+seems to lie all over it like the purple on a plum; then a quantity of
+tin, so highly refined that it shines and glistens like pure silver;
+these are thrown into the caldron and melted down together. Kings and
+nobles have stood beside those famous caldrons, and looked with
+reverence upon the making of these old bells. Nay, they have brought
+gold and silver and, pronouncing the name of some holy saint or apostle
+which the bell was thereafter to bear, they have flung in precious
+metals, rings, bracelets, and even bullion.
+
+"But for a moment or two before the pipe which is to convey the metal
+to the mold is opened, the smith stands and stirs the molten mass to see
+if all is melted. Then he casts in certain proportions of zinc and other
+metals which belong to the secrets of the trade; he knows how much
+depends upon these little refinements, which he has acquired by
+experience, and which perhaps he could not impart even if he would, so
+true is it that in every art that which constitutes success is a matter
+of instinct, and not of rule, or even science.
+
+"He knows, too, that almost everything depends upon the moment chosen
+for flooding the mold. Standing in the intense heat, and calling loudly
+for a still more raging fire, he stirs the metal once more. At a given
+signal the pipe is opened, and with a long smothered rush the molten
+metal fills the mold to the brim. Nothing now remains but to let the
+metal cool, and then to break up the clay and brick work and extract the
+bell, which is then finished for better or for worse."
+
+We learn much of the difficulties encountered even by these great
+masters in successfully casting the bells, and that even they were not
+exempt from failure. "The Great Salvator" bell at Malines, made by Peter
+Van den Gheyn, cracked eight years after it was hung in the tower
+(1696). It was recast by De Haze of Antwerp, and existed up to a few
+years ago--surely a good long life for any active bell.
+
+In the belfry of St. Peter's at Louvain, which is now in ruins and level
+with the street, was a great bell of splendid tone, bearing the
+following inscription: "Claes Noorden Johan Albert de Grave me fecerunt
+Amstel--odamia, MDCCXIV."
+
+Haweis mentions also the names of Bartholomews Goethale, 1680, who made
+a bell now in St. Stephen's belfry at Ghent; and another, Andrew
+Steilert, 1563, at Malines (Mechlin). The great carillon in the belfry
+at Bruges, thus far spared by the iconoclasts of 1914, consisting of
+forty bells and one large Bourdon, or triumphal bell, is from the
+foundry of the great Dumery, who also made the carillon at Antwerp.
+
+Haweis credits Petrus Hemony, 1658, with being the most prolific of all
+the bell founders. He was a good musician and took to bell founding only
+late in life. "His small bells are exceedingly fine, but his larger ones
+are seldom true."
+
+To the ear of so eminent an authority this may be true, but, to my own,
+the bells seem quite perfect, and I have repeatedly and most attentively
+listened to them from below in the Grand' Place, trying to discover the
+inharmonious note that troubled him. I ventured to ask one of the
+priests if he had noticed any flatness in the notes, and he scorned the
+idea, saying that the bells, "all of them," were perfect.
+
+Nevertheless, I must accept the statement of Haweis, who for years made
+a study of these bells and their individualities and than whom perhaps
+never has lived a more eminent authority.
+
+From my room in the small hotel de Buda, just beneath the old gray tower
+of St. Rombauld in this ancient town of Malines, I have listened by day
+and night to the music of these bells, which sounded so exquisite to me
+that I can still recall them. The poet has beautifully expressed the
+idea of the bell music of Flanders thus, "The Wind that sweeps over her
+campagnas and fertile levels is full of broken melodious whispers"
+(Haweis).
+
+Certainly these chimes of bells playing thus by day and night, day in,
+day out, year after year, must exercise a most potent influence upon the
+imagination and life of the people.
+
+The Flemish peasant is born, grows up, lives his life out, and finally
+is laid away to the music of these ancient bells.
+
+[Illustration: The Old Porte Marechale: Bruges]
+
+When I came away from Malines and reached Antwerp, I lodged in the Place
+Verte, as near to the chimes as I could get. My student days being over,
+I found that I had a strange sense of loss, as if I had lost a dear
+and valued friend, for the sound of the bells had become really a part
+of my daily existence.
+
+Victor Hugo, who traveled through Flanders in 1837, stopped for a time
+in Malines, and was so impressed with the carillon that he is said to
+have written there the following lines by moonlight with a diamond upon
+the window-pane in his room:
+
+ "J'aime le carillon dans tes cités Antiques,
+ O vieux pays, gardien de tes moeurs domestiques,
+ Noble Flandre, où le Nord se réchauffe engourdi
+ Au soleil de Castille et s'accouple au Midi.
+ Le carillon, c'est l'heure inattendue et folle
+ Que l'oeil croit voir, vêtue en danseuse espagnole
+ Apparaître soudain par le trou vif et clair
+ Que ferait, en s'ouvrant, une porte de l'air."
+
+It was not until the seventeenth century that Flanders began to place
+these wondrous collections of bells in her great towers, which seem to
+have been built for them. Thus came the carillons of Malines, Bruges,
+Ghent, Antwerp, Louvain, and Tournai. Of these, Antwerp possessed the
+greatest in number, sixty-five bells. Malines came next with forty-four,
+then Bruges with forty, and a great bourdon or bass bell; then Tournai
+and Louvain with forty, and finally Ghent with thirty-nine.
+
+In ancient times these carillons were played by hand on a keyboard,
+called a _clavecin_. In the belfry at Bruges, in a dusty old chamber
+with a leaden floor, I found a very old _clavecin_. It was simply a
+rude keyboard much like that of a primitive kind of organ, presenting a
+number of jutting handles, something like rolling pins, each of which
+was attached to a wire operating the hammer, in the bell chamber
+overhead, which strikes the rim of the bells. There was an old red,
+leather-covered bench before this machine on which the performer sat,
+and it must have been a task requiring considerable strength and agility
+so to smite each of these pins with his gloved fist, his knees and each
+of his feet (on the foot board) that the hammers above would fall on the
+rims of the different bells.
+
+From my room in the old "Panier d'or" in the market-place on many nights
+have I watched the tower against the dim sky, and seen the light of the
+"_veilleur_," shining in the topmost window, where he keeps watch over
+the sleeping town, and sounds two strokes upon a small bell after each
+quarter is struck, to show that he is on watch. And so passed the time
+in this peaceful land until that fatal day in August, 1914.
+
+
+
+
+Dixmude
+
+
+
+
+Dixmude
+
+
+There is no longer a Grand' Place at Dixmude. Of the town, the great
+squat church of St. Martin, and the quaint town hall adjoining it, now
+not one stone remains upon another. The old mossy walls and bastion are
+level with the soil, and even the course of the small sluggishly flowing
+river Yser is changed by the ruin that chokes it.
+
+I found it to be a melancholy, faded-out kind of place in 1910, when I
+last saw it. I came down from Antwerp especially to see old St.
+Martin's, which enshrined a most wondrous _Jube_, or altar screen, and a
+chime of bells from the workshop of the Van den Gheyns. There was
+likewise on the Grand' Place, a fine old prison of the fourteenth
+century, its windows all closed with rusty iron bars, most of which were
+loose in the stones. I tried them, to the manifest indignation of the
+solitary gendarme, who saw me from a distance across the Grand' Place
+and hurried over to place me under arrest. I had to show him not only my
+passport but my letter of credit and my sketch book before he would
+believe that I was what I claimed to be, a curious American, and
+something of an antiquary. But it was the sketch book that won him, for
+he told me that he had a son studying painting in Antwerp at the
+academy. So we smoked together on a bench over the bridge of the "Pape
+Gaei" and he related the story of his life, while I made a sketch of the
+silent, grass-grown Grand' Place and the squat tower of old St.
+Martin's, and the Town Hall beside it.
+
+While we sat there on the bench only two people crossed the square, that
+same square that witnessed the entry of Charles the Fifth amid the
+silk-and velvet-clad nobles and burghers, and the members of the great
+and powerful guilds, which he regarded and treated with such respect. In
+those days the town had a population of thirty thousand or more. On this
+day my friend the gendarme told me that there were about eleven hundred
+in the town. Of this eleven hundred I saw twelve market people, the
+_custode_ of the church of St. Martin; ditto that of the Town Hall; the
+gendarme; one baby in the arms of a crippled girl, and two gaunt cats.
+
+The great docks to which merchantmen from all parts of the earth came in
+ships in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had now vanished, and
+long green grass waved in the meadows where the channel had been.
+
+[Illustration: The Ancient Place: Dixmude]
+
+The ancient corporations and brotherhood, formerly of such power and
+renown, had likewise long since vanished, and nought remained but here
+and there on the silent, grass-grown streets gray, ancient palaces with
+barred and shuttered windows. The very names of those who once dwelt
+there could be found only in the musty archives in Bruges or Brussels. A
+small _estaminet_ across the bridge bore the sign "In den Pape Gaei,"
+and to this I fared and wrote my notes, while the crippled girl carrying
+the baby seated herself where she could watch me, and then lapsed into a
+sort of trance, with wide open eyes which evidently saw not.
+
+In company with a large, black, savage-looking dog which traveled
+side-ways regarding me threateningly, I thought, and gloweringly refused
+my offers of friendship, I crossed the Grand' Place to the Hôtel de
+Ville, or Town Hall, the door of which stood open. Inside, no living
+soul responded to my knock. The rooms were rather bare of furniture,
+many of them of noble proportions, and a few desks and chairs showed
+that they were used by the town officers, wherever they were.
+
+St. Martin's was closed, and I skirted its walls, hoping to find
+somewhere a door unfastened that I might enter and see the great _Jube_
+or altar screen. In a small, evil-smelling alley-way, where there was a
+patch of green grass, I saw low down in the wall a grated window, which
+I fancied must be at the back of the altar. I got down on my knees and,
+parting the grass which grew there rankly, I put my face in against the
+iron bars that closed it. For a moment I could see nothing, then when my
+eyes became accustomed to the light I saw a tall candle burning on an
+iron ring on the wall; then a heavy black cross beside it, and finally a
+figure in some sort of heavy dark robe kneeling prostrate before it,
+only the tightly clasped white hands gleaming in the dim candle light;
+almost holding my breath I withdrew my head, feeling that I was almost
+committing sacrilege. Unfortunately for me, I dislodged some loose
+mortar, and I heard this rattle noisily into the chamber below. Then I
+fled as rapidly as I could down the dim alley-way to the silent sunlit
+Grand' Place. Here I found the verger, and he admitted me to the great
+old church, in return for a one-franc piece, and brought me a
+rush-bottom chair to a choice spot before the wondrous _Jube_, where I
+made my drawing.
+
+[Illustration: The Great Jube, or Altar Screen: Dixmude]
+
+In the silence of the great gray old church I labored over the exquisite
+Gothic detail, all unmindful of the passing time, when all at once I
+became conscious that a small green door beside the right hand low
+_retable_ was moving outward. I ceased working and watched it; then the
+solitary candle before the statue of the Virgin guttered and flared up;
+then the small door opened wide and forth came an old man in a priest's
+cassock, with a staff in his hand. The small, green, baize-covered door
+closed noiselessly; the old man slowly opened the gate before the
+altar and came down the step toward me. Without a word he walked behind
+my chair and peered over my shoulder at the drawing I was making of the
+great _Jube_.
+
+He tapped the floor with his staff, placed it under his arm, sought his
+pocket somewhere beneath his cassock, from which he produced a snuff
+box. From this he took a generous pinch, and a moment later was blowing
+vigorously that note of satisfaction that only a devotee of the powder
+can render an effective adjunct of emotion.
+
+"Bien faite, M'sieur," he exclaimed at length, wiping his eyes on a
+rather suspicious looking handkerchief. "T-r-r-r-r-es bien faite! J'vous
+fais mes compliments." "Admirable! You have certainly rendered the
+spirit of our great and wondrous altar screen."
+
+A little later we passed out of the old church through a side door
+leading into a small green enclosure, now gloomy in the shade of the old
+stone walls. At one end was a tangle of briar, and here were some old
+graves, each with a tinsel wreath or two on the iron cross. And
+presiding over these was the limp figure of a one-legged man on two
+crutches, who saluted us. We passed along to the end of the inclosure,
+where lay a chance beam of sunshine like a bar of dusty gold against the
+rich green grass.
+
+"Oui, M'sieur," said the priest, as if continuing a sentence he was
+running over in his mind. "Cassé! Pauvre Pierre, un peu cassé, le pauvre
+bonhomme, but then, he's good for several years yet; cracked he is, but
+only cracked like a good old basin, and (in the idiom) he'll still hold
+well his bowl of soup."
+
+He laughed at his wit, became grave, then shook out another laugh.
+
+"See," he added, pointing to the ground all about us strewn with morsels
+of tile; "the roof cracks, but it still holds," he added, pointing
+upwards at the old tower of St. Martin's. "And now, M'sieur, I shall
+take you to my house; _tenez_, figure to yourself," and he laid a fine,
+richly veined, strong old hand upon my arm with a charming gesture. "I
+have been here twenty-five years; I bought all the antique furniture of
+my predecessor. I said to myself, 'Yes, I shall buy the furniture for
+five hundred francs, and then, later I shall sell to a wealthy amateur
+for one thousand francs, perhaps in a year or two.' Twenty-five years
+ago, and I have it yet. And now it creaks and creaks and snaps in the
+night. We all creak and creak thus as we grow old; ah, you should hear
+my wardrobes. 'Elles cassent les dos,' and I lie in my warm bed in the
+winter nights and listen to my antiques groan and complain. Poor old
+things, they belonged to the 'Empire' Period; no wonder they groan.
+
+[Illustration: The Fish Market: Dixmude]
+
+"And when my friend the notaire comes to play chess with me, you should
+see him eye my antiques, ah, so covetously; I see him, but I never let
+on. Such a collection of antiques as we all are, M'sieur." Then he
+became serious, and lifting his cane he pointed to a gravestone at one
+side, "My old servant lies there, M'sieur; we are all old here now, but
+still we do not die. Alas! we never die. There is plenty of room here
+for us, but we die hard. See, myotis, heliotrope, hare bells, and
+mignonette, a bed of perfume, and there lies my old servant. A restless
+old soul she was, and she took such a long time to die. She was
+eighty-five when she finally made up her mind."
+
+I had a cup of wine with the old man in his small _salle à manger_. His
+house was indeed a mine of wealth for the antiquary and collector, more
+like a shop than a house. I lingered with him for nearly an hour,
+telling him of the great world lying beyond Dixmude, of London and
+Paris, and of New York and some of its wonders, of which I fancied he
+was rather sceptical. And then I came away, after shaking hands with him
+at his doorstep in the dim alley-way, with the bar of golden sunlight
+shining at the entrance to the Grand' Place and the noise of the rooks
+cawing on the roof.
+
+"_Au revoir_, M'sieur le Peintre, _et bon voyage_, and remember, 'Ask,
+and it shall be given, seek and you shall find,'" and with these cryptic
+words, he stood with uplifted hands, a smile irradiating his fine
+ascetic face glowing like that of a saint. Behind the faded black of his
+old _soutane_ I could see his treasures of blue china and ancient
+cabinets, and a chance light illumined a mirror behind his head, and
+aureoled him like unto one of the saints behind the great "Jube," and
+thus I left him.
+
+And now Dixmude is in formless heaps of ashes and burnt timbers. Hardly
+one stone now remains upon another. There is no longer a Grand'
+Place--and the very course of the river Yser is changed.
+
+
+
+
+Ypres
+
+
+
+
+Ypres
+
+
+Ypres as a town grew out of a rude sort of stronghold built, says M.
+Vereeke in his "Histoire Militaire d'Ypres," in the year 900, on a small
+island in the river Yperlee. It was in the shape of a triangle with a
+tower on each corner, and was known to the inhabitants as the "Castle of
+the three Turrets."
+
+Its establishment was followed by a collection of small huts on the
+banks of the stream, built by those who craved the protection of the
+fortress. They built a rampart of earth and a wide ditch to defend it,
+and to this they added from time to time until the works became so
+extensive that a town sprang into being, which from its strategic
+position on the borders of France soon became of great importance in the
+wars that constantly occurred. Probably no other Flemish town has seen
+its defenses so altered and enlarged as Ypres has between the primitive
+days when the crusading Thierry d'Alsace planted hedges of live thorns
+to strengthen the towers, and the formation of the great works of
+Vauban. We have been so accustomed to regarding the Fleming as a
+sluggish boor, that it comes in the nature of a surprise when we read of
+the part these burghers, these weavers and spinners, took in the great
+events that distinguished Flemish history. "In July, 1302, a contingent
+of twelve hundred chosen men, five hundred of them clothed in scarlet
+and the rest in black, were set to watch the town and castle of
+Courtrai, and the old Roman Broël bridge, during the battle of the
+'Golden Spurs,' and the following year saw the celebration of the
+establishment of the confraternity of the Archers of St. Sebastian,
+which still existed in Ypres when I was there in 1910. This was the last
+survivor of the famed, armed societies of archers which flourished in
+the Middle Ages. Seven hundred of these men of Ypres embarked in the
+Flemish ships which so harassed the French fleet in the great naval
+engagement of June, 1340."
+
+Forty years later five thousand men of Ypres fought upon the battlefield
+with the French, on that momentous day which witnessed the death of
+Philip Van Artevelde and the triumph of Leliarts. Later, when the Allies
+laid siege to the town, defended by Leliarts and Louis of Maele, it was
+maintained by a force of ten thousand men, and on June 8, 1383, these
+were joined by seventeen thousand English and twenty thousand Flemings,
+these latter from Bruges and Ghent.
+
+At this time the gateways were the only part of the fortifications
+built of stone. The ramparts were of earth, planted with thorn bushes
+and interlaced with beams. Outside were additional works of wooden posts
+and stockades, behind the dyke, which was also palisaded. The English,
+believing that the town would not strongly resist their numbers, tried
+to carry it by assault. They were easily repulsed, to their great
+astonishment, with great losses.
+
+At last they built three great wooden towers on wheels filled with
+soldiers, which they pushed up to the walls, but the valiant garrison
+swarmed upon these towers, set fire to them, and either killed or
+captured those who manned them.
+
+All the proposals of Spencer demanding the surrender of Ypres were met
+with scorn, and the English were repeatedly repulsed with great losses
+of men whenever they attempted assaults.
+
+The English turned upon the Flemish of Ghent with fury, saying that they
+had deceived them as to the strength of the garrison of Ypres, and
+Spencer, realizing that it was impossible to take the town before the
+French army arrived, retired from the field with his soldiers. This left
+Flanders at the mercy of the French. But now ensued the death of Count
+Louis of Maele (1384) and this brought Flanders under the rule of the
+House of Burgundy, which resulted in prosperity and well nigh complete
+independence for the Flemings.
+
+The Great Kermesse of Our Lady of the Garden (Notre Dame de Thuine) was
+then inaugurated because the townspeople believe that Ypres had been
+saved by the intercession of the Virgin Mary--the word Thuin meaning in
+Flemish "an enclosed space, such as a garden plot," an allusion to the
+barrier of thorns which had so well kept the enemy away from the
+walls--a sort of predecessor of the barbed-wire entanglements used in
+the present great world war.
+
+The Kermesse was held by the people of Ypres on the first Sunday in
+August every year, called most affectionately "Thuindag," and while
+there in 1910 I saw the celebration in the great square before the Cloth
+Hall, and listened to the ringing of the chimes; the day being ushered
+in at sunrise by a fanfare of trumpets on the parapet of the tower by
+the members of a local association, who played ancient patriotic airs
+with great skill and enthusiasm.
+
+In the Place de Musée, a quiet, gray corner of this old town, was an
+ancient Gothic house containing a really priceless collection of medals
+and instruments of torture used during the terrible days of the Spanish
+Inquisition. I spent long hours in these old musty rooms alone, and I
+might have stolen away whatever took my fancy had I been so minded, for
+the _custode_ left me quite alone to wander at will, and the cases
+containing the seals, parchments, and small objects were all unfastened.
+
+I saw the other day another wonderful panorama photograph taken from an
+aeroplane showing Ypres as it now is, a vast heap of ruins, the Cloth
+Hall gutted; the Cathedral leveled, and the site of the little old
+museum a vast blackened hole in the earth where a shell had landed. The
+photograph, taken by an Englishman, was dated September, 1915.
+
+The great Hanseatic League, that extensive system of monopolies, was the
+cause of great dissatisfaction and many wars because of jealousy and bad
+feeling. Ypres, Ghent, and Bruges, while defending their rights and
+privileges against all other towns, fought among themselves. The
+monopoly enjoyed by the merchant weavers of Ypres forbade all weaving
+for "three leagues around the walls of Ypres, under penalty of
+confiscation of the looms and all of the linen thus woven."
+
+Constant friction was thus engendered between the towns of Ypres and
+Poperinghe, resulting in bloody battles and the burning and destruction
+of much property. Even within the walls of the town this bickering went
+on from year to year. When they were not quarreling with their neighbors
+over slights or attacks, either actual or fancied, they fought among
+themselves over the eternal question of capital _versus_ labor. A sharp
+line was drawn between the workingman and the members of the guilds who
+sold his output. The artisans, whose industry contributed so greatly to
+the prosperity of these towns, resented any infringement of their legal
+rights. The merchant magistrates were annually elected, and on one
+occasion, in 1361, to be exact, because this was omitted, the people
+arose in their might against the governors, who were assembled in the
+Nieuwerck of the Hôtel de Ville. The Baillie, one Jean Deprysenaere,
+haughty in his supposed power, and trusting in his office, as local
+representative of the Court of Flanders, appeared before the insurgent
+weavers and endeavored to appease them. "They fell upon him and slew
+him" (Vereeke). Then, rushing into the council chamber, they seized the
+other magistrates and confined them in the belfry of the Cloth Hall.
+
+"Then the leaders in council resolved to kill the magistrates, and
+beheaded the Burgomaster and two sheriffs in the place before the Cloth
+Hall in the presence of their colleagues" (Vereeke).
+
+Following the custom of the Netherlands, each town acted for itself
+alone. The popular form of government was that of gatherings in the
+market-place where laws were discussed and made by and for the people.
+The spirit of commercial jealousy, however, kept them apart and
+nullified their power. Consumed by the thirst for commercial, material
+prosperity, they had no faith in each other, no bond of union, each
+being ready and willing to foster its own interest at its rival's
+expense. Thus neither against foreign nor internal difficulties were
+they really united. The motto of modern Belgium, "L'Union fait la
+Force," was not yet invented, and there was no great and powerful
+authority in which they believed and about which they could gather.
+
+This history presents the picture of Ghent assisting an army of English
+soldiers to lay siege to Ypres. So the distrustful people dwelt amid
+perpetual quarreling, trade pitted against trade, town against town,
+fostering weakness of government and shameful submission in defeat. No
+town suffered as did Ypres during this distracted state of affairs in
+Flanders of the sixteenth century, which saw it reduced from a place of
+first importance to a dead town with the population of a village. And so
+it remained up to the outbreak of the world war in 1914.
+
+This medieval and most picturesque of all the towns of Flanders had not
+felt the effect of the wave of restoration, which took place in Belgium
+during the decade preceding the outbreak of the world war, owing to the
+fact that its monuments of the past were perhaps finer and in a better
+state of preservation than those of any of the other ancient towns.
+Ypres in the early days had treated the neighboring town of Poperinghe
+with great severity through jealousy, but she in turn suffered heavily
+at the hands of Ghent in 1383-84 when the vast body of weavers fled,
+taking refuge in England, and taking with them all hope of the town's
+future prosperity.
+
+Its decline thenceforward was rapid, and it never recovered its former
+place in the councils of Flanders. Its two great memorials of the olden
+times were the great Cloth Hall, in the Grand' Place, and the Cathedral
+of Saint Martin, both dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
+
+The Cloth Hall, begun by Count Baldwin IX of Flanders, was perhaps the
+best preserved and oldest specimen of its kind in the Netherlands, and
+was practically complete up to the middle of August, 1915, when the
+great guns of the iconoclastic invader shot away the top of the immense
+clock tower, and unroofed the entire structure. Its façade was nearly
+five hundred feet long, of most severe and simple lines, and presented a
+double row of ogival windows, surmounted by niches containing thirty-one
+finely executed statues of counts and countesses of Flanders. There were
+small, graceful turrets at each end, and a lofty belfry some two hundred
+and thirty feet in height in the center, containing a fine set of bells
+connected with the mechanism of a carillon.
+
+[Illustration: No. 4, Rue de Dixmude: Ypres]
+
+The interior of the hall was of noble proportions, running the full
+length, its walls decorated by a series of paintings by two modern
+Flemish painters, which were not of the highest merit, yet good withal.
+At the market-place end was a highly ornate structure called the New
+Work (Nieuwerke), erected by the burghers as a guild-hall in the
+fifteenth century. This was the first part of the edifice to be ruined
+by a German shell.
+
+The destruction of this exquisite work of art seems entirely wanton and
+unnecessary. It produced no result whatever of advantage. There were
+neither English, French, nor Belgian soldiers in Ypres at the time. The
+populace consisted of about ten thousand peaceful peasants and
+shopkeepers, who, trusting in the fact that the town was unarmed and
+unfortified, remained in their homes. The town was battered and
+destroyed, leveled in ashes. The bombardment destroyed also the great
+Cathedral of Saint Martin adjoining the Cloth Hall, which dated from the
+thirteenth century [although the tower was not added until the fifteenth
+century]. It formed a very fine specimen of late Gothic, the interior
+containing some fine oak carving and a richly carved and decorated organ
+loft. Bishop Jansenius, the founder of the sect of Jansenists, is buried
+in a Gothic cloister which formed a part of the older church that
+occupied the site.
+
+Another interesting monument of past greatness was the Hôtel de Ville,
+erected in the sixteenth century, and containing a large collection of
+modern paintings by French and Belgian artists. Of this structure not a
+trace remains save a vast blackened pile of crumbled stones and mortar.
+In the market-place now roam bands of half-starved dogs in search of
+food; not a roof remains intact. A couple of sentries pace before the
+hospital at the end of the Grand' Place. A recent photograph in the
+_Illustrated London News_ taken from an aeroplane shows the ruined town
+like a vast honeycomb uncovered, the streets and squares filled with
+débris, the fragments of upstanding walls showing where a few months ago
+dwelt in peace and prosperity an innocent, happy people, now scattered
+to the four winds--paupers, subsisting upon charity. Their valiant and
+noble king and queen are living with the remnant of the Belgian army in
+the small fishing village of La Panne on the sand dunes of the North
+Sea.
+
+The unique character of the half-forgotten town was exemplified by the
+number of ancient, wooden-faced houses to be found in the side streets.
+The most curious of these, perhaps, was that situated near the Porte de
+Lille, which I have mentioned in another page, and which noted
+architects of Brussels and Antwerp vainly petitioned the State to
+protect, or to remove bodily the façade and erect it in one of the vast
+"Salles" of the Cloth Hall. Both MM. Pauwels and Delbeke, the mural
+painters, then engaged in the decorations of the Cloth Hall, joined in
+protests to the authorities against their neglect of this remarkable
+example of medieval construction, but all these petitions were
+pigeonholed, and nothing resulted but vain empty promises, so the matter
+rested, and now this beautiful house has vanished forever.
+
+The great mural decorations of the "Halles" were nearly completed by MM.
+Delbeke and Pauwels, when they both died within a few months of each
+other, in 1891. In these decorations the artists traced the history of
+Ypres from 1187 to 1383, the date of the great siege, showing taste and
+elegance in the compositions, notably in that called the "Wedding feast
+of Mahaut, daughter of Robert of Bethune, with Mathias of Lorraine
+(1314)."
+
+One of the panels by M. Pauwels showed most vividly the progress of the
+"Pest," under the title of the "Mort d'Ypres" (_de Dood van Yperen_,
+Flemish). It represented the "Fossoyeur" calling upon the citizens upon
+the tolling of the great bell of St. Martin's, to bring out their dead
+for burial.
+
+M. Delbeke's talent was engaged upon scenes illustrating the civil life
+of the town, the gatherings in celebration of the philanthropic and
+intellectual events in its remarkable history, a task in which he was
+successful in spite of the carping of envious contemporaries.
+
+A committee of artists was appointed to examine his work, and although
+this body decided in his favor, it may be that the criticism to which
+he was subjected hastened his death. At any rate the panels remained
+unfinished, no other painter having the courage to carry out the
+projected work.
+
+[Illustration: Arcade of the Cloth Hall: Ypres]
+
+The original sketches for these great compositions were preserved in the
+museum of the town, but the detailed drawings, some in color, were, up
+to the outbreak of the war in 1914, in the Museum of Decorative Arts in
+Brussels, together with the cartoons of another artist, Charles de Groux
+(1870), to whom the decoration of the Halles had been awarded by the
+State in competition. A most sumptuous Gothic apartment was that styled
+the "Salle Echevinale," restored with great skill in recent years by a
+concurrence of Flemish artists, members of the Academy. Upon either side
+of a magnificent stone mantel, bearing statues in niches of kings,
+counts and countesses, bishops and high dignitaries, were large well
+executed frescoes by MM. Swerts and Guffens, showing figures of the
+evangelists St. Mark and St. John, surrounded by myriads of counts and
+countesses of Flanders, from the time of Louis de Nevers and Margaret of
+Artois to Charles the Bold, and Margaret of York, whose tombs are in the
+Cathedral at Bruges. The attribution of these frescoes to Melchior
+Broederlam does not, it would seem, accord with the style or the date of
+their production, M. Alph. van den Peereboom thinks, and he gives
+credit for the work to two painters who worked in Ypres in 1468--MM.
+Pennant and Floris Untenhoven.
+
+In my search for the curious and picturesque, I came, one showery day,
+upon a passageway beneath the old belfry which led to the tower of St.
+Martin's. Here one might believe himself back in the Middle Ages. On
+both sides of the narrow street were ancient wooden-fronted houses not a
+whit less interesting or well preserved than that front erected in the
+chamber of the "Halles." This small dark street led to a vast and
+solitary square. On one side were lofty edifices called the Colonnade of
+the "Nieuwerck," at the end of which was a quaint vista of the Grand'
+Place. On the other side was a range of most wondrous ancient
+constructions; the _conciergerie_ and its attendant offices, bearing
+finials and gables of astonishing richness of character, and ornamented
+with _chefs-d'oeuvres_ of iron-work, marking the dates of erection,
+all of them prior to 1616. In this square not a soul appeared, nor was
+there a sound to be heard save the cooing of some doves upon a rooftree,
+although I sat there upon a stone coping for the better part of a half
+hour. Then all at once, out of a green doorway next the _conciergerie_,
+poured a throng of children, whose shrill cries and laughter brought me
+back to the present. One wonders where now are these merry
+light-hearted little ones, who thronged that gray grass-grown square
+behind the old Cloth Hall in 1912....
+
+In this old square I studied the truly magnificent south portal and
+transept of St. Martin's, the triple portal with its splendid polygonal
+rose window, and its two graceful slender side towers, connecting a long
+gallery between the two smaller side portals. One's impression of this
+great edifice is that of a sense of noble proportions, rather than
+ornateness, and this is to be considered remarkable when one remembers
+the different epochs of its construction. That the choir was commenced
+in 1221 is established by the epitaph of Hugues, _prévôt_ of St.
+Martin's, whose ashes reposed in the church which he built: that the
+first stone of the nave transepts was laid with ceremony by Marguerite
+of Constantinople in 1254; that the south portal was of the fifteenth
+century and that a century later the chapel called the _doyen_ toward
+the south wall at the foot of the tower, was erected. The tower itself,
+visible from all parts of the town, was the conception of Martin
+Untenhoven of Malines, and replaced a more primitive one in 1433. Of
+very severe character, its great bare bulk rose to an unfinished height
+of some hundred and seventy feet, and terminated in a squatty sort of
+pent-house roof of typical Flemish character. It was flanked by four
+smaller, unfinished towers, one at each corner. This tower, one may
+recall, figures in many of the pictures of Jean van Eyck. It is not
+without reason that Schayes, in his "Histoire de l'Architecture en
+Belgique," speaks of the choir of St. Martin's as "one of the most
+remarkable of the religious constructions of the epoch in Belgium." Of
+most noble lines and proportion if it were not for the intruding altar
+screen in the Jesuit style, which mars the effect, the ensemble were
+well-nigh perfect.
+
+Its decoration, too, was remarkable. A fresco at the left of the choir,
+with a portrait of Robert de Bethune, Count of Flanders, who died at
+Ypres in 1322 and was buried in the church, was uncovered early in the
+eighties during a restoration; this had been most villainously repainted
+by a local "artist"(?); and I mortally offended the young priest who
+showed it to me, by the vehemence of my comments.
+
+The stalls of the choir, in two banks or ranges, twenty-seven above,
+twenty-four below, bore the date of 1598, and the signature of d'Urbain
+Taillebert, a native sculptor of great merit, who also carved the great
+_Jube_ of Dixmude (see drawing). Other works of Taillebert are no less
+remarkable, notably the superb arcade with the Christ triumphant
+suspended between the columns at the principal entrance. He was also
+the sculptor of the mausoleum of Bishop Antoine de Hennin, erected in
+1622 in the choir.
+
+In the pavement before the altar a plain stone marked the resting place
+of the famous Corneille Jansen (Cornelius Jansenius), seventh Bishop of
+Ypres, who died of the pest the 6th of May, 1638. One recalls that the
+doctrine of Jansen gave birth to the sect of that name which still
+flourishes in Holland.
+
+Following the Rue de Lille one came upon the old tower of St. Pierre,
+massed among tall straight lines of picturesque poplars, its bulk
+recalling vaguely the belfry of the Cloth Hall. In this church was shown
+a curious little picture, representing the devil setting fire to the
+tower, which was destroyed in 1638, but was later rebuilt after the
+original plans. The interior had no dignity of style whatever. There
+were, however, some figures of the saints Peter and Paul attributed to
+Carel Van Yper, which merited the examination of connoisseurs. They are
+believed by experts to have been the "volets" of a triptych of which the
+center panel was missing.
+
+[Illustration: Gateway, Wall, and Old Moat: Ypres]
+
+The Place St. Pierre was picturesque and smiling. Following this route
+we found on the right at the end of a small street the hospital St.
+Jean, with an octagonal tower, which enshrined some pictures attributed
+to the prolific Carel Van Yper, comment upon which would be perhaps
+out of place here. On the corner of this street was a most charming old
+façade in process of demolishment, which we deplored.
+
+Now we reached the Porte de Lille again and the remains of the old walls
+of the town. Again and again we followed this same route, each time
+finding some new beauty or hidden antiquity which well repaid us for
+such persistence. Few of the towns of Flanders presented such treasures
+as were to be found in Ypres. Following the walk on the ramparts, past
+the _caserne_ or infantry barracks, one came upon the place of the
+ancient château of the counts, a vast construction under the name of "de
+Zaalhof." Here was an antique building called the "Lombard," dated 1616,
+covered with old iron "ancres" and crosses between the high small-paned
+windows.
+
+By the Rue de Beurre one regained the Grand' Place, passing through the
+silent old Place Van den Peereboom in the center of which was the statue
+of the old Burgomaster of that name.
+
+The aspect of this silent grass-grown square behind the Cloth Hall was
+most impressive. Here thronged the burghers of old, notably on the
+occasion of the entry of Charles the Bold and his daughter Marguerite,
+all clad in fur, lace, and velvet to astonish the inhabitants, who
+instead of being impressed, so outshone the visitors, by their own and
+their wives' magnificence of apparel, that Marguerite was reported to
+have left the banquet hall in pique. The belfry quite dominated the
+square at the eastern angle, where were the houses forming the
+_conciergerie_.
+
+Turning to the right by way of the Chemin de St. Martin, one found the
+ancient Beguinage latterly used by the gendarmerie as a station, the
+lovely old chapel turned into a stable! In this old town were hundreds
+of remarkable ancient houses, each of which merits description in this
+book. But perhaps in this brief and very fragmentary description the
+reader may find reason for the author's enthusiasm, and agree with him
+that Ypres was perhaps the most unique and interesting of all the
+destroyed towns in Flanders.
+
+
+
+
+Commines
+
+
+
+
+Commines
+
+
+It was not hard to realize that here we were in the country of
+Bras-de-Fer, of Memling, of Cuyp, and Thierry d'Alsace, for, on
+descending from the halting, bumping train at the small brick station,
+we were face to face with a bizarre, bulbous-topped tower rising above
+the houses surrounding a small square, and now quite crowded with large,
+hollow-backed, thick-legged Flemish horses, which might have been those
+of the followers of Thierry gathered in preparation for an onslaught
+upon one of the neighboring towns.
+
+It seemed as though any turning might bring us face to face with a grim
+cohort of mounted armed men in steel corselet and morion, bearing the
+banner of Spanish Philip, so sinister were the narrow, ill-paved
+streets, darkened by the projecting second stories of the somber,
+gray-stone houses. Rarely was there an open door or window. As we
+passed, our footsteps on the uneven stones awakened the echoes. A fine
+drizzle of rain which began to fall upon us from the leaden sky did not
+tend to enliven us, and we hastened toward the small Grand' Place, where
+I noted on a sign over a doorway the words, "In de Leeuw Van Vlanderen"
+(To the Flemish Lion), which promised at least shelter from the
+rainfall. Here we remained until the sun shone forth.
+
+Commines (Flemish, Komen) was formerly a fortified town of some
+importance in the period of the Great Wars of Flanders. It was the
+birthplace of Philip de Commines (1445-1509). It was, so to say, one of
+the iron hinges upon which the great military defense system of the
+burghers swung and creaked in those dark days. To-day, in these rich
+fields about the small town, one can find no traces of the old-time
+bastions which so well guarded the town from Van Artevelde's assaults.
+Inside the town were scarcely any trees, an unusual feature for
+Flanders, and on the narrow waterways floated but few craft.
+
+The only remarkable thing by virtue of its Renaissance style of
+architecture was the belfry and clock tower, although some of the old
+Flemish dwelling houses in the market square, projecting over an ogival
+Colonnade extending round one end of the square, and covering a sort of
+footway, were of interest, uplifting their step-like gables as a silent
+but eloquent protest against a posterity devoid of style, all of them to
+the right and left falling into line like two wings of stone in order to
+allow the carved front of the belfry to make a better show, and its
+pinnacled tower to rise the prouder against the sky.
+
+One was struck with the ascendency of the religious element over all
+forms of art, and this was a characteristic of the Flemings. One was
+everywhere confronted with a curious union of religion and war,
+representations peopled exclusively by seraphic beings surrounded or
+accompanied by armed warriors. Everything is adoration, resignation,
+incense fumes, psalmody, and crusaders. The greatest buildings we saw
+were ecclesiastical, the richest dresses were church vestments, even
+"the princes and burghers accompanied by armed knights remind one of
+ecclesiastics celebrating the Mass. All the women are holy virgins,
+seemingly. The chasm between the ideal and the reality itself, however
+idealized, but by meditation manifested pictorially." ("The Land of
+Rubens," C.B. Huet).
+
+We sat for an hour in the small, sooty, tobacco-smelling _estaminet_
+(from the Spanish _estamento_--an inn), and then the skies clearing
+somewhat we fared forth to explore the belfry, which in spite of its
+sadly neglected state was still applied to civic use. Some dark, heavy,
+oaken beams in the ceiling of the principal room showed delicately
+carved, fancy heads, some of them evidently portraits. At the rear of
+the tower on the ground floor, I came upon a vaulted apartment supported
+on columns, and being used as a storehouse. Its construction was so
+handsome, it was so beautifully lighted from without, as to make one
+grieve for its desecration; it may have served in the olden time as a
+refectory, and if so was doubtless the scene of great festivity in the
+time of Philip de Commines, who was noted for the magnificence of his
+entertainments.
+
+The Flemish burghers of the Middle Ages first built themselves a church;
+when that was finished, a great hall. That of Ypres took more than two
+hundred years to complete. How long this great tower of Commines took, I
+can only conjecture. Its semi-oriental pear-shaped (or onion-shaped, as
+you will) tower was certainly of great antiquity; even the unkempt
+little priest whom I questioned in the Grand' Place could give me little
+or no information concerning it. Indeed, he seemed to be on the point of
+resenting my questions, as though he thought that I was in some way
+poking fun at him. I presume that it was the scene of great splendor in
+their early days. For here a count of Flanders or a duke of Brabant
+exercised sovereign rights, and at such a ceremony as the laying of a
+corner-stone assumed the place of honor, although the real authority was
+with the burghers, and founded upon commerce. While granting this
+privilege, the Flemings ever hated autocracy. They loved pomp, but any
+attempt to exercise power over them infuriated them.
+
+[Illustration: The Belfry: Commines]
+
+"The architecture of the Fleming was the expression of aspiration,"
+says C.B. Huet ("The Land of Rubens").
+
+"The Flemish hall has often the form of a church; art history, aiming at
+classification, ranges it among the Gothic by reason of its pointed
+windows. The Hall usually is a defenceless feudal castle without moats,
+without porticullis, without loopholes. It occupies the center of a
+market-place. It is a temple of peace, its windows are as numerous as
+those in the choirs of that consecrated to the worship of God.
+
+"From the center of the building uprises an enormous mass, three, four,
+five stories high, as high as the cathedral, perhaps higher. It is the
+belfry, the transparent habitation of the alarm bell (as well as the
+chimes). The belfry cannot defend itself, a military character is
+foreign to it. But as warden of civic liberty it can, at the approach of
+domination from without, or autocracy uplifting its head within, awaken
+the threatened ones, and call them to arms in its own defence. The
+belfry is thus a symbol of a society expecting happiness from neither a
+dynasty nor from a military despotism, but solely from common
+institutions, from commerce and industry, from a citizen's life, budding
+in the shadow of the peaceful church, and borrowing its peaceful
+architecture from it. To the town halls of Flanders belonged the place
+of honor among the monuments of Belgian architecture. No other country
+of Europe offered so rich a variety in that respect.
+
+"Courtrai replaces Arras; Oudenaarde and Ypres follow suit. Then come
+Tournai, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, Louvain. Primary Gothic,
+secondary Gothic, tertiary Gothic, satisfying every wish. Flanders and
+Brabant called the communal style into life. If ever Europe becomes a
+commune, the communards have but to go to Ypres to find motifs from
+their architects."
+
+Since this was written, in 1914, many, if not most, of these great
+buildings thus enumerated above, are now in ruins, utterly destroyed for
+all time!
+
+
+
+
+Bergues
+
+
+
+
+Bergues
+
+
+A tiny sleepy town among the fringe of great willow trees which marked
+the site of the ancient walls. Belted by its crumbling ramparts, and
+like a quaint gem set in the green enamel of the smiling landscape, it
+offered a resting place far from the cares and noise of the world.
+
+Quite ignored by the guide books, it had, I found, one of the most
+remarkable belfries to be found in the Netherlands, and a chime of sweet
+bells, whose melodious sounds haunted our memories for days after our
+last visit in 1910.
+
+There were winding, silent streets bordered by mysteriously closed and
+shuttered houses, but mainly these were small and of the peasant order.
+On the Grand' Place, for of course there was one, the tower sprang from
+a collection of rather shabby buildings, of little or no character, but
+this did not seem to detract from the magnificence of the great tower. I
+use the word "great" too often, I fear, but can find no other word in
+the language to qualify these "Campanili" of Flanders.
+
+This one was embellished with what are known as "ogival arcatures,"
+arranged in zones or ranks, and there were four immense turrets, one at
+each corner, these being in turn covered with arcatures of the same
+character. These flanked the large open-work, gilded, clock face.
+Surmounting this upon a platform was a construction in the purely
+Flemish style, containing the chime of bells, and the machinery of the
+carillon, and topping all was a sort of inverted bulb or gourd-shaped
+turret, covered with blue slate, with a gilded weathervane about which
+the rooks flew in clouds.
+
+The counterpart of this tower was not to be found anywhere in the
+Netherlands, and one is surprised that it was so little known.
+
+[Illustration: The Towers of St. Winoc: Bergues]
+
+Upon the occasion of our visit the town was given up to the heavy and
+stolid festivities of the "Kermesse," which is now of interest here only
+to the laboring class and the small farmers of the region. The center of
+attraction, as we found in several other towns, seemed to be an
+incredibly fat woman emblazoned on a canvas as the "Belle Heloise" who
+was seated upon a sort of throne draped in red flannel, and exhibited a
+pair of extremities resembling in size the masts of a ship, to the great
+wonder of the peasants. There were also some shabby merry-go-rounds with
+wheezy organs driven by machinery, and booths in which hard-featured
+show women were frying waffles in evil smelling grease. After buying
+some of these for the children who stood about with watering mouths,
+we left the "Kermesse" and wandered away down a silent street towards a
+smaller tower rising from a belt of dark trees.
+
+This we found to be the remains of the ancient abbey of St. Winoc. A
+very civil mannered young priest who overtook us on the road informed us
+of this, and volunteered further the information that we were in what
+was undoubtedly the ancient _jardin-clos_ of the Abbey. Of this retreat
+only the two towers standing apart in the long grass remained, one very
+heavy and square, supported by great buttresses of discolored brick, the
+other octangular, in stages, and retaining its high graceful steeple.
+
+We were unable to gain entrance to either of these towers, the doorways
+being choked with weeds and the débris of fallen masonry. [The invaders
+destroyed both of these fine historical remains in November, 1914,
+alleging that they were being used for military observation by the
+Belgian army.] These small towns of Flanders had a simple dignity of
+their own which was of great attraction to the tourist, who could,
+without disillusionment, imagine himself back in the dim past. In the
+wayside inns or _estaminets_ one could extract amusement and profit
+listening to the peasantry or admiring the sunlight dancing upon the
+array of bottles and glass on the leaden counters, or watch the
+peasants kneel and cross themselves before the invariable quaint niched
+figure of the Virgin and Child under the hanging lighted lantern at a
+street corner, the evidence of the piety of the village, or the throngs
+of lace-capped, rosy-cheeked milkmaids with small green carts drawn by
+large, black, "slobbering" dogs of fierce mien, from the distant farms,
+on their way to market.
+
+Thus the everyday life of the region was rendered poetic and artistic,
+and all with the most charming unconsciousness.
+
+
+
+
+Nieuport
+
+
+
+
+Nieuport
+
+
+In the midst of a level field to the east of the town of Nieuport in
+1914 was a high square weather-beaten tower, somewhat ruinous, built of
+stone and brick in strata, showing the different eras of construction in
+the various colors of the brick work ranging from light reds to dark
+browns and rich blacks. This tower, half built and square topped,
+belonged to a structure begun in the twelfth century, half monastery,
+half church, erected by the Templars as a stronghold. Repeatedly
+attacked and set on fire, it escaped complete destruction, although
+nearly laid in ruins by the English and burghers of Ghent in 1383, the
+year of the famous siege of Ypres. During the Wars of 1600, it was an
+important part of the fortifications, and from the platform of its tower
+the Spanish garrison commanded a clear view of the surrounding country
+and the distance beyond the broad moat, which then surrounded the strong
+walls of Nieuport.
+
+In plain view from this tower top were the houses of Furnes, grouped
+about the church of Saint Nicolas to the southwest, while to the north
+the wide belt of dunes, or sand hills, defended the plains from the
+North Sea. Nearer were the populous villages of Westende and
+Lombaerd-Zyde, connected with Nieuport by numerous small lakes and
+canals derived from the channel of the Yser river, which flowed past the
+town on its way to the sea.
+
+[Illustration: The Tower of the Templars: Nieuport]
+
+The history of Nieuport, from the terrible days of the Spanish invasion
+down to these days of even worse fate, has been pitiable. Its former sea
+trade after the Spanish invasion was never recovered, and its
+population, which was beginning to be thrifty and prosperous up to 1914,
+has now entirely disappeared. Nieuport is now in ashes and ruins. When I
+passed the day there in the summer of 1910, it was a sleepy, quiet spot,
+a small fishing village, with old men and women sitting in doorways and
+on the waysides, mending nets, and knitting heavy woolen socks or
+sweaters of dark blue. In the small harbor were the black hulls of
+fishing boats tied up to the quaysides, and a small steamer from Ghoole
+was taking on a cargo of potatoes and beets. Some barges laden with wood
+were being pulled through the locks by men harnessed to a long tow rope,
+and a savage dog on one of these barges menaced me with dripping fangs
+and bloodshot eyes when I stopped to talk to the steersman, who sat on
+the tiller smoking a short, evil-smelling pipe, while his "vrouwe" was
+hanging out a heavy wash of vari-colored garments on a line from the
+staff on the bow to a sweep fastened upright to the cabin wall.
+
+The ancient fortification had long since disappeared--those "impregnable
+walls of stone" which once defended the town from the assaults of Philip
+the Second. I found with some difficulty a few grass-grown mounds where
+they had been, and only the gray, grim tower of the Templars, standing
+solitary in a turnip field, remained to show what had been a mighty
+stronghold. In the town, however, were souvenirs enough to occupy an
+antiquary for years to his content and profit. There was the Cloth Hall,
+with its five pointed low arched doorways from which passed in and out
+the Knights of the Temple gathered for the first pilgrimage to the Holy
+Land. On this market square too was the great Gothic Church, one of the
+largest and most important in all Flanders, and on this afternoon in the
+summer of 1910, I attended a service here, while in the tower a bell
+ringer played the chime of famous bells which now lie in broken
+fragments amid the ashes of the fallen tower.
+
+Here was fought the bloody "Battle of the Dunes," between the Dutch and
+the Spaniards in those dim days of long ago, when the stubborn
+determination of the Netherlanders overcame the might and fiery valor of
+the Spanish invaders.
+
+From time to time the peasants laboring in the fields uncovered bones,
+broken steel breast-plates, and weapons, which they brought to the
+museum on the Grand' Place, and which the sleepy _custode_ showed me
+with reluctance, until I offered him a franc. It is curious that famous
+Nieuport, for which so much blood was shed in those early days, should
+again have been a famous battle ground between the handful of valiant
+soldiers of the heroic King Albert and a mighty Teutonic foe.
+
+The dim gray town with its silent streets, the one time home of romance
+and chivalry, the scene of deeds of knightly valor, is now done for
+forever. It is not likely that it can ever again be of importance, for
+its harbor is well-nigh closed by drifting sand. But I shall always keep
+the vision I had of it that summer day, in its market place, its gabled
+houses against the luminous sky, its winding streets, and narrow byways
+across which the roofs almost touch each other. The ancient palaces are
+now in ruins, and the peaceful population scattered abroad, charges upon
+the charity of the world. Certainly a woeful picture in contrast to the
+content of other days.
+
+The vast green plains behind the dunes, or sand hills, extend unbrokenly
+from here to the French frontier, spire after spire dominating small
+towns, and windmills, are the objects seen. To some the flatness is most
+monotonous, but to those who find pleasure in the paintings of Cuyp, the
+country is very picturesque. The almost endless succession of green,
+well-cultivated fields and farmsteads is most entertaining, and the many
+canals winding their silvery ways through the country, between rows of
+pollards; the well kept though small country houses embowered in woody
+enclosures; the fruitful orchards in splendid cultivation; the gardens
+filled with fair flowers and the "most compact little towns"--these give
+the region a romance and attraction all its own.
+
+[Illustration: The Town Hall--Hall of the Knights Templars: Nieuport]
+
+Here and there is a hoary church erected in forgotten times on ground
+dedicated to Thor or Wodin. This part of the country bordering the fifty
+mile stretch of coast line on the North Sea was given over latterly to
+the populous bathing establishments and their new communities, but the
+other localities, such as Tournai, Courtrai, Oudenaarde or Alost, were
+seldom visited by strangers, whose advent created almost as much
+excitement as it would in Timbuctoo. It was not inaccessible, but the
+roads were not good for automobiles; they were mainly paved with rough
+"Belgian" blocks of stone, high in the center, with a dirt roadway on
+either side, used by the peasants and quite rutty.
+
+A walking tour for any but the hardiest pedestrian was out of the
+question, so I was told that the best way for a "bachelor" traveler was
+to secure transportation on the canal boats. This was the warning that
+our kind hearted landlord in Antwerp gave us, after vainly endeavoring
+to discourage us from leaving him for such a tour.
+
+The canals, however, are not numerous enough in this region, I found,
+and besides there are various other disadvantages which I leave to the
+reader's imagination.
+
+In addition to the main lines of the State Railway, there were what are
+called "Chemins-de-fer-vicinaux," small narrow gauge railways which
+traversed Belgium in all directions. On these the fares were very
+reasonable, and they formed an ideal way in which to study the country
+and the people. There were first, second and third class carriages on
+these, hung high on tall wheels, which looked very unsafe, but were not
+really so. The classes varied only in the trimming of the windows, and
+quality of the cushions on the benches. Rarely if ever, were those
+marked "I Klasse" used. Those of the second class were used sometimes;
+but the third class cars were generally very crowded with peasantry, who
+while invariably good humored and civil were certainly evil smelling,
+and intolerant of open windows and fresh air. The men and boys generally
+smoked a particularly vile-smelling black tobacco, of which they seemed
+very fond, and although some of the cars were marked "Niet rooken" (no
+smoking) no one seemed to object to the fumes.
+
+[Illustration: Tower of the Grand' Place: Nieuport]
+
+Here one seldom saw the purely Spanish type of face so usual in Antwerp
+and Brabant. The race seemed purer, and the peasants used the pure
+Flemish tongue. Few of the elders I found spoke French fluently,
+although the children used it freely to each other, of course
+understanding and speaking Flemish also.
+
+There were various newspapers published in the Flemish language
+exclusively. These, however, were very primitive, given over entirely to
+purely local brevities, and the prices of potatoes, beets and other
+commodities, and containing also a "feuilleton" of interest to the
+farmers and laborers.
+
+There were several "organs" of the Flemish Patriotic party devoted to
+the conservation and preservation of the Flemish language and the
+ancient traditions, which were powerful among the people, although their
+circulation could not have been very profitable. The peasantry in truth
+were very ignorant, and knew of very little beyond their own parishes.
+The educational standard of the people of West Flanders was certainly
+low, and it was a matter of comment among the opponents of the
+established church, that education being in the hands of the clergy,
+they invariably defeated plans for making it compulsory. But
+nevertheless, the peasantry were to all appearances both contented and
+fairly happy.
+
+As their wants were few and primitive, their living was cheap. Their
+fare was coffee, of which they consumed a great deal, black bread, salt
+pork and potatoes. The use of oleomargarine was universal in place of
+butter. They grew tobacco in their small gardens for their own use, and
+also, it is whispered, smuggled it [and gin] over the border into
+France. They worked hard and long from five in the morning until seven
+or eight in the evening.
+
+The Flemish farmhouse was generally well built, if somewhat untidy
+looking, with the pigstys and out buildings in rather too close
+proximity for comfort. There was usually a large living room with heavy
+sooty beams overhead, and thick walls pierced by quaint deeply sunken
+windows furnished often with seats. These picturesque rooms often
+contained "good finds" of the old Spanish furniture, and brass; but as a
+rule the dealers had long since bought up all the old things, replacing
+them by "brummagem,"--modern articles shining with cheap varnish.
+
+The peasants themselves in their everyday clothes certainly did not
+impress the observer greatly. They were not picturesque, they wore the
+sabôt or "Klompen," yellow varnished, and clumsy in shape. Their
+stockings were coarse gray worsted. Their short trousers were usually
+tied with a string above the calf, and they wore a sort of smock,
+sometimes of linen unbleached, or of a shining sort of dark purple thin
+stuff.
+
+The usual headgear was for the men a cap with a glazed peak and for the
+women and girls a wide flapped embroidered linen cap, but this headgear
+was worn only in the country towns and villages. Elsewhere the costume
+was fast disappearing. On Sundays when dressed in their holiday clothes
+these peasants going to or returning from mass, looked respectable and
+fairly prosperous, and it was certainly clear that although poor in
+worldly goods, these animated and laughing throngs were far from being
+unhappy or dissatisfied with life as they found it in West Flanders.
+
+
+
+
+Alost
+
+
+
+
+Alost
+
+
+The ancient Hôtel de Ville on the Grand' Place was unique, not for its
+great beauty, for it had none, but for its quaintness, in the singular
+combination of several styles of architecture. Without going into any
+details its attraction was in what might be called its venerable
+coquettishness,--bizarre, one might have styled it, but that the word
+conveys some hint of lack of dignity. One is at a loss just how to
+characterize its attractiveness. Against the sky its towers and minarets
+held one's fancy by their very lightness and airiness, the lanterns and
+_fleches_ presupposing a like grace and proportion in the edifice below.
+The great square belfry at one side seemed to shoulder aside the
+structure with its beautiful Renaissance façade and portal and quite
+dominate it.
+
+My note book says that it dated from the fifteenth century, and its
+appearance certainly bore evidence of this statement. It had been
+erected in sections at various periods, and these periods were marked in
+the various courses of brick, showing every variety of tone of dull
+reds, buffs, and mellow purplish browns. The effect was quite
+delightful. The tower contained a fine carillon of bells arranged on a
+rather bizarre platform, giving a most quaint effect to the turret which
+surmounted it. The face of the tower bore four niches, two at each side
+of the center and upper windows, and these contained time worn statues
+of the noble counts of Alost. On the wall below was a tablet bearing the
+inscription "Ni Espoir, Ni Craint," and this I was told referred either
+to the many sieges which the town suffered, or a pestilence which
+depopulated the whole region. A huge gilt clock face shone below the
+upper gallery, at each corner of which sprang a stone gargoyle.
+
+The old square upon which this tower was placed was quite in keeping
+with it. There were rows of gabled stone houses of great antiquity,
+still inhabited, stretching away in an array of façades, gables, and
+most fantastic roofs, all of mellow toned tile, brick and stone.
+
+[Illustration: The Town Hall: Alost]
+
+Thierry Moertens, who was a renowned master printer of the Netherlands,
+was born here, and is said to have established in Alost the "very first
+printing house in Flanders." From this press issued a translation of the
+Holy Bible, which was preserved in the Museum of Brussels, together with
+other fine specimens of his skill. A very good statue in bronze to this
+master printer was in the center of the market place, and on the
+occasion of my last visit, there was a sort of carnival in the town,
+with a great gathering of farmers and merchants and their families from
+the surrounding country all gathered about the square, which was filled
+with wagons, horses, booths, and merry-go-rounds, above which the statue
+of the old master printer appeared in great dignity. There was a great
+consumption of beer and waffles at the small _estaminets_, and the
+chimes in the belfry played popular songs at intervals to the delight of
+these simple happy people, all unaware of the great catastrophe of the
+war into which they were about to be plunged.
+
+A disastrous conflagration destroyed most of Alost in 1360, and
+thereafter history deals with the fury of the religious wars conducted
+by the Spanish against Alost, a most strongly fortified town. The story
+of the uniting of these Spanish troops under the leadership of Juan de
+Navarese is well known. Burning and sacking and murder were the sad lot
+of Alost and its unfortunate citizens, who had hardly recovered, ere the
+Duke d'Alençon arrived before the walls with his troops, bent upon
+mischief. The few people remaining after his onslaught died like flies
+during the plague which broke out the following year, and the town bid
+fair to vanish forever.
+
+Rubens painted a large and important picture based upon the destruction
+of Alost, and this work was hanging in the old church of St. Martin just
+before the outbreak of the war in 1914. Its fate is problematical, for
+St. Martin's Church was razed to the ground in the bombardment in
+1914-15, the charge being the usual one that the tower was used for
+military purposes by the French.
+
+This old church with its curious bulbous tower cap was at the end of a
+small street, and my last view of it was on the occasion of a church
+fête in which some dignitaries were present, for I saw them all clad in
+scarlet and purple walking beneath silken canopies attended by priests
+bearing lighted lanterns (although the sun was shining brightly at the
+time) and acolytes swinging fragrant smoking censers. We were directed
+to a rather shabby looking hostelry, over the door of which was an
+emblazoned coat of arms of Flanders, where we were assured we could get
+"déjeuner" before leaving the town.
+
+As usual, a light drizzle came on, and the streets became deserted. The
+hotel was a wretched one and the meal furnished us was in character with
+it. We were waited on by a sour, taciturn old man who bore a dirty towel
+on his arm, as a sort of badge of office, I presume. He nodded or shook
+his head as the case might demand, but not a word could I extract from
+him. At the close of our meal, which we dallied over, waiting for the
+rain to cease, I called for the bill, which was produced after a long
+wait, and proved to be, as I anticipated, excessive. We had coffee and
+hot milk and some cold chicken and salad. This repast, for two, came to
+twelve francs. And as the "chicken" had reached its old age long before,
+and the period of its roasting must have taken place at an uncertain
+date, this, together with the fact that the lettuce was wilted, placed
+these items upon the proscribed list for us. The coffee and hot milk,
+however, was good and, thus revived and rested, I paid the bill without
+protest, and having retained the carriage which we hired at the station,
+I bundled our belongings into it. I had resolved not to tip the surly
+old fellow, but a gleam in his eye made me hesitate. Then I weakened and
+gave him a franc.
+
+To my amazement he said in excellent English: "I thank you, sir; you are
+a kind, good and patient man, and madam is a most charming and gracious
+lady. I am sorry your breakfast was so bad, but I can do nothing here;
+these people are impossible; but it is no fault of mine." And shaking
+his head he vanished into the doorway of the hotel. Driving away, I
+glanced up at the windows, where behind the curtains I thought I saw
+several faces watching us furtively. It might be that we had missed an
+adventure in coming away. Had I been alone I should have chanced it, for
+the old waiter interested me with his sudden confidence and his command
+of English. But whatever his story might have been, it must ever be to
+me a closed book. Quaint Alost among the trees is now a heap of
+blackened ruins.
+
+
+
+
+Courtrai
+
+
+
+
+Courtrai
+
+
+The two large and impressive stone towers flanking a bridge of three
+arches over the small sluggish river Lys were those of the celebrated
+Broël, dating from the fourteenth century. The towers were called
+respectively the "Speytorre" and the "Inghelbrugtorre." The first named
+on the south side of the river formed part of the ancient "enceinte" of
+the first château of Philip of Alsace, and was erected in the twelfth
+century, and famed with the château of Lille, as the most formidable
+strongholds of Flanders. The "Inghelbrugtorre" was erected in 1411-13,
+and strongly resembles its sister tower opposite. It was furnished with
+loopholes for both archers and for "arquebusiers," as well as openings
+for the discharge of cannon and the casting of molten pitch and lead
+upon the heads of besiegers after the fashion of warfare as conducted
+during the wars of the Middle Ages. The Breton soldiers under Charles
+the Eleventh attacked and almost razed this great stronghold in 1382.
+
+A sleepy old _custode_ whom we aroused took us down into horrible
+dungeons, where, with a dripping tallow candle, he showed us some iron
+rings attached to the dripping walls below the surface of the river
+where prisoners of state were chained in former times, and told us that
+the walls here were three or four yards thick. The town was one of
+beauty and great charm, and here we stopped for a week in a most
+delightfully kept small hotel on the square, which was bordered with
+fine large trees, both linden and chestnut.
+
+The town was famed in history for the Great Battle of the Spurs which
+took place outside the walls, in the year 1302, on the plains of
+Groveninghe. History mentions the fact that "seven hundred golden spurs
+were picked up afterwards on the battlefield and hung in the cathedral."
+These we were unable to locate.
+
+The water of the Lys, flowing through the town and around the remains of
+the ancient walls, was put to practical use by the inhabitants in the
+preparation of flax, for which the town was renowned.
+
+[Illustration: The Belfry: Courtrai]
+
+It ranked with the old city of Bruges in importance up to 1914, when it
+had some thirty-five thousand inhabitants. In the middle of the
+beflowered Grand' Place stood a quaint brick belfry containing a good
+chime of bells, and on market days when surrounded with the farmers'
+green wagons and the lines of booths about which the people gathered
+chaffering, its appearance was picturesque enough to satisfy anyone,
+even the most blasé of travelers. The belfry had four large gilt clock
+faces, and its bells could be plainly seen through the windows hanging
+from the huge beams. On the tower were gilded escutcheons, and a couple
+of armor-clad statues in niches. There was a fine church dedicated to
+Notre Dame, which was commenced by Baldwin in 1199, and a very beautiful
+"Counts Chapel" with rows of statues of counts and countesses of
+Flanders whose very names were forgotten.
+
+Here was one of the few remaining "Beguinages" of Flanders, which we
+might have overlooked but for the kindness of a passerby who, seeing
+that we were strangers, pointed out the doorway to us.
+
+On either hand were small houses through the windows of which one could
+see old women sitting bowed over cushions rapidly moving the bobbins
+over the lace patterns. A heavy black door gave access to the Beguinage,
+a tiny retreat, _Noyé de Silence_, inaugurated, tradition says, in 1238,
+by Jean de Constantinople, who gave it as a refuge for the Sisters of
+St. Bogga. And here about a small grass grown square in which was a
+statue of the saint, dwelt a number of self-sacrificing women, bound by
+no vow, who had consecrated their lives to the care of the sick and
+needy.
+
+We spent an hour in this calm and fragrant retreat, where there was no
+noise save the sweet tolling of the convent bell, and the cooing of
+pigeons on the ridge pole of the chapel.
+
+In the square before the small station was a statue, which after
+questioning a number of people without result, I at length found to be
+that of Jean Palfyn who, my informant assured me, was the inventor of
+the forceps, and expressed surprise that I should be so interested in
+statuary as to care "who it was." He asked me if I was not English and
+when I answered that I was an American, looked somewhat dazed, much as
+if I had said "New Zealander" or "Kamschatkan," and was about to ask me
+some further question, but upon consideration thought better of it, and
+turned away shrugging his shoulders.
+
+To show how well the river Lys is loved by the people, I quote here a
+sort of prose poem by a local poet, one Adolph Verriest. It is called
+"Het Leielied."
+
+"La Lys flows over the level fields of our beautiful country, its fecund
+waters reflecting the blue of our wondrous Flemish landscape. Active and
+diligent servant, it seems to work ever to our advantage, multiplying in
+its charming sinuosities its power for contributing to our prosperity,
+accomplishing our tasks, and granting our needs. It gives to our lives
+ammunition and power. The noise of busy mills and the movement of bodies
+of workmen in its banks is sweet music in our ears, in tune to the
+rippling of its waters.
+
+"A silver ribbon starred with the blue corn-flower, the supple textile
+baptised in its soft waters is transformed by the hand of man into
+cloudy lace, into snowy linen, into fabrics of filmy lightness for my
+lady's wear, La Lys, name significant and fraught with poetry for
+us--giving life to the germ of the flax which it conserves through all
+its life better than any art of the chemist in the secret chambers of
+his laboratory.
+
+"Thanks to this gracious river, our lovely town excels in napery and is
+known throughout all the world. In harvest time the banks of the Lys are
+thronged with movement, the harvesters in quaint costumes, their bodies
+moving rhythmically to the words of the songs they sing, swinging the
+heavy bundles of flax from the banks to the level platforms, where it is
+allowed to sleep in the water, and later the heavy wagons are loaded to
+the cadence of other songs appropriate to the work. Large picturesque
+colored windmills wave their brown velvety hued sails against the piled
+up masses of cloud, and over all is intense color, life and movement.
+
+"The river plays then a most important part in the life on the Flemish
+plains about Courtrai, giving their daily bread to the peasants, and
+lending poetry to their existence. So, O Lys, our beautiful benefactor,
+we love you."
+
+At this writing (March, 1916) Courtrai is still occupied by the troops
+of the German Kaiser, and with the exception of the destruction of the
+Broël towers, the church of St. Martin, and the Old Belfry in the market
+place, the town is said to be "intact."
+
+Whenever possible we traveled through the Flemish littoral on the small
+steam trams, "chemins-de-fer-vicinaux," as they are called in French, in
+the Flemish tongue "Stoomtram," passing through fertile green meadows
+dotted with fat, sleek, black and white cows, and embossed with shining
+silvery waterways connecting the towns and villages. We noticed Englishy
+cottages of white stucco and red tiled roofs, amid well kept fields and
+market gardens in which both men and women seemed to toil from dawn to
+dewy evening. Flanders before the war was simply covered with these
+light railways. The little trains of black carriages drawn by puffing
+covered motors, discharging heavy black clouds of evil-smelling smoke
+and oily soot, rushed over the country from morning until night, and the
+clanging of the motorman's bell seemed never ending.
+
+[Illustration: The Broël Towers: Courtrai]
+
+To see the country thus was a privilege, and was most interesting, for
+one had to wait in the squares of the small towns, or at other central
+places until the corresponding motor arrived before the journey could
+proceed. Here there was a sort of exchange established where the
+farmers compared notes as to the rise or fall in commodities, or
+perchance the duty upon beets and potatoes.
+
+Loud and vehement was the talk upon these matters; really, did one not
+know the language, one might have fancied that a riot was imminent.
+
+One morning we halted at a small village called Gheluwe, where the train
+stopped beside a white-washed wall, and everyone got out, as the custom
+is. There seemed no reason for stopping here, for we were at some
+distance from the village, the spire of which could be seen above a belt
+of heavy trees ahead. The morning was somewhat chilly, and the only
+other occupant of the compartment was a young cleric with a soiled white
+necktie. He puffed away comfortably at a very thin, long, and
+evil-smelling "stogie" which he seemed to enjoy immensely, and which in
+the Flemish manner he seemed to eat as he smoked, eyeing us the while
+amicably though absent mindedly, as if we were far removed from his
+vicinity. As we neared the stopping place, two very jolly young farmer
+boys raced with the train in their quaint barrow-like wagon painted a
+bright green, and drawn by a pair of large dogs who foamed and panted
+past us "ventre à terre," with red jaws and flopping tongues.
+
+Had we not known of this breed of dogs we might have fancied, as many
+strangers do, that Flemish dogs are badly treated, but this is not the
+case. These dogs are very valuable, worth sometimes as much as five
+hundred francs (about $100).
+
+Inspections of these dogs are held regularly by the authorities. The
+straps and the arrangement of the girths are tested lest they should
+chafe the animal, and, I am told, the law now requires that a piece of
+carpet be carried for the animal to lie upon when resting, and a
+drinking bowl also has been added to the equipment of each cart. The
+dogs do not suffer. They are bred for the cart, and are called "_chiens
+de traite_," so that the charge of cruelty upon the part of ignorant
+tourists may be dismissed as untrue. There is a society for the
+prevention of cruelty to animals, and it is not unusual to see its sign
+displayed in the market places, with the caution "_Traitez les animaux
+avec douceur_." Rarely if ever is a case brought into court by the
+watchful police.
+
+The young cleric gazed at us inquiringly, as if he expected to hear us
+exclaim about the cruelty to animals, but catching his eye I smiled, and
+said something about "_ces bons chiens_," at which he seemed relieved,
+and nodded back grinning, but he did not remove the stogie from his
+mouth.
+
+Priests in Flanders seemed to enjoy much liberty of action, and do
+things not possible elsewhere. For instance, at Blankenberghe, a
+fashionable watering place on the coast, I saw a prosperous, well-fed
+one (if I may so characterize him without meaning any offense) dining at
+the Great Gasthof on the digue, who after finishing his _filet aux
+champignons_, with a bottle of _Baune superior_, ordered his "_demi
+tasse_" with _fine champagne_, and an Havana cigar which cost him not
+less than three francs (sixty cents) which he smoked like a connoisseur
+while he listened to the fine military band playing in the Kiosk. And
+why not, if you please?
+
+We remained for nearly twenty minutes beside this white wall at the
+roadside, the animated discussions of the farmers continuing, for the
+group was constantly augmented by fresh arrivals who meant to travel
+with us or back to the town from which we had come. It was here that we
+saw the first stork in Flanders, where indeed they are uncommon. This
+one had a nest in a large tree nearby. One of the boys shied a small
+stone at him as he flapped overhead, but, I think, without any idea of
+hitting him. The peasants assembled here eyed us narrowly. They probed
+me and my belongings with eyes of corkscrew penetration, but since this
+country of theirs was a show place to me, I argued that I had no right
+to object to their making in return a show of me. But such scrutiny is
+not comfortable, especially if one is seated in a narrow compartment,
+and the open-mouthed _vis à vis_ gazes at one with steely bluish green
+unwinking eyes--somewhat red rimmed. Especially if such scrutiny is
+accompanied by free comments upon one's person, delivered in a voice so
+pitched as to convey the information to all the other occupants, and
+mayhap the engine driver ahead.
+
+The other train at length arrived, there was an interchange of occupants
+and then we proceeded amid heavy clouds of thick black smoke which, for
+a time, the wind blew with us. Across the tilled fields are narrow paths
+leading to dykes and roads. There are many green ditches filled with
+water and in them we could see rather heavy splashes from time to time.
+These we discovered were made by large green bull frogs--really monsters
+they were, too. Of course we were below the sea level here, but one
+cannot credit the old story about the boy who plugged the dyke with his
+thumb, thereby saving the whole country.
+
+The dykes are many feet high and as the foundation is composed of heavy
+black stones, then layers of great red bricks and tiles, and finally
+turf and large willow branches interlaced most cunningly like giant
+basket work, such a story is impossible.
+
+My _vis à vis_, all the while regarding me unwinkingly, overheard me
+speak to A--, in English.
+
+Then he slowly took the stogie from his mouth and ejaculated,
+"_Ach--Engelsch!--Do it well met you?_"
+
+I replied that it certainly did.
+
+"_And met Madame?_"
+
+I nodded.
+
+"_Alst' u blieft mynheer--sir,_" he said. Then he changed his seat and
+thereafter related to the others that he had conversed with the
+strangers, who were English, and were traveling for pleasure, being
+_enormously rich_. I think thereafter he enjoyed the reputation of being
+an accomplished linguist. So, pleasantly did we amble along the narrow
+little steam tramway through luxurious green fields and smiling fertile
+landscape of the Flemish littoral in our well rewarded search for the
+quaint and the unusual.
+
+The Gothic Town Hall, a remarkable construction on the Grand' Place, and
+erected 1526, has been restored with a great amount of good taste in
+recent years, and the statues on its façade have been replaced with such
+skill that one is not conscious of modern work.
+
+The great Hall of the Magistrates on the ground floor, with its
+magnificent furniture, and the admirable modern mural paintings by the
+Flemish artists Guffens and Severts (1875) was worth a journey to see.
+The most noteworthy of these paintings represented the "Departure of
+Baldwin IX," Count of Flanders, at the beginning of the Fourth Crusade
+in 1202, and the "Consultation of the Flemish, before the great Battle
+of the Spurs" in 1302.
+
+In this chamber is a remarkable Renaissance mantelpiece, which is
+embellished with the arms of the Allied Towns of Bruges and Ghent,
+between which are the standard bearers of the doughty Knights of
+Courtrai, and two statues of the Archduke Albert and his Lady, all
+surrounding a statue of the Holy Virgin.
+
+On the upper floor is the Council Chamber, in which is another
+mantelpiece hardly less ornate and interesting, and executed in what may
+be called the "flamboyant" manner in rich polychrome. It is dated 1527
+and was designed by (one of the) Keldermans (?).
+
+It has rows or ranges of statuary said to represent both the Vices and
+the Virtues. Below are reliefs indicating the terrible punishment
+inflicted upon those who transgress. Statues of Charles V, the Infanta
+Isabella, and others are on _corbels_.
+
+Very large drawn maps of the ancient town and its dependencies cover the
+walls, and these are dated 1641.[1]
+
+
+
+
+Termonde (Dendermonde)
+
+
+
+
+Termonde (Dendermonde)
+
+
+A strange half deserted little town on the right bank of the river
+Scheldt, clustered about a bridge, on both sides of a small sluggish
+stream called the "Dendre," where long lines of women were washing
+clothes the live-long day, and chattering like magpies the while. A
+Grand' Place, with heavy trees at one side, and on the other many small
+_estaminets_ and drinking shops. That was Termonde. My note book says
+"Population 10,000, town fortified; forbidden to make sketches outside
+the walls, which are fortifications. Two good pictures in old church of
+Notre Dame, by Van Dyck, 'Crucifixion' and an 'Adoration of the
+Shepherds' (1635). Fine Hôtel de Ville, with five gables and sculptured
+decoration. Also belfry of the fourteenth century."
+
+Termonde is famed throughout Flanders as the birthplace of the "Four
+sons of Aymon," and the exploits of the great horse Bayard. The legend
+of the Four Sons of Aymon is endeared to the people, and they never tire
+of relating the story in song as well as prose. Indeed this legend is
+perhaps the best preserved of all throughout Flanders. It dates from the
+time of Charlemagne, the chief of the great leaders of Western Europe,
+whose difficulty in governing and keeping in subjection and order his
+warlike and turbulent underlords and vassals is a matter of history
+known to almost every schoolboy.
+
+Among these vassal lordlings, whose continued raids and grinding
+exactions caused him most anxious moments, was a certain Duke (Herzog)
+called Aymon, who had four sons, named Renault, Allard, Guichard, and
+Ricard, all of most enormous stature and prodigious strength. Of these
+Renault was the tallest, the strongest, the most agile, and the most
+cunning. In height he measured what would correspond to sixteen feet,
+"and he could span a man's waist with his hand, and lifting him in the
+air, squeeze him to death." This was one of his favorite tricks with the
+enemy in battle.
+
+Aymon had a brother named Buves who dwelt in Aigremont, which is near
+Huy, and one may still see there the castle of Aymon, who was also
+called the Wild Boar of the Ardennes. This brother Buves in a fit of
+anger against Charlemagne for some fancied slight, sent an insulting
+message to the latter, refusing his command to accompany him on his
+expedition against the Saracens, which so exasperated Charlemagne that
+he sent one of his sons to remonstrate with Buves and if need be, to
+threaten him with vengeance, in case he persisted in refusing. Buves was
+ready, and without waiting to receive his message, he met the messenger
+half way and promptly murdered him.
+
+Then Charlemagne, in a fury, sent a large and powerful body of men to
+punish Buves, who was killed in the battle which took place at
+Aigremont. Thereupon the four sons of Aymon met and over their swords
+swore vengeance against Charlemagne, and betook themselves to the
+fastnesses of the Ardennes, in which they built for themselves the great
+Castle of Montfort which is said to have been even stronger than that
+called Aigremont.
+
+On the banks of the river Ourthe may still be seen the great gray bulk
+of its ruins. About this stronghold they constructed high walls, and
+there they sent out challenges defying the great Emperor.
+
+Now each of the four sons had his own fashion of fighting. Renault
+fought best on horseback, and to him Maugis son of Buves brought a great
+horse named Bayard ("Beiaard" in Flemish) of magic origin, possessed of
+demoniac powers, among which was the ability to run like the wind and
+never grow weary. Here in this stronghold the four sons of Aymon dwelt,
+making occasional sallies against the vassals of Charlemagne, until at
+length the Emperor gathered a mighty force of soldiers and horses and
+engines and scaling ladders, and, surrounding the stronghold, at length
+succeeded in capturing it.
+
+Tradition says that among Charlemagne's retinue was Aymon himself, and
+intimates that it was by the father's treachery that the four mighty
+sons were almost captured, but at any rate the great castle of Montfort
+was reduced to ashes and ruin, and only the fact of Renault's taking the
+other brothers on the back of the wondrous horse Bayard saved them all
+from the Emperor's fury. So they escaped into Gascony, where they
+independently attacked the Saracens and drove them forth and extended
+their swords to the King of Gascony, Yon, who treacherously delivered
+them in chains over to Charlemagne. These chains they broke and threw in
+the Emperor's face, fighting their way to freedom with their bare hands.
+
+History thereafter is silent as to their end. Of Renault it is known
+only that he became a friar at Cologne, where his skill and strength
+were utilized by the authorities in building the walls, and that one day
+while at work, some masons whom he had offended crept up behind him and
+pushed him off a great height into the River Rhine, and thus he was
+drowned. Years afterward the Church canonized him, and in Westphalia at
+Dortmund may be seen a monument erected in his memory extolling his
+prowess, his deeds, and his strength.
+
+As to the great and magical horse Bayard, the chronicle says that,
+captured finally by Charlemagne's soldiers and brought before him, the
+Emperor deliberated what he should do with it, since it refused to be
+ridden. Finally he ordered that the largest mill stone in the region
+should be made fast to its neck by heavy chains, and that it should then
+be cast into the River Meuse.
+
+Bayard contemptuously shook off the heavy stone and with steam pouring
+from his nostrils, gave three neighs of derision and triumph and,
+climbing the opposite bank, vanished into the gloom of the forest where
+none dared follow. Of the immortality of this great horse history is
+emphatic and gravely states that, for all that is known to the contrary,
+he may still be at large in the Ardennes, but that "no man has since
+beheld him."
+
+And now yearly on the Grand' Place at Termonde there is a great festival
+and procession in his honor depicting the chief incidents of his life
+and mighty deeds, while, at Dinaut, on the River Meuse, the scene of
+some of his mightiest deeds, may still be seen the great Rock Bayard,
+standing more than forty yards high and separated from the face of the
+mountain by a roadway cut by Louis the Sixteenth, who cared little for
+legends. From the summit of this great needle of rock sprang the horse
+Bayard, flying before the forces of Charlemagne with the four brothers
+on his back, and, so tradition says, "leaped across the river,
+disappearing in the woods on the further bank."
+
+[Illustration: The Museum: Termonde]
+
+We were fortunate in being at Termonde on the occasion of this
+picturesque festival. Songs of Bayard and his prowess were sung in the
+streets by various musical societies, each of which carried huge banners
+bearing their titles and honors, and some curious frameworks on poles
+which were literally covered with medals and wreaths bestowed upon the
+societies by the town at various times. These were borne proudly through
+the streets, and each society had its crowd of partisans and loud
+admirers. Had it not been so picturesque and strange, it would have
+seemed childish and pathetic, but the people were so evidently in
+earnest and seemed to enjoy it so hugely that the chance stranger could
+not but enter into the spirit of it all with them. This we did and
+wisely. There was much drinking of a thin sour beer called "faro," which
+is very popular with the peasants, and the various societies sang
+themselves hoarse, to the delight of all, including themselves. The
+horse Bayard, as seen in the market place, was a great wicker affair
+hung in wondrous chain armor, and the four sons of Aymon, also of
+wickerwork, and likewise clad in armor, each bearing a huge sword, sat
+upon his back and were trundled through the streets. There were also
+booths in which the inevitable and odoriferous fritters were fried, and
+some merry-go-rounds with thunderous, wheezy, groaning steam organs
+splitting one's ears, and platforms upon which the peasants danced and
+danced until one would have thought them fit to drop with fatigue.
+
+It did not take long to examine the attractions most thoroughly, but
+there were two very extraordinary exhibits of enormously fat women (who
+are great favorites with the peasantry, and no celebration seems to be
+complete without them). Their booths were placed opposite to each other,
+nearly face to face, with only about forty feet between them. In this
+space crowded the peasants listening open mouthed in wonder at the
+vocabulary of the rival "barkers."
+
+As usual, a shower came on during the afternoon, and the decorations
+were soaked with the downpour. The wickerwork horse Bayard was left to
+itself out in the square, and the wind whisked the water soaked
+draperies over its head, disclosing piteously all of its poor framework.
+The leaden skies showing no promise of clearing, we called the driver of
+the ancient "fiacre," and after settling our score at the "Grande Hôtel
+Café Royal de la Tête d'Or," we departed for the station of the "chemin
+de fer," which bumped us well but safely along the road to Antwerp.
+
+We came again later on to this little town on the river, thinking that
+we might not have done it entire justice, because of the discomfort of
+the rainy day. And while we did not, it is true, find anything of great
+value to record, nor anything in the way of bells to gloat over, still
+our rather dismal impression of the little town in the drizzling rain as
+we last saw it, was quite removed and replaced by a picture more to our
+liking.
+
+We were constantly finding new and unusual charms in the quaint old
+towns, each seeming for some reason quainter than the preceding one.
+Here on this occasion it looked so tranquil, so somnolent, that we
+tarried all unwilling to lose its flavor of the unusual. There were old
+weather beaten walls of ancient brick, mossy in places, and here and
+there little flights of steep steps leading down into the water; broad
+pathways there were too, shaded by tall trees and behind them vistas of
+delightful old houses, each doubtless with its tales of joy, gayety,
+pain or terror of the long ago.
+
+The local policeman stood at a deserted street corner examining us
+curiously. He was the only sign of life visible except ourselves, and
+soon he, satisfied that we were only crazy foreigners with nothing else
+to do but wander about, took himself off yawning, his hands clasped
+behind his back, and his short sword rattling audibly in the stillness.
+
+The atmosphere of this silent street by the river, shaded almost to a
+twilight by the thick foliage, with the old houses all about us, seemed
+to invite reminiscence, or dreams of the stern and respectable old
+burghers and burgesses in sombre clothing, wide brimmed hats, and
+stiffly starched linen ruffs about their necks as rendered by Rembrandt,
+Hals, Rubens and Jordaens. They must have been veritable domestic
+despots, magnates of the household, but certainly there must have been
+something fine about them too, for they are most impressive in their
+portraits.
+
+"They shook the foot of Spain from their necks," and when they were not
+fighting men they fought the waters. Truly the history of their
+struggles is a wondrous one! None of these was in sight, however, as we
+strolled the streets, but we did disturb the chat or gossip of two
+delightful, apple cheeked old ladies in white caps, who became dumb with
+astonishment at the sight of two foreigners who walked about gazing up
+at the roofs and windows of the houses, and at the mynheer in
+knickerbockers who was always looking about him and writing in a little
+book.
+
+One cannot blame them for being so dumbfounded at such actions, such
+_incomprehensible_ disturbing actions in a somnolent town of long ago.
+In the vestibule of the dark dim old church, I copied the following
+inscription from a wall. It sounds something like English gone quite
+mad--and the last line, it seems to me, runs rather trippingly--and
+contains something of an idea too, whatever it means:
+
+ "Al wat er is. Mijn hoop is Christus en zyn bloed.
+  Door deze leer ik en hoop door die het eenwig goed.
+  Ons leven is maar eenen dag, vol ziekten en vol naar geklag.
+  Vol rampen dampen (!) en vendriet. Een schim
+  Eien droom en anders niet."
+
+A small steamer had advertised to leave for Antwerp about 3 o'clock. It
+lay puffing and wheezing at the side of the stream, and we went on board
+and settled ourselves comfortably, tired out with our wanderings. Here a
+bevy of children discovered us and ranged themselves along the dyke to
+watch our movements, exploding with laughter whenever we addressed one
+another. Finally an oily hand appeared at the hatchway of the engine
+room, followed by the touseled yellow head of a heavily bearded man. He
+looked at us searchingly, then at the line of tormenting children. Then
+he seized a long pole and advanced threateningly upon the phalanx. They
+fled incontinently out of reach, calling out various expletives in
+Flemish--of which I distinguished only one, "Koek bakker"! This would
+seem to be the crowning insult to cast at a respectable engineer, for he
+shook his fist at them.
+
+To our amazement he then touched his greasy cap to us, and in the
+broadest possible Scotch dialect bade us welcome. There is a saying that
+one has only to knock on the companion ladder of any engine room in any
+port the world over, and call out "Sandy" to bring up in response one
+or two canny Scots from the engine room below. This little steamer
+evidently took the place of the carrier's cart used elsewhere; for
+passengers and parcels, as well as crates of vegetables were her cargo.
+At length we started puffing along the river, and stopping from time to
+time at small landings leading to villages whose roofs appeared above
+the banks and dykes.
+
+Delightful bits of the more intimate side of the people's life revealed
+themselves to us on these unusual trips. We passed a fine looking old
+peasant woman in a beautiful lace cap, rowing a boat with short powerful
+strokes in company with a young girl, both keeping perfect time. The
+boat was laden with green topped vegetables and brightly burnished brass
+milk cans, forming a picture that was most quaint to look upon. And
+later we passed a large Rhine barge, from the cabin of which came the
+most appetizing odor of broiled bacon. Our whistle brought out the whole
+family, and likewise a little nervous black and white dog who went
+nearly mad with the excitement attendant upon driving us away from the
+property he had to protect.
+
+Night was falling when we reached the quay side in Antwerp, and we
+disembarked to the tinkling melody of the wondrous chimes from the tower
+of the great Cathedral.
+
+
+
+
+Louvain
+
+
+
+
+Louvain
+
+
+It was in the great Gothic Church of St. Peter that Mathias Van den
+Gheyn delighted to execute those wonderful "_morceaux fugues_" now at
+once the delight and the despair of the musical world, upon the fine
+chime of bells in the tower. This venerable tower was entirely destroyed
+in the terrible bombardment of the town in 1914. It is probable that no
+town in Belgium was more frequented by learned men of all professions,
+since its university enjoyed such a high reputation the world over, and
+certainly its library, likewise entirely destroyed, with its precious
+tomes and manuscripts, was considered second to none.
+
+The old Church of St. Peter, opposite the matchless Hôtel de Ville, was
+a cruciform structure of noble proportions and flanked with remarkable
+chapels; it was begun, according to the archives in Brussels, in 1423,
+to replace an earlier building of the tenth century, and was "finished"
+in the sixteenth century. There was, it seems, originally a wooden spire
+on the west side of the structure but "it was blown down in a storm in
+1606."
+
+When I saw it in 1910, the church was in process of restoration, and
+the work was being very intelligently done by competent men. Before the
+façade was a most curious row of bizarre small houses of stucco, nearly
+every one of which was a sort of saloon or café, and the street before
+them was quite obstructed by small round tables and chairs at which, in
+the afternoon from four to five, the shopkeepers and bourgeois of the
+town gathered for the afternoon "_aperitif_," whatever it might be, and
+to discuss politics. For be it known that this period before the
+outbreak of the war, was in Belgium a troublous one for the Flemings,
+because of the continued friction between the clerical and the
+anti-clerical parties. These bizarre houses, I was told by one of the
+priests with whom I talked, were owned by the church, and were very
+profitable holdings, but tourists and others had made such sport of
+them, and even entered such grave protests to the Bishop, that the
+authorities finally concluded to tear them down. But they were certainly
+very picturesque, as my picture shows, their red tiled roofs and green
+blinds, making most agreeable notes of color against old St. Peter's
+gray wall.
+
+[Illustration: The Cathedral: Louvain]
+
+The church so wantonly destroyed in 1914 contained some most remarkable
+works of art in the nine chapels. Among these were the "Martyrdom of St.
+Erasmus," by Dierick Bouts, long thought to be a work of Memling.
+Another painting, "The Last Supper," was also considered one of
+Memling's works, until its authenticity was established by the finding
+of the receipt by Bouts for payment, discovered in the archives of the
+Library in Louvain in 1870. Formerly the church owned a great treasure
+in Quentin Matsys' "Holy Family," but this was sold to the Brussels
+Museum for something less than £10,000, and upon the outbreak of the war
+was in that collection. It is said that most of these great paintings
+owned in Belgium were placed in zinc and leaden cases and sent over to
+England for safety. It is to be hoped that this is true.
+
+The _custode_ showed, with most impressive manner, a quaint image of the
+Savior which, he related, was connected with a miraculous legend to the
+effect that the statue had captured and held a thief who had broken into
+the church upon one occasion! The townspeople venerate this image, and
+on each occasion when I visited the church, I noted the number of old
+women on their knees before it, and the many lighted waxen candles which
+they offered in its honor. A wave of indignation passed over the world
+of art when the newspapers reported the destruction of the beautiful
+Hôtel de Ville, just opposite old St. Peter's. This report was almost
+immediately followed by a denial from Berlin that it had suffered any
+harm whatever, and it would seem that this is true.
+
+The Library, however, with its hundreds of thousands of priceless
+records, and masterpieces of printing is, it is admitted, entirely
+destroyed! This great building, black and crumbling with age, was
+situated in a small street behind the Hôtel de Ville. The town itself
+was bright and clean looking, and there was a handsome boulevard leading
+from the new Gothic railway station situated in a beflowered parkway,
+which was lined with prosperous looking shops. This whole district was
+"put to the torch" and wantonly destroyed when the town was captured in
+1914. Late photographs show the new station levelled to the ground, and
+the parkway turned into a cemetery with mounds and crosses showing where
+the soldiers who lost their lives in the bombardment, and subsequent
+sacking, are buried.
+
+Remembering the complete destruction of Ypres, one can only believe that
+the preservation of the Hôtel de Ville was entirely miraculous and
+unintentional.
+
+P.J. Verhaegan, a Flemish painter of considerable reputation and
+ability, had decorated one of the two "absidiole" chapels which
+contained a very richly carved tomb over a certain lady of the
+thirteenth century whose fame is known all over Flanders. The legend was
+most dramatically told to me by one of the young priests of St. Peter's,
+and this is the story of the beautiful Margaret, called "the
+Courageous," (La Fière).
+
+[Illustration: The Town Hall: Louvain]
+
+By the Grace of God, there lived in Louvain, in the year 1235, one
+Armand and his wife, both devout Catholics and the keepers of a
+travelers' "ordinary" on the road to the coast, called Tirlemont. These
+two at length decided to retire from their occupation as "Hôteliers,"
+and devote and consecrate the remainder of their lives to God, and the
+blessed saints.
+
+Now they had a niece who was a most beautiful girl and whose name was
+Margaret, and she had such disdain for the young gallants of Louvain
+that they bestowed upon her the name of "La Fière." Although but
+eighteen years of age she determined to follow the example of her uncle
+and aunt, and later become a "Beguine," thus devoting her life to
+charity and the care of the sick and unfortunate, for this is the work
+of the order of "Beguines."
+
+They realized a large sum of money from the sale of the hotel, and this
+became known throughout the countryside. It was said that the money was
+hidden in the house in which they lived, and at length eight young men
+of evil lives, pondering upon this, resolved that they would rob this
+noble couple. Upon a stormy night they demanded admittance, saying that
+they were belated travelers.
+
+The young girl Margaret was absent from the room for a moment, when
+these ruffians seized the old couple and murdered them. On her return to
+the upper room from the cellar, Margaret surprised them ransacking the
+strong box beside the fireplace. So they overpowered her also, but at
+once there ensued an argument as to what should be done with her, when
+the chief rogue, admiring her great beauty, proposed to her that she
+accept him as her lover and depart with him for France, where they could
+live happily. This she scornfully refused, whereupon "one of the
+ruffians strangled her for ten marcs of silver; and her soul, white and
+pure as the angels, ascended to the throne of Jesus, in whom she so well
+believed, and there became '_l'unique espoux dont elle ambitionait
+l'Amour._'"
+
+It is said that Henry the First sitting in a window of his château on
+the river Dyle one night, saw floating on the dark water the corpse of
+this young martyr, where the ruffians had thus thrown her, and "the pale
+radiance from her brow illuminated the whole valley." Calling to his
+consort, Marguerite of Flanders, he pointed out to her the wondrous
+sight, and hastening forth they drew her dripping body from the dark
+slimy water and bore it tenderly to the château. The news spread far and
+wide, and for days came throngs to view the "sweet martyr's" body, for
+which the priests had prepared a costly catafalque, and for her a grand
+mass was celebrated in St. Peter's where she was laid at rest in a tomb,
+the like of which for costliness was never seen in Flanders.
+
+And this is the legend of Margaret, called "La Fière," whose blameless
+life was known throughout the land.
+
+I wish that I had made a drawing of this tomb while I was in the church,
+but I neglected unfortunately to do so. It was of simple lines, but of
+great richness of detail. Of course both it and the beautiful wax
+paintings of M. Verhaegan are now entirely destroyed in the ruins of St.
+Peter's.
+
+
+
+
+Douai
+
+
+
+
+Douai
+
+
+Although across the border in France, Douai must still be called a
+Flemish town, because of its history and affiliations. The town is
+quaint in the extreme and of great antiquity, growing up originally
+around a Gallo-Roman fort. In the many wars carried on by the French
+against the English, the Flemish and the Germans, not to mention its
+sufferings from the invading Spaniards, it suffered many sieges and
+captures. Resisting the memorable attack of Louis the Eleventh, it has
+regularly celebrated the anniversary of this victory each year in a
+notable Fête or Kermesse, in which the effigies of the giant Gayant and
+his family, made of wickerwork and clad in medieval costumes, are
+paraded through the town by order of the authorities, followed by a
+procession of costumed attendants through the tortuous streets, to the
+music of bands and the chimes from the belfry of the Hôtel de Ville.
+
+This, the most notable edifice in the town, is a fine Gothic tower one
+hundred and fifty feet high, with a remarkable construction of tower and
+turrets, supported by corbels of the fifteenth century, containing a
+fine chime of bells made by the Van den Gheyns. The bells are visible
+from below, hanging sometimes well outside the turret of the bell
+chamber, and, ranging tier upon tier, from those seemingly the size of a
+gallon measure, to those immense ones weighing from fifteen hundred to
+two thousand pounds. This great tower witnessed the attack and
+occupation of the Spaniards, the foundation by the Roman Catholics of
+the great University in 1652 to counter-act the Protestantism of the
+Netherlands, which had but a brief career, and the capture of the town
+by Louis the Fourteenth. Here was published in 1610 an English
+translation of the Old Testament for Roman Catholics, as well as the
+English Roman Catholic version of the scriptures, and the New Testament
+translated at Rheims in 1582, and known as the "Douai Bible." This was
+also the birthplace of Jean Bellgambe, the painter (1540) surnamed
+"Maître des Couleurs," whose nine great oaken panels form the wonderful
+altarpiece in the church of Notre Dame.
+
+[Illustration: The Town Hall: Douai]
+
+Douai was, before the great war, a peaceful industrial center of some
+importance, of some thirty thousand inhabitants. It has been said that
+the Fleming worked habitually fifty-two weeks in the year. An exception,
+however, must be made for fête days, when no self-respecting Fleming
+will work. On these days the holiday makers are exceedingly
+boisterous, and the streets are filled with the peasants clad in all
+their holiday finery. But it is on the day of the Kermesse that your
+Fleming can be seen to the best advantage. There are merry-go-rounds,
+shooting galleries, swings, maybe a traveling circus or two, and a
+theatrical troupe which shows in a much bespangled and mirrored tent,
+decorated with tinsel and flaming at night with naphtha torches. Bands
+of music parade the streets, each carrying a sort of banneret hung with
+medals and trophies awarded by the town authorities at the various
+"_séances_."
+
+But the greatest noise comes from the barrel organs of huge size and
+played by steam, or sometimes by a patient horse clad in gay apparel who
+trudges a sort of treadmill which furnishes the motive power. In even
+these small towns of Ancient Flanders such as Douai, the old allegorical
+representations, formerly the main feature of the event, are now quite
+rare, and therefore this event of the parade of the wicker effigies of
+the fabulous giant Gayant and his family was certainly worth the journey
+from Tournai. The day was made memorable also to the writer and his
+companion because of the following adventure.
+
+There had been, it seems, considerable feeling against England among the
+lower orders in this border town over the Anglo-Boer War, so that
+overhearing us speaking English, some half grown lads began shouting
+out at us "Verdamt Engelsch" and other pleasantries, and in a moment a
+crowd gathered about us.
+
+With the best Flemish at his command the writer addressed them,
+explaining that we were Americans, but what the outcome would have been,
+had it not been for the timely arrival of a gendarme, I know not; but
+under his protection we certainly beat a hasty retreat. The lower
+classes of Flemings in their cups are unpleasant people to deal with,
+and it were well not to arouse them. But for this incident, and the fact
+that the afternoon brought on a downpour of rain, which somewhat
+dampened the ardor of the people and the success of the fête, our little
+trip over the border to this historic town would be considered worth
+while. Our last view of Douai was from the train window as we recrossed
+the river Scarpe, with the massive tower of the Hôtel de Ville showing
+silhouetted dim and gray against a streaming sky.
+
+
+
+
+Oudenaarde
+
+
+
+
+Oudenaarde
+
+
+From the small stucco station, embowered in luxuriant trees, we crossed
+a wide grass grown square, faring towards the turrets of the town, which
+appeared above the small red and black tiled roofs of some mean looking
+peasant houses, and an _estaminet_, of stucco evidently brand new, and
+bearing a gilt lion over its door. Here a wide and rather well paved
+street led towards the town, bordered upon either hand by well kept and
+clean but blank looking houses, with the very narrowest sidewalks
+imaginable, all of which somehow reminded us of some of the smaller
+streets of Philadelphia. The windows of these houses flush with the
+street were closely hung with lace, and invariably in each one was
+either a vase or a pot of some sort filled with bright flowers.
+Occasionally there was a small poor looking shop window in which were
+dusty glass jars of candy, pipes, packages of tobacco, coils of rope and
+hardware, and in one, evidently that of an apothecary, a large carved
+and varnished black head of a grinning negro, this being the sign for
+such merchandise as tobacco and drugs.
+
+Here and there doorways were embellished with shiny brass knockers of
+good form, and outside one shop was a tempting array of cool green
+earthenware bowls of such beautiful shape that I passed them by with
+great longing.
+
+Soon this street made a turning, where there was a good bronze statue to
+some dignitary or other, and I caught a glimpse of that wondrous tower
+of the famous Hôtel de Ville, the mate to that at Louvain, and soon I
+was beneath its Gothic walls, bearing row upon row of niches, empty now,
+but once containing effigies of the powerful lords and ladies of
+Flanders. These rows rise tier upon tier to that exquisitely slender
+lace-like tower crowned with a large gilded statue of the town's patron,
+pennant in hand, and shining in the sunlight.
+
+From the Inn of the "Golden Apple of Oudenaarde" just opposite, I
+appraised its beauties over a good meal of young broiled chicken and
+lettuce salad, and a bowl of "_café au lait_" that was all satisfying.
+
+Afterwards, the _custode_, an old soldier, showed us the "Salle des Pas
+Perdus," containing a fine chimney piece alone worth the journey from
+Antwerp, and the Council Chamber, still hung with some good ancient
+stamped leather, and several large badly faded and cracked Spanish
+paintings of long forgotten dignitaries both male and female.
+
+[Illustration: The Town Hall: Oudenaarde]
+
+One Paul Van Schelden, a wood carver of great ability and renown,
+wrought a wonderful doorway, which was fast falling apart when I saw it.
+This gave access to a large room, the former Cloth Hall, now used as a
+sort of theatre and quite disfigured at one end by a stage and scenic
+arch. The walls were stenciled meanly with a large letter A surmounted
+by a crown. The interior had nothing of interest to show.
+
+On the opposite side of the square was the large old church of St.
+Walburga, with a fine tower capped by a curious upturned bulbous cupola,
+upon which was a large gilt open-work clock face. As usual, there was a
+chime of bells visible, and a flock of rooks circling about the tower.
+The style of St. Walburga was Romanesque, with Gothic tendencies. Built
+in the twelfth century, it suffered severely at the hands of the
+Iconoclasts, and even in its unfinished state was very impressive, none
+the less, either, because of the rows of small stucco red roofed houses
+which clung to its walls, leaving only a narrow entrance to its portal.
+Inside I found an extremely rich polychromed Renaissance "reredos," and
+there was also the somewhat remarkable tomb of "Claude Talon," kept in
+good order and repair.
+
+Oudenaarde was famed for the part it played in the history of Flanders,
+and was also the birthplace of Margaret of Parma. It was long the
+residence of Mary of Burgundy, and gave shelter to Charles the Fifth,
+who sought the protection of its fortifications during the siege of
+Tournai in 1521.
+
+Here, too, Marlborough vanquished the French in 1708. I might go on for
+a dozen more pages citing the names of remarkable personages who gave
+fame to the town, which now is simply wiped from the landscape. But by
+some miracle, it is stated, the Town Hall still stands practically
+uninjured. I have tried in vain to substantiate this, or at least to
+obtain some data concerning it, but up to this writing my letters to
+various officials remain unanswered.
+
+I like to think of Oudenaarde as I last saw it--the huge black door of
+the church yawning like a gaping chasm, the square partly filled with
+devout peasants in holiday attire for the church fête, whatever it was.
+Part of the procession had passed beyond the gloom of the vast aisles
+into the frank openness of daylight. Between the walls of the small
+houses at either hand a long line of figures was marching with many
+silken banners. There seemed to be an interminable line of young
+girls--first communicants, I fancied,--in all the purity of their white
+veils and gowns against the somber dull grays of the church. This mass
+of pure white was of dazzling, startling effect, something like a great
+bed of white roses.
+
+[Illustration: Old Square and Church: Oudenaarde]
+
+Then came a phalanx of nuns clad in brown--I know not what their order
+was--their wide white cowls or coifs serving only to accentuate the
+pallor of their grave faces, veritable "incarnations of meek
+renunciation," as some poet has beautifully expressed it.
+
+Then followed a group of seminarians clad in the lace and scarlet of
+their order, swinging to and fro their brazen censers from which poured
+fragrant clouds of incense.
+
+All at once a curious murmur came from the multitude, followed by a
+great rustling, as the whole body of people sank to their knees, and
+then I saw beyond at a distance across the square, the archbishop's
+silken canopy, and beneath it a venerable figure with upraised arms,
+elevating the Host.
+
+Surely a moment of great picturesqueness, even to the non-participant;
+the bent heads of the multitude; the long lines of kneeling black
+figures; scarlet and gold and lace of the priests' robes against the
+black note of the nuns' somber draperies; the white coifs and veils,
+through which the sweet rapture of young religious awe made even homely
+features seem beautiful: the gold and scarlet again of the choristers;
+and finally, that culminating note of splendor beneath the silken canopy
+of the cardinal archbishop (Cardinal Mercier) enthroned here like some
+ancient venerated monarch; all this against the neutral gray and black
+lines of the townspeople; surely this was the psychological moment in
+which to leave Oudenaarde, that I might retain such a picture in my
+mind's eye.
+
+
+
+
+Furnes
+
+
+
+
+Furnes
+
+
+The old red brick, flat topped, tower of St. Nicholas was the magnet
+which drew us to this dear sleepy old town, in the southwest corner of
+the Belgian littoral; and here, lodged in the historic hostel of the
+"Nobèle Rose" we spent some golden days. The name of the town is
+variously pronounced by the people Foorn, Fern, and even Fearn. I doubt
+if many travelers in the Netherlands ever heard of it. Yet the town is
+one of great antiquity and renown, its origin lost in the dimness of the
+ages.
+
+According to the chronicles in the great Library at Bruges, as early as
+A.D. 800 it was the theatre of invasions and massacres by the Normans.
+That learned student of Flemish history, M. Leopold Plettinck, has made
+exhaustive researches among the archives in both Brussels and Bruges,
+and while he has been unable to trace its beginnings he has collected
+and assorted an immense amount of detailed matter referring to Baudoin
+(or Baldwin) Bras de Fer, who seems to have been very active in
+harassing the people who had the misfortune to come under his hand.
+
+The War of the "Deux Roses" was fought outside the walls here, likewise
+the Battle of the Spurs took place on the plains between Furnes and
+Ypres. Following the long undulations of the dunes from Dunkerque,
+overgrown here and there with a rank coarse grass sown by the
+authorities to protect them from the wind and the encroachments of the
+ever menacing sea, dune succeeds dune, forming a landscape of most
+unique character. Passing the small hamlet of Zuitcote, marked by the
+sunken tower of its small church, which now serves as a sort of
+semaphore for the fishing boats off the coast, one reached the canal
+which crosses the plain picturesquely. This led one along the path to
+the quaint old town of Furnes, showing against the heavy dark green of
+the old trees, its dull red and pink roofs with the bulk of the tower
+forming a picture of great attractiveness.
+
+The town before the war had about six thousand population which seemed
+quite lost in the long lines of silent grass grown streets, and the
+immense Grand' Place, around which were ranged large dark stone Flemish
+houses of somewhat forbidding exteriors. All the activity of the town,
+however, was here in this large square, for the lower floors had been
+turned into shops, and also here was the hotel, before which a temporary
+moving picture theatre had been put up.
+
+[Illustration: The Fish Market: Ypres]
+
+These are very popular in Flanders, and are called "Cinema-Américain."
+The portable theatres are invariably wooden and are carried "knocked
+down" in large wagons drawn by hollow-backed, thick-legged Flemish
+horses. As a rule they have steam organs to furnish the "music" and the
+blare of these can be heard for miles across the level plains.
+
+The pictures shown are usually of the lurid sort to suit the peasants,
+and the profits must be considerable, as the charge is ten and
+twenty-five cents for admission. On this square is the Hôtel de Ville,
+the Palace of Justice, and Conciergerie. This latter is a sort of square
+"donjon" of great antiquity, crenelated, with towers at each corner and
+the whole construction forming an admirable specimen of Hispano-Flemish
+architecture.
+
+The angle of the "Place" opposite the pavilion of the officers is
+occupied by the Hôtel de Ville and the "Palais de Justice," very
+different in style, for on one side is a massive façade of severe aspect
+and no particular period, while on the other is a most graceful Flemish
+Renaissance construction, reminding one of a Rubens opposed, in all its
+opulence, to a cold classic portrait by Gainsborough.
+
+The Hôtel de Ville, of 1612, exhibits in its "Pignons," its columns and
+Renaissance motifs, a large high tower of octagonal form surmounted by a
+small cupola. Its frontage pushes forward a loggia of quite elegant
+form, with balustrades in the Renaissance style.
+
+Above this grave looking gray building rises the tower of the
+"Beffroi," part Gothic in style.
+
+All the houses on the "Place" have red tiled roofs, and gables in the
+Renaissance style very varied in form, and each one with a
+characteristic window above, framed richly _en coquille_, and decorated
+with arabesques.
+
+Behind these houses is what remains of the ancient Church of St.
+Walburga, half buried in the thick verdure of the garden. After
+considerable difficulty we gained admittance to the ruin, because it is
+not considered safe to walk beneath its walls. Even in its ruin it was
+most imposing and majestic. We would have tarried here, but the
+_custode_ was very nervous and hurried us through the thickets of bushes
+growing up between the stones of the pavement, and fairly pushed us out
+again into the small parkway, accepting the very generous fee which I
+gave him with what I should call surliness. But we ignored this
+completely, after the manner of old travelers, which we had been advised
+to adopt.
+
+At one side were stored some rather dilapidated and dirty wax figures
+which reclined in various postures, somewhat too lifelike in the gloom
+of the chamber, and entirely ludicrous, so much so that it was with much
+difficulty that we controlled our smiles. The roving eye of the surly
+_custode_, however, warned us against levity of any sort. These wax
+figures, he explained, gruffly enough, were those of the most sacred
+religious personages, and the attendant saints and martyrs, used in the
+great procession and ceremony of the "Sodalité," which is a sort of
+Passion Play, shown during the last Sunday in July of each year in the
+streets of the town. The story relates an adventure of a Count of
+Flanders, who brought to Furnes, during the first years of the Holy
+Crusades, a fragment of the True Cross. Assailed by a tempest in the
+Channel off the coast, he vowed the precious object to the first church
+he came to, if his prayers for succor were answered. "Immediately the
+storm abated, and the Count, bearing the fragment of the Cross aloft,
+was miraculously transported over the waves to dry land."
+
+This land proved to be the sand dunes of Flanders, and the church tower
+was that of St. Walburga. After a conference with his followers, who
+also were saved, he founded the solemn annual procession in honor of the
+True Cross, in which was also introduced the representation of the
+"Mysteries of the Passion."[2]
+
+This procession was suppressed during the religious troubles of the
+Reform, but afterwards was revived by the church authorities, and now
+all of the episodes of the life of Christ pass yearly through the great
+Grand' Place--the stable in Bethlehem; the flight into Egypt; down to
+the grand drama of the Calvary and the Resurrection, all are shown and
+witnessed with great reverence by the crowds of devout peasants from the
+surrounding country. And these pathetic waxen figures were those of
+Prophets, Apostles, Jews, Angels, Cavaliers and Roman Soldiers, lying
+all about the dim dusty chamber in disorder. Afterwards, from the window
+of the quaint Hôtel of the "Nobèle Rose," we saw this procession passing
+through the crowded streets of Furnes, and almost held our breaths with
+awe at the long line of black cloaked, hooded penitents, bare-footed,
+the faces covered so that one could hardly tell whether they were men or
+women, save for the occasional delicate small white foot thrust forward
+beneath the black shapeless gown.
+
+And finally _One Figure_, likewise black gowned and with concealed face,
+staggering along painfully--feebly--and bearing a heavy wooden cross,
+the end of which dragged along on the stones of the street.[3]
+
+Outside of this, the Grand' Place, and the old red brick tower of St.
+Nicholas, so scorched by the sun and beaten by the elements, and the
+rows of quaint gabled houses beneath, Furnes has little to offer to the
+seeker after antiquity. The bells in the tower are of sweet tone, but
+the chimes which hung there were silent, and no amount of persuasion
+could induce the _custode_ to admit me to the bell chamber. Madame at
+the "Nobèle Rose" had assured me that I could go up there into the tower
+whenever I wished, but somehow that pleasure was deferred, until finally
+we were forced to give it up. Of course Madame _did_ rob me; when the
+bill was presented, it proved to be fifty per cent. more than the price
+agreed upon, but she argued that we had "used" the window in our
+apartment overlooking the procession, so we must pay for that privilege.
+The point was so novel that I was staggered for a suitable reply to
+it,--the crucial moment passed,--I was lost. I paid!
+
+
+
+
+The Artists of Malines
+
+
+
+
+The Artist of Malines
+
+
+It may not be out of place to add here some account of the artists[4]
+who dwelt in and made Malines famous in the early days. Primitively the
+painters formed part of the Society of Furniture Makers, while sculptors
+affiliated with the Masons' Gild. These at length formed between them a
+sort of federation as they grew in number and power. Finally, in 1543,
+they formed the Gild of Saint Luke. In 1560 they numbered fifty-one free
+masters, who gave instruction to a great number of apprentices. They
+admitted the gold beaters to membership in 1618, and the following year
+the organization had increased to ninety-six members.
+
+Working in alabaster was, during this epoch, a specialty with the
+sculptors of Malines, which soon resulted in a monopoly with them, for
+they made a law that no master workman could receive or employ more than
+one apprentice every four years. The workers in gold covered the
+statues with heavy ornaments of gold, it being forbidden to market
+statuary not so gilded. The Gild of Saint Luke chafed under this ruling
+of the Gild Master, and surreptitiously made and delivered some statuary
+and paintings without any gilding whatever.
+
+Charges being brought against the offenders, they were fined twenty-five
+florins, and a law was passed authorized by the magistrate, permitting
+domiciliary visits upon certain days known only to the officers, to the
+houses of suspected men engaged in art work. Of course reputable workmen
+were free from suspicion, it being only those mediocre craftsmen and
+irregular apprentices who would engage in such traffic.
+
+It was not until 1772 that any sculptor was permitted to paint or gild
+for profit, nor was any painter allowed to model. The profession of an
+artist was regarded as less than an industry, being a sort of hand to
+mouth existence in which the unfortunate was glad to accept whatever
+work the artisan could give him. In 1783 the Gild had dwindled to twelve
+members, who finally were absorbed by the Academy of Design, established
+by Maria Theresa in 1773. Thus perished the Gild of Painters and
+Sculptors of Malines.
+
+The following is a list of the principal artists and engravers,
+chronologically arranged, who made Malines famous:
+
+Jean Van Battele, one of the promoters of the Gild of Saint Luke of
+Malines, was a successful workman in 1403. He was said to be more of a
+painter-glazer than a painter of pictures, but there is sufficient
+evidence that he practised both genres.
+
+Gauthier Van Battele, son of the above, was admitted to the Gild in
+1426, and figured in the artistic annals of the town in 1474-75.
+
+Baudoin Van Battele, alias Vander Wyck, believed to be "petitfils" of
+Gauthier, is mentioned in the chronicles of 1495. He painted many mural
+pictures for the "Beyaerd"; the fresco of the Judgment Day in the great
+hall of the "Vierschaer" is his greatest work. He died about 1508.
+
+He had one son, Jean, who executed a triptych in the Hôtel de Ville of
+Malines in 1535, and illuminated a manuscript register on vellum
+relating to the "_Toison d'Or_." This book was presented to
+Charles-Quint, and so pleased him that he ordered a duplicate which cost
+the artist three years of hard work to complete. He died in July, 1557,
+highly honored.
+
+Daniel Van Yleghem was the chief workman upon the Holy tabernacle of the
+chief altar of St. Rombauld. An engraver of great merit; he died in
+1451(?).
+
+Jean Van Orshagen occupied the position of Royal Mint Engraver of
+Malines, 1464-65. The following year he was discovered passing false
+money at Louvain. Imprisoned, he died of the pestilence in 1471.
+
+Guillaume Trabukier excelled in the art of a designer-engraver
+(ciseleur) in gold. For the town he made many beautiful pieces of work,
+notably the silver statue of St. Rombauld which decorated the high altar
+of the Cathedral. He died in 1482.
+
+Zacherie Van Steynemolen, born about 1434, was an excellent engraver of
+dies. During more than forty years (1465-1507) he made the seals of the
+town corporations. Notably he engraved for the Emperor Frederic IV the
+two great seals which are now in the museum. He died in 1507.
+
+Michael or Michel Coxie, le vieux, was a greatly esteemed painter who
+worked under the direction of Raphaël. His real name was Van Coxciën, or
+Coxcyën, but he changed its form to Coxie.
+
+His son, Michel Coxie le Jeune, surnamed the Flemish Raphaël, was born
+in 1499, and first studied under his father. He was shortly placed with
+Bernard Van Orley, who sent him to Rome, where he might study the work
+of Raphaël Sanzio. His work was of very unequal merit, although he
+painted hundreds of compositions in triptych form for the churches.
+Towards the end of his life he was commissioned to paint a decoration
+for the Hôtel de Ville of Antwerp. He fell from the scaffolding during
+his work, receiving such injuries that he was incapacitated. Removed to
+his home in Malines, he died after some years of suffering, aged 93
+years!
+
+His second son, Raphaël Coxie, born in 1540, was a painter of great
+merit, whose paintings were ordered for the Royal Spanish Cabinet. He
+lived at Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels respectively, and died, full of
+honors, in 1616.
+
+Michael, or Michel, Coxie, the third of the name, was received in the
+Gild of Painters the 28th day of September, 1598. He is the author of
+the triptych over the altar of the "Jardiniers" of Notre-Dame au dela de
+la Dyle. He died in 1618.
+
+Michel Coxie, the Fourth, son of the above, born September, 1604, was
+elected to the Gild in 1623. He became Court Painter to the King.
+
+Jean Coxie, son of Michel (above) excelled as a painter of landscape. He
+it was who decorated the two great salons of the "Parc" Abbey. The
+subjects were drawn from the life of Saint Norbert.
+
+His son, Jean-Michel, though a member of the Gild of Malines, passed
+almost his whole life in Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, and Berlin. In the
+latter town he enjoyed the favor and patronage of Frederick I. He died
+in Milan in 1720.
+
+Jean de Gruyter, gold worker and engraver, came in 1504 to Malines,
+where he enjoyed a certain renown. After his death in 1518, his sons
+Jean and Pierre continued the work which he began. Jean made seals of
+great beauty of detail, but Pierre was condemned to banishment in 1536
+and confiscation of all his goods and chattels, for counterfeiting the
+state coinage.
+
+Jean Hoogenbergh, born about 1500, was a successful painter of
+miniatures; he lived about fifty years.
+
+Jean Van Ophem was appointed Civic Engraver of Seals and Gold Worker. He
+died in 1553.
+
+François Verbeek became master workman in 1531, and finally _doyen_ of
+the craft. He abandoned oil painting for distemper, in which medium he
+excelled, producing masterpieces depicting the most fantastic subjects.
+He died in July, 1570.
+
+Hans Verbeek, or Hans de Malines, believed to be the son of François. He
+was Court Painter to Albert and Isabella. He died sometime after 1619.
+
+Grégoire Berincx, born in 1526, visited Italy and there made paintings
+in distemper of the ruins and ancient constructions. Returning to his
+native town in 1555 he was at once made a Gild Member of the Corporation
+of Painters. He died in 1573.
+
+His youngest son, Grégoire, became _doyen_, and of him the following
+story is told: The great Van Dyck visited him unexpectedly one day, and
+demanded that he make a sketch of him (Van Dyck) at once, in his
+presence. Berincx accordingly painted in monotone the sketch in full
+length, adding the details in carnation, and so charmed was Van Dyck,
+that he assured him that he would adopt the system in his own work, "if
+he would permit." He died full of honors the 14th of October, 1669.
+
+Jacques de Poindre, born in 1527, acquired a brilliant reputation as a
+portrait painter. He afterwards established himself under royal
+patronage in Denmark where he died in 1570.
+
+Corneille Ingelrams, a painter in distemper, was born in 1527. He
+practised his art successfully in Malines and died in 1580.
+
+His son, André, was admitted to the Painters' Gild in May, 1571, and
+died in 1595.
+
+Marc Willems, born about 1527, was a pupil of Michel Coxie (le vieux),
+was considered a great painter in his time. He made many designs for the
+decorators, and admirable cartoons for tapestry makers. He died in 1561.
+
+Jean Carpreau was commissioned in 1554 to take charge of the
+restorations of the "chasse" of the patron saint of the town. Such was
+his success that he was appointed Official Seal Cutter and Engraver, a
+position of great importance in those days. At the Hôtel de Ville was
+preserved and shown a remarkable die in silver from his hand, for the
+Seal of the Municipality of Malines.
+
+Jean or Hans Bol, born December, 1534, was the pupil of his uncles
+Jacques and Jean the Elder, but after two years of apprenticeship he
+went to Germany for a time. Returning to Malines, he devoted himself to
+the painting of landscapes with great success. Likewise he sometimes
+engraved plates on copper. His productions are many. He died at
+Amsterdam in 1593.
+
+Lambert de Vos, admitted to the Gild of Saint Luke in 1563, was engaged
+in the service of Charles Kimy, Imperial Ambassador to Constantinople.
+He painted oriental subjects in water colors, which were distinguished
+for richness of color, and accuracy of drawing. Many of these are in the
+Library of Brême.
+
+Jean Snellinck, born about 1554, was an historical and battle painter.
+It was he who prepared the designs for the tapestries of Oudenaarde.
+During his residence in that town he painted the triptych for the church
+of Notre Dame de Pamele. He died at Antwerp in 1638.
+
+Louis Toeput was born about 1550. He was a landscape painter of renown,
+but also drew many architectural subjects. In his later period, he
+devoted himself to Flemish literature with marked success as an
+authority.
+
+Luc Van Valckenborgh, called "partisan of the Reform," was born in 1566,
+and in his student days went to Germany, where he practised his art as a
+portrait painter. His reputation was made by his portrait of the
+Archduke Matthias.
+
+He died in 1625, leaving a son Martin, also his pupil, who established
+himself at Antwerp and later at Frankfort. Martin was an historical and
+landscape painter, although he painted some good portraits in the manner
+of his father. He is thought to have died about 1636.
+
+Philip Vinckboons, the elder, was born about 1550, became an associate
+of the Gild of Painters in 1580, and died 1631. His son Maur, the
+younger, born 1585, studied painting under his father, finishing under
+his uncle Pierre Stevens. He died in 1647.
+
+Pierre Stevens, born about 1550, was an historical painter and engraver,
+as well as a portrait painter. This master latinized his name and signed
+his works thus--P. Stephani. He died in 1604 at Prague, where he had
+dwelt since 1590, under the patronage of the Emperor Rudolphe II.
+
+Rombaut Van Avont, incorporated in the Gild of Saint Luke in 1581, was a
+sculptor and painter as well as an illuminator of manuscripts on vellum.
+He died in 1619. His son Pierre, born in 1599, was an excellent painter
+of landscapes, which were distinguished by a most agreeable manner.
+Admitted as a "franc maitre" at Antwerp, he became one of the burgesses
+of that town in October, 1631.
+
+Luc Franchoys, the elder, born January, 1574, was admitted to the Gild
+in 1599. A painter of remarkable talent, he turned to historical
+subjects, which he produced with great success. In drawing, too, he was
+most skillful and correct. He died in 1693 and was buried with honors in
+the church of St. Jean.
+
+His son Pierre, born in 1606, became pupil of Gérard Seghers of Antwerp,
+where he resided for some time. Afterward he lived in Paris, where his
+works were eagerly sought and appreciated. He never married, but always
+surrounded himself with young pupils to the time of his death in 1654.
+
+His younger brother, Luc, was born 1616. He remained with his father,
+working in his studio until he was admitted to the Gild, when he went to
+Paris, where he painted portraits of members of the Court, enjoying
+considerable renown and favor. He returned finally to Malines, where he
+died in April, 1681.
+
+Frans Hals (The Great), was born either here in Malines, or at Antwerp,
+in 1584. Accounts differ. His parents were citizens of Malines, at any
+rate. He had the honor and glory of introducing into Holland the
+"procede magistral" of Rubens and his school. His works are too well
+known to need description here. He established himself at Haarlem, where
+he died in great poverty in 1666. Not even his burial place is now
+known.
+
+[Illustration: The Church of Our Lady of Hanswyk]
+
+Jean le Saive of Namur, son of Le Saive the Elder, was born in the
+commencement of the seventeenth century. He painted animals, landscapes,
+and historical subjects. In the latter genre he is inferior to his
+father; his color is drier, and his drawing less correct. The date of
+his death is not recorded.
+
+George Biset, painter-decorator, entered the studio of Michel Coxie
+(Third) in 1615. He lived throughout his life at Malines, and died 1671.
+
+His son, Charles Emmanuel, born 1633, was an excellent portrait painter,
+enjoying much appreciation at the Court of France. He became Burgess of
+Antwerp in 1663, and was elected a Director of the Academy. He died at
+Breda in 1685.
+
+Martin Verhoeven was elected to the Gild in 1623. He painted flowers and
+fruit pieces which enjoyed great celebrity.
+
+His brother Jean was known as a portraitist of great ability. In late
+life he produced some good sculptures.
+
+David Herregouts, born 1603, was elected to the Gild in 1624. Examples
+of his work are rare. He died at Ruremonde. His son Henri was a pupil of
+his father. David went to Italy, residing at Rome. After traveling in
+Germany he returned to Malines, and died at Antwerp at an advanced age.
+
+Jacques de (or Van) Homes, painter in distemper, was a pupil of Grégoire
+Berincx (Second) and executed much work in "ciselé" under the direction
+of Fayd'herbe. He died in 1674.
+
+Jean Philippe Van Thieleu, born 1618, was an eminent flower and
+still-life painter, under the guidance of Daniel Zeghers. He was
+patronized by the King of Spain, and died in 1674.
+
+Ferdinand Elle, born 1631, according to some; in 1612, say other
+accounts, painter of portraits, went to Paris, where he remained until
+his death in 1660(?).
+
+Gilles (or Egide) Smeyers, historical painter, was born in 1635, and
+studied under his father Nicholas, later under Jean Verhoeven. In
+friendship for his companion and master Luc Franchoys the younger, he
+finished many of the latter's incompleted works after his death.
+
+His son Jacques, born 1657, was admitted to the Gild in 1688, and died
+in 1732.
+
+Egide Joseph, natural son of Jacques, born 1694, was an historical
+painter, as well as a poet. He lived at Dusseldorf for three years.
+Obliged to support his sick parents, he did a great deal of work.
+Smeyers had a profound knowledge of the Latin tongue, which he wrote
+with great fluency and ease, in both poetry and prose. He possessed,
+too, a working knowledge of French, German, and Italian. His historical
+works are many. At length, sick and helpless, he was admitted to the
+hospital of Notre Dame, where he died in 1771. He painted the large
+portrait of Cardinal Thomas Philippe d'Alsace, Archbishop of Malines.
+
+Daniel Janssens, born in 1636, was a painter-decorator of the first
+order. He adopted the manner of Jacques de Hornes of whom he was the
+favorite pupil. After having resided in Antwerp for some years he
+returned to Malines, where he died in 1682. He it was who designed and
+constructed the immense triumphal arch for the Jubilee of 1680. This
+arch is preserved in the Town Hall, and serves to decorate the façade of
+the "Halles" on the occasion of the Grandes Fêtes.
+
+Sebastian Van Aken, born 1648, was pupil of Luc Franchoys the Younger.
+Later he entered the studio of Charles Maratti in Rome. After painting
+in Spain and Portugal he returned to Malines, where he died in 1722.
+
+August Casimir Redel, born 1640. This painter of merit became insane
+from excesses and died in 1687. He was also the author of a life of St.
+Rombaut (Rombold) and wrote much in verse. He composed an ode on the
+occasion of the Jubilee of Malines in 1680.
+
+Jacques la Pla, pupil of Jean le Saive, a master painter of Malines in
+1673, died in 1678.
+
+Jean Barthelemy Joffroy, born 1669, was historian, painter, and
+engraver. He died 1740.
+
+Jean Joseph Van Campenhout, designer and engraver. He was designer of
+the great book of the "Cavalcade of Malines" in 1775.
+
+Antoine Opdebeek, born 1709, author of many paintings of merit, was an
+untaught genius. Employed in the hospital of St. Hedwige in Malines, he
+taught himself the art, with success, but never reached the height which
+would have been his had he had instruction in his youth. He died 1759.
+
+Pierre Antoine Verhulst, born 1751, painter of marines and landscape,
+which he executed with great delicacy and charm, died 1809.
+
+Matthieu Joseph Charles Hunin, born 1770, was a master engraver,
+producing many plates after Rubens and other masters. To his talent is
+also due a great number of original engravings of the Tower of St.
+Rombold; the interior and exterior of the Cathedral of Antwerp; the
+Hôtels de Villes of Oudenaarde, Brussels and Louvain, etc., etc. He died
+in 1851.
+
+His son, Pierre Paul Aloys, born 1808, was a genre painter of great
+taste and renown. His works in which the painting of silk and satin
+appeared were in great demand. He was professor of the Malines Academy,
+and in 1848 Leopold I conferred upon him the decoration of the Order of
+Leopold. He died February 27th, 1855. Many of his paintings have been
+reproduced in engravings.
+
+Jean Ver Vloet, the _doyen_ of the artists of Malines, died October
+27th, 1869, after a long and successful artistic career. One of the
+founders of the society "Pour l'Encouragement des Beaux Arts" of
+Malines, he was indefatigable in all art movements of the town. To him
+was due the success of the magnificent Cavalcades for which Malines has
+been famous. For fifty years he was the director of the Academy of
+Design and Painting of his native town.
+
+This ends the list of famous painters of Malines, and so far as I know
+it is the first and only one in English. Did space permit I might
+include the architects who made Flanders famous the world over as the
+cradle of art and architecture.
+
+
+
+
+A Word About the Belgians
+
+
+
+
+A Word About the Belgians
+
+
+The little country called Belgium, it should be remembered, dates only
+from 1830, when the existing constitution was prepared and adopted for
+the nine southern provinces of the ancient Netherlands. The sudden and
+unexpected revolt against the Dutch in that year has been since styled
+"a misunderstanding" upon the part of the Belgians, and was brought
+about by the action of the King, William I, of the house of
+Orange-Nassau, who attempted ostentatiously to change at once the
+language and religion of his southern subjects. They were both Roman
+Catholic and conservative to the last degree, attached to traditional
+rights and forms and fiercely proud of the ancient separate
+constitutions of the southern provinces, which could be traced back to
+the charters of the Baldwins and Wenceslas.
+
+Undoubtedly the French Revolution of 1830, which closed the Monarchy of
+the Bourbons, hastened the crisis. For the Belgians had no liking for
+the rule of the House of Orange-Nassau against which they had
+discontentedly struggled for some years more or less openly. But
+matters might have gone on thus indefinitely had not the French
+Revolution furnished ground for hope of support from a people akin in
+religion and language, as well as race. The smouldering fire of
+discontent broke into fierce flame on August 25th, 1830, in the city of
+Brussels, during a performance of the opera "Muette de Portici," when
+the tenor was singing the inspired words of Massaniello:
+
+ "Plutôt mourir que rester misérable,
+ Pour un esclave est-il quelque danger?
+ Tombe le joug qui nous accable,
+ Et sous nos coups périsse l'étranger.
+ Amour sacré de la patrie,
+ Rends nous l'audace et la fierté;
+ À mon pays je dois la vie,
+ Il me devra sa liberté!"
+
+The immense audience, roused to patriotic enthusiasm, took up the words
+of the song and, rushing from the theatre _en masse_, paraded the
+streets, attacking the residences of the Dutch ministers, which they
+sacked and burned.
+
+The few troops in the town were powerless to stem the revolt, which grew
+until Brussels was entirely in the hands of the revolutionists, who then
+proceeded to appoint a Council of Government, which prepared the now
+celebrated Document of Separation.
+
+William sent his son, the Prince of Orange, to treat with the Council,
+instead of sending a force of soldiers with which the revolt might have
+been terminated easily, it is claimed. The Prince entered Brussels
+accompanied only by a half dozen officers as escort. After three days'
+useless parley, he returned to King William with the "Document of
+Separation."
+
+The reply of the King to this message was made to the Dutch Chambers ten
+days later. Denouncing the revolt, he declared that he would never yield
+to "passion and violence." Orders were then issued to Dutch troops under
+Prince Frederick of Holland to proceed to Brussels and retake the city.
+The attack was made upon the four gates of the walled city on September
+23rd. The Belgians prepared a trap, cunningly allowing the Dutch
+soldiers to enter two of the gates and retreating towards the Royal Park
+facing the Palace. Here they rallied and attacked the troops of William
+from all sides at once. Joined by a strong body of men from Liège they
+fought for three days with such ferocity that Prince Frederick was
+beaten back again and again, until he was forced to retreat at midnight
+of the third day.
+
+In the battle six hundred Belgian citizens were slain, and to these men,
+regarded now as the martyrs of the Revolution, a great monument has been
+erected in the Place des Martyrs, near the trench in which they were
+buried.
+
+A provisional government was now formed which issued the following
+notice: "The Belgian provinces, detached by force from Holland, shall
+form an independent state." Measures were taken to rid the country of
+the Dutch, who were expelled forcibly across the border.
+
+Envoys to Paris and London presented documents to secure sympathy for
+the new government, while the fight for independence was still going on
+fiercely. Waelhern and Berchem, besieged by the Belgian volunteers, soon
+fell, and the city of Antwerp was occupied by them before the end of
+October.
+
+Then the Conference of the Five Powers, sitting in London, interposed to
+force an armistice in order to determinate some understanding and
+arrangement between the Dutch and the Belgians, since it had become
+evident that the Netherlands kingdom of 1815 had practically come to an
+end. By the treaty of London in 1814, and that of Vienna in 1815,
+Belgium, after a short interregnum of Austrian rule, was incorporated
+with Holland into the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
+
+In the space of a month then the Belgian patriots had accomplished their
+task, and on November 18th the National Assembly, convoked, declared as
+its first act the independence of the Belgians.
+
+It was now necessary to find a head upon which to place the crown. The
+first choice of the provisional government was the Duc de Nemours, the
+son of Louis Philippe, but objection was made to him on the ground that
+his selection would add too much, perhaps, to the power of France, so
+his candidature was withdrawn.
+
+Choice was fixed finally upon Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who had but
+recently declined the throne of Greece by advice of the European
+diplomats. A resident of England, this Prince, who had espoused Princess
+Charlotte, the daughter of George IV, was well known as a most clear
+headed diplomat, a reputation he enjoyed during his whole career.
+
+In his acceptance he said: "Human destiny does not offer a nobler or
+more useful task than that of being called to found the independence of
+a nation, and to consolidate its liberties."
+
+The people hailed and received him with great enthusiasm, and on July
+21st he was crowned King of the Belgians, with most impressive
+ceremonies, at Brussels. The Dutch, however, viewed all this with much
+concern, and at once began hostilities, thinking that the powers would
+sustain them rather than permit France to occupy Belgium. At once Dutch
+troops were massed for attack on both Brussels and Louvain. Outnumbered
+by the Dutch, the badly organized national forces of Belgium met
+disaster at Hasselt, and, realizing his peril, Leopold besought the
+French, who were at the frontier, to come to his assistance.
+Simultaneously with the assault on Louvain, therefore, the French
+troops arrived at Brussels. Great Britain now entered the fray,
+threatening to send a fleet of warships to occupy the Scheldt unless
+King William recalled his army from Belgium. This settled the matter,
+and the Dutch withdrew. The French likewise returned to their own
+territory. Jealousy, however, was manifested by Austria, Prussia and
+Russia toward the new kingdom, and their refusal to receive Leopold's
+ambassadors was calculated to encourage hope in Holland that the reign
+of the new monarch was to be limited.
+
+New troubles began for the Belgians, in the presentation of the London
+Protocol of October 15, 1831, in consequence of a demand that the
+greater part of Limbourg and Luxembourg be ceded. Not only the Belgians
+but the Dutch opposed this demand, as well as the conditions of the
+protocol. And at once King William prepared for armed resistance.
+Leopold immediately after obtaining votes for the raising of the sum of
+three millions sterling for war purposes, increased the army to one
+hundred thousand men.
+
+Now ensued a most critical period for the little kingdom, but both
+France and England held their shields over it, while Leopold's marriage
+to the Princess Louise, eldest daughter of King Louis Philippe, gained
+for it still greater strength in its relations with France.
+
+King William, however, refused stubbornly to recognise the protocol,
+and retained possession of Antwerp, which he held with a garrison of
+five thousand soldiers. Antwerp Citadel being the pride of the kingdom,
+the Belgians, restive under the control of the powers, demanded that
+both England and France help them at once to recover it, alleging that
+in case this help was refused, they, with their hundred thousand men,
+were ready to capture it themselves. So in the month of November the
+French troops, under Maréchal Gérard, laid siege to the Antwerp
+stronghold, held by General Chassé, who after three weeks' siege
+capitulated, and the Dutch, rather than have their warships captured,
+burnt and sank them in the Scheldt.
+
+With the surrender of Antwerp, the French withdrew their army, but the
+Dutch sullenly refused to recognise the victory until the year 1839,
+when they withdrew from and dismantled the forts on the Scheldt facing
+Antwerp.
+
+Naturally the support of the French and English brought about a deep and
+lasting feeling of gratitude on the part of the Belgians. Louis Philippe
+said, "Belgium owes her independence and the recovery of her territory
+to the union of France and England in her cause."
+
+Her independence thus gained and recognised, Belgium turned her
+attention to the development of the country and its rich natural
+resources. The Manufactures flourished, her mines of coal and iron
+became famous throughout the world, and she trod the peaceful path of
+strict neutrality among the great nations. Passing over the all familiar
+history of Waterloo, one may quote the saying of M. Northomb: "The
+Battle of Waterloo opened a new era for Europe, the era of
+representative government." And this new era was enjoyed by Belgium
+until the Franco-Prussian War confronted the little country with a fresh
+crisis, and one fraught with danger. Although her absolute neutrality
+had been earnestly proclaimed and presented to the powers, it was feared
+that she might be invaded and be unable to maintain her integrity by her
+military force.
+
+Leopold promptly mobilized the army and massed it upon the frontier.
+During and after the battle of Sedan, a large number of both French and
+German soldiers crossed the border and were interned until the close of
+the war.... Once more peace descended upon the Belgians, for a fresh
+treaty prepared by England and signed by both France and Prussia engaged
+the British Government to declare war upon the power violating its
+provisions.
+
+After his acceptance of the Crown of Belgium, the Constitution declared
+the monarchy hereditary in the male line of the family of Prince Leopold
+of Saxe-Coburg, which consisted of two sons and one daughter. The elder
+of the sons was born in 1835, and succeeded his father as Leopold II,
+in 1865. The Austrian Archduchess Marie Henriette became his wife in
+1853, and their descendants were one son and three daughters, none of
+whom is now living. The Salic Law prevailing in Belgium, the history of
+the female descendants is not of political importance. The only son of
+Leopold II dying in 1869, the succession passed to the brother of the
+King, the Count of Flanders, who married Mary, Princess of Hohenzollern,
+a sister of the King of Roumania.
+
+The death of their son Prince Baldwin in 1891 was held to be a national
+calamity. This left the nephew of Leopold II, Prince Albert (the present
+King of Belgium), the heir presumptive to the throne. He married in 1900
+the Princess Elizabeth of Bavaria; to them have been born three
+children, two boys and a girl. Both the King and Queen, the objects of
+intense devotion on the part of the Belgians, are very simple and
+democratic in their bearing toward the people. The Queen is a very
+beautiful woman, and a most devoted wife and mother.... Since the seat
+of government has been removed to Havre, the Queen divides her time
+between the little hamlet of La Panne, headquarters of the Belgian army,
+near the town of Furnes on the dunes of the north sea, and London, where
+the children are being cared for and educated.... May not one hope that
+brighter days are in store for this devoted and heroic King and Queen,
+for the once smiling and fertile land, and for the kindly, gentle, and
+law abiding Belgian people?[5]
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+ Albert, King of Belgium, 102, 207
+
+ Alost, church of St. Martin's, 113, 114
+   Hôtel de Ville, 111
+
+ Antwerp, carillon of, 52
+   cathedral of, 41, 44, 143
+
+ Archers of St. Sebastian, 66
+
+ Artists of Malines, list of the, 183-195
+
+ Aymon, legend of the four sons of, 133-136
+
+
+ Baldwin Bras-de-Fer, 55, 171
+
+ Baldwin the Ninth, Count of Flanders, 72, 121
+
+ Battle of the Dunes, the, 101
+
+ Battle of the Spurs, the, 120, 172
+
+ Battle of Waterloo, the, 206
+
+ Bayard, the horse, 133-138
+
+ Beguinage, the, Courtrai, 121
+    "        "   Malines, 23-24
+    "        "   Ypres, 82
+
+ Bell-founding, process of, 45-48
+
+ Berincx, Grégoire, 186
+    "     Grégoire le Jeune, 186, 191
+
+ Bethune, Robert of, Count of Flanders, 75, 79
+
+ Biset, Charles Emmanuel, 191
+   "    George, 191
+
+ Bol, Jean, 188
+
+ Bouts, Dierick, 48, 149
+
+ Broël Towers, the, Courtrai, 119, 123
+
+ Bruges, cathedral of, 41
+   library, 171
+
+ Brussels, cathedral of, 41
+   Museum of Decorative Arts, 76, 149
+
+ Burgundy, House of, 68
+    "      Mary of, 165
+
+
+ Carillons of Antwerp, 52
+     "     of Bruges, 52
+     "     of Ghent, 52
+     "     of Louvain, 52
+     "     of Malines, 52
+     "     of Tournai, 52
+
+ Carpreau, Jean, 187
+
+ Cathedral of Antwerp, 41
+     "     of Bruges, 41
+     "     of Brussels, 41
+     "     of Ghent, 41
+     "     of Malines, 18-19, 41, 42
+     "     of Ypres, 69, 73
+
+ Charlemagne, 134-136
+
+ Charles the Bold, 25, 76, 81
+
+ Charles the Eleventh, 119
+
+ Charles the Fifth, 18, 130, 165
+
+ Cloth Hall, the, Ypres, 69, 72-75, 78, 80, 81
+
+ Commines, Philip of, 86
+
+ Cossiers, I., 24
+
+ Coxie, Jean, 185
+   "    Jean Michel, 185
+   "    Michel, 184
+   "    Michel le Jeune, 184
+   "    Michel the Third, 185
+   "    Michel the Fourth, 185
+   "    Raphaël, 185
+
+ Counts' Chapel, the, Courtrai, 121
+
+ Courtrai, the Counts' Chapel, 121
+   the Hall of the Magistrates, 129
+   the Town Hall, 129
+
+ Cuyp, 36, 102
+
+
+ De Gruyter, Jean, 185
+
+ De Hornes, Jacques, 191, 193
+
+ Deklerk, 44, 45
+
+ De Poindre, Jacques, 187
+
+ De Vos, Lambert, 188
+
+ Douai, Hôtel de Ville, 157, 160
+
+ Douai Bible, the, 158
+
+ Dyle, the river, 21, 26, 152
+
+
+ Elle, Ferdinand, 192
+
+
+ Franchoys, Luc, 189
+    "       Luc le Jeune, 190, 192, 193
+    "       Pierre, 190
+
+ Franco-Prussian War, the, 206
+
+ Furnes, Hôtel de Ville, 173
+
+
+ Ghent, the carillons of, 52
+
+ Gild of St. Luke, the, 181
+
+ Gothic architecture, styles of, 90
+
+ Great Wars of Flanders, the, 86
+
+
+ Hall of the Magistrates, the, Courtrai, 129
+
+ Hals, Frans, 141, 190
+
+ Hanseatic League, the, 69
+
+ Hanswyk, the Tower of Our Lady of, Malines, 26
+
+ Haweis, 41, 43, 49, 50
+
+ Hemony, 42, 49
+
+ Henry the First, 152
+
+ Herregouts, David, 191
+
+ Hoogenbergh, Jean, 186
+
+ Hôtel de Ville of Alost, 111
+   "   "    "   of Douai, 157, 160
+   "   "    "   of Furnes, 173
+   "   "    "   of Louvain, 147, 149 150
+   "   "    "   of Oudenaarde, 164
+   "   "    "   of Ypres, 73
+
+ Huet, 87, 89
+
+ Hunin, Matthieu Joseph Charles, 194
+   "    Pierre Paul Aloys, 194
+
+ Hugo, Victor, 52
+
+
+ Ingelrams, André, 187
+    "       Corneille, 187
+
+ Inghelbrugtorre, Courtrai, 119
+
+ Inquisition, the Spanish, 68
+
+
+ Jansenius, Cornelius, Bishop of Ypres, 73, 80
+
+ Janssens, Daniel, 193
+
+ Joffroy, Jean Barthelemy, 193
+
+ Jordaens, 141
+
+ Jube, at St. Martin's, Dixmude, 55, 57-59, 62, 79
+
+
+ Keldermans, 17, 18, 130
+
+ Knights of the Golden Fleece, 36
+
+ Knights Templar, the, 99, 101
+
+
+ La Panne, 74, 207
+
+ La Pla, Jacques, 193
+
+ Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, King of Belgium, 203, 204, 205
+
+ Leopold the Second of Belgium, 207
+
+ Le Saive, Jean, 190, 193
+
+ Library, the, Bruges, 43, 171
+   Brussels, 43
+   Louvain, 43, 49, 150
+
+ Lion of Flanders, the, 22, 28
+
+ Louis of Maele, 66, 67
+
+ Louis of Nevers, 76
+
+ Louis Philippe, 203, 205
+
+ Louis the Eleventh, 157
+
+ Louis the Fourteenth, 158
+
+ Louvain, church of St. Peter, 147, 152
+   carillons of, 52
+   Hôtel de Ville, 149
+   library, 149
+
+ Loyola, Ignatius, 21
+
+ Luther, Martin, 21
+
+ Lys, the river, 119, 120, 122-123
+
+
+ Malines, carillons of, 52
+   cathedral of, 18-19, 41, 42
+   St. Rombauld, 17, 19, 22, 26, 37, 44
+
+ Margaret of Artois, 76
+    "     of Austria, statue of, 22
+    "     of Parma, 165
+    "     of York, 25, 76
+    "     the Courageous, the legend of, 150-153
+
+ Marguerite of Flanders, 152
+    "       of Savoie, 18
+
+ Mary of Burgundy, 165
+
+ Matsys, Quentin, 149
+
+ Memling, 85, 148, 149
+
+ Mercier, Cardinal, Primate of Belgium, 21, 167
+
+ Moertens, Thierry, 112
+
+ Museum of Decorative Arts, the, Brussels, 76, 149
+
+ Mysteries of the Passion, the, 175
+
+
+ Nemours, Duc de, 202
+
+ Nieuwerck, Ypres, 70, 73, 77
+
+ Notre Dame, the church of, Courtrai, 121
+
+
+ Opdebeek, Antoine, 194
+
+ Oudenaarde, church of St. Walburga, 165
+    "   Hôtel de Ville, 164
+    "   Town Hall, 17, 165
+
+
+ Philip of Alsace, 119
+    "   of Savoie, 18
+    "   the Second of Spain, 85, 101
+
+ Place de la Boucherie, 25
+
+
+ Quesnoy, Jerome due, 24
+
+
+ Redel, August Casimir, 193
+
+ Rembrandt, 141
+
+ Rubens, 113, 141, 173, 190
+
+ Ruskin, 28, 42
+
+
+ St. Martin's, cathedral of, Ypres, 73, 77, 78, 79
+      "        church of, Alost, 113, 114
+      "        church of, Dixmude, 55, 56, 57, 60
+
+ St. Mary Bells, in Antwerp cathedral, 44
+
+ St. Nicholas, church of, Furnes, 99, 171
+
+ St. Peter, church of, Louvain, 147, 152
+
+ St. Pierre, tower of, Ypres, 80
+
+ St. Rombauld, Malines, chimes of, 19, 22
+       "          "     spire of, 17
+       "          "     tower of, 26-37, 44
+
+ St. Walburga, church of, Oudenaarde, 165, 174-176
+
+ St. Winoc, the abbey of, Bergues, 95
+
+ Sainte Begga, 23, 121
+
+ Salvator Bell, the, 20, 48
+
+ Scheldt, the river, 133, 204, 205
+
+ Smeyers, Egide Joseph, 192
+    "     Gilles, 192
+    "     Jacques, 192
+
+ Snellinck, Jean, 188
+
+ Speytorre, the, Courtrai, 119
+
+ Stevens, Pierre, 189
+
+
+ Taillebert, d'Urbain, 79
+
+ Thierry d'Alsace, 65, 85
+
+ Toeput, Louis, 188
+
+ Tournai, Town Hall, 52
+
+ Tower of the Templars, the, Nieuport, 99, 101
+
+ Town Hall of Brussels, 17
+   "    "  of Courtrai, 129
+   "    "  of Dixmude, 56
+   "    "  of Louvain, 17
+   "    "  of Oudenaarde, 17
+   "    "  of Tournai, 52
+
+ Trabukier, Guillaume, 184
+
+
+ Untenhoven, Martin, 78
+
+
+ Van Aken, Sebastian, 193
+
+ Van Artevelde, family of, 36
+  "      "      Philip, 66, 86
+
+ Van Avont, Pierre, 189
+  "    "    Rombaut, 189
+
+ Van Battele, Baudouin, 183
+  "     "     Gautier, 183
+  "     "     Jean, 183
+  "     "     Jean le Jeune, 183
+
+ Van den Gheyn, family of, 20, 33, 42, 44, 45, 158
+  "   "    "    Mathias, 147
+  "   "    "    Peter, 48
+
+ Van Dyck, 133
+
+ Van Eyck, Jean, 79
+
+ Van Halter, Catherine, 24
+
+ Van Ophem, Jean, 186
+
+ Van Orley, Bernard, 184
+
+ Van Orshagen, Jean, 183
+
+ Van Steynemolen, Zacherie, 184
+
+ Van Thieleu, Jean Philippe, 192
+
+ Van Valckenborgh, Luc, 188
+  "       "        Martin, 189
+
+ Van Yleghem, Daniel, 183
+
+ Van Yper, Carel, 80
+
+ Vauban, 65
+
+ Verbeek, François, 186
+    "     Hans, 186
+
+ Vereeke, 65, 70
+
+ Verhaegan, P.J., 150, 153
+
+ Verhoeven, Jean, 191
+     "      Martin, 191
+
+ Verhulst, Pierre Antoine, 194
+
+ Ver Vloet, Jean, 195
+
+ Vinckboons, Maur, 184
+      "      Philip, 189
+
+
+ Waghemans, family of, 20
+
+ Waterloo, the Battle of, 206
+
+ Willems, Marc, 187
+
+ William the First of Holland, 199, 201, 204
+
+
+ Ypres, the Beguinage, 82
+   the cathedral of, 69, 72
+   the Cloth Hall, 69, 73, 74, 75, 78, 80, 81
+   the Hôtel de Ville, 73
+
+ Yser, the river, 55, 62
+
+
+ Zeelstman, 19
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Those who are interested in the subject are referred to C.
+Lemonnier's "Histoire des Beaux Arts en Belgique" (Brussels, 1881), E.
+Hessling's "La Sculpture Belge Contemporaire" (Berlin, 1903), Destree's
+"Renaissance of Sculpture in Belgium," Crowe and Cavalcaselle's "Early
+Flemish Painters" (1857).
+
+[2] This passion play is described in detail in "Some Old Flemish
+Towns." (Same author. Moffat, Yard & Co., New York, 1911.)
+
+[3] See "Some Old Flemish Towns."
+
+[4] The list is drawn in part from the "_Histoire de la Peinture et de
+la Sculpture à Malines_," _par Emmanuel Neefs_--Gand, Van der Heeghen,
+1876, translated from the manuscripts composed in Latin by the painter
+Egide Joseph Smeyers, Malines, 1774.
+
+[5] The author refers the reader to "The Constitution of Belgium," J.M.
+Vincent, Phila., 1898; "Belgium and the Belgians," C. Scudamore, London,
+1904; "History of Belgium," D.C. Boulger, London, 1900; "The Story of
+Belgium," C. Smythe, London, 1902.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Vanished towers and chimes of Flanders, by 
+George Wharton Edwards
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+  <head>
+    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+    <title>
+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Vanished Towers And Chimes Of Flanders, by
+      George Wharton Edwards.
+    </title>
+    <style type="text/css">
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+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Vanished towers and chimes of Flanders, by 
+George Wharton Edwards
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Vanished towers and chimes of Flanders
+
+Author: George Wharton Edwards
+
+Release Date: March 9, 2009 [EBook #28288]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VANISHED TOWERS CHIMES OF FLANDERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Bergquist and The Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+
+<div class="tn">
+
+<p class="center"><big><b>Transcriber&#8217;s Note</b></big></p>
+
+<p class="noin">The punctuation and spelling from the original text have been faithfully preserved. Only obvious
+typographical errors have been corrected.</p>
+
+</div>
+<hr />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;">
+<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="400" height="567" alt="Cover" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<hr />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="The_Great_Cloth_Hall_Ypres" id="The_Great_Cloth_Hall_Ypres"></a>
+<img src="images/image1.jpg" width="500" height="754" alt="The Great Cloth Hall: Ypres" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Great Cloth Hall: Ypres</span>
+</div>
+<hr />
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 500px;"><a name="Title_Page" id="Title_Page"></a>
+<img src="images/image2.jpg" width="500" height="814" alt="Title Page" title="" />
+</div>
+<hr />
+
+<p class="center">COPYRIGHT<br />
+<br />
+1916 BY<br />
+<br />
+GEORGE<br />
+<br />
+WHARTON<br />
+<br />
+EDWARDS</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="Vanished_Towers_and_Chimes_of_Flanders" id="Vanished_Towers_and_Chimes_of_Flanders"></a>Vanished Towers and Chimes of Flanders</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 15%;" />
+<h3><a name="FOREWORD" id="FOREWORD"></a>FOREWORD</h3>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">T</span><span class="ucap">he</span> unhappy Flemish people, who are at present much in the lime-light,
+because of the invasion and destruction of their once smiling and happy
+little country, were of a character but little known or understood by
+the great outside world. The very names of their cities and towns
+sounded strangely in foreign ears.</p>
+
+<p>Towns named Ypres, Courtrai, Alost, Furnes, Tournai, were in the
+beginning of the invasion unpronounceable by most people, but little by
+little they have become familiar through newspaper reports of the
+barbarities said to have been practised upon the people by the invaders.
+Books giving the characteristics of these heroic people are eagerly
+sought. Unhappily these are few, and it would seem that these very
+inadequate and random notes of mine upon some phases of the lives of
+these people, particularly those related to architecture, and the music
+of their renowned chimes of bells, might be useful.</p>
+
+<p>That the Fleming was not of an artistic nature I found during my
+residence in these towns of Flanders. The great towers and wondrous
+architectural marvels throughout this smiling green flat landscape
+appealed to him not at all. He was not interested in either art, music,
+or literature. He was of an intense practical nature. I am of course
+speaking of the ordinary or "Bourgeois" class now. Then, too, the class
+of great landed proprietors was numerically very small indeed, the land
+generally being parcelled or hired out in small squares or holdings by
+the peasants themselves. Occasionally the commune owned the land, and
+sublet portions to the farmers at prices controlled to some extent by
+the demand. Rarely was a "taking" (so-called) more than five acres or so
+in extent. Many of the old "Noblesse" are without landed estates, and
+this, I am informed, was because their lands were forfeited when the
+French Republic annexed Belgium, and were never restored to them. Thus
+the whole region of the Flemish littoral was given over to small
+holdings which were worked on shares by the peasants under general
+conditions which would be considered intolerable by the Anglo-Saxon. A
+common and rather depressing sight on the Belgian roads at dawn of day,
+were the long lines of trudging peasants, men, women and boys hurrying
+to the fields for the long weary hours of toil lasting often into the
+dark of night. But we were told they were working for their own profit,
+were their own masters, and did not grumble. This grinding toil in the
+fields, as practised here where nothing was wasted, could not of course
+be a happy or healthful work, nor calculated to elevate the peasant in
+intelligence, so as a matter of fact the great body of the country
+people, who were the laborers, were steeped in an extraordinary state of
+ignorance.</p>
+
+<p>If their education was neglected, they are still sound Catholics, and it
+may be that it was not thought to be in the interest of the authorities
+that they should be instructed in more worldly affairs. I am not
+prepared to argue this question. I only know that while stolid, and
+unemotional ordinarily, they are intensely patriotic. They became highly
+excited during the struggle some years ago to have their Flemish tongue
+preserved and taught in the schools, and I remember the crowds of people
+thronging the streets of Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges, with bands of music
+playing, and huge banners flying, bearing in large letters legends such
+as "Flanders for the Flemings." "Hail to the Flemish Lion" and "Flanders
+to the Death." All this was when the struggle between the two parties
+was going on.</p>
+
+<p>The Flemings won, be it recorded.</p>
+
+<p>Let alone, the Fleming would have worked out his own salvation in his
+own way. The country was prosperous. The King and Queen were popular,
+indeed beloved; all seemed to be going well with the people. Although
+Belgium was not a military power such as its great neighbors to the
+north, the east, and the south, its army played an important part in the
+lives of the people, and the strategical position which the country held
+filled in the map the ever present question of "balance"; the never
+absent possibility of the occasion arising when the army would be called
+upon to defend the neutrality of the little country. But they never
+dreamed that it would come so soon.... One might close with the words of
+the great Flemish song of the poet Ledeganck:</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Thou art no more,</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">The towns of yore:</span><br />
+The proud-necked, world-famed towns,<br />
+The doughty lion's lair;"<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 12em;">(Written in 1846.)</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="noin">
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">[<span class="smcap">The Author</span>]</span><br />
+Greenwich, Conn.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">April, 1916.</span><br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="Contents" id="Contents"></a>Contents</h2>
+
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=" Contents">
+<tr>
+ <td align='right' colspan='2'><small>PAGE</small></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Malines, and Some of the Vanished Towers</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Some Carillons of Flanders</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Dixmude</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Ypres</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Commines</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Bergues</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Nieuport</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Alost</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Courtrai</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Termonde (Dendermonde)</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Louvain</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Douai</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Oudenaarde</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_163">163</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">Furnes</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">The Artists of Malines</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_181">181</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><span class="smcap">A Word About the Belgians</span></td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2><a name="List_of_Illustrations" id="List_of_Illustrations"></a>List of Illustrations</h2>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations">
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Great Cloth Hall: Ypres</td>
+ <td align='right'><i><a href="#The_Great_Cloth_Hall_Ypres">Frontispiece</a></i></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'><a href="#Title_Page">Title page decoration</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='right' colspan='2'><small>PAGE</small></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Tower of St. Rombauld: Malines</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Tower_of_St_Rombauld_Malines">18</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>Malines: A Quaint Back Street</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Malines_A_Quaint_Back_Street">22</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>Porte de Bruxelles: Malines</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Porte_de_Bruxelles_Malines">26</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Beguinage: Dixmude</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Beguinage_Dixmude">34</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>Detail of the Chimes in the Belfry of St. Nicholas: Dixmude</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Detail_of_the_Chimes_in_Belfry_of_St_Nicholas_Dixmude">42</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Belfry: Bergues</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Belfry_Bergues">46</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Old Porte Marechale: Bruges</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Old_Porte_Marechale_Bruges">50</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Ancient Place: Dixmude</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Ancient_Place_Dixmude">56</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Great Jube, or Altar Screen: Dixmude</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Great_Jube_or_Altar_Screen_Dixmude">58</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Fish Market: Dixmude</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Fish_Market_Dixmude">60</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>No. 4, Rue de Dixmude: Ypres</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#No_4_Rue_de_Dixmude_Ypres">72</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>Arcade of the Cloth Hall: Ypres</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Arcade_of_the_Cloth_Hall_Ypres">76</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>Gateway, Wall, and Old Moat: Ypres</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Gateway_Wall_and_Old_Moat_Ypres">80</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Belfry: Commines</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Belfry_Commines">88</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Towers of St. Winoc: Bergues</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Towers_of_St_Winoc_Bergues">94</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Tower of the Templars: Nieuport</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Tower_of_the_Templars_Nieuport">100</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Town Hall&mdash;Hall of the Knights Templar: Nieuport</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Town_Hall_Hall_of_the_Knights_Templars_Nieuport">103</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>Tower in the Grand' Place: Nieuport</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Tower_of_the_Grand39_Place_Nieuport">104</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Town Hall: Alost</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Town_Hall_Alost">112</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Belfry: Courtrai</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Belfry_Courtrai">120</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Bro&euml;l Towers: Courtrai</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Broeumll_Towers_Courtrai">124</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Museum: Termonde</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Museum_Termonde">138</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Cathedral: Louvain</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Cathedral_Louvain">148</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Town Hall: Louvain</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Town_Hall_Louvain">150</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Town Hall: Douai</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Town_Hall_Douai">158</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Town Hall: Oudenaarde</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Town_Hall_Oudenaarde">164</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>Old Square and Church: Oudenaarde</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#Old_Square_and_Church_Oudenaarde">166</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Fish Market: Ypres</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Fish_Market_Ypres">172</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+ <td align='left'>The Church of Our Lady of Hanswyk</td>
+ <td align='right'><a href="#The_Church_of_Our_Lady_of_Hanswyk">190</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+
+<hr />
+<h2>Malines</h2>
+<hr />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/image3.jpg" width="450" height="322" alt="Flanders" title="" />
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="Malines" id="Malines"></a>Malines</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">T</span><span class="ucap">he</span> immense, flat-topped, gray Gothic spire which dominated the
+picturesque line of low, red-tiled roofs showing here and there above
+the clustering, dark-green masses of trees in level meadows, was that of
+St. Rombauld, designated by Vauban as "the Eighth Wonder of the World,"
+constructed by Keldermans, of the celebrated family of architects. He it
+was who designed the Bishop's Palace, and the great town halls of
+Louvain, Oudenaarde, and Brussels, although some authorities allege that
+Gauthier Coolman designed the Cathedral. But without denying the power
+and artistry<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> of this latter master, we may still believe in the
+well-established claim of Keldermans, who showed in this great tower the
+height of art culminating in exalted workmanship. Keldermans was
+selected by Marguerite and Philip of Savoie to build the "Greatest
+Church in Europe," and the plans, drawn with the pen on large sheets of
+parchment pasted together, which were preserved in the Brussels Museum
+up to the outbreak of the war, show what a wonder it was to have been.
+These plans show the spire complete, but the project was never realized.</p>
+
+<p>Charles the Fifth, filled with admiration for this masterpiece, showered
+Keldermans with honors; made him director of construction of the towns
+of Antwerp, Brussels, and Malines, putting thus the seal of artistic
+perfection upon his dynasty.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Tower_of_St_Rombauld_Malines" id="The_Tower_of_St_Rombauld_Malines"></a>
+<img src="images/image4.jpg" width="400" height="815" alt="The Tower of St. Rombauld: Malines" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Tower of St. Rombauld: Malines</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Historical documents in the Brussels Library contained the following:</p>
+
+<p>"The precise origin of the commencements of the Cathedral of Malines is
+unknown, as the ancient records were destroyed, together with the
+archives, during the troubles in the sixteenth century. The 'Nefs' and
+the transepts are the most ancient, their construction dating from the
+thirteenth century. It is conjectured that the first three erections of
+altars in the choir and the consecration of the monument took place in
+March, 1312. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> great conflagration of May, 1342, which destroyed
+nearly all of the town, spared the church itself, but consumed the
+entire roof of heavy beams of Norway pine. The ruins remained thus for a
+long period because of lack of funds for restoration, and in the
+meantime services were celebrated in the church of St. Catherine. It was
+not until 1366 that the cathedral was sufficiently repaired to be used
+by the canons. Once begun, however, the repairs continued, although
+slowly. But the tower remained uncompleted as it was at the outbreak of
+the Great War, standing above the square at the great height of 97.70
+metres." On each face of the tower was a large open-work clock face, or
+"cadran," of gilded copper. Each face was forty-seven feet in diameter.
+These clock faces were the work of Jacques Willmore, an Englishman by
+birth, but a habitant of Malines, and cost the town the sum of ten
+thousand francs ($2000). The citizens so appreciated his work that the
+council awarded him a pension of two hundred florins, "which he enjoyed
+for fourteen years."</p>
+
+<p>St. Rombauld was famous for its chime of forty-five bells of remarkable
+silvery quality: masterpieces of Flemish bell founding. Malines was for
+many hundreds of years the headquarters of bell founding. Of the master
+bell founders, the most celebrated, according to the archives, was Jean
+Zeelstman, who practised his art for thirty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> years. He made, in 1446,
+for the ancient church of Saint Michel at Louvain (destroyed by the
+Vandals in 1914) a large bell, bearing the inscription: "Michael
+prepositus paradisi quem nonoripicant angelorum civis fusa per Johann
+Zeelstman anno dmi, m. ccc. xlvi."</p>
+
+<p>The family of Waghemans furnished a great number of bell founders of
+renown, who made many of the bells in the carillon of the cathedral of
+St. Rombauld; and there was lastly the Van den Gheyns (or Ghein), of
+which William of Bois-le-Duc became "Bourgeoisie" (Burgess) of Malines
+in 1506. His son Pierre succeeded to his business in 1533, and in turn
+left a son Pierre II, who carried on the great repute of his father. The
+tower of the Hospice of Notre Dame contained in 1914 a remarkable old
+bell of clear mellow tone&mdash;bearing the inscription: "Peeter Van den
+Ghein heeft mi Ghegotten in't jaer M.D. LXXX VIII." On the lower rim
+were the words: "Campana Sancti spiritus Divi Rumlodi." Pierre Van den
+Ghein II had but one son, Pierre III, who died without issue in 1618.
+William, however, left a second son, from whom descended the line of
+later bell founders, who made many of the bells of Malines. Of these
+Pierre IV, who associated himself with Pierre de Clerck (a cousin
+german), made the great "bourdon" called Salvator.</p>
+
+<p>During the later years of the seventeenth century, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> Van den Gheyns
+seem to have quitted the town, seeking their fortunes elsewhere, for the
+foundry passed into other and less competent hands.</p>
+
+<p>In Malines dwelt the Primate of Belgium, the now celebrated Cardinal
+Mercier, whose courageous attitude in the face of the invaders has
+aroused the admiration of the whole civilized world. Malines, although
+near Brussels, had, up to the outbreak of the war and its subsequent
+ruin, perhaps better preserved its characteristics than more remote
+towns of Flanders. The market place was surrounded by purely Flemish
+gabled houses of grayish stucco and stone, and these were most
+charmingly here and there reflected in the sluggish water of the rather
+evil-smelling river Dyle.</p>
+
+<p>Catholicism was a most powerful factor here, and the struggle between
+Luther and Loyola, separating the ancient from the modern in Flemish
+architecture, was nowhere better exemplified than in Malines. It has
+been said that the modern Jesuitism succeeded to the ancient mysticism
+without displacing it, and the installation of the first in the very
+sanctuary of the latter has manifested itself in the ornamentation of
+the ecclesiastical edifices throughout Flanders, and indeed this fact is
+very evident to the travelers in this region. The people of Malines
+jealously retained the integrity of their ancient tongue, and many books
+in the language were published here.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> Associations abounded in the town
+banded together for the preservation of Flemish as a language. On f&ecirc;te
+days these companies, headed by bands of music, paraded the streets,
+bearing large silken banners on which, with the Lion of Flanders, were
+inscriptions such as "Flanders for the Flemish," and "Hail to our
+Flemish Lion." On these occasions, too, the chimes in St. Rombauld were
+played by a celebrated bell-ringer, while the square below the tower was
+black with people listening breathlessly to the songs of their
+forefathers, often joining in the chorus, the sounds of the voices
+carrying a long distance. On the opposite side of the square, in the
+center of which was a fine statue of Margaret of Austria, adjoining the
+recently restored "Halles," a fine building in the purest Renaissance
+was being constructed, certainly a credit to the town, and an honor to
+its architect, attesting as it did the artistic sense and prosperity of
+the people. This, too, lies now in ashes&mdash;alas!</p>
+
+<p>Flanders fairly bloomed, if I may use the expression, with exquisite
+architecture, and this garden spot, this cradle of art, as it has well
+been called, is levelled now in heaps of shapeless ruin.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="Malines_A_Quaint_Back_Street" id="Malines_A_Quaint_Back_Street"></a>
+<img src="images/image5.jpg" width="400" height="756" alt="Malines: A Quaint Back Street" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Malines: A Quaint Back Street</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Certainly in this damp, low-lying country the Gothic style flourished
+amazingly, and brought into existence talent which produced many
+cathedrals, town halls, and gateways, the like of which were not to be
+found elsewher<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>e in Europe. These buildings, ornamented with lace-like
+traceries and crowded with statuary, their interiors embellished with
+choir screens of marvelous detail wrought in stone, preserved to the
+world the art of a half-forgotten past, and these works of incomparable
+art were being cared for and restored by the State for the benefit of
+the whole world. Here, too, in Malines was a most quaint "Beguinage," or
+asylum, in an old quarter of the town, hidden away amid a network of
+narrow streets: a community of gentle-mannered, placid-faced women, who
+dwelt in a semi-religious retirement after the ancient rules laid down
+by Sainte Begga, in little, low, red-roofed houses ranged all about a
+grass-grown square. Here, after depositing a considerable sum of money,
+they were permitted to live in groups of three and four in each house,
+each coming and going as she pleased, without taking any formal vow.
+Their days were given up to church, hospital, parish duties and work
+among the sick and needy: an order, by the way, not found outside of
+Flanders.</p>
+
+<p>Each day brought for them a monotonous existence, the same duties at the
+same hours, waking in a gentle quietude, rhythmed by the silvery notes
+of the convent bell recalling them to the duties of their pious lives,
+all oblivious of the great outside world. Each Beguinage door bore the
+name of some saint, and often in a moss-covered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> niche in the old walls
+was seen a small statue of some saint, or holy personage, draped in
+vines.</p>
+
+<p>The heavy, barred door was nail studded, and furnished usually with an
+iron-grilled wicket, where at the sound of the bell of the visitor a
+panel slid back and a white-coiffed face appeared. This secluded quarter
+was not exclusively inhabited by these gentle women, for there were
+other dwellings for those that loved the quiet solitude of this end of
+the town.</p>
+
+<p>The Malines Beguinage was suppressed by the authorities in 1798, and it
+was not until 1804 that the order was permitted to resume operations
+under their former rights, nor were they allowed to resume their quaint
+costume until the year 1814.</p>
+
+<p>In the small church on my last visit I saw the portrait of the Beguine
+Catherine Van Halter, the work of the painter I. Cossiers, and another
+picture by him representing the dead Christ on the knees of the Virgin
+surrounded by disciples. Cossiers seemed to revel in the ghastliness of
+the scene, but the workmanship was certainly of a very high order. The
+Beguine showed me with much pride their great treasure, a tiny, six-inch
+figure of the Crucifixion, carved from one piece of ivory by Jerome due
+Quesnoy. It was of very admirable workmanship, the face being remarkable
+in expression. Despatches (March, 1916) report this Beguinage entirely
+destroyed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> by the siege guns. One wonders what was the fate of the
+saintly women.</p>
+
+<p>On the Place de la Boucherie in Malines was the old "Palais," which was
+used as a museum and contained many ill-assorted objects of the greatest
+interest and value, such as medals, embroideries, weapons, and a fine
+collection of ancient miniatures on ivory. There was also a great iron
+"Armoire Aux Chartes," quite filled with priceless parchments, great
+vellum tomes, bound in brass; large waxen seals of dead and gone rulers
+and nobles; heavy volumes bound in leather, containing the archives. And
+also a most curious strong box bound in iron bands, nail studded, and
+with immense locks and keys, upon which reclined a strange, wooden
+figure with a grinning face, clad in the moth-eaten ancient dress of
+Malines, representing "Op Signorken" (the card states), but the
+attendant told me it was the "Vuyle Bridegroom," and related a story of
+it which cannot be set down here, Flemish ideas and speech being rather
+freer than ours. But the people, or rather the peasants, are devoted to
+him, and there were occasions when he was borne in triumph in
+processions when the town was "en f&ecirc;te."</p>
+
+<p>The ancient palace of Margaret of York, wife of Charles the Bold, who
+after the tragic death of her consort retired to Malines, was in the Rue
+de l'Empereur.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> It was used latterly as the hospital, and was utterly
+destroyed in the bombardment of 1914.</p>
+
+<p>The only remnant of the ancient fortifications, I found on my last visit
+in 1910, was the fine gate, the "Porte de Bruxelles," with a small
+section of the walls, all reflected in an old moat now overgrown with
+moss and sedge grass. There were, too, quaint vistas of the old tower of
+Our Lady of Hanswyk and a number of arched bridges along the banks of
+the yellow Dyle, which flows sluggishly through the old town.</p>
+
+<p>On the "Quai-au-sel," I saw in 1910, a number of ancient fa&ccedil;ades, most
+picturesque and quaintly pinnacled. There also a small botanical garden
+floriated most luxuriantly, and here again the Dyle reflected the mossy
+walls of ancient stone palaces, and there were rows of tall, wooden,
+carved posts standing in the stream, to which boats were moored as in
+Venice.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="Porte_de_Bruxelles_Malines" id="Porte_de_Bruxelles_Malines"></a>
+<img src="images/image6.jpg" width="400" height="691" alt="Porte de Bruxelles: Malines" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Porte de Bruxelles: Malines</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Throughout the town, up to the time of the bombardment, were many quaint
+market-places, all grass grown, wherein on market days were
+tall-wheeled, peasant carts, and lines of huge, hollow-backed,
+thick-legged, hairy horses, which were being offered for sale. And there
+were innumerable fountains and tall iron pumps of knights in armor;
+forgotten heroes of bygone ages, all of great artistic merit and value;
+and over all was the dominating tower of St. Rombauld, vast, gray, and
+mysterious<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>, limned against the pearly, luminous sky, the more
+impressive perhaps because of its unfinished state. And so, however
+interesting the other architectural attractions of Malines might be, and
+they were many, it was always to the great cathedral that one turned,
+for the townspeople were so proud of the great gray tower, venerated
+throughout the whole region, that they were insistent that we should
+explore it to the last detail. "The bells," they would exclaim, "the
+great bells of Saint Rombauld! You have not yet seen them?"</p>
+
+<p>St. Rombauld simply compelled one's attention, and ended by laying so
+firm a hold upon the imagination that at no moment of the day or night
+was one wholly unconscious of its unique presence. By day and night its
+chimes floated through the air "like the music of fairy bells," weird
+and soft, noting the passing hours in this ancient Flemish town. For
+four hundred years it had watched over the varying fortunes of this
+region, gaining that precious quality which appealed to Ruskin, who
+said, "Its glory is in its age and in that deep sense of voicefulness,
+of stern watching, of mysterious sympathy, nay, even of approval or
+condemnation, which we feel in walls that have long been washed by the
+passing waves of humanity."</p>
+
+<p>From below the eye was carried upward by range upon range of exquisite
+Gothic detail to the four great open-work,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> gilded, clock discs, through
+which one could dimly see the beautiful, open-pointed lancets behind
+which on great beams hung the carillon bells, row upon row.</p>
+
+<p>No words of mine can give any idea of the rich grayish brown of this old
+tower against the pale luminous sky, or the pathetic charm of its wild
+bell music, shattering down through the silent watches of the night,
+over the sleeping town, as I have heard it, standing by some silent,
+dark, palace-bordered canal, watching the tall tower melting into the
+immensity of the dusk, or by day in varying light and shade, in storm
+and sunshine, with wind-driven clouds chasing each other across the sky.</p>
+
+<p>The ascent of the tower was a formidable task, and really it seemed as
+if it must have been far more than three hundred and fifty feet to the
+topmost gallery, when I essayed it on that stormy August day. It was not
+an easy task to gain admittance to the tower; on two former occasions,
+when I made the attempt, the <i>custode</i> was not to be found. "He had gone
+to market and taken the key to the tower door with him," said the
+withered old dame who at length understood my wish. On this day,
+however, she produced the key, a huge iron one, weighing, I should say,
+half a pound, from a nail behind the green door of the entry. She
+unlocked a heavy, white-washed door into a dusty, dim vestibule, and
+then proceeded to lock me in, pointing to another door at the farther
+end,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> saying, as she returned to her savory stew pot on the iron stove,
+"Montez, Montez, vous trouverez l'escalier." The heavy door swung to by
+a weight on a cord, and I was at the bottom step of the winding stairway
+of the tower. For a few steps upward the way was in darkness, up the
+narrow stone steps, clinging to a waxy, slippery rope attached to the
+wall, which was grimy with dust, the steps sloping worn and uneven.
+Quaint, gloomy openings in the wall revealed themselves from time to
+time as I toiled upwards, openings into deep gulfs of mysterious gloom,
+spanned at times by huge oaken beams. Here and there at dim landings,
+lighted by narrow Gothic slits in the walls, were blackened, low
+doorways heavily bolted and studded with iron nails. The narrow slits of
+windows served only to let in dim, dusty beams of violet light. Through
+one dark slit in the wall I caught sight of the huge bulk of a bronze
+bell, green with the precious patina of age, and I fancied I heard
+footsteps on the stairway that wound its way above.</p>
+
+<p>It was the watchman, a great hairy, oily Fleming, clad in a red sort of
+jersey, and blue patched trousers. On the back of his shock of pale,
+rope-colored hair sat jauntily a diminutive cap with a glazed peak. In
+the lobes of his huge ears were small gold rings.</p>
+
+<p>I was glad to see him and to have his company in that place of cobwebs
+and dangling hand rope. I gave him<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> a thick black cigar which I had
+bought in the market-place that morning, and struck a match from which
+we both had a light. He expressed wonder at my matches, those paper
+cartons common in America, but which he had never before seen. I gave
+them to him, to his delight. He brought me upwards into a room crammed
+with strange machinery, all cranks and levers and wires and pulleys, and
+before us two great cylinders like unto a "Brobdingnagian" music box. He
+drew out a stool for me and courteously bade me be seated, speaking in
+French with a strong Flemish accent. He was, he said, a mechanic, whose
+duty it was to care for the bells and the machinery. He had an assistant
+who went on duty at six o'clock. He served watches of eight hours. There
+came a "whir" from a fan above, and a tinkle from a small bell somewhere
+near at hand. He said that the half hour would strike in three minutes.
+Had I ever been in a bell tower when the chimes played? Yes? Then
+M'sieur knew what to expect.</p>
+
+<p>I took out my watch, and from the tail of my eye I fancied that I saw a
+gleam in his as he appraised the watch I held in my hand. He drew his
+bench nearer to me and held out his great hairy, oily paw, saying, "Let
+me see the pretty watch." "Not necessary," I replied, putting it back in
+my pocket and calmly eying him, although my heart began to beat fast. I
+was alone in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> tower with this hairy Cerberus, who, for all I knew,
+might be contemplating doing me mischief.</p>
+
+<p>If I was in danger, as I might be, then I resolved to defend myself as
+well as I was able. I had an ammonia gun in my pocket which I carried to
+fend off ugly dogs by the roadside, which infest the country. And this I
+carried in my hip pocket. It resembled somewhat a forty-four caliber
+revolver. I put my hand behind me, drew it forth, eying him the while,
+and ostentatiously toyed with it before placing it in my blouse side
+pocket. It had, I thought, an instantaneous effect, for he drew back,
+opening his great mouth to say something, I know not what nor shall I
+ever know, for at that instant came a clang from the machinery, a
+warning whir of wheels, the rattle of chains, and one of the great
+barrels began to revolve slowly; up and down rattled the chains and
+levers, then, faint, sweet and far off, I heard a melodious jangle
+followed by the first notes of the "Mirleton" I had so often heard below
+in the town, but now subdued, etherealized, and softened like unto the
+dream music one fancies in the night. The watchman now grinned
+reassuringly at me, and, rising, beckoned me with his huge grimy hand to
+follow him. Grasping my good ammonia gun I followed him up a wooden
+stairway to a green baize covered door. This he opened to an inferno of
+crash and din. The air was alive with tumult and the booming of heavy
+metal.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> We were among the great bells of the bottom tier. Before us was
+the "bourdon," so called, weighing 2,200 pounds, the bronze monster upon
+which the bass note was sounded, and which sounded the hour over the
+level fields of Flanders. Dimly above I could see other bells of various
+size, hanging tier upon tier from great, red-painted, wooden beams
+clamped with iron bands.</p>
+
+<p>I contrived to keep the watchman ever before me, not trusting him,
+although his frank smile somewhat disarmed my suspicion. It may be I did
+him an injustice, but I liked not the avaricious gleam in his little
+slits of eyes.</p>
+
+<p>The bells clanged and clashed as they would break from their fastenings
+and drop upon us, and my brain reeled with the discord. On they beat and
+boomed, as if they would never stop. No melody was now apparent, though
+down below it had seemed as if their sweetness was all too brief. Up
+here in the tower they were not at all melodious; they were rough,
+discordant, and uneven, some sounding as though out of tune and cracked.
+All of the mystery and glamour of sweet tenderness, all their pathos and
+weirdness, had quite vanished, and here amid the smell of lubricating
+oil and the heavy, noisy grinding of the cog wheels, and the rattle of
+iron chains, all the poetry and elusiveness of the bells was certainly
+wanting.</p>
+
+<p>All at once just before me a great hammer raised its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> head, and then
+fell with a sounding clang upon the rim of a big bell; the half hour had
+struck. All about us the air resounded and vibrated with the mighty
+waves of sound. From the bells above finally came the hum of faint
+harmonics, and then followed silence like the stillness that ensues
+after a heavy clap of thunder.</p>
+
+<p>Cerberus now beckoned me to accompany him amongst the bells, and showed
+me the machinery that sets this great marvel of sound in motion. He
+showed me the huge "tambour-carillon," with barrels all bestudded with
+little brass pegs which pull the wires connected with the great hammers,
+which in their turn strike the forty-six bells, that unrivaled chime
+known throughout Flanders as the master work of the Van den Gheyns of
+Louvain, who were, as already told, the greatest bell founders of the
+age.</p>
+
+<p>The great hour bell weighing, as already noted, nearly a ton, required
+the united strength of eight men to ring him. Cerberus pointed out to me
+the narrow plank runway between the huge dusty beams, whereon these
+eight men stood to their task. The carillon tunes, he told me, were
+altered every year or so, and to do this required the entire changing of
+the small brass pegs in the cylinders, a most formidable task, I
+thought. He explained that the cutting of each hole costs sixty
+<i>centimes</i> (twelve cents) and that there were about 30,000 holes, so
+that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> change must be quite expensive, but I did not figure it out
+for myself.</p>
+
+<p>The musical range of this carillon chime of Malines may be judged by the
+fact that it was possible to play, following on the hour, a selection
+from "Don Pasquale," and on the half and quarter hours a few bars from
+the "Pre aux Clercs." Every seven and a half minutes sounded a few
+jangling sweet notes, and thus the air over the old town of Malines and
+the small hamlets surrounding it both day and night was musical with the
+bells of the carillon.</p>
+
+<p>On f&ecirc;te days a certain famous bell ringer was engaged by the authorities
+to play the bells from the <i>clavecin</i>. This is a sort of keyboard with
+pedals played by hand and foot, fashioned like a rude piano. The work is
+very hard, one would think, but I have heard some remarkable results
+from it. In former times the office of "carilloneur" was a most
+important position, and, as in the case of the Van den Gheyn family of
+Louvain, it was hereditary. The music played by these men, those
+"morceaux fugues," once the pride and pleasure of the Netherlands, is
+now the wonder and despair of the modern bell ringer, however skillful
+he may be.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Beguinage_Dixmude" id="The_Beguinage_Dixmude"></a>
+<img src="images/image7.jpg" width="400" height="649" alt="The Beguinage: Dixmude" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Beguinage: Dixmude</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Cerberus informed me that sometimes months pass without a visit from a
+stranger to his tower room, and that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> had to wind up the mechanism
+of the immense clock twice each day, and that of the carillon separately
+three times each twenty-four hours, and that it was required of him that
+he should sound two strokes upon the "do" bell after each quarter, to
+show that he was "on the job," so to speak.</p>
+
+<p>I told him I thought his task a hard and lonely one, and I offered him
+another of the black cigars, which he accepted with civility, but I kept
+my hand ostentatiously in my blouse pocket, where lay the ammonia gun,
+and he saw plainly that I did so. I am inclined now to think that my
+fears, as far as he was concerned, were groundless, but nevertheless
+they were very real that day in the old tower of Saint Rombauld.</p>
+
+<p>He began his task of winding up the mechanism, while I mounted the steep
+steps leading upwards to the top gallery. Here on the open gallery I
+gazed north, east, south, and west over the placid, flat, green-embossed
+meadows threaded with silver, ribbon-like waterways, upon which floated
+red-sailed barges. Below, as in the bottom of a bowl, lay Malines, its
+small red-roofed houses stretching away in all directions to the remains
+of the ancient walls, topped here and there with a red-sailed windmill,
+in the midst of verdant fresh fields wooded here and there with clumps
+of willows, where the armies<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> of the counts of Flanders, and the Van
+Arteveldes, fought in the olden days.</p>
+
+<p>I could see the square below where, in the Grand' Place, those doughty
+Knights of the Golden Fleece had gathered before the pilgrimage to the
+Holy Land. Now a few dwarfed, black figures of peasants crawled like
+insects across the wide emptiness of it. Here among the startled
+jackdaws I lounged smoking and ruminating upon the bells, oily Cerberus,
+and his lonely task, and inhaling the misty air from the winding canals
+in the fertile green fields below&mdash;appraising the values of the pale
+diaphanous sky of misty blue, harmonizing so exquisitely with the tender
+greens of the landscape which had charmed Cuyp and Memling, until the
+blue was suffused with molten gold, and over all the landscape spread a
+tender and lovely radiance, which in turn became changed to ruddy flames
+in the west, and then the radiance began to fade.</p>
+
+<p>Then I bethought me that it was time I sought out the terrible Cerberus,
+the guardian of the tower, and induce him peaceably to permit me to go
+forth unharmed. I confess that I was coward enough to give him two
+francs as a fee instead of the single one which was his due, and then I
+stumbled down the long winding stairway, grasping the slippery hand rope
+timorously until I gained the street level, glad to be among fellow
+beings once more,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> but not sorry I had spent the afternoon among the
+bells of the Carillon of Saint Rombauld&mdash;those bells which now lie
+broken among the ashes of the tower in the Grand' Place of the ruined
+town of Malines.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Some Carillons of Flanders</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Some_Carillons_of_Flanders" id="Some_Carillons_of_Flanders"></a>Some Carillons of Flanders</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">I</span><span class="ucap">t</span> is worth noting that nearly all of the noble Flemish towers with
+their wealth of bells are almost within sight (and I had nearly written,
+sound) of each other. From the summit of the tower in Antwerp one could
+see dimly the cathedrals of Malines and Brussels, perhaps even those of
+Bruges and Ghent in clear weather. Haweis ("Music and Morals") says that
+"one hundred and twenty-six towers can be seen from the Antwerp
+Cathedral on a fair morning," and he was a most careful observer. "So
+these mighty spires, gray and changeless in the high air, seem to hold
+converse together over the heads of puny mortals, and their language is
+rolled from tower to tower by the music of the bells."</p>
+
+<p>"Non sunt loquellae neque sermones, audiantur voces eorum," (there is
+neither speech nor language, but their voices are heard among men).</p>
+
+<p>This is an inscription copied by Haweis in the tower at Antwerp, from a
+great bell signed, "F. Hemony Amstelo-damia, 1658."</p>
+
+<p>Speaking of the rich decorations which the Van den<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span> Gheyns and Hemony
+lavished on their bells, he says, "The decorations worked in bas relief
+around some of the old bells are extremely beautiful, while the
+inscriptions are often highly suggestive, and even touching." These
+decorations are usually confined to the top and bottom rims of the bell,
+and are in low relief, so as to impede the vibration as little as
+possible. At Malines on a bell bearing date "1697, Antwerp" (now
+destroyed) there is an amazingly vigorous hunt through a forest with
+dogs and all kinds of animals. I did not see this bell when I was in the
+tower of St. Rombauld, as the light in the bell chamber was very dim.
+The inscription was carried right around the bell, and had all the grace
+and freedom of a spirited sketch.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="Detail_of_the_Chimes_in_Belfry_of_St_Nicholas_Dixmude" id="Detail_of_the_Chimes_in_Belfry_of_St_Nicholas_Dixmude"></a>
+<img src="images/image8.jpg" width="400" height="815" alt="Detail of the Chimes in Belfry of St Nicholas: Dixmude" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Detail of the Chimes in Belfry of St Nicholas: Dixmude</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>On one of Hemony's bells dated 1674 and bearing the inscription,
+"Laudate Domini omnes Gentes," we noticed a long procession of cherub
+boys dancing and ringing flat hand bells such as are even now rung
+before the Host in street processions.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the inscriptions are barely legible because of the peculiarity
+of the Gothic letters. Haweis mentions seeing the initials J.R. ("John
+Ruskin") in the deep sill of the staircase window; underneath a slight
+design of a rose window apparently sketched with the point of a compass.
+Ruskin loved the Malines Cathedral well, and made many sketches of
+detail while there. I looked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> carefully for these initials, but I could
+not find them, I am sorry to say.</p>
+
+<p>Bells have been strangely neglected by antiquaries and historians, and
+but few facts concerning them are to be found in the libraries. Haweis
+speaks of the difficulty he encountered in finding data about the chimes
+of the Low Countries, alleging that the published accounts and rumors
+about their size, weight, and age are seldom accurate or reliable. Even
+in the great libraries and archives of the Netherlands at Louvain,
+Bruges, or Brussels the librarians were unable to furnish him with
+accurate information.</p>
+
+<p>He says: "The great folios of Louvain, Antwerp, and Mechlin (Malines)
+containing what is generally supposed to be an exhaustive transcript of
+all the monumental and funereal inscriptions in Belgium, will often
+bestow but a couple of dates and one inscription upon a richly decorated
+and inscribed carillon of thirty or forty bells. The reason of this is
+not far to seek. The fact is, it is no easy matter to get at the bells
+when once they are hung, and many an antiquarian who will haunt tombs
+and pore over illegible brasses with commendable patience will decline
+to risk his neck in the most interesting of belfries. The pursuit, too,
+is often a disappointing one. Perhaps it is possible to get half way
+around a bell and then be prevented by a thick beam, or the bell's own<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
+wheel from seeing the outer half, which, by perverse chance, generally
+contains the date and the name of the founder.</p>
+
+<p>"Perhaps the oldest bell is quite inaccessible, or, after a half hour's
+climbing amid the utmost dust and difficulty, we reach a perfectly blank
+or commonplace bell."</p>
+
+<p>He gives the date of 1620, as that when the family of Van den Gheyns
+were bringing the art of bell founding to perfection in Louvain, and
+notes that the tower and bells of each fortified town were half civic
+property. Thus the curfew, the carolus, and the St. Mary bells in
+Antwerp Cathedral belong to the town.</p>
+
+<p>"Let us," he says, "enter the town of Mechlin (Malines) in the year
+1638. The old wooden bridge (over the river Dyle) has since been
+replaced by a stone one. To this day the elaborately carved fa&ccedil;ades of
+the old houses close on the water are of incomparable richness of
+design. The peculiar ascent of steps leading up to the angle of the
+roof, in a style borrowed from the Spaniards, is a style everywhere to
+be met with. The noblest of square florid Gothic towers, the tower of
+St. Rombauld (variously spelled St. Rombaud, St. Rombaut, or St. Rombod)
+finished up to three hundred and forty-eight feet, guides us to what is
+now called the Grand' Place, where in an obscure building are the
+workshops and furnaces adjoining the abode of Peter Van den<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> Gheyn, the
+most renowned bell founder of the seventeenth century, born in 1605. In
+company with his associate, Deklerk, arrangements are being made for the
+founding of a big bell.</p>
+
+<p>"Before the cast was made there was no doubt great controversy between
+the mighty smiths, Deklerk and Van den Gheyn: plans had to be drawn out
+on parchment, measurements and calculations made, little proportions
+weighed by fine instinct, and the defects and merits of ever so many
+bells canvassed. The ordinary measurements, which now hold good for a
+large bell, are, roughly, one-fifteenth of the diameter in thickness,
+and twelve times the thickness in height. Describing the foundry
+buildings: The first is for the furnaces, containing the vast caldron
+for the fusing of the metal; in the second is a kind of shallow well,
+where the bell would have to be modeled in clay.</p>
+
+<p>"The object to be first attained is a hollow mold of the exact size and
+shape of the intended bell, into which the liquid metal is poured
+through a tube from the furnace, and this mold is constructed in the
+following simple but ingenious manner:</p>
+
+<p>"Suppose the bell to be six feet high, a brick column of about that
+height is built something in the shape of the outside of a bell. Upon
+the smooth surface of this solid bell-shaped mass can now be laid
+figures, decorations, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> inscriptions in wax; a large quantity of the
+most delicately prepared clay is then produced, the model is slightly
+washed with some kind of oil to prevent the fine clay from sticking to
+it, and three or four coats of the fine clay in an almost liquid state
+are daubed carefully all over the model. Next, a coating of common clay
+is added to strengthen the mold to the thickness of some inches. And
+thus the model stands with its great bell-shaped cover closely fitting
+over it.</p>
+
+<p>"A fire is now lighted underneath, the brick work in the interior is
+heated, through the clay, through the wax ornaments and oils, which
+steam out in vapor through two holes at the top, leaving their
+impressions on the inside of the cover (of clay).</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Belfry_Bergues" id="The_Belfry_Bergues"></a>
+<img src="images/image9.jpg" width="400" height="744" alt="The Belfry: Bergues" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Belfry: Bergues</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"When everything is baked thoroughly hard, the cover is raised bodily
+into the air by a rope, and held suspended some feet exactly above the
+model. In the interior of the cover thus raised will, of course, be
+found the exact impression in hollow of the outside of the bell. The
+model of clay and masonry is then broken up, and its place is taken by
+another perfectly smooth model, only smaller&mdash;exactly the size of the
+inside of the bell, in fact. On this the great cover now descends, and
+is stopped in time to leave a hollow space between the new model and
+itself. This is effected simply by the bottom rim of the new<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> model
+forming a base, at the proper distance upon which the rim of the clay
+cover may rest in its descent.</p>
+
+<p>"The hollow space between the clay cover and second clay mold is now the
+exact shape of the required bell, and only waits to be filled with
+metal.</p>
+
+<p>"So far all has been comparatively easy; but the critical moment has now
+arrived. The furnaces have long been smoking; the brick work containing
+the caldron is almost glowing with red heat; a vast draft passage
+underneath the floor keeps the fire rapid; from time to time it leaps up
+with a hundred angry tongues, or in one sheet of flame, over the
+furnace-imbedded caldron. Then the cunning artificer brings forth his
+heaps of choice metal, large cakes of red coruscated copper from
+Drontheim, called 'Rosette,' owing to a certain rare pink bloom that
+seems to lie all over it like the purple on a plum; then a quantity of
+tin, so highly refined that it shines and glistens like pure silver;
+these are thrown into the caldron and melted down together. Kings and
+nobles have stood beside those famous caldrons, and looked with
+reverence upon the making of these old bells. Nay, they have brought
+gold and silver and, pronouncing the name of some holy saint or apostle
+which the bell was thereafter to bear, they have flung in precious
+metals, rings, bracelets, and even bullion.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p><p>"But for a moment or two before the pipe which is to convey the metal
+to the mold is opened, the smith stands and stirs the molten mass to see
+if all is melted. Then he casts in certain proportions of zinc and other
+metals which belong to the secrets of the trade; he knows how much
+depends upon these little refinements, which he has acquired by
+experience, and which perhaps he could not impart even if he would, so
+true is it that in every art that which constitutes success is a matter
+of instinct, and not of rule, or even science.</p>
+
+<p>"He knows, too, that almost everything depends upon the moment chosen
+for flooding the mold. Standing in the intense heat, and calling loudly
+for a still more raging fire, he stirs the metal once more. At a given
+signal the pipe is opened, and with a long smothered rush the molten
+metal fills the mold to the brim. Nothing now remains but to let the
+metal cool, and then to break up the clay and brick work and extract the
+bell, which is then finished for better or for worse."</p>
+
+<p>We learn much of the difficulties encountered even by these great
+masters in successfully casting the bells, and that even they were not
+exempt from failure. "The Great Salvator" bell at Malines, made by Peter
+Van den Gheyn, cracked eight years after it was hung in the tower
+(1696). It was recast by De Haze of Antwerp, and existed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> up to a few
+years ago&mdash;surely a good long life for any active bell.</p>
+
+<p>In the belfry of St. Peter's at Louvain, which is now in ruins and level
+with the street, was a great bell of splendid tone, bearing the
+following inscription: "Claes Noorden Johan Albert de Grave me fecerunt
+Amstel&mdash;odamia, MDCCXIV."</p>
+
+<p>Haweis mentions also the names of Bartholomews Goethale, 1680, who made
+a bell now in St. Stephen's belfry at Ghent; and another, Andrew
+Steilert, 1563, at Malines (Mechlin). The great carillon in the belfry
+at Bruges, thus far spared by the iconoclasts of 1914, consisting of
+forty bells and one large Bourdon, or triumphal bell, is from the
+foundry of the great Dumery, who also made the carillon at Antwerp.</p>
+
+<p>Haweis credits Petrus Hemony, 1658, with being the most prolific of all
+the bell founders. He was a good musician and took to bell founding only
+late in life. "His small bells are exceedingly fine, but his larger ones
+are seldom true."</p>
+
+<p>To the ear of so eminent an authority this may be true, but, to my own,
+the bells seem quite perfect, and I have repeatedly and most attentively
+listened to them from below in the Grand' Place, trying to discover the
+inharmonious note that troubled him. I ventured to ask one of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
+priests if he had noticed any flatness in the notes, and he scorned the
+idea, saying that the bells, "all of them," were perfect.</p>
+
+<p>Nevertheless, I must accept the statement of Haweis, who for years made
+a study of these bells and their individualities and than whom perhaps
+never has lived a more eminent authority.</p>
+
+<p>From my room in the small hotel de Buda, just beneath the old gray tower
+of St. Rombauld in this ancient town of Malines, I have listened by day
+and night to the music of these bells, which sounded so exquisite to me
+that I can still recall them. The poet has beautifully expressed the
+idea of the bell music of Flanders thus, "The Wind that sweeps over her
+campagnas and fertile levels is full of broken melodious whispers"
+(Haweis).</p>
+
+<p>Certainly these chimes of bells playing thus by day and night, day in,
+day out, year after year, must exercise a most potent influence upon the
+imagination and life of the people.</p>
+
+<p>The Flemish peasant is born, grows up, lives his life out, and finally
+is laid away to the music of these ancient bells.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Old_Porte_Marechale_Bruges" id="The_Old_Porte_Marechale_Bruges"></a>
+<img src="images/image10.jpg" width="400" height="741" alt="The Old Porte Marechale: Bruges" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Old Porte Marechale: Bruges</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>When I came away from Malines and reached Antwerp, I lodged in the Place
+Verte, as near to the chimes as I could get. My student days being over,
+I found that I had a strange sense of loss, as if I had lost a dear
+and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> valued friend, for the sound of the bells had become really a part
+of my daily existence.</p>
+
+<p>Victor Hugo, who traveled through Flanders in 1837, stopped for a time
+in Malines, and was so impressed with the carillon that he is said to
+have written there the following lines by moonlight with a diamond upon
+the window-pane in his room:</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+"J'aime le carillon dans tes cit&eacute;s Antiques,<br />
+O vieux pays, gardien de tes moeurs domestiques,<br />
+Noble Flandre, o&ugrave; le Nord se r&eacute;chauffe engourdi<br />
+Au soleil de Castille et s'accouple au Midi.<br />
+Le carillon, c'est l'heure inattendue et folle<br />
+Que l'oeil croit voir, v&ecirc;tue en danseuse espagnole<br />
+Appara&icirc;tre soudain par le trou vif et clair<br />
+Que ferait, en s'ouvrant, une porte de l'air."<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>It was not until the seventeenth century that Flanders began to place
+these wondrous collections of bells in her great towers, which seem to
+have been built for them. Thus came the carillons of Malines, Bruges,
+Ghent, Antwerp, Louvain, and Tournai. Of these, Antwerp possessed the
+greatest in number, sixty-five bells. Malines came next with forty-four,
+then Bruges with forty, and a great bourdon or bass bell; then Tournai
+and Louvain with forty, and finally Ghent with thirty-nine.</p>
+
+<p>In ancient times these carillons were played by hand on a keyboard,
+called a <i>clavecin</i>. In the belfry at Bruges, in a dusty old chamber
+with a leaden floor, I found a very<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> old <i>clavecin</i>. It was simply a
+rude keyboard much like that of a primitive kind of organ, presenting a
+number of jutting handles, something like rolling pins, each of which
+was attached to a wire operating the hammer, in the bell chamber
+overhead, which strikes the rim of the bells. There was an old red,
+leather-covered bench before this machine on which the performer sat,
+and it must have been a task requiring considerable strength and agility
+so to smite each of these pins with his gloved fist, his knees and each
+of his feet (on the foot board) that the hammers above would fall on the
+rims of the different bells.</p>
+
+<p>From my room in the old "Panier d'or" in the market-place on many nights
+have I watched the tower against the dim sky, and seen the light of the
+"<i>veilleur</i>," shining in the topmost window, where he keeps watch over
+the sleeping town, and sounds two strokes upon a small bell after each
+quarter is struck, to show that he is on watch. And so passed the time
+in this peaceful land until that fatal day in August, 1914.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Dixmude</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Dixmude" id="Dixmude"></a>Dixmude</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">T</span><span class="ucap">here</span> is no longer a Grand' Place at Dixmude. Of the town, the great
+squat church of St. Martin, and the quaint town hall adjoining it, now
+not one stone remains upon another. The old mossy walls and bastion are
+level with the soil, and even the course of the small sluggishly flowing
+river Yser is changed by the ruin that chokes it.</p>
+
+<p>I found it to be a melancholy, faded-out kind of place in 1910, when I
+last saw it. I came down from Antwerp especially to see old St.
+Martin's, which enshrined a most wondrous <i>Jube</i>, or altar screen, and a
+chime of bells from the workshop of the Van den Gheyns. There was
+likewise on the Grand' Place, a fine old prison of the fourteenth
+century, its windows all closed with rusty iron bars, most of which were
+loose in the stones. I tried them, to the manifest indignation of the
+solitary gendarme, who saw me from a distance across the Grand' Place
+and hurried over to place me under arrest. I had to show him not only my
+passport but my letter of credit and my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> sketch book before he would
+believe that I was what I claimed to be, a curious American, and
+something of an antiquary. But it was the sketch book that won him, for
+he told me that he had a son studying painting in Antwerp at the
+academy. So we smoked together on a bench over the bridge of the "Pape
+Gaei" and he related the story of his life, while I made a sketch of the
+silent, grass-grown Grand' Place and the squat tower of old St.
+Martin's, and the Town Hall beside it.</p>
+
+<p>While we sat there on the bench only two people crossed the square, that
+same square that witnessed the entry of Charles the Fifth amid the
+silk-and velvet-clad nobles and burghers, and the members of the great
+and powerful guilds, which he regarded and treated with such respect. In
+those days the town had a population of thirty thousand or more. On this
+day my friend the gendarme told me that there were about eleven hundred
+in the town. Of this eleven hundred I saw twelve market people, the
+<i>custode</i> of the church of St. Martin; ditto that of the Town Hall; the
+gendarme; one baby in the arms of a crippled girl, and two gaunt cats.</p>
+
+<p>The great docks to which merchantmen from all parts of the earth came in
+ships in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had now vanished, and
+long green grass waved in the meadows where the channel had been.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Ancient_Place_Dixmude" id="The_Ancient_Place_Dixmude"></a>
+<img src="images/image11.jpg" width="400" height="769" alt="The Ancient Place: Dixmude" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Ancient Place: Dixmude</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The ancient corporations and brotherhood, formerly of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> such power and
+renown, had likewise long since vanished, and nought remained but here
+and there on the silent, grass-grown streets gray, ancient palaces with
+barred and shuttered windows. The very names of those who once dwelt
+there could be found only in the musty archives in Bruges or Brussels. A
+small <i>estaminet</i> across the bridge bore the sign "In den Pape Gaei,"
+and to this I fared and wrote my notes, while the crippled girl carrying
+the baby seated herself where she could watch me, and then lapsed into a
+sort of trance, with wide open eyes which evidently saw not.</p>
+
+<p>In company with a large, black, savage-looking dog which traveled
+side-ways regarding me threateningly, I thought, and gloweringly refused
+my offers of friendship, I crossed the Grand' Place to the H&ocirc;tel de
+Ville, or Town Hall, the door of which stood open. Inside, no living
+soul responded to my knock. The rooms were rather bare of furniture,
+many of them of noble proportions, and a few desks and chairs showed
+that they were used by the town officers, wherever they were.</p>
+
+<p>St. Martin's was closed, and I skirted its walls, hoping to find
+somewhere a door unfastened that I might enter and see the great <i>Jube</i>
+or altar screen. In a small, evil-smelling alley-way, where there was a
+patch of green grass, I saw low down in the wall a grated window, which
+I fancied must be at the back of the altar. I got down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> on my knees and,
+parting the grass which grew there rankly, I put my face in against the
+iron bars that closed it. For a moment I could see nothing, then when my
+eyes became accustomed to the light I saw a tall candle burning on an
+iron ring on the wall; then a heavy black cross beside it, and finally a
+figure in some sort of heavy dark robe kneeling prostrate before it,
+only the tightly clasped white hands gleaming in the dim candle light;
+almost holding my breath I withdrew my head, feeling that I was almost
+committing sacrilege. Unfortunately for me, I dislodged some loose
+mortar, and I heard this rattle noisily into the chamber below. Then I
+fled as rapidly as I could down the dim alley-way to the silent sunlit
+Grand' Place. Here I found the verger, and he admitted me to the great
+old church, in return for a one-franc piece, and brought me a
+rush-bottom chair to a choice spot before the wondrous <i>Jube</i>, where I
+made my drawing.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Great_Jube_or_Altar_Screen_Dixmude" id="The_Great_Jube_or_Altar_Screen_Dixmude"></a>
+<img src="images/image12.jpg" width="400" height="666" alt="The Great Jube, or Altar Screen: Dixmude" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Great Jube, or Altar Screen: Dixmude</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the silence of the great gray old church I labored over the exquisite
+Gothic detail, all unmindful of the passing time, when all at once I
+became conscious that a small green door beside the right hand low
+<i>retable</i> was moving outward. I ceased working and watched it; then the
+solitary candle before the statue of the Virgin guttered and flared up;
+then the small door opened wide and forth came an old man in a priest's
+cassock, with a staff in his hand. The small, green, baize-covered door
+closed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> noiselessly; the old man slowly opened the gate before the
+altar and came down the step toward me. Without a word he walked behind
+my chair and peered over my shoulder at the drawing I was making of the
+great <i>Jube</i>.</p>
+
+<p>He tapped the floor with his staff, placed it under his arm, sought his
+pocket somewhere beneath his cassock, from which he produced a snuff
+box. From this he took a generous pinch, and a moment later was blowing
+vigorously that note of satisfaction that only a devotee of the powder
+can render an effective adjunct of emotion.</p>
+
+<p>"Bien faite, M'sieur," he exclaimed at length, wiping his eyes on a
+rather suspicious looking handkerchief. "T-r-r-r-r-es bien faite! J'vous
+fais mes compliments." "Admirable! You have certainly rendered the
+spirit of our great and wondrous altar screen."</p>
+
+<p>A little later we passed out of the old church through a side door
+leading into a small green enclosure, now gloomy in the shade of the old
+stone walls. At one end was a tangle of briar, and here were some old
+graves, each with a tinsel wreath or two on the iron cross. And
+presiding over these was the limp figure of a one-legged man on two
+crutches, who saluted us. We passed along to the end of the inclosure,
+where lay a chance beam of sunshine like a bar of dusty gold against the
+rich green grass.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p><p>"Oui, M'sieur," said the priest, as if continuing a sentence he was
+running over in his mind. "Cass&eacute;! Pauvre Pierre, un peu cass&eacute;, le pauvre
+bonhomme, but then, he's good for several years yet; cracked he is, but
+only cracked like a good old basin, and (in the idiom) he'll still hold
+well his bowl of soup."</p>
+
+<p>He laughed at his wit, became grave, then shook out another laugh.</p>
+
+<p>"See," he added, pointing to the ground all about us strewn with morsels
+of tile; "the roof cracks, but it still holds," he added, pointing
+upwards at the old tower of St. Martin's. "And now, M'sieur, I shall
+take you to my house; <i>tenez</i>, figure to yourself," and he laid a fine,
+richly veined, strong old hand upon my arm with a charming gesture. "I
+have been here twenty-five years; I bought all the antique furniture of
+my predecessor. I said to myself, 'Yes, I shall buy the furniture for
+five hundred francs, and then, later I shall sell to a wealthy amateur
+for one thousand francs, perhaps in a year or two.' Twenty-five years
+ago, and I have it yet. And now it creaks and creaks and snaps in the
+night. We all creak and creak thus as we grow old; ah, you should hear
+my wardrobes. 'Elles cassent les dos,' and I lie in my warm bed in the
+winter nights and listen to my antiques groan and complain. Poor old
+things, they belonged to the 'Empire' Period; no wonder they groan.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Fish_Market_Dixmude" id="The_Fish_Market_Dixmude"></a>
+<img src="images/image13.jpg" width="400" height="682" alt="The Fish Market: Dixmude" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Fish Market: Dixmude</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span></p><p>"And when my friend the notaire comes to play chess with me, you should
+see him eye my antiques, ah, so covetously; I see him, but I never let
+on. Such a collection of antiques as we all are, M'sieur." Then he
+became serious, and lifting his cane he pointed to a gravestone at one
+side, "My old servant lies there, M'sieur; we are all old here now, but
+still we do not die. Alas! we never die. There is plenty of room here
+for us, but we die hard. See, myotis, heliotrope, hare bells, and
+mignonette, a bed of perfume, and there lies my old servant. A restless
+old soul she was, and she took such a long time to die. She was
+eighty-five when she finally made up her mind."</p>
+
+<p>I had a cup of wine with the old man in his small <i>salle &agrave; manger</i>. His
+house was indeed a mine of wealth for the antiquary and collector, more
+like a shop than a house. I lingered with him for nearly an hour,
+telling him of the great world lying beyond Dixmude, of London and
+Paris, and of New York and some of its wonders, of which I fancied he
+was rather sceptical. And then I came away, after shaking hands with him
+at his doorstep in the dim alley-way, with the bar of golden sunlight
+shining at the entrance to the Grand' Place and the noise of the rooks
+cawing on the roof.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Au revoir</i>, M'sieur le Peintre, <i>et bon voyage</i>, and remember, 'Ask,
+and it shall be given, seek and you shall find,'" and with these cryptic
+words, he stood with uplifted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span> hands, a smile irradiating his fine
+ascetic face glowing like that of a saint. Behind the faded black of his
+old <i>soutane</i> I could see his treasures of blue china and ancient
+cabinets, and a chance light illumined a mirror behind his head, and
+aureoled him like unto one of the saints behind the great "Jube," and
+thus I left him.</p>
+
+<p>And now Dixmude is in formless heaps of ashes and burnt timbers. Hardly
+one stone now remains upon another. There is no longer a Grand'
+Place&mdash;and the very course of the river Yser is changed.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Ypres</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Ypres" id="Ypres"></a>Ypres</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">Y</span><span class="ucap">pres</span> as a town grew out of a rude sort of stronghold built, says M.
+Vereeke in his "Histoire Militaire d'Ypres," in the year 900, on a small
+island in the river Yperlee. It was in the shape of a triangle with a
+tower on each corner, and was known to the inhabitants as the "Castle of
+the three Turrets."</p>
+
+<p>Its establishment was followed by a collection of small huts on the
+banks of the stream, built by those who craved the protection of the
+fortress. They built a rampart of earth and a wide ditch to defend it,
+and to this they added from time to time until the works became so
+extensive that a town sprang into being, which from its strategic
+position on the borders of France soon became of great importance in the
+wars that constantly occurred. Probably no other Flemish town has seen
+its defenses so altered and enlarged as Ypres has between the primitive
+days when the crusading Thierry d'Alsace planted hedges of live thorns
+to strengthen the towers, and the formation of the great works of
+Vauban. We have been so accustomed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> to regarding the Fleming as a
+sluggish boor, that it comes in the nature of a surprise when we read of
+the part these burghers, these weavers and spinners, took in the great
+events that distinguished Flemish history. "In July, 1302, a contingent
+of twelve hundred chosen men, five hundred of them clothed in scarlet
+and the rest in black, were set to watch the town and castle of
+Courtrai, and the old Roman Bro&euml;l bridge, during the battle of the
+'Golden Spurs,' and the following year saw the celebration of the
+establishment of the confraternity of the Archers of St. Sebastian,
+which still existed in Ypres when I was there in 1910. This was the last
+survivor of the famed, armed societies of archers which flourished in
+the Middle Ages. Seven hundred of these men of Ypres embarked in the
+Flemish ships which so harassed the French fleet in the great naval
+engagement of June, 1340."</p>
+
+<p>Forty years later five thousand men of Ypres fought upon the battlefield
+with the French, on that momentous day which witnessed the death of
+Philip Van Artevelde and the triumph of Leliarts. Later, when the Allies
+laid siege to the town, defended by Leliarts and Louis of Maele, it was
+maintained by a force of ten thousand men, and on June 8, 1383, these
+were joined by seventeen thousand English and twenty thousand Flemings,
+these latter from Bruges and Ghent.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p><p>At this time the gateways were the only part of the fortifications
+built of stone. The ramparts were of earth, planted with thorn bushes
+and interlaced with beams. Outside were additional works of wooden posts
+and stockades, behind the dyke, which was also palisaded. The English,
+believing that the town would not strongly resist their numbers, tried
+to carry it by assault. They were easily repulsed, to their great
+astonishment, with great losses.</p>
+
+<p>At last they built three great wooden towers on wheels filled with
+soldiers, which they pushed up to the walls, but the valiant garrison
+swarmed upon these towers, set fire to them, and either killed or
+captured those who manned them.</p>
+
+<p>All the proposals of Spencer demanding the surrender of Ypres were met
+with scorn, and the English were repeatedly repulsed with great losses
+of men whenever they attempted assaults.</p>
+
+<p>The English turned upon the Flemish of Ghent with fury, saying that they
+had deceived them as to the strength of the garrison of Ypres, and
+Spencer, realizing that it was impossible to take the town before the
+French army arrived, retired from the field with his soldiers. This left
+Flanders at the mercy of the French. But now ensued the death of Count
+Louis of Maele (1384) and this brought Flanders under the rule of the
+House of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> Burgundy, which resulted in prosperity and well nigh complete
+independence for the Flemings.</p>
+
+<p>The Great Kermesse of Our Lady of the Garden (Notre Dame de Thuine) was
+then inaugurated because the townspeople believe that Ypres had been
+saved by the intercession of the Virgin Mary&mdash;the word Thuin meaning in
+Flemish "an enclosed space, such as a garden plot," an allusion to the
+barrier of thorns which had so well kept the enemy away from the
+walls&mdash;a sort of predecessor of the barbed-wire entanglements used in
+the present great world war.</p>
+
+<p>The Kermesse was held by the people of Ypres on the first Sunday in
+August every year, called most affectionately "Thuindag," and while
+there in 1910 I saw the celebration in the great square before the Cloth
+Hall, and listened to the ringing of the chimes; the day being ushered
+in at sunrise by a fanfare of trumpets on the parapet of the tower by
+the members of a local association, who played ancient patriotic airs
+with great skill and enthusiasm.</p>
+
+<p>In the Place de Mus&eacute;e, a quiet, gray corner of this old town, was an
+ancient Gothic house containing a really priceless collection of medals
+and instruments of torture used during the terrible days of the Spanish
+Inquisition. I spent long hours in these old musty rooms alone, and I
+might have stolen away whatever took my fancy had I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> been so minded, for
+the <i>custode</i> left me quite alone to wander at will, and the cases
+containing the seals, parchments, and small objects were all unfastened.</p>
+
+<p>I saw the other day another wonderful panorama photograph taken from an
+aeroplane showing Ypres as it now is, a vast heap of ruins, the Cloth
+Hall gutted; the Cathedral leveled, and the site of the little old
+museum a vast blackened hole in the earth where a shell had landed. The
+photograph, taken by an Englishman, was dated September, 1915.</p>
+
+<p>The great Hanseatic League, that extensive system of monopolies, was the
+cause of great dissatisfaction and many wars because of jealousy and bad
+feeling. Ypres, Ghent, and Bruges, while defending their rights and
+privileges against all other towns, fought among themselves. The
+monopoly enjoyed by the merchant weavers of Ypres forbade all weaving
+for "three leagues around the walls of Ypres, under penalty of
+confiscation of the looms and all of the linen thus woven."</p>
+
+<p>Constant friction was thus engendered between the towns of Ypres and
+Poperinghe, resulting in bloody battles and the burning and destruction
+of much property. Even within the walls of the town this bickering went
+on from year to year. When they were not quarreling with their neighbors
+over slights or attacks, either actual or fancied, they fought among
+themselves over the eternal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> question of capital <i>versus</i> labor. A sharp
+line was drawn between the workingman and the members of the guilds who
+sold his output. The artisans, whose industry contributed so greatly to
+the prosperity of these towns, resented any infringement of their legal
+rights. The merchant magistrates were annually elected, and on one
+occasion, in 1361, to be exact, because this was omitted, the people
+arose in their might against the governors, who were assembled in the
+Nieuwerck of the H&ocirc;tel de Ville. The Baillie, one Jean Deprysenaere,
+haughty in his supposed power, and trusting in his office, as local
+representative of the Court of Flanders, appeared before the insurgent
+weavers and endeavored to appease them. "They fell upon him and slew
+him" (Vereeke). Then, rushing into the council chamber, they seized the
+other magistrates and confined them in the belfry of the Cloth Hall.</p>
+
+<p>"Then the leaders in council resolved to kill the magistrates, and
+beheaded the Burgomaster and two sheriffs in the place before the Cloth
+Hall in the presence of their colleagues" (Vereeke).</p>
+
+<p>Following the custom of the Netherlands, each town acted for itself
+alone. The popular form of government was that of gatherings in the
+market-place where laws were discussed and made by and for the people.
+The spirit of commercial jealousy, however, kept them apart<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> and
+nullified their power. Consumed by the thirst for commercial, material
+prosperity, they had no faith in each other, no bond of union, each
+being ready and willing to foster its own interest at its rival's
+expense. Thus neither against foreign nor internal difficulties were
+they really united. The motto of modern Belgium, "L'Union fait la
+Force," was not yet invented, and there was no great and powerful
+authority in which they believed and about which they could gather.</p>
+
+<p>This history presents the picture of Ghent assisting an army of English
+soldiers to lay siege to Ypres. So the distrustful people dwelt amid
+perpetual quarreling, trade pitted against trade, town against town,
+fostering weakness of government and shameful submission in defeat. No
+town suffered as did Ypres during this distracted state of affairs in
+Flanders of the sixteenth century, which saw it reduced from a place of
+first importance to a dead town with the population of a village. And so
+it remained up to the outbreak of the world war in 1914.</p>
+
+<p>This medieval and most picturesque of all the towns of Flanders had not
+felt the effect of the wave of restoration, which took place in Belgium
+during the decade preceding the outbreak of the world war, owing to the
+fact that its monuments of the past were perhaps finer and in a better
+state of preservation than those of any of the other ancient towns.
+Ypres in the early days had treated the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> neighboring town of Poperinghe
+with great severity through jealousy, but she in turn suffered heavily
+at the hands of Ghent in 1383&ndash;84 when the vast body of weavers fled,
+taking refuge in England, and taking with them all hope of the town's
+future prosperity.</p>
+
+<p>Its decline thenceforward was rapid, and it never recovered its former
+place in the councils of Flanders. Its two great memorials of the olden
+times were the great Cloth Hall, in the Grand' Place, and the Cathedral
+of Saint Martin, both dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.</p>
+
+<p>The Cloth Hall, begun by Count Baldwin IX of Flanders, was perhaps the
+best preserved and oldest specimen of its kind in the Netherlands, and
+was practically complete up to the middle of August, 1915, when the
+great guns of the iconoclastic invader shot away the top of the immense
+clock tower, and unroofed the entire structure. Its fa&ccedil;ade was nearly
+five hundred feet long, of most severe and simple lines, and presented a
+double row of ogival windows, surmounted by niches containing thirty-one
+finely executed statues of counts and countesses of Flanders. There were
+small, graceful turrets at each end, and a lofty belfry some two hundred
+and thirty feet in height in the center, containing a fine set of bells
+connected with the mechanism of a carillon.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="No_4_Rue_de_Dixmude_Ypres" id="No_4_Rue_de_Dixmude_Ypres"></a>
+<img src="images/image14.jpg" width="400" height="659" alt="No. 4, Rue de Dixmude: Ypres" title="" />
+<span class="caption">No. 4, Rue de Dixmude: Ypres</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The interior of the hall was of noble proportions, runnin<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>g the full
+length, its walls decorated by a series of paintings by two modern
+Flemish painters, which were not of the highest merit, yet good withal.
+At the market-place end was a highly ornate structure called the New
+Work (Nieuwerke), erected by the burghers as a guild-hall in the
+fifteenth century. This was the first part of the edifice to be ruined
+by a German shell.</p>
+
+<p>The destruction of this exquisite work of art seems entirely wanton and
+unnecessary. It produced no result whatever of advantage. There were
+neither English, French, nor Belgian soldiers in Ypres at the time. The
+populace consisted of about ten thousand peaceful peasants and
+shopkeepers, who, trusting in the fact that the town was unarmed and
+unfortified, remained in their homes. The town was battered and
+destroyed, leveled in ashes. The bombardment destroyed also the great
+Cathedral of Saint Martin adjoining the Cloth Hall, which dated from the
+thirteenth century [although the tower was not added until the fifteenth
+century]. It formed a very fine specimen of late Gothic, the interior
+containing some fine oak carving and a richly carved and decorated organ
+loft. Bishop Jansenius, the founder of the sect of Jansenists, is buried
+in a Gothic cloister which formed a part of the older church that
+occupied the site.</p>
+
+<p>Another interesting monument of past greatness was the H&ocirc;tel de Ville,
+erected in the sixteenth century, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> containing a large collection of
+modern paintings by French and Belgian artists. Of this structure not a
+trace remains save a vast blackened pile of crumbled stones and mortar.
+In the market-place now roam bands of half-starved dogs in search of
+food; not a roof remains intact. A couple of sentries pace before the
+hospital at the end of the Grand' Place. A recent photograph in the
+<i>Illustrated London News</i> taken from an aeroplane shows the ruined town
+like a vast honeycomb uncovered, the streets and squares filled with
+d&eacute;bris, the fragments of upstanding walls showing where a few months ago
+dwelt in peace and prosperity an innocent, happy people, now scattered
+to the four winds&mdash;paupers, subsisting upon charity. Their valiant and
+noble king and queen are living with the remnant of the Belgian army in
+the small fishing village of La Panne on the sand dunes of the North
+Sea.</p>
+
+<p>The unique character of the half-forgotten town was exemplified by the
+number of ancient, wooden-faced houses to be found in the side streets.
+The most curious of these, perhaps, was that situated near the Porte de
+Lille, which I have mentioned in another page, and which noted
+architects of Brussels and Antwerp vainly petitioned the State to
+protect, or to remove bodily the fa&ccedil;ade and erect it in one of the vast
+"Salles" of the Cloth Hall. Both MM. Pauwels and Delbeke, the mural
+painters, then engaged in the decorations of the Cloth Hall,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> joined in
+protests to the authorities against their neglect of this remarkable
+example of medieval construction, but all these petitions were
+pigeonholed, and nothing resulted but vain empty promises, so the matter
+rested, and now this beautiful house has vanished forever.</p>
+
+<p>The great mural decorations of the "Halles" were nearly completed by MM.
+Delbeke and Pauwels, when they both died within a few months of each
+other, in 1891. In these decorations the artists traced the history of
+Ypres from 1187 to 1383, the date of the great siege, showing taste and
+elegance in the compositions, notably in that called the "Wedding feast
+of Mahaut, daughter of Robert of Bethune, with Mathias of Lorraine
+(1314)."</p>
+
+<p>One of the panels by M. Pauwels showed most vividly the progress of the
+"Pest," under the title of the "Mort d'Ypres" (<i>de Dood van Yperen</i>,
+Flemish). It represented the "Fossoyeur" calling upon the citizens upon
+the tolling of the great bell of St. Martin's, to bring out their dead
+for burial.</p>
+
+<p>M. Delbeke's talent was engaged upon scenes illustrating the civil life
+of the town, the gatherings in celebration of the philanthropic and
+intellectual events in its remarkable history, a task in which he was
+successful in spite of the carping of envious contemporaries.</p>
+
+<p>A committee of artists was appointed to examine his work, and although
+this body decided in his favor, it may<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> be that the criticism to which
+he was subjected hastened his death. At any rate the panels remained
+unfinished, no other painter having the courage to carry out the
+projected work.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="Arcade_of_the_Cloth_Hall_Ypres" id="Arcade_of_the_Cloth_Hall_Ypres"></a>
+<img src="images/image15.jpg" width="400" height="581" alt="Arcade of the Cloth Hall: Ypres" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Arcade of the Cloth Hall: Ypres</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The original sketches for these great compositions were preserved in the
+museum of the town, but the detailed drawings, some in color, were, up
+to the outbreak of the war in 1914, in the Museum of Decorative Arts in
+Brussels, together with the cartoons of another artist, Charles de Groux
+(1870), to whom the decoration of the Halles had been awarded by the
+State in competition. A most sumptuous Gothic apartment was that styled
+the "Salle Echevinale," restored with great skill in recent years by a
+concurrence of Flemish artists, members of the Academy. Upon either side
+of a magnificent stone mantel, bearing statues in niches of kings,
+counts and countesses, bishops and high dignitaries, were large well
+executed frescoes by MM. Swerts and Guffens, showing figures of the
+evangelists St. Mark and St. John, surrounded by myriads of counts and
+countesses of Flanders, from the time of Louis de Nevers and Margaret of
+Artois to Charles the Bold, and Margaret of York, whose tombs are in the
+Cathedral at Bruges. The attribution of these frescoes to Melchior
+Broederlam does not, it would seem, accord with the style or the date of
+their production, M. Alph. van den Peereboo<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>m thinks, and he gives
+credit for the work to two painters who worked in Ypres in 1468&mdash;MM.
+Pennant and Floris Untenhoven.</p>
+
+<p>In my search for the curious and picturesque, I came, one showery day,
+upon a passageway beneath the old belfry which led to the tower of St.
+Martin's. Here one might believe himself back in the Middle Ages. On
+both sides of the narrow street were ancient wooden-fronted houses not a
+whit less interesting or well preserved than that front erected in the
+chamber of the "Halles." This small dark street led to a vast and
+solitary square. On one side were lofty edifices called the Colonnade of
+the "Nieuwerck," at the end of which was a quaint vista of the Grand'
+Place. On the other side was a range of most wondrous ancient
+constructions; the <i>conciergerie</i> and its attendant offices, bearing
+finials and gables of astonishing richness of character, and ornamented
+with <i>chefs-d'&#339;uvres</i> of iron-work, marking the dates of erection,
+all of them prior to 1616. In this square not a soul appeared, nor was
+there a sound to be heard save the cooing of some doves upon a rooftree,
+although I sat there upon a stone coping for the better part of a half
+hour. Then all at once, out of a green doorway next the <i>conciergerie</i>,
+poured a throng of children, whose shrill cries and laughter brought me
+back to the present. One wonders<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> where now are these merry
+light-hearted little ones, who thronged that gray grass-grown square
+behind the old Cloth Hall in 1912....</p>
+
+<p>In this old square I studied the truly magnificent south portal and
+transept of St. Martin's, the triple portal with its splendid polygonal
+rose window, and its two graceful slender side towers, connecting a long
+gallery between the two smaller side portals. One's impression of this
+great edifice is that of a sense of noble proportions, rather than
+ornateness, and this is to be considered remarkable when one remembers
+the different epochs of its construction. That the choir was commenced
+in 1221 is established by the epitaph of Hugues, <i>pr&eacute;v&ocirc;t</i> of St.
+Martin's, whose ashes reposed in the church which he built: that the
+first stone of the nave transepts was laid with ceremony by Marguerite
+of Constantinople in 1254; that the south portal was of the fifteenth
+century and that a century later the chapel called the <i>doyen</i> toward
+the south wall at the foot of the tower, was erected. The tower itself,
+visible from all parts of the town, was the conception of Martin
+Untenhoven of Malines, and replaced a more primitive one in 1433. Of
+very severe character, its great bare bulk rose to an unfinished height
+of some hundred and seventy feet, and terminated in a squatty sort of
+pent-house roof of typical Flemish character.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> It was flanked by four
+smaller, unfinished towers, one at each corner. This tower, one may
+recall, figures in many of the pictures of Jean van Eyck. It is not
+without reason that Schayes, in his "Histoire de l'Architecture en
+Belgique," speaks of the choir of St. Martin's as "one of the most
+remarkable of the religious constructions of the epoch in Belgium." Of
+most noble lines and proportion if it were not for the intruding altar
+screen in the Jesuit style, which mars the effect, the ensemble were
+well-nigh perfect.</p>
+
+<p>Its decoration, too, was remarkable. A fresco at the left of the choir,
+with a portrait of Robert de Bethune, Count of Flanders, who died at
+Ypres in 1322 and was buried in the church, was uncovered early in the
+eighties during a restoration; this had been most villainously repainted
+by a local "artist"(?); and I mortally offended the young priest who
+showed it to me, by the vehemence of my comments.</p>
+
+<p>The stalls of the choir, in two banks or ranges, twenty-seven above,
+twenty-four below, bore the date of 1598, and the signature of d'Urbain
+Taillebert, a native sculptor of great merit, who also carved the great
+<i>Jube</i> of Dixmude (see drawing). Other works of Taillebert are no less
+remarkable, notably the superb arcade with the Christ triumphant
+suspended between the columns at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> the principal entrance. He was also
+the sculptor of the mausoleum of Bishop Antoine de Hennin, erected in
+1622 in the choir.</p>
+
+<p>In the pavement before the altar a plain stone marked the resting place
+of the famous Corneille Jansen (Cornelius Jansenius), seventh Bishop of
+Ypres, who died of the pest the 6th of May, 1638. One recalls that the
+doctrine of Jansen gave birth to the sect of that name which still
+flourishes in Holland.</p>
+
+<p>Following the Rue de Lille one came upon the old tower of St. Pierre,
+massed among tall straight lines of picturesque poplars, its bulk
+recalling vaguely the belfry of the Cloth Hall. In this church was shown
+a curious little picture, representing the devil setting fire to the
+tower, which was destroyed in 1638, but was later rebuilt after the
+original plans. The interior had no dignity of style whatever. There
+were, however, some figures of the saints Peter and Paul attributed to
+Carel Van Yper, which merited the examination of connoisseurs. They are
+believed by experts to have been the "volets" of a triptych of which the
+center panel was missing.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="Gateway_Wall_and_Old_Moat_Ypres" id="Gateway_Wall_and_Old_Moat_Ypres"></a>
+<img src="images/image16.jpg" width="400" height="804" alt="Gateway, Wall, and Old Moat: Ypres" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Gateway, Wall, and Old Moat: Ypres</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Place St. Pierre was picturesque and smiling. Following this route
+we found on the right at the end of a small street the hospital St.
+Jean, with an octagonal tower, which enshrined some pictures attributed
+to the prolific Carel Van Yper, comment upon which would be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> perhaps
+out of place here. On the corner of this street was a most charming old
+fa&ccedil;ade in process of demolishment, which we deplored.</p>
+
+<p>Now we reached the Porte de Lille again and the remains of the old walls
+of the town. Again and again we followed this same route, each time
+finding some new beauty or hidden antiquity which well repaid us for
+such persistence. Few of the towns of Flanders presented such treasures
+as were to be found in Ypres. Following the walk on the ramparts, past
+the <i>caserne</i> or infantry barracks, one came upon the place of the
+ancient ch&acirc;teau of the counts, a vast construction under the name of "de
+Zaalhof." Here was an antique building called the "Lombard," dated 1616,
+covered with old iron "ancres" and crosses between the high small-paned
+windows.</p>
+
+<p>By the Rue de Beurre one regained the Grand' Place, passing through the
+silent old Place Van den Peereboom in the center of which was the statue
+of the old Burgomaster of that name.</p>
+
+<p>The aspect of this silent grass-grown square behind the Cloth Hall was
+most impressive. Here thronged the burghers of old, notably on the
+occasion of the entry of Charles the Bold and his daughter Marguerite,
+all clad in fur, lace, and velvet to astonish the inhabitants, who
+instead of being impressed, so outshone the visitors, by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> their own and
+their wives' magnificence of apparel, that Marguerite was reported to
+have left the banquet hall in pique. The belfry quite dominated the
+square at the eastern angle, where were the houses forming the
+<i>conciergerie</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Turning to the right by way of the Chemin de St. Martin, one found the
+ancient Beguinage latterly used by the gendarmerie as a station, the
+lovely old chapel turned into a stable! In this old town were hundreds
+of remarkable ancient houses, each of which merits description in this
+book. But perhaps in this brief and very fragmentary description the
+reader may find reason for the author's enthusiasm, and agree with him
+that Ypres was perhaps the most unique and interesting of all the
+destroyed towns in Flanders.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Commines</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Commines" id="Commines"></a>Commines</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">I</span><span class="ucap">t</span> was not hard to realize that here we were in the country of
+Bras-de-Fer, of Memling, of Cuyp, and Thierry d'Alsace, for, on
+descending from the halting, bumping train at the small brick station,
+we were face to face with a bizarre, bulbous-topped tower rising above
+the houses surrounding a small square, and now quite crowded with large,
+hollow-backed, thick-legged Flemish horses, which might have been those
+of the followers of Thierry gathered in preparation for an onslaught
+upon one of the neighboring towns.</p>
+
+<p>It seemed as though any turning might bring us face to face with a grim
+cohort of mounted armed men in steel corselet and morion, bearing the
+banner of Spanish Philip, so sinister were the narrow, ill-paved
+streets, darkened by the projecting second stories of the somber,
+gray-stone houses. Rarely was there an open door or window. As we
+passed, our footsteps on the uneven stones awakened the echoes. A fine
+drizzle of rain which began to fall upon us from the leaden sky did not
+tend to enliven us, and we hastened toward the small Grand' Place, where
+I<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> noted on a sign over a doorway the words, "In de Leeuw Van Vlanderen"
+(To the Flemish Lion), which promised at least shelter from the
+rainfall. Here we remained until the sun shone forth.</p>
+
+<p>Commines (Flemish, Komen) was formerly a fortified town of some
+importance in the period of the Great Wars of Flanders. It was the
+birthplace of Philip de Commines (1445&ndash;1509). It was, so to say, one of
+the iron hinges upon which the great military defense system of the
+burghers swung and creaked in those dark days. To-day, in these rich
+fields about the small town, one can find no traces of the old-time
+bastions which so well guarded the town from Van Artevelde's assaults.
+Inside the town were scarcely any trees, an unusual feature for
+Flanders, and on the narrow waterways floated but few craft.</p>
+
+<p>The only remarkable thing by virtue of its Renaissance style of
+architecture was the belfry and clock tower, although some of the old
+Flemish dwelling houses in the market square, projecting over an ogival
+Colonnade extending round one end of the square, and covering a sort of
+footway, were of interest, uplifting their step-like gables as a silent
+but eloquent protest against a posterity devoid of style, all of them to
+the right and left falling into line like two wings of stone in order to
+allow the carved front of the belfry to make a better show, and its<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>
+pinnacled tower to rise the prouder against the sky.</p>
+
+<p>One was struck with the ascendency of the religious element over all
+forms of art, and this was a characteristic of the Flemings. One was
+everywhere confronted with a curious union of religion and war,
+representations peopled exclusively by seraphic beings surrounded or
+accompanied by armed warriors. Everything is adoration, resignation,
+incense fumes, psalmody, and crusaders. The greatest buildings we saw
+were ecclesiastical, the richest dresses were church vestments, even
+"the princes and burghers accompanied by armed knights remind one of
+ecclesiastics celebrating the Mass. All the women are holy virgins,
+seemingly. The chasm between the ideal and the reality itself, however
+idealized, but by meditation manifested pictorially." ("The Land of
+Rubens," C.B. Huet).</p>
+
+<p>We sat for an hour in the small, sooty, tobacco-smelling <i>estaminet</i>
+(from the Spanish <i>estamento</i>&mdash;an inn), and then the skies clearing
+somewhat we fared forth to explore the belfry, which in spite of its
+sadly neglected state was still applied to civic use. Some dark, heavy,
+oaken beams in the ceiling of the principal room showed delicately
+carved, fancy heads, some of them evidently portraits. At the rear of
+the tower on the ground floor, I came upon a vaulted apartment supported
+on columns, and being used as a storehouse. Its construction was so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
+handsome, it was so beautifully lighted from without, as to make one
+grieve for its desecration; it may have served in the olden time as a
+refectory, and if so was doubtless the scene of great festivity in the
+time of Philip de Commines, who was noted for the magnificence of his
+entertainments.</p>
+
+<p>The Flemish burghers of the Middle Ages first built themselves a church;
+when that was finished, a great hall. That of Ypres took more than two
+hundred years to complete. How long this great tower of Commines took, I
+can only conjecture. Its semi-oriental pear-shaped (or onion-shaped, as
+you will) tower was certainly of great antiquity; even the unkempt
+little priest whom I questioned in the Grand' Place could give me little
+or no information concerning it. Indeed, he seemed to be on the point of
+resenting my questions, as though he thought that I was in some way
+poking fun at him. I presume that it was the scene of great splendor in
+their early days. For here a count of Flanders or a duke of Brabant
+exercised sovereign rights, and at such a ceremony as the laying of a
+corner-stone assumed the place of honor, although the real authority was
+with the burghers, and founded upon commerce. While granting this
+privilege, the Flemings ever hated autocracy. They loved pomp, but any
+attempt to exercise power over them infuriated them.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Belfry_Commines" id="The_Belfry_Commines"></a>
+<img src="images/image17.jpg" width="400" height="743" alt="The Belfry: Commines" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Belfry: Commines</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"The architecture of the Fleming was the expression of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> aspiration,"
+says C.B. Huet ("The Land of Rubens").</p>
+
+<p>"The Flemish hall has often the form of a church; art history, aiming at
+classification, ranges it among the Gothic by reason of its pointed
+windows. The Hall usually is a defenceless feudal castle without moats,
+without porticullis, without loopholes. It occupies the center of a
+market-place. It is a temple of peace, its windows are as numerous as
+those in the choirs of that consecrated to the worship of God.</p>
+
+<p>"From the center of the building uprises an enormous mass, three, four,
+five stories high, as high as the cathedral, perhaps higher. It is the
+belfry, the transparent habitation of the alarm bell (as well as the
+chimes). The belfry cannot defend itself, a military character is
+foreign to it. But as warden of civic liberty it can, at the approach of
+domination from without, or autocracy uplifting its head within, awaken
+the threatened ones, and call them to arms in its own defence. The
+belfry is thus a symbol of a society expecting happiness from neither a
+dynasty nor from a military despotism, but solely from common
+institutions, from commerce and industry, from a citizen's life, budding
+in the shadow of the peaceful church, and borrowing its peaceful
+architecture from it. To the town halls of Flanders belonged the place
+of honor among the monuments of Belgian architecture. No other country
+of Europe offered so rich a variety in that respect.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p><p>"Courtrai replaces Arras; Oudenaarde and Ypres follow suit. Then come
+Tournai, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, Louvain. Primary Gothic,
+secondary Gothic, tertiary Gothic, satisfying every wish. Flanders and
+Brabant called the communal style into life. If ever Europe becomes a
+commune, the communards have but to go to Ypres to find motifs from
+their architects."</p>
+
+<p>Since this was written, in 1914, many, if not most, of these great
+buildings thus enumerated above, are now in ruins, utterly destroyed for
+all time!</p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Bergues</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Bergues" id="Bergues"></a>Bergues</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">A</span><span class="ucap">tiny</span> sleepy town among the fringe of great willow trees which marked
+the site of the ancient walls. Belted by its crumbling ramparts, and
+like a quaint gem set in the green enamel of the smiling landscape, it
+offered a resting place far from the cares and noise of the world.</p>
+
+<p>Quite ignored by the guide books, it had, I found, one of the most
+remarkable belfries to be found in the Netherlands, and a chime of sweet
+bells, whose melodious sounds haunted our memories for days after our
+last visit in 1910.</p>
+
+<p>There were winding, silent streets bordered by mysteriously closed and
+shuttered houses, but mainly these were small and of the peasant order.
+On the Grand' Place, for of course there was one, the tower sprang from
+a collection of rather shabby buildings, of little or no character, but
+this did not seem to detract from the magnificence of the great tower. I
+use the word "great" too often, I fear, but can find no other word in
+the language to qualify these "Campanili" of Flanders.</p>
+
+<p>This one was embellished with what are known as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> "ogival arcatures,"
+arranged in zones or ranks, and there were four immense turrets, one at
+each corner, these being in turn covered with arcatures of the same
+character. These flanked the large open-work, gilded, clock face.
+Surmounting this upon a platform was a construction in the purely
+Flemish style, containing the chime of bells, and the machinery of the
+carillon, and topping all was a sort of inverted bulb or gourd-shaped
+turret, covered with blue slate, with a gilded weathervane about which
+the rooks flew in clouds.</p>
+
+<p>The counterpart of this tower was not to be found anywhere in the
+Netherlands, and one is surprised that it was so little known.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Towers_of_St_Winoc_Bergues" id="The_Towers_of_St_Winoc_Bergues"></a>
+<img src="images/image18.jpg" width="400" height="729" alt="The Towers of St. Winoc: Bergues" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Towers of St. Winoc: Bergues</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Upon the occasion of our visit the town was given up to the heavy and
+stolid festivities of the "Kermesse," which is now of interest here only
+to the laboring class and the small farmers of the region. The center of
+attraction, as we found in several other towns, seemed to be an
+incredibly fat woman emblazoned on a canvas as the "Belle Heloise" who
+was seated upon a sort of throne draped in red flannel, and exhibited a
+pair of extremities resembling in size the masts of a ship, to the great
+wonder of the peasants. There were also some shabby merry-go-rounds with
+wheezy organs driven by machinery, and booths in which hard-featured
+show women were frying waffles in evil smelling grease. After buying
+some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> of these for the children who stood about with watering mouths,
+we left the "Kermesse" and wandered away down a silent street towards a
+smaller tower rising from a belt of dark trees.</p>
+
+<p>This we found to be the remains of the ancient abbey of St. Winoc. A
+very civil mannered young priest who overtook us on the road informed us
+of this, and volunteered further the information that we were in what
+was undoubtedly the ancient <i>jardin-clos</i> of the Abbey. Of this retreat
+only the two towers standing apart in the long grass remained, one very
+heavy and square, supported by great buttresses of discolored brick, the
+other octangular, in stages, and retaining its high graceful steeple.</p>
+
+<p>We were unable to gain entrance to either of these towers, the doorways
+being choked with weeds and the d&eacute;bris of fallen masonry. [The invaders
+destroyed both of these fine historical remains in November, 1914,
+alleging that they were being used for military observation by the
+Belgian army.] These small towns of Flanders had a simple dignity of
+their own which was of great attraction to the tourist, who could,
+without disillusionment, imagine himself back in the dim past. In the
+wayside inns or <i>estaminets</i> one could extract amusement and profit
+listening to the peasantry or admiring the sunlight dancing upon the
+array of bottles and glass on the leaden counters, or watch<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> the
+peasants kneel and cross themselves before the invariable quaint niched
+figure of the Virgin and Child under the hanging lighted lantern at a
+street corner, the evidence of the piety of the village, or the throngs
+of lace-capped, rosy-cheeked milkmaids with small green carts drawn by
+large, black, "slobbering" dogs of fierce mien, from the distant farms,
+on their way to market.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the everyday life of the region was rendered poetic and artistic,
+and all with the most charming unconsciousness.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Nieuport</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Nieuport" id="Nieuport"></a>Nieuport</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">I</span><span class="ucap">n</span> the midst of a level field to the east of the town of Nieuport in
+1914 was a high square weather-beaten tower, somewhat ruinous, built of
+stone and brick in strata, showing the different eras of construction in
+the various colors of the brick work ranging from light reds to dark
+browns and rich blacks. This tower, half built and square topped,
+belonged to a structure begun in the twelfth century, half monastery,
+half church, erected by the Templars as a stronghold. Repeatedly
+attacked and set on fire, it escaped complete destruction, although
+nearly laid in ruins by the English and burghers of Ghent in 1383, the
+year of the famous siege of Ypres. During the Wars of 1600, it was an
+important part of the fortifications, and from the platform of its tower
+the Spanish garrison commanded a clear view of the surrounding country
+and the distance beyond the broad moat, which then surrounded the strong
+walls of Nieuport.</p>
+
+<p>In plain view from this tower top were the houses of Furnes, grouped
+about the church of Saint Nicolas to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> southwest, while to the north
+the wide belt of dunes, or sand hills, defended the plains from the
+North Sea. Nearer were the populous villages of Westende and
+Lombaerd-Zyde, connected with Nieuport by numerous small lakes and
+canals derived from the channel of the Yser river, which flowed past the
+town on its way to the sea.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Tower_of_the_Templars_Nieuport" id="The_Tower_of_the_Templars_Nieuport"></a>
+<img src="images/image19.jpg" width="400" height="722" alt="The Tower of the Templars: Nieuport" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Tower of the Templars: Nieuport</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The history of Nieuport, from the terrible days of the Spanish invasion
+down to these days of even worse fate, has been pitiable. Its former sea
+trade after the Spanish invasion was never recovered, and its
+population, which was beginning to be thrifty and prosperous up to 1914,
+has now entirely disappeared. Nieuport is now in ashes and ruins. When I
+passed the day there in the summer of 1910, it was a sleepy, quiet spot,
+a small fishing village, with old men and women sitting in doorways and
+on the waysides, mending nets, and knitting heavy woolen socks or
+sweaters of dark blue. In the small harbor were the black hulls of
+fishing boats tied up to the quaysides, and a small steamer from Ghoole
+was taking on a cargo of potatoes and beets. Some barges laden with wood
+were being pulled through the locks by men harnessed to a long tow rope,
+and a savage dog on one of these barges menaced me with dripping fangs
+and bloodshot eyes when I stopped to talk to the steersman, who sat on
+the tiller smoking a short, evil-smelling pipe, while his "vrouwe" was
+hanging out a heavy wash of vari-colored garments<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> on a line from the
+staff on the bow to a sweep fastened upright to the cabin wall.</p>
+
+<p>The ancient fortification had long since disappeared&mdash;those "impregnable
+walls of stone" which once defended the town from the assaults of Philip
+the Second. I found with some difficulty a few grass-grown mounds where
+they had been, and only the gray, grim tower of the Templars, standing
+solitary in a turnip field, remained to show what had been a mighty
+stronghold. In the town, however, were souvenirs enough to occupy an
+antiquary for years to his content and profit. There was the Cloth Hall,
+with its five pointed low arched doorways from which passed in and out
+the Knights of the Temple gathered for the first pilgrimage to the Holy
+Land. On this market square too was the great Gothic Church, one of the
+largest and most important in all Flanders, and on this afternoon in the
+summer of 1910, I attended a service here, while in the tower a bell
+ringer played the chime of famous bells which now lie in broken
+fragments amid the ashes of the fallen tower.</p>
+
+<p>Here was fought the bloody "Battle of the Dunes," between the Dutch and
+the Spaniards in those dim days of long ago, when the stubborn
+determination of the Netherlanders overcame the might and fiery valor of
+the Spanish invaders.</p>
+
+<p>From time to time the peasants laboring in the fields uncovered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> bones,
+broken steel breast-plates, and weapons, which they brought to the
+museum on the Grand' Place, and which the sleepy <i>custode</i> showed me
+with reluctance, until I offered him a franc. It is curious that famous
+Nieuport, for which so much blood was shed in those early days, should
+again have been a famous battle ground between the handful of valiant
+soldiers of the heroic King Albert and a mighty Teutonic foe.</p>
+
+<p>The dim gray town with its silent streets, the one time home of romance
+and chivalry, the scene of deeds of knightly valor, is now done for
+forever. It is not likely that it can ever again be of importance, for
+its harbor is well-nigh closed by drifting sand. But I shall always keep
+the vision I had of it that summer day, in its market place, its gabled
+houses against the luminous sky, its winding streets, and narrow byways
+across which the roofs almost touch each other. The ancient palaces are
+now in ruins, and the peaceful population scattered abroad, charges upon
+the charity of the world. Certainly a woeful picture in contrast to the
+content of other days.</p>
+
+<p>The vast green plains behind the dunes, or sand hills, extend unbrokenly
+from here to the French frontier, spire after spire dominating small
+towns, and windmills, are the objects seen. To some the flatness is most
+monotonous, but to those who find pleasure in the paintings of Cuyp, the
+country is very picturesque. The almost endles<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>s succession of green,
+well-cultivated fields and farmsteads is most entertaining, and the many
+canals winding their silvery ways through the country, between rows of
+pollards; the well kept though small country houses embowered in woody
+enclosures; the fruitful orchards in splendid cultivation; the gardens
+filled with fair flowers and the "most compact little towns"&mdash;these give
+the region a romance and attraction all its own.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Town_Hall_Hall_of_the_Knights_Templars_Nieuport" id="The_Town_Hall_Hall_of_the_Knights_Templars_Nieuport"></a>
+<img src="images/image20.jpg" width="400" height="710" alt="The Town Hall&mdash;Hall of the Knights Templars: Nieuport" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Town Hall&mdash;Hall of the Knights Templars: Nieuport</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Here and there is a hoary church erected in forgotten times on ground
+dedicated to Thor or Wodin. This part of the country bordering the fifty
+mile stretch of coast line on the North Sea was given over latterly to
+the populous bathing establishments and their new communities, but the
+other localities, such as Tournai, Courtrai, Oudenaarde or Alost, were
+seldom visited by strangers, whose advent created almost as much
+excitement as it would in Timbuctoo. It was not inaccessible, but the
+roads were not good for automobiles; they were mainly paved with rough
+"Belgian" blocks of stone, high in the center, with a dirt roadway on
+either side, used by the peasants and quite rutty.</p>
+
+<p>A walking tour for any but the hardiest pedestrian was out of the
+question, so I was told that the best way for a "bachelor" traveler was
+to secure transportation on the canal boats. This was the warning that
+our kind hearted landlord in Antwerp gave us, after vainly endeavoring<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
+to discourage us from leaving him for such a tour.</p>
+
+<p>The canals, however, are not numerous enough in this region, I found,
+and besides there are various other disadvantages which I leave to the
+reader's imagination.</p>
+
+<p>In addition to the main lines of the State Railway, there were what are
+called "Chemins-de-fer-vicinaux," small narrow gauge railways which
+traversed Belgium in all directions. On these the fares were very
+reasonable, and they formed an ideal way in which to study the country
+and the people. There were first, second and third class carriages on
+these, hung high on tall wheels, which looked very unsafe, but were not
+really so. The classes varied only in the trimming of the windows, and
+quality of the cushions on the benches. Rarely if ever, were those
+marked "I Klasse" used. Those of the second class were used sometimes;
+but the third class cars were generally very crowded with peasantry, who
+while invariably good humored and civil were certainly evil smelling,
+and intolerant of open windows and fresh air. The men and boys generally
+smoked a particularly vile-smelling black tobacco, of which they seemed
+very fond, and although some of the cars were marked "Niet rooken" (no
+smoking) no one seemed to object to the fumes.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="Tower_of_the_Grand39_Place_Nieuport" id="Tower_of_the_Grand39_Place_Nieuport"></a>
+<img src="images/image21.jpg" width="400" height="730" alt="Tower of the Grand&#39; Place: Nieuport" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Tower of the Grand&#39; Place: Nieuport</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Here one seldom saw the purely Spanish type of face so usual in Antwerp
+and Brabant. The race seemed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> purer, and the peasants used the pure
+Flemish tongue. Few of the elders I found spoke French fluently,
+although the children used it freely to each other, of course
+understanding and speaking Flemish also.</p>
+
+<p>There were various newspapers published in the Flemish language
+exclusively. These, however, were very primitive, given over entirely to
+purely local brevities, and the prices of potatoes, beets and other
+commodities, and containing also a "feuilleton" of interest to the
+farmers and laborers.</p>
+
+<p>There were several "organs" of the Flemish Patriotic party devoted to
+the conservation and preservation of the Flemish language and the
+ancient traditions, which were powerful among the people, although their
+circulation could not have been very profitable. The peasantry in truth
+were very ignorant, and knew of very little beyond their own parishes.
+The educational standard of the people of West Flanders was certainly
+low, and it was a matter of comment among the opponents of the
+established church, that education being in the hands of the clergy,
+they invariably defeated plans for making it compulsory. But
+nevertheless, the peasantry were to all appearances both contented and
+fairly happy.</p>
+
+<p>As their wants were few and primitive, their living was cheap. Their
+fare was coffee, of which they consumed a great deal, black bread, salt
+pork and potatoes. The use<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> of oleomargarine was universal in place of
+butter. They grew tobacco in their small gardens for their own use, and
+also, it is whispered, smuggled it [and gin] over the border into
+France. They worked hard and long from five in the morning until seven
+or eight in the evening.</p>
+
+<p>The Flemish farmhouse was generally well built, if somewhat untidy
+looking, with the pigstys and out buildings in rather too close
+proximity for comfort. There was usually a large living room with heavy
+sooty beams overhead, and thick walls pierced by quaint deeply sunken
+windows furnished often with seats. These picturesque rooms often
+contained "good finds" of the old Spanish furniture, and brass; but as a
+rule the dealers had long since bought up all the old things, replacing
+them by "brummagem,"&mdash;modern articles shining with cheap varnish.</p>
+
+<p>The peasants themselves in their everyday clothes certainly did not
+impress the observer greatly. They were not picturesque, they wore the
+sab&ocirc;t or "Klompen," yellow varnished, and clumsy in shape. Their
+stockings were coarse gray worsted. Their short trousers were usually
+tied with a string above the calf, and they wore a sort of smock,
+sometimes of linen unbleached, or of a shining sort of dark purple thin
+stuff.</p>
+
+<p>The usual headgear was for the men a cap with a glazed peak and for the
+women and girls a wide flapped embroidered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> linen cap, but this headgear
+was worn only in the country towns and villages. Elsewhere the costume
+was fast disappearing. On Sundays when dressed in their holiday clothes
+these peasants going to or returning from mass, looked respectable and
+fairly prosperous, and it was certainly clear that although poor in
+worldly goods, these animated and laughing throngs were far from being
+unhappy or dissatisfied with life as they found it in West Flanders.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Alost</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Alost" id="Alost"></a>Alost</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">T</span><span class="ucap">he</span> ancient H&ocirc;tel de Ville on the Grand' Place was unique, not for its
+great beauty, for it had none, but for its quaintness, in the singular
+combination of several styles of architecture. Without going into any
+details its attraction was in what might be called its venerable
+coquettishness,&mdash;bizarre, one might have styled it, but that the word
+conveys some hint of lack of dignity. One is at a loss just how to
+characterize its attractiveness. Against the sky its towers and minarets
+held one's fancy by their very lightness and airiness, the lanterns and
+<i>fleches</i> presupposing a like grace and proportion in the edifice below.
+The great square belfry at one side seemed to shoulder aside the
+structure with its beautiful Renaissance fa&ccedil;ade and portal and quite
+dominate it.</p>
+
+<p>My note book says that it dated from the fifteenth century, and its
+appearance certainly bore evidence of this statement. It had been
+erected in sections at various periods, and these periods were marked in
+the various courses of brick, showing every variety of tone of dull<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>
+reds, buffs, and mellow purplish browns. The effect was quite
+delightful. The tower contained a fine carillon of bells arranged on a
+rather bizarre platform, giving a most quaint effect to the turret which
+surmounted it. The face of the tower bore four niches, two at each side
+of the center and upper windows, and these contained time worn statues
+of the noble counts of Alost. On the wall below was a tablet bearing the
+inscription "Ni Espoir, Ni Craint," and this I was told referred either
+to the many sieges which the town suffered, or a pestilence which
+depopulated the whole region. A huge gilt clock face shone below the
+upper gallery, at each corner of which sprang a stone gargoyle.</p>
+
+<p>The old square upon which this tower was placed was quite in keeping
+with it. There were rows of gabled stone houses of great antiquity,
+still inhabited, stretching away in an array of fa&ccedil;ades, gables, and
+most fantastic roofs, all of mellow toned tile, brick and stone.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Town_Hall_Alost" id="The_Town_Hall_Alost"></a>
+<img src="images/image22.jpg" width="400" height="730" alt="The Town Hall: Alost" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Town Hall: Alost</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thierry Moertens, who was a renowned master printer of the Netherlands,
+was born here, and is said to have established in Alost the "very first
+printing house in Flanders." From this press issued a translation of the
+Holy Bible, which was preserved in the Museum of Brussels, together with
+other fine specimens of his skill. A very good statue in bronze to this
+master printer was in the center of the market place, and on the
+occasion of my<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> last visit, there was a sort of carnival in the town,
+with a great gathering of farmers and merchants and their families from
+the surrounding country all gathered about the square, which was filled
+with wagons, horses, booths, and merry-go-rounds, above which the statue
+of the old master printer appeared in great dignity. There was a great
+consumption of beer and waffles at the small <i>estaminets</i>, and the
+chimes in the belfry played popular songs at intervals to the delight of
+these simple happy people, all unaware of the great catastrophe of the
+war into which they were about to be plunged.</p>
+
+<p>A disastrous conflagration destroyed most of Alost in 1360, and
+thereafter history deals with the fury of the religious wars conducted
+by the Spanish against Alost, a most strongly fortified town. The story
+of the uniting of these Spanish troops under the leadership of Juan de
+Navarese is well known. Burning and sacking and murder were the sad lot
+of Alost and its unfortunate citizens, who had hardly recovered, ere the
+Duke d'Alen&ccedil;on arrived before the walls with his troops, bent upon
+mischief. The few people remaining after his onslaught died like flies
+during the plague which broke out the following year, and the town bid
+fair to vanish forever.</p>
+
+<p>Rubens painted a large and important picture based upon the destruction
+of Alost, and this work was hanging in the old church of St. Martin just
+before the outbreak<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span> of the war in 1914. Its fate is problematical, for
+St. Martin's Church was razed to the ground in the bombardment in
+1914&ndash;15, the charge being the usual one that the tower was used for
+military purposes by the French.</p>
+
+<p>This old church with its curious bulbous tower cap was at the end of a
+small street, and my last view of it was on the occasion of a church
+f&ecirc;te in which some dignitaries were present, for I saw them all clad in
+scarlet and purple walking beneath silken canopies attended by priests
+bearing lighted lanterns (although the sun was shining brightly at the
+time) and acolytes swinging fragrant smoking censers. We were directed
+to a rather shabby looking hostelry, over the door of which was an
+emblazoned coat of arms of Flanders, where we were assured we could get
+"d&eacute;jeuner" before leaving the town.</p>
+
+<p>As usual, a light drizzle came on, and the streets became deserted. The
+hotel was a wretched one and the meal furnished us was in character with
+it. We were waited on by a sour, taciturn old man who bore a dirty towel
+on his arm, as a sort of badge of office, I presume. He nodded or shook
+his head as the case might demand, but not a word could I extract from
+him. At the close of our meal, which we dallied over, waiting for the
+rain to cease, I called for the bill, which was produced after a long
+wait, and proved to be, as I anticipated, excessive. We had coffee and
+hot milk and some cold chicken and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span> salad. This repast, for two, came to
+twelve francs. And as the "chicken" had reached its old age long before,
+and the period of its roasting must have taken place at an uncertain
+date, this, together with the fact that the lettuce was wilted, placed
+these items upon the proscribed list for us. The coffee and hot milk,
+however, was good and, thus revived and rested, I paid the bill without
+protest, and having retained the carriage which we hired at the station,
+I bundled our belongings into it. I had resolved not to tip the surly
+old fellow, but a gleam in his eye made me hesitate. Then I weakened and
+gave him a franc.</p>
+
+<p>To my amazement he said in excellent English: "I thank you, sir; you are
+a kind, good and patient man, and madam is a most charming and gracious
+lady. I am sorry your breakfast was so bad, but I can do nothing here;
+these people are impossible; but it is no fault of mine." And shaking
+his head he vanished into the doorway of the hotel. Driving away, I
+glanced up at the windows, where behind the curtains I thought I saw
+several faces watching us furtively. It might be that we had missed an
+adventure in coming away. Had I been alone I should have chanced it, for
+the old waiter interested me with his sudden confidence and his command
+of English. But whatever his story might have been, it must ever be to
+me a closed book. Quaint Alost among the trees is now a heap of
+blackened ruins.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Courtrai</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Courtrai" id="Courtrai"></a>Courtrai</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">T</span><span class="ucap">he</span> two large and impressive stone towers flanking a bridge of three
+arches over the small sluggish river Lys were those of the celebrated
+Bro&euml;l, dating from the fourteenth century. The towers were called
+respectively the "Speytorre" and the "Inghelbrugtorre." The first named
+on the south side of the river formed part of the ancient "enceinte" of
+the first ch&acirc;teau of Philip of Alsace, and was erected in the twelfth
+century, and famed with the ch&acirc;teau of Lille, as the most formidable
+strongholds of Flanders. The "Inghelbrugtorre" was erected in 1411&ndash;13,
+and strongly resembles its sister tower opposite. It was furnished with
+loopholes for both archers and for "arquebusiers," as well as openings
+for the discharge of cannon and the casting of molten pitch and lead
+upon the heads of besiegers after the fashion of warfare as conducted
+during the wars of the Middle Ages. The Breton soldiers under Charles
+the Eleventh attacked and almost razed this great stronghold in 1382.</p>
+
+<p>A sleepy old <i>custode</i> whom we aroused took us down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span> into horrible
+dungeons, where, with a dripping tallow candle, he showed us some iron
+rings attached to the dripping walls below the surface of the river
+where prisoners of state were chained in former times, and told us that
+the walls here were three or four yards thick. The town was one of
+beauty and great charm, and here we stopped for a week in a most
+delightfully kept small hotel on the square, which was bordered with
+fine large trees, both linden and chestnut.</p>
+
+<p>The town was famed in history for the Great Battle of the Spurs which
+took place outside the walls, in the year 1302, on the plains of
+Groveninghe. History mentions the fact that "seven hundred golden spurs
+were picked up afterwards on the battlefield and hung in the cathedral."
+These we were unable to locate.</p>
+
+<p>The water of the Lys, flowing through the town and around the remains of
+the ancient walls, was put to practical use by the inhabitants in the
+preparation of flax, for which the town was renowned.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Belfry_Courtrai" id="The_Belfry_Courtrai"></a>
+<img src="images/image23.jpg" width="400" height="753" alt="The Belfry: Courtrai" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Belfry: Courtrai</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>It ranked with the old city of Bruges in importance up to 1914, when it
+had some thirty-five thousand inhabitants. In the middle of the
+beflowered Grand' Place stood a quaint brick belfry containing a good
+chime of bells, and on market days when surrounded with the farmers'
+green wagons and the lines of booths about which the people gathered
+chaffering, its appearance was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span> picturesque enough to satisfy anyone,
+even the most blas&eacute; of travelers. The belfry had four large gilt clock
+faces, and its bells could be plainly seen through the windows hanging
+from the huge beams. On the tower were gilded escutcheons, and a couple
+of armor-clad statues in niches. There was a fine church dedicated to
+Notre Dame, which was commenced by Baldwin in 1199, and a very beautiful
+"Counts Chapel" with rows of statues of counts and countesses of
+Flanders whose very names were forgotten.</p>
+
+<p>Here was one of the few remaining "Beguinages" of Flanders, which we
+might have overlooked but for the kindness of a passerby who, seeing
+that we were strangers, pointed out the doorway to us.</p>
+
+<p>On either hand were small houses through the windows of which one could
+see old women sitting bowed over cushions rapidly moving the bobbins
+over the lace patterns. A heavy black door gave access to the Beguinage,
+a tiny retreat, <i>Noy&eacute; de Silence</i>, inaugurated, tradition says, in 1238,
+by Jean de Constantinople, who gave it as a refuge for the Sisters of
+St. Bogga. And here about a small grass grown square in which was a
+statue of the saint, dwelt a number of self-sacrificing women, bound by
+no vow, who had consecrated their lives to the care of the sick and
+needy.</p>
+
+<p>We spent an hour in this calm and fragrant retreat, where there was no
+noise save the sweet tolling of the convent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> bell, and the cooing of
+pigeons on the ridge pole of the chapel.</p>
+
+<p>In the square before the small station was a statue, which after
+questioning a number of people without result, I at length found to be
+that of Jean Palfyn who, my informant assured me, was the inventor of
+the forceps, and expressed surprise that I should be so interested in
+statuary as to care "who it was." He asked me if I was not English and
+when I answered that I was an American, looked somewhat dazed, much as
+if I had said "New Zealander" or "Kamschatkan," and was about to ask me
+some further question, but upon consideration thought better of it, and
+turned away shrugging his shoulders.</p>
+
+<p>To show how well the river Lys is loved by the people, I quote here a
+sort of prose poem by a local poet, one Adolph Verriest. It is called
+"Het Leielied."</p>
+
+<p>"La Lys flows over the level fields of our beautiful country, its fecund
+waters reflecting the blue of our wondrous Flemish landscape. Active and
+diligent servant, it seems to work ever to our advantage, multiplying in
+its charming sinuosities its power for contributing to our prosperity,
+accomplishing our tasks, and granting our needs. It gives to our lives
+ammunition and power. The noise of busy mills and the movement of bodies
+of workmen in its banks is sweet music in our ears, in tune to the
+rippling of its waters.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p><p>"A silver ribbon starred with the blue corn-flower, the supple textile
+baptised in its soft waters is transformed by the hand of man into
+cloudy lace, into snowy linen, into fabrics of filmy lightness for my
+lady's wear, La Lys, name significant and fraught with poetry for
+us&mdash;giving life to the germ of the flax which it conserves through all
+its life better than any art of the chemist in the secret chambers of
+his laboratory.</p>
+
+<p>"Thanks to this gracious river, our lovely town excels in napery and is
+known throughout all the world. In harvest time the banks of the Lys are
+thronged with movement, the harvesters in quaint costumes, their bodies
+moving rhythmically to the words of the songs they sing, swinging the
+heavy bundles of flax from the banks to the level platforms, where it is
+allowed to sleep in the water, and later the heavy wagons are loaded to
+the cadence of other songs appropriate to the work. Large picturesque
+colored windmills wave their brown velvety hued sails against the piled
+up masses of cloud, and over all is intense color, life and movement.</p>
+
+<p>"The river plays then a most important part in the life on the Flemish
+plains about Courtrai, giving their daily bread to the peasants, and
+lending poetry to their existence. So, O Lys, our beautiful benefactor,
+we love you."</p>
+
+<p>At this writing (March, 1916) Courtrai is still occupied<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span> by the troops
+of the German Kaiser, and with the exception of the destruction of the
+Bro&euml;l towers, the church of St. Martin, and the Old Belfry in the market
+place, the town is said to be "intact."</p>
+
+<p>Whenever possible we traveled through the Flemish littoral on the small
+steam trams, "chemins-de-fer-vicinaux," as they are called in French, in
+the Flemish tongue "Stoomtram," passing through fertile green meadows
+dotted with fat, sleek, black and white cows, and embossed with shining
+silvery waterways connecting the towns and villages. We noticed Englishy
+cottages of white stucco and red tiled roofs, amid well kept fields and
+market gardens in which both men and women seemed to toil from dawn to
+dewy evening. Flanders before the war was simply covered with these
+light railways. The little trains of black carriages drawn by puffing
+covered motors, discharging heavy black clouds of evil-smelling smoke
+and oily soot, rushed over the country from morning until night, and the
+clanging of the motorman's bell seemed never ending.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Broeumll_Towers_Courtrai" id="The_Broeumll_Towers_Courtrai"></a>
+<img src="images/image24.jpg" width="400" height="748" alt="The Bro&euml;l Towers: Courtrai" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Bro&euml;l Towers: Courtrai</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>To see the country thus was a privilege, and was most interesting, for
+one had to wait in the squares of the small towns, or at other central
+places until the corresponding motor arrived before the journey could
+proceed. Here there was a sort of exchange established where the
+farmers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span> compared notes as to the rise or fall in commodities, or
+perchance the duty upon beets and potatoes.</p>
+
+<p>Loud and vehement was the talk upon these matters; really, did one not
+know the language, one might have fancied that a riot was imminent.</p>
+
+<p>One morning we halted at a small village called Gheluwe, where the train
+stopped beside a white-washed wall, and everyone got out, as the custom
+is. There seemed no reason for stopping here, for we were at some
+distance from the village, the spire of which could be seen above a belt
+of heavy trees ahead. The morning was somewhat chilly, and the only
+other occupant of the compartment was a young cleric with a soiled white
+necktie. He puffed away comfortably at a very thin, long, and
+evil-smelling "stogie" which he seemed to enjoy immensely, and which in
+the Flemish manner he seemed to eat as he smoked, eyeing us the while
+amicably though absent mindedly, as if we were far removed from his
+vicinity. As we neared the stopping place, two very jolly young farmer
+boys raced with the train in their quaint barrow-like wagon painted a
+bright green, and drawn by a pair of large dogs who foamed and panted
+past us "ventre &agrave; terre," with red jaws and flopping tongues.</p>
+
+<p>Had we not known of this breed of dogs we might have fancied, as many
+strangers do, that Flemish dogs are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> badly treated, but this is not the
+case. These dogs are very valuable, worth sometimes as much as five
+hundred francs (about $100).</p>
+
+<p>Inspections of these dogs are held regularly by the authorities. The
+straps and the arrangement of the girths are tested lest they should
+chafe the animal, and, I am told, the law now requires that a piece of
+carpet be carried for the animal to lie upon when resting, and a
+drinking bowl also has been added to the equipment of each cart. The
+dogs do not suffer. They are bred for the cart, and are called "<i>chiens
+de traite</i>," so that the charge of cruelty upon the part of ignorant
+tourists may be dismissed as untrue. There is a society for the
+prevention of cruelty to animals, and it is not unusual to see its sign
+displayed in the market places, with the caution "<i>Traitez les animaux
+avec douceur</i>." Rarely if ever is a case brought into court by the
+watchful police.</p>
+
+<p>The young cleric gazed at us inquiringly, as if he expected to hear us
+exclaim about the cruelty to animals, but catching his eye I smiled, and
+said something about "<i>ces bons chiens</i>," at which he seemed relieved,
+and nodded back grinning, but he did not remove the stogie from his
+mouth.</p>
+
+<p>Priests in Flanders seemed to enjoy much liberty of action, and do
+things not possible elsewhere. For instance, at Blankenberghe, a
+fashionable watering place on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> the coast, I saw a prosperous, well-fed
+one (if I may so characterize him without meaning any offense) dining at
+the Great Gasthof on the digue, who after finishing his <i>filet aux
+champignons</i>, with a bottle of <i>Baune superior</i>, ordered his "<i>demi
+tasse</i>" with <i>fine champagne</i>, and an Havana cigar which cost him not
+less than three francs (sixty cents) which he smoked like a connoisseur
+while he listened to the fine military band playing in the Kiosk. And
+why not, if you please?</p>
+
+<p>We remained for nearly twenty minutes beside this white wall at the
+roadside, the animated discussions of the farmers continuing, for the
+group was constantly augmented by fresh arrivals who meant to travel
+with us or back to the town from which we had come. It was here that we
+saw the first stork in Flanders, where indeed they are uncommon. This
+one had a nest in a large tree nearby. One of the boys shied a small
+stone at him as he flapped overhead, but, I think, without any idea of
+hitting him. The peasants assembled here eyed us narrowly. They probed
+me and my belongings with eyes of corkscrew penetration, but since this
+country of theirs was a show place to me, I argued that I had no right
+to object to their making in return a show of me. But such scrutiny is
+not comfortable, especially if one is seated in a narrow compartment,
+and the open-mouthed <i>vis &agrave; vis</i> gazes at one with steely bluish green
+unwinking eyes&mdash;somewhat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> red rimmed. Especially if such scrutiny is
+accompanied by free comments upon one's person, delivered in a voice so
+pitched as to convey the information to all the other occupants, and
+mayhap the engine driver ahead.</p>
+
+<p>The other train at length arrived, there was an interchange of occupants
+and then we proceeded amid heavy clouds of thick black smoke which, for
+a time, the wind blew with us. Across the tilled fields are narrow paths
+leading to dykes and roads. There are many green ditches filled with
+water and in them we could see rather heavy splashes from time to time.
+These we discovered were made by large green bull frogs&mdash;really monsters
+they were, too. Of course we were below the sea level here, but one
+cannot credit the old story about the boy who plugged the dyke with his
+thumb, thereby saving the whole country.</p>
+
+<p>The dykes are many feet high and as the foundation is composed of heavy
+black stones, then layers of great red bricks and tiles, and finally
+turf and large willow branches interlaced most cunningly like giant
+basket work, such a story is impossible.</p>
+
+<p>My <i>vis &agrave; vis</i>, all the while regarding me unwinkingly, overheard me
+speak to A&mdash;, in English.</p>
+
+<p>Then he slowly took the stogie from his mouth and ejaculated,
+"<i>Ach&mdash;Engelsch!&mdash;Do it well met you?</i>"</p>
+
+<p>I replied that it certainly did.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p><p>"<i>And met Madame?</i>"</p>
+
+<p>I nodded.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Alst' u blieft mynheer&mdash;sir,</i>" he said. Then he changed his seat and
+thereafter related to the others that he had conversed with the
+strangers, who were English, and were traveling for pleasure, being
+<i>enormously rich</i>. I think thereafter he enjoyed the reputation of being
+an accomplished linguist. So, pleasantly did we amble along the narrow
+little steam tramway through luxurious green fields and smiling fertile
+landscape of the Flemish littoral in our well rewarded search for the
+quaint and the unusual.</p>
+
+<p>The Gothic Town Hall, a remarkable construction on the Grand' Place, and
+erected 1526, has been restored with a great amount of good taste in
+recent years, and the statues on its fa&ccedil;ade have been replaced with such
+skill that one is not conscious of modern work.</p>
+
+<p>The great Hall of the Magistrates on the ground floor, with its
+magnificent furniture, and the admirable modern mural paintings by the
+Flemish artists Guffens and Severts (1875) was worth a journey to see.
+The most noteworthy of these paintings represented the "Departure of
+Baldwin IX," Count of Flanders, at the beginning of the Fourth Crusade
+in 1202, and the "Consultation of the Flemish, before the great Battle
+of the Spurs" in 1302.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p><p>In this chamber is a remarkable Renaissance mantelpiece, which is
+embellished with the arms of the Allied Towns of Bruges and Ghent,
+between which are the standard bearers of the doughty Knights of
+Courtrai, and two statues of the Archduke Albert and his Lady, all
+surrounding a statue of the Holy Virgin.</p>
+
+<p>On the upper floor is the Council Chamber, in which is another
+mantelpiece hardly less ornate and interesting, and executed in what may
+be called the "flamboyant" manner in rich polychrome. It is dated 1527
+and was designed by (one of the) Keldermans (?).</p>
+
+<p>It has rows or ranges of statuary said to represent both the Vices and
+the Virtues. Below are reliefs indicating the terrible punishment
+inflicted upon those who transgress. Statues of Charles V, the Infanta
+Isabella, and others are on <i>corbels</i>.</p>
+
+<p>Very large drawn maps of the ancient town and its dependencies cover the
+walls, and these are dated 1641.<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a></p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Termonde (Dendermonde)</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Termonde_Dendermonde" id="Termonde_Dendermonde"></a>Termonde (Dendermonde)</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">A</span><span class="ucap">strange</span> half deserted little town on the right bank of the river
+Scheldt, clustered about a bridge, on both sides of a small sluggish
+stream called the "Dendre," where long lines of women were washing
+clothes the live-long day, and chattering like magpies the while. A
+Grand' Place, with heavy trees at one side, and on the other many small
+<i>estaminets</i> and drinking shops. That was Termonde. My note book says
+"Population 10,000, town fortified; forbidden to make sketches outside
+the walls, which are fortifications. Two good pictures in old church of
+Notre Dame, by Van Dyck, 'Crucifixion' and an 'Adoration of the
+Shepherds' (1635). Fine H&ocirc;tel de Ville, with five gables and sculptured
+decoration. Also belfry of the fourteenth century."</p>
+
+<p>Termonde is famed throughout Flanders as the birthplace of the "Four
+sons of Aymon," and the exploits of the great horse Bayard. The legend
+of the Four Sons of Aymon is endeared to the people, and they never tire
+of relating the story in song as well as prose. Indeed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> this legend is
+perhaps the best preserved of all throughout Flanders. It dates from the
+time of Charlemagne, the chief of the great leaders of Western Europe,
+whose difficulty in governing and keeping in subjection and order his
+warlike and turbulent underlords and vassals is a matter of history
+known to almost every schoolboy.</p>
+
+<p>Among these vassal lordlings, whose continued raids and grinding
+exactions caused him most anxious moments, was a certain Duke (Herzog)
+called Aymon, who had four sons, named Renault, Allard, Guichard, and
+Ricard, all of most enormous stature and prodigious strength. Of these
+Renault was the tallest, the strongest, the most agile, and the most
+cunning. In height he measured what would correspond to sixteen feet,
+"and he could span a man's waist with his hand, and lifting him in the
+air, squeeze him to death." This was one of his favorite tricks with the
+enemy in battle.</p>
+
+<p>Aymon had a brother named Buves who dwelt in Aigremont, which is near
+Huy, and one may still see there the castle of Aymon, who was also
+called the Wild Boar of the Ardennes. This brother Buves in a fit of
+anger against Charlemagne for some fancied slight, sent an insulting
+message to the latter, refusing his command to accompany him on his
+expedition against the Saracens, which so exasperated Charlemagne that
+he sent one of his sons to remonstrate with Buves and if need be, to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>
+threaten him with vengeance, in case he persisted in refusing. Buves was
+ready, and without waiting to receive his message, he met the messenger
+half way and promptly murdered him.</p>
+
+<p>Then Charlemagne, in a fury, sent a large and powerful body of men to
+punish Buves, who was killed in the battle which took place at
+Aigremont. Thereupon the four sons of Aymon met and over their swords
+swore vengeance against Charlemagne, and betook themselves to the
+fastnesses of the Ardennes, in which they built for themselves the great
+Castle of Montfort which is said to have been even stronger than that
+called Aigremont.</p>
+
+<p>On the banks of the river Ourthe may still be seen the great gray bulk
+of its ruins. About this stronghold they constructed high walls, and
+there they sent out challenges defying the great Emperor.</p>
+
+<p>Now each of the four sons had his own fashion of fighting. Renault
+fought best on horseback, and to him Maugis son of Buves brought a great
+horse named Bayard ("Beiaard" in Flemish) of magic origin, possessed of
+demoniac powers, among which was the ability to run like the wind and
+never grow weary. Here in this stronghold the four sons of Aymon dwelt,
+making occasional sallies against the vassals of Charlemagne, until at
+length the Emperor gathered a mighty force of soldiers and horses and
+engines and scaling ladders, and, surrounding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> the stronghold, at length
+succeeded in capturing it.</p>
+
+<p>Tradition says that among Charlemagne's retinue was Aymon himself, and
+intimates that it was by the father's treachery that the four mighty
+sons were almost captured, but at any rate the great castle of Montfort
+was reduced to ashes and ruin, and only the fact of Renault's taking the
+other brothers on the back of the wondrous horse Bayard saved them all
+from the Emperor's fury. So they escaped into Gascony, where they
+independently attacked the Saracens and drove them forth and extended
+their swords to the King of Gascony, Yon, who treacherously delivered
+them in chains over to Charlemagne. These chains they broke and threw in
+the Emperor's face, fighting their way to freedom with their bare hands.</p>
+
+<p>History thereafter is silent as to their end. Of Renault it is known
+only that he became a friar at Cologne, where his skill and strength
+were utilized by the authorities in building the walls, and that one day
+while at work, some masons whom he had offended crept up behind him and
+pushed him off a great height into the River Rhine, and thus he was
+drowned. Years afterward the Church canonized him, and in Westphalia at
+Dortmund may be seen a monument erected in his memory extolling his
+prowess, his deeds, and his strength.</p>
+
+<p>As to the great and magical horse Bayard, the chronicle says that,
+captured finally by Charlemagne's soldiers and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> brought before him, the
+Emperor deliberated what he should do with it, since it refused to be
+ridden. Finally he ordered that the largest mill stone in the region
+should be made fast to its neck by heavy chains, and that it should then
+be cast into the River Meuse.</p>
+
+<p>Bayard contemptuously shook off the heavy stone and with steam pouring
+from his nostrils, gave three neighs of derision and triumph and,
+climbing the opposite bank, vanished into the gloom of the forest where
+none dared follow. Of the immortality of this great horse history is
+emphatic and gravely states that, for all that is known to the contrary,
+he may still be at large in the Ardennes, but that "no man has since
+beheld him."</p>
+
+<p>And now yearly on the Grand' Place at Termonde there is a great festival
+and procession in his honor depicting the chief incidents of his life
+and mighty deeds, while, at Dinaut, on the River Meuse, the scene of
+some of his mightiest deeds, may still be seen the great Rock Bayard,
+standing more than forty yards high and separated from the face of the
+mountain by a roadway cut by Louis the Sixteenth, who cared little for
+legends. From the summit of this great needle of rock sprang the horse
+Bayard, flying before the forces of Charlemagne with the four brothers
+on his back, and, so tradition says, "leaped across the river,
+disappearing in the woods on the further bank."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Museum_Termonde" id="The_Museum_Termonde"></a>
+<img src="images/image25.jpg" width="400" height="663" alt="The Museum: Termonde" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Museum: Termonde</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>We were fortunate in being at Termonde on the occasion of this
+picturesque festival. Songs of Bayard and his prowess were sung in the
+streets by various musical societies, each of which carried huge banners
+bearing their titles and honors, and some curious frameworks on poles
+which were literally covered with medals and wreaths bestowed upon the
+societies by the town at various times. These were borne proudly through
+the streets, and each society had its crowd of partisans and loud
+admirers. Had it not been so picturesque and strange, it would have
+seemed childish and pathetic, but the people were so evidently in
+earnest and seemed to enjoy it so hugely that the chance stranger could
+not but enter into the spirit of it all with them. This we did and
+wisely. There was much drinking of a thin sour beer called "faro," which
+is very popular with the peasants, and the various societies sang
+themselves hoarse, to the delight of all, including themselves. The
+horse Bayard, as seen in the market place, was a great wicker affair
+hung in wondrous chain armor, and the four sons of Aymon, also of
+wickerwork, and likewise clad in armor, each bearing a huge sword, sat
+upon his back and were trundled through the streets. There were also
+booths in which the inevitable and odoriferous fritters were fried, and
+some merry-go-rounds with thunderous, wheezy, groaning steam organs
+splitting one's ears, and platforms upon which the peasants danced<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> and
+danced until one would have thought them fit to drop with fatigue.</p>
+
+<p>It did not take long to examine the attractions most thoroughly, but
+there were two very extraordinary exhibits of enormously fat women (who
+are great favorites with the peasantry, and no celebration seems to be
+complete without them). Their booths were placed opposite to each other,
+nearly face to face, with only about forty feet between them. In this
+space crowded the peasants listening open mouthed in wonder at the
+vocabulary of the rival "barkers."</p>
+
+<p>As usual, a shower came on during the afternoon, and the decorations
+were soaked with the downpour. The wickerwork horse Bayard was left to
+itself out in the square, and the wind whisked the water soaked
+draperies over its head, disclosing piteously all of its poor framework.
+The leaden skies showing no promise of clearing, we called the driver of
+the ancient "fiacre," and after settling our score at the "Grande H&ocirc;tel
+Caf&eacute; Royal de la T&ecirc;te d'Or," we departed for the station of the "chemin
+de fer," which bumped us well but safely along the road to Antwerp.</p>
+
+<p>We came again later on to this little town on the river, thinking that
+we might not have done it entire justice, because of the discomfort of
+the rainy day. And while we did not, it is true, find anything of great
+value to record,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> nor anything in the way of bells to gloat over, still
+our rather dismal impression of the little town in the drizzling rain as
+we last saw it, was quite removed and replaced by a picture more to our
+liking.</p>
+
+<p>We were constantly finding new and unusual charms in the quaint old
+towns, each seeming for some reason quainter than the preceding one.
+Here on this occasion it looked so tranquil, so somnolent, that we
+tarried all unwilling to lose its flavor of the unusual. There were old
+weather beaten walls of ancient brick, mossy in places, and here and
+there little flights of steep steps leading down into the water; broad
+pathways there were too, shaded by tall trees and behind them vistas of
+delightful old houses, each doubtless with its tales of joy, gayety,
+pain or terror of the long ago.</p>
+
+<p>The local policeman stood at a deserted street corner examining us
+curiously. He was the only sign of life visible except ourselves, and
+soon he, satisfied that we were only crazy foreigners with nothing else
+to do but wander about, took himself off yawning, his hands clasped
+behind his back, and his short sword rattling audibly in the stillness.</p>
+
+<p>The atmosphere of this silent street by the river, shaded almost to a
+twilight by the thick foliage, with the old houses all about us, seemed
+to invite reminiscence, or dreams of the stern and respectable old
+burghers and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span> burgesses in sombre clothing, wide brimmed hats, and
+stiffly starched linen ruffs about their necks as rendered by Rembrandt,
+Hals, Rubens and Jordaens. They must have been veritable domestic
+despots, magnates of the household, but certainly there must have been
+something fine about them too, for they are most impressive in their
+portraits.</p>
+
+<p>"They shook the foot of Spain from their necks," and when they were not
+fighting men they fought the waters. Truly the history of their
+struggles is a wondrous one! None of these was in sight, however, as we
+strolled the streets, but we did disturb the chat or gossip of two
+delightful, apple cheeked old ladies in white caps, who became dumb with
+astonishment at the sight of two foreigners who walked about gazing up
+at the roofs and windows of the houses, and at the mynheer in
+knickerbockers who was always looking about him and writing in a little
+book.</p>
+
+<p>One cannot blame them for being so dumbfounded at such actions, such
+<i>incomprehensible</i> disturbing actions in a somnolent town of long ago.
+In the vestibule of the dark dim old church, I copied the following
+inscription from a wall. It sounds something like English gone quite
+mad&mdash;and the last line, it seems to me, runs rather trippingly&mdash;and
+contains something of an idea too, whatever it means:</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>"Al wat er is. Mijn hoop is Christus en zyn bloed.<br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Door deze leer ik en hoop door die het eenwig goed.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Ons leven is maar eenen dag, vol ziekten en vol naar geklag.</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Vol rampen dampen (!) en vendriet. Een schim</span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">Eien droom en anders niet."</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p>A small steamer had advertised to leave for Antwerp about 3 o'clock. It
+lay puffing and wheezing at the side of the stream, and we went on board
+and settled ourselves comfortably, tired out with our wanderings. Here a
+bevy of children discovered us and ranged themselves along the dyke to
+watch our movements, exploding with laughter whenever we addressed one
+another. Finally an oily hand appeared at the hatchway of the engine
+room, followed by the touseled yellow head of a heavily bearded man. He
+looked at us searchingly, then at the line of tormenting children. Then
+he seized a long pole and advanced threateningly upon the phalanx. They
+fled incontinently out of reach, calling out various expletives in
+Flemish&mdash;of which I distinguished only one, "Koek bakker"! This would
+seem to be the crowning insult to cast at a respectable engineer, for he
+shook his fist at them.</p>
+
+<p>To our amazement he then touched his greasy cap to us, and in the
+broadest possible Scotch dialect bade us welcome. There is a saying that
+one has only to knock on the companion ladder of any engine room in any
+port<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> the world over, and call out "Sandy" to bring up in response one
+or two canny Scots from the engine room below. This little steamer
+evidently took the place of the carrier's cart used elsewhere; for
+passengers and parcels, as well as crates of vegetables were her cargo.
+At length we started puffing along the river, and stopping from time to
+time at small landings leading to villages whose roofs appeared above
+the banks and dykes.</p>
+
+<p>Delightful bits of the more intimate side of the people's life revealed
+themselves to us on these unusual trips. We passed a fine looking old
+peasant woman in a beautiful lace cap, rowing a boat with short powerful
+strokes in company with a young girl, both keeping perfect time. The
+boat was laden with green topped vegetables and brightly burnished brass
+milk cans, forming a picture that was most quaint to look upon. And
+later we passed a large Rhine barge, from the cabin of which came the
+most appetizing odor of broiled bacon. Our whistle brought out the whole
+family, and likewise a little nervous black and white dog who went
+nearly mad with the excitement attendant upon driving us away from the
+property he had to protect.</p>
+
+<p>Night was falling when we reached the quay side in Antwerp, and we
+disembarked to the tinkling melody of the wondrous chimes from the tower
+of the great Cathedral.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Louvain</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Louvain" id="Louvain"></a>Louvain</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">I</span><span class="ucap">t</span> was in the great Gothic Church of St. Peter that Mathias Van den
+Gheyn delighted to execute those wonderful "<i>morceaux fugues</i>" now at
+once the delight and the despair of the musical world, upon the fine
+chime of bells in the tower. This venerable tower was entirely destroyed
+in the terrible bombardment of the town in 1914. It is probable that no
+town in Belgium was more frequented by learned men of all professions,
+since its university enjoyed such a high reputation the world over, and
+certainly its library, likewise entirely destroyed, with its precious
+tomes and manuscripts, was considered second to none.</p>
+
+<p>The old Church of St. Peter, opposite the matchless H&ocirc;tel de Ville, was
+a cruciform structure of noble proportions and flanked with remarkable
+chapels; it was begun, according to the archives in Brussels, in 1423,
+to replace an earlier building of the tenth century, and was "finished"
+in the sixteenth century. There was, it seems, originally a wooden spire
+on the west side of the structure but "it was blown down in a storm in
+1606."</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p><p>When I saw it in 1910, the church was in process of restoration, and
+the work was being very intelligently done by competent men. Before the
+fa&ccedil;ade was a most curious row of bizarre small houses of stucco, nearly
+every one of which was a sort of saloon or caf&eacute;, and the street before
+them was quite obstructed by small round tables and chairs at which, in
+the afternoon from four to five, the shopkeepers and bourgeois of the
+town gathered for the afternoon "<i>aperitif</i>," whatever it might be, and
+to discuss politics. For be it known that this period before the
+outbreak of the war, was in Belgium a troublous one for the Flemings,
+because of the continued friction between the clerical and the
+anti-clerical parties. These bizarre houses, I was told by one of the
+priests with whom I talked, were owned by the church, and were very
+profitable holdings, but tourists and others had made such sport of
+them, and even entered such grave protests to the Bishop, that the
+authorities finally concluded to tear them down. But they were certainly
+very picturesque, as my picture shows, their red tiled roofs and green
+blinds, making most agreeable notes of color against old St. Peter's
+gray wall.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Cathedral_Louvain" id="The_Cathedral_Louvain"></a>
+<img src="images/image26.jpg" width="400" height="578" alt="The Cathedral: Louvain" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Cathedral: Louvain</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The church so wantonly destroyed in 1914 contained some most remarkable
+works of art in the nine chapels. Among these were the "Martyrdom of St.
+Erasmus," by Dierick Bouts, long thought to be a work of Memling.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>
+Another painting, "The Last Supper," was also considered one of
+Memling's works, until its authenticity was established by the finding
+of the receipt by Bouts for payment, discovered in the archives of the
+Library in Louvain in 1870. Formerly the church owned a great treasure
+in Quentin Matsys' "Holy Family," but this was sold to the Brussels
+Museum for something less than &pound;10,000, and upon the outbreak of the war
+was in that collection. It is said that most of these great paintings
+owned in Belgium were placed in zinc and leaden cases and sent over to
+England for safety. It is to be hoped that this is true.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>custode</i> showed, with most impressive manner, a quaint image of the
+Savior which, he related, was connected with a miraculous legend to the
+effect that the statue had captured and held a thief who had broken into
+the church upon one occasion! The townspeople venerate this image, and
+on each occasion when I visited the church, I noted the number of old
+women on their knees before it, and the many lighted waxen candles which
+they offered in its honor. A wave of indignation passed over the world
+of art when the newspapers reported the destruction of the beautiful
+H&ocirc;tel de Ville, just opposite old St. Peter's. This report was almost
+immediately followed by a denial from Berlin that it had suffered any
+harm whatever, and it would seem that this is true.</p>
+
+<p>The Library, however, with its hundreds of thousands<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> of priceless
+records, and masterpieces of printing is, it is admitted, entirely
+destroyed! This great building, black and crumbling with age, was
+situated in a small street behind the H&ocirc;tel de Ville. The town itself
+was bright and clean looking, and there was a handsome boulevard leading
+from the new Gothic railway station situated in a beflowered parkway,
+which was lined with prosperous looking shops. This whole district was
+"put to the torch" and wantonly destroyed when the town was captured in
+1914. Late photographs show the new station levelled to the ground, and
+the parkway turned into a cemetery with mounds and crosses showing where
+the soldiers who lost their lives in the bombardment, and subsequent
+sacking, are buried.</p>
+
+<p>Remembering the complete destruction of Ypres, one can only believe that
+the preservation of the H&ocirc;tel de Ville was entirely miraculous and
+unintentional.</p>
+
+<p>P.J. Verhaegan, a Flemish painter of considerable reputation and
+ability, had decorated one of the two "absidiole" chapels which
+contained a very richly carved tomb over a certain lady of the
+thirteenth century whose fame is known all over Flanders. The legend was
+most dramatically told to me by one of the young priests of St. Peter's,
+and this is the story of the beautiful Margaret, called "the
+Courageous," (La Fi&egrave;re).</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Town_Hall_Louvain" id="The_Town_Hall_Louvain"></a>
+<img src="images/image27.jpg" width="400" height="738" alt="The Town Hall: Louvain" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Town Hall: Louvain</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>By the Grace of God, there lived in Louvain, in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> year 1235, one
+Armand and his wife, both devout Catholics and the keepers of a
+travelers' "ordinary" on the road to the coast, called Tirlemont. These
+two at length decided to retire from their occupation as "H&ocirc;teliers,"
+and devote and consecrate the remainder of their lives to God, and the
+blessed saints.</p>
+
+<p>Now they had a niece who was a most beautiful girl and whose name was
+Margaret, and she had such disdain for the young gallants of Louvain
+that they bestowed upon her the name of "La Fi&egrave;re." Although but
+eighteen years of age she determined to follow the example of her uncle
+and aunt, and later become a "Beguine," thus devoting her life to
+charity and the care of the sick and unfortunate, for this is the work
+of the order of "Beguines."</p>
+
+<p>They realized a large sum of money from the sale of the hotel, and this
+became known throughout the countryside. It was said that the money was
+hidden in the house in which they lived, and at length eight young men
+of evil lives, pondering upon this, resolved that they would rob this
+noble couple. Upon a stormy night they demanded admittance, saying that
+they were belated travelers.</p>
+
+<p>The young girl Margaret was absent from the room for a moment, when
+these ruffians seized the old couple and murdered them. On her return to
+the upper room from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> the cellar, Margaret surprised them ransacking the
+strong box beside the fireplace. So they overpowered her also, but at
+once there ensued an argument as to what should be done with her, when
+the chief rogue, admiring her great beauty, proposed to her that she
+accept him as her lover and depart with him for France, where they could
+live happily. This she scornfully refused, whereupon "one of the
+ruffians strangled her for ten marcs of silver; and her soul, white and
+pure as the angels, ascended to the throne of Jesus, in whom she so well
+believed, and there became '<i>l'unique espoux dont elle ambitionait
+l'Amour.</i>'"</p>
+
+<p>It is said that Henry the First sitting in a window of his ch&acirc;teau on
+the river Dyle one night, saw floating on the dark water the corpse of
+this young martyr, where the ruffians had thus thrown her, and "the pale
+radiance from her brow illuminated the whole valley." Calling to his
+consort, Marguerite of Flanders, he pointed out to her the wondrous
+sight, and hastening forth they drew her dripping body from the dark
+slimy water and bore it tenderly to the ch&acirc;teau. The news spread far and
+wide, and for days came throngs to view the "sweet martyr's" body, for
+which the priests had prepared a costly catafalque, and for her a grand
+mass was celebrated in St. Peter's where she was laid at rest in a tomb,
+the like of which for costliness was never seen in Flanders.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p><p>And this is the legend of Margaret, called "La Fi&egrave;re," whose blameless
+life was known throughout the land.</p>
+
+<p>I wish that I had made a drawing of this tomb while I was in the church,
+but I neglected unfortunately to do so. It was of simple lines, but of
+great richness of detail. Of course both it and the beautiful wax
+paintings of M. Verhaegan are now entirely destroyed in the ruins of St.
+Peter's.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Douai</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Douai" id="Douai"></a>Douai</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">A</span><span class="ucap">lthough</span> across the border in France, Douai must still be called a
+Flemish town, because of its history and affiliations. The town is
+quaint in the extreme and of great antiquity, growing up originally
+around a Gallo-Roman fort. In the many wars carried on by the French
+against the English, the Flemish and the Germans, not to mention its
+sufferings from the invading Spaniards, it suffered many sieges and
+captures. Resisting the memorable attack of Louis the Eleventh, it has
+regularly celebrated the anniversary of this victory each year in a
+notable F&ecirc;te or Kermesse, in which the effigies of the giant Gayant and
+his family, made of wickerwork and clad in medieval costumes, are
+paraded through the town by order of the authorities, followed by a
+procession of costumed attendants through the tortuous streets, to the
+music of bands and the chimes from the belfry of the H&ocirc;tel de Ville.</p>
+
+<p>This, the most notable edifice in the town, is a fine Gothic tower one
+hundred and fifty feet high, with a remarkable construction of tower and
+turrets, supported<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> by corbels of the fifteenth century, containing a
+fine chime of bells made by the Van den Gheyns. The bells are visible
+from below, hanging sometimes well outside the turret of the bell
+chamber, and, ranging tier upon tier, from those seemingly the size of a
+gallon measure, to those immense ones weighing from fifteen hundred to
+two thousand pounds. This great tower witnessed the attack and
+occupation of the Spaniards, the foundation by the Roman Catholics of
+the great University in 1652 to counter-act the Protestantism of the
+Netherlands, which had but a brief career, and the capture of the town
+by Louis the Fourteenth. Here was published in 1610 an English
+translation of the Old Testament for Roman Catholics, as well as the
+English Roman Catholic version of the scriptures, and the New Testament
+translated at Rheims in 1582, and known as the "Douai Bible." This was
+also the birthplace of Jean Bellgambe, the painter (1540) surnamed
+"Ma&icirc;tre des Couleurs," whose nine great oaken panels form the wonderful
+altarpiece in the church of Notre Dame.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Town_Hall_Douai" id="The_Town_Hall_Douai"></a>
+<img src="images/image28.jpg" width="400" height="760" alt="The Town Hall: Douai" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Town Hall: Douai</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Douai was, before the great war, a peaceful industrial center of some
+importance, of some thirty thousand inhabitants. It has been said that
+the Fleming worked habitually fifty-two weeks in the year. An exception,
+however, must be made for f&ecirc;te days, when no self-respecting Fleming
+will work. On these days the holiday<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> makers are exceedingly
+boisterous, and the streets are filled with the peasants clad in all
+their holiday finery. But it is on the day of the Kermesse that your
+Fleming can be seen to the best advantage. There are merry-go-rounds,
+shooting galleries, swings, maybe a traveling circus or two, and a
+theatrical troupe which shows in a much bespangled and mirrored tent,
+decorated with tinsel and flaming at night with naphtha torches. Bands
+of music parade the streets, each carrying a sort of banneret hung with
+medals and trophies awarded by the town authorities at the various
+"<i>s&eacute;ances</i>."</p>
+
+<p>But the greatest noise comes from the barrel organs of huge size and
+played by steam, or sometimes by a patient horse clad in gay apparel who
+trudges a sort of treadmill which furnishes the motive power. In even
+these small towns of Ancient Flanders such as Douai, the old allegorical
+representations, formerly the main feature of the event, are now quite
+rare, and therefore this event of the parade of the wicker effigies of
+the fabulous giant Gayant and his family was certainly worth the journey
+from Tournai. The day was made memorable also to the writer and his
+companion because of the following adventure.</p>
+
+<p>There had been, it seems, considerable feeling against England among the
+lower orders in this border town over the Anglo-Boer War, so that
+overhearing us speaking<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span> English, some half grown lads began shouting
+out at us "Verdamt Engelsch" and other pleasantries, and in a moment a
+crowd gathered about us.</p>
+
+<p>With the best Flemish at his command the writer addressed them,
+explaining that we were Americans, but what the outcome would have been,
+had it not been for the timely arrival of a gendarme, I know not; but
+under his protection we certainly beat a hasty retreat. The lower
+classes of Flemings in their cups are unpleasant people to deal with,
+and it were well not to arouse them. But for this incident, and the fact
+that the afternoon brought on a downpour of rain, which somewhat
+dampened the ardor of the people and the success of the f&ecirc;te, our little
+trip over the border to this historic town would be considered worth
+while. Our last view of Douai was from the train window as we recrossed
+the river Scarpe, with the massive tower of the H&ocirc;tel de Ville showing
+silhouetted dim and gray against a streaming sky.</p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Oudenaarde</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Oudenaarde" id="Oudenaarde"></a>Oudenaarde</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">F</span><span class="ucap">rom</span> the small stucco station, embowered in luxuriant trees, we crossed
+a wide grass grown square, faring towards the turrets of the town, which
+appeared above the small red and black tiled roofs of some mean looking
+peasant houses, and an <i>estaminet</i>, of stucco evidently brand new, and
+bearing a gilt lion over its door. Here a wide and rather well paved
+street led towards the town, bordered upon either hand by well kept and
+clean but blank looking houses, with the very narrowest sidewalks
+imaginable, all of which somehow reminded us of some of the smaller
+streets of Philadelphia. The windows of these houses flush with the
+street were closely hung with lace, and invariably in each one was
+either a vase or a pot of some sort filled with bright flowers.
+Occasionally there was a small poor looking shop window in which were
+dusty glass jars of candy, pipes, packages of tobacco, coils of rope and
+hardware, and in one, evidently that of an apothecary, a large carved
+and varnished black head of a grinning negro, this being the sign for
+such merchandise as tobacco and drugs.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p><p>Here and there doorways were embellished with shiny brass knockers of
+good form, and outside one shop was a tempting array of cool green
+earthenware bowls of such beautiful shape that I passed them by with
+great longing.</p>
+
+<p>Soon this street made a turning, where there was a good bronze statue to
+some dignitary or other, and I caught a glimpse of that wondrous tower
+of the famous H&ocirc;tel de Ville, the mate to that at Louvain, and soon I
+was beneath its Gothic walls, bearing row upon row of niches, empty now,
+but once containing effigies of the powerful lords and ladies of
+Flanders. These rows rise tier upon tier to that exquisitely slender
+lace-like tower crowned with a large gilded statue of the town's patron,
+pennant in hand, and shining in the sunlight.</p>
+
+<p>From the Inn of the "Golden Apple of Oudenaarde" just opposite, I
+appraised its beauties over a good meal of young broiled chicken and
+lettuce salad, and a bowl of "<i>caf&eacute; au lait</i>" that was all satisfying.</p>
+
+<p>Afterwards, the <i>custode</i>, an old soldier, showed us the "Salle des Pas
+Perdus," containing a fine chimney piece alone worth the journey from
+Antwerp, and the Council Chamber, still hung with some good ancient
+stamped leather, and several large badly faded and cracked Spanish
+paintings of long forgotten dignitaries both male and female.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Town_Hall_Oudenaarde" id="The_Town_Hall_Oudenaarde"></a>
+<img src="images/image29.jpg" width="400" height="739" alt="The Town Hall: Oudenaarde" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Town Hall: Oudenaarde</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>One Paul Van Schelden, a wood carver of great ability<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span> and renown,
+wrought a wonderful doorway, which was fast falling apart when I saw it.
+This gave access to a large room, the former Cloth Hall, now used as a
+sort of theatre and quite disfigured at one end by a stage and scenic
+arch. The walls were stenciled meanly with a large letter A surmounted
+by a crown. The interior had nothing of interest to show.</p>
+
+<p>On the opposite side of the square was the large old church of St.
+Walburga, with a fine tower capped by a curious upturned bulbous cupola,
+upon which was a large gilt open-work clock face. As usual, there was a
+chime of bells visible, and a flock of rooks circling about the tower.
+The style of St. Walburga was Romanesque, with Gothic tendencies. Built
+in the twelfth century, it suffered severely at the hands of the
+Iconoclasts, and even in its unfinished state was very impressive, none
+the less, either, because of the rows of small stucco red roofed houses
+which clung to its walls, leaving only a narrow entrance to its portal.
+Inside I found an extremely rich polychromed Renaissance "reredos," and
+there was also the somewhat remarkable tomb of "Claude Talon," kept in
+good order and repair.</p>
+
+<p>Oudenaarde was famed for the part it played in the history of Flanders,
+and was also the birthplace of Margaret of Parma. It was long the
+residence of Mary of Burgundy, and gave shelter to Charles the Fifth,
+who<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> sought the protection of its fortifications during the siege of
+Tournai in 1521.</p>
+
+<p>Here, too, Marlborough vanquished the French in 1708. I might go on for
+a dozen more pages citing the names of remarkable personages who gave
+fame to the town, which now is simply wiped from the landscape. But by
+some miracle, it is stated, the Town Hall still stands practically
+uninjured. I have tried in vain to substantiate this, or at least to
+obtain some data concerning it, but up to this writing my letters to
+various officials remain unanswered.</p>
+
+<p>I like to think of Oudenaarde as I last saw it&mdash;the huge black door of
+the church yawning like a gaping chasm, the square partly filled with
+devout peasants in holiday attire for the church f&ecirc;te, whatever it was.
+Part of the procession had passed beyond the gloom of the vast aisles
+into the frank openness of daylight. Between the walls of the small
+houses at either hand a long line of figures was marching with many
+silken banners. There seemed to be an interminable line of young
+girls&mdash;first communicants, I fancied,&mdash;in all the purity of their white
+veils and gowns against the somber dull grays of the church. This mass
+of pure white was of dazzling, startling effect, something like a great
+bed of white roses.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="Old_Square_and_Church_Oudenaarde" id="Old_Square_and_Church_Oudenaarde"></a>
+<img src="images/image30.jpg" width="400" height="651" alt="Old Square and Church: Oudenaarde" title="" />
+<span class="caption">Old Square and Church: Oudenaarde</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Then came a phalanx of nuns clad in brown&mdash;I know not what their order
+was&mdash;their wide white cowls or coifs<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> serving only to accentuate the
+pallor of their grave faces, veritable "incarnations of meek
+renunciation," as some poet has beautifully expressed it.</p>
+
+<p>Then followed a group of seminarians clad in the lace and scarlet of
+their order, swinging to and fro their brazen censers from which poured
+fragrant clouds of incense.</p>
+
+<p>All at once a curious murmur came from the multitude, followed by a
+great rustling, as the whole body of people sank to their knees, and
+then I saw beyond at a distance across the square, the archbishop's
+silken canopy, and beneath it a venerable figure with upraised arms,
+elevating the Host.</p>
+
+<p>Surely a moment of great picturesqueness, even to the non-participant;
+the bent heads of the multitude; the long lines of kneeling black
+figures; scarlet and gold and lace of the priests' robes against the
+black note of the nuns' somber draperies; the white coifs and veils,
+through which the sweet rapture of young religious awe made even homely
+features seem beautiful: the gold and scarlet again of the choristers;
+and finally, that culminating note of splendor beneath the silken canopy
+of the cardinal archbishop (Cardinal Mercier) enthroned here like some
+ancient venerated monarch; all this against the neutral gray and black
+lines of the townspeople; surely this was the psychological moment in
+which to leave Oudenaarde, that I might retain such a picture in my
+mind's eye.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p>
+<h2>Furnes</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="Furnes" id="Furnes"></a>Furnes</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">T</span><span class="ucap">he</span> old red brick, flat topped, tower of St. Nicholas was the magnet
+which drew us to this dear sleepy old town, in the southwest corner of
+the Belgian littoral; and here, lodged in the historic hostel of the
+"Nob&egrave;le Rose" we spent some golden days. The name of the town is
+variously pronounced by the people Foorn, Fern, and even Fearn. I doubt
+if many travelers in the Netherlands ever heard of it. Yet the town is
+one of great antiquity and renown, its origin lost in the dimness of the
+ages.</p>
+
+<p>According to the chronicles in the great Library at Bruges, as early as
+<span class="caps">A.D.</span> 800 it was the theatre of invasions and massacres by the Normans.
+That learned student of Flemish history, M. Leopold Plettinck, has made
+exhaustive researches among the archives in both Brussels and Bruges,
+and while he has been unable to trace its beginnings he has collected
+and assorted an immense amount of detailed matter referring to Baudoin
+(or Baldwin) Bras de Fer, who seems to have been very active in
+harassing the people who had the misfortune to come under his hand.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></p><p>The War of the "Deux Roses" was fought outside the walls here, likewise
+the Battle of the Spurs took place on the plains between Furnes and
+Ypres. Following the long undulations of the dunes from Dunkerque,
+overgrown here and there with a rank coarse grass sown by the
+authorities to protect them from the wind and the encroachments of the
+ever menacing sea, dune succeeds dune, forming a landscape of most
+unique character. Passing the small hamlet of Zuitcote, marked by the
+sunken tower of its small church, which now serves as a sort of
+semaphore for the fishing boats off the coast, one reached the canal
+which crosses the plain picturesquely. This led one along the path to
+the quaint old town of Furnes, showing against the heavy dark green of
+the old trees, its dull red and pink roofs with the bulk of the tower
+forming a picture of great attractiveness.</p>
+
+<p>The town before the war had about six thousand population which seemed
+quite lost in the long lines of silent grass grown streets, and the
+immense Grand' Place, around which were ranged large dark stone Flemish
+houses of somewhat forbidding exteriors. All the activity of the town,
+however, was here in this large square, for the lower floors had been
+turned into shops, and also here was the hotel, before which a temporary
+moving picture theatre had been put up.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Fish_Market_Ypres" id="The_Fish_Market_Ypres"></a>
+<img src="images/image31.jpg" width="400" height="650" alt="The Fish Market: Ypres" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Fish Market: Ypres</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>These are very popular in Flanders, and are called<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> "Cinema-Am&eacute;ricain."
+The portable theatres are invariably wooden and are carried "knocked
+down" in large wagons drawn by hollow-backed, thick-legged Flemish
+horses. As a rule they have steam organs to furnish the "music" and the
+blare of these can be heard for miles across the level plains.</p>
+
+<p>The pictures shown are usually of the lurid sort to suit the peasants,
+and the profits must be considerable, as the charge is ten and
+twenty-five cents for admission. On this square is the H&ocirc;tel de Ville,
+the Palace of Justice, and Conciergerie. This latter is a sort of square
+"donjon" of great antiquity, crenelated, with towers at each corner and
+the whole construction forming an admirable specimen of Hispano-Flemish
+architecture.</p>
+
+<p>The angle of the "Place" opposite the pavilion of the officers is
+occupied by the H&ocirc;tel de Ville and the "Palais de Justice," very
+different in style, for on one side is a massive fa&ccedil;ade of severe aspect
+and no particular period, while on the other is a most graceful Flemish
+Renaissance construction, reminding one of a Rubens opposed, in all its
+opulence, to a cold classic portrait by Gainsborough.</p>
+
+<p>The H&ocirc;tel de Ville, of 1612, exhibits in its "Pignons," its columns and
+Renaissance motifs, a large high tower of octagonal form surmounted by a
+small cupola. Its frontage pushes forward a loggia of quite elegant
+form, with balustrades in the Renaissance style.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p><p>Above this grave looking gray building rises the tower of the
+"Beffroi," part Gothic in style.</p>
+
+<p>All the houses on the "Place" have red tiled roofs, and gables in the
+Renaissance style very varied in form, and each one with a
+characteristic window above, framed richly <i>en coquille</i>, and decorated
+with arabesques.</p>
+
+<p>Behind these houses is what remains of the ancient Church of St.
+Walburga, half buried in the thick verdure of the garden. After
+considerable difficulty we gained admittance to the ruin, because it is
+not considered safe to walk beneath its walls. Even in its ruin it was
+most imposing and majestic. We would have tarried here, but the
+<i>custode</i> was very nervous and hurried us through the thickets of bushes
+growing up between the stones of the pavement, and fairly pushed us out
+again into the small parkway, accepting the very generous fee which I
+gave him with what I should call surliness. But we ignored this
+completely, after the manner of old travelers, which we had been advised
+to adopt.</p>
+
+<p>At one side were stored some rather dilapidated and dirty wax figures
+which reclined in various postures, somewhat too lifelike in the gloom
+of the chamber, and entirely ludicrous, so much so that it was with much
+difficulty that we controlled our smiles. The roving eye of the surly
+<i>custode</i>, however, warned us against levity of any sort. These wax
+figures, he explained, gruffly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> enough, were those of the most sacred
+religious personages, and the attendant saints and martyrs, used in the
+great procession and ceremony of the "Sodalit&eacute;," which is a sort of
+Passion Play, shown during the last Sunday in July of each year in the
+streets of the town. The story relates an adventure of a Count of
+Flanders, who brought to Furnes, during the first years of the Holy
+Crusades, a fragment of the True Cross. Assailed by a tempest in the
+Channel off the coast, he vowed the precious object to the first church
+he came to, if his prayers for succor were answered. "Immediately the
+storm abated, and the Count, bearing the fragment of the Cross aloft,
+was miraculously transported over the waves to dry land."</p>
+
+<p>This land proved to be the sand dunes of Flanders, and the church tower
+was that of St. Walburga. After a conference with his followers, who
+also were saved, he founded the solemn annual procession in honor of the
+True Cross, in which was also introduced the representation of the
+"Mysteries of the Passion."<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p>
+
+<p>This procession was suppressed during the religious troubles of the
+Reform, but afterwards was revived by the church authorities, and now
+all of the episodes of the life of Christ pass yearly through the great
+Grand' Place&mdash;the stable in Bethlehem; the flight into Egypt; down<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> to
+the grand drama of the Calvary and the Resurrection, all are shown and
+witnessed with great reverence by the crowds of devout peasants from the
+surrounding country. And these pathetic waxen figures were those of
+Prophets, Apostles, Jews, Angels, Cavaliers and Roman Soldiers, lying
+all about the dim dusty chamber in disorder. Afterwards, from the window
+of the quaint H&ocirc;tel of the "Nob&egrave;le Rose," we saw this procession passing
+through the crowded streets of Furnes, and almost held our breaths with
+awe at the long line of black cloaked, hooded penitents, bare-footed,
+the faces covered so that one could hardly tell whether they were men or
+women, save for the occasional delicate small white foot thrust forward
+beneath the black shapeless gown.</p>
+
+<p>And finally <i>One Figure</i>, likewise black gowned and with concealed face,
+staggering along painfully&mdash;feebly&mdash;and bearing a heavy wooden cross,
+the end of which dragged along on the stones of the street.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p>
+
+<p>Outside of this, the Grand' Place, and the old red brick tower of St.
+Nicholas, so scorched by the sun and beaten by the elements, and the
+rows of quaint gabled houses beneath, Furnes has little to offer to the
+seeker after antiquity. The bells in the tower are of sweet tone, but
+the chimes which hung there were silent, and no amount of persuasion
+could induce the <i>custode</i> to admit me to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> bell chamber. Madame at
+the "Nob&egrave;le Rose" had assured me that I could go up there into the tower
+whenever I wished, but somehow that pleasure was deferred, until finally
+we were forced to give it up. Of course Madame <i>did</i> rob me; when the
+bill was presented, it proved to be fifty per cent. more than the price
+agreed upon, but she argued that we had "used" the window in our
+apartment overlooking the procession, so we must pay for that privilege.
+The point was so novel that I was staggered for a suitable reply to
+it,&mdash;the crucial moment passed,&mdash;I was lost. I paid!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span></p>
+<h2>The Artists of Malines</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="The_Artist_of_Malines" id="The_Artist_of_Malines"></a>The Artists of Malines</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">I</span><span class="ucap">t</span> may not be out of place to add here some account of the artists<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a>
+who dwelt in and made Malines famous in the early days. Primitively the
+painters formed part of the Society of Furniture Makers, while sculptors
+affiliated with the Masons' Gild. These at length formed between them a
+sort of federation as they grew in number and power. Finally, in 1543,
+they formed the Gild of Saint Luke. In 1560 they numbered fifty-one free
+masters, who gave instruction to a great number of apprentices. They
+admitted the gold beaters to membership in 1618, and the following year
+the organization had increased to ninety-six members.</p>
+
+<p>Working in alabaster was, during this epoch, a specialty with the
+sculptors of Malines, which soon resulted in a monopoly with them, for
+they made a law that no master workman could receive or employ more than
+one apprentice every four years. The workers in gold covered the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>
+statues with heavy ornaments of gold, it being forbidden to market
+statuary not so gilded. The Gild of Saint Luke chafed under this ruling
+of the Gild Master, and surreptitiously made and delivered some statuary
+and paintings without any gilding whatever.</p>
+
+<p>Charges being brought against the offenders, they were fined twenty-five
+florins, and a law was passed authorized by the magistrate, permitting
+domiciliary visits upon certain days known only to the officers, to the
+houses of suspected men engaged in art work. Of course reputable workmen
+were free from suspicion, it being only those mediocre craftsmen and
+irregular apprentices who would engage in such traffic.</p>
+
+<p>It was not until 1772 that any sculptor was permitted to paint or gild
+for profit, nor was any painter allowed to model. The profession of an
+artist was regarded as less than an industry, being a sort of hand to
+mouth existence in which the unfortunate was glad to accept whatever
+work the artisan could give him. In 1783 the Gild had dwindled to twelve
+members, who finally were absorbed by the Academy of Design, established
+by Maria Theresa in 1773. Thus perished the Gild of Painters and
+Sculptors of Malines.</p>
+
+<p>The following is a list of the principal artists and engravers,
+chronologically arranged, who made Malines famous:</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p><p>Jean Van Battele, one of the promoters of the Gild of Saint Luke of
+Malines, was a successful workman in 1403. He was said to be more of a
+painter-glazer than a painter of pictures, but there is sufficient
+evidence that he practised both genres.</p>
+
+<p>Gauthier Van Battele, son of the above, was admitted to the Gild in
+1426, and figured in the artistic annals of the town in 1474&ndash;75.</p>
+
+<p>Baudoin Van Battele, alias Vander Wyck, believed to be "petitfils" of
+Gauthier, is mentioned in the chronicles of 1495. He painted many mural
+pictures for the "Beyaerd"; the fresco of the Judgment Day in the great
+hall of the "Vierschaer" is his greatest work. He died about 1508.</p>
+
+<p>He had one son, Jean, who executed a triptych in the H&ocirc;tel de Ville of
+Malines in 1535, and illuminated a manuscript register on vellum
+relating to the "<i>Toison d'Or</i>." This book was presented to
+Charles-Quint, and so pleased him that he ordered a duplicate which cost
+the artist three years of hard work to complete. He died in July, 1557,
+highly honored.</p>
+
+<p>Daniel Van Yleghem was the chief workman upon the Holy tabernacle of the
+chief altar of St. Rombauld. An engraver of great merit; he died in
+1451(?).</p>
+
+<p>Jean Van Orshagen occupied the position of Royal Mint Engraver of
+Malines, 1464&ndash;65. The following<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> year he was discovered passing false
+money at Louvain. Imprisoned, he died of the pestilence in 1471.</p>
+
+<p>Guillaume Trabukier excelled in the art of a designer-engraver
+(ciseleur) in gold. For the town he made many beautiful pieces of work,
+notably the silver statue of St. Rombauld which decorated the high altar
+of the Cathedral. He died in 1482.</p>
+
+<p>Zacherie Van Steynemolen, born about 1434, was an excellent engraver of
+dies. During more than forty years (1465&ndash;1507) he made the seals of the
+town corporations. Notably he engraved for the Emperor Frederic IV the
+two great seals which are now in the museum. He died in 1507.</p>
+
+<p>Michael or Michel Coxie, le vieux, was a greatly esteemed painter who
+worked under the direction of Rapha&euml;l. His real name was Van Coxci&euml;n, or
+Coxcy&euml;n, but he changed its form to Coxie.</p>
+
+<p>His son, Michel Coxie le Jeune, surnamed the Flemish Rapha&euml;l, was born
+in 1499, and first studied under his father. He was shortly placed with
+Bernard Van Orley, who sent him to Rome, where he might study the work
+of Rapha&euml;l Sanzio. His work was of very unequal merit, although he
+painted hundreds of compositions in triptych form for the churches.
+Towards the end of his life he was commissioned to paint a decoration
+for the H&ocirc;tel de Ville of Antwerp. He fell from the scaffolding during<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>
+his work, receiving such injuries that he was incapacitated. Removed to
+his home in Malines, he died after some years of suffering, aged 93
+years!</p>
+
+<p>His second son, Rapha&euml;l Coxie, born in 1540, was a painter of great
+merit, whose paintings were ordered for the Royal Spanish Cabinet. He
+lived at Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels respectively, and died, full of
+honors, in 1616.</p>
+
+<p>Michael, or Michel, Coxie, the third of the name, was received in the
+Gild of Painters the 28th day of September, 1598. He is the author of
+the triptych over the altar of the "Jardiniers" of Notre-Dame au dela de
+la Dyle. He died in 1618.</p>
+
+<p>Michel Coxie, the Fourth, son of the above, born September, 1604, was
+elected to the Gild in 1623. He became Court Painter to the King.</p>
+
+<p>Jean Coxie, son of Michel (above) excelled as a painter of landscape. He
+it was who decorated the two great salons of the "Parc" Abbey. The
+subjects were drawn from the life of Saint Norbert.</p>
+
+<p>His son, Jean-Michel, though a member of the Gild of Malines, passed
+almost his whole life in Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, and Berlin. In the
+latter town he enjoyed the favor and patronage of Frederick I. He died
+in Milan in 1720.</p>
+
+<p>Jean de Gruyter, gold worker and engraver, came in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> 1504 to Malines,
+where he enjoyed a certain renown. After his death in 1518, his sons
+Jean and Pierre continued the work which he began. Jean made seals of
+great beauty of detail, but Pierre was condemned to banishment in 1536
+and confiscation of all his goods and chattels, for counterfeiting the
+state coinage.</p>
+
+<p>Jean Hoogenbergh, born about 1500, was a successful painter of
+miniatures; he lived about fifty years.</p>
+
+<p>Jean Van Ophem was appointed Civic Engraver of Seals and Gold Worker. He
+died in 1553.</p>
+
+<p>Fran&ccedil;ois Verbeek became master workman in 1531, and finally <i>doyen</i> of
+the craft. He abandoned oil painting for distemper, in which medium he
+excelled, producing masterpieces depicting the most fantastic subjects.
+He died in July, 1570.</p>
+
+<p>Hans Verbeek, or Hans de Malines, believed to be the son of Fran&ccedil;ois. He
+was Court Painter to Albert and Isabella. He died sometime after 1619.</p>
+
+<p>Gr&eacute;goire Berincx, born in 1526, visited Italy and there made paintings
+in distemper of the ruins and ancient constructions. Returning to his
+native town in 1555 he was at once made a Gild Member of the Corporation
+of Painters. He died in 1573.</p>
+
+<p>His youngest son, Gr&eacute;goire, became <i>doyen</i>, and of him the following
+story is told: The great Van Dyck visited him unexpectedly one day, and
+demanded that he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> make a sketch of him (Van Dyck) at once, in his
+presence. Berincx accordingly painted in monotone the sketch in full
+length, adding the details in carnation, and so charmed was Van Dyck,
+that he assured him that he would adopt the system in his own work, "if
+he would permit." He died full of honors the 14th of October, 1669.</p>
+
+<p>Jacques de Poindre, born in 1527, acquired a brilliant reputation as a
+portrait painter. He afterwards established himself under royal
+patronage in Denmark where he died in 1570.</p>
+
+<p>Corneille Ingelrams, a painter in distemper, was born in 1527. He
+practised his art successfully in Malines and died in 1580.</p>
+
+<p>His son, Andr&eacute;, was admitted to the Painters' Gild in May, 1571, and
+died in 1595.</p>
+
+<p>Marc Willems, born about 1527, was a pupil of Michel Coxie (le vieux),
+was considered a great painter in his time. He made many designs for the
+decorators, and admirable cartoons for tapestry makers. He died in 1561.</p>
+
+<p>Jean Carpreau was commissioned in 1554 to take charge of the
+restorations of the "chasse" of the patron saint of the town. Such was
+his success that he was appointed Official Seal Cutter and Engraver, a
+position of great importance in those days. At the H&ocirc;tel de Ville was
+preserved and shown a remarkable die in silver from his hand, for the
+Seal of the Municipality of Malines.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span></p><p>Jean or Hans Bol, born December, 1534, was the pupil of his uncles
+Jacques and Jean the Elder, but after two years of apprenticeship he
+went to Germany for a time. Returning to Malines, he devoted himself to
+the painting of landscapes with great success. Likewise he sometimes
+engraved plates on copper. His productions are many. He died at
+Amsterdam in 1593.</p>
+
+<p>Lambert de Vos, admitted to the Gild of Saint Luke in 1563, was engaged
+in the service of Charles Kimy, Imperial Ambassador to Constantinople.
+He painted oriental subjects in water colors, which were distinguished
+for richness of color, and accuracy of drawing. Many of these are in the
+Library of Br&ecirc;me.</p>
+
+<p>Jean Snellinck, born about 1554, was an historical and battle painter.
+It was he who prepared the designs for the tapestries of Oudenaarde.
+During his residence in that town he painted the triptych for the church
+of Notre Dame de Pamele. He died at Antwerp in 1638.</p>
+
+<p>Louis Toeput was born about 1550. He was a landscape painter of renown,
+but also drew many architectural subjects. In his later period, he
+devoted himself to Flemish literature with marked success as an
+authority.</p>
+
+<p>Luc Van Valckenborgh, called "partisan of the Reform," was born in 1566,
+and in his student days went to Germany, where he practised his art as a
+portrait painter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> His reputation was made by his portrait of the
+Archduke Matthias.</p>
+
+<p>He died in 1625, leaving a son Martin, also his pupil, who established
+himself at Antwerp and later at Frankfort. Martin was an historical and
+landscape painter, although he painted some good portraits in the manner
+of his father. He is thought to have died about 1636.</p>
+
+<p>Philip Vinckboons, the elder, was born about 1550, became an associate
+of the Gild of Painters in 1580, and died 1631. His son Maur, the
+younger, born 1585, studied painting under his father, finishing under
+his uncle Pierre Stevens. He died in 1647.</p>
+
+<p>Pierre Stevens, born about 1550, was an historical painter and engraver,
+as well as a portrait painter. This master latinized his name and signed
+his works thus&mdash;P. Stephani. He died in 1604 at Prague, where he had
+dwelt since 1590, under the patronage of the Emperor Rudolphe II.</p>
+
+<p>Rombaut Van Avont, incorporated in the Gild of Saint Luke in 1581, was a
+sculptor and painter as well as an illuminator of manuscripts on vellum.
+He died in 1619. His son Pierre, born in 1599, was an excellent painter
+of landscapes, which were distinguished by a most agreeable manner.
+Admitted as a "franc maitre" at Antwerp, he became one of the burgesses
+of that town in October, 1631.</p>
+
+<p>Luc Franchoys, the elder, born January, 1574, was admitted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> to the Gild
+in 1599. A painter of remarkable talent, he turned to historical
+subjects, which he produced with great success. In drawing, too, he was
+most skillful and correct. He died in 1693 and was buried with honors in
+the church of St. Jean.</p>
+
+<p>His son Pierre, born in 1606, became pupil of G&eacute;rard Seghers of Antwerp,
+where he resided for some time. Afterward he lived in Paris, where his
+works were eagerly sought and appreciated. He never married, but always
+surrounded himself with young pupils to the time of his death in 1654.</p>
+
+<p>His younger brother, Luc, was born 1616. He remained with his father,
+working in his studio until he was admitted to the Gild, when he went to
+Paris, where he painted portraits of members of the Court, enjoying
+considerable renown and favor. He returned finally to Malines, where he
+died in April, 1681.</p>
+
+<p>Frans Hals (The Great), was born either here in Malines, or at Antwerp,
+in 1584. Accounts differ. His parents were citizens of Malines, at any
+rate. He had the honor and glory of introducing into Holland the
+"procede magistral" of Rubens and his school. His works are too well
+known to need description here. He established himself at Haarlem, where
+he died in great poverty in 1666. Not even his burial place is now
+known.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 400px;"><a name="The_Church_of_Our_Lady_of_Hanswyk" id="The_Church_of_Our_Lady_of_Hanswyk"></a>
+<img src="images/image32.jpg" width="400" height="688" alt="The Church of Our Lady of Hanswyk" title="" />
+<span class="caption">The Church of Our Lady of Hanswyk</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Jean le Saive of Namur, son of Le Saive the Elder, was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> born in the
+commencement of the seventeenth century. He painted animals, landscapes,
+and historical subjects. In the latter genre he is inferior to his
+father; his color is drier, and his drawing less correct. The date of
+his death is not recorded.</p>
+
+<p>George Biset, painter-decorator, entered the studio of Michel Coxie
+(Third) in 1615. He lived throughout his life at Malines, and died 1671.</p>
+
+<p>His son, Charles Emmanuel, born 1633, was an excellent portrait painter,
+enjoying much appreciation at the Court of France. He became Burgess of
+Antwerp in 1663, and was elected a Director of the Academy. He died at
+Breda in 1685.</p>
+
+<p>Martin Verhoeven was elected to the Gild in 1623. He painted flowers and
+fruit pieces which enjoyed great celebrity.</p>
+
+<p>His brother Jean was known as a portraitist of great ability. In late
+life he produced some good sculptures.</p>
+
+<p>David Herregouts, born 1603, was elected to the Gild in 1624. Examples
+of his work are rare. He died at Ruremonde. His son Henri was a pupil of
+his father. David went to Italy, residing at Rome. After traveling in
+Germany he returned to Malines, and died at Antwerp at an advanced age.</p>
+
+<p>Jacques de (or Van) Homes, painter in distemper, was a pupil of Gr&eacute;goire
+Berincx (Second) and executed much<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> work in "cisel&eacute;" under the direction
+of Fayd'herbe. He died in 1674.</p>
+
+<p>Jean Philippe Van Thieleu, born 1618, was an eminent flower and
+still-life painter, under the guidance of Daniel Zeghers. He was
+patronized by the King of Spain, and died in 1674.</p>
+
+<p>Ferdinand Elle, born 1631, according to some; in 1612, say other
+accounts, painter of portraits, went to Paris, where he remained until
+his death in 1660(?).</p>
+
+<p>Gilles (or Egide) Smeyers, historical painter, was born in 1635, and
+studied under his father Nicholas, later under Jean Verhoeven. In
+friendship for his companion and master Luc Franchoys the younger, he
+finished many of the latter's incompleted works after his death.</p>
+
+<p>His son Jacques, born 1657, was admitted to the Gild in 1688, and died
+in 1732.</p>
+
+<p>Egide Joseph, natural son of Jacques, born 1694, was an historical
+painter, as well as a poet. He lived at Dusseldorf for three years.
+Obliged to support his sick parents, he did a great deal of work.
+Smeyers had a profound knowledge of the Latin tongue, which he wrote
+with great fluency and ease, in both poetry and prose. He possessed,
+too, a working knowledge of French, German, and Italian. His historical
+works are many. At length, sick and helpless, he was admitted to the
+hospital of Notre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> Dame, where he died in 1771. He painted the large
+portrait of Cardinal Thomas Philippe d'Alsace, Archbishop of Malines.</p>
+
+<p>Daniel Janssens, born in 1636, was a painter-decorator of the first
+order. He adopted the manner of Jacques de Hornes of whom he was the
+favorite pupil. After having resided in Antwerp for some years he
+returned to Malines, where he died in 1682. He it was who designed and
+constructed the immense triumphal arch for the Jubilee of 1680. This
+arch is preserved in the Town Hall, and serves to decorate the fa&ccedil;ade of
+the "Halles" on the occasion of the Grandes F&ecirc;tes.</p>
+
+<p>Sebastian Van Aken, born 1648, was pupil of Luc Franchoys the Younger.
+Later he entered the studio of Charles Maratti in Rome. After painting
+in Spain and Portugal he returned to Malines, where he died in 1722.</p>
+
+<p>August Casimir Redel, born 1640. This painter of merit became insane
+from excesses and died in 1687. He was also the author of a life of St.
+Rombaut (Rombold) and wrote much in verse. He composed an ode on the
+occasion of the Jubilee of Malines in 1680.</p>
+
+<p>Jacques la Pla, pupil of Jean le Saive, a master painter of Malines in
+1673, died in 1678.</p>
+
+<p>Jean Barthelemy Joffroy, born 1669, was historian, painter, and
+engraver. He died 1740.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span></p><p>Jean Joseph Van Campenhout, designer and engraver. He was designer of
+the great book of the "Cavalcade of Malines" in 1775.</p>
+
+<p>Antoine Opdebeek, born 1709, author of many paintings of merit, was an
+untaught genius. Employed in the hospital of St. Hedwige in Malines, he
+taught himself the art, with success, but never reached the height which
+would have been his had he had instruction in his youth. He died 1759.</p>
+
+<p>Pierre Antoine Verhulst, born 1751, painter of marines and landscape,
+which he executed with great delicacy and charm, died 1809.</p>
+
+<p>Matthieu Joseph Charles Hunin, born 1770, was a master engraver,
+producing many plates after Rubens and other masters. To his talent is
+also due a great number of original engravings of the Tower of St.
+Rombold; the interior and exterior of the Cathedral of Antwerp; the
+H&ocirc;tels de Villes of Oudenaarde, Brussels and Louvain, etc., etc. He died
+in 1851.</p>
+
+<p>His son, Pierre Paul Aloys, born 1808, was a genre painter of great
+taste and renown. His works in which the painting of silk and satin
+appeared were in great demand. He was professor of the Malines Academy,
+and in 1848 Leopold I conferred upon him the decoration of the Order of
+Leopold. He died February 27th, 1855.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span> Many of his paintings have been
+reproduced in engravings.</p>
+
+<p>Jean Ver Vloet, the <i>doyen</i> of the artists of Malines, died October
+27th, 1869, after a long and successful artistic career. One of the
+founders of the society "Pour l'Encouragement des Beaux Arts" of
+Malines, he was indefatigable in all art movements of the town. To him
+was due the success of the magnificent Cavalcades for which Malines has
+been famous. For fifty years he was the director of the Academy of
+Design and Painting of his native town.</p>
+
+<p>This ends the list of famous painters of Malines, and so far as I know
+it is the first and only one in English. Did space permit I might
+include the architects who made Flanders famous the world over as the
+cradle of art and architecture.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span></p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></p>
+<h2>A Word About the Belgians</h2>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="A_Word_About_the_Belgians" id="A_Word_About_the_Belgians"></a>A Word About the Belgians</h2>
+
+
+<p class="noin"><span class="dcap">T</span><span class="ucap">he</span> little country called Belgium, it should be remembered, dates only
+from 1830, when the existing constitution was prepared and adopted for
+the nine southern provinces of the ancient Netherlands. The sudden and
+unexpected revolt against the Dutch in that year has been since styled
+"a misunderstanding" upon the part of the Belgians, and was brought
+about by the action of the King, William I, of the house of
+Orange-Nassau, who attempted ostentatiously to change at once the
+language and religion of his southern subjects. They were both Roman
+Catholic and conservative to the last degree, attached to traditional
+rights and forms and fiercely proud of the ancient separate
+constitutions of the southern provinces, which could be traced back to
+the charters of the Baldwins and Wenceslas.</p>
+
+<p>Undoubtedly the French Revolution of 1830, which closed the Monarchy of
+the Bourbons, hastened the crisis. For the Belgians had no liking for
+the rule of the House of Orange-Nassau against which they had
+discontentedly struggled for some years more or less openly. But
+matters<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> might have gone on thus indefinitely had not the French
+Revolution furnished ground for hope of support from a people akin in
+religion and language, as well as race. The smouldering fire of
+discontent broke into fierce flame on August 25th, 1830, in the city of
+Brussels, during a performance of the opera "Muette de Portici," when
+the tenor was singing the inspired words of Massaniello:</p>
+
+<p class="poem">
+"Plut&ocirc;t mourir que rester mis&eacute;rable,<br />
+Pour un esclave est-il quelque danger?<br />
+Tombe le joug qui nous accable,<br />
+Et sous nos coups p&eacute;risse l'&eacute;tranger.<br />
+Amour sacr&eacute; de la patrie,<br />
+Rends nous l'audace et la fiert&eacute;;<br />
+&Agrave; mon pays je dois la vie,<br />
+Il me devra sa libert&eacute;!"<br />
+</p>
+
+<p>The immense audience, roused to patriotic enthusiasm, took up the words
+of the song and, rushing from the theatre <i>en masse</i>, paraded the
+streets, attacking the residences of the Dutch ministers, which they
+sacked and burned.</p>
+
+<p>The few troops in the town were powerless to stem the revolt, which grew
+until Brussels was entirely in the hands of the revolutionists, who then
+proceeded to appoint a Council of Government, which prepared the now
+celebrated Document of Separation.</p>
+
+<p>William sent his son, the Prince of Orange, to treat<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> with the Council,
+instead of sending a force of soldiers with which the revolt might have
+been terminated easily, it is claimed. The Prince entered Brussels
+accompanied only by a half dozen officers as escort. After three days'
+useless parley, he returned to King William with the "Document of
+Separation."</p>
+
+<p>The reply of the King to this message was made to the Dutch Chambers ten
+days later. Denouncing the revolt, he declared that he would never yield
+to "passion and violence." Orders were then issued to Dutch troops under
+Prince Frederick of Holland to proceed to Brussels and retake the city.
+The attack was made upon the four gates of the walled city on September
+23rd. The Belgians prepared a trap, cunningly allowing the Dutch
+soldiers to enter two of the gates and retreating towards the Royal Park
+facing the Palace. Here they rallied and attacked the troops of William
+from all sides at once. Joined by a strong body of men from Li&egrave;ge they
+fought for three days with such ferocity that Prince Frederick was
+beaten back again and again, until he was forced to retreat at midnight
+of the third day.</p>
+
+<p>In the battle six hundred Belgian citizens were slain, and to these men,
+regarded now as the martyrs of the Revolution, a great monument has been
+erected in the Place des Martyrs, near the trench in which they were
+buried.</p>
+
+<p>A provisional government was now formed which issued<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> the following
+notice: "The Belgian provinces, detached by force from Holland, shall
+form an independent state." Measures were taken to rid the country of
+the Dutch, who were expelled forcibly across the border.</p>
+
+<p>Envoys to Paris and London presented documents to secure sympathy for
+the new government, while the fight for independence was still going on
+fiercely. Waelhern and Berchem, besieged by the Belgian volunteers, soon
+fell, and the city of Antwerp was occupied by them before the end of
+October.</p>
+
+<p>Then the Conference of the Five Powers, sitting in London, interposed to
+force an armistice in order to determinate some understanding and
+arrangement between the Dutch and the Belgians, since it had become
+evident that the Netherlands kingdom of 1815 had practically come to an
+end. By the treaty of London in 1814, and that of Vienna in 1815,
+Belgium, after a short interregnum of Austrian rule, was incorporated
+with Holland into the Kingdom of the Netherlands.</p>
+
+<p>In the space of a month then the Belgian patriots had accomplished their
+task, and on November 18th the National Assembly, convoked, declared as
+its first act the independence of the Belgians.</p>
+
+<p>It was now necessary to find a head upon which to place the crown. The
+first choice of the provisional government was the Duc de Nemours, the
+son of Louis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> Philippe, but objection was made to him on the ground that
+his selection would add too much, perhaps, to the power of France, so
+his candidature was withdrawn.</p>
+
+<p>Choice was fixed finally upon Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who had but
+recently declined the throne of Greece by advice of the European
+diplomats. A resident of England, this Prince, who had espoused Princess
+Charlotte, the daughter of George IV, was well known as a most clear
+headed diplomat, a reputation he enjoyed during his whole career.</p>
+
+<p>In his acceptance he said: "Human destiny does not offer a nobler or
+more useful task than that of being called to found the independence of
+a nation, and to consolidate its liberties."</p>
+
+<p>The people hailed and received him with great enthusiasm, and on July
+21st he was crowned King of the Belgians, with most impressive
+ceremonies, at Brussels. The Dutch, however, viewed all this with much
+concern, and at once began hostilities, thinking that the powers would
+sustain them rather than permit France to occupy Belgium. At once Dutch
+troops were massed for attack on both Brussels and Louvain. Outnumbered
+by the Dutch, the badly organized national forces of Belgium met
+disaster at Hasselt, and, realizing his peril, Leopold besought the
+French, who were at the frontier, to come to his assistance.
+Simultaneously with the assault on Louvain,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> therefore, the French
+troops arrived at Brussels. Great Britain now entered the fray,
+threatening to send a fleet of warships to occupy the Scheldt unless
+King William recalled his army from Belgium. This settled the matter,
+and the Dutch withdrew. The French likewise returned to their own
+territory. Jealousy, however, was manifested by Austria, Prussia and
+Russia toward the new kingdom, and their refusal to receive Leopold's
+ambassadors was calculated to encourage hope in Holland that the reign
+of the new monarch was to be limited.</p>
+
+<p>New troubles began for the Belgians, in the presentation of the London
+Protocol of October 15, 1831, in consequence of a demand that the
+greater part of Limbourg and Luxembourg be ceded. Not only the Belgians
+but the Dutch opposed this demand, as well as the conditions of the
+protocol. And at once King William prepared for armed resistance.
+Leopold immediately after obtaining votes for the raising of the sum of
+three millions sterling for war purposes, increased the army to one
+hundred thousand men.</p>
+
+<p>Now ensued a most critical period for the little kingdom, but both
+France and England held their shields over it, while Leopold's marriage
+to the Princess Louise, eldest daughter of King Louis Philippe, gained
+for it still greater strength in its relations with France.</p>
+
+<p>King William, however, refused stubbornly to recognise<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span> the protocol,
+and retained possession of Antwerp, which he held with a garrison of
+five thousand soldiers. Antwerp Citadel being the pride of the kingdom,
+the Belgians, restive under the control of the powers, demanded that
+both England and France help them at once to recover it, alleging that
+in case this help was refused, they, with their hundred thousand men,
+were ready to capture it themselves. So in the month of November the
+French troops, under Mar&eacute;chal G&eacute;rard, laid siege to the Antwerp
+stronghold, held by General Chass&eacute;, who after three weeks' siege
+capitulated, and the Dutch, rather than have their warships captured,
+burnt and sank them in the Scheldt.</p>
+
+<p>With the surrender of Antwerp, the French withdrew their army, but the
+Dutch sullenly refused to recognise the victory until the year 1839,
+when they withdrew from and dismantled the forts on the Scheldt facing
+Antwerp.</p>
+
+<p>Naturally the support of the French and English brought about a deep and
+lasting feeling of gratitude on the part of the Belgians. Louis Philippe
+said, "Belgium owes her independence and the recovery of her territory
+to the union of France and England in her cause."</p>
+
+<p>Her independence thus gained and recognised, Belgium turned her
+attention to the development of the country and its rich natural
+resources. The Manufactures flourished, her mines of coal and iron
+became famous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> throughout the world, and she trod the peaceful path of
+strict neutrality among the great nations. Passing over the all familiar
+history of Waterloo, one may quote the saying of M. Northomb: "The
+Battle of Waterloo opened a new era for Europe, the era of
+representative government." And this new era was enjoyed by Belgium
+until the Franco-Prussian War confronted the little country with a fresh
+crisis, and one fraught with danger. Although her absolute neutrality
+had been earnestly proclaimed and presented to the powers, it was feared
+that she might be invaded and be unable to maintain her integrity by her
+military force.</p>
+
+<p>Leopold promptly mobilized the army and massed it upon the frontier.
+During and after the battle of Sedan, a large number of both French and
+German soldiers crossed the border and were interned until the close of
+the war.... Once more peace descended upon the Belgians, for a fresh
+treaty prepared by England and signed by both France and Prussia engaged
+the British Government to declare war upon the power violating its
+provisions.</p>
+
+<p>After his acceptance of the Crown of Belgium, the Constitution declared
+the monarchy hereditary in the male line of the family of Prince Leopold
+of Saxe-Coburg, which consisted of two sons and one daughter. The elder
+of the sons was born in 1835, and succeeded his father<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> as Leopold II,
+in 1865. The Austrian Archduchess Marie Henriette became his wife in
+1853, and their descendants were one son and three daughters, none of
+whom is now living. The Salic Law prevailing in Belgium, the history of
+the female descendants is not of political importance. The only son of
+Leopold II dying in 1869, the succession passed to the brother of the
+King, the Count of Flanders, who married Mary, Princess of Hohenzollern,
+a sister of the King of Roumania.</p>
+
+<p>The death of their son Prince Baldwin in 1891 was held to be a national
+calamity. This left the nephew of Leopold II, Prince Albert (the present
+King of Belgium), the heir presumptive to the throne. He married in 1900
+the Princess Elizabeth of Bavaria; to them have been born three
+children, two boys and a girl. Both the King and Queen, the objects of
+intense devotion on the part of the Belgians, are very simple and
+democratic in their bearing toward the people. The Queen is a very
+beautiful woman, and a most devoted wife and mother.... Since the seat
+of government has been removed to Havre, the Queen divides her time
+between the little hamlet of La Panne, headquarters of the Belgian army,
+near the town of Furnes on the dunes of the north sea, and London, where
+the children are being cared for and educated.... May not one hope that
+brighter days are in store for this devoted and heroic King and Queen,
+for the once<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span> smiling and fertile land, and for the kindly, gentle, and
+law abiding Belgian people?<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a></p>
+
+
+<p class="center">THE END</p>
+
+
+
+<hr /><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></p>
+<h3><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h3>
+
+
+<p class="index">
+Albert, King of Belgium, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br />
+<br />
+Alost, church of St. Martin's, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">H&ocirc;tel de Ville, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Antwerp, carillon of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cathedral of, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Archers of St. Sebastian, <a href="#Page_66">66</a><br />
+<br />
+Artists of Malines, list of the, <a href="#Page_183">183&ndash;195</a><br />
+<br />
+Aymon, legend of the four sons of, <a href="#Page_133">133&ndash;136</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Baldwin Bras-de-Fer, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a><br />
+<br />
+Baldwin the Ninth, Count of Flanders, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a><br />
+<br />
+Battle of the Dunes, the, <a href="#Page_101">101</a><br />
+<br />
+Battle of the Spurs, the, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a><br />
+<br />
+Battle of Waterloo, the, <a href="#Page_206">206</a><br />
+<br />
+Bayard, the horse, <a href="#Page_133">133&ndash;138</a><br />
+<br />
+Beguinage, the, Courtrai, <a href="#Page_121">121</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp;  Malines, <a href="#Page_23">23&ndash;24</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp;  Ypres, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Bell-founding, process of, <a href="#Page_45">45&ndash;48</a><br />
+<br />
+Berincx, Gr&eacute;goire, <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  Gr&eacute;goire le Jeune, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Bethune, Robert of, Count of Flanders, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br />
+<br />
+Biset, Charles Emmanuel, <a href="#Page_191">191</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; George, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Bol, Jean, <a href="#Page_188">188</a><br />
+<br />
+Bouts, Dierick, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a><br />
+<br />
+Bro&euml;l Towers, the, Courtrai, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a><br />
+<br />
+Bruges, cathedral of, <a href="#Page_41">41</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">library, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Brussels, cathedral of, <a href="#Page_41">41</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Museum of Decorative Arts, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Burgundy, House of, <a href="#Page_68">68</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Mary of, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Carillons of Antwerp, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Bruges, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Ghent, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Louvain, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Malines, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Tournai, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Carpreau, Jean, <a href="#Page_187">187</a><br />
+<br />
+Cathedral of Antwerp, <a href="#Page_41">41</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Bruges, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Brussels, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Ghent, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Malines, <a href="#Page_18">18&ndash;19</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Ypres, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Charlemagne, <a href="#Page_134">134&ndash;136</a><br />
+<br />
+Charles the Bold, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a><br />
+<br />
+Charles the Eleventh, <a href="#Page_119">119</a><br />
+<br />
+Charles the Fifth, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a><br />
+<br />
+Cloth Hall, the, Ypres, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72&ndash;75</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a><br />
+<br />
+Commines, Philip of, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br />
+<br />
+Cossiers, I., <a href="#Page_24">24</a><br />
+<br />
+Coxie, Jean, <a href="#Page_185">185</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; Jean Michel, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; Michel, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; Michel le Jeune, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; Michel the Third, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; Michel the Fourth, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; Rapha&euml;l, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Counts' Chapel, the, Courtrai, <a href="#Page_121">121</a><br />
+<br />
+Courtrai, the Counts' Chapel, <a href="#Page_121">121</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Hall of the Magistrates, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Town Hall, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Cuyp, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>De Gruyter, Jean, <a href="#Page_185">185</a><br />
+<br />
+De Hornes, Jacques, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a><br />
+<br />
+Deklerk, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a><br />
+<br />
+De Poindre, Jacques, <a href="#Page_187">187</a><br />
+<br />
+De Vos, Lambert, <a href="#Page_188">188</a><br />
+<br />
+Douai, H&ocirc;tel de Ville, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a><br />
+<br />
+Douai Bible, the, <a href="#Page_158">158</a><br />
+<br />
+Dyle, the river, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Elle, Ferdinand, <a href="#Page_192">192</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Franchoys, Luc, <a href="#Page_189">189</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  Luc le Jeune, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  Pierre, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Franco-Prussian War, the, <a href="#Page_206">206</a><br />
+<br />
+Furnes, H&ocirc;tel de Ville, <a href="#Page_173">173</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Ghent, the carillons of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br />
+<br />
+Gild of St. Luke, the, <a href="#Page_181">181</a><br />
+<br />
+Gothic architecture, styles of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a><br />
+<br />
+Great Wars of Flanders, the, <a href="#Page_86">86</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Hall of the Magistrates, the, Courtrai, <a href="#Page_129">129</a><br />
+<br />
+Hals, Frans, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a><br />
+<br />
+Hanseatic League, the, <a href="#Page_69">69</a><br />
+<br />
+Hanswyk, the Tower of Our Lady of, Malines, <a href="#Page_26">26</a><br />
+<br />
+Haweis, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br />
+<br />
+Hemony, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a><br />
+<br />
+Henry the First, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br />
+<br />
+Herregouts, David, <a href="#Page_191">191</a><br />
+<br />
+Hoogenbergh, Jean, <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />
+<br />
+H&ocirc;tel de Ville of Alost, <a href="#Page_111">111</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp;  of Douai, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp;  of Furnes, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp;  of Louvain, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a> <a href="#Page_150">150</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp;  of Oudenaarde, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp;  of Ypres, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Huet, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a><br />
+<br />
+Hunin, Matthieu Joseph Charles, <a href="#Page_194">194</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; Pierre Paul Aloys, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Hugo, Victor, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Ingelrams, Andr&eacute;, <a href="#Page_187">187</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  Corneille, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Inghelbrugtorre, Courtrai, <a href="#Page_119">119</a><br />
+<br />
+Inquisition, the Spanish, <a href="#Page_68">68</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Jansenius, Cornelius, Bishop of Ypres, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br />
+<br />
+Janssens, Daniel, <a href="#Page_193">193</a><br />
+<br />
+Joffroy, Jean Barthelemy, <a href="#Page_193">193</a><br />
+<br />
+Jordaens, <a href="#Page_141">141</a><br />
+<br />
+Jube, at St. Martin's, Dixmude, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57&ndash;59</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Keldermans, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a><br />
+<br />
+Knights of the Golden Fleece, <a href="#Page_36">36</a><br />
+<br />
+Knights Templar, the, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+La Panne, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br />
+<br />
+La Pla, Jacques, <a href="#Page_193">193</a><br />
+<br />
+Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, King of Belgium, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a><br />
+<br />
+Leopold the Second of Belgium, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br />
+<br />
+Le Saive, Jean, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a><br />
+<br />
+Library, the, Bruges, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Brussels, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Louvain, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Lion of Flanders, the, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a><br />
+<br />
+Louis of Maele, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a><br />
+<br />
+Louis of Nevers, <a href="#Page_76">76</a><br />
+<br />
+Louis Philippe, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a><br />
+<br />
+Louis the Eleventh, <a href="#Page_157">157</a><br />
+<br />
+Louis the Fourteenth, <a href="#Page_158">158</a><br />
+<br />
+Louvain, church of St. Peter, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">carillons of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">H&ocirc;tel de Ville, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">library, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Loyola, Ignatius, <a href="#Page_21">21</a><br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>Luther, Martin, <a href="#Page_21">21</a><br />
+<br />
+Lys, the river, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122&ndash;123</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Malines, carillons of, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">cathedral of, <a href="#Page_18">18&ndash;19</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">St. Rombauld, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Margaret of Artois, <a href="#Page_76">76</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Austria, statue of, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of Parma, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  of York, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  the Courageous, the legend of, <a href="#Page_150">150&ndash;153</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Marguerite of Flanders, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  of Savoie, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Mary of Burgundy, <a href="#Page_165">165</a><br />
+<br />
+Matsys, Quentin, <a href="#Page_149">149</a><br />
+<br />
+Memling, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a><br />
+<br />
+Mercier, Cardinal, Primate of Belgium, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a><br />
+<br />
+Moertens, Thierry, <a href="#Page_112">112</a><br />
+<br />
+Museum of Decorative Arts, the, Brussels, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a><br />
+<br />
+Mysteries of the Passion, the, <a href="#Page_175">175</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Nemours, Duc de, <a href="#Page_202">202</a><br />
+<br />
+Nieuwerck, Ypres, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a><br />
+<br />
+Notre Dame, the church of, Courtrai, <a href="#Page_121">121</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Opdebeek, Antoine, <a href="#Page_194">194</a><br />
+<br />
+Oudenaarde, church of St. Walburga, <a href="#Page_165">165</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp;  H&ocirc;tel de Ville, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp;  Town Hall, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Philip of Alsace, <a href="#Page_119">119</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp;  of Savoie, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp;  the Second of Spain, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Place de la Boucherie, <a href="#Page_25">25</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Quesnoy, Jerome due, <a href="#Page_24">24</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Redel, August Casimir, <a href="#Page_193">193</a><br />
+<br />
+Rembrandt, <a href="#Page_141">141</a><br />
+<br />
+Rubens, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a><br />
+<br />
+Ruskin, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+St. Martin's, cathedral of, Ypres, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; church of, Alost, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; church of, Dixmude, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></span><br />
+<br />
+St. Mary Bells, in Antwerp cathedral, <a href="#Page_44">44</a><br />
+<br />
+St. Nicholas, church of, Furnes, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a><br />
+<br />
+St. Peter, church of, Louvain, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a><br />
+<br />
+St. Pierre, tower of, Ypres, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br />
+<br />
+St. Rombauld, Malines, chimes of, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; &nbsp;  spire of, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; &nbsp;  tower of, <a href="#Page_26">26&ndash;37</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></span><br />
+<br />
+St. Walburga, church of, Oudenaarde, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174&ndash;176</a><br />
+<br />
+St. Winoc, the abbey of, Bergues, <a href="#Page_95">95</a><br />
+<br />
+Sainte Begga, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a><br />
+<br />
+Salvator Bell, the, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a><br />
+<br />
+Scheldt, the river, <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a><br />
+<br />
+Smeyers, Egide Joseph, <a href="#Page_192">192</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  Gilles, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  Jacques, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Snellinck, Jean, <a href="#Page_188">188</a><br />
+<br />
+Speytorre, the, Courtrai, <a href="#Page_119">119</a><br />
+<br />
+Stevens, Pierre, <a href="#Page_189">189</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Taillebert, d'Urbain, <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br />
+<br />
+Thierry d'Alsace, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a><br />
+<br />
+Toeput, Louis, <a href="#Page_188">188</a><br />
+<br />
+Tournai, Town Hall, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br />
+<br />
+Tower of the Templars, the, Nieuport, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a><br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>Town Hall of Brussels, <a href="#Page_17">17</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; of Courtrai, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; of Dixmude, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; of Louvain, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; of Oudenaarde, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; of Tournai, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Trabukier, Guillaume, <a href="#Page_184">184</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Untenhoven, Martin, <a href="#Page_78">78</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Van Aken, Sebastian, <a href="#Page_193">193</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Artevelde, family of, <a href="#Page_36">36</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Philip, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Van Avont, Pierre, <a href="#Page_189">189</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; &nbsp; Rombaut, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Van Battele, Baudouin, <a href="#Page_183">183</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp;  Gautier, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp;  Jean, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp;  Jean le Jeune, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Van den Gheyn, family of, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"&nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; &nbsp; Mathias, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"&nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp; "&nbsp; &nbsp; Peter, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Van Dyck, <a href="#Page_133">133</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Eyck, Jean, <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Halter, Catherine, <a href="#Page_24">24</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Ophem, Jean, <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Orley, Bernard, <a href="#Page_184">184</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Orshagen, Jean, <a href="#Page_183">183</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Steynemolen, Zacherie, <a href="#Page_184">184</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Thieleu, Jean Philippe, <a href="#Page_192">192</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Valckenborgh, Luc, <a href="#Page_188">188</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;  "&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Martin, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Van Yleghem, Daniel, <a href="#Page_183">183</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Yper, Carel, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br />
+<br />
+Vauban, <a href="#Page_65">65</a><br />
+<br />
+Verbeek, Fran&ccedil;ois, <a href="#Page_186">186</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp;  Hans, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Vereeke, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a><br />
+<br />
+Verhaegan, P.J., <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a><br />
+<br />
+Verhoeven, Jean, <a href="#Page_191">191</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Martin, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Verhulst, Pierre Antoine, <a href="#Page_194">194</a><br />
+<br />
+Ver Vloet, Jean, <a href="#Page_195">195</a><br />
+<br />
+Vinckboons, Maur, <a href="#Page_184">184</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 2.5em;">"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Philip, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></span><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Waghemans, family of, <a href="#Page_20">20</a><br />
+<br />
+Waterloo, the Battle of, <a href="#Page_206">206</a><br />
+<br />
+Willems, Marc, <a href="#Page_187">187</a><br />
+<br />
+William the First of Holland, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Ypres, the Beguinage, <a href="#Page_82">82</a><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the cathedral of, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the Cloth Hall, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></span><br />
+<span style="margin-left: 1em;">the H&ocirc;tel de Ville, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></span><br />
+<br />
+Yser, the river, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Zeelstman, <a href="#Page_19">19</a><br />
+<br /><br /></p>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> Those who are interested in the subject are referred to C.
+Lemonnier's "Histoire des Beaux Arts en Belgique" (Brussels, 1881), E.
+Hessling's "La Sculpture Belge Contemporaire" (Berlin, 1903), Destree's
+"Renaissance of Sculpture in Belgium," Crowe and Cavalcaselle's "Early
+Flemish Painters" (1857).</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> This passion play is described in detail in "Some Old
+Flemish Towns." (Same author. Moffat, Yard &amp; Co., New York, 1911.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> See "Some Old Flemish Towns."</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> The list is drawn in part from the "<i>Histoire de la
+Peinture et de la Sculpture &agrave; Malines</i>," <i>par Emmanuel Neefs</i>&mdash;Gand, Van
+der Heeghen, 1876, translated from the manuscripts composed in Latin by
+the painter Egide Joseph Smeyers, Malines, 1774.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> The author refers the reader to "The Constitution of
+Belgium," J.M. Vincent, Phila., 1898; "Belgium and the Belgians," C.
+Scudamore, London, 1904; "History of Belgium," D.C. Boulger, London,
+1900; "The Story of Belgium," C. Smythe, London, 1902.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Vanished towers and chimes of Flanders, by
+George Wharton Edwards
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Vanished towers and chimes of Flanders
+
+Author: George Wharton Edwards
+
+Release Date: March 9, 2009 [EBook #28288]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VANISHED TOWERS CHIMES OF FLANDERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Greg Bergquist and The Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+ Transcriber's Note
+
+ The punctuation and spelling from the original text have been faithfully
+ preserved. Only obvious typographical errors have been corrected.
+
+
+ [Illustration: The Great Cloth Hall: Ypres]
+
+ [Illustration:
+
+ VANISHED TOWERS and CHIMES of FLANDERS
+
+ _Written and Pictured by_ George Wharton Edwards
+
+ The Penn Publishing Company 1916
+
+ _PHILADELPHIA_]
+
+
+ COPYRIGHT
+
+ 1916 BY
+
+ GEORGE
+
+ WHARTON
+
+ EDWARDS
+
+
+
+
+Vanished Towers and Chimes of Flanders
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+
+The unhappy Flemish people, who are at present much in the lime-light,
+because of the invasion and destruction of their once smiling and happy
+little country, were of a character but little known or understood by
+the great outside world. The very names of their cities and towns
+sounded strangely in foreign ears.
+
+Towns named Ypres, Courtrai, Alost, Furnes, Tournai, were in the
+beginning of the invasion unpronounceable by most people, but little by
+little they have become familiar through newspaper reports of the
+barbarities said to have been practised upon the people by the invaders.
+Books giving the characteristics of these heroic people are eagerly
+sought. Unhappily these are few, and it would seem that these very
+inadequate and random notes of mine upon some phases of the lives of
+these people, particularly those related to architecture, and the music
+of their renowned chimes of bells, might be useful.
+
+That the Fleming was not of an artistic nature I found during my
+residence in these towns of Flanders. The great towers and wondrous
+architectural marvels throughout this smiling green flat landscape
+appealed to him not at all. He was not interested in either art, music,
+or literature. He was of an intense practical nature. I am of course
+speaking of the ordinary or "Bourgeois" class now. Then, too, the class
+of great landed proprietors was numerically very small indeed, the land
+generally being parcelled or hired out in small squares or holdings by
+the peasants themselves. Occasionally the commune owned the land, and
+sublet portions to the farmers at prices controlled to some extent by
+the demand. Rarely was a "taking" (so-called) more than five acres or so
+in extent. Many of the old "Noblesse" are without landed estates, and
+this, I am informed, was because their lands were forfeited when the
+French Republic annexed Belgium, and were never restored to them. Thus
+the whole region of the Flemish littoral was given over to small
+holdings which were worked on shares by the peasants under general
+conditions which would be considered intolerable by the Anglo-Saxon. A
+common and rather depressing sight on the Belgian roads at dawn of day,
+were the long lines of trudging peasants, men, women and boys hurrying
+to the fields for the long weary hours of toil lasting often into the
+dark of night. But we were told they were working for their own profit,
+were their own masters, and did not grumble. This grinding toil in the
+fields, as practised here where nothing was wasted, could not of course
+be a happy or healthful work, nor calculated to elevate the peasant in
+intelligence, so as a matter of fact the great body of the country
+people, who were the laborers, were steeped in an extraordinary state of
+ignorance.
+
+If their education was neglected, they are still sound Catholics, and it
+may be that it was not thought to be in the interest of the authorities
+that they should be instructed in more worldly affairs. I am not
+prepared to argue this question. I only know that while stolid, and
+unemotional ordinarily, they are intensely patriotic. They became highly
+excited during the struggle some years ago to have their Flemish tongue
+preserved and taught in the schools, and I remember the crowds of people
+thronging the streets of Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges, with bands of music
+playing, and huge banners flying, bearing in large letters legends such
+as "Flanders for the Flemings." "Hail to the Flemish Lion" and "Flanders
+to the Death." All this was when the struggle between the two parties
+was going on.
+
+The Flemings won, be it recorded.
+
+Let alone, the Fleming would have worked out his own salvation in his
+own way. The country was prosperous. The King and Queen were popular,
+indeed beloved; all seemed to be going well with the people. Although
+Belgium was not a military power such as its great neighbors to the
+north, the east, and the south, its army played an important part in the
+lives of the people, and the strategical position which the country held
+filled in the map the ever present question of "balance"; the never
+absent possibility of the occasion arising when the army would be called
+upon to defend the neutrality of the little country. But they never
+dreamed that it would come so soon.... One might close with the words of
+the great Flemish song of the poet Ledeganck:
+
+     "Thou art no more,
+     The towns of yore:
+ The proud-necked, world-famed towns,
+ The doughty lion's lair;"
+
+ (Written in 1846.)
+
+ [THE AUTHOR]
+ Greenwich, Conn.
+   April, 1916.
+
+
+
+
+Contents
+
+
+                                              PAGE
+
+ MALINES, AND SOME OF THE VANISHED TOWERS       17
+
+ SOME CARILLONS OF FLANDERS                     41
+
+ DIXMUDE                                        55
+
+ YPRES                                          65
+
+ COMMINES                                       85
+
+ BERGUES                                        93
+
+ NIEUPORT                                       99
+
+ ALOST                                         111
+
+ COURTRAI                                      119
+
+ TERMONDE (DENDERMONDE)                        133
+
+ LOUVAIN                                       147
+
+ DOUAI                                         157
+
+ OUDENAARDE                                    163
+
+ FURNES                                        171
+
+ THE ARTISTS OF MALINES                        181
+
+ A WORD ABOUT THE BELGIANS                     199
+
+
+
+
+List of Illustrations
+
+ The Great Cloth Hall: Ypres        _Frontispiece_
+
+ Title page decoration
+
+                                                                PAGE
+
+ The Tower of St. Rombauld: Malines                               18
+
+ Malines: A Quaint Back Street                                    22
+
+ Porte de Bruxelles: Malines                                      26
+
+ The Beguinage: Dixmude                                           34
+
+ Detail of the Chimes in the Belfry of St. Nicholas: Dixmude      42
+
+ The Belfry: Bergues                                              46
+
+ The Old Porte Marechale: Bruges                                  50
+
+ The Ancient Place: Dixmude                                       56
+
+ The Great Jube, or Altar Screen: Dixmude                         58
+
+ The Fish Market: Dixmude                                         60
+
+ No. 4, Rue de Dixmude: Ypres                                     72
+
+ Arcade of the Cloth Hall: Ypres                                  76
+
+ Gateway, Wall, and Old Moat: Ypres                               80
+
+ The Belfry: Commines                                             88
+
+ The Towers of St. Winoc: Bergues                                 94
+
+ The Tower of the Templars: Nieuport                             100
+
+ The Town Hall--Hall of the Knights Templar: Nieuport            103
+
+ Tower in the Grand' Place: Nieuport                             104
+
+ The Town Hall: Alost                                            112
+
+ The Belfry: Courtrai                                            120
+
+ The Broel Towers: Courtrai                                      124
+
+ The Museum: Termonde                                            138
+
+ The Cathedral: Louvain                                          148
+
+ The Town Hall: Louvain                                          150
+
+ The Town Hall: Douai                                            158
+
+ The Town Hall: Oudenaarde                                       164
+
+ Old Square and Church: Oudenaarde                               166
+
+ The Fish Market: Ypres                                          172
+
+ The Church of Our Lady of Hanswyk                               190
+
+
+
+
+Malines
+
+[Illustration: VANISHED TOWERS _and_ CHIMES OF FLANDERS]
+
+
+
+
+Malines
+
+
+The immense, flat-topped, gray Gothic spire which dominated the
+picturesque line of low, red-tiled roofs showing here and there above
+the clustering, dark-green masses of trees in level meadows, was that of
+St. Rombauld, designated by Vauban as "the Eighth Wonder of the World,"
+constructed by Keldermans, of the celebrated family of architects. He it
+was who designed the Bishop's Palace, and the great town halls of
+Louvain, Oudenaarde, and Brussels, although some authorities allege that
+Gauthier Coolman designed the Cathedral. But without denying the power
+and artistry of this latter master, we may still believe in the
+well-established claim of Keldermans, who showed in this great tower the
+height of art culminating in exalted workmanship. Keldermans was
+selected by Marguerite and Philip of Savoie to build the "Greatest
+Church in Europe," and the plans, drawn with the pen on large sheets of
+parchment pasted together, which were preserved in the Brussels Museum
+up to the outbreak of the war, show what a wonder it was to have been.
+These plans show the spire complete, but the project was never realized.
+
+Charles the Fifth, filled with admiration for this masterpiece, showered
+Keldermans with honors; made him director of construction of the towns
+of Antwerp, Brussels, and Malines, putting thus the seal of artistic
+perfection upon his dynasty.
+
+[Illustration: The Tower of St. Rombauld: Malines]
+
+Historical documents in the Brussels Library contained the following:
+
+"The precise origin of the commencements of the Cathedral of Malines is
+unknown, as the ancient records were destroyed, together with the
+archives, during the troubles in the sixteenth century. The 'Nefs' and
+the transepts are the most ancient, their construction dating from the
+thirteenth century. It is conjectured that the first three erections of
+altars in the choir and the consecration of the monument took place in
+March, 1312. The great conflagration of May, 1342, which destroyed
+nearly all of the town, spared the church itself, but consumed the
+entire roof of heavy beams of Norway pine. The ruins remained thus for a
+long period because of lack of funds for restoration, and in the
+meantime services were celebrated in the church of St. Catherine. It was
+not until 1366 that the cathedral was sufficiently repaired to be used
+by the canons. Once begun, however, the repairs continued, although
+slowly. But the tower remained uncompleted as it was at the outbreak of
+the Great War, standing above the square at the great height of 97.70
+metres." On each face of the tower was a large open-work clock face, or
+"cadran," of gilded copper. Each face was forty-seven feet in diameter.
+These clock faces were the work of Jacques Willmore, an Englishman by
+birth, but a habitant of Malines, and cost the town the sum of ten
+thousand francs ($2000). The citizens so appreciated his work that the
+council awarded him a pension of two hundred florins, "which he enjoyed
+for fourteen years."
+
+St. Rombauld was famous for its chime of forty-five bells of remarkable
+silvery quality: masterpieces of Flemish bell founding. Malines was for
+many hundreds of years the headquarters of bell founding. Of the master
+bell founders, the most celebrated, according to the archives, was Jean
+Zeelstman, who practised his art for thirty years. He made, in 1446,
+for the ancient church of Saint Michel at Louvain (destroyed by the
+Vandals in 1914) a large bell, bearing the inscription: "Michael
+prepositus paradisi quem nonoripicant angelorum civis fusa per Johann
+Zeelstman anno dmi, m. ccc. xlvi."
+
+The family of Waghemans furnished a great number of bell founders of
+renown, who made many of the bells in the carillon of the cathedral of
+St. Rombauld; and there was lastly the Van den Gheyns (or Ghein), of
+which William of Bois-le-Duc became "Bourgeoisie" (Burgess) of Malines
+in 1506. His son Pierre succeeded to his business in 1533, and in turn
+left a son Pierre II, who carried on the great repute of his father. The
+tower of the Hospice of Notre Dame contained in 1914 a remarkable old
+bell of clear mellow tone--bearing the inscription: "Peeter Van den
+Ghein heeft mi Ghegotten in't jaer M.D. LXXX VIII." On the lower rim
+were the words: "Campana Sancti spiritus Divi Rumlodi." Pierre Van den
+Ghein II had but one son, Pierre III, who died without issue in 1618.
+William, however, left a second son, from whom descended the line of
+later bell founders, who made many of the bells of Malines. Of these
+Pierre IV, who associated himself with Pierre de Clerck (a cousin
+german), made the great "bourdon" called Salvator.
+
+During the later years of the seventeenth century, the Van den Gheyns
+seem to have quitted the town, seeking their fortunes elsewhere, for the
+foundry passed into other and less competent hands.
+
+In Malines dwelt the Primate of Belgium, the now celebrated Cardinal
+Mercier, whose courageous attitude in the face of the invaders has
+aroused the admiration of the whole civilized world. Malines, although
+near Brussels, had, up to the outbreak of the war and its subsequent
+ruin, perhaps better preserved its characteristics than more remote
+towns of Flanders. The market place was surrounded by purely Flemish
+gabled houses of grayish stucco and stone, and these were most
+charmingly here and there reflected in the sluggish water of the rather
+evil-smelling river Dyle.
+
+Catholicism was a most powerful factor here, and the struggle between
+Luther and Loyola, separating the ancient from the modern in Flemish
+architecture, was nowhere better exemplified than in Malines. It has
+been said that the modern Jesuitism succeeded to the ancient mysticism
+without displacing it, and the installation of the first in the very
+sanctuary of the latter has manifested itself in the ornamentation of
+the ecclesiastical edifices throughout Flanders, and indeed this fact is
+very evident to the travelers in this region. The people of Malines
+jealously retained the integrity of their ancient tongue, and many books
+in the language were published here. Associations abounded in the town
+banded together for the preservation of Flemish as a language. On fete
+days these companies, headed by bands of music, paraded the streets,
+bearing large silken banners on which, with the Lion of Flanders, were
+inscriptions such as "Flanders for the Flemish," and "Hail to our
+Flemish Lion." On these occasions, too, the chimes in St. Rombauld were
+played by a celebrated bell-ringer, while the square below the tower was
+black with people listening breathlessly to the songs of their
+forefathers, often joining in the chorus, the sounds of the voices
+carrying a long distance. On the opposite side of the square, in the
+center of which was a fine statue of Margaret of Austria, adjoining the
+recently restored "Halles," a fine building in the purest Renaissance
+was being constructed, certainly a credit to the town, and an honor to
+its architect, attesting as it did the artistic sense and prosperity of
+the people. This, too, lies now in ashes--alas!
+
+Flanders fairly bloomed, if I may use the expression, with exquisite
+architecture, and this garden spot, this cradle of art, as it has well
+been called, is levelled now in heaps of shapeless ruin.
+
+[Illustration: Malines: A Quaint Back Street]
+
+Certainly in this damp, low-lying country the Gothic style flourished
+amazingly, and brought into existence talent which produced many
+cathedrals, town halls, and gateways, the like of which were not to be
+found elsewhere in Europe. These buildings, ornamented with lace-like
+traceries and crowded with statuary, their interiors embellished with
+choir screens of marvelous detail wrought in stone, preserved to the
+world the art of a half-forgotten past, and these works of incomparable
+art were being cared for and restored by the State for the benefit of
+the whole world. Here, too, in Malines was a most quaint "Beguinage," or
+asylum, in an old quarter of the town, hidden away amid a network of
+narrow streets: a community of gentle-mannered, placid-faced women, who
+dwelt in a semi-religious retirement after the ancient rules laid down
+by Sainte Begga, in little, low, red-roofed houses ranged all about a
+grass-grown square. Here, after depositing a considerable sum of money,
+they were permitted to live in groups of three and four in each house,
+each coming and going as she pleased, without taking any formal vow.
+Their days were given up to church, hospital, parish duties and work
+among the sick and needy: an order, by the way, not found outside of
+Flanders.
+
+Each day brought for them a monotonous existence, the same duties at the
+same hours, waking in a gentle quietude, rhythmed by the silvery notes
+of the convent bell recalling them to the duties of their pious lives,
+all oblivious of the great outside world. Each Beguinage door bore the
+name of some saint, and often in a moss-covered niche in the old walls
+was seen a small statue of some saint, or holy personage, draped in
+vines.
+
+The heavy, barred door was nail studded, and furnished usually with an
+iron-grilled wicket, where at the sound of the bell of the visitor a
+panel slid back and a white-coiffed face appeared. This secluded quarter
+was not exclusively inhabited by these gentle women, for there were
+other dwellings for those that loved the quiet solitude of this end of
+the town.
+
+The Malines Beguinage was suppressed by the authorities in 1798, and it
+was not until 1804 that the order was permitted to resume operations
+under their former rights, nor were they allowed to resume their quaint
+costume until the year 1814.
+
+In the small church on my last visit I saw the portrait of the Beguine
+Catherine Van Halter, the work of the painter I. Cossiers, and another
+picture by him representing the dead Christ on the knees of the Virgin
+surrounded by disciples. Cossiers seemed to revel in the ghastliness of
+the scene, but the workmanship was certainly of a very high order. The
+Beguine showed me with much pride their great treasure, a tiny, six-inch
+figure of the Crucifixion, carved from one piece of ivory by Jerome due
+Quesnoy. It was of very admirable workmanship, the face being remarkable
+in expression. Despatches (March, 1916) report this Beguinage entirely
+destroyed by the siege guns. One wonders what was the fate of the
+saintly women.
+
+On the Place de la Boucherie in Malines was the old "Palais," which was
+used as a museum and contained many ill-assorted objects of the greatest
+interest and value, such as medals, embroideries, weapons, and a fine
+collection of ancient miniatures on ivory. There was also a great iron
+"Armoire Aux Chartes," quite filled with priceless parchments, great
+vellum tomes, bound in brass; large waxen seals of dead and gone rulers
+and nobles; heavy volumes bound in leather, containing the archives. And
+also a most curious strong box bound in iron bands, nail studded, and
+with immense locks and keys, upon which reclined a strange, wooden
+figure with a grinning face, clad in the moth-eaten ancient dress of
+Malines, representing "Op Signorken" (the card states), but the
+attendant told me it was the "Vuyle Bridegroom," and related a story of
+it which cannot be set down here, Flemish ideas and speech being rather
+freer than ours. But the people, or rather the peasants, are devoted to
+him, and there were occasions when he was borne in triumph in
+processions when the town was "en fete."
+
+The ancient palace of Margaret of York, wife of Charles the Bold, who
+after the tragic death of her consort retired to Malines, was in the Rue
+de l'Empereur. It was used latterly as the hospital, and was utterly
+destroyed in the bombardment of 1914.
+
+The only remnant of the ancient fortifications, I found on my last visit
+in 1910, was the fine gate, the "Porte de Bruxelles," with a small
+section of the walls, all reflected in an old moat now overgrown with
+moss and sedge grass. There were, too, quaint vistas of the old tower of
+Our Lady of Hanswyk and a number of arched bridges along the banks of
+the yellow Dyle, which flows sluggishly through the old town.
+
+On the "Quai-au-sel," I saw in 1910, a number of ancient facades, most
+picturesque and quaintly pinnacled. There also a small botanical garden
+floriated most luxuriantly, and here again the Dyle reflected the mossy
+walls of ancient stone palaces, and there were rows of tall, wooden,
+carved posts standing in the stream, to which boats were moored as in
+Venice.
+
+[Illustration: Porte de Bruxelles: Malines]
+
+Throughout the town, up to the time of the bombardment, were many quaint
+market-places, all grass grown, wherein on market days were
+tall-wheeled, peasant carts, and lines of huge, hollow-backed,
+thick-legged, hairy horses, which were being offered for sale. And there
+were innumerable fountains and tall iron pumps of knights in armor;
+forgotten heroes of bygone ages, all of great artistic merit and value;
+and over all was the dominating tower of St. Rombauld, vast, gray, and
+mysterious, limned against the pearly, luminous sky, the more
+impressive perhaps because of its unfinished state. And so, however
+interesting the other architectural attractions of Malines might be, and
+they were many, it was always to the great cathedral that one turned,
+for the townspeople were so proud of the great gray tower, venerated
+throughout the whole region, that they were insistent that we should
+explore it to the last detail. "The bells," they would exclaim, "the
+great bells of Saint Rombauld! You have not yet seen them?"
+
+St. Rombauld simply compelled one's attention, and ended by laying so
+firm a hold upon the imagination that at no moment of the day or night
+was one wholly unconscious of its unique presence. By day and night its
+chimes floated through the air "like the music of fairy bells," weird
+and soft, noting the passing hours in this ancient Flemish town. For
+four hundred years it had watched over the varying fortunes of this
+region, gaining that precious quality which appealed to Ruskin, who
+said, "Its glory is in its age and in that deep sense of voicefulness,
+of stern watching, of mysterious sympathy, nay, even of approval or
+condemnation, which we feel in walls that have long been washed by the
+passing waves of humanity."
+
+From below the eye was carried upward by range upon range of exquisite
+Gothic detail to the four great open-work, gilded, clock discs, through
+which one could dimly see the beautiful, open-pointed lancets behind
+which on great beams hung the carillon bells, row upon row.
+
+No words of mine can give any idea of the rich grayish brown of this old
+tower against the pale luminous sky, or the pathetic charm of its wild
+bell music, shattering down through the silent watches of the night,
+over the sleeping town, as I have heard it, standing by some silent,
+dark, palace-bordered canal, watching the tall tower melting into the
+immensity of the dusk, or by day in varying light and shade, in storm
+and sunshine, with wind-driven clouds chasing each other across the sky.
+
+The ascent of the tower was a formidable task, and really it seemed as
+if it must have been far more than three hundred and fifty feet to the
+topmost gallery, when I essayed it on that stormy August day. It was not
+an easy task to gain admittance to the tower; on two former occasions,
+when I made the attempt, the _custode_ was not to be found. "He had gone
+to market and taken the key to the tower door with him," said the
+withered old dame who at length understood my wish. On this day,
+however, she produced the key, a huge iron one, weighing, I should say,
+half a pound, from a nail behind the green door of the entry. She
+unlocked a heavy, white-washed door into a dusty, dim vestibule, and
+then proceeded to lock me in, pointing to another door at the farther
+end, saying, as she returned to her savory stew pot on the iron stove,
+"Montez, Montez, vous trouverez l'escalier." The heavy door swung to by
+a weight on a cord, and I was at the bottom step of the winding stairway
+of the tower. For a few steps upward the way was in darkness, up the
+narrow stone steps, clinging to a waxy, slippery rope attached to the
+wall, which was grimy with dust, the steps sloping worn and uneven.
+Quaint, gloomy openings in the wall revealed themselves from time to
+time as I toiled upwards, openings into deep gulfs of mysterious gloom,
+spanned at times by huge oaken beams. Here and there at dim landings,
+lighted by narrow Gothic slits in the walls, were blackened, low
+doorways heavily bolted and studded with iron nails. The narrow slits of
+windows served only to let in dim, dusty beams of violet light. Through
+one dark slit in the wall I caught sight of the huge bulk of a bronze
+bell, green with the precious patina of age, and I fancied I heard
+footsteps on the stairway that wound its way above.
+
+It was the watchman, a great hairy, oily Fleming, clad in a red sort of
+jersey, and blue patched trousers. On the back of his shock of pale,
+rope-colored hair sat jauntily a diminutive cap with a glazed peak. In
+the lobes of his huge ears were small gold rings.
+
+I was glad to see him and to have his company in that place of cobwebs
+and dangling hand rope. I gave him a thick black cigar which I had
+bought in the market-place that morning, and struck a match from which
+we both had a light. He expressed wonder at my matches, those paper
+cartons common in America, but which he had never before seen. I gave
+them to him, to his delight. He brought me upwards into a room crammed
+with strange machinery, all cranks and levers and wires and pulleys, and
+before us two great cylinders like unto a "Brobdingnagian" music box. He
+drew out a stool for me and courteously bade me be seated, speaking in
+French with a strong Flemish accent. He was, he said, a mechanic, whose
+duty it was to care for the bells and the machinery. He had an assistant
+who went on duty at six o'clock. He served watches of eight hours. There
+came a "whir" from a fan above, and a tinkle from a small bell somewhere
+near at hand. He said that the half hour would strike in three minutes.
+Had I ever been in a bell tower when the chimes played? Yes? Then
+M'sieur knew what to expect.
+
+I took out my watch, and from the tail of my eye I fancied that I saw a
+gleam in his as he appraised the watch I held in my hand. He drew his
+bench nearer to me and held out his great hairy, oily paw, saying, "Let
+me see the pretty watch." "Not necessary," I replied, putting it back in
+my pocket and calmly eying him, although my heart began to beat fast. I
+was alone in the tower with this hairy Cerberus, who, for all I knew,
+might be contemplating doing me mischief.
+
+If I was in danger, as I might be, then I resolved to defend myself as
+well as I was able. I had an ammonia gun in my pocket which I carried to
+fend off ugly dogs by the roadside, which infest the country. And this I
+carried in my hip pocket. It resembled somewhat a forty-four caliber
+revolver. I put my hand behind me, drew it forth, eying him the while,
+and ostentatiously toyed with it before placing it in my blouse side
+pocket. It had, I thought, an instantaneous effect, for he drew back,
+opening his great mouth to say something, I know not what nor shall I
+ever know, for at that instant came a clang from the machinery, a
+warning whir of wheels, the rattle of chains, and one of the great
+barrels began to revolve slowly; up and down rattled the chains and
+levers, then, faint, sweet and far off, I heard a melodious jangle
+followed by the first notes of the "Mirleton" I had so often heard below
+in the town, but now subdued, etherealized, and softened like unto the
+dream music one fancies in the night. The watchman now grinned
+reassuringly at me, and, rising, beckoned me with his huge grimy hand to
+follow him. Grasping my good ammonia gun I followed him up a wooden
+stairway to a green baize covered door. This he opened to an inferno of
+crash and din. The air was alive with tumult and the booming of heavy
+metal. We were among the great bells of the bottom tier. Before us was
+the "bourdon," so called, weighing 2,200 pounds, the bronze monster upon
+which the bass note was sounded, and which sounded the hour over the
+level fields of Flanders. Dimly above I could see other bells of various
+size, hanging tier upon tier from great, red-painted, wooden beams
+clamped with iron bands.
+
+I contrived to keep the watchman ever before me, not trusting him,
+although his frank smile somewhat disarmed my suspicion. It may be I did
+him an injustice, but I liked not the avaricious gleam in his little
+slits of eyes.
+
+The bells clanged and clashed as they would break from their fastenings
+and drop upon us, and my brain reeled with the discord. On they beat and
+boomed, as if they would never stop. No melody was now apparent, though
+down below it had seemed as if their sweetness was all too brief. Up
+here in the tower they were not at all melodious; they were rough,
+discordant, and uneven, some sounding as though out of tune and cracked.
+All of the mystery and glamour of sweet tenderness, all their pathos and
+weirdness, had quite vanished, and here amid the smell of lubricating
+oil and the heavy, noisy grinding of the cog wheels, and the rattle of
+iron chains, all the poetry and elusiveness of the bells was certainly
+wanting.
+
+All at once just before me a great hammer raised its head, and then
+fell with a sounding clang upon the rim of a big bell; the half hour had
+struck. All about us the air resounded and vibrated with the mighty
+waves of sound. From the bells above finally came the hum of faint
+harmonics, and then followed silence like the stillness that ensues
+after a heavy clap of thunder.
+
+Cerberus now beckoned me to accompany him amongst the bells, and showed
+me the machinery that sets this great marvel of sound in motion. He
+showed me the huge "tambour-carillon," with barrels all bestudded with
+little brass pegs which pull the wires connected with the great hammers,
+which in their turn strike the forty-six bells, that unrivaled chime
+known throughout Flanders as the master work of the Van den Gheyns of
+Louvain, who were, as already told, the greatest bell founders of the
+age.
+
+The great hour bell weighing, as already noted, nearly a ton, required
+the united strength of eight men to ring him. Cerberus pointed out to me
+the narrow plank runway between the huge dusty beams, whereon these
+eight men stood to their task. The carillon tunes, he told me, were
+altered every year or so, and to do this required the entire changing of
+the small brass pegs in the cylinders, a most formidable task, I
+thought. He explained that the cutting of each hole costs sixty
+_centimes_ (twelve cents) and that there were about 30,000 holes, so
+that the change must be quite expensive, but I did not figure it out
+for myself.
+
+The musical range of this carillon chime of Malines may be judged by the
+fact that it was possible to play, following on the hour, a selection
+from "Don Pasquale," and on the half and quarter hours a few bars from
+the "Pre aux Clercs." Every seven and a half minutes sounded a few
+jangling sweet notes, and thus the air over the old town of Malines and
+the small hamlets surrounding it both day and night was musical with the
+bells of the carillon.
+
+On fete days a certain famous bell ringer was engaged by the authorities
+to play the bells from the _clavecin_. This is a sort of keyboard with
+pedals played by hand and foot, fashioned like a rude piano. The work is
+very hard, one would think, but I have heard some remarkable results
+from it. In former times the office of "carilloneur" was a most
+important position, and, as in the case of the Van den Gheyn family of
+Louvain, it was hereditary. The music played by these men, those
+"morceaux fugues," once the pride and pleasure of the Netherlands, is
+now the wonder and despair of the modern bell ringer, however skillful
+he may be.
+
+[Illustration: The Beguinage: Dixmude]
+
+Cerberus informed me that sometimes months pass without a visit from a
+stranger to his tower room, and that he had to wind up the mechanism
+of the immense clock twice each day, and that of the carillon separately
+three times each twenty-four hours, and that it was required of him that
+he should sound two strokes upon the "do" bell after each quarter, to
+show that he was "on the job," so to speak.
+
+I told him I thought his task a hard and lonely one, and I offered him
+another of the black cigars, which he accepted with civility, but I kept
+my hand ostentatiously in my blouse pocket, where lay the ammonia gun,
+and he saw plainly that I did so. I am inclined now to think that my
+fears, as far as he was concerned, were groundless, but nevertheless
+they were very real that day in the old tower of Saint Rombauld.
+
+He began his task of winding up the mechanism, while I mounted the steep
+steps leading upwards to the top gallery. Here on the open gallery I
+gazed north, east, south, and west over the placid, flat, green-embossed
+meadows threaded with silver, ribbon-like waterways, upon which floated
+red-sailed barges. Below, as in the bottom of a bowl, lay Malines, its
+small red-roofed houses stretching away in all directions to the remains
+of the ancient walls, topped here and there with a red-sailed windmill,
+in the midst of verdant fresh fields wooded here and there with clumps
+of willows, where the armies of the counts of Flanders, and the Van
+Arteveldes, fought in the olden days.
+
+I could see the square below where, in the Grand' Place, those doughty
+Knights of the Golden Fleece had gathered before the pilgrimage to the
+Holy Land. Now a few dwarfed, black figures of peasants crawled like
+insects across the wide emptiness of it. Here among the startled
+jackdaws I lounged smoking and ruminating upon the bells, oily Cerberus,
+and his lonely task, and inhaling the misty air from the winding canals
+in the fertile green fields below--appraising the values of the pale
+diaphanous sky of misty blue, harmonizing so exquisitely with the tender
+greens of the landscape which had charmed Cuyp and Memling, until the
+blue was suffused with molten gold, and over all the landscape spread a
+tender and lovely radiance, which in turn became changed to ruddy flames
+in the west, and then the radiance began to fade.
+
+Then I bethought me that it was time I sought out the terrible Cerberus,
+the guardian of the tower, and induce him peaceably to permit me to go
+forth unharmed. I confess that I was coward enough to give him two
+francs as a fee instead of the single one which was his due, and then I
+stumbled down the long winding stairway, grasping the slippery hand rope
+timorously until I gained the street level, glad to be among fellow
+beings once more, but not sorry I had spent the afternoon among the
+bells of the Carillon of Saint Rombauld--those bells which now lie
+broken among the ashes of the tower in the Grand' Place of the ruined
+town of Malines.
+
+
+
+
+Some Carillons of Flanders
+
+
+
+
+Some Carillons of Flanders
+
+
+It is worth noting that nearly all of the noble Flemish towers with
+their wealth of bells are almost within sight (and I had nearly written,
+sound) of each other. From the summit of the tower in Antwerp one could
+see dimly the cathedrals of Malines and Brussels, perhaps even those of
+Bruges and Ghent in clear weather. Haweis ("Music and Morals") says that
+"one hundred and twenty-six towers can be seen from the Antwerp
+Cathedral on a fair morning," and he was a most careful observer. "So
+these mighty spires, gray and changeless in the high air, seem to hold
+converse together over the heads of puny mortals, and their language is
+rolled from tower to tower by the music of the bells."
+
+"Non sunt loquellae neque sermones, audiantur voces eorum," (there is
+neither speech nor language, but their voices are heard among men).
+
+This is an inscription copied by Haweis in the tower at Antwerp, from a
+great bell signed, "F. Hemony Amstelo-damia, 1658."
+
+Speaking of the rich decorations which the Van den Gheyns and Hemony
+lavished on their bells, he says, "The decorations worked in bas relief
+around some of the old bells are extremely beautiful, while the
+inscriptions are often highly suggestive, and even touching." These
+decorations are usually confined to the top and bottom rims of the bell,
+and are in low relief, so as to impede the vibration as little as
+possible. At Malines on a bell bearing date "1697, Antwerp" (now
+destroyed) there is an amazingly vigorous hunt through a forest with
+dogs and all kinds of animals. I did not see this bell when I was in the
+tower of St. Rombauld, as the light in the bell chamber was very dim.
+The inscription was carried right around the bell, and had all the grace
+and freedom of a spirited sketch.
+
+[Illustration: Detail of the Chimes in Belfry of St Nicholas: Dixmude]
+
+On one of Hemony's bells dated 1674 and bearing the inscription,
+"Laudate Domini omnes Gentes," we noticed a long procession of cherub
+boys dancing and ringing flat hand bells such as are even now rung
+before the Host in street processions.
+
+Some of the inscriptions are barely legible because of the peculiarity
+of the Gothic letters. Haweis mentions seeing the initials J.R. ("John
+Ruskin") in the deep sill of the staircase window; underneath a slight
+design of a rose window apparently sketched with the point of a compass.
+Ruskin loved the Malines Cathedral well, and made many sketches of
+detail while there. I looked carefully for these initials, but I could
+not find them, I am sorry to say.
+
+Bells have been strangely neglected by antiquaries and historians, and
+but few facts concerning them are to be found in the libraries. Haweis
+speaks of the difficulty he encountered in finding data about the chimes
+of the Low Countries, alleging that the published accounts and rumors
+about their size, weight, and age are seldom accurate or reliable. Even
+in the great libraries and archives of the Netherlands at Louvain,
+Bruges, or Brussels the librarians were unable to furnish him with
+accurate information.
+
+He says: "The great folios of Louvain, Antwerp, and Mechlin (Malines)
+containing what is generally supposed to be an exhaustive transcript of
+all the monumental and funereal inscriptions in Belgium, will often
+bestow but a couple of dates and one inscription upon a richly decorated
+and inscribed carillon of thirty or forty bells. The reason of this is
+not far to seek. The fact is, it is no easy matter to get at the bells
+when once they are hung, and many an antiquarian who will haunt tombs
+and pore over illegible brasses with commendable patience will decline
+to risk his neck in the most interesting of belfries. The pursuit, too,
+is often a disappointing one. Perhaps it is possible to get half way
+around a bell and then be prevented by a thick beam, or the bell's own
+wheel from seeing the outer half, which, by perverse chance, generally
+contains the date and the name of the founder.
+
+"Perhaps the oldest bell is quite inaccessible, or, after a half hour's
+climbing amid the utmost dust and difficulty, we reach a perfectly blank
+or commonplace bell."
+
+He gives the date of 1620, as that when the family of Van den Gheyns
+were bringing the art of bell founding to perfection in Louvain, and
+notes that the tower and bells of each fortified town were half civic
+property. Thus the curfew, the carolus, and the St. Mary bells in
+Antwerp Cathedral belong to the town.
+
+"Let us," he says, "enter the town of Mechlin (Malines) in the year
+1638. The old wooden bridge (over the river Dyle) has since been
+replaced by a stone one. To this day the elaborately carved facades of
+the old houses close on the water are of incomparable richness of
+design. The peculiar ascent of steps leading up to the angle of the
+roof, in a style borrowed from the Spaniards, is a style everywhere to
+be met with. The noblest of square florid Gothic towers, the tower of
+St. Rombauld (variously spelled St. Rombaud, St. Rombaut, or St. Rombod)
+finished up to three hundred and forty-eight feet, guides us to what is
+now called the Grand' Place, where in an obscure building are the
+workshops and furnaces adjoining the abode of Peter Van den Gheyn, the
+most renowned bell founder of the seventeenth century, born in 1605. In
+company with his associate, Deklerk, arrangements are being made for the
+founding of a big bell.
+
+"Before the cast was made there was no doubt great controversy between
+the mighty smiths, Deklerk and Van den Gheyn: plans had to be drawn out
+on parchment, measurements and calculations made, little proportions
+weighed by fine instinct, and the defects and merits of ever so many
+bells canvassed. The ordinary measurements, which now hold good for a
+large bell, are, roughly, one-fifteenth of the diameter in thickness,
+and twelve times the thickness in height. Describing the foundry
+buildings: The first is for the furnaces, containing the vast caldron
+for the fusing of the metal; in the second is a kind of shallow well,
+where the bell would have to be modeled in clay.
+
+"The object to be first attained is a hollow mold of the exact size and
+shape of the intended bell, into which the liquid metal is poured
+through a tube from the furnace, and this mold is constructed in the
+following simple but ingenious manner:
+
+"Suppose the bell to be six feet high, a brick column of about that
+height is built something in the shape of the outside of a bell. Upon
+the smooth surface of this solid bell-shaped mass can now be laid
+figures, decorations, and inscriptions in wax; a large quantity of the
+most delicately prepared clay is then produced, the model is slightly
+washed with some kind of oil to prevent the fine clay from sticking to
+it, and three or four coats of the fine clay in an almost liquid state
+are daubed carefully all over the model. Next, a coating of common clay
+is added to strengthen the mold to the thickness of some inches. And
+thus the model stands with its great bell-shaped cover closely fitting
+over it.
+
+"A fire is now lighted underneath, the brick work in the interior is
+heated, through the clay, through the wax ornaments and oils, which
+steam out in vapor through two holes at the top, leaving their
+impressions on the inside of the cover (of clay).
+
+[Illustration: The Belfry: Bergues]
+
+"When everything is baked thoroughly hard, the cover is raised bodily
+into the air by a rope, and held suspended some feet exactly above the
+model. In the interior of the cover thus raised will, of course, be
+found the exact impression in hollow of the outside of the bell. The
+model of clay and masonry is then broken up, and its place is taken by
+another perfectly smooth model, only smaller--exactly the size of the
+inside of the bell, in fact. On this the great cover now descends, and
+is stopped in time to leave a hollow space between the new model and
+itself. This is effected simply by the bottom rim of the new model
+forming a base, at the proper distance upon which the rim of the clay
+cover may rest in its descent.
+
+"The hollow space between the clay cover and second clay mold is now the
+exact shape of the required bell, and only waits to be filled with
+metal.
+
+"So far all has been comparatively easy; but the critical moment has now
+arrived. The furnaces have long been smoking; the brick work containing
+the caldron is almost glowing with red heat; a vast draft passage
+underneath the floor keeps the fire rapid; from time to time it leaps up
+with a hundred angry tongues, or in one sheet of flame, over the
+furnace-imbedded caldron. Then the cunning artificer brings forth his
+heaps of choice metal, large cakes of red coruscated copper from
+Drontheim, called 'Rosette,' owing to a certain rare pink bloom that
+seems to lie all over it like the purple on a plum; then a quantity of
+tin, so highly refined that it shines and glistens like pure silver;
+these are thrown into the caldron and melted down together. Kings and
+nobles have stood beside those famous caldrons, and looked with
+reverence upon the making of these old bells. Nay, they have brought
+gold and silver and, pronouncing the name of some holy saint or apostle
+which the bell was thereafter to bear, they have flung in precious
+metals, rings, bracelets, and even bullion.
+
+"But for a moment or two before the pipe which is to convey the metal
+to the mold is opened, the smith stands and stirs the molten mass to see
+if all is melted. Then he casts in certain proportions of zinc and other
+metals which belong to the secrets of the trade; he knows how much
+depends upon these little refinements, which he has acquired by
+experience, and which perhaps he could not impart even if he would, so
+true is it that in every art that which constitutes success is a matter
+of instinct, and not of rule, or even science.
+
+"He knows, too, that almost everything depends upon the moment chosen
+for flooding the mold. Standing in the intense heat, and calling loudly
+for a still more raging fire, he stirs the metal once more. At a given
+signal the pipe is opened, and with a long smothered rush the molten
+metal fills the mold to the brim. Nothing now remains but to let the
+metal cool, and then to break up the clay and brick work and extract the
+bell, which is then finished for better or for worse."
+
+We learn much of the difficulties encountered even by these great
+masters in successfully casting the bells, and that even they were not
+exempt from failure. "The Great Salvator" bell at Malines, made by Peter
+Van den Gheyn, cracked eight years after it was hung in the tower
+(1696). It was recast by De Haze of Antwerp, and existed up to a few
+years ago--surely a good long life for any active bell.
+
+In the belfry of St. Peter's at Louvain, which is now in ruins and level
+with the street, was a great bell of splendid tone, bearing the
+following inscription: "Claes Noorden Johan Albert de Grave me fecerunt
+Amstel--odamia, MDCCXIV."
+
+Haweis mentions also the names of Bartholomews Goethale, 1680, who made
+a bell now in St. Stephen's belfry at Ghent; and another, Andrew
+Steilert, 1563, at Malines (Mechlin). The great carillon in the belfry
+at Bruges, thus far spared by the iconoclasts of 1914, consisting of
+forty bells and one large Bourdon, or triumphal bell, is from the
+foundry of the great Dumery, who also made the carillon at Antwerp.
+
+Haweis credits Petrus Hemony, 1658, with being the most prolific of all
+the bell founders. He was a good musician and took to bell founding only
+late in life. "His small bells are exceedingly fine, but his larger ones
+are seldom true."
+
+To the ear of so eminent an authority this may be true, but, to my own,
+the bells seem quite perfect, and I have repeatedly and most attentively
+listened to them from below in the Grand' Place, trying to discover the
+inharmonious note that troubled him. I ventured to ask one of the
+priests if he had noticed any flatness in the notes, and he scorned the
+idea, saying that the bells, "all of them," were perfect.
+
+Nevertheless, I must accept the statement of Haweis, who for years made
+a study of these bells and their individualities and than whom perhaps
+never has lived a more eminent authority.
+
+From my room in the small hotel de Buda, just beneath the old gray tower
+of St. Rombauld in this ancient town of Malines, I have listened by day
+and night to the music of these bells, which sounded so exquisite to me
+that I can still recall them. The poet has beautifully expressed the
+idea of the bell music of Flanders thus, "The Wind that sweeps over her
+campagnas and fertile levels is full of broken melodious whispers"
+(Haweis).
+
+Certainly these chimes of bells playing thus by day and night, day in,
+day out, year after year, must exercise a most potent influence upon the
+imagination and life of the people.
+
+The Flemish peasant is born, grows up, lives his life out, and finally
+is laid away to the music of these ancient bells.
+
+[Illustration: The Old Porte Marechale: Bruges]
+
+When I came away from Malines and reached Antwerp, I lodged in the Place
+Verte, as near to the chimes as I could get. My student days being over,
+I found that I had a strange sense of loss, as if I had lost a dear
+and valued friend, for the sound of the bells had become really a part
+of my daily existence.
+
+Victor Hugo, who traveled through Flanders in 1837, stopped for a time
+in Malines, and was so impressed with the carillon that he is said to
+have written there the following lines by moonlight with a diamond upon
+the window-pane in his room:
+
+ "J'aime le carillon dans tes cites Antiques,
+ O vieux pays, gardien de tes moeurs domestiques,
+ Noble Flandre, ou le Nord se rechauffe engourdi
+ Au soleil de Castille et s'accouple au Midi.
+ Le carillon, c'est l'heure inattendue et folle
+ Que l'oeil croit voir, vetue en danseuse espagnole
+ Apparaitre soudain par le trou vif et clair
+ Que ferait, en s'ouvrant, une porte de l'air."
+
+It was not until the seventeenth century that Flanders began to place
+these wondrous collections of bells in her great towers, which seem to
+have been built for them. Thus came the carillons of Malines, Bruges,
+Ghent, Antwerp, Louvain, and Tournai. Of these, Antwerp possessed the
+greatest in number, sixty-five bells. Malines came next with forty-four,
+then Bruges with forty, and a great bourdon or bass bell; then Tournai
+and Louvain with forty, and finally Ghent with thirty-nine.
+
+In ancient times these carillons were played by hand on a keyboard,
+called a _clavecin_. In the belfry at Bruges, in a dusty old chamber
+with a leaden floor, I found a very old _clavecin_. It was simply a
+rude keyboard much like that of a primitive kind of organ, presenting a
+number of jutting handles, something like rolling pins, each of which
+was attached to a wire operating the hammer, in the bell chamber
+overhead, which strikes the rim of the bells. There was an old red,
+leather-covered bench before this machine on which the performer sat,
+and it must have been a task requiring considerable strength and agility
+so to smite each of these pins with his gloved fist, his knees and each
+of his feet (on the foot board) that the hammers above would fall on the
+rims of the different bells.
+
+From my room in the old "Panier d'or" in the market-place on many nights
+have I watched the tower against the dim sky, and seen the light of the
+"_veilleur_," shining in the topmost window, where he keeps watch over
+the sleeping town, and sounds two strokes upon a small bell after each
+quarter is struck, to show that he is on watch. And so passed the time
+in this peaceful land until that fatal day in August, 1914.
+
+
+
+
+Dixmude
+
+
+
+
+Dixmude
+
+
+There is no longer a Grand' Place at Dixmude. Of the town, the great
+squat church of St. Martin, and the quaint town hall adjoining it, now
+not one stone remains upon another. The old mossy walls and bastion are
+level with the soil, and even the course of the small sluggishly flowing
+river Yser is changed by the ruin that chokes it.
+
+I found it to be a melancholy, faded-out kind of place in 1910, when I
+last saw it. I came down from Antwerp especially to see old St.
+Martin's, which enshrined a most wondrous _Jube_, or altar screen, and a
+chime of bells from the workshop of the Van den Gheyns. There was
+likewise on the Grand' Place, a fine old prison of the fourteenth
+century, its windows all closed with rusty iron bars, most of which were
+loose in the stones. I tried them, to the manifest indignation of the
+solitary gendarme, who saw me from a distance across the Grand' Place
+and hurried over to place me under arrest. I had to show him not only my
+passport but my letter of credit and my sketch book before he would
+believe that I was what I claimed to be, a curious American, and
+something of an antiquary. But it was the sketch book that won him, for
+he told me that he had a son studying painting in Antwerp at the
+academy. So we smoked together on a bench over the bridge of the "Pape
+Gaei" and he related the story of his life, while I made a sketch of the
+silent, grass-grown Grand' Place and the squat tower of old St.
+Martin's, and the Town Hall beside it.
+
+While we sat there on the bench only two people crossed the square, that
+same square that witnessed the entry of Charles the Fifth amid the
+silk-and velvet-clad nobles and burghers, and the members of the great
+and powerful guilds, which he regarded and treated with such respect. In
+those days the town had a population of thirty thousand or more. On this
+day my friend the gendarme told me that there were about eleven hundred
+in the town. Of this eleven hundred I saw twelve market people, the
+_custode_ of the church of St. Martin; ditto that of the Town Hall; the
+gendarme; one baby in the arms of a crippled girl, and two gaunt cats.
+
+The great docks to which merchantmen from all parts of the earth came in
+ships in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had now vanished, and
+long green grass waved in the meadows where the channel had been.
+
+[Illustration: The Ancient Place: Dixmude]
+
+The ancient corporations and brotherhood, formerly of such power and
+renown, had likewise long since vanished, and nought remained but here
+and there on the silent, grass-grown streets gray, ancient palaces with
+barred and shuttered windows. The very names of those who once dwelt
+there could be found only in the musty archives in Bruges or Brussels. A
+small _estaminet_ across the bridge bore the sign "In den Pape Gaei,"
+and to this I fared and wrote my notes, while the crippled girl carrying
+the baby seated herself where she could watch me, and then lapsed into a
+sort of trance, with wide open eyes which evidently saw not.
+
+In company with a large, black, savage-looking dog which traveled
+side-ways regarding me threateningly, I thought, and gloweringly refused
+my offers of friendship, I crossed the Grand' Place to the Hotel de
+Ville, or Town Hall, the door of which stood open. Inside, no living
+soul responded to my knock. The rooms were rather bare of furniture,
+many of them of noble proportions, and a few desks and chairs showed
+that they were used by the town officers, wherever they were.
+
+St. Martin's was closed, and I skirted its walls, hoping to find
+somewhere a door unfastened that I might enter and see the great _Jube_
+or altar screen. In a small, evil-smelling alley-way, where there was a
+patch of green grass, I saw low down in the wall a grated window, which
+I fancied must be at the back of the altar. I got down on my knees and,
+parting the grass which grew there rankly, I put my face in against the
+iron bars that closed it. For a moment I could see nothing, then when my
+eyes became accustomed to the light I saw a tall candle burning on an
+iron ring on the wall; then a heavy black cross beside it, and finally a
+figure in some sort of heavy dark robe kneeling prostrate before it,
+only the tightly clasped white hands gleaming in the dim candle light;
+almost holding my breath I withdrew my head, feeling that I was almost
+committing sacrilege. Unfortunately for me, I dislodged some loose
+mortar, and I heard this rattle noisily into the chamber below. Then I
+fled as rapidly as I could down the dim alley-way to the silent sunlit
+Grand' Place. Here I found the verger, and he admitted me to the great
+old church, in return for a one-franc piece, and brought me a
+rush-bottom chair to a choice spot before the wondrous _Jube_, where I
+made my drawing.
+
+[Illustration: The Great Jube, or Altar Screen: Dixmude]
+
+In the silence of the great gray old church I labored over the exquisite
+Gothic detail, all unmindful of the passing time, when all at once I
+became conscious that a small green door beside the right hand low
+_retable_ was moving outward. I ceased working and watched it; then the
+solitary candle before the statue of the Virgin guttered and flared up;
+then the small door opened wide and forth came an old man in a priest's
+cassock, with a staff in his hand. The small, green, baize-covered door
+closed noiselessly; the old man slowly opened the gate before the
+altar and came down the step toward me. Without a word he walked behind
+my chair and peered over my shoulder at the drawing I was making of the
+great _Jube_.
+
+He tapped the floor with his staff, placed it under his arm, sought his
+pocket somewhere beneath his cassock, from which he produced a snuff
+box. From this he took a generous pinch, and a moment later was blowing
+vigorously that note of satisfaction that only a devotee of the powder
+can render an effective adjunct of emotion.
+
+"Bien faite, M'sieur," he exclaimed at length, wiping his eyes on a
+rather suspicious looking handkerchief. "T-r-r-r-r-es bien faite! J'vous
+fais mes compliments." "Admirable! You have certainly rendered the
+spirit of our great and wondrous altar screen."
+
+A little later we passed out of the old church through a side door
+leading into a small green enclosure, now gloomy in the shade of the old
+stone walls. At one end was a tangle of briar, and here were some old
+graves, each with a tinsel wreath or two on the iron cross. And
+presiding over these was the limp figure of a one-legged man on two
+crutches, who saluted us. We passed along to the end of the inclosure,
+where lay a chance beam of sunshine like a bar of dusty gold against the
+rich green grass.
+
+"Oui, M'sieur," said the priest, as if continuing a sentence he was
+running over in his mind. "Casse! Pauvre Pierre, un peu casse, le pauvre
+bonhomme, but then, he's good for several years yet; cracked he is, but
+only cracked like a good old basin, and (in the idiom) he'll still hold
+well his bowl of soup."
+
+He laughed at his wit, became grave, then shook out another laugh.
+
+"See," he added, pointing to the ground all about us strewn with morsels
+of tile; "the roof cracks, but it still holds," he added, pointing
+upwards at the old tower of St. Martin's. "And now, M'sieur, I shall
+take you to my house; _tenez_, figure to yourself," and he laid a fine,
+richly veined, strong old hand upon my arm with a charming gesture. "I
+have been here twenty-five years; I bought all the antique furniture of
+my predecessor. I said to myself, 'Yes, I shall buy the furniture for
+five hundred francs, and then, later I shall sell to a wealthy amateur
+for one thousand francs, perhaps in a year or two.' Twenty-five years
+ago, and I have it yet. And now it creaks and creaks and snaps in the
+night. We all creak and creak thus as we grow old; ah, you should hear
+my wardrobes. 'Elles cassent les dos,' and I lie in my warm bed in the
+winter nights and listen to my antiques groan and complain. Poor old
+things, they belonged to the 'Empire' Period; no wonder they groan.
+
+[Illustration: The Fish Market: Dixmude]
+
+"And when my friend the notaire comes to play chess with me, you should
+see him eye my antiques, ah, so covetously; I see him, but I never let
+on. Such a collection of antiques as we all are, M'sieur." Then he
+became serious, and lifting his cane he pointed to a gravestone at one
+side, "My old servant lies there, M'sieur; we are all old here now, but
+still we do not die. Alas! we never die. There is plenty of room here
+for us, but we die hard. See, myotis, heliotrope, hare bells, and
+mignonette, a bed of perfume, and there lies my old servant. A restless
+old soul she was, and she took such a long time to die. She was
+eighty-five when she finally made up her mind."
+
+I had a cup of wine with the old man in his small _salle a manger_. His
+house was indeed a mine of wealth for the antiquary and collector, more
+like a shop than a house. I lingered with him for nearly an hour,
+telling him of the great world lying beyond Dixmude, of London and
+Paris, and of New York and some of its wonders, of which I fancied he
+was rather sceptical. And then I came away, after shaking hands with him
+at his doorstep in the dim alley-way, with the bar of golden sunlight
+shining at the entrance to the Grand' Place and the noise of the rooks
+cawing on the roof.
+
+"_Au revoir_, M'sieur le Peintre, _et bon voyage_, and remember, 'Ask,
+and it shall be given, seek and you shall find,'" and with these cryptic
+words, he stood with uplifted hands, a smile irradiating his fine
+ascetic face glowing like that of a saint. Behind the faded black of his
+old _soutane_ I could see his treasures of blue china and ancient
+cabinets, and a chance light illumined a mirror behind his head, and
+aureoled him like unto one of the saints behind the great "Jube," and
+thus I left him.
+
+And now Dixmude is in formless heaps of ashes and burnt timbers. Hardly
+one stone now remains upon another. There is no longer a Grand'
+Place--and the very course of the river Yser is changed.
+
+
+
+
+Ypres
+
+
+
+
+Ypres
+
+
+Ypres as a town grew out of a rude sort of stronghold built, says M.
+Vereeke in his "Histoire Militaire d'Ypres," in the year 900, on a small
+island in the river Yperlee. It was in the shape of a triangle with a
+tower on each corner, and was known to the inhabitants as the "Castle of
+the three Turrets."
+
+Its establishment was followed by a collection of small huts on the
+banks of the stream, built by those who craved the protection of the
+fortress. They built a rampart of earth and a wide ditch to defend it,
+and to this they added from time to time until the works became so
+extensive that a town sprang into being, which from its strategic
+position on the borders of France soon became of great importance in the
+wars that constantly occurred. Probably no other Flemish town has seen
+its defenses so altered and enlarged as Ypres has between the primitive
+days when the crusading Thierry d'Alsace planted hedges of live thorns
+to strengthen the towers, and the formation of the great works of
+Vauban. We have been so accustomed to regarding the Fleming as a
+sluggish boor, that it comes in the nature of a surprise when we read of
+the part these burghers, these weavers and spinners, took in the great
+events that distinguished Flemish history. "In July, 1302, a contingent
+of twelve hundred chosen men, five hundred of them clothed in scarlet
+and the rest in black, were set to watch the town and castle of
+Courtrai, and the old Roman Broel bridge, during the battle of the
+'Golden Spurs,' and the following year saw the celebration of the
+establishment of the confraternity of the Archers of St. Sebastian,
+which still existed in Ypres when I was there in 1910. This was the last
+survivor of the famed, armed societies of archers which flourished in
+the Middle Ages. Seven hundred of these men of Ypres embarked in the
+Flemish ships which so harassed the French fleet in the great naval
+engagement of June, 1340."
+
+Forty years later five thousand men of Ypres fought upon the battlefield
+with the French, on that momentous day which witnessed the death of
+Philip Van Artevelde and the triumph of Leliarts. Later, when the Allies
+laid siege to the town, defended by Leliarts and Louis of Maele, it was
+maintained by a force of ten thousand men, and on June 8, 1383, these
+were joined by seventeen thousand English and twenty thousand Flemings,
+these latter from Bruges and Ghent.
+
+At this time the gateways were the only part of the fortifications
+built of stone. The ramparts were of earth, planted with thorn bushes
+and interlaced with beams. Outside were additional works of wooden posts
+and stockades, behind the dyke, which was also palisaded. The English,
+believing that the town would not strongly resist their numbers, tried
+to carry it by assault. They were easily repulsed, to their great
+astonishment, with great losses.
+
+At last they built three great wooden towers on wheels filled with
+soldiers, which they pushed up to the walls, but the valiant garrison
+swarmed upon these towers, set fire to them, and either killed or
+captured those who manned them.
+
+All the proposals of Spencer demanding the surrender of Ypres were met
+with scorn, and the English were repeatedly repulsed with great losses
+of men whenever they attempted assaults.
+
+The English turned upon the Flemish of Ghent with fury, saying that they
+had deceived them as to the strength of the garrison of Ypres, and
+Spencer, realizing that it was impossible to take the town before the
+French army arrived, retired from the field with his soldiers. This left
+Flanders at the mercy of the French. But now ensued the death of Count
+Louis of Maele (1384) and this brought Flanders under the rule of the
+House of Burgundy, which resulted in prosperity and well nigh complete
+independence for the Flemings.
+
+The Great Kermesse of Our Lady of the Garden (Notre Dame de Thuine) was
+then inaugurated because the townspeople believe that Ypres had been
+saved by the intercession of the Virgin Mary--the word Thuin meaning in
+Flemish "an enclosed space, such as a garden plot," an allusion to the
+barrier of thorns which had so well kept the enemy away from the
+walls--a sort of predecessor of the barbed-wire entanglements used in
+the present great world war.
+
+The Kermesse was held by the people of Ypres on the first Sunday in
+August every year, called most affectionately "Thuindag," and while
+there in 1910 I saw the celebration in the great square before the Cloth
+Hall, and listened to the ringing of the chimes; the day being ushered
+in at sunrise by a fanfare of trumpets on the parapet of the tower by
+the members of a local association, who played ancient patriotic airs
+with great skill and enthusiasm.
+
+In the Place de Musee, a quiet, gray corner of this old town, was an
+ancient Gothic house containing a really priceless collection of medals
+and instruments of torture used during the terrible days of the Spanish
+Inquisition. I spent long hours in these old musty rooms alone, and I
+might have stolen away whatever took my fancy had I been so minded, for
+the _custode_ left me quite alone to wander at will, and the cases
+containing the seals, parchments, and small objects were all unfastened.
+
+I saw the other day another wonderful panorama photograph taken from an
+aeroplane showing Ypres as it now is, a vast heap of ruins, the Cloth
+Hall gutted; the Cathedral leveled, and the site of the little old
+museum a vast blackened hole in the earth where a shell had landed. The
+photograph, taken by an Englishman, was dated September, 1915.
+
+The great Hanseatic League, that extensive system of monopolies, was the
+cause of great dissatisfaction and many wars because of jealousy and bad
+feeling. Ypres, Ghent, and Bruges, while defending their rights and
+privileges against all other towns, fought among themselves. The
+monopoly enjoyed by the merchant weavers of Ypres forbade all weaving
+for "three leagues around the walls of Ypres, under penalty of
+confiscation of the looms and all of the linen thus woven."
+
+Constant friction was thus engendered between the towns of Ypres and
+Poperinghe, resulting in bloody battles and the burning and destruction
+of much property. Even within the walls of the town this bickering went
+on from year to year. When they were not quarreling with their neighbors
+over slights or attacks, either actual or fancied, they fought among
+themselves over the eternal question of capital _versus_ labor. A sharp
+line was drawn between the workingman and the members of the guilds who
+sold his output. The artisans, whose industry contributed so greatly to
+the prosperity of these towns, resented any infringement of their legal
+rights. The merchant magistrates were annually elected, and on one
+occasion, in 1361, to be exact, because this was omitted, the people
+arose in their might against the governors, who were assembled in the
+Nieuwerck of the Hotel de Ville. The Baillie, one Jean Deprysenaere,
+haughty in his supposed power, and trusting in his office, as local
+representative of the Court of Flanders, appeared before the insurgent
+weavers and endeavored to appease them. "They fell upon him and slew
+him" (Vereeke). Then, rushing into the council chamber, they seized the
+other magistrates and confined them in the belfry of the Cloth Hall.
+
+"Then the leaders in council resolved to kill the magistrates, and
+beheaded the Burgomaster and two sheriffs in the place before the Cloth
+Hall in the presence of their colleagues" (Vereeke).
+
+Following the custom of the Netherlands, each town acted for itself
+alone. The popular form of government was that of gatherings in the
+market-place where laws were discussed and made by and for the people.
+The spirit of commercial jealousy, however, kept them apart and
+nullified their power. Consumed by the thirst for commercial, material
+prosperity, they had no faith in each other, no bond of union, each
+being ready and willing to foster its own interest at its rival's
+expense. Thus neither against foreign nor internal difficulties were
+they really united. The motto of modern Belgium, "L'Union fait la
+Force," was not yet invented, and there was no great and powerful
+authority in which they believed and about which they could gather.
+
+This history presents the picture of Ghent assisting an army of English
+soldiers to lay siege to Ypres. So the distrustful people dwelt amid
+perpetual quarreling, trade pitted against trade, town against town,
+fostering weakness of government and shameful submission in defeat. No
+town suffered as did Ypres during this distracted state of affairs in
+Flanders of the sixteenth century, which saw it reduced from a place of
+first importance to a dead town with the population of a village. And so
+it remained up to the outbreak of the world war in 1914.
+
+This medieval and most picturesque of all the towns of Flanders had not
+felt the effect of the wave of restoration, which took place in Belgium
+during the decade preceding the outbreak of the world war, owing to the
+fact that its monuments of the past were perhaps finer and in a better
+state of preservation than those of any of the other ancient towns.
+Ypres in the early days had treated the neighboring town of Poperinghe
+with great severity through jealousy, but she in turn suffered heavily
+at the hands of Ghent in 1383-84 when the vast body of weavers fled,
+taking refuge in England, and taking with them all hope of the town's
+future prosperity.
+
+Its decline thenceforward was rapid, and it never recovered its former
+place in the councils of Flanders. Its two great memorials of the olden
+times were the great Cloth Hall, in the Grand' Place, and the Cathedral
+of Saint Martin, both dating from the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
+
+The Cloth Hall, begun by Count Baldwin IX of Flanders, was perhaps the
+best preserved and oldest specimen of its kind in the Netherlands, and
+was practically complete up to the middle of August, 1915, when the
+great guns of the iconoclastic invader shot away the top of the immense
+clock tower, and unroofed the entire structure. Its facade was nearly
+five hundred feet long, of most severe and simple lines, and presented a
+double row of ogival windows, surmounted by niches containing thirty-one
+finely executed statues of counts and countesses of Flanders. There were
+small, graceful turrets at each end, and a lofty belfry some two hundred
+and thirty feet in height in the center, containing a fine set of bells
+connected with the mechanism of a carillon.
+
+[Illustration: No. 4, Rue de Dixmude: Ypres]
+
+The interior of the hall was of noble proportions, running the full
+length, its walls decorated by a series of paintings by two modern
+Flemish painters, which were not of the highest merit, yet good withal.
+At the market-place end was a highly ornate structure called the New
+Work (Nieuwerke), erected by the burghers as a guild-hall in the
+fifteenth century. This was the first part of the edifice to be ruined
+by a German shell.
+
+The destruction of this exquisite work of art seems entirely wanton and
+unnecessary. It produced no result whatever of advantage. There were
+neither English, French, nor Belgian soldiers in Ypres at the time. The
+populace consisted of about ten thousand peaceful peasants and
+shopkeepers, who, trusting in the fact that the town was unarmed and
+unfortified, remained in their homes. The town was battered and
+destroyed, leveled in ashes. The bombardment destroyed also the great
+Cathedral of Saint Martin adjoining the Cloth Hall, which dated from the
+thirteenth century [although the tower was not added until the fifteenth
+century]. It formed a very fine specimen of late Gothic, the interior
+containing some fine oak carving and a richly carved and decorated organ
+loft. Bishop Jansenius, the founder of the sect of Jansenists, is buried
+in a Gothic cloister which formed a part of the older church that
+occupied the site.
+
+Another interesting monument of past greatness was the Hotel de Ville,
+erected in the sixteenth century, and containing a large collection of
+modern paintings by French and Belgian artists. Of this structure not a
+trace remains save a vast blackened pile of crumbled stones and mortar.
+In the market-place now roam bands of half-starved dogs in search of
+food; not a roof remains intact. A couple of sentries pace before the
+hospital at the end of the Grand' Place. A recent photograph in the
+_Illustrated London News_ taken from an aeroplane shows the ruined town
+like a vast honeycomb uncovered, the streets and squares filled with
+debris, the fragments of upstanding walls showing where a few months ago
+dwelt in peace and prosperity an innocent, happy people, now scattered
+to the four winds--paupers, subsisting upon charity. Their valiant and
+noble king and queen are living with the remnant of the Belgian army in
+the small fishing village of La Panne on the sand dunes of the North
+Sea.
+
+The unique character of the half-forgotten town was exemplified by the
+number of ancient, wooden-faced houses to be found in the side streets.
+The most curious of these, perhaps, was that situated near the Porte de
+Lille, which I have mentioned in another page, and which noted
+architects of Brussels and Antwerp vainly petitioned the State to
+protect, or to remove bodily the facade and erect it in one of the vast
+"Salles" of the Cloth Hall. Both MM. Pauwels and Delbeke, the mural
+painters, then engaged in the decorations of the Cloth Hall, joined in
+protests to the authorities against their neglect of this remarkable
+example of medieval construction, but all these petitions were
+pigeonholed, and nothing resulted but vain empty promises, so the matter
+rested, and now this beautiful house has vanished forever.
+
+The great mural decorations of the "Halles" were nearly completed by MM.
+Delbeke and Pauwels, when they both died within a few months of each
+other, in 1891. In these decorations the artists traced the history of
+Ypres from 1187 to 1383, the date of the great siege, showing taste and
+elegance in the compositions, notably in that called the "Wedding feast
+of Mahaut, daughter of Robert of Bethune, with Mathias of Lorraine
+(1314)."
+
+One of the panels by M. Pauwels showed most vividly the progress of the
+"Pest," under the title of the "Mort d'Ypres" (_de Dood van Yperen_,
+Flemish). It represented the "Fossoyeur" calling upon the citizens upon
+the tolling of the great bell of St. Martin's, to bring out their dead
+for burial.
+
+M. Delbeke's talent was engaged upon scenes illustrating the civil life
+of the town, the gatherings in celebration of the philanthropic and
+intellectual events in its remarkable history, a task in which he was
+successful in spite of the carping of envious contemporaries.
+
+A committee of artists was appointed to examine his work, and although
+this body decided in his favor, it may be that the criticism to which
+he was subjected hastened his death. At any rate the panels remained
+unfinished, no other painter having the courage to carry out the
+projected work.
+
+[Illustration: Arcade of the Cloth Hall: Ypres]
+
+The original sketches for these great compositions were preserved in the
+museum of the town, but the detailed drawings, some in color, were, up
+to the outbreak of the war in 1914, in the Museum of Decorative Arts in
+Brussels, together with the cartoons of another artist, Charles de Groux
+(1870), to whom the decoration of the Halles had been awarded by the
+State in competition. A most sumptuous Gothic apartment was that styled
+the "Salle Echevinale," restored with great skill in recent years by a
+concurrence of Flemish artists, members of the Academy. Upon either side
+of a magnificent stone mantel, bearing statues in niches of kings,
+counts and countesses, bishops and high dignitaries, were large well
+executed frescoes by MM. Swerts and Guffens, showing figures of the
+evangelists St. Mark and St. John, surrounded by myriads of counts and
+countesses of Flanders, from the time of Louis de Nevers and Margaret of
+Artois to Charles the Bold, and Margaret of York, whose tombs are in the
+Cathedral at Bruges. The attribution of these frescoes to Melchior
+Broederlam does not, it would seem, accord with the style or the date of
+their production, M. Alph. van den Peereboom thinks, and he gives
+credit for the work to two painters who worked in Ypres in 1468--MM.
+Pennant and Floris Untenhoven.
+
+In my search for the curious and picturesque, I came, one showery day,
+upon a passageway beneath the old belfry which led to the tower of St.
+Martin's. Here one might believe himself back in the Middle Ages. On
+both sides of the narrow street were ancient wooden-fronted houses not a
+whit less interesting or well preserved than that front erected in the
+chamber of the "Halles." This small dark street led to a vast and
+solitary square. On one side were lofty edifices called the Colonnade of
+the "Nieuwerck," at the end of which was a quaint vista of the Grand'
+Place. On the other side was a range of most wondrous ancient
+constructions; the _conciergerie_ and its attendant offices, bearing
+finials and gables of astonishing richness of character, and ornamented
+with _chefs-d'oeuvres_ of iron-work, marking the dates of erection,
+all of them prior to 1616. In this square not a soul appeared, nor was
+there a sound to be heard save the cooing of some doves upon a rooftree,
+although I sat there upon a stone coping for the better part of a half
+hour. Then all at once, out of a green doorway next the _conciergerie_,
+poured a throng of children, whose shrill cries and laughter brought me
+back to the present. One wonders where now are these merry
+light-hearted little ones, who thronged that gray grass-grown square
+behind the old Cloth Hall in 1912....
+
+In this old square I studied the truly magnificent south portal and
+transept of St. Martin's, the triple portal with its splendid polygonal
+rose window, and its two graceful slender side towers, connecting a long
+gallery between the two smaller side portals. One's impression of this
+great edifice is that of a sense of noble proportions, rather than
+ornateness, and this is to be considered remarkable when one remembers
+the different epochs of its construction. That the choir was commenced
+in 1221 is established by the epitaph of Hugues, _prevot_ of St.
+Martin's, whose ashes reposed in the church which he built: that the
+first stone of the nave transepts was laid with ceremony by Marguerite
+of Constantinople in 1254; that the south portal was of the fifteenth
+century and that a century later the chapel called the _doyen_ toward
+the south wall at the foot of the tower, was erected. The tower itself,
+visible from all parts of the town, was the conception of Martin
+Untenhoven of Malines, and replaced a more primitive one in 1433. Of
+very severe character, its great bare bulk rose to an unfinished height
+of some hundred and seventy feet, and terminated in a squatty sort of
+pent-house roof of typical Flemish character. It was flanked by four
+smaller, unfinished towers, one at each corner. This tower, one may
+recall, figures in many of the pictures of Jean van Eyck. It is not
+without reason that Schayes, in his "Histoire de l'Architecture en
+Belgique," speaks of the choir of St. Martin's as "one of the most
+remarkable of the religious constructions of the epoch in Belgium." Of
+most noble lines and proportion if it were not for the intruding altar
+screen in the Jesuit style, which mars the effect, the ensemble were
+well-nigh perfect.
+
+Its decoration, too, was remarkable. A fresco at the left of the choir,
+with a portrait of Robert de Bethune, Count of Flanders, who died at
+Ypres in 1322 and was buried in the church, was uncovered early in the
+eighties during a restoration; this had been most villainously repainted
+by a local "artist"(?); and I mortally offended the young priest who
+showed it to me, by the vehemence of my comments.
+
+The stalls of the choir, in two banks or ranges, twenty-seven above,
+twenty-four below, bore the date of 1598, and the signature of d'Urbain
+Taillebert, a native sculptor of great merit, who also carved the great
+_Jube_ of Dixmude (see drawing). Other works of Taillebert are no less
+remarkable, notably the superb arcade with the Christ triumphant
+suspended between the columns at the principal entrance. He was also
+the sculptor of the mausoleum of Bishop Antoine de Hennin, erected in
+1622 in the choir.
+
+In the pavement before the altar a plain stone marked the resting place
+of the famous Corneille Jansen (Cornelius Jansenius), seventh Bishop of
+Ypres, who died of the pest the 6th of May, 1638. One recalls that the
+doctrine of Jansen gave birth to the sect of that name which still
+flourishes in Holland.
+
+Following the Rue de Lille one came upon the old tower of St. Pierre,
+massed among tall straight lines of picturesque poplars, its bulk
+recalling vaguely the belfry of the Cloth Hall. In this church was shown
+a curious little picture, representing the devil setting fire to the
+tower, which was destroyed in 1638, but was later rebuilt after the
+original plans. The interior had no dignity of style whatever. There
+were, however, some figures of the saints Peter and Paul attributed to
+Carel Van Yper, which merited the examination of connoisseurs. They are
+believed by experts to have been the "volets" of a triptych of which the
+center panel was missing.
+
+[Illustration: Gateway, Wall, and Old Moat: Ypres]
+
+The Place St. Pierre was picturesque and smiling. Following this route
+we found on the right at the end of a small street the hospital St.
+Jean, with an octagonal tower, which enshrined some pictures attributed
+to the prolific Carel Van Yper, comment upon which would be perhaps
+out of place here. On the corner of this street was a most charming old
+facade in process of demolishment, which we deplored.
+
+Now we reached the Porte de Lille again and the remains of the old walls
+of the town. Again and again we followed this same route, each time
+finding some new beauty or hidden antiquity which well repaid us for
+such persistence. Few of the towns of Flanders presented such treasures
+as were to be found in Ypres. Following the walk on the ramparts, past
+the _caserne_ or infantry barracks, one came upon the place of the
+ancient chateau of the counts, a vast construction under the name of "de
+Zaalhof." Here was an antique building called the "Lombard," dated 1616,
+covered with old iron "ancres" and crosses between the high small-paned
+windows.
+
+By the Rue de Beurre one regained the Grand' Place, passing through the
+silent old Place Van den Peereboom in the center of which was the statue
+of the old Burgomaster of that name.
+
+The aspect of this silent grass-grown square behind the Cloth Hall was
+most impressive. Here thronged the burghers of old, notably on the
+occasion of the entry of Charles the Bold and his daughter Marguerite,
+all clad in fur, lace, and velvet to astonish the inhabitants, who
+instead of being impressed, so outshone the visitors, by their own and
+their wives' magnificence of apparel, that Marguerite was reported to
+have left the banquet hall in pique. The belfry quite dominated the
+square at the eastern angle, where were the houses forming the
+_conciergerie_.
+
+Turning to the right by way of the Chemin de St. Martin, one found the
+ancient Beguinage latterly used by the gendarmerie as a station, the
+lovely old chapel turned into a stable! In this old town were hundreds
+of remarkable ancient houses, each of which merits description in this
+book. But perhaps in this brief and very fragmentary description the
+reader may find reason for the author's enthusiasm, and agree with him
+that Ypres was perhaps the most unique and interesting of all the
+destroyed towns in Flanders.
+
+
+
+
+Commines
+
+
+
+
+Commines
+
+
+It was not hard to realize that here we were in the country of
+Bras-de-Fer, of Memling, of Cuyp, and Thierry d'Alsace, for, on
+descending from the halting, bumping train at the small brick station,
+we were face to face with a bizarre, bulbous-topped tower rising above
+the houses surrounding a small square, and now quite crowded with large,
+hollow-backed, thick-legged Flemish horses, which might have been those
+of the followers of Thierry gathered in preparation for an onslaught
+upon one of the neighboring towns.
+
+It seemed as though any turning might bring us face to face with a grim
+cohort of mounted armed men in steel corselet and morion, bearing the
+banner of Spanish Philip, so sinister were the narrow, ill-paved
+streets, darkened by the projecting second stories of the somber,
+gray-stone houses. Rarely was there an open door or window. As we
+passed, our footsteps on the uneven stones awakened the echoes. A fine
+drizzle of rain which began to fall upon us from the leaden sky did not
+tend to enliven us, and we hastened toward the small Grand' Place, where
+I noted on a sign over a doorway the words, "In de Leeuw Van Vlanderen"
+(To the Flemish Lion), which promised at least shelter from the
+rainfall. Here we remained until the sun shone forth.
+
+Commines (Flemish, Komen) was formerly a fortified town of some
+importance in the period of the Great Wars of Flanders. It was the
+birthplace of Philip de Commines (1445-1509). It was, so to say, one of
+the iron hinges upon which the great military defense system of the
+burghers swung and creaked in those dark days. To-day, in these rich
+fields about the small town, one can find no traces of the old-time
+bastions which so well guarded the town from Van Artevelde's assaults.
+Inside the town were scarcely any trees, an unusual feature for
+Flanders, and on the narrow waterways floated but few craft.
+
+The only remarkable thing by virtue of its Renaissance style of
+architecture was the belfry and clock tower, although some of the old
+Flemish dwelling houses in the market square, projecting over an ogival
+Colonnade extending round one end of the square, and covering a sort of
+footway, were of interest, uplifting their step-like gables as a silent
+but eloquent protest against a posterity devoid of style, all of them to
+the right and left falling into line like two wings of stone in order to
+allow the carved front of the belfry to make a better show, and its
+pinnacled tower to rise the prouder against the sky.
+
+One was struck with the ascendency of the religious element over all
+forms of art, and this was a characteristic of the Flemings. One was
+everywhere confronted with a curious union of religion and war,
+representations peopled exclusively by seraphic beings surrounded or
+accompanied by armed warriors. Everything is adoration, resignation,
+incense fumes, psalmody, and crusaders. The greatest buildings we saw
+were ecclesiastical, the richest dresses were church vestments, even
+"the princes and burghers accompanied by armed knights remind one of
+ecclesiastics celebrating the Mass. All the women are holy virgins,
+seemingly. The chasm between the ideal and the reality itself, however
+idealized, but by meditation manifested pictorially." ("The Land of
+Rubens," C.B. Huet).
+
+We sat for an hour in the small, sooty, tobacco-smelling _estaminet_
+(from the Spanish _estamento_--an inn), and then the skies clearing
+somewhat we fared forth to explore the belfry, which in spite of its
+sadly neglected state was still applied to civic use. Some dark, heavy,
+oaken beams in the ceiling of the principal room showed delicately
+carved, fancy heads, some of them evidently portraits. At the rear of
+the tower on the ground floor, I came upon a vaulted apartment supported
+on columns, and being used as a storehouse. Its construction was so
+handsome, it was so beautifully lighted from without, as to make one
+grieve for its desecration; it may have served in the olden time as a
+refectory, and if so was doubtless the scene of great festivity in the
+time of Philip de Commines, who was noted for the magnificence of his
+entertainments.
+
+The Flemish burghers of the Middle Ages first built themselves a church;
+when that was finished, a great hall. That of Ypres took more than two
+hundred years to complete. How long this great tower of Commines took, I
+can only conjecture. Its semi-oriental pear-shaped (or onion-shaped, as
+you will) tower was certainly of great antiquity; even the unkempt
+little priest whom I questioned in the Grand' Place could give me little
+or no information concerning it. Indeed, he seemed to be on the point of
+resenting my questions, as though he thought that I was in some way
+poking fun at him. I presume that it was the scene of great splendor in
+their early days. For here a count of Flanders or a duke of Brabant
+exercised sovereign rights, and at such a ceremony as the laying of a
+corner-stone assumed the place of honor, although the real authority was
+with the burghers, and founded upon commerce. While granting this
+privilege, the Flemings ever hated autocracy. They loved pomp, but any
+attempt to exercise power over them infuriated them.
+
+[Illustration: The Belfry: Commines]
+
+"The architecture of the Fleming was the expression of aspiration,"
+says C.B. Huet ("The Land of Rubens").
+
+"The Flemish hall has often the form of a church; art history, aiming at
+classification, ranges it among the Gothic by reason of its pointed
+windows. The Hall usually is a defenceless feudal castle without moats,
+without porticullis, without loopholes. It occupies the center of a
+market-place. It is a temple of peace, its windows are as numerous as
+those in the choirs of that consecrated to the worship of God.
+
+"From the center of the building uprises an enormous mass, three, four,
+five stories high, as high as the cathedral, perhaps higher. It is the
+belfry, the transparent habitation of the alarm bell (as well as the
+chimes). The belfry cannot defend itself, a military character is
+foreign to it. But as warden of civic liberty it can, at the approach of
+domination from without, or autocracy uplifting its head within, awaken
+the threatened ones, and call them to arms in its own defence. The
+belfry is thus a symbol of a society expecting happiness from neither a
+dynasty nor from a military despotism, but solely from common
+institutions, from commerce and industry, from a citizen's life, budding
+in the shadow of the peaceful church, and borrowing its peaceful
+architecture from it. To the town halls of Flanders belonged the place
+of honor among the monuments of Belgian architecture. No other country
+of Europe offered so rich a variety in that respect.
+
+"Courtrai replaces Arras; Oudenaarde and Ypres follow suit. Then come
+Tournai, Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, Louvain. Primary Gothic,
+secondary Gothic, tertiary Gothic, satisfying every wish. Flanders and
+Brabant called the communal style into life. If ever Europe becomes a
+commune, the communards have but to go to Ypres to find motifs from
+their architects."
+
+Since this was written, in 1914, many, if not most, of these great
+buildings thus enumerated above, are now in ruins, utterly destroyed for
+all time!
+
+
+
+
+Bergues
+
+
+
+
+Bergues
+
+
+A tiny sleepy town among the fringe of great willow trees which marked
+the site of the ancient walls. Belted by its crumbling ramparts, and
+like a quaint gem set in the green enamel of the smiling landscape, it
+offered a resting place far from the cares and noise of the world.
+
+Quite ignored by the guide books, it had, I found, one of the most
+remarkable belfries to be found in the Netherlands, and a chime of sweet
+bells, whose melodious sounds haunted our memories for days after our
+last visit in 1910.
+
+There were winding, silent streets bordered by mysteriously closed and
+shuttered houses, but mainly these were small and of the peasant order.
+On the Grand' Place, for of course there was one, the tower sprang from
+a collection of rather shabby buildings, of little or no character, but
+this did not seem to detract from the magnificence of the great tower. I
+use the word "great" too often, I fear, but can find no other word in
+the language to qualify these "Campanili" of Flanders.
+
+This one was embellished with what are known as "ogival arcatures,"
+arranged in zones or ranks, and there were four immense turrets, one at
+each corner, these being in turn covered with arcatures of the same
+character. These flanked the large open-work, gilded, clock face.
+Surmounting this upon a platform was a construction in the purely
+Flemish style, containing the chime of bells, and the machinery of the
+carillon, and topping all was a sort of inverted bulb or gourd-shaped
+turret, covered with blue slate, with a gilded weathervane about which
+the rooks flew in clouds.
+
+The counterpart of this tower was not to be found anywhere in the
+Netherlands, and one is surprised that it was so little known.
+
+[Illustration: The Towers of St. Winoc: Bergues]
+
+Upon the occasion of our visit the town was given up to the heavy and
+stolid festivities of the "Kermesse," which is now of interest here only
+to the laboring class and the small farmers of the region. The center of
+attraction, as we found in several other towns, seemed to be an
+incredibly fat woman emblazoned on a canvas as the "Belle Heloise" who
+was seated upon a sort of throne draped in red flannel, and exhibited a
+pair of extremities resembling in size the masts of a ship, to the great
+wonder of the peasants. There were also some shabby merry-go-rounds with
+wheezy organs driven by machinery, and booths in which hard-featured
+show women were frying waffles in evil smelling grease. After buying
+some of these for the children who stood about with watering mouths,
+we left the "Kermesse" and wandered away down a silent street towards a
+smaller tower rising from a belt of dark trees.
+
+This we found to be the remains of the ancient abbey of St. Winoc. A
+very civil mannered young priest who overtook us on the road informed us
+of this, and volunteered further the information that we were in what
+was undoubtedly the ancient _jardin-clos_ of the Abbey. Of this retreat
+only the two towers standing apart in the long grass remained, one very
+heavy and square, supported by great buttresses of discolored brick, the
+other octangular, in stages, and retaining its high graceful steeple.
+
+We were unable to gain entrance to either of these towers, the doorways
+being choked with weeds and the debris of fallen masonry. [The invaders
+destroyed both of these fine historical remains in November, 1914,
+alleging that they were being used for military observation by the
+Belgian army.] These small towns of Flanders had a simple dignity of
+their own which was of great attraction to the tourist, who could,
+without disillusionment, imagine himself back in the dim past. In the
+wayside inns or _estaminets_ one could extract amusement and profit
+listening to the peasantry or admiring the sunlight dancing upon the
+array of bottles and glass on the leaden counters, or watch the
+peasants kneel and cross themselves before the invariable quaint niched
+figure of the Virgin and Child under the hanging lighted lantern at a
+street corner, the evidence of the piety of the village, or the throngs
+of lace-capped, rosy-cheeked milkmaids with small green carts drawn by
+large, black, "slobbering" dogs of fierce mien, from the distant farms,
+on their way to market.
+
+Thus the everyday life of the region was rendered poetic and artistic,
+and all with the most charming unconsciousness.
+
+
+
+
+Nieuport
+
+
+
+
+Nieuport
+
+
+In the midst of a level field to the east of the town of Nieuport in
+1914 was a high square weather-beaten tower, somewhat ruinous, built of
+stone and brick in strata, showing the different eras of construction in
+the various colors of the brick work ranging from light reds to dark
+browns and rich blacks. This tower, half built and square topped,
+belonged to a structure begun in the twelfth century, half monastery,
+half church, erected by the Templars as a stronghold. Repeatedly
+attacked and set on fire, it escaped complete destruction, although
+nearly laid in ruins by the English and burghers of Ghent in 1383, the
+year of the famous siege of Ypres. During the Wars of 1600, it was an
+important part of the fortifications, and from the platform of its tower
+the Spanish garrison commanded a clear view of the surrounding country
+and the distance beyond the broad moat, which then surrounded the strong
+walls of Nieuport.
+
+In plain view from this tower top were the houses of Furnes, grouped
+about the church of Saint Nicolas to the southwest, while to the north
+the wide belt of dunes, or sand hills, defended the plains from the
+North Sea. Nearer were the populous villages of Westende and
+Lombaerd-Zyde, connected with Nieuport by numerous small lakes and
+canals derived from the channel of the Yser river, which flowed past the
+town on its way to the sea.
+
+[Illustration: The Tower of the Templars: Nieuport]
+
+The history of Nieuport, from the terrible days of the Spanish invasion
+down to these days of even worse fate, has been pitiable. Its former sea
+trade after the Spanish invasion was never recovered, and its
+population, which was beginning to be thrifty and prosperous up to 1914,
+has now entirely disappeared. Nieuport is now in ashes and ruins. When I
+passed the day there in the summer of 1910, it was a sleepy, quiet spot,
+a small fishing village, with old men and women sitting in doorways and
+on the waysides, mending nets, and knitting heavy woolen socks or
+sweaters of dark blue. In the small harbor were the black hulls of
+fishing boats tied up to the quaysides, and a small steamer from Ghoole
+was taking on a cargo of potatoes and beets. Some barges laden with wood
+were being pulled through the locks by men harnessed to a long tow rope,
+and a savage dog on one of these barges menaced me with dripping fangs
+and bloodshot eyes when I stopped to talk to the steersman, who sat on
+the tiller smoking a short, evil-smelling pipe, while his "vrouwe" was
+hanging out a heavy wash of vari-colored garments on a line from the
+staff on the bow to a sweep fastened upright to the cabin wall.
+
+The ancient fortification had long since disappeared--those "impregnable
+walls of stone" which once defended the town from the assaults of Philip
+the Second. I found with some difficulty a few grass-grown mounds where
+they had been, and only the gray, grim tower of the Templars, standing
+solitary in a turnip field, remained to show what had been a mighty
+stronghold. In the town, however, were souvenirs enough to occupy an
+antiquary for years to his content and profit. There was the Cloth Hall,
+with its five pointed low arched doorways from which passed in and out
+the Knights of the Temple gathered for the first pilgrimage to the Holy
+Land. On this market square too was the great Gothic Church, one of the
+largest and most important in all Flanders, and on this afternoon in the
+summer of 1910, I attended a service here, while in the tower a bell
+ringer played the chime of famous bells which now lie in broken
+fragments amid the ashes of the fallen tower.
+
+Here was fought the bloody "Battle of the Dunes," between the Dutch and
+the Spaniards in those dim days of long ago, when the stubborn
+determination of the Netherlanders overcame the might and fiery valor of
+the Spanish invaders.
+
+From time to time the peasants laboring in the fields uncovered bones,
+broken steel breast-plates, and weapons, which they brought to the
+museum on the Grand' Place, and which the sleepy _custode_ showed me
+with reluctance, until I offered him a franc. It is curious that famous
+Nieuport, for which so much blood was shed in those early days, should
+again have been a famous battle ground between the handful of valiant
+soldiers of the heroic King Albert and a mighty Teutonic foe.
+
+The dim gray town with its silent streets, the one time home of romance
+and chivalry, the scene of deeds of knightly valor, is now done for
+forever. It is not likely that it can ever again be of importance, for
+its harbor is well-nigh closed by drifting sand. But I shall always keep
+the vision I had of it that summer day, in its market place, its gabled
+houses against the luminous sky, its winding streets, and narrow byways
+across which the roofs almost touch each other. The ancient palaces are
+now in ruins, and the peaceful population scattered abroad, charges upon
+the charity of the world. Certainly a woeful picture in contrast to the
+content of other days.
+
+The vast green plains behind the dunes, or sand hills, extend unbrokenly
+from here to the French frontier, spire after spire dominating small
+towns, and windmills, are the objects seen. To some the flatness is most
+monotonous, but to those who find pleasure in the paintings of Cuyp, the
+country is very picturesque. The almost endless succession of green,
+well-cultivated fields and farmsteads is most entertaining, and the many
+canals winding their silvery ways through the country, between rows of
+pollards; the well kept though small country houses embowered in woody
+enclosures; the fruitful orchards in splendid cultivation; the gardens
+filled with fair flowers and the "most compact little towns"--these give
+the region a romance and attraction all its own.
+
+[Illustration: The Town Hall--Hall of the Knights Templars: Nieuport]
+
+Here and there is a hoary church erected in forgotten times on ground
+dedicated to Thor or Wodin. This part of the country bordering the fifty
+mile stretch of coast line on the North Sea was given over latterly to
+the populous bathing establishments and their new communities, but the
+other localities, such as Tournai, Courtrai, Oudenaarde or Alost, were
+seldom visited by strangers, whose advent created almost as much
+excitement as it would in Timbuctoo. It was not inaccessible, but the
+roads were not good for automobiles; they were mainly paved with rough
+"Belgian" blocks of stone, high in the center, with a dirt roadway on
+either side, used by the peasants and quite rutty.
+
+A walking tour for any but the hardiest pedestrian was out of the
+question, so I was told that the best way for a "bachelor" traveler was
+to secure transportation on the canal boats. This was the warning that
+our kind hearted landlord in Antwerp gave us, after vainly endeavoring
+to discourage us from leaving him for such a tour.
+
+The canals, however, are not numerous enough in this region, I found,
+and besides there are various other disadvantages which I leave to the
+reader's imagination.
+
+In addition to the main lines of the State Railway, there were what are
+called "Chemins-de-fer-vicinaux," small narrow gauge railways which
+traversed Belgium in all directions. On these the fares were very
+reasonable, and they formed an ideal way in which to study the country
+and the people. There were first, second and third class carriages on
+these, hung high on tall wheels, which looked very unsafe, but were not
+really so. The classes varied only in the trimming of the windows, and
+quality of the cushions on the benches. Rarely if ever, were those
+marked "I Klasse" used. Those of the second class were used sometimes;
+but the third class cars were generally very crowded with peasantry, who
+while invariably good humored and civil were certainly evil smelling,
+and intolerant of open windows and fresh air. The men and boys generally
+smoked a particularly vile-smelling black tobacco, of which they seemed
+very fond, and although some of the cars were marked "Niet rooken" (no
+smoking) no one seemed to object to the fumes.
+
+[Illustration: Tower of the Grand' Place: Nieuport]
+
+Here one seldom saw the purely Spanish type of face so usual in Antwerp
+and Brabant. The race seemed purer, and the peasants used the pure
+Flemish tongue. Few of the elders I found spoke French fluently,
+although the children used it freely to each other, of course
+understanding and speaking Flemish also.
+
+There were various newspapers published in the Flemish language
+exclusively. These, however, were very primitive, given over entirely to
+purely local brevities, and the prices of potatoes, beets and other
+commodities, and containing also a "feuilleton" of interest to the
+farmers and laborers.
+
+There were several "organs" of the Flemish Patriotic party devoted to
+the conservation and preservation of the Flemish language and the
+ancient traditions, which were powerful among the people, although their
+circulation could not have been very profitable. The peasantry in truth
+were very ignorant, and knew of very little beyond their own parishes.
+The educational standard of the people of West Flanders was certainly
+low, and it was a matter of comment among the opponents of the
+established church, that education being in the hands of the clergy,
+they invariably defeated plans for making it compulsory. But
+nevertheless, the peasantry were to all appearances both contented and
+fairly happy.
+
+As their wants were few and primitive, their living was cheap. Their
+fare was coffee, of which they consumed a great deal, black bread, salt
+pork and potatoes. The use of oleomargarine was universal in place of
+butter. They grew tobacco in their small gardens for their own use, and
+also, it is whispered, smuggled it [and gin] over the border into
+France. They worked hard and long from five in the morning until seven
+or eight in the evening.
+
+The Flemish farmhouse was generally well built, if somewhat untidy
+looking, with the pigstys and out buildings in rather too close
+proximity for comfort. There was usually a large living room with heavy
+sooty beams overhead, and thick walls pierced by quaint deeply sunken
+windows furnished often with seats. These picturesque rooms often
+contained "good finds" of the old Spanish furniture, and brass; but as a
+rule the dealers had long since bought up all the old things, replacing
+them by "brummagem,"--modern articles shining with cheap varnish.
+
+The peasants themselves in their everyday clothes certainly did not
+impress the observer greatly. They were not picturesque, they wore the
+sabot or "Klompen," yellow varnished, and clumsy in shape. Their
+stockings were coarse gray worsted. Their short trousers were usually
+tied with a string above the calf, and they wore a sort of smock,
+sometimes of linen unbleached, or of a shining sort of dark purple thin
+stuff.
+
+The usual headgear was for the men a cap with a glazed peak and for the
+women and girls a wide flapped embroidered linen cap, but this headgear
+was worn only in the country towns and villages. Elsewhere the costume
+was fast disappearing. On Sundays when dressed in their holiday clothes
+these peasants going to or returning from mass, looked respectable and
+fairly prosperous, and it was certainly clear that although poor in
+worldly goods, these animated and laughing throngs were far from being
+unhappy or dissatisfied with life as they found it in West Flanders.
+
+
+
+
+Alost
+
+
+
+
+Alost
+
+
+The ancient Hotel de Ville on the Grand' Place was unique, not for its
+great beauty, for it had none, but for its quaintness, in the singular
+combination of several styles of architecture. Without going into any
+details its attraction was in what might be called its venerable
+coquettishness,--bizarre, one might have styled it, but that the word
+conveys some hint of lack of dignity. One is at a loss just how to
+characterize its attractiveness. Against the sky its towers and minarets
+held one's fancy by their very lightness and airiness, the lanterns and
+_fleches_ presupposing a like grace and proportion in the edifice below.
+The great square belfry at one side seemed to shoulder aside the
+structure with its beautiful Renaissance facade and portal and quite
+dominate it.
+
+My note book says that it dated from the fifteenth century, and its
+appearance certainly bore evidence of this statement. It had been
+erected in sections at various periods, and these periods were marked in
+the various courses of brick, showing every variety of tone of dull
+reds, buffs, and mellow purplish browns. The effect was quite
+delightful. The tower contained a fine carillon of bells arranged on a
+rather bizarre platform, giving a most quaint effect to the turret which
+surmounted it. The face of the tower bore four niches, two at each side
+of the center and upper windows, and these contained time worn statues
+of the noble counts of Alost. On the wall below was a tablet bearing the
+inscription "Ni Espoir, Ni Craint," and this I was told referred either
+to the many sieges which the town suffered, or a pestilence which
+depopulated the whole region. A huge gilt clock face shone below the
+upper gallery, at each corner of which sprang a stone gargoyle.
+
+The old square upon which this tower was placed was quite in keeping
+with it. There were rows of gabled stone houses of great antiquity,
+still inhabited, stretching away in an array of facades, gables, and
+most fantastic roofs, all of mellow toned tile, brick and stone.
+
+[Illustration: The Town Hall: Alost]
+
+Thierry Moertens, who was a renowned master printer of the Netherlands,
+was born here, and is said to have established in Alost the "very first
+printing house in Flanders." From this press issued a translation of the
+Holy Bible, which was preserved in the Museum of Brussels, together with
+other fine specimens of his skill. A very good statue in bronze to this
+master printer was in the center of the market place, and on the
+occasion of my last visit, there was a sort of carnival in the town,
+with a great gathering of farmers and merchants and their families from
+the surrounding country all gathered about the square, which was filled
+with wagons, horses, booths, and merry-go-rounds, above which the statue
+of the old master printer appeared in great dignity. There was a great
+consumption of beer and waffles at the small _estaminets_, and the
+chimes in the belfry played popular songs at intervals to the delight of
+these simple happy people, all unaware of the great catastrophe of the
+war into which they were about to be plunged.
+
+A disastrous conflagration destroyed most of Alost in 1360, and
+thereafter history deals with the fury of the religious wars conducted
+by the Spanish against Alost, a most strongly fortified town. The story
+of the uniting of these Spanish troops under the leadership of Juan de
+Navarese is well known. Burning and sacking and murder were the sad lot
+of Alost and its unfortunate citizens, who had hardly recovered, ere the
+Duke d'Alencon arrived before the walls with his troops, bent upon
+mischief. The few people remaining after his onslaught died like flies
+during the plague which broke out the following year, and the town bid
+fair to vanish forever.
+
+Rubens painted a large and important picture based upon the destruction
+of Alost, and this work was hanging in the old church of St. Martin just
+before the outbreak of the war in 1914. Its fate is problematical, for
+St. Martin's Church was razed to the ground in the bombardment in
+1914-15, the charge being the usual one that the tower was used for
+military purposes by the French.
+
+This old church with its curious bulbous tower cap was at the end of a
+small street, and my last view of it was on the occasion of a church
+fete in which some dignitaries were present, for I saw them all clad in
+scarlet and purple walking beneath silken canopies attended by priests
+bearing lighted lanterns (although the sun was shining brightly at the
+time) and acolytes swinging fragrant smoking censers. We were directed
+to a rather shabby looking hostelry, over the door of which was an
+emblazoned coat of arms of Flanders, where we were assured we could get
+"dejeuner" before leaving the town.
+
+As usual, a light drizzle came on, and the streets became deserted. The
+hotel was a wretched one and the meal furnished us was in character with
+it. We were waited on by a sour, taciturn old man who bore a dirty towel
+on his arm, as a sort of badge of office, I presume. He nodded or shook
+his head as the case might demand, but not a word could I extract from
+him. At the close of our meal, which we dallied over, waiting for the
+rain to cease, I called for the bill, which was produced after a long
+wait, and proved to be, as I anticipated, excessive. We had coffee and
+hot milk and some cold chicken and salad. This repast, for two, came to
+twelve francs. And as the "chicken" had reached its old age long before,
+and the period of its roasting must have taken place at an uncertain
+date, this, together with the fact that the lettuce was wilted, placed
+these items upon the proscribed list for us. The coffee and hot milk,
+however, was good and, thus revived and rested, I paid the bill without
+protest, and having retained the carriage which we hired at the station,
+I bundled our belongings into it. I had resolved not to tip the surly
+old fellow, but a gleam in his eye made me hesitate. Then I weakened and
+gave him a franc.
+
+To my amazement he said in excellent English: "I thank you, sir; you are
+a kind, good and patient man, and madam is a most charming and gracious
+lady. I am sorry your breakfast was so bad, but I can do nothing here;
+these people are impossible; but it is no fault of mine." And shaking
+his head he vanished into the doorway of the hotel. Driving away, I
+glanced up at the windows, where behind the curtains I thought I saw
+several faces watching us furtively. It might be that we had missed an
+adventure in coming away. Had I been alone I should have chanced it, for
+the old waiter interested me with his sudden confidence and his command
+of English. But whatever his story might have been, it must ever be to
+me a closed book. Quaint Alost among the trees is now a heap of
+blackened ruins.
+
+
+
+
+Courtrai
+
+
+
+
+Courtrai
+
+
+The two large and impressive stone towers flanking a bridge of three
+arches over the small sluggish river Lys were those of the celebrated
+Broel, dating from the fourteenth century. The towers were called
+respectively the "Speytorre" and the "Inghelbrugtorre." The first named
+on the south side of the river formed part of the ancient "enceinte" of
+the first chateau of Philip of Alsace, and was erected in the twelfth
+century, and famed with the chateau of Lille, as the most formidable
+strongholds of Flanders. The "Inghelbrugtorre" was erected in 1411-13,
+and strongly resembles its sister tower opposite. It was furnished with
+loopholes for both archers and for "arquebusiers," as well as openings
+for the discharge of cannon and the casting of molten pitch and lead
+upon the heads of besiegers after the fashion of warfare as conducted
+during the wars of the Middle Ages. The Breton soldiers under Charles
+the Eleventh attacked and almost razed this great stronghold in 1382.
+
+A sleepy old _custode_ whom we aroused took us down into horrible
+dungeons, where, with a dripping tallow candle, he showed us some iron
+rings attached to the dripping walls below the surface of the river
+where prisoners of state were chained in former times, and told us that
+the walls here were three or four yards thick. The town was one of
+beauty and great charm, and here we stopped for a week in a most
+delightfully kept small hotel on the square, which was bordered with
+fine large trees, both linden and chestnut.
+
+The town was famed in history for the Great Battle of the Spurs which
+took place outside the walls, in the year 1302, on the plains of
+Groveninghe. History mentions the fact that "seven hundred golden spurs
+were picked up afterwards on the battlefield and hung in the cathedral."
+These we were unable to locate.
+
+The water of the Lys, flowing through the town and around the remains of
+the ancient walls, was put to practical use by the inhabitants in the
+preparation of flax, for which the town was renowned.
+
+[Illustration: The Belfry: Courtrai]
+
+It ranked with the old city of Bruges in importance up to 1914, when it
+had some thirty-five thousand inhabitants. In the middle of the
+beflowered Grand' Place stood a quaint brick belfry containing a good
+chime of bells, and on market days when surrounded with the farmers'
+green wagons and the lines of booths about which the people gathered
+chaffering, its appearance was picturesque enough to satisfy anyone,
+even the most blase of travelers. The belfry had four large gilt clock
+faces, and its bells could be plainly seen through the windows hanging
+from the huge beams. On the tower were gilded escutcheons, and a couple
+of armor-clad statues in niches. There was a fine church dedicated to
+Notre Dame, which was commenced by Baldwin in 1199, and a very beautiful
+"Counts Chapel" with rows of statues of counts and countesses of
+Flanders whose very names were forgotten.
+
+Here was one of the few remaining "Beguinages" of Flanders, which we
+might have overlooked but for the kindness of a passerby who, seeing
+that we were strangers, pointed out the doorway to us.
+
+On either hand were small houses through the windows of which one could
+see old women sitting bowed over cushions rapidly moving the bobbins
+over the lace patterns. A heavy black door gave access to the Beguinage,
+a tiny retreat, _Noye de Silence_, inaugurated, tradition says, in 1238,
+by Jean de Constantinople, who gave it as a refuge for the Sisters of
+St. Bogga. And here about a small grass grown square in which was a
+statue of the saint, dwelt a number of self-sacrificing women, bound by
+no vow, who had consecrated their lives to the care of the sick and
+needy.
+
+We spent an hour in this calm and fragrant retreat, where there was no
+noise save the sweet tolling of the convent bell, and the cooing of
+pigeons on the ridge pole of the chapel.
+
+In the square before the small station was a statue, which after
+questioning a number of people without result, I at length found to be
+that of Jean Palfyn who, my informant assured me, was the inventor of
+the forceps, and expressed surprise that I should be so interested in
+statuary as to care "who it was." He asked me if I was not English and
+when I answered that I was an American, looked somewhat dazed, much as
+if I had said "New Zealander" or "Kamschatkan," and was about to ask me
+some further question, but upon consideration thought better of it, and
+turned away shrugging his shoulders.
+
+To show how well the river Lys is loved by the people, I quote here a
+sort of prose poem by a local poet, one Adolph Verriest. It is called
+"Het Leielied."
+
+"La Lys flows over the level fields of our beautiful country, its fecund
+waters reflecting the blue of our wondrous Flemish landscape. Active and
+diligent servant, it seems to work ever to our advantage, multiplying in
+its charming sinuosities its power for contributing to our prosperity,
+accomplishing our tasks, and granting our needs. It gives to our lives
+ammunition and power. The noise of busy mills and the movement of bodies
+of workmen in its banks is sweet music in our ears, in tune to the
+rippling of its waters.
+
+"A silver ribbon starred with the blue corn-flower, the supple textile
+baptised in its soft waters is transformed by the hand of man into
+cloudy lace, into snowy linen, into fabrics of filmy lightness for my
+lady's wear, La Lys, name significant and fraught with poetry for
+us--giving life to the germ of the flax which it conserves through all
+its life better than any art of the chemist in the secret chambers of
+his laboratory.
+
+"Thanks to this gracious river, our lovely town excels in napery and is
+known throughout all the world. In harvest time the banks of the Lys are
+thronged with movement, the harvesters in quaint costumes, their bodies
+moving rhythmically to the words of the songs they sing, swinging the
+heavy bundles of flax from the banks to the level platforms, where it is
+allowed to sleep in the water, and later the heavy wagons are loaded to
+the cadence of other songs appropriate to the work. Large picturesque
+colored windmills wave their brown velvety hued sails against the piled
+up masses of cloud, and over all is intense color, life and movement.
+
+"The river plays then a most important part in the life on the Flemish
+plains about Courtrai, giving their daily bread to the peasants, and
+lending poetry to their existence. So, O Lys, our beautiful benefactor,
+we love you."
+
+At this writing (March, 1916) Courtrai is still occupied by the troops
+of the German Kaiser, and with the exception of the destruction of the
+Broel towers, the church of St. Martin, and the Old Belfry in the market
+place, the town is said to be "intact."
+
+Whenever possible we traveled through the Flemish littoral on the small
+steam trams, "chemins-de-fer-vicinaux," as they are called in French, in
+the Flemish tongue "Stoomtram," passing through fertile green meadows
+dotted with fat, sleek, black and white cows, and embossed with shining
+silvery waterways connecting the towns and villages. We noticed Englishy
+cottages of white stucco and red tiled roofs, amid well kept fields and
+market gardens in which both men and women seemed to toil from dawn to
+dewy evening. Flanders before the war was simply covered with these
+light railways. The little trains of black carriages drawn by puffing
+covered motors, discharging heavy black clouds of evil-smelling smoke
+and oily soot, rushed over the country from morning until night, and the
+clanging of the motorman's bell seemed never ending.
+
+[Illustration: The Broel Towers: Courtrai]
+
+To see the country thus was a privilege, and was most interesting, for
+one had to wait in the squares of the small towns, or at other central
+places until the corresponding motor arrived before the journey could
+proceed. Here there was a sort of exchange established where the
+farmers compared notes as to the rise or fall in commodities, or
+perchance the duty upon beets and potatoes.
+
+Loud and vehement was the talk upon these matters; really, did one not
+know the language, one might have fancied that a riot was imminent.
+
+One morning we halted at a small village called Gheluwe, where the train
+stopped beside a white-washed wall, and everyone got out, as the custom
+is. There seemed no reason for stopping here, for we were at some
+distance from the village, the spire of which could be seen above a belt
+of heavy trees ahead. The morning was somewhat chilly, and the only
+other occupant of the compartment was a young cleric with a soiled white
+necktie. He puffed away comfortably at a very thin, long, and
+evil-smelling "stogie" which he seemed to enjoy immensely, and which in
+the Flemish manner he seemed to eat as he smoked, eyeing us the while
+amicably though absent mindedly, as if we were far removed from his
+vicinity. As we neared the stopping place, two very jolly young farmer
+boys raced with the train in their quaint barrow-like wagon painted a
+bright green, and drawn by a pair of large dogs who foamed and panted
+past us "ventre a terre," with red jaws and flopping tongues.
+
+Had we not known of this breed of dogs we might have fancied, as many
+strangers do, that Flemish dogs are badly treated, but this is not the
+case. These dogs are very valuable, worth sometimes as much as five
+hundred francs (about $100).
+
+Inspections of these dogs are held regularly by the authorities. The
+straps and the arrangement of the girths are tested lest they should
+chafe the animal, and, I am told, the law now requires that a piece of
+carpet be carried for the animal to lie upon when resting, and a
+drinking bowl also has been added to the equipment of each cart. The
+dogs do not suffer. They are bred for the cart, and are called "_chiens
+de traite_," so that the charge of cruelty upon the part of ignorant
+tourists may be dismissed as untrue. There is a society for the
+prevention of cruelty to animals, and it is not unusual to see its sign
+displayed in the market places, with the caution "_Traitez les animaux
+avec douceur_." Rarely if ever is a case brought into court by the
+watchful police.
+
+The young cleric gazed at us inquiringly, as if he expected to hear us
+exclaim about the cruelty to animals, but catching his eye I smiled, and
+said something about "_ces bons chiens_," at which he seemed relieved,
+and nodded back grinning, but he did not remove the stogie from his
+mouth.
+
+Priests in Flanders seemed to enjoy much liberty of action, and do
+things not possible elsewhere. For instance, at Blankenberghe, a
+fashionable watering place on the coast, I saw a prosperous, well-fed
+one (if I may so characterize him without meaning any offense) dining at
+the Great Gasthof on the digue, who after finishing his _filet aux
+champignons_, with a bottle of _Baune superior_, ordered his "_demi
+tasse_" with _fine champagne_, and an Havana cigar which cost him not
+less than three francs (sixty cents) which he smoked like a connoisseur
+while he listened to the fine military band playing in the Kiosk. And
+why not, if you please?
+
+We remained for nearly twenty minutes beside this white wall at the
+roadside, the animated discussions of the farmers continuing, for the
+group was constantly augmented by fresh arrivals who meant to travel
+with us or back to the town from which we had come. It was here that we
+saw the first stork in Flanders, where indeed they are uncommon. This
+one had a nest in a large tree nearby. One of the boys shied a small
+stone at him as he flapped overhead, but, I think, without any idea of
+hitting him. The peasants assembled here eyed us narrowly. They probed
+me and my belongings with eyes of corkscrew penetration, but since this
+country of theirs was a show place to me, I argued that I had no right
+to object to their making in return a show of me. But such scrutiny is
+not comfortable, especially if one is seated in a narrow compartment,
+and the open-mouthed _vis a vis_ gazes at one with steely bluish green
+unwinking eyes--somewhat red rimmed. Especially if such scrutiny is
+accompanied by free comments upon one's person, delivered in a voice so
+pitched as to convey the information to all the other occupants, and
+mayhap the engine driver ahead.
+
+The other train at length arrived, there was an interchange of occupants
+and then we proceeded amid heavy clouds of thick black smoke which, for
+a time, the wind blew with us. Across the tilled fields are narrow paths
+leading to dykes and roads. There are many green ditches filled with
+water and in them we could see rather heavy splashes from time to time.
+These we discovered were made by large green bull frogs--really monsters
+they were, too. Of course we were below the sea level here, but one
+cannot credit the old story about the boy who plugged the dyke with his
+thumb, thereby saving the whole country.
+
+The dykes are many feet high and as the foundation is composed of heavy
+black stones, then layers of great red bricks and tiles, and finally
+turf and large willow branches interlaced most cunningly like giant
+basket work, such a story is impossible.
+
+My _vis a vis_, all the while regarding me unwinkingly, overheard me
+speak to A--, in English.
+
+Then he slowly took the stogie from his mouth and ejaculated,
+"_Ach--Engelsch!--Do it well met you?_"
+
+I replied that it certainly did.
+
+"_And met Madame?_"
+
+I nodded.
+
+"_Alst' u blieft mynheer--sir,_" he said. Then he changed his seat and
+thereafter related to the others that he had conversed with the
+strangers, who were English, and were traveling for pleasure, being
+_enormously rich_. I think thereafter he enjoyed the reputation of being
+an accomplished linguist. So, pleasantly did we amble along the narrow
+little steam tramway through luxurious green fields and smiling fertile
+landscape of the Flemish littoral in our well rewarded search for the
+quaint and the unusual.
+
+The Gothic Town Hall, a remarkable construction on the Grand' Place, and
+erected 1526, has been restored with a great amount of good taste in
+recent years, and the statues on its facade have been replaced with such
+skill that one is not conscious of modern work.
+
+The great Hall of the Magistrates on the ground floor, with its
+magnificent furniture, and the admirable modern mural paintings by the
+Flemish artists Guffens and Severts (1875) was worth a journey to see.
+The most noteworthy of these paintings represented the "Departure of
+Baldwin IX," Count of Flanders, at the beginning of the Fourth Crusade
+in 1202, and the "Consultation of the Flemish, before the great Battle
+of the Spurs" in 1302.
+
+In this chamber is a remarkable Renaissance mantelpiece, which is
+embellished with the arms of the Allied Towns of Bruges and Ghent,
+between which are the standard bearers of the doughty Knights of
+Courtrai, and two statues of the Archduke Albert and his Lady, all
+surrounding a statue of the Holy Virgin.
+
+On the upper floor is the Council Chamber, in which is another
+mantelpiece hardly less ornate and interesting, and executed in what may
+be called the "flamboyant" manner in rich polychrome. It is dated 1527
+and was designed by (one of the) Keldermans (?).
+
+It has rows or ranges of statuary said to represent both the Vices and
+the Virtues. Below are reliefs indicating the terrible punishment
+inflicted upon those who transgress. Statues of Charles V, the Infanta
+Isabella, and others are on _corbels_.
+
+Very large drawn maps of the ancient town and its dependencies cover the
+walls, and these are dated 1641.[1]
+
+
+
+
+Termonde (Dendermonde)
+
+
+
+
+Termonde (Dendermonde)
+
+
+A strange half deserted little town on the right bank of the river
+Scheldt, clustered about a bridge, on both sides of a small sluggish
+stream called the "Dendre," where long lines of women were washing
+clothes the live-long day, and chattering like magpies the while. A
+Grand' Place, with heavy trees at one side, and on the other many small
+_estaminets_ and drinking shops. That was Termonde. My note book says
+"Population 10,000, town fortified; forbidden to make sketches outside
+the walls, which are fortifications. Two good pictures in old church of
+Notre Dame, by Van Dyck, 'Crucifixion' and an 'Adoration of the
+Shepherds' (1635). Fine Hotel de Ville, with five gables and sculptured
+decoration. Also belfry of the fourteenth century."
+
+Termonde is famed throughout Flanders as the birthplace of the "Four
+sons of Aymon," and the exploits of the great horse Bayard. The legend
+of the Four Sons of Aymon is endeared to the people, and they never tire
+of relating the story in song as well as prose. Indeed this legend is
+perhaps the best preserved of all throughout Flanders. It dates from the
+time of Charlemagne, the chief of the great leaders of Western Europe,
+whose difficulty in governing and keeping in subjection and order his
+warlike and turbulent underlords and vassals is a matter of history
+known to almost every schoolboy.
+
+Among these vassal lordlings, whose continued raids and grinding
+exactions caused him most anxious moments, was a certain Duke (Herzog)
+called Aymon, who had four sons, named Renault, Allard, Guichard, and
+Ricard, all of most enormous stature and prodigious strength. Of these
+Renault was the tallest, the strongest, the most agile, and the most
+cunning. In height he measured what would correspond to sixteen feet,
+"and he could span a man's waist with his hand, and lifting him in the
+air, squeeze him to death." This was one of his favorite tricks with the
+enemy in battle.
+
+Aymon had a brother named Buves who dwelt in Aigremont, which is near
+Huy, and one may still see there the castle of Aymon, who was also
+called the Wild Boar of the Ardennes. This brother Buves in a fit of
+anger against Charlemagne for some fancied slight, sent an insulting
+message to the latter, refusing his command to accompany him on his
+expedition against the Saracens, which so exasperated Charlemagne that
+he sent one of his sons to remonstrate with Buves and if need be, to
+threaten him with vengeance, in case he persisted in refusing. Buves was
+ready, and without waiting to receive his message, he met the messenger
+half way and promptly murdered him.
+
+Then Charlemagne, in a fury, sent a large and powerful body of men to
+punish Buves, who was killed in the battle which took place at
+Aigremont. Thereupon the four sons of Aymon met and over their swords
+swore vengeance against Charlemagne, and betook themselves to the
+fastnesses of the Ardennes, in which they built for themselves the great
+Castle of Montfort which is said to have been even stronger than that
+called Aigremont.
+
+On the banks of the river Ourthe may still be seen the great gray bulk
+of its ruins. About this stronghold they constructed high walls, and
+there they sent out challenges defying the great Emperor.
+
+Now each of the four sons had his own fashion of fighting. Renault
+fought best on horseback, and to him Maugis son of Buves brought a great
+horse named Bayard ("Beiaard" in Flemish) of magic origin, possessed of
+demoniac powers, among which was the ability to run like the wind and
+never grow weary. Here in this stronghold the four sons of Aymon dwelt,
+making occasional sallies against the vassals of Charlemagne, until at
+length the Emperor gathered a mighty force of soldiers and horses and
+engines and scaling ladders, and, surrounding the stronghold, at length
+succeeded in capturing it.
+
+Tradition says that among Charlemagne's retinue was Aymon himself, and
+intimates that it was by the father's treachery that the four mighty
+sons were almost captured, but at any rate the great castle of Montfort
+was reduced to ashes and ruin, and only the fact of Renault's taking the
+other brothers on the back of the wondrous horse Bayard saved them all
+from the Emperor's fury. So they escaped into Gascony, where they
+independently attacked the Saracens and drove them forth and extended
+their swords to the King of Gascony, Yon, who treacherously delivered
+them in chains over to Charlemagne. These chains they broke and threw in
+the Emperor's face, fighting their way to freedom with their bare hands.
+
+History thereafter is silent as to their end. Of Renault it is known
+only that he became a friar at Cologne, where his skill and strength
+were utilized by the authorities in building the walls, and that one day
+while at work, some masons whom he had offended crept up behind him and
+pushed him off a great height into the River Rhine, and thus he was
+drowned. Years afterward the Church canonized him, and in Westphalia at
+Dortmund may be seen a monument erected in his memory extolling his
+prowess, his deeds, and his strength.
+
+As to the great and magical horse Bayard, the chronicle says that,
+captured finally by Charlemagne's soldiers and brought before him, the
+Emperor deliberated what he should do with it, since it refused to be
+ridden. Finally he ordered that the largest mill stone in the region
+should be made fast to its neck by heavy chains, and that it should then
+be cast into the River Meuse.
+
+Bayard contemptuously shook off the heavy stone and with steam pouring
+from his nostrils, gave three neighs of derision and triumph and,
+climbing the opposite bank, vanished into the gloom of the forest where
+none dared follow. Of the immortality of this great horse history is
+emphatic and gravely states that, for all that is known to the contrary,
+he may still be at large in the Ardennes, but that "no man has since
+beheld him."
+
+And now yearly on the Grand' Place at Termonde there is a great festival
+and procession in his honor depicting the chief incidents of his life
+and mighty deeds, while, at Dinaut, on the River Meuse, the scene of
+some of his mightiest deeds, may still be seen the great Rock Bayard,
+standing more than forty yards high and separated from the face of the
+mountain by a roadway cut by Louis the Sixteenth, who cared little for
+legends. From the summit of this great needle of rock sprang the horse
+Bayard, flying before the forces of Charlemagne with the four brothers
+on his back, and, so tradition says, "leaped across the river,
+disappearing in the woods on the further bank."
+
+[Illustration: The Museum: Termonde]
+
+We were fortunate in being at Termonde on the occasion of this
+picturesque festival. Songs of Bayard and his prowess were sung in the
+streets by various musical societies, each of which carried huge banners
+bearing their titles and honors, and some curious frameworks on poles
+which were literally covered with medals and wreaths bestowed upon the
+societies by the town at various times. These were borne proudly through
+the streets, and each society had its crowd of partisans and loud
+admirers. Had it not been so picturesque and strange, it would have
+seemed childish and pathetic, but the people were so evidently in
+earnest and seemed to enjoy it so hugely that the chance stranger could
+not but enter into the spirit of it all with them. This we did and
+wisely. There was much drinking of a thin sour beer called "faro," which
+is very popular with the peasants, and the various societies sang
+themselves hoarse, to the delight of all, including themselves. The
+horse Bayard, as seen in the market place, was a great wicker affair
+hung in wondrous chain armor, and the four sons of Aymon, also of
+wickerwork, and likewise clad in armor, each bearing a huge sword, sat
+upon his back and were trundled through the streets. There were also
+booths in which the inevitable and odoriferous fritters were fried, and
+some merry-go-rounds with thunderous, wheezy, groaning steam organs
+splitting one's ears, and platforms upon which the peasants danced and
+danced until one would have thought them fit to drop with fatigue.
+
+It did not take long to examine the attractions most thoroughly, but
+there were two very extraordinary exhibits of enormously fat women (who
+are great favorites with the peasantry, and no celebration seems to be
+complete without them). Their booths were placed opposite to each other,
+nearly face to face, with only about forty feet between them. In this
+space crowded the peasants listening open mouthed in wonder at the
+vocabulary of the rival "barkers."
+
+As usual, a shower came on during the afternoon, and the decorations
+were soaked with the downpour. The wickerwork horse Bayard was left to
+itself out in the square, and the wind whisked the water soaked
+draperies over its head, disclosing piteously all of its poor framework.
+The leaden skies showing no promise of clearing, we called the driver of
+the ancient "fiacre," and after settling our score at the "Grande Hotel
+Cafe Royal de la Tete d'Or," we departed for the station of the "chemin
+de fer," which bumped us well but safely along the road to Antwerp.
+
+We came again later on to this little town on the river, thinking that
+we might not have done it entire justice, because of the discomfort of
+the rainy day. And while we did not, it is true, find anything of great
+value to record, nor anything in the way of bells to gloat over, still
+our rather dismal impression of the little town in the drizzling rain as
+we last saw it, was quite removed and replaced by a picture more to our
+liking.
+
+We were constantly finding new and unusual charms in the quaint old
+towns, each seeming for some reason quainter than the preceding one.
+Here on this occasion it looked so tranquil, so somnolent, that we
+tarried all unwilling to lose its flavor of the unusual. There were old
+weather beaten walls of ancient brick, mossy in places, and here and
+there little flights of steep steps leading down into the water; broad
+pathways there were too, shaded by tall trees and behind them vistas of
+delightful old houses, each doubtless with its tales of joy, gayety,
+pain or terror of the long ago.
+
+The local policeman stood at a deserted street corner examining us
+curiously. He was the only sign of life visible except ourselves, and
+soon he, satisfied that we were only crazy foreigners with nothing else
+to do but wander about, took himself off yawning, his hands clasped
+behind his back, and his short sword rattling audibly in the stillness.
+
+The atmosphere of this silent street by the river, shaded almost to a
+twilight by the thick foliage, with the old houses all about us, seemed
+to invite reminiscence, or dreams of the stern and respectable old
+burghers and burgesses in sombre clothing, wide brimmed hats, and
+stiffly starched linen ruffs about their necks as rendered by Rembrandt,
+Hals, Rubens and Jordaens. They must have been veritable domestic
+despots, magnates of the household, but certainly there must have been
+something fine about them too, for they are most impressive in their
+portraits.
+
+"They shook the foot of Spain from their necks," and when they were not
+fighting men they fought the waters. Truly the history of their
+struggles is a wondrous one! None of these was in sight, however, as we
+strolled the streets, but we did disturb the chat or gossip of two
+delightful, apple cheeked old ladies in white caps, who became dumb with
+astonishment at the sight of two foreigners who walked about gazing up
+at the roofs and windows of the houses, and at the mynheer in
+knickerbockers who was always looking about him and writing in a little
+book.
+
+One cannot blame them for being so dumbfounded at such actions, such
+_incomprehensible_ disturbing actions in a somnolent town of long ago.
+In the vestibule of the dark dim old church, I copied the following
+inscription from a wall. It sounds something like English gone quite
+mad--and the last line, it seems to me, runs rather trippingly--and
+contains something of an idea too, whatever it means:
+
+ "Al wat er is. Mijn hoop is Christus en zyn bloed.
+  Door deze leer ik en hoop door die het eenwig goed.
+  Ons leven is maar eenen dag, vol ziekten en vol naar geklag.
+  Vol rampen dampen (!) en vendriet. Een schim
+  Eien droom en anders niet."
+
+A small steamer had advertised to leave for Antwerp about 3 o'clock. It
+lay puffing and wheezing at the side of the stream, and we went on board
+and settled ourselves comfortably, tired out with our wanderings. Here a
+bevy of children discovered us and ranged themselves along the dyke to
+watch our movements, exploding with laughter whenever we addressed one
+another. Finally an oily hand appeared at the hatchway of the engine
+room, followed by the touseled yellow head of a heavily bearded man. He
+looked at us searchingly, then at the line of tormenting children. Then
+he seized a long pole and advanced threateningly upon the phalanx. They
+fled incontinently out of reach, calling out various expletives in
+Flemish--of which I distinguished only one, "Koek bakker"! This would
+seem to be the crowning insult to cast at a respectable engineer, for he
+shook his fist at them.
+
+To our amazement he then touched his greasy cap to us, and in the
+broadest possible Scotch dialect bade us welcome. There is a saying that
+one has only to knock on the companion ladder of any engine room in any
+port the world over, and call out "Sandy" to bring up in response one
+or two canny Scots from the engine room below. This little steamer
+evidently took the place of the carrier's cart used elsewhere; for
+passengers and parcels, as well as crates of vegetables were her cargo.
+At length we started puffing along the river, and stopping from time to
+time at small landings leading to villages whose roofs appeared above
+the banks and dykes.
+
+Delightful bits of the more intimate side of the people's life revealed
+themselves to us on these unusual trips. We passed a fine looking old
+peasant woman in a beautiful lace cap, rowing a boat with short powerful
+strokes in company with a young girl, both keeping perfect time. The
+boat was laden with green topped vegetables and brightly burnished brass
+milk cans, forming a picture that was most quaint to look upon. And
+later we passed a large Rhine barge, from the cabin of which came the
+most appetizing odor of broiled bacon. Our whistle brought out the whole
+family, and likewise a little nervous black and white dog who went
+nearly mad with the excitement attendant upon driving us away from the
+property he had to protect.
+
+Night was falling when we reached the quay side in Antwerp, and we
+disembarked to the tinkling melody of the wondrous chimes from the tower
+of the great Cathedral.
+
+
+
+
+Louvain
+
+
+
+
+Louvain
+
+
+It was in the great Gothic Church of St. Peter that Mathias Van den
+Gheyn delighted to execute those wonderful "_morceaux fugues_" now at
+once the delight and the despair of the musical world, upon the fine
+chime of bells in the tower. This venerable tower was entirely destroyed
+in the terrible bombardment of the town in 1914. It is probable that no
+town in Belgium was more frequented by learned men of all professions,
+since its university enjoyed such a high reputation the world over, and
+certainly its library, likewise entirely destroyed, with its precious
+tomes and manuscripts, was considered second to none.
+
+The old Church of St. Peter, opposite the matchless Hotel de Ville, was
+a cruciform structure of noble proportions and flanked with remarkable
+chapels; it was begun, according to the archives in Brussels, in 1423,
+to replace an earlier building of the tenth century, and was "finished"
+in the sixteenth century. There was, it seems, originally a wooden spire
+on the west side of the structure but "it was blown down in a storm in
+1606."
+
+When I saw it in 1910, the church was in process of restoration, and
+the work was being very intelligently done by competent men. Before the
+facade was a most curious row of bizarre small houses of stucco, nearly
+every one of which was a sort of saloon or cafe, and the street before
+them was quite obstructed by small round tables and chairs at which, in
+the afternoon from four to five, the shopkeepers and bourgeois of the
+town gathered for the afternoon "_aperitif_," whatever it might be, and
+to discuss politics. For be it known that this period before the
+outbreak of the war, was in Belgium a troublous one for the Flemings,
+because of the continued friction between the clerical and the
+anti-clerical parties. These bizarre houses, I was told by one of the
+priests with whom I talked, were owned by the church, and were very
+profitable holdings, but tourists and others had made such sport of
+them, and even entered such grave protests to the Bishop, that the
+authorities finally concluded to tear them down. But they were certainly
+very picturesque, as my picture shows, their red tiled roofs and green
+blinds, making most agreeable notes of color against old St. Peter's
+gray wall.
+
+[Illustration: The Cathedral: Louvain]
+
+The church so wantonly destroyed in 1914 contained some most remarkable
+works of art in the nine chapels. Among these were the "Martyrdom of St.
+Erasmus," by Dierick Bouts, long thought to be a work of Memling.
+Another painting, "The Last Supper," was also considered one of
+Memling's works, until its authenticity was established by the finding
+of the receipt by Bouts for payment, discovered in the archives of the
+Library in Louvain in 1870. Formerly the church owned a great treasure
+in Quentin Matsys' "Holy Family," but this was sold to the Brussels
+Museum for something less than L10,000, and upon the outbreak of the war
+was in that collection. It is said that most of these great paintings
+owned in Belgium were placed in zinc and leaden cases and sent over to
+England for safety. It is to be hoped that this is true.
+
+The _custode_ showed, with most impressive manner, a quaint image of the
+Savior which, he related, was connected with a miraculous legend to the
+effect that the statue had captured and held a thief who had broken into
+the church upon one occasion! The townspeople venerate this image, and
+on each occasion when I visited the church, I noted the number of old
+women on their knees before it, and the many lighted waxen candles which
+they offered in its honor. A wave of indignation passed over the world
+of art when the newspapers reported the destruction of the beautiful
+Hotel de Ville, just opposite old St. Peter's. This report was almost
+immediately followed by a denial from Berlin that it had suffered any
+harm whatever, and it would seem that this is true.
+
+The Library, however, with its hundreds of thousands of priceless
+records, and masterpieces of printing is, it is admitted, entirely
+destroyed! This great building, black and crumbling with age, was
+situated in a small street behind the Hotel de Ville. The town itself
+was bright and clean looking, and there was a handsome boulevard leading
+from the new Gothic railway station situated in a beflowered parkway,
+which was lined with prosperous looking shops. This whole district was
+"put to the torch" and wantonly destroyed when the town was captured in
+1914. Late photographs show the new station levelled to the ground, and
+the parkway turned into a cemetery with mounds and crosses showing where
+the soldiers who lost their lives in the bombardment, and subsequent
+sacking, are buried.
+
+Remembering the complete destruction of Ypres, one can only believe that
+the preservation of the Hotel de Ville was entirely miraculous and
+unintentional.
+
+P.J. Verhaegan, a Flemish painter of considerable reputation and
+ability, had decorated one of the two "absidiole" chapels which
+contained a very richly carved tomb over a certain lady of the
+thirteenth century whose fame is known all over Flanders. The legend was
+most dramatically told to me by one of the young priests of St. Peter's,
+and this is the story of the beautiful Margaret, called "the
+Courageous," (La Fiere).
+
+[Illustration: The Town Hall: Louvain]
+
+By the Grace of God, there lived in Louvain, in the year 1235, one
+Armand and his wife, both devout Catholics and the keepers of a
+travelers' "ordinary" on the road to the coast, called Tirlemont. These
+two at length decided to retire from their occupation as "Hoteliers,"
+and devote and consecrate the remainder of their lives to God, and the
+blessed saints.
+
+Now they had a niece who was a most beautiful girl and whose name was
+Margaret, and she had such disdain for the young gallants of Louvain
+that they bestowed upon her the name of "La Fiere." Although but
+eighteen years of age she determined to follow the example of her uncle
+and aunt, and later become a "Beguine," thus devoting her life to
+charity and the care of the sick and unfortunate, for this is the work
+of the order of "Beguines."
+
+They realized a large sum of money from the sale of the hotel, and this
+became known throughout the countryside. It was said that the money was
+hidden in the house in which they lived, and at length eight young men
+of evil lives, pondering upon this, resolved that they would rob this
+noble couple. Upon a stormy night they demanded admittance, saying that
+they were belated travelers.
+
+The young girl Margaret was absent from the room for a moment, when
+these ruffians seized the old couple and murdered them. On her return to
+the upper room from the cellar, Margaret surprised them ransacking the
+strong box beside the fireplace. So they overpowered her also, but at
+once there ensued an argument as to what should be done with her, when
+the chief rogue, admiring her great beauty, proposed to her that she
+accept him as her lover and depart with him for France, where they could
+live happily. This she scornfully refused, whereupon "one of the
+ruffians strangled her for ten marcs of silver; and her soul, white and
+pure as the angels, ascended to the throne of Jesus, in whom she so well
+believed, and there became '_l'unique espoux dont elle ambitionait
+l'Amour._'"
+
+It is said that Henry the First sitting in a window of his chateau on
+the river Dyle one night, saw floating on the dark water the corpse of
+this young martyr, where the ruffians had thus thrown her, and "the pale
+radiance from her brow illuminated the whole valley." Calling to his
+consort, Marguerite of Flanders, he pointed out to her the wondrous
+sight, and hastening forth they drew her dripping body from the dark
+slimy water and bore it tenderly to the chateau. The news spread far and
+wide, and for days came throngs to view the "sweet martyr's" body, for
+which the priests had prepared a costly catafalque, and for her a grand
+mass was celebrated in St. Peter's where she was laid at rest in a tomb,
+the like of which for costliness was never seen in Flanders.
+
+And this is the legend of Margaret, called "La Fiere," whose blameless
+life was known throughout the land.
+
+I wish that I had made a drawing of this tomb while I was in the church,
+but I neglected unfortunately to do so. It was of simple lines, but of
+great richness of detail. Of course both it and the beautiful wax
+paintings of M. Verhaegan are now entirely destroyed in the ruins of St.
+Peter's.
+
+
+
+
+Douai
+
+
+
+
+Douai
+
+
+Although across the border in France, Douai must still be called a
+Flemish town, because of its history and affiliations. The town is
+quaint in the extreme and of great antiquity, growing up originally
+around a Gallo-Roman fort. In the many wars carried on by the French
+against the English, the Flemish and the Germans, not to mention its
+sufferings from the invading Spaniards, it suffered many sieges and
+captures. Resisting the memorable attack of Louis the Eleventh, it has
+regularly celebrated the anniversary of this victory each year in a
+notable Fete or Kermesse, in which the effigies of the giant Gayant and
+his family, made of wickerwork and clad in medieval costumes, are
+paraded through the town by order of the authorities, followed by a
+procession of costumed attendants through the tortuous streets, to the
+music of bands and the chimes from the belfry of the Hotel de Ville.
+
+This, the most notable edifice in the town, is a fine Gothic tower one
+hundred and fifty feet high, with a remarkable construction of tower and
+turrets, supported by corbels of the fifteenth century, containing a
+fine chime of bells made by the Van den Gheyns. The bells are visible
+from below, hanging sometimes well outside the turret of the bell
+chamber, and, ranging tier upon tier, from those seemingly the size of a
+gallon measure, to those immense ones weighing from fifteen hundred to
+two thousand pounds. This great tower witnessed the attack and
+occupation of the Spaniards, the foundation by the Roman Catholics of
+the great University in 1652 to counter-act the Protestantism of the
+Netherlands, which had but a brief career, and the capture of the town
+by Louis the Fourteenth. Here was published in 1610 an English
+translation of the Old Testament for Roman Catholics, as well as the
+English Roman Catholic version of the scriptures, and the New Testament
+translated at Rheims in 1582, and known as the "Douai Bible." This was
+also the birthplace of Jean Bellgambe, the painter (1540) surnamed
+"Maitre des Couleurs," whose nine great oaken panels form the wonderful
+altarpiece in the church of Notre Dame.
+
+[Illustration: The Town Hall: Douai]
+
+Douai was, before the great war, a peaceful industrial center of some
+importance, of some thirty thousand inhabitants. It has been said that
+the Fleming worked habitually fifty-two weeks in the year. An exception,
+however, must be made for fete days, when no self-respecting Fleming
+will work. On these days the holiday makers are exceedingly
+boisterous, and the streets are filled with the peasants clad in all
+their holiday finery. But it is on the day of the Kermesse that your
+Fleming can be seen to the best advantage. There are merry-go-rounds,
+shooting galleries, swings, maybe a traveling circus or two, and a
+theatrical troupe which shows in a much bespangled and mirrored tent,
+decorated with tinsel and flaming at night with naphtha torches. Bands
+of music parade the streets, each carrying a sort of banneret hung with
+medals and trophies awarded by the town authorities at the various
+"_seances_."
+
+But the greatest noise comes from the barrel organs of huge size and
+played by steam, or sometimes by a patient horse clad in gay apparel who
+trudges a sort of treadmill which furnishes the motive power. In even
+these small towns of Ancient Flanders such as Douai, the old allegorical
+representations, formerly the main feature of the event, are now quite
+rare, and therefore this event of the parade of the wicker effigies of
+the fabulous giant Gayant and his family was certainly worth the journey
+from Tournai. The day was made memorable also to the writer and his
+companion because of the following adventure.
+
+There had been, it seems, considerable feeling against England among the
+lower orders in this border town over the Anglo-Boer War, so that
+overhearing us speaking English, some half grown lads began shouting
+out at us "Verdamt Engelsch" and other pleasantries, and in a moment a
+crowd gathered about us.
+
+With the best Flemish at his command the writer addressed them,
+explaining that we were Americans, but what the outcome would have been,
+had it not been for the timely arrival of a gendarme, I know not; but
+under his protection we certainly beat a hasty retreat. The lower
+classes of Flemings in their cups are unpleasant people to deal with,
+and it were well not to arouse them. But for this incident, and the fact
+that the afternoon brought on a downpour of rain, which somewhat
+dampened the ardor of the people and the success of the fete, our little
+trip over the border to this historic town would be considered worth
+while. Our last view of Douai was from the train window as we recrossed
+the river Scarpe, with the massive tower of the Hotel de Ville showing
+silhouetted dim and gray against a streaming sky.
+
+
+
+
+Oudenaarde
+
+
+
+
+Oudenaarde
+
+
+From the small stucco station, embowered in luxuriant trees, we crossed
+a wide grass grown square, faring towards the turrets of the town, which
+appeared above the small red and black tiled roofs of some mean looking
+peasant houses, and an _estaminet_, of stucco evidently brand new, and
+bearing a gilt lion over its door. Here a wide and rather well paved
+street led towards the town, bordered upon either hand by well kept and
+clean but blank looking houses, with the very narrowest sidewalks
+imaginable, all of which somehow reminded us of some of the smaller
+streets of Philadelphia. The windows of these houses flush with the
+street were closely hung with lace, and invariably in each one was
+either a vase or a pot of some sort filled with bright flowers.
+Occasionally there was a small poor looking shop window in which were
+dusty glass jars of candy, pipes, packages of tobacco, coils of rope and
+hardware, and in one, evidently that of an apothecary, a large carved
+and varnished black head of a grinning negro, this being the sign for
+such merchandise as tobacco and drugs.
+
+Here and there doorways were embellished with shiny brass knockers of
+good form, and outside one shop was a tempting array of cool green
+earthenware bowls of such beautiful shape that I passed them by with
+great longing.
+
+Soon this street made a turning, where there was a good bronze statue to
+some dignitary or other, and I caught a glimpse of that wondrous tower
+of the famous Hotel de Ville, the mate to that at Louvain, and soon I
+was beneath its Gothic walls, bearing row upon row of niches, empty now,
+but once containing effigies of the powerful lords and ladies of
+Flanders. These rows rise tier upon tier to that exquisitely slender
+lace-like tower crowned with a large gilded statue of the town's patron,
+pennant in hand, and shining in the sunlight.
+
+From the Inn of the "Golden Apple of Oudenaarde" just opposite, I
+appraised its beauties over a good meal of young broiled chicken and
+lettuce salad, and a bowl of "_cafe au lait_" that was all satisfying.
+
+Afterwards, the _custode_, an old soldier, showed us the "Salle des Pas
+Perdus," containing a fine chimney piece alone worth the journey from
+Antwerp, and the Council Chamber, still hung with some good ancient
+stamped leather, and several large badly faded and cracked Spanish
+paintings of long forgotten dignitaries both male and female.
+
+[Illustration: The Town Hall: Oudenaarde]
+
+One Paul Van Schelden, a wood carver of great ability and renown,
+wrought a wonderful doorway, which was fast falling apart when I saw it.
+This gave access to a large room, the former Cloth Hall, now used as a
+sort of theatre and quite disfigured at one end by a stage and scenic
+arch. The walls were stenciled meanly with a large letter A surmounted
+by a crown. The interior had nothing of interest to show.
+
+On the opposite side of the square was the large old church of St.
+Walburga, with a fine tower capped by a curious upturned bulbous cupola,
+upon which was a large gilt open-work clock face. As usual, there was a
+chime of bells visible, and a flock of rooks circling about the tower.
+The style of St. Walburga was Romanesque, with Gothic tendencies. Built
+in the twelfth century, it suffered severely at the hands of the
+Iconoclasts, and even in its unfinished state was very impressive, none
+the less, either, because of the rows of small stucco red roofed houses
+which clung to its walls, leaving only a narrow entrance to its portal.
+Inside I found an extremely rich polychromed Renaissance "reredos," and
+there was also the somewhat remarkable tomb of "Claude Talon," kept in
+good order and repair.
+
+Oudenaarde was famed for the part it played in the history of Flanders,
+and was also the birthplace of Margaret of Parma. It was long the
+residence of Mary of Burgundy, and gave shelter to Charles the Fifth,
+who sought the protection of its fortifications during the siege of
+Tournai in 1521.
+
+Here, too, Marlborough vanquished the French in 1708. I might go on for
+a dozen more pages citing the names of remarkable personages who gave
+fame to the town, which now is simply wiped from the landscape. But by
+some miracle, it is stated, the Town Hall still stands practically
+uninjured. I have tried in vain to substantiate this, or at least to
+obtain some data concerning it, but up to this writing my letters to
+various officials remain unanswered.
+
+I like to think of Oudenaarde as I last saw it--the huge black door of
+the church yawning like a gaping chasm, the square partly filled with
+devout peasants in holiday attire for the church fete, whatever it was.
+Part of the procession had passed beyond the gloom of the vast aisles
+into the frank openness of daylight. Between the walls of the small
+houses at either hand a long line of figures was marching with many
+silken banners. There seemed to be an interminable line of young
+girls--first communicants, I fancied,--in all the purity of their white
+veils and gowns against the somber dull grays of the church. This mass
+of pure white was of dazzling, startling effect, something like a great
+bed of white roses.
+
+[Illustration: Old Square and Church: Oudenaarde]
+
+Then came a phalanx of nuns clad in brown--I know not what their order
+was--their wide white cowls or coifs serving only to accentuate the
+pallor of their grave faces, veritable "incarnations of meek
+renunciation," as some poet has beautifully expressed it.
+
+Then followed a group of seminarians clad in the lace and scarlet of
+their order, swinging to and fro their brazen censers from which poured
+fragrant clouds of incense.
+
+All at once a curious murmur came from the multitude, followed by a
+great rustling, as the whole body of people sank to their knees, and
+then I saw beyond at a distance across the square, the archbishop's
+silken canopy, and beneath it a venerable figure with upraised arms,
+elevating the Host.
+
+Surely a moment of great picturesqueness, even to the non-participant;
+the bent heads of the multitude; the long lines of kneeling black
+figures; scarlet and gold and lace of the priests' robes against the
+black note of the nuns' somber draperies; the white coifs and veils,
+through which the sweet rapture of young religious awe made even homely
+features seem beautiful: the gold and scarlet again of the choristers;
+and finally, that culminating note of splendor beneath the silken canopy
+of the cardinal archbishop (Cardinal Mercier) enthroned here like some
+ancient venerated monarch; all this against the neutral gray and black
+lines of the townspeople; surely this was the psychological moment in
+which to leave Oudenaarde, that I might retain such a picture in my
+mind's eye.
+
+
+
+
+Furnes
+
+
+
+
+Furnes
+
+
+The old red brick, flat topped, tower of St. Nicholas was the magnet
+which drew us to this dear sleepy old town, in the southwest corner of
+the Belgian littoral; and here, lodged in the historic hostel of the
+"Nobele Rose" we spent some golden days. The name of the town is
+variously pronounced by the people Foorn, Fern, and even Fearn. I doubt
+if many travelers in the Netherlands ever heard of it. Yet the town is
+one of great antiquity and renown, its origin lost in the dimness of the
+ages.
+
+According to the chronicles in the great Library at Bruges, as early as
+A.D. 800 it was the theatre of invasions and massacres by the Normans.
+That learned student of Flemish history, M. Leopold Plettinck, has made
+exhaustive researches among the archives in both Brussels and Bruges,
+and while he has been unable to trace its beginnings he has collected
+and assorted an immense amount of detailed matter referring to Baudoin
+(or Baldwin) Bras de Fer, who seems to have been very active in
+harassing the people who had the misfortune to come under his hand.
+
+The War of the "Deux Roses" was fought outside the walls here, likewise
+the Battle of the Spurs took place on the plains between Furnes and
+Ypres. Following the long undulations of the dunes from Dunkerque,
+overgrown here and there with a rank coarse grass sown by the
+authorities to protect them from the wind and the encroachments of the
+ever menacing sea, dune succeeds dune, forming a landscape of most
+unique character. Passing the small hamlet of Zuitcote, marked by the
+sunken tower of its small church, which now serves as a sort of
+semaphore for the fishing boats off the coast, one reached the canal
+which crosses the plain picturesquely. This led one along the path to
+the quaint old town of Furnes, showing against the heavy dark green of
+the old trees, its dull red and pink roofs with the bulk of the tower
+forming a picture of great attractiveness.
+
+The town before the war had about six thousand population which seemed
+quite lost in the long lines of silent grass grown streets, and the
+immense Grand' Place, around which were ranged large dark stone Flemish
+houses of somewhat forbidding exteriors. All the activity of the town,
+however, was here in this large square, for the lower floors had been
+turned into shops, and also here was the hotel, before which a temporary
+moving picture theatre had been put up.
+
+[Illustration: The Fish Market: Ypres]
+
+These are very popular in Flanders, and are called "Cinema-Americain."
+The portable theatres are invariably wooden and are carried "knocked
+down" in large wagons drawn by hollow-backed, thick-legged Flemish
+horses. As a rule they have steam organs to furnish the "music" and the
+blare of these can be heard for miles across the level plains.
+
+The pictures shown are usually of the lurid sort to suit the peasants,
+and the profits must be considerable, as the charge is ten and
+twenty-five cents for admission. On this square is the Hotel de Ville,
+the Palace of Justice, and Conciergerie. This latter is a sort of square
+"donjon" of great antiquity, crenelated, with towers at each corner and
+the whole construction forming an admirable specimen of Hispano-Flemish
+architecture.
+
+The angle of the "Place" opposite the pavilion of the officers is
+occupied by the Hotel de Ville and the "Palais de Justice," very
+different in style, for on one side is a massive facade of severe aspect
+and no particular period, while on the other is a most graceful Flemish
+Renaissance construction, reminding one of a Rubens opposed, in all its
+opulence, to a cold classic portrait by Gainsborough.
+
+The Hotel de Ville, of 1612, exhibits in its "Pignons," its columns and
+Renaissance motifs, a large high tower of octagonal form surmounted by a
+small cupola. Its frontage pushes forward a loggia of quite elegant
+form, with balustrades in the Renaissance style.
+
+Above this grave looking gray building rises the tower of the
+"Beffroi," part Gothic in style.
+
+All the houses on the "Place" have red tiled roofs, and gables in the
+Renaissance style very varied in form, and each one with a
+characteristic window above, framed richly _en coquille_, and decorated
+with arabesques.
+
+Behind these houses is what remains of the ancient Church of St.
+Walburga, half buried in the thick verdure of the garden. After
+considerable difficulty we gained admittance to the ruin, because it is
+not considered safe to walk beneath its walls. Even in its ruin it was
+most imposing and majestic. We would have tarried here, but the
+_custode_ was very nervous and hurried us through the thickets of bushes
+growing up between the stones of the pavement, and fairly pushed us out
+again into the small parkway, accepting the very generous fee which I
+gave him with what I should call surliness. But we ignored this
+completely, after the manner of old travelers, which we had been advised
+to adopt.
+
+At one side were stored some rather dilapidated and dirty wax figures
+which reclined in various postures, somewhat too lifelike in the gloom
+of the chamber, and entirely ludicrous, so much so that it was with much
+difficulty that we controlled our smiles. The roving eye of the surly
+_custode_, however, warned us against levity of any sort. These wax
+figures, he explained, gruffly enough, were those of the most sacred
+religious personages, and the attendant saints and martyrs, used in the
+great procession and ceremony of the "Sodalite," which is a sort of
+Passion Play, shown during the last Sunday in July of each year in the
+streets of the town. The story relates an adventure of a Count of
+Flanders, who brought to Furnes, during the first years of the Holy
+Crusades, a fragment of the True Cross. Assailed by a tempest in the
+Channel off the coast, he vowed the precious object to the first church
+he came to, if his prayers for succor were answered. "Immediately the
+storm abated, and the Count, bearing the fragment of the Cross aloft,
+was miraculously transported over the waves to dry land."
+
+This land proved to be the sand dunes of Flanders, and the church tower
+was that of St. Walburga. After a conference with his followers, who
+also were saved, he founded the solemn annual procession in honor of the
+True Cross, in which was also introduced the representation of the
+"Mysteries of the Passion."[2]
+
+This procession was suppressed during the religious troubles of the
+Reform, but afterwards was revived by the church authorities, and now
+all of the episodes of the life of Christ pass yearly through the great
+Grand' Place--the stable in Bethlehem; the flight into Egypt; down to
+the grand drama of the Calvary and the Resurrection, all are shown and
+witnessed with great reverence by the crowds of devout peasants from the
+surrounding country. And these pathetic waxen figures were those of
+Prophets, Apostles, Jews, Angels, Cavaliers and Roman Soldiers, lying
+all about the dim dusty chamber in disorder. Afterwards, from the window
+of the quaint Hotel of the "Nobele Rose," we saw this procession passing
+through the crowded streets of Furnes, and almost held our breaths with
+awe at the long line of black cloaked, hooded penitents, bare-footed,
+the faces covered so that one could hardly tell whether they were men or
+women, save for the occasional delicate small white foot thrust forward
+beneath the black shapeless gown.
+
+And finally _One Figure_, likewise black gowned and with concealed face,
+staggering along painfully--feebly--and bearing a heavy wooden cross,
+the end of which dragged along on the stones of the street.[3]
+
+Outside of this, the Grand' Place, and the old red brick tower of St.
+Nicholas, so scorched by the sun and beaten by the elements, and the
+rows of quaint gabled houses beneath, Furnes has little to offer to the
+seeker after antiquity. The bells in the tower are of sweet tone, but
+the chimes which hung there were silent, and no amount of persuasion
+could induce the _custode_ to admit me to the bell chamber. Madame at
+the "Nobele Rose" had assured me that I could go up there into the tower
+whenever I wished, but somehow that pleasure was deferred, until finally
+we were forced to give it up. Of course Madame _did_ rob me; when the
+bill was presented, it proved to be fifty per cent. more than the price
+agreed upon, but she argued that we had "used" the window in our
+apartment overlooking the procession, so we must pay for that privilege.
+The point was so novel that I was staggered for a suitable reply to
+it,--the crucial moment passed,--I was lost. I paid!
+
+
+
+
+The Artists of Malines
+
+
+
+
+The Artist of Malines
+
+
+It may not be out of place to add here some account of the artists[4]
+who dwelt in and made Malines famous in the early days. Primitively the
+painters formed part of the Society of Furniture Makers, while sculptors
+affiliated with the Masons' Gild. These at length formed between them a
+sort of federation as they grew in number and power. Finally, in 1543,
+they formed the Gild of Saint Luke. In 1560 they numbered fifty-one free
+masters, who gave instruction to a great number of apprentices. They
+admitted the gold beaters to membership in 1618, and the following year
+the organization had increased to ninety-six members.
+
+Working in alabaster was, during this epoch, a specialty with the
+sculptors of Malines, which soon resulted in a monopoly with them, for
+they made a law that no master workman could receive or employ more than
+one apprentice every four years. The workers in gold covered the
+statues with heavy ornaments of gold, it being forbidden to market
+statuary not so gilded. The Gild of Saint Luke chafed under this ruling
+of the Gild Master, and surreptitiously made and delivered some statuary
+and paintings without any gilding whatever.
+
+Charges being brought against the offenders, they were fined twenty-five
+florins, and a law was passed authorized by the magistrate, permitting
+domiciliary visits upon certain days known only to the officers, to the
+houses of suspected men engaged in art work. Of course reputable workmen
+were free from suspicion, it being only those mediocre craftsmen and
+irregular apprentices who would engage in such traffic.
+
+It was not until 1772 that any sculptor was permitted to paint or gild
+for profit, nor was any painter allowed to model. The profession of an
+artist was regarded as less than an industry, being a sort of hand to
+mouth existence in which the unfortunate was glad to accept whatever
+work the artisan could give him. In 1783 the Gild had dwindled to twelve
+members, who finally were absorbed by the Academy of Design, established
+by Maria Theresa in 1773. Thus perished the Gild of Painters and
+Sculptors of Malines.
+
+The following is a list of the principal artists and engravers,
+chronologically arranged, who made Malines famous:
+
+Jean Van Battele, one of the promoters of the Gild of Saint Luke of
+Malines, was a successful workman in 1403. He was said to be more of a
+painter-glazer than a painter of pictures, but there is sufficient
+evidence that he practised both genres.
+
+Gauthier Van Battele, son of the above, was admitted to the Gild in
+1426, and figured in the artistic annals of the town in 1474-75.
+
+Baudoin Van Battele, alias Vander Wyck, believed to be "petitfils" of
+Gauthier, is mentioned in the chronicles of 1495. He painted many mural
+pictures for the "Beyaerd"; the fresco of the Judgment Day in the great
+hall of the "Vierschaer" is his greatest work. He died about 1508.
+
+He had one son, Jean, who executed a triptych in the Hotel de Ville of
+Malines in 1535, and illuminated a manuscript register on vellum
+relating to the "_Toison d'Or_." This book was presented to
+Charles-Quint, and so pleased him that he ordered a duplicate which cost
+the artist three years of hard work to complete. He died in July, 1557,
+highly honored.
+
+Daniel Van Yleghem was the chief workman upon the Holy tabernacle of the
+chief altar of St. Rombauld. An engraver of great merit; he died in
+1451(?).
+
+Jean Van Orshagen occupied the position of Royal Mint Engraver of
+Malines, 1464-65. The following year he was discovered passing false
+money at Louvain. Imprisoned, he died of the pestilence in 1471.
+
+Guillaume Trabukier excelled in the art of a designer-engraver
+(ciseleur) in gold. For the town he made many beautiful pieces of work,
+notably the silver statue of St. Rombauld which decorated the high altar
+of the Cathedral. He died in 1482.
+
+Zacherie Van Steynemolen, born about 1434, was an excellent engraver of
+dies. During more than forty years (1465-1507) he made the seals of the
+town corporations. Notably he engraved for the Emperor Frederic IV the
+two great seals which are now in the museum. He died in 1507.
+
+Michael or Michel Coxie, le vieux, was a greatly esteemed painter who
+worked under the direction of Raphael. His real name was Van Coxcien, or
+Coxcyen, but he changed its form to Coxie.
+
+His son, Michel Coxie le Jeune, surnamed the Flemish Raphael, was born
+in 1499, and first studied under his father. He was shortly placed with
+Bernard Van Orley, who sent him to Rome, where he might study the work
+of Raphael Sanzio. His work was of very unequal merit, although he
+painted hundreds of compositions in triptych form for the churches.
+Towards the end of his life he was commissioned to paint a decoration
+for the Hotel de Ville of Antwerp. He fell from the scaffolding during
+his work, receiving such injuries that he was incapacitated. Removed to
+his home in Malines, he died after some years of suffering, aged 93
+years!
+
+His second son, Raphael Coxie, born in 1540, was a painter of great
+merit, whose paintings were ordered for the Royal Spanish Cabinet. He
+lived at Antwerp, Ghent, and Brussels respectively, and died, full of
+honors, in 1616.
+
+Michael, or Michel, Coxie, the third of the name, was received in the
+Gild of Painters the 28th day of September, 1598. He is the author of
+the triptych over the altar of the "Jardiniers" of Notre-Dame au dela de
+la Dyle. He died in 1618.
+
+Michel Coxie, the Fourth, son of the above, born September, 1604, was
+elected to the Gild in 1623. He became Court Painter to the King.
+
+Jean Coxie, son of Michel (above) excelled as a painter of landscape. He
+it was who decorated the two great salons of the "Parc" Abbey. The
+subjects were drawn from the life of Saint Norbert.
+
+His son, Jean-Michel, though a member of the Gild of Malines, passed
+almost his whole life in Amsterdam, Dusseldorf, and Berlin. In the
+latter town he enjoyed the favor and patronage of Frederick I. He died
+in Milan in 1720.
+
+Jean de Gruyter, gold worker and engraver, came in 1504 to Malines,
+where he enjoyed a certain renown. After his death in 1518, his sons
+Jean and Pierre continued the work which he began. Jean made seals of
+great beauty of detail, but Pierre was condemned to banishment in 1536
+and confiscation of all his goods and chattels, for counterfeiting the
+state coinage.
+
+Jean Hoogenbergh, born about 1500, was a successful painter of
+miniatures; he lived about fifty years.
+
+Jean Van Ophem was appointed Civic Engraver of Seals and Gold Worker. He
+died in 1553.
+
+Francois Verbeek became master workman in 1531, and finally _doyen_ of
+the craft. He abandoned oil painting for distemper, in which medium he
+excelled, producing masterpieces depicting the most fantastic subjects.
+He died in July, 1570.
+
+Hans Verbeek, or Hans de Malines, believed to be the son of Francois. He
+was Court Painter to Albert and Isabella. He died sometime after 1619.
+
+Gregoire Berincx, born in 1526, visited Italy and there made paintings
+in distemper of the ruins and ancient constructions. Returning to his
+native town in 1555 he was at once made a Gild Member of the Corporation
+of Painters. He died in 1573.
+
+His youngest son, Gregoire, became _doyen_, and of him the following
+story is told: The great Van Dyck visited him unexpectedly one day, and
+demanded that he make a sketch of him (Van Dyck) at once, in his
+presence. Berincx accordingly painted in monotone the sketch in full
+length, adding the details in carnation, and so charmed was Van Dyck,
+that he assured him that he would adopt the system in his own work, "if
+he would permit." He died full of honors the 14th of October, 1669.
+
+Jacques de Poindre, born in 1527, acquired a brilliant reputation as a
+portrait painter. He afterwards established himself under royal
+patronage in Denmark where he died in 1570.
+
+Corneille Ingelrams, a painter in distemper, was born in 1527. He
+practised his art successfully in Malines and died in 1580.
+
+His son, Andre, was admitted to the Painters' Gild in May, 1571, and
+died in 1595.
+
+Marc Willems, born about 1527, was a pupil of Michel Coxie (le vieux),
+was considered a great painter in his time. He made many designs for the
+decorators, and admirable cartoons for tapestry makers. He died in 1561.
+
+Jean Carpreau was commissioned in 1554 to take charge of the
+restorations of the "chasse" of the patron saint of the town. Such was
+his success that he was appointed Official Seal Cutter and Engraver, a
+position of great importance in those days. At the Hotel de Ville was
+preserved and shown a remarkable die in silver from his hand, for the
+Seal of the Municipality of Malines.
+
+Jean or Hans Bol, born December, 1534, was the pupil of his uncles
+Jacques and Jean the Elder, but after two years of apprenticeship he
+went to Germany for a time. Returning to Malines, he devoted himself to
+the painting of landscapes with great success. Likewise he sometimes
+engraved plates on copper. His productions are many. He died at
+Amsterdam in 1593.
+
+Lambert de Vos, admitted to the Gild of Saint Luke in 1563, was engaged
+in the service of Charles Kimy, Imperial Ambassador to Constantinople.
+He painted oriental subjects in water colors, which were distinguished
+for richness of color, and accuracy of drawing. Many of these are in the
+Library of Breme.
+
+Jean Snellinck, born about 1554, was an historical and battle painter.
+It was he who prepared the designs for the tapestries of Oudenaarde.
+During his residence in that town he painted the triptych for the church
+of Notre Dame de Pamele. He died at Antwerp in 1638.
+
+Louis Toeput was born about 1550. He was a landscape painter of renown,
+but also drew many architectural subjects. In his later period, he
+devoted himself to Flemish literature with marked success as an
+authority.
+
+Luc Van Valckenborgh, called "partisan of the Reform," was born in 1566,
+and in his student days went to Germany, where he practised his art as a
+portrait painter. His reputation was made by his portrait of the
+Archduke Matthias.
+
+He died in 1625, leaving a son Martin, also his pupil, who established
+himself at Antwerp and later at Frankfort. Martin was an historical and
+landscape painter, although he painted some good portraits in the manner
+of his father. He is thought to have died about 1636.
+
+Philip Vinckboons, the elder, was born about 1550, became an associate
+of the Gild of Painters in 1580, and died 1631. His son Maur, the
+younger, born 1585, studied painting under his father, finishing under
+his uncle Pierre Stevens. He died in 1647.
+
+Pierre Stevens, born about 1550, was an historical painter and engraver,
+as well as a portrait painter. This master latinized his name and signed
+his works thus--P. Stephani. He died in 1604 at Prague, where he had
+dwelt since 1590, under the patronage of the Emperor Rudolphe II.
+
+Rombaut Van Avont, incorporated in the Gild of Saint Luke in 1581, was a
+sculptor and painter as well as an illuminator of manuscripts on vellum.
+He died in 1619. His son Pierre, born in 1599, was an excellent painter
+of landscapes, which were distinguished by a most agreeable manner.
+Admitted as a "franc maitre" at Antwerp, he became one of the burgesses
+of that town in October, 1631.
+
+Luc Franchoys, the elder, born January, 1574, was admitted to the Gild
+in 1599. A painter of remarkable talent, he turned to historical
+subjects, which he produced with great success. In drawing, too, he was
+most skillful and correct. He died in 1693 and was buried with honors in
+the church of St. Jean.
+
+His son Pierre, born in 1606, became pupil of Gerard Seghers of Antwerp,
+where he resided for some time. Afterward he lived in Paris, where his
+works were eagerly sought and appreciated. He never married, but always
+surrounded himself with young pupils to the time of his death in 1654.
+
+His younger brother, Luc, was born 1616. He remained with his father,
+working in his studio until he was admitted to the Gild, when he went to
+Paris, where he painted portraits of members of the Court, enjoying
+considerable renown and favor. He returned finally to Malines, where he
+died in April, 1681.
+
+Frans Hals (The Great), was born either here in Malines, or at Antwerp,
+in 1584. Accounts differ. His parents were citizens of Malines, at any
+rate. He had the honor and glory of introducing into Holland the
+"procede magistral" of Rubens and his school. His works are too well
+known to need description here. He established himself at Haarlem, where
+he died in great poverty in 1666. Not even his burial place is now
+known.
+
+[Illustration: The Church of Our Lady of Hanswyk]
+
+Jean le Saive of Namur, son of Le Saive the Elder, was born in the
+commencement of the seventeenth century. He painted animals, landscapes,
+and historical subjects. In the latter genre he is inferior to his
+father; his color is drier, and his drawing less correct. The date of
+his death is not recorded.
+
+George Biset, painter-decorator, entered the studio of Michel Coxie
+(Third) in 1615. He lived throughout his life at Malines, and died 1671.
+
+His son, Charles Emmanuel, born 1633, was an excellent portrait painter,
+enjoying much appreciation at the Court of France. He became Burgess of
+Antwerp in 1663, and was elected a Director of the Academy. He died at
+Breda in 1685.
+
+Martin Verhoeven was elected to the Gild in 1623. He painted flowers and
+fruit pieces which enjoyed great celebrity.
+
+His brother Jean was known as a portraitist of great ability. In late
+life he produced some good sculptures.
+
+David Herregouts, born 1603, was elected to the Gild in 1624. Examples
+of his work are rare. He died at Ruremonde. His son Henri was a pupil of
+his father. David went to Italy, residing at Rome. After traveling in
+Germany he returned to Malines, and died at Antwerp at an advanced age.
+
+Jacques de (or Van) Homes, painter in distemper, was a pupil of Gregoire
+Berincx (Second) and executed much work in "cisele" under the direction
+of Fayd'herbe. He died in 1674.
+
+Jean Philippe Van Thieleu, born 1618, was an eminent flower and
+still-life painter, under the guidance of Daniel Zeghers. He was
+patronized by the King of Spain, and died in 1674.
+
+Ferdinand Elle, born 1631, according to some; in 1612, say other
+accounts, painter of portraits, went to Paris, where he remained until
+his death in 1660(?).
+
+Gilles (or Egide) Smeyers, historical painter, was born in 1635, and
+studied under his father Nicholas, later under Jean Verhoeven. In
+friendship for his companion and master Luc Franchoys the younger, he
+finished many of the latter's incompleted works after his death.
+
+His son Jacques, born 1657, was admitted to the Gild in 1688, and died
+in 1732.
+
+Egide Joseph, natural son of Jacques, born 1694, was an historical
+painter, as well as a poet. He lived at Dusseldorf for three years.
+Obliged to support his sick parents, he did a great deal of work.
+Smeyers had a profound knowledge of the Latin tongue, which he wrote
+with great fluency and ease, in both poetry and prose. He possessed,
+too, a working knowledge of French, German, and Italian. His historical
+works are many. At length, sick and helpless, he was admitted to the
+hospital of Notre Dame, where he died in 1771. He painted the large
+portrait of Cardinal Thomas Philippe d'Alsace, Archbishop of Malines.
+
+Daniel Janssens, born in 1636, was a painter-decorator of the first
+order. He adopted the manner of Jacques de Hornes of whom he was the
+favorite pupil. After having resided in Antwerp for some years he
+returned to Malines, where he died in 1682. He it was who designed and
+constructed the immense triumphal arch for the Jubilee of 1680. This
+arch is preserved in the Town Hall, and serves to decorate the facade of
+the "Halles" on the occasion of the Grandes Fetes.
+
+Sebastian Van Aken, born 1648, was pupil of Luc Franchoys the Younger.
+Later he entered the studio of Charles Maratti in Rome. After painting
+in Spain and Portugal he returned to Malines, where he died in 1722.
+
+August Casimir Redel, born 1640. This painter of merit became insane
+from excesses and died in 1687. He was also the author of a life of St.
+Rombaut (Rombold) and wrote much in verse. He composed an ode on the
+occasion of the Jubilee of Malines in 1680.
+
+Jacques la Pla, pupil of Jean le Saive, a master painter of Malines in
+1673, died in 1678.
+
+Jean Barthelemy Joffroy, born 1669, was historian, painter, and
+engraver. He died 1740.
+
+Jean Joseph Van Campenhout, designer and engraver. He was designer of
+the great book of the "Cavalcade of Malines" in 1775.
+
+Antoine Opdebeek, born 1709, author of many paintings of merit, was an
+untaught genius. Employed in the hospital of St. Hedwige in Malines, he
+taught himself the art, with success, but never reached the height which
+would have been his had he had instruction in his youth. He died 1759.
+
+Pierre Antoine Verhulst, born 1751, painter of marines and landscape,
+which he executed with great delicacy and charm, died 1809.
+
+Matthieu Joseph Charles Hunin, born 1770, was a master engraver,
+producing many plates after Rubens and other masters. To his talent is
+also due a great number of original engravings of the Tower of St.
+Rombold; the interior and exterior of the Cathedral of Antwerp; the
+Hotels de Villes of Oudenaarde, Brussels and Louvain, etc., etc. He died
+in 1851.
+
+His son, Pierre Paul Aloys, born 1808, was a genre painter of great
+taste and renown. His works in which the painting of silk and satin
+appeared were in great demand. He was professor of the Malines Academy,
+and in 1848 Leopold I conferred upon him the decoration of the Order of
+Leopold. He died February 27th, 1855. Many of his paintings have been
+reproduced in engravings.
+
+Jean Ver Vloet, the _doyen_ of the artists of Malines, died October
+27th, 1869, after a long and successful artistic career. One of the
+founders of the society "Pour l'Encouragement des Beaux Arts" of
+Malines, he was indefatigable in all art movements of the town. To him
+was due the success of the magnificent Cavalcades for which Malines has
+been famous. For fifty years he was the director of the Academy of
+Design and Painting of his native town.
+
+This ends the list of famous painters of Malines, and so far as I know
+it is the first and only one in English. Did space permit I might
+include the architects who made Flanders famous the world over as the
+cradle of art and architecture.
+
+
+
+
+A Word About the Belgians
+
+
+
+
+A Word About the Belgians
+
+
+The little country called Belgium, it should be remembered, dates only
+from 1830, when the existing constitution was prepared and adopted for
+the nine southern provinces of the ancient Netherlands. The sudden and
+unexpected revolt against the Dutch in that year has been since styled
+"a misunderstanding" upon the part of the Belgians, and was brought
+about by the action of the King, William I, of the house of
+Orange-Nassau, who attempted ostentatiously to change at once the
+language and religion of his southern subjects. They were both Roman
+Catholic and conservative to the last degree, attached to traditional
+rights and forms and fiercely proud of the ancient separate
+constitutions of the southern provinces, which could be traced back to
+the charters of the Baldwins and Wenceslas.
+
+Undoubtedly the French Revolution of 1830, which closed the Monarchy of
+the Bourbons, hastened the crisis. For the Belgians had no liking for
+the rule of the House of Orange-Nassau against which they had
+discontentedly struggled for some years more or less openly. But
+matters might have gone on thus indefinitely had not the French
+Revolution furnished ground for hope of support from a people akin in
+religion and language, as well as race. The smouldering fire of
+discontent broke into fierce flame on August 25th, 1830, in the city of
+Brussels, during a performance of the opera "Muette de Portici," when
+the tenor was singing the inspired words of Massaniello:
+
+ "Plutot mourir que rester miserable,
+ Pour un esclave est-il quelque danger?
+ Tombe le joug qui nous accable,
+ Et sous nos coups perisse l'etranger.
+ Amour sacre de la patrie,
+ Rends nous l'audace et la fierte;
+ A mon pays je dois la vie,
+ Il me devra sa liberte!"
+
+The immense audience, roused to patriotic enthusiasm, took up the words
+of the song and, rushing from the theatre _en masse_, paraded the
+streets, attacking the residences of the Dutch ministers, which they
+sacked and burned.
+
+The few troops in the town were powerless to stem the revolt, which grew
+until Brussels was entirely in the hands of the revolutionists, who then
+proceeded to appoint a Council of Government, which prepared the now
+celebrated Document of Separation.
+
+William sent his son, the Prince of Orange, to treat with the Council,
+instead of sending a force of soldiers with which the revolt might have
+been terminated easily, it is claimed. The Prince entered Brussels
+accompanied only by a half dozen officers as escort. After three days'
+useless parley, he returned to King William with the "Document of
+Separation."
+
+The reply of the King to this message was made to the Dutch Chambers ten
+days later. Denouncing the revolt, he declared that he would never yield
+to "passion and violence." Orders were then issued to Dutch troops under
+Prince Frederick of Holland to proceed to Brussels and retake the city.
+The attack was made upon the four gates of the walled city on September
+23rd. The Belgians prepared a trap, cunningly allowing the Dutch
+soldiers to enter two of the gates and retreating towards the Royal Park
+facing the Palace. Here they rallied and attacked the troops of William
+from all sides at once. Joined by a strong body of men from Liege they
+fought for three days with such ferocity that Prince Frederick was
+beaten back again and again, until he was forced to retreat at midnight
+of the third day.
+
+In the battle six hundred Belgian citizens were slain, and to these men,
+regarded now as the martyrs of the Revolution, a great monument has been
+erected in the Place des Martyrs, near the trench in which they were
+buried.
+
+A provisional government was now formed which issued the following
+notice: "The Belgian provinces, detached by force from Holland, shall
+form an independent state." Measures were taken to rid the country of
+the Dutch, who were expelled forcibly across the border.
+
+Envoys to Paris and London presented documents to secure sympathy for
+the new government, while the fight for independence was still going on
+fiercely. Waelhern and Berchem, besieged by the Belgian volunteers, soon
+fell, and the city of Antwerp was occupied by them before the end of
+October.
+
+Then the Conference of the Five Powers, sitting in London, interposed to
+force an armistice in order to determinate some understanding and
+arrangement between the Dutch and the Belgians, since it had become
+evident that the Netherlands kingdom of 1815 had practically come to an
+end. By the treaty of London in 1814, and that of Vienna in 1815,
+Belgium, after a short interregnum of Austrian rule, was incorporated
+with Holland into the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
+
+In the space of a month then the Belgian patriots had accomplished their
+task, and on November 18th the National Assembly, convoked, declared as
+its first act the independence of the Belgians.
+
+It was now necessary to find a head upon which to place the crown. The
+first choice of the provisional government was the Duc de Nemours, the
+son of Louis Philippe, but objection was made to him on the ground that
+his selection would add too much, perhaps, to the power of France, so
+his candidature was withdrawn.
+
+Choice was fixed finally upon Prince Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, who had but
+recently declined the throne of Greece by advice of the European
+diplomats. A resident of England, this Prince, who had espoused Princess
+Charlotte, the daughter of George IV, was well known as a most clear
+headed diplomat, a reputation he enjoyed during his whole career.
+
+In his acceptance he said: "Human destiny does not offer a nobler or
+more useful task than that of being called to found the independence of
+a nation, and to consolidate its liberties."
+
+The people hailed and received him with great enthusiasm, and on July
+21st he was crowned King of the Belgians, with most impressive
+ceremonies, at Brussels. The Dutch, however, viewed all this with much
+concern, and at once began hostilities, thinking that the powers would
+sustain them rather than permit France to occupy Belgium. At once Dutch
+troops were massed for attack on both Brussels and Louvain. Outnumbered
+by the Dutch, the badly organized national forces of Belgium met
+disaster at Hasselt, and, realizing his peril, Leopold besought the
+French, who were at the frontier, to come to his assistance.
+Simultaneously with the assault on Louvain, therefore, the French
+troops arrived at Brussels. Great Britain now entered the fray,
+threatening to send a fleet of warships to occupy the Scheldt unless
+King William recalled his army from Belgium. This settled the matter,
+and the Dutch withdrew. The French likewise returned to their own
+territory. Jealousy, however, was manifested by Austria, Prussia and
+Russia toward the new kingdom, and their refusal to receive Leopold's
+ambassadors was calculated to encourage hope in Holland that the reign
+of the new monarch was to be limited.
+
+New troubles began for the Belgians, in the presentation of the London
+Protocol of October 15, 1831, in consequence of a demand that the
+greater part of Limbourg and Luxembourg be ceded. Not only the Belgians
+but the Dutch opposed this demand, as well as the conditions of the
+protocol. And at once King William prepared for armed resistance.
+Leopold immediately after obtaining votes for the raising of the sum of
+three millions sterling for war purposes, increased the army to one
+hundred thousand men.
+
+Now ensued a most critical period for the little kingdom, but both
+France and England held their shields over it, while Leopold's marriage
+to the Princess Louise, eldest daughter of King Louis Philippe, gained
+for it still greater strength in its relations with France.
+
+King William, however, refused stubbornly to recognise the protocol,
+and retained possession of Antwerp, which he held with a garrison of
+five thousand soldiers. Antwerp Citadel being the pride of the kingdom,
+the Belgians, restive under the control of the powers, demanded that
+both England and France help them at once to recover it, alleging that
+in case this help was refused, they, with their hundred thousand men,
+were ready to capture it themselves. So in the month of November the
+French troops, under Marechal Gerard, laid siege to the Antwerp
+stronghold, held by General Chasse, who after three weeks' siege
+capitulated, and the Dutch, rather than have their warships captured,
+burnt and sank them in the Scheldt.
+
+With the surrender of Antwerp, the French withdrew their army, but the
+Dutch sullenly refused to recognise the victory until the year 1839,
+when they withdrew from and dismantled the forts on the Scheldt facing
+Antwerp.
+
+Naturally the support of the French and English brought about a deep and
+lasting feeling of gratitude on the part of the Belgians. Louis Philippe
+said, "Belgium owes her independence and the recovery of her territory
+to the union of France and England in her cause."
+
+Her independence thus gained and recognised, Belgium turned her
+attention to the development of the country and its rich natural
+resources. The Manufactures flourished, her mines of coal and iron
+became famous throughout the world, and she trod the peaceful path of
+strict neutrality among the great nations. Passing over the all familiar
+history of Waterloo, one may quote the saying of M. Northomb: "The
+Battle of Waterloo opened a new era for Europe, the era of
+representative government." And this new era was enjoyed by Belgium
+until the Franco-Prussian War confronted the little country with a fresh
+crisis, and one fraught with danger. Although her absolute neutrality
+had been earnestly proclaimed and presented to the powers, it was feared
+that she might be invaded and be unable to maintain her integrity by her
+military force.
+
+Leopold promptly mobilized the army and massed it upon the frontier.
+During and after the battle of Sedan, a large number of both French and
+German soldiers crossed the border and were interned until the close of
+the war.... Once more peace descended upon the Belgians, for a fresh
+treaty prepared by England and signed by both France and Prussia engaged
+the British Government to declare war upon the power violating its
+provisions.
+
+After his acceptance of the Crown of Belgium, the Constitution declared
+the monarchy hereditary in the male line of the family of Prince Leopold
+of Saxe-Coburg, which consisted of two sons and one daughter. The elder
+of the sons was born in 1835, and succeeded his father as Leopold II,
+in 1865. The Austrian Archduchess Marie Henriette became his wife in
+1853, and their descendants were one son and three daughters, none of
+whom is now living. The Salic Law prevailing in Belgium, the history of
+the female descendants is not of political importance. The only son of
+Leopold II dying in 1869, the succession passed to the brother of the
+King, the Count of Flanders, who married Mary, Princess of Hohenzollern,
+a sister of the King of Roumania.
+
+The death of their son Prince Baldwin in 1891 was held to be a national
+calamity. This left the nephew of Leopold II, Prince Albert (the present
+King of Belgium), the heir presumptive to the throne. He married in 1900
+the Princess Elizabeth of Bavaria; to them have been born three
+children, two boys and a girl. Both the King and Queen, the objects of
+intense devotion on the part of the Belgians, are very simple and
+democratic in their bearing toward the people. The Queen is a very
+beautiful woman, and a most devoted wife and mother.... Since the seat
+of government has been removed to Havre, the Queen divides her time
+between the little hamlet of La Panne, headquarters of the Belgian army,
+near the town of Furnes on the dunes of the north sea, and London, where
+the children are being cared for and educated.... May not one hope that
+brighter days are in store for this devoted and heroic King and Queen,
+for the once smiling and fertile land, and for the kindly, gentle, and
+law abiding Belgian people?[5]
+
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+INDEX
+
+
+ Albert, King of Belgium, 102, 207
+
+ Alost, church of St. Martin's, 113, 114
+   Hotel de Ville, 111
+
+ Antwerp, carillon of, 52
+   cathedral of, 41, 44, 143
+
+ Archers of St. Sebastian, 66
+
+ Artists of Malines, list of the, 183-195
+
+ Aymon, legend of the four sons of, 133-136
+
+
+ Baldwin Bras-de-Fer, 55, 171
+
+ Baldwin the Ninth, Count of Flanders, 72, 121
+
+ Battle of the Dunes, the, 101
+
+ Battle of the Spurs, the, 120, 172
+
+ Battle of Waterloo, the, 206
+
+ Bayard, the horse, 133-138
+
+ Beguinage, the, Courtrai, 121
+    "        "   Malines, 23-24
+    "        "   Ypres, 82
+
+ Bell-founding, process of, 45-48
+
+ Berincx, Gregoire, 186
+    "     Gregoire le Jeune, 186, 191
+
+ Bethune, Robert of, Count of Flanders, 75, 79
+
+ Biset, Charles Emmanuel, 191
+   "    George, 191
+
+ Bol, Jean, 188
+
+ Bouts, Dierick, 48, 149
+
+ Broel Towers, the, Courtrai, 119, 123
+
+ Bruges, cathedral of, 41
+   library, 171
+
+ Brussels, cathedral of, 41
+   Museum of Decorative Arts, 76, 149
+
+ Burgundy, House of, 68
+    "      Mary of, 165
+
+
+ Carillons of Antwerp, 52
+     "     of Bruges, 52
+     "     of Ghent, 52
+     "     of Louvain, 52
+     "     of Malines, 52
+     "     of Tournai, 52
+
+ Carpreau, Jean, 187
+
+ Cathedral of Antwerp, 41
+     "     of Bruges, 41
+     "     of Brussels, 41
+     "     of Ghent, 41
+     "     of Malines, 18-19, 41, 42
+     "     of Ypres, 69, 73
+
+ Charlemagne, 134-136
+
+ Charles the Bold, 25, 76, 81
+
+ Charles the Eleventh, 119
+
+ Charles the Fifth, 18, 130, 165
+
+ Cloth Hall, the, Ypres, 69, 72-75, 78, 80, 81
+
+ Commines, Philip of, 86
+
+ Cossiers, I., 24
+
+ Coxie, Jean, 185
+   "    Jean Michel, 185
+   "    Michel, 184
+   "    Michel le Jeune, 184
+   "    Michel the Third, 185
+   "    Michel the Fourth, 185
+   "    Raphael, 185
+
+ Counts' Chapel, the, Courtrai, 121
+
+ Courtrai, the Counts' Chapel, 121
+   the Hall of the Magistrates, 129
+   the Town Hall, 129
+
+ Cuyp, 36, 102
+
+
+ De Gruyter, Jean, 185
+
+ De Hornes, Jacques, 191, 193
+
+ Deklerk, 44, 45
+
+ De Poindre, Jacques, 187
+
+ De Vos, Lambert, 188
+
+ Douai, Hotel de Ville, 157, 160
+
+ Douai Bible, the, 158
+
+ Dyle, the river, 21, 26, 152
+
+
+ Elle, Ferdinand, 192
+
+
+ Franchoys, Luc, 189
+    "       Luc le Jeune, 190, 192, 193
+    "       Pierre, 190
+
+ Franco-Prussian War, the, 206
+
+ Furnes, Hotel de Ville, 173
+
+
+ Ghent, the carillons of, 52
+
+ Gild of St. Luke, the, 181
+
+ Gothic architecture, styles of, 90
+
+ Great Wars of Flanders, the, 86
+
+
+ Hall of the Magistrates, the, Courtrai, 129
+
+ Hals, Frans, 141, 190
+
+ Hanseatic League, the, 69
+
+ Hanswyk, the Tower of Our Lady of, Malines, 26
+
+ Haweis, 41, 43, 49, 50
+
+ Hemony, 42, 49
+
+ Henry the First, 152
+
+ Herregouts, David, 191
+
+ Hoogenbergh, Jean, 186
+
+ Hotel de Ville of Alost, 111
+   "   "    "   of Douai, 157, 160
+   "   "    "   of Furnes, 173
+   "   "    "   of Louvain, 147, 149 150
+   "   "    "   of Oudenaarde, 164
+   "   "    "   of Ypres, 73
+
+ Huet, 87, 89
+
+ Hunin, Matthieu Joseph Charles, 194
+   "    Pierre Paul Aloys, 194
+
+ Hugo, Victor, 52
+
+
+ Ingelrams, Andre, 187
+    "       Corneille, 187
+
+ Inghelbrugtorre, Courtrai, 119
+
+ Inquisition, the Spanish, 68
+
+
+ Jansenius, Cornelius, Bishop of Ypres, 73, 80
+
+ Janssens, Daniel, 193
+
+ Joffroy, Jean Barthelemy, 193
+
+ Jordaens, 141
+
+ Jube, at St. Martin's, Dixmude, 55, 57-59, 62, 79
+
+
+ Keldermans, 17, 18, 130
+
+ Knights of the Golden Fleece, 36
+
+ Knights Templar, the, 99, 101
+
+
+ La Panne, 74, 207
+
+ La Pla, Jacques, 193
+
+ Leopold of Saxe-Coburg, King of Belgium, 203, 204, 205
+
+ Leopold the Second of Belgium, 207
+
+ Le Saive, Jean, 190, 193
+
+ Library, the, Bruges, 43, 171
+   Brussels, 43
+   Louvain, 43, 49, 150
+
+ Lion of Flanders, the, 22, 28
+
+ Louis of Maele, 66, 67
+
+ Louis of Nevers, 76
+
+ Louis Philippe, 203, 205
+
+ Louis the Eleventh, 157
+
+ Louis the Fourteenth, 158
+
+ Louvain, church of St. Peter, 147, 152
+   carillons of, 52
+   Hotel de Ville, 149
+   library, 149
+
+ Loyola, Ignatius, 21
+
+ Luther, Martin, 21
+
+ Lys, the river, 119, 120, 122-123
+
+
+ Malines, carillons of, 52
+   cathedral of, 18-19, 41, 42
+   St. Rombauld, 17, 19, 22, 26, 37, 44
+
+ Margaret of Artois, 76
+    "     of Austria, statue of, 22
+    "     of Parma, 165
+    "     of York, 25, 76
+    "     the Courageous, the legend of, 150-153
+
+ Marguerite of Flanders, 152
+    "       of Savoie, 18
+
+ Mary of Burgundy, 165
+
+ Matsys, Quentin, 149
+
+ Memling, 85, 148, 149
+
+ Mercier, Cardinal, Primate of Belgium, 21, 167
+
+ Moertens, Thierry, 112
+
+ Museum of Decorative Arts, the, Brussels, 76, 149
+
+ Mysteries of the Passion, the, 175
+
+
+ Nemours, Duc de, 202
+
+ Nieuwerck, Ypres, 70, 73, 77
+
+ Notre Dame, the church of, Courtrai, 121
+
+
+ Opdebeek, Antoine, 194
+
+ Oudenaarde, church of St. Walburga, 165
+    "   Hotel de Ville, 164
+    "   Town Hall, 17, 165
+
+
+ Philip of Alsace, 119
+    "   of Savoie, 18
+    "   the Second of Spain, 85, 101
+
+ Place de la Boucherie, 25
+
+
+ Quesnoy, Jerome due, 24
+
+
+ Redel, August Casimir, 193
+
+ Rembrandt, 141
+
+ Rubens, 113, 141, 173, 190
+
+ Ruskin, 28, 42
+
+
+ St. Martin's, cathedral of, Ypres, 73, 77, 78, 79
+      "        church of, Alost, 113, 114
+      "        church of, Dixmude, 55, 56, 57, 60
+
+ St. Mary Bells, in Antwerp cathedral, 44
+
+ St. Nicholas, church of, Furnes, 99, 171
+
+ St. Peter, church of, Louvain, 147, 152
+
+ St. Pierre, tower of, Ypres, 80
+
+ St. Rombauld, Malines, chimes of, 19, 22
+       "          "     spire of, 17
+       "          "     tower of, 26-37, 44
+
+ St. Walburga, church of, Oudenaarde, 165, 174-176
+
+ St. Winoc, the abbey of, Bergues, 95
+
+ Sainte Begga, 23, 121
+
+ Salvator Bell, the, 20, 48
+
+ Scheldt, the river, 133, 204, 205
+
+ Smeyers, Egide Joseph, 192
+    "     Gilles, 192
+    "     Jacques, 192
+
+ Snellinck, Jean, 188
+
+ Speytorre, the, Courtrai, 119
+
+ Stevens, Pierre, 189
+
+
+ Taillebert, d'Urbain, 79
+
+ Thierry d'Alsace, 65, 85
+
+ Toeput, Louis, 188
+
+ Tournai, Town Hall, 52
+
+ Tower of the Templars, the, Nieuport, 99, 101
+
+ Town Hall of Brussels, 17
+   "    "  of Courtrai, 129
+   "    "  of Dixmude, 56
+   "    "  of Louvain, 17
+   "    "  of Oudenaarde, 17
+   "    "  of Tournai, 52
+
+ Trabukier, Guillaume, 184
+
+
+ Untenhoven, Martin, 78
+
+
+ Van Aken, Sebastian, 193
+
+ Van Artevelde, family of, 36
+  "      "      Philip, 66, 86
+
+ Van Avont, Pierre, 189
+  "    "    Rombaut, 189
+
+ Van Battele, Baudouin, 183
+  "     "     Gautier, 183
+  "     "     Jean, 183
+  "     "     Jean le Jeune, 183
+
+ Van den Gheyn, family of, 20, 33, 42, 44, 45, 158
+  "   "    "    Mathias, 147
+  "   "    "    Peter, 48
+
+ Van Dyck, 133
+
+ Van Eyck, Jean, 79
+
+ Van Halter, Catherine, 24
+
+ Van Ophem, Jean, 186
+
+ Van Orley, Bernard, 184
+
+ Van Orshagen, Jean, 183
+
+ Van Steynemolen, Zacherie, 184
+
+ Van Thieleu, Jean Philippe, 192
+
+ Van Valckenborgh, Luc, 188
+  "       "        Martin, 189
+
+ Van Yleghem, Daniel, 183
+
+ Van Yper, Carel, 80
+
+ Vauban, 65
+
+ Verbeek, Francois, 186
+    "     Hans, 186
+
+ Vereeke, 65, 70
+
+ Verhaegan, P.J., 150, 153
+
+ Verhoeven, Jean, 191
+     "      Martin, 191
+
+ Verhulst, Pierre Antoine, 194
+
+ Ver Vloet, Jean, 195
+
+ Vinckboons, Maur, 184
+      "      Philip, 189
+
+
+ Waghemans, family of, 20
+
+ Waterloo, the Battle of, 206
+
+ Willems, Marc, 187
+
+ William the First of Holland, 199, 201, 204
+
+
+ Ypres, the Beguinage, 82
+   the cathedral of, 69, 72
+   the Cloth Hall, 69, 73, 74, 75, 78, 80, 81
+   the Hotel de Ville, 73
+
+ Yser, the river, 55, 62
+
+
+ Zeelstman, 19
+
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[1] Those who are interested in the subject are referred to C.
+Lemonnier's "Histoire des Beaux Arts en Belgique" (Brussels, 1881), E.
+Hessling's "La Sculpture Belge Contemporaire" (Berlin, 1903), Destree's
+"Renaissance of Sculpture in Belgium," Crowe and Cavalcaselle's "Early
+Flemish Painters" (1857).
+
+[2] This passion play is described in detail in "Some Old Flemish
+Towns." (Same author. Moffat, Yard & Co., New York, 1911.)
+
+[3] See "Some Old Flemish Towns."
+
+[4] The list is drawn in part from the "_Histoire de la Peinture et de
+la Sculpture a Malines_," _par Emmanuel Neefs_--Gand, Van der Heeghen,
+1876, translated from the manuscripts composed in Latin by the painter
+Egide Joseph Smeyers, Malines, 1774.
+
+[5] The author refers the reader to "The Constitution of Belgium," J.M.
+Vincent, Phila., 1898; "Belgium and the Belgians," C. Scudamore, London,
+1904; "History of Belgium," D.C. Boulger, London, 1900; "The Story of
+Belgium," C. Smythe, London, 1902.
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Vanished towers and chimes of Flanders, by
+George Wharton Edwards
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