Peeps At Many Lands - Belgium

PEEPS AT MANY LANDS BELGIUM BY GEORGE W. T. OMOND ILLUSTRATED BY AMEDfiE FORESTIER LONDON ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK 1909 A PEASANT WOMAN OF THE ARDENNES, CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE SANDS OPPOSITE ENGLAND .... I II. INLAND THE FLEMISH PLAIN 5 III. TRAVELLING IN BELGIUM . . . . .10 IV. SOME OF THE TOWNS THE ARDENNES . . 1 6 V. BELGIAN CHILDREN THE PREMIERE COMMUNION 28 VI. CHRISTMAS IN BELGIUM 34 VIL NEW YEARS DAY 37 Vni. PAGEANTS AND PROCESSIONS 4 IX. THE STORY OF ST. EVERMAIRE A COUNTRY PAGEANT 47 X. THE CARNIVAL . . . ., . . 51 XL CHILDRENS WINTER FESTIVALS . . . - 54 XII. THE ARCHERS GAMES PLAYED IN BELGIUM . 59 XIII. WHAT THE BELGIANS SPEAK. . . . 6j XIV. A SHORT HISTORY 70 XV. THE BELGIAN ARMY I THE CONGO . . .82 111 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS BY AMfiDjKE FORESTIER A PEASANT WOMAN OF THE ARDENNES . . frontispiece FACING I AC E THE DUNES Viii A SHRIMPER ON HORSEBACK, COXYDE 9 THE VEGETABLE MARKET, BRUGES l6 ANTWERP . . . ., . 25 THE H6rEL BE VILLE, BRUSSELS ..... 32 AT THE KERMESSE ., . . . .,4 A CHATEAU IN THE LE8SE VALLEY 48 A FARMSTEADING . . . . . . . 57 PLAYING JEU BE BOULK AT A FLEMISH INN . 64 VILLAGE AND CANAL, ADINKER UE . . . 73 WATERLOO I THE FARM OF LA BELLE ALLIANCE AND THE MOUND SURMOUNTED BY THE BELGIAN LION . . 8O A MILK-SELLER IN BRUGES on tilt Sketch M tip of Kclgiwn on p. f iii BELGIUM CHAPTER I THE SANDS OPPOSITE ENGLAND IF you leave the mouth of the Thames, or the white chalk cliffs at Dover, and sail over the water just where the English Channel meets the North Sea, you will in about three or four hours see before you a long expanse of yellow sand, and rising behind it a low ridge of sand hills, which look in the distance like a range of baby mountains. Thesesandhills are called dunes. Here and there at intervals you will see a number of little towns, each town standing by itself on the shore, and separated from its neighbour by a row of dunes and a stretch of sand. This is your first view of the little country called Belgium, which is bounded on the east by Holland, and on the west by France. It is, from end to end, about half the size of Ireland. There are no cliffs or rocks, no shingle or stones covered with seaweed. There are no trees. It is all bare sand, with moss and rushes on the higher ground BE. I Belgium above the beach. In winter the wind rages with terrific violence along the coast. The sand is blown in all directions, and the waves dash fiercely on the shore. It is cold and stormy, with mist and dark clouds, and sometimes violent showers of hail. But in summer all is changed. Often, week after week, the waves roll gently in, and break in ripples on the beach. The sky is blue, and the sands are warm. It is the best place in the world for digging and building castles. There are very few shells to gather but there are no dan gerous rocks or slippery places, and children can wade about and play in perfect safety. So many families-Belgians, English, Germans, and a few French spend the summer holidays there. Hundreds of years ago the storms of winter used to drive the waves ashore with such violence that the land was flooded, and whole villages were sometimes swept away. So the people made ramparts of earth to keep back the water, till by degrees many parts of the Belgian shore were thus protected. They still con tinue to build defences against the sea but instead of earth they now use brick and stone. It looks as if in a few yearsthe whole coast will be lined by these sea fronts, which are called digues de mer. A digue, no matter how thick, which rests on the sand alone will not last. A thick bed of green branches is first laid down as a foundation. This is strengthened by posts driven through it into the sand. Heavy timbers, resting on bundles of branches lashed to-2 The Sands Opposite England gather, are wedged into the foundations, and slope inwards and upwards to within a few feet of the height to which it is intended to carry the digue...