Compare this picture with Gravure No. 1. Both were photographed from
about the same spot. As may be seen, the devastation wrought by the
War is almost complete. The main façade of the great Cloth Hall had a
frontage of 433 feet; the square bell tower was 230 feet high]
From the earliest times the Belgae have been known as a hardy,
courageous and determined people. Julius Caesar had as much trouble in
his day in subduing them as the Kaiser had with their descendants in
the first year of the World War. Caesar came into conflict with the
Belgae when he was campaigning for the conquest of Gaul in 57 B. C.,
and it was only after long fighting that he crushed them. Even then
they refused to remain in subjection. In a few years several of the
Belgae tribes revolted, and had to be dealt with anew. When the Roman
Empire was reorganized under Augustus, the Belgae were included in the
province of Gallia Belgica, which extended from the west bank of the
Rhine to the North Sea and south to Lake Constance.
* * * * *
Julius Caesar wrote, in his history of the Conquest of Gaul, “_Horum
omnium fortissimi sunt Belgae_,” which, freely translated, means that
“the Belgae were, all around, the bravest” of the races that the Roman
Conqueror met in the Gallic wars. Caesar was a man of cool, clear
judgment, not averse to giving a doughty foe due credit, and several
trying experiences in fierce encounters with the Belgae had afforded
him a just measure of their fearless, intrepid qualities. His appraisal
of their valor has had full confirmation in our day--with all the
peoples of the earth, but the Huns, sympathetic witnesses.
* * * * *
The attitude of the nations toward “Belgium the Brave” has probably
found no more glowing expression than in the eloquent tribute of Mr.
Hugh Stokes, in his recent book on the Belgians. “To an indomitable
race,” he exclaims, “civilized mankind offers a silent homage. A new
meaning has been given to the inspiration of patriotism. And, in
showing us how death can be despised Belgium rises to a new life and an
immortal glory among the nations.”
[Illustration: W. D. Moffat