The Polders are seen on the left bank above Fort Liefkenshock. These remained under water Juring the contest with the Dutch. Before arriving at Antwerp, we pass several other forts. The Duke of Parma, in 1505, threw across the Scheldt his celebrated bridge, 2,400 feet long, between the Callto on the left, and Oordam on the right, by means of which he closed the navigation of the river, and so cut off all supplies from the besieged city of Antwerp, which caused it chiefly to surrender. It was guarded at either point by two forts, and on it were mounted 97 pieces of cannon. Beside, it was a protecting fleet, which was to assist in repelling any attack. A foreign engineer residing at Antwerp invented fire-ships, which were sent against the bridge and blew up one of the stockades, killing ECO Spanish soldiers. Another attempt was made by the besieged to destroy the bridge, but it failed, and Antwerp had to surrender. Opposite the Fort of St. Lawrent, immediately below Antwerp, a young Dutch officer, Van Speyk, blew himself and his ship up, when boarded by the Belgians. A monument, for this suicidal act, has been erected to his memory. Antwerp. (In French, Anvers.)—Hotels : The Hotel St. Antoine, one of the best in Europe; much frequented by the English for the excellent accommodation it affords, and its table d'hôte, which is deservedly celebrated. The Hotel du Parc is an excellent house.-The landlord speaks English fluently, is attentive and obliging, and extremely popular with English travellers. Ship Broker: Mr. B. Kennedy, agent of the General Steam Navigation Company. It is 60 miles from the sea, 27 from Brussels, 32 from Ghent, 150 from Cologne, and 258 from Paris. The Post Office is in the Place Verte. A British Consul is resident. On the Quay Van Dyck, on the opposite bank of the river, is the station of the Direct railway to Ghent. Omnibuses call at the hotels to convey passengers. The stand for Vigilantes is by the Post Office and Place de Meir. "Astonished I beheld the adjoining port, Belgium's emporium, and the fam'd repute Of riches maritime; a wondrous sight." The commercial capital of Belgium is situated on the banks of the Scheldt. It is celebrated for its magnificent docks, constructed under the di 25 rection of Napoleon, which are capable of receiv ing two thousand ships. At a former period of its history Antwerp contained a population of 200,000 souls, and at this instant it still appears a bustling thriving city, with only 80,000 persons, who find employment in the occupations afforded by its maritime commerce, and its manufactories of black silk, its sugar refineries, its manufacture, bleaching, and embroidery of lace. Antwerp possesses several large and spacious streets, with more splendid mansions than there are suitable inhabitants for. But although it is still a comparatively flourishing city, and carries on a maritime trade with the whole world, and the Bourse, or Change, is still filled with the modern merchant or ship. owner, yet its ancient greatness has departed, though the mansions of its once merchant princes still remain as memorials of its former greatness. Tradition ascribes its origin to a giant, who inhabited a fortress on the banks of the Scheldt, and exacted a heavy tribute from all who wished to cross the stream, under pain of losing their right hand. This continued until Brabon (who gave his name to Brabant) succeeded in destroying the monster, whose right hand he cut off and threw it into the river, thence the residence of the giant obtained the name of Handwerpen, from hand, werpen, to throw. The memory of this fabulous legend is preserved in the city arms, which contain two amputated hands, a triangular castle. It is, however, historically certain that this town was in existence as early as the fourth century. In 630 a church dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul was built by St. Amand, who first preached the Gospel here. The town was afterwards ravaged by the Normans, and from 886 to 980 was in the possession of the Moors, who were annihilated in the latter year by the inhabitants of Flanders. In the twelfth century the commercial privileges granted to Antwerp by the Dukes of Brabant, had attracted so many strangers, that the town was insufficient to contain themselves, and in 1304, John II. enlarged it considerably. Its harbour was open to ships of all nations, and having partaken, in common with the rest of Belgium, of the advantages of the sovereignty of the Dukes of Burgundy, Antwerp became, in the sixteenth century, the first commercial city in the world. The Scheldt was navigable for the largest vessels, being 20 feet deep at low water, and 40 feet at high water. At this period the population of the city exceeded 200,000, among whom were 300 painters and 124 goldsmiths; 500 vessels entered the harbour daily, and 2,500 was the average number of those at anchor before the city. The taxes received in the city annually amounted to 2,000,000 florins (£160,000), the sums circulated every year by the commerce of the town exceeded 500,000,000 (£40,000,000). During the reign of the emperor Charles V., a merchant of Antwerp, named Daens, having received the honour of his sovereign's company at dinner, closed the repast by throwing into the flames the Emperor's acknowledgment for 2,000,000 florins, which he had lent him, saying that the loan was more than repaid by the honour of the visit. It was on this occasion that the Emperor made the remarkable reply, which coming from such a mouth, is a never-to-be-forgotten tribute to the dignity of commerce, "My friends! the nobles pillage me, the men of letters instruct me, but the merchants enrich me." From the time of the independence of the United Provinces, the importance of Antwerp gradually declined; the Dutch, with their usual policy, having made themselves masters of the Scheldt, blocked up the entrance of the harbour, and by that means transferred to Amsterdam the greater part of the commerce of Antwerp. In 1576. the Spanish garrison having been left for a long time without pay, rose in a revolt, burnt the townhouse, pillaged the city, putting to the sword more than 10,000 inhabitants. In 1582, the Duke de Alençon, having been unsuccessful in his attempt to gain the hand of Elizabeth of England, arrived in Antwerp, where he was inaugurated Duke of Brabant, in pursuance of the treaty made in 1580, at Plessis-les-Tours. In 1583, the Duke contrived to introduce a numerous body of French troops into the territory, with whose assistance he endeavoured to establish himself as the absolute king of the Low Countries, but, being defeated in his attempt by the resolute resistance of every class of the inhabitants, he retired to Chateau-Thierry, where he died of grief, in June, 1534. It was at Antwerp that the celebrated truce, for twelve years, between Belgium and the United Provinces was signed, on the 9th of April, 1609. In 1700, the Duke of Marlborough took the town, and in 1746 it was successfully besieged by the French, but restored to Austria in 1748, by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. After the French [Rout: 4 revolution it was frequently taken and re-taken by the French and Austrians, but remained quietly in the possession of the former from 1794 until 1814, when it became part of the new kingdom of the Netherlands. By treaty made between France and Holland, in 1795, the mouth of the Scheldt was re-opened, since that period, the commerce of Antwerp has been reviving, and, as the navigation of the Scheldt is now declared open, it is fast regaining, at the expense of Amsterdam, the commercial advantages of which it had been deprived. There is no town in Belgium which possesses so much attraction as Antwerp. It literally abounds in the riches of art, and several days, at least, should be devoted to an attentive examination of its treasures. The churches claim our first notice. The Cathedral of Notre Dame is the most splendid Gothic building in Europe. It was commenced about the middle of the thirteenth century and occupied 84 years in building. It is 500 feet long by 230 wide, and 360 high, and contains 230 vaulted arcades, supported by 125 columns. The tower is 466 feet high, and the ascent to it is by 622 steps; it was commenced in 1422 from designs by the architect Amelius, and finished in 1518. The exquisite lightness and purity of proportion exhibited in this tower are unequalled; the view from the summit extends over an immense expanse of flat country. It was intended to have a second tower of the same height, which was commenced, but was never built higher than the årst gallery. In 1540 a chime of 60 bells was added to the tower. On entering the cathedral by the principal nave, the eye is struck with the magnificent cupola; in the ceiling is seen the Virgin surrounded by Angels with unfolded wings. Approaching the choir we perceive the grand altar, executed in marble from the designs of Rubens, and ornamented with his immortal work representing the Assumption. In this cathedral are also the Elevation of the Cross, consisting of a centre with two wings, and the Descent from the Cross, to which have been appended, as wings, the Visitation and Purification of Mary. These pictures are in Rubens' best style, the anatomical precision with which every muscle is delineated by the Elevation is beyond praise; in the Descent the right arm of our Saviour deserves particular notice. It would be impossible to particularise in detail all the objects of interest in this splendid Route 4] ANTWERP CHURCHES OF STS. JAMES, ANDREW, AND PAUL. building, but we must mention the chapel of the Sacrament, the altar of which, executed by Verbuiggen, represents the Holy Ark, and is ornamented by a splendid picture of the Disciples at Emmaus, by Herreyres; the portraits of Luther, Calvin, Erasmus, and the other now celebrated reformers, contained in a picture representing our Saviour disputing with the Doctors, by Franck, the elder. The tomb of Ambrose Cappello, seventh bishop, deserves particular praise, the pulpit, also by Verbruggen, the white marble figure sculptured by Scheemakes, on the tomb of Van Delft; the mausoleum of the printer, Moretus, enriched by the pencil of Rubens, and an exquisite picture of the Marriage of Cana, by Martin de Vas. This cathedral formerly contained 32 altars, all of white marble, but one only escaped the devastating fury of the revolutionary mob. Near the foot of the tower, outside the cathedral, is the tomb of Quentin Matsys, with this inscription: "Connubialis amor de muliebra fecit appelem." This epitaph commemorates the fact of Matsys having abandoned his original trade of a blacksmith, in order to study painting and render himself worthy of the hand of his beloved, the daughter of Flors, a painter, who had resolved to have none but an artist for a son-in-law. After indefatigable study for many months, Matsys began to hope that he should succeed in his new undertaking, but had not determined in what manner to make his first attempt to win the professional approbation of Flors, when being one day in the artist's study, his attention was struck by a singular painting called the Fallen Angels, which Flors had just finished, after immense labour, and which he considered as his masterpiece. Actuated by a sudden and irresistible impu'se, Matsys seized a pencil and painted an enormous bee crawling on the thigh of one of the Angels. Such an exploit would have ruined the young aspirant with most artists, but Flors had seen enough to appreciate the talent displayed in the execution, and not only forgave the singular marner of its development, but rewarded the artist with his daughter's hand. The picture is still preserved in the Museum. Near this tomb is the famous well, the iron work of which was entirely made by Matsys with the hammer, and without the use of files, proving that he was as eminent in his original trade as in his adopted profession. On Sundays and high festivals the 27 masses of the great German composers are admirably performed in the cathedral. The church next in importance is that of St. James; it is of great extent, and adorned with a number of Ionic columns in marble, supporting the great entrance; the marble gallery and the grand altar, inlaid with white and black marble, and supported by twisted columns, are perfect specimens of art. In this church is the tomb of Rubens; near it is a picture by himself, representing the infant Jesus sitting on his mother's knees, surrounded by a number of figures, all of which are portraits of the painter, his wives, and family; one of the females represents the original of the celebrated Chapeau de Paille. The pulpit, chastely and elegantly sculptured by Willemsens, merits attention, as do all the windows. The various chapels, 28 in number, are built with marble of different colours; in that dedicated to the Holy Sacrament, is a splendid picture of the Last Supper, by Otto Vennius, and three admirable pieces of sculpture, St. Peter, by Werbruggen, St. Paul, by Willemsens, and the First Person of the Trinity, by Quellyn; and in that of St. Roch is a magnificent picture of the saint, by Seghers. The Last Judgment, by Van Heemsen, is a singular picture, deserving attention from the peculiarly vivid tint which the robes have retained, though more than 300 years have elapsed since it was painted. There are numerous other works of great merit, but it is sufficient to draw the attention of the tourist to the above as the principal. The Church of St. Andrew was made a parochial church in 1529, by Margaret of Austria, the sister of Charles V. of Germany, on the occasion of her signing with Louisa of Savoy, Duchess of Augouléme, the mother of Francis I. of France, the treaty of Cambay, which, negotiated and concluded by the talents of two women, brought to a termination (though unfortunately but for a short time) the long pending wars between those powerful and rival princes. In this church are numerous marble altars of great beauty, and several fine pictures, the principal of which are the Martyrdom of St. Andrew, by Otto Vennius, and the Guardian Angel, by Quellyn. It also contains a portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a marble mausoleum executed to her memory at the expense of two English ladies. The parochial Church of St. Paul wa built in |