"THE BELGIANS AT HOME."

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 14925, 24 February 1912, Page 4 (Supplement)

"THE BELGIANS AT HOME."

VST AND PRESENT OF A FAMOUS . PEOPLE. "The Belgian's at Hojik ' (Metluien. London), written by Olive Holland, ami charmingly illustrated by Douglas Snowdon, is one of tho most interesting folkbooks of the season. Of the numerous illustrations) in colour, it may be said that they are sufficient in themselves to attract popular attention, being extremely creditable to both artist and publisher. The purpose of the volume is to deal with Belgium and its people ironi the point of view of a rambler who has at various times cycled and travelled many hundreds of miles along its highways and by-ways, and has sought to learn something of its past, history, greatness, and romance, and to pee many of its greatest architectural and art treasures in most of its known, and some of its comparatively unknown. , towns and villages. It is a record of things seen and impressions gained, an attempt, to present within the compass of j a single volume of reasonable length the j Belgium of the past and of to-day, and something at least of its alluring charm, picturesqueness. arid extraordinary intercut for the tourist and the student, whether of history, art, or character. .After summarising the romantic history of tho country Mr. Holland describes the people. The Milk Supply of Belgium. '• The milkman is almost unknown in Belgium, and except for a few boys and lads who accompany their mothers or elder sisters, all the sellers and carriers of milk • pre women, who go round with their little farts and the brightly polished copper or brass milkcans which are so well-known to ail tourist?. '• A word may well bo said regarding the excellent management of the Belgian dairy farms, and of the milk supply. Inspections of the milk-carts and the milk are frequently held in most- of the large towns for th©"purpose of ascertaining whether the many regulations that exist for the proper conduct of the business are being duly carried out. Not only is the milk itself carefully tested, but the cans are examined to see that they are thoroughly clean, and in every respect in a state of good repair." The Decline of Bruges. The story of the decline of once-famous Bruges should be a lesson to all modern ports which fail to provide adequate wharfage "Bruges/' we are told, "was the scene of activity almost equal to that of the great streets of London of to-day, and the principal commercial quarters of Paris and Vienna. Speaking of this epoch and of its commerce, a wellknown and distinguished writer on • the period said: 'The town presented an animated and prosperous eights. The markets, streets!, and quays were thronged by crowds of busy people almost of all nationalities and of all classes, whilst a great number of the principal merchants came to Bruges from all parts of Europe. It was here , that the battle of commerce was fought out. each one clamouring for attention and preference. Here were to be found those who bought hemp, Dutch flax, English wool, Spanish skins and hides, Italian cilks, the sheeting and cloths of Brabant and of Flanders, the wines of France, Por- ] tugal, and Greece, the ironmongery and - hardware of Germany, with a multitude ( of manufactured articles of horn, ivory, r boxwood and other woods, glass, iron, pewter, leather, brass, silver, and gold. 1 In the middle of the market were to be t seen the richest merchants of the Hanse- j atic League, who were recognisable by j their elegant costumes and by the badges i of their powerful guilds. On the outskirts 1 were gathered an unbroken line of moneychangers, the tables of whom shone with j |f-. piles of the currency of all nations. In the immediate neighbourhood 50,000 work- — found employment, the most part in ri; the manufacture of cloth. And cloth mer- j gijV chants, mercers, and brewers formed the ( | V chief of the nine members of the Town Council. The weavers of wool, the fullers, W the shearers and dyers, formed amongst ' themselves the second members of this j body. Such corporations or guilds were j It >' in reality the under-vjUsals of the city, j V - having their military and financial duties, , tit V their political and industrial rights, * sharply defined ' (

The Silting of the Zwin. '" The story of the decline of proud, prosperous, and richly-dowered Bruges •would form a long, romantic, and pathetic volume in itself;.but may briefly mention as the principal cause of this decline the silting up of the Zwin, a gene-, ral term given to creeks on the Belgiaa sea-coast, but one more especially attached to the great arm of the sea which put Bruges in communication with the North Sea by -way of Sluys. "Already in 1410 navigation between Bruges and Sluys had become difficult. In 1470 large ships were no longer able to reach Damme", and five year." later the port of the city had almost disappeared under the alluvial deposits. About the commencement of the 15th century we see tho town of Bruges struggling (luring a period of 100 years against the siltingup of the channel and harbour. Number less committees of inquiry were formed fo>* the purpose of discovering the cause of the evil, and feasible remedies, but in those days committees and plans do not appear to have resulted in any serious grappling with the insidious enemy which was destroying the prosperity of Bruges,"