we begin to find them. We have left the London and Paris collections for
examination as we return. From the catalogue, we found there were about
six hundred pictures here, and some statuary. The chief attraction of
this gallery is found in the few early Flemish paintings which it
boasts. I think a Gerard Dow will long be remembered by me. It is an
interior, and the effect of the light in the room is admirable. Many of
the paintings are styled Gothic; that means they were painted previous
to the time of Van Eyck. An interior of the Antwerp Cathedral, by Neefs,
is very fine; and I was much pleased with some large pictures by
Philippe Champagne, some' of whose portraits I have seen in New York.
Here are four pictures by Paul Veronese. No. 285 is the Marriage of
Cana. I think I never saw a picture in which I was so impressed with the
magnificence of the coloring. The table is richly spread, and the light
appears on it, coming down the columns; the rich colors of the fruits
contrasting strongly with the white table and gay dress of one of the
figures. The management of light, by introducing various colors in the
dresses, is wonderful, and the blue sky produces the happiest effect. I
never before understood how much a picture depended on the arrangement
of color. The drapery of this composition struck me greatly; and
although I know little of great paintings, yet I do know what I like,
and this picture, as a whole, seems to me wonderfully fine.
In 1695, when this town was bombarded by the French, fourteen churches
were destroyed, some of which contained the best pictures of Rubens,
Vandyke, and other great painters of that century. I observed here a
good portrait of Henrietta, queen of Charles I., who seems to have been
a favorite with painters. I have seen a score of her faces by Vandyke at
Windsor, Paris, and elsewhere. This was by Mignard. All make her very
beautiful.
The Adoration of the Magi, by Van Eyck, the inventor of oil painting, is
curious; and a Descent from the Cross, by Hemling, who flourished about
1450, interested me. Amongst the pictures by unknown masters I saw some
good ones. I thought the portraits in this class very spirited. One of
Bloody Mary was quite a picture.
In this building, too, the doctor found a treat in the great Burgundy
Library, where are nearly twenty thousand MSS., some of which are the
most richly-illuminated vellums that are known. Some of the miniatures
of the early fathers and saints are of exquisite beauty. This precious
collection has twice, I learn, been stolen by the French, as were also
the best pictures. The library consists of about two hundred thousand
volumes. I saw some glorious specimens of Russian malachite.
You would, I am sure, Charley, hardly forgive me if I had had so little
of your love of the curious as to go away from Brussels without a look
at the world-renowned fountain--the _Manekin._ One day, when upon a
tramp, we inquired it out. The dirty dog is a little bronze figure, made
by the famous Duquesnoy in 1648. It stands at the corner of the Rue du
Chene and the Rue de l'Etuve. He still maintains his ground; and there
seems no danger of his losing his occupation.
The Botanical Garden lies on the side of the hill leading from the city
towards Antwerp, and is apparently kept in fine order. It is about six
hundred and fifty yards long, and I should think nearly two hundred
wide.
To-morrow we are to spend at Waterloo; and George is well nigh
distracted. We have heard very little from him, since we reached
Brussels, but about Napoleon, Wellington, Ney, and Grouchy. The
last-named marshal finds no favor at his hands, as he regards him as a
traitor to the emperor at the critical moment. One thing is certain; he
knows more about the battle than most persons, and will feel quite at
home when he once makes out his stand-point. We all anticipate his
transports with interest. We are to start early; so good-night.
Yours,
WELD.
Letter 33.
BRUSSELS.
DEAR CHARLEY:--
I am thoroughly tired out with a day at Waterloo; and, though I should
be glad to retire at an early hour, yet, as to-morrow's mail takes all
letters for the next steamer, we are all hard at the duty and pleasure
of correspondence with our friends. I shall give you but a hurried
account of our visit to the great battle field of Europe. We were all up
early in the morning, and, after an excellent breakfast, we engaged a
carriage and pair of horses for the day. The distance is about twelve
miles. After riding about two miles, we found the road touched the
Forest of Soignies, so well known in consequence of Byron's description
of the march of the army from Brussels to Waterloo. On the way we met
several guides, who commended their services to our notice, backed up by
testimonials of former travellers. We selected Pirson, and he took his
place beside the driver, and we arrived in two hour at the village.
Passing by what is called a museum, we addressed ourselves at once to a
survey of the field. There are no signs of the past, excepting in
monuments and houses that are famous for their being occupied by the
hostile parties during the battle. We turned our attention first to the
Chateau of Hougomont, because, from our knowledge of the transactions of
the great day, we regarded it as the grand point of attraction, and the
central one for our observations. This farm is an old-looking affair,
with out-buildings--a small chapel, twelve or fifteen feet long, and the
garden and orchard, having a strong stone wall around them. This was the
strong point of the British army; and if Napoleon could have gained it,
he would have turned the flank of the enemy. To this he directed all his
power, and the marks of the conflict are yet very apparent. All day the
attack was made, upon the farm by thousands, under the command of Jerome
Bonaparte. The wall was pierced with loopholes, and through these the
English Coldstream Guards kept up a most destructive fire upon the
French troops. The exterior of the wall still shows what a terrific
onset was made. We went into the house, obtained some refreshment,
bought some relics, and, among other things, a neat brass crucifix,
which hung against the wall. We then, went to look at the farms La Belle
Alliance and La Haye Sainte--the famous mound where the dead were
interred, and which is surmounted by the Belgic lion. This is an immense
work, two hundred feet high; and from the summit we saw the entire
field. Of course, we all had our feelings excited at standing on a spot
where the two greatest soldiers of Europe measured swords, and had a
continent for spectators of the conflict.
When the French army marched through Waterloo, on their way to Antwerp,
in 1831, they looked savagely at the Belgian monument, and one man fired
his musket at the lion, and the mark is still visible upon his chin.
We were much gratified at the farm-house of Hougomont; and the hour we
spent in its orchard and gardens will long be remembered by us all. I
have read an account of the attack upon the house, which says, "The
Belgian yeoman's garden wall was the safeguard of Europe, whose
destinies hung upon the possession of this house." The garden wall is
covered on the inside with ivy; and here we secured several roots of the
plant, and, having bought a basket at the farm-house, we planted them in
earth taken from beside the grave of a British officer, who fell in the
orchard; his tombstone bears the name of J.L. Blackman. These plants
will give us trouble to carry; but Dr. Choules has determined upon
carrying them home for Mr. Hall, whose stone house needs ivy on the
walls, and he intends obtaining roots from various places of interest in
Europe, to serve as mementoes of other lands.
The church is a small affair, but is full of the testimonies of love and
affection from fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, wives, children, and
friends, to those who fell in the bloody conflict.
We were annoyed by urchins, who beset our steps, eager to sell us
genuine relics of the field, which are likely to increase in number as
long as there is a demand for them. George, of course, was in his
element, and he did little but plant the different sites in his memory,
for the purpose of comparing notes, by and by, with Gleig, Headley, &c.,
&c.
I do not attempt to give you any thing like a description of the place,
or an account of the battle, as you have books which are devoted to
these points.
It is a circumstance worthy of notice that, in 1705, the Duke of
Marlborough came very near fighting a battle with the French, on this
ground, but was prevented by the Dutch commissioners who were with him.
We obtained some good engravings of the buildings that are famous for
their connection with the battle, but they are nothing like as fine as
the folio illustrated volume of colored engravings which we have so
often looked over with interest. I tried to get a copy in London at any
price, and would have given any thing in reason; but the work is out of
print and the market, and can only be gotten at the sale of a collector.
On returning to Brussels, and enjoying our dinner at a late hour, we
passed the evening in the Arcades, where we saw some beautiful goods
exposed for sale, and again examined some lacework. You will smile at
the idea of pocket handkerchiefs which cost from one hundred to one
thousand dollars each. The embroidery of letters upon lacework is
costly; and we saw single letters which had required a week's work.
We like this city, and, if time allowed us, should certainly pass a week
here. I should not forget to say that we saw the king in the Park, near
to his palace. He looks like a man of fifty-five, and, I thought, had a
melancholy air.
Yours,
JAMES.
Letter 34.
ANTWERP.
DEAR CHARLEY:--
In company still with our friends from Bristol on a wedding tour, we
took the rail for Antwerp. The arrangements of the railroad in Belgium
seem to me as perfect as they can be made. All is order, civility, and
comfort. On starting for this place, we had the curiosity to inquire as
to the number of passengers, and found thirteen first class, seventy-one
second class, and one hundred and three third class. The road we took
lay through a level country, but cultivated to a great degree; and the
produce was chiefly clover, beans, potatoes, grain, and turnips. On
leaving Brussels, we noticed the fine botanical gardens on our right,
and the Allee Verte, a noble avenue of trees which reaches to Laeken, a
pretty village, dating as far back as the seventh century, and
containing a fine palace, where Leopold frequently resides. Napoleon
once occupied this palace, and here it is said that he planned his
Russian campaign. The park is spacious, and the village has a celebrated
cemetery; and here Madame Malibran reposes. The first stopping-place is
at about six miles from Brussels, at Vilvorde--a very ancient town,
having a population of not quite three thousand. It is known in history
as Filfurdum, and was a place of some consequence in 760. It was here
that Tindal, who was the first translator of the New Testament into
English, suffered martyrdom, in 1536, being burnt as a heretic. The
Testament was a 12mo. edition. It was published in 1526, and probably
was printed at Antwerp, where he then resided. Fifteen hundred copies
were printed, and they were mostly bought up by Bishop Tonstall, and
destroyed. The only copy known to exist is in the library of the Baptist
College at Bristol. This copy belonged to Lord Oxford, and he valued the
acquisition so highly that he settled twenty pounds a year upon the
person who obtained it for him. Both Tindal's assistants in this great
work--Fryth and Roye--suffered martyrdom before his death. I am sorry to
find, by history, that Sir Thomas More employed one Phillips to go over
to Antwerp and decoy Tindal into the hands of the emperor. The last
words of the martyr were, "Lord! open the King of England's eyes." Sir
Thomas More was a bitter persecutor, and he was "recompensed in his own
ways." Not far from Vilvorde are the remains of the chateau of Rubens;
and in the same vicinity is the house where Teniers is said to have
lived. Mechlin, or Malines, is a fine-looking town, with twenty-five
thousand inhabitants, and it is spelt by early writers ways without
number. The railroad just touches on its skirts, and, of course, we
could only look at it. Its cathedral church loomed up; and we longed to
see its interior, where Vandyke's greatest picture--the Crucifixion--is
found in the altar. The tower shows well at a distance. The other
churches have some pictures of great merit, by Rubens. After passing
Mechlin, we saw at our right a large town, lying, perhaps, two miles
off, and then a still smaller one to the left, and a fine old castle,
which looked in good preservation. The road led us through some fine
country residences; and, just before entering Antwerp, we passed
Berchem, a sweet little village. And I would not omit to say that the
small place called Vieux Dieu, before we came to Berchem, is famous for
being one of the last places where heathenism retained its hold in this
port of Europe, and here was formerly an idol.
Antwerp--or, as the French write it, Anvers--is a noble city on the
River Scheldt, and is about twenty-seven miles from Brussels. The
population is rather more than eighty thousand. The city is laid out in
the shape of a bow, and the river forms the string. The river here is
one hundred and ninety yards wide. The tide rises about fifteen feet.
This place is of very ancient origin, and its legends are mixed up with
the fabulous. Early in the sixteenth century it was an important town.
It was fortified, and became one of the chief places of trade for the
north of Europe. In 1520, the population was over two hundred thousand.
Five hundred vessels daily came into and left the port, and two thousand
others were always lying in the river and basins of the port. The death
blow to this place was the treaty of Munster, which stipulated that
every vessel entering the Scheldt should discharge her cargo in Holland,
so that it had to be conveyed to Antwerp by land. The abolition of the
Spanish power was severely felt at Antwerp. You know, I suppose, that
this is regarded as one of the strongest fortifications in Europe, and
has been the scene of repeated sieges. The last and most celebrated one
was in 1832, when it was captured by the French, after a brave defence
of two months.
You cannot easily fancy what a charming old city this is; but I shall
try to give you some account of it and our employments here. We put up
at the Hotel St. Antoine, in the Place Verte, nearly opposite the
cathedral, and it certainly is one of the best houses we have seen any
where. The court yard is spacious, and has fine orange-trees around it.
Our rooms are very elegant, and on the first floor. The coffee-room is
admirably attended, and the _table d'hote_ is the best we have yet set
down to. A large part of our anticipated pleasure arose from the fact
that here are the great works of Rubens; and in the city of Rubens,
Vandyke, Teniers, Jordaens, and Quentin Matsys, we felt that we could
not be disappointed. In the Place Verte we find a colossal statue of
Rubens by Geefs; and passing on a few steps, at the corner we come to
the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which is so celebrated all over Europe as
one of the grandest specimens of the Gothic order of architecture. There
is much dispute as to the exact date of this church, but the evidence is
in favor of 1422, and it is known to have been finished in 1518. This
church is four hundred and sixty-six feet high, five hundred feet long,
and two hundred and fifty wide. The nave is thought to be the most
superb in Europe; and the side naves are double, forming two hundred and
thirty arches, supported by one hundred and twenty-five magnificent
pillars, and some of these are twenty-seven feet in circumference. Here
Philip II., in 1555, held a chapter of the Golden Fleece, at which
nineteen knights and nine sovereign princes were present. In 1559, Paul
IV. made this church a cathedral; but, in 1812, Pius VII. issued a bull
by which it was made dependent on the diocese of Malines. The effect of
the evening sun upon the painted windows is the production of a glory
which no pen can describe. Charles V. was once an actor here, for he
stood godfather at the baptism of the great bell. The pulpit is carved
work, and done by Verbruggen. It represents the four quarters of the
world, and, though elaborate, is not as beautiful as the one in St.
Gudule, at Brussels. The glory of the church is the "breathing scroll"
of Rubens, so often seen upon the walls of its solemn aisles. Here is
Rubens's great picture,--the Descent from the Cross. To this picture
pilgrimages have been made by all the lovers of art from other lands,
and all concede the grandeur of idea and the simplicity of the style.
There is quite a story about this picture, in which Rubens and the
crossbow-men of Antwerp both figure, but which I have no time to tell
you at present. Nearly opposite is the Elevation of the Cross. The
Savior's face and figure are not to be forgotten by any one who
carefully gazes on this canvas. Both these pictures were carried off by
the French, and also the Assumption of the Virgin, which is the high
altar-piece, and were restored by the allied sovereigns in 1815. This
last-named picture is said to have been executed in sixteen days, and
his pay was one hundred florins a day. I like it exceedingly; and _the_
figure of the picture is more spiritual than any other I have seen of
the Virgin. Its date is 1642. I advise you to read Sir Joshua Reynolds's
Lectures, where you will find a critical description of these immortal
pictures.
The steeple or tower is regarded as unrivalled, and is one of the
highest in the world. It is four hundred and sixty-six feet high; and
from the top we could see Brussels, Ghent, Malines, Louvain, and
Flushing, and the course of the Scheldt lies beautifully marked out. I
hardly dare tell you how many bells there are. Our valet said
ninety-nine; one local book of facts says eighty-eight; but I suppose
there are eighty or ninety; and every fifteen minutes they do chime the
sweetest music: Charles V. wished the exquisite tower could be kept from
harm in a glass case. The tracery of this tower is like delicate
lacework, and no one can imagine half its beauty. After we came down, we
examined, at the base, the epitaph of Quentin Matsys, once a
black-smith, and then, under the force of the tender passion, he became
a painter. The iron work over the pump and well, outside the church, is
his handiwork.
All round the cathedral are the finest old gabled houses I ever saw,
Charley. I never tire in looking at them. They were the great houses of
the time when the Duke of Alva made Antwerp the scene of his cruel
despotism, and when the Inquisition carried death and misery into men's
families. The oppressions of the Spaniards in this city sent many of the
best manufacturers from the Low Countries to England; and Queen
Elizabeth received them gladly.
Yours, &c.,
WELD.
Letter 35.
ANTWERP.
DEAR CHARLEY:--
I believe the lads have told you what they have seen in Belgium; and as
they are just now busily employed, I shall endeavor to tell you our
doings and enjoyments for the last day in this noble old city. We have
been to see St. James's Church, where the great attraction is the tomb
of Rubens. The altar is exquisitely fine, and was the work of Duquesnoy.
Rubens brought it from Italy. Over the tomb is the famous Holy Family,
in which Rubens has introduced himself as St. George, his father as
Jerome, his wives as Martha and Magdalene, his grandfather as old Time,
and his son as the Angel. This wonderful creation of art was carried off
by Napoleon to the Louvre, but was restored to the church in 1815. From
hence we repaired to St. Paul's Church. It was built in 1679. It has a
noble appearance, and retains its cloisters. In this building we noticed
the Flagellation, by Rubens; Jesus bearing the Cross, by Vandyke; the
Crucifixion and Resurrection, by Jordaens; and the Adoration of the
Shepherds, by Rubens. As we left the church, we visited the Calvary,
which is at the entrance, or, rather, off from it, at the right. It is
meant to represent the place of Christ's death. There are several
statues of prophets and apostles, and a sort of grotto. At the end is
Mount Calvary, and the summit is the scene of the Savior's crucifixion.
Beneath is the tomb, the body, and the stone rolled away; and at the
left are bars and flames, and poor creatures in purgatorial fires. A
more wretched-looking burlesque was never placed in the vicinage of art
and the productions of genius. Popery employs such trickery unblushingly
in Papal countries, but withholds their exhibition from the common sense
of England and America, waiting till our education shall fit us for the
simple, unalloyed system of delusion.
We find the number of priests in Belgium much greater than in France. We
see them in the cars, at the stations, and in every street. At one
station, on our way to Antwerp, we saw a most strangely-dressed man. He
wore a cloak, and the cape formed a sort of hat. His head was shaved,
and his feet were bare. We learnt that he was a monk of La Trappe. He
was as noble a looking man as I have seen in Europe.
We devoted the morning to the Museum, which is so famous for containing
the richest productions of Rubens, Vandyke, Jordaens, and a host of
other great Flemish artists. As we entered, we saw, with interest, the
chair of Rubens, which he used in his studio. It bears his name, and the
date of 1638. It is in a glass case. Rubens has sixteen pictures here,
of high character, and Vandyke several. We were all delighted with No.
215--a Dead Christ on a stone table, and the Virgin mourning at his
side. No. 212 is a wonderful composition--Christ crucified between the
Thieves. The look of the dying penitent at his Savior is not to be
forgotten. The Magdalene of this picture is a creation of beauty indeed.
I have purchased a fine engraving of this picture, and several others by
Rubens, and I hope, by looking at them long, to retain the impression I
had made on my mind as I gazed upon the originals. No. 221--the
Trinity--is a profane and ungracious representation of a Dead Christ in
the arms of a stern old man, who is intended for the Father. This
picture is wonderfully fine, as regards the foreshortening of the dead
body; and I never saw such an exhibition in this respect. No. 218---
Christ showing his Wounds to Thomas--is fine; but the picture has
suffered from damp.
Quentin Matsys has several of his productions here, and we looked with
interest at a fine Sir Thomas More, by Holbein; the Flight into Egypt,
by Memling; Mater Dolorosa, by Albert Durer; and many interiors, by
Flemish artists. I was greatly pleased with No. 382--the Death of
Rubens, by Van Bree, who died in 1839. This is large, and I think a most
effective picture. The two sons, the priest, the wife fainting, and the
two scribes, are admirably disposed; and the open window, through which
the cathedral spire is seen, seems to me exceedingly clever; but I fancy
I admired it more than artists have done. On leaving this noble
collection, we stopped at St. Andrew's Church to see a portrait of Mary,
Queen of Scots, over a monument to the two Ladies Curl, one of whom
waited on her at her execution at Fotheringay Castle. After dinner we
sallied out to see the Exchange, or Bourse, and from which the first
London one was copied. Of course, this gave it an interest to us, as we
could fancy we saw the royal building in which Queen Bess made such a
display, and of which Gresham had so much reason to be proud. It is a
piazza of iron arches and granite pillars, surrounding a square two
hundred feet long by one hundred and sixty wide. It was built in 1531.
On returning home, we accidentally met with Mr. Vesey, the American
consul. He invited us to his drawing-room, and we had a very pleasant
half hour. But when he found we were to leave next day, he insisted on
taking us to the outskirts and showing us the citadel and
fortifications. In a few minutes he had us in a carriage, and became our
kind and efficient guide till the loss of daylight rendered it useless
to look around. I think we shall never forget the very great attention
and friendship which we all met with from this gentleman; and I was
gratified to hear him say that here, in Europe, nothing seemed to
interest him in relation to mere party strife at home; while the honor
and union of the country seemed to him all and every thing. Mr. Vesey
has a good library and some fine paintings. He is a man of taste, and
marked by energy of character; and is just such a representative of his
country as she needs at such points as Antwerp and other large cities.
Yours truly,
J.O.C.
Letter 36.
HAGUE.
DEAR CHARLEY:--