Part 11

The Hotel de Ville and the University of Ghent are both fine buildings; the first has highly decorated frontages on two sides, that on the north showing the greater wealth of detail and ornament. A more modern, but very noble, structure is the university, containing a museum and library.

ANTWERP

Three centuries ago the city of Antwerp had in Europe scarcely a rival in commerce and affluence. To-day Antwerp remains one of the most populous commercial cities of Belgium, although the period of its greatest splendour passed with the Spanish persecution under the Duke of Alva. Not only as a busy port and mart is the city on the Schelde famous. It has renown as a centre of the arts, as the home of several of the most illustrious painters of the Flemish school, and as the birthplace of one of the first academies of painting. As a fortified town, it has always been of first importance in the defence of Belgium.

The traveller from England, as the Harwich boat steams up Goldsmith's "lazy Scheld" at daybreak, in summer-time, sees long grey vistas, on either side of the estuary, of flat pastures and fertile fields of grain, spreading away to Bruges to the south, and across the island of Walcheren, to the north. Flushing comes into sight, its roofs and spires lit by the rising sun, which quickly lends colour to the landscape, and reveals a picturesque town, intersected by canals, lined with vessels. Past islets and sandbanks, upon which sea-birds congregate, the steamer follows the line of buoys and beacons, until the river, though still tidal, becomes narrower, and in sixty odd miles from its mouth, washes the quays of Antwerp.

During this approach to the city by the Schelde an impression is formed in the mind of the voyager of the ingenious methods of dyke-making, canal construction, and damming which have so greatly aided in the prosperity of Holland and Belgium. Antwerp owes its wealth as much to the toil of the engineer and the agriculturist as to the merchant and craftsman. Rural Belgium is well populated, except in some parts of the Ardennes; the farms are tilled with science, the towns and villages of the Schelde-side are bright and clean, and inhabited by industrious, thrifty people.

Antwerp probably derives its name from "an t' werf," "on the wharf." Its position on a deep navigable river was one of the principal causes of the early commercial supremacy of the city. When Venice, Nuremberg, and Bruges were declining, the port on the Schelde was in the height of its repute, and second to Paris in the number of its inhabitants, among whom but few were poor. In education Antwerp excelled in these fortunate days, for the schools were admirable, and every burgher's child could benefit by the teaching provided by the senate.

Philip II. of Spain, who despised the Flemings and Walloons, and disliked their loquacity, was received joyously in Antwerp, as hereditary sovereign of the seventeen Netherlands. The city was gay with triumphant arches and splendid banners; a gorgeous assemblage of dignitaries and their servants, with a great troop of soldiers, met the Spanish sovereign without the gates. His coldness and reserve disturbed the minds of the citizens. After Philip came the Duke of Alva with his reign of tyranny, the setting up of the Inquisition in Antwerp, the ruin of the silk trade, and the vast emigration of the oppressed workers to other countries, especially to England.

In 1566, William of Orange was in Antwerp, and two years later, as soon as the prince had left the city, the natives bent to the rule of the oppressor. The Spaniards, defeated at Brussels, prepared some years after for an attack upon Antwerp, then the richest city of Belgium. On a grey wintry morning, the enemy encompassed the walls of the city, the besieged having been reinforced by an army of Walloons. The fight was one of the most desperate ever recorded in history. Gaining entrance, the Spaniards swept up the chief thoroughfares; "the confused mob of fugitives and conquerors, Spaniards, Walloons, Germans, burghers," writes Motley, "struggling, shouting, striking, cursing, dying, swayed hither and thither like a stormy sea."

A frightful massacre followed upon the conquest of Antwerp, no less than eight thousand men, women, and children were put to death by the ferocious victors.

Merchants were tortured in order to extort from them the hiding-places of their gold; the poor were killed because they had no store for the plunderer; and a young bride was torn from the arms of the bridegroom, and conveyed to a dungeon, where she tried to strangle herself with her long gold chain. She was stripped of her jewels and dress, beaten, and flung into the streets, to meet death at the hands of a rabble of soldiers. Such were the horrors of the capture of Antwerp, to be followed by the "Spanish Fury," in which more persons were slain than in the terrible massacre of St Bartholomew.

The siege of 1830, on 27th October, was one of the most sanguinary conflicts in modern warfare. Attacked by the implacable General Chassé, the inhabitants had to face a terrible cannonade. The cathedral was damaged, the arsenal fired, and the townsfolk crouched in terror in vaults and cellars, while many of them fled into the open country.

Again in the revolution of 1830, and in 1832, Antwerp was the scene of battle.

From such records of carnage and cruelty, it is a relief to turn the pages of history till we read of the arts that flourished for so long in Antwerp. Not only were the wealthy classes of the city cultivated beyond the standard of many countries of Europe, but the artisans also shared in the general culture, and cherished respect for art.

Quentin Matsys, whose pictures may be studied in the museum, was one of the early painters of Antwerp. Rubens and Teniers were both associated with the city, and their statues stand in the streets. Vandyk is another famous artist upon the roll of honour of Antwerp, and his image in marble is in the Rue des Fagots.

Peter Paul Rubens was born in 1577, in Siegen. He was the pupil of Verhaecht and Van Nort, and afterwards of Otto Van Veen, whom he assisted in the decoration of Antwerp at the time of the visit of Albert and Isabella. Rubens travelled in Italy, where he pursued his art studies, afterwards settling in Antwerp at the beginning of the twelve years' truce. Here he painted most of his chief pictures. The works in the cathedral were finished in 1614.

Under the patronage of Charles I. Rubens visited England, and was commissioned to embellish the banqueting hall in Whitehall. His fame also reached Spain, and his "Metamorphoses of Ovid" was painted for the royal hunting seat of that country.

Sir Joshua Reynolds, though a somewhat prejudiced critic of Dutch and Belgian painting, visited the Low Countries more than once, and brought back art treasures to England. In 1781, he wrote to Burke from Antwerp, where he inspected the pictures in the churches.

The Museum contains some of the masterpieces of Rubens, and notable examples of the work of Vandyk, Teniers, Rembrandt, and Van Eyck. Here is the great work of Quentin Matsys, "The Descent from the Cross." For the best-known painting by Rubens, "The Descent from the Cross," we must visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame. It has been said that the painting of the picture was suggested to Rubens by an Italian engraving, for there are traces in it of Italian influence. Parts of the painting have been restored and cleaned. It is seen to good advantage from a short distance, for the painting was planned for a large building. "The Elevation of the Cross" is another of the treasures in the cathedral. This, in the opinion of Sir Joshua Reynolds, is one of the chief pictures by Rubens. "The Assumption of the Virgin" was painted rapidly, and decorates the choir.

The cathedral is Gothic, and one of the finest in Europe. The interior is impressive, with its wide nave and aisles. The choir stalls are beautifully carved, and should be carefully examined as examples of Gothic art. The pulpit is also carved, but the work is indifferent. The steeple, one of the highest in Christendom, is very exquisite, like lace work rather than stone and metal. In the tower are the many tuneful bells that ring out chimes, and one huge bell with a sonorous note.

In the churches of St Paul and St Jacques, and of the Augustines, are paintings of great interest by Rubens, Vandyk, and Teniers.

A ramble around the fortifications will show how strong are the defences of the city, which have been constructed since the last siege in 1832. Walls and citadels, well provided with points of vantage for artillery fire, begirt Antwerp to-day. The forts and barriers cost an enormous sum. Guns and ammunition are made in the city, which is the chief fortress of the country, and an important military centre.

In the Grande Place stands the town hall, a florid building, containing several paintings, though none of remarkable note, except some frescoes by Leys, one of the most eminent of modern Belgian painters.

Our tour of the city must include a visit to the house of Rubens, in the street named after him. The archway is from the designs of the painter, whose studio was in the grounds.

The first Exchange was erected in 1531, and destroyed by fire in 1858. It was from this building that the plan of the London Royal Exchange was taken. The modern Bourse is in the Rue de la Bourse.

Antwerp is architecturally a handsome city, with several fine squares, wide promenades, and well-planned streets. The docks are extensive, and the long quays stretch thence to the old fort on the south side. There is a triangular park with sheets of water, beyond the great Boulevard, and in the zoological garden is a fairly representative collection of animals. In the Rue Leopold is the botanic garden.

The Plantin Museum, containing relics and volumes of one famous printer, is one of the public institutions that must be visited.

Such are the chief monuments and objects of interest in the old city of Antwerp, where the ancient and the modern are both represented side by side in odd contrast.

AMSTERDAM

A horn of flatland, bounded by the North Sea and the Zuyder Zee, juts northward, with Haarlem and Amsterdam at its base. Sundered by a channel from the point of the horn is Texel, the biggest of the curious line of islands that stretches along the coast to Friesland. This Helder, or "Hell's Door," the tidal channel leading to the broad inlet of the Zuyder Zee, runs like a mill-race, and the passage is deep enough to admit large vessels travelling to the port of Amsterdam.

The capital of Holland is built upon logs driven into the firm earth through morass and silt. It is a city of canals and dykes, spanned by hundreds of bridges, a northern Venice, dependent for its safety upon the proper control of sluices. The devouring sea is kept at bay by a mighty dam. Truly, Amsterdam is one of the wonders of men's ingenuity.

The plan of its streets is remarkable; the thoroughfares are a series of semi-circles with their points to the Zuyder Zee. The flow of the canals and waterways that wind about the city is impelled by artificial means. The number of the piles upon which the palace of Amsterdam stands is reckoned at nearly fourteen thousand.

About the thirteenth century, the building of the city began around the castle of Amstel, on a tidal marsh. During the siege of Haarlem by the Spanish, Amsterdam depended upon its waterway for food supplies. The Duke of Alva wrote: "Since I came into the world, I have never been in such anxiety. If they should succeed in cutting off the communications along the dykes, we should have to raise the siege of Haarlem, to surrender, hands crossed, or to starve."

In 1787 when the King of Prussia brought his troops to Holland, in favour of the stadtholder, Amsterdam surrendered its garrison. And in 1795 the French entered the city without the resistance of the inhabitants.

Sir Thomas Overbury, who wrote in 1609, describes Amsterdam as surpassing "Seville, Lisbon, and any other mart-town in Christendom." The city maintained a great fleet of vessels trading to the East Indies, the German ports, and the towns of the Baltic Sea.

The historian relates that the people were not "much wicked," though disposed to drink; they were hard bargainers, but just, thrifty, hardworking, and shrewd in commerce. To-day the natives of Amsterdam are assuredly "inventive in manufactures," and eminently capable in all affairs of trading and finance.

The fishing industry has declined seriously, but the export trade of Amsterdam is enormous, the products being chiefly butter, cheese, cotton goods, glass manufactures, leather goods, bread, stuffs, and gin. In 1900 the population of the city was 523,558.

Amsterdam is still a metropolis of capitalists, many of whom are of the Jewish race, while it is a principal European centre of the diamond trade. The famous banking system, established under guarantee of the city, in 1609, is described at length by Adam Smith in his "Wealth of Nations."

"Public utility," he writes, "and not revenue was the original object of this institution. Its object was to relieve the merchants from the inconvenience of a disadvantageous exchange." The bank was under the control of four reigning burgomasters, who were changed every year.

The opulence of Amsterdam is apparent to the stranger who roams its streets to-day. Factories abound, artificers are numerous, and everywhere there are evidences of a prosperity that recalls the day when most of the business of Europe was transacted in these narrow, twisted streets, and a large fleet of vessels traded with the Indies.

Here several renowned printers set up their presses in the seventeenth century, and many famous books were printed in the city. During the following century Amsterdam still remained the great commercial capital of Europe.

The immigration of Spanish and Portuguese Jews into Holland brought to the city a fresh class of artisans, and gave an impulse to several crafts. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries there was a vigorous intellectual development in Amsterdam. Several notable men were natives. Spinoza was born here, in 1632, after the routing of the Spanish forces. His parents were traders, Jewish fugitives from Spain.

Baruch, or Bendictus, Spinoza excelled even his tutors at the age of fourteen, and the Rabbin Saul Levi Morteira was astounded by the boy's capacity for learning. A troubled, but resplendent life lay before this dark-eyed Hebrew youth. He was of the order of reformers, and shared the griefs and the trials of all who strive to benefit humanity.

Persecution pursued Spinoza from the day when he conflicted with Morteira in the synagogue, uttering opinions which were regarded as dire heresy. We read of attempts upon his life, of excommunication, and of ostracism. The philosopher supported himself by polishing lenses for telescopes and optical instruments, until he was able to leave Amsterdam for the University of Leyden. Later came recognition with the publication of the great "Tractatus."

When offered a pension by the King of France, the philosopher refused it, fearing that if he became a slave of the State, he might sacrifice his liberty of thought. Spinoza lived in extreme simplicity, it is said that he spent only twopence-farthing a day on his needs. His temper was equable. "Reason is my delight," he declared. "A virtuous life is not a sad and gloomy one."

Strange that this noble and tolerant thinker should have been described as an enemy of humanity. "The God-intoxicated man," as Novalis said of Spinoza, was accused of atheism in a day when philosophic doubt was synonymous with crime. It was only such thinkers as Hegel, Lessing, Goethe and Schelling who were able to appraise Spinoza at his true value. For the uncultured he remained for generations an enemy of virtue.

In Amsterdam Spinoza formed at least a measure of toleration among the citizens. He writes: "In the midst of this flourishing republic, this great city, men of all nations and all sects live together in the most perfect harmony."

A monument to Spinoza was unveiled by Renan at the Hague, in 1877.

Amsterdam abounds in memories of Rembrandt, though many of his paintings are distributed in the galleries of other cities. The rich capital of Holland encouraged painters, poets, and men of science; and in the year when Spinoza was born, Rembrandt settled in Amsterdam, and soon became noted as a painter of portraits. His house is in the Breestraat. In his day, it was beautifully adorned with works of art, and he owned a large collection of engravings. Like many great artists, Rembrandt lived absorbed in his labours, seldom frequenting society. After a spell of reverses he went to live on the Rozengracht, and in this house on the quay he spent his last days.

We think of Rembrandt, in the busy Amsterdam of his day, writing to a friend: "In this great town wherein I am, there being no man, save me, who does not pursue commerce; everyone is so attentive to his own profit that I might remain here all my life unseen of any." Here, leading a life of strenuous simplicity, content with his labour, a piece of cheese and a crust, Rembrandt painted many memorable pictures. He soon became one of the most respected of Amsterdam's citizens. His pupils were many, and they paid high fees for their tuition. But Rembrandt remained almost a recluse, and seldom forsook his studio for festive company.

In the Fodor Museum in Amsterdam may be seen the "Tribute Money," some portrait drawings, and "Mars and Venus in the Net." Several of Rembrandt's works are in private collections in the city. The picture gallery also contains some of the painter's famous pictures.

For a glimpse of the business life of Amsterdam, we must stroll in the Kalver Straat, an interesting thoroughfare, running from the palace to the sea, and then along the harbour and the quay. The great dyke encloses a number of docks, all thronged with ships, and the fish market should be seen. Herring-curing, by the way, was the invention of a native of the Low Countries.

Among the public buildings that will repay inspection, are the Town Hall, the Bourse, and two churches, the old church and the new church. The older church dates from about 1300. Its beautiful stained windows were painted at a later date. There are some tombs here of illustrious naval conquerors, and these, and the magnificent organ, in its very ornate gallery, are the chief objects of interest.

The new church is scarcely "new," for it was built in 1408. This is a fine edifice, with a number of monuments, an interesting carved pulpit, and metal-work screen.

Admiral De Ruyter lived here, the great adversary of Blake, and the gallant commander who held us at bay off the coast of Suffolk, and did such damage to our ships in the Medway.

The pictures in the Museum are representative of the Dutch school, and the collection includes many masterpieces; the chief artists represented are Teniers, Rembrandt, Paul Potter, Gerard Douw, and Vandyk.

The situation of Amsterdam, on a salt marsh, with a stratum of mud below its houses, would seem dangerous to the health of the city. It is, however, a very healthy capital, and the inhabitants do not apparently suffer from the specific diseases that are said to flourish in low, wet lands.

Amsterdam leaves a picture in the mind of mediæval lanes and alleys, with curious turrets and gables, shadowing slow canals; of sunlight and vivid colour; of ships coming and going, and bustling quays, and streets with old and new houses quaintly jumbled.

COLOGNE

In the days of Roman dominion, a city called Civitas Ubiorum was built by the Rhine upon the site where now stands the fortified mediæval town of Cologne. Remains of the Roman occupation are still to be traced in the city in the bases of walls, but the amphitheatre was demolished long ago. Agrippina was born here, and Trajan ruled in the fortress.

In the Middle Ages Cologne was a prosperous city, with a wide trading repute, and celebrated for its arts and learning. William Caxton came here to learn printing, an industry which he introduced into England. Militarism and clerical domination appear to have been the chief causes of the long spell of misfortune that fell later upon Cologne. Persecution was one of the principal occupations of a number of the people at this period; and much zeal was expended in expelling heretics, Jews and Protestants from the city.

Cologne also suffered decline through the closing of the Rhine as a navigable waterway by the Dutch, and it was not until 1837 that the river was re-opened to trading vessels plying to foreign ports. To-day the city is an important commercial and industrial centre.

Perhaps the best general view of Cologne is from the opposite bank of the Rhine. The city is a forest of spires and towers; there were at one time over two thousand clerics within the walls, and religious buildings were more numerous then than to-day.

The wide river is spanned by two bridges; the more important is a wonderful structure, over thirteen hundred feet in length, and made of iron.

The Cathedral was begun in the thirteenth century, but it remained for a considerable time in an unfinished state, and portions fell into decay. Frederick William III. restored the building, and added to it; and since this time the work has been continued in several parts of the edifice. Externally the Cathedral is a stately building with its flying buttresses, host of pinnacles, and splendid south doorway. The architecture is French--rather German--Gothic.

In the choir are very brilliant stained windows, some mural pictures, and numerous statues of Scriptural characters. The painted windows here, and in the aisles, are extremely gorgeous examples of this art. Among the objects of interest in the chapels are memorials of the archbishops of the city, and an early painting, known as the Dombild, depicting the saints of Cologne.

The Church of St Ursula and of the Eleven Thousand Virgins is remarkable for its treasury of the bones of the adventurous virgins of the famous legend. These relics are embedded in the walls of the choir. There are a few pictures, but none of note, in this church.

St Maria Himmelfahrt, the church of the Jesuits, is highly flamboyant in its embellishments. Amongst its treasures are the rosary of St Ignatius and the crozier of St Francis Xavier. In St Gereon's Church is a collection of the bones of the martyrs killed during the persecution by the Romans. Architecturally, this church deserves careful attention for it has ancient portions, and presents several styles. The baptistery and sacristy are very ornate in design.

One of the works of Rubens is in St Peter's Church. This is the well-known altar picture of "The Crucifixion of St Peter." Sir Joshua Reynolds and Wilkie have both recorded their impressions of this great work. Rubens esteemed this as the best picture that he ever painted; but Reynolds thought the drawing feeble, and surmised that it was finished by one of the pupils of Rubens, after the master's death.

The Church of Santa Maria is on the site of the Roman capital, and on the same ground stood a palace at a later date. It is interesting for its decorated choir, and the old doorways. There are several other churches in Cologne that should be visited.

In the museum there are many pictures, including one by Durer, "St Francis," by Rubens, "A Madonna," by Titian, and a work by Vandyk.