I have confessed a little farther back that the happiness of our
sojourn in this lovely country was not without some alloy; and having
done so, I may add one or two more items to this balance, _per
contra_.
Soon after our arrival at Strytem, an officer of the commissariat was
attached to the troop, for the purpose of feeding us and our animals.
His first care was to secure a sufficient number of country waggons,
with their drivers and horses, intending to keep them together ready
for a move. The farmers, finding this a grievance, besieged me,
personally and through Mynheer Evenpoel, to allow them to remain
at home until wanted. This Mr Coates (who, by the way, was an
experienced and excellent commissary) strongly opposed, foretelling
the consequences but too truly; however, I yielded, upon a solemn
promise of M. l’Adjoint that they should be held ready to move at
a moment’s notice. Having committed this folly, I was well punished
for it by the anxiety I experienced at every report of a move; and at
last when the hour did come, they were called and found wanting, and
poor Mr Coates had to mount and hunt them up, when they ought to have
been loaded and on the road. This was a lesson to me.
Another misery I endured was the constant apprehension of falling
under the Duke’s displeasure for systematic plundering of the
farmers by our people, which I could not well check without risk
of incurring the same on another score--_i.e._, for not doing it!
This is enigmatical; let me explain. Our allowance of forage, though
sufficient to keep our horses in pretty good condition when idle,
was not sufficient when they were hard worked; nor was it sufficient
at any time to put on them that load of flesh, and give them that
rotundity of form which Peninsular practice had established as the
_beau ideal_ of a horse entering on a campaign, the maxim being--“The
more flesh a horse carries, the more he has to lose, and the longer
he will be able to bear privation.” To keep up this, therefore,
it was necessary to borrow from the farmers; and at this time of
the year the superb crops of the _trèfle_ offered themselves most
opportunely. The practice was general amongst cavalry and artillery,
so that all the horses were equally in good case; and it would have
been a most dangerous proceeding, by abstaining from it, to let
your horses appear thinner than those of your neighbour. The quick
eye of the Duke would have seen the difference, asked no questions,
attended to no justification, but condemned the unfortunate victim
of samples as unworthy of the command he held, and perhaps sent him
from the army. We therefore, like others, plundered the farmers’
fields; with this difference, however, that we did it in a regular
manner, and without waste--whereas many of the cavalry regiments
destroyed nearly as much as they carried away, by trampling about the
fields. The dread of this being reported kept me continually in hot
water, for my farmers (who, under the reign of the Prussians, would
never have dared utter a complaint), hearing how strictly plundering
was forbidden by the Duke, soon became exceedingly troublesome with
their threats of reporting me.[10] How we escaped it is difficult to
say, but certainly we continued helping ourselves; and latterly St
Cyr, and some other farmers, getting more docile, would themselves
mark out where we were to cut. Our neighbour at the chateau farm
(Walsdragen) was the most troublesome. The Duke was not partial to
our corps, which made it still more fortunate for me that these
people never put their threats in execution. It is difficult to
say why, but his Grace certainly treated us harshly, and on many
occasions unjustly. Of his harshness _voici un exemple_. Captain
Whinyates having joined the army with the rocket-troop, the Duke,
who looked upon rockets as nonsense, ordered that they should be put
into store, and the troop supplied with guns instead. Colonel Sir G.
Wood, instigated by Whinyates, called on the Duke to ask permission
to leave him his rockets as well as guns. A refusal. Sir George,
however, seeing the Duke was in a particular good-humour, ventured to
say, “It will break poor Whinyate’s heart to lose his rockets.” “D--n
his heart, sir; let my order be obeyed,” was the answer thundered in
his ear by the Duke, as he turned on the worthy Sir George. Let me
return to the country and its charms.
With me one of the most delightful occupations is the exploring
a new country; so that, whilst others could not exist except in
Brussels, I found abundant occupation for my leisure riding about
the neighbourhood of Strytem. One of my first rides was, as in duty
bound, to Ninove. Instead of taking the main road from Brussels
thither, which runs through Meerbeke, I took a by one to Liederkerke,
and, turning to the left a short distance from this place, crossed
the gently-flowing Dender, opposite the little village of Okegem, by
a rustic bridge supported on posts, so narrow and fragile that it
was not without demur, and at last leading my horse, that I ventured
over. I found the officers of the troop here very humbly lodged--in
mere cottages, and that of a poor description. Nothing here
comparable to our lordly tapestried saloons at Strytem--to the which,
by the way, we were becoming attached, more particularly since the
fine weather had set in, and taught us to appreciate their coolness
and refreshing _demi-jour_.
The country, after passing the river, was not interesting, as I have
mentioned elsewhere, but the scenery improved somewhat on drawing
near Ninove, which place, with the immense monastery of white stone
built on the higher part of the ground, had a somewhat imposing
appearance: drawing still nearer, some fragments of old walls begin
to make their appearance amongst the trees, which now became more
numerous, and we enter the place under a dark-browed picturesque
arch, flanked by two circular towers, partly in ruins and overgrown
with ivy, the whole half concealed, until one turns short upon
it, by the clustering foliage of some handsome elms and the thick
shrubbery of bushes growing out of the old walls. As my horse’s feet
resounded under the archway, a flash of romance came across me, and
I thought of the counts of Burgundy and their romantic court, and
pictured in my mind’s eye some lordly pageant streaming from out the
archway in all its glittering array. Sober reality soon banished
romance. A short street brought me from the gate to the head of
the principal one--long, broad, clean; houses low, and of rather a
humble description; on the whole, looking more like the street of
an English country town than anything I had seen in the Pays Bas
here; and standing across it was the monastery which had formed
so conspicuous a feature in the aspect of the town from without.
This, instead of representing the sort of ecclesiastical building
one would expect a monastery to be, was a magnificent modern-built
house of three storeys, pierced with numerous large sashed windows,
looking airy and cheerful--anything rather than the house of sorrow,
repentance, and abstinence. It is, I suspect, a modern restoration
of the monastery of Premonstrantine monks mentioned by Blau, and
the only one he does mention. It was suppressed in 1792. Wandering
into the court, which was overrun with grass and weeds, I met the
only remaining brother of the order, the dress of which he wore. His
appearance was venerable, but whether it was that he was naturally
morose, or because I was a heretic, he would answer none of my
questions, only making a waive of the hand in answer to my inquiry
whether I might walk over the premises. That this reserve did not
arise from ignorance of French, his immediately turning and giving
directions to a labourer in that language testified. Lord Uxbridge
and his staff having taken up their abode here restricted my
observations to the exterior of the building. I saw enough, however,
to learn that the Premonstrantine monks had once been lodged like
princes, and so passed on to look at the town.
Ninove is prettily situated on the left bank of the Dender, from
which its spacious street ascends by a gentle acclivity; and at
this time it presented a very gay and bustling appearance, from
the presence of the cavalry staff and the active operations of the
commissariat. It may contain about 3000 inhabitants, and was once
surrounded by a wall, with flanking towers, of which some vestiges
still remain. I believe much weaving is done here, and I saw several
mills and tanneries. Blau says the ancient name was “Nienevem,
Ninoviam, Ninovam, _vulgus_ Kandrorum; _nunc_ Ninovam--Gallo belgæ
Ninof appellant; Belgia regalis,” &c. So much for Ninove. For that
time I bid it adieu, and passing the bridge at the bottom of the
street, took my road homewards through the pretty and interesting
country to the southward of it. Old Blau says there was some joke
against the people of Ninove connected with its ancient name Ninevem,
which he compares with the Nineveh of Assyria. In my way home,
passing through Meerbeke, I saw a handsome chateau, where Sir Ormsby
Vandeleur had his divisional headquarters. It was a picturesque
object, and truly Flemish in style, though in situation, &c., it
resembled an English country-house--two storeys, with numerous
large windows, and the usual double tier of dormitory windows in
the high roof. It was flanked at either end by a round tower, with
the characteristic conical roof. The grounds were quite English. A
level lawn of smooth and verdant turf extended from the front to the
road. Shrubberies of laburnums, &c., surrounded it on three sides,
concealing the offices, and these were backed by a thick wood of
lofty forest-trees. To judge from externals, an agreeable quarter.
The great Bois de Liederkerke afforded me a fine field for
exploration, and many a delightful ride I took amongst its grateful
shades. In one of these I discovered, in the very heart of it, a
cleared spot of a few acres, part of which was occupied by the
blackened ruins of some building, and part exhibited the very
melancholy appearance of a once handsome garden, run wild and gone
to decay--even the very ruins were nearly overrun by brushwood and
weeds. A peasant, whom I met with after leaving the wood, told me
that although he had never seen these ruins, he supposed they must
be the remains of a convent of nuns which once existed somewhere
in the wood, but had been burned many years ago. Ignorance of his
language prevented my understanding a long story he told me--partly
in Flemish, partly in French--but I picked out that the nuns of this
convent had all been ladies of considerable, some of very high, rank.
The main road to Alost, by Liederkerke and Denderlue, runs through
this wood, and, emerging from it on that side, one exchanges the
gloomy obscurity of the forest and confined view amongst the trees
for the broad light of day and a wide expanse of fine meadows,
covered with herds of cattle, through which the Dender runs brawling
and bubbling along over its pebbly bed, crossed at this point by
a long wooden bridge, immediately beyond which is the village of
Liederkerke, at the time of my visit full of our Household troops.
It was a curious sensation that of seeing Lifeguardsmen lounging
about the street and before the houses--these people are so
intimately associated in one’s mind with London, the Park, Horse
Guards, &c. Nor was the contrast between their tall full figures and
rosy complexions and the gaunt awkward figures and sallow complexions
of the Flemish peasantry--the smart tight-fitting scarlet or blue
jackets of the one, with the coarse homely garbs and dingy-coloured
smock-frocks of the other--less curious.
Both banks of the river, which here approach each other and are
rather steep, are well clothed with trees, and form a picturesque
scene. Immediately above and below the bridge, these banks, retiring
from each other, leave between their bases and the river a wide
level of meadow-land, which, being everywhere bounded by low
thickly-wooded hills, and, as before mentioned, thickly sprinkled
with herds of fine cattle or luxuriant crops of hay, now almost
ready for mowing, afford scenes of a different but not less pleasing
character. On the right the hills, projecting like a promontory,
and blending themselves with those on the left, enclose these fine
meadows in an amphitheatre of beautifully variegated and tufted
foliage, unbroken by buildings or any indication of the haunts
of man; whilst the left bank, less thickly wooded, presents here
and there intervening fields, the high thatched roofs of farms
and cottages, and, pre-eminent amongst the whole, the spire of
Denderlue peeping through the foliage. Amongst other excursions, one
was of a more than commonly interesting nature, since it brought
me acquainted, not only with a very lovely spot, but also with a
singularly eccentric character--one whose history is of so romantic
a nature, that I ever regret not having made myself master of it in
all its details; I mean Paul Visconti, Marquis d’Acornati and Lord
of Gaesbeke, the chateau of which he inhabits. The first notice we
had of this singular man was from some officers of the 23d Light
Dragoons, who had been cantoned in his village. On their first
arrival the old gentleman was quite furious at the insult offered
him in sending troops thither at all, but especially without his
having been consulted. The officers, having quartered their men,
proceeded to take up their own abode in the chateau, and the Marquis,
being aware of this, closed his gates, and made preparations to
resist. His garrison consisted of two or three ancient domestics
and six or eight young boys. On approaching the gates, the
officers were somewhat surprised at seeing guns pointed at them
from several embrasures, and at the same time a venerable turbaned
head, projecting from one of them, demanded, in good English, how
they dared trespass on the property of the Marquis d’Acornati,
peremptorily bidding them to depart, or take the consequences. The
captain, a true English gentleman, having heard something of the
Marquis’s peculiarities from the villagers, instead of resenting the
opposition, humoured the old man’s whim, and commenced a parley in
the true language and all the forms of chivalry. This was touching
the Marquis in a tender point. The gates were thrown open, as
were his arms, to these courteous strangers, whom he received and
entertained with the hospitality of the olden times during their
stay, mourned their departure, and never mentioned them afterwards
but in the highest terms of praise. Some of my officers had already
visited Gaesbeke, and their accounts excited my curiosity to see this
extraordinary man. Accordingly one day mounting Nelly I set out. The
road lay through the large village of Lennik St Martin, remarkable in
the distance for its handsome spire, towering above the more humble
ones of the surrounding villages. Here I found Lieutenant-Colonel
Hawker and his adjutant, Lieutenant Anderson. The colonel commanded a
division composed of two batteries, 9-pounders, which were cantoned
in his immediate neighbourhood, but not in Lennik. Hence the country
was exquisite--the scenery acquiring a greater degree of interest
from the increasing height of the hills, though in luxuriance and
verdure, both of arborific and cereal vegetation, it could not exceed
that which I had left behind me.
At length, after a pleasant ride of about twelve miles, on attaining
the summit of a hill, the noble Château de Gaesbeke appeared in
front, on the edge of a deep ravine, which separated me from it,
surrounded by thick woods, the sombre verdure of which harmonised
well with the mellowed tone of its antique brick walls and towers,
whilst their round tufted tops were finely contrasted with its sharp
angles and pointed conical roofs. Crossing the ravine, I arrived on
a plateau of rich velvety turf, ornamented by a few clamps of the
most superb beech-trees I ever saw in my life, some of their boles
rising almost straight forty or fifty feet, without a twig to break
the smooth rounded surface of their glossy grey bark. Fine as those
composing the great avenue at Strytem were, still they were far
exceeded in size, luxuriance, and beauty of form by these. Artificial
means are employed to produce these magnificent ornaments of the
park or pleasure-ground. Whilst the tree is young it is constantly
watched, and every bud carefully eradicated the moment it pierces the
bark, until, having attained a certain height, nature is permitted to
take her course and push out lateral branches, leaving between them
and the soil a stupendous column of timber. A broad carriage-road,
winding amongst these clumps, led to the great gate of the chateau,
now unsuspicious of another military invasion, standing wide open.
It was approached by a stone bridge thrown over a ditch, which,
running along the front of the chateau, imperceptibly lost itself in
the steep declivity to the right and left. The lofty arched portal
was flanked by round towers, having semicircular embrasures on the
first floor, and above them a row of arched windows with rusty iron
balconies, extending across the gateway also. Toward the right, the
two tiers of large French windows gave a more modern air to the
curtain (if I may so call it), which was terminated in that direction
by an immense elliptical tower, the steep roof of which finished in a
short ridge with ornamental iron-work, and a weather-cock at either
end. To the left, the blank wall ended in a round tower of smaller
dimensions, and without the usual conical roof, its picturesque
antique form only partially seen through the foliage of the trees,
which formed a screen before that front.
I entered the castle court without seeing a soul, or any indication
of the place being inhabited. True, there was little of ruin. The old
walls appeared generally in good repair; the glass in the windows was
sound, not a pane broken--yet a forlorn deserted aspect reigned over
all; and the bent iron ornaments of the roofs, the grass-grown court,
and the shattered remains of two or three low-wheeled carriages,
lying half buried in the rank vegetation of weeds which had sprung
up around them, added not a little to the cheerless desolate aspect
of the whole. To the right on entering was a long range of two
storeys (which, from the lofty windows, appeared to be the state
apartments), terminating at either end with a tower. From the gateway
into the angle on the same side similar features indicated other
suites of apartments. To the left of the gateway, extending to the
tower on that side, were stables and coach-houses. From this tower a
parapet-wall followed the outline of the ground along the edge of the
declivity, running out in semicircular bastions at intervals of about
fifty yards, until, joining the tower at the extremity of the right
wing, it completed the enclosure of the court, forming an area of an
irregular figure, the low parapet allowing to the windows of the main
building a most striking and extensive view over the rich country
to the westward. The defence of this front was further increased by
a range of casemated apartments, with narrow loop-holes, probably
intended for arrows; but whether they extended the whole length of
the front, or only under the bastions, I forget. They are entered by
a narrow staircase from the court above. In the centre of this court,
upon a rude pedestal, was the fragment of a man in a sitting posture,
of which the Marquis afterwards gave me a printed explanation, drawn
up by himself, tending to show that this must be a remnant of the
celebrated Torse de Belvedere, and that the whole constituted a
figure of Ulysses, seated, and in the act of discharging an arrow
from his bow. But to return. After taking a cursory glance at the
general arrangement of the buildings, and finding that the sound of
my horse’s feet had no effect in extracting their inhabitants, I
rode up to and thundered at a low-arched door which stood half-open
in the great tower. The appeal was answered by a sallow-faced dirty
boy of fifteen, with long uncombed flaxen locks hanging about his
ears, and giving him a peculiarly wild and savage appearance as he
stood staring at me with widely-distended eyes. To my inquiry if the
Marquis were at home, he only answered by a nod, and then disappeared
in the gloom of the dark vaulted passage whence he had emerged.
Returning almost immediately, he had found his tongue, and begged
me to go to the principal entrance to the right wing (what had once
been handsome panelled folding-doors), which he unbolted within,
and, taking my horse as I dismounted, ushered me into a large and
lofty vestibule of handsome proportions, but quite unfurnished, and
in a miserable state of decay. On the opposite side of this, at the
desire of my guide, I entered a fine lofty room, with a coved roof,
painted in blue and white stripes in imitation of the interior of a
Turkish tent, and at the corners, where the drapery was supposed
to be gathered up, ornamented with an imitation of golden cords and
tassels. Round the walls were suspended trophies formed of swords,
daggers, pistols, &c., all richly mounted, and almost all Oriental.
The furniture consisted of large ottomans, covered with a striped
stuff to match the pattern of the tent. These were ranged round the
walls, and there was neither chair nor table in the room, which was
lighted by an arched window opening upon a clumsy wooden balcony,
and commanding a beautiful view over the distant country and of the
deep wooded ravine below. After waiting here about ten minutes, the
object of my curiosity made his appearance, followed by a rather
vulgar-looking fattish man, with whom he had been engaged, and whom
I discovered to be a lawyer of Brussels, and his man of business.
This gentleman soon took his leave, and left me _tête-à-tête_ with
his client. Let me draw his portrait, while still fresh in my memory:
Below the middle size, and a little bent by age; thin, light, and
active; a countenance embrowned by southern suns, if not natural;
regular features, and a face that had evidently once been handsome;
quick, sparkling, intelligent eyes giving to his physiognomy a
vivacious expression, rather at variance with the wrinkled cheek
of the _octogènaire_. His costume was completely Turkish. A white
muslin turban, somewhat soiled, but plentifully beset with precious
stones, covered his head; an ample caftan of blue cloth, vest and
trousers of the same--the former tied across the chest with strings,
the latter large and full-gathered, and at bottom stuffed into a pair
of extremely short boots, strangers apparently to Day and Martin or
their kindred of the Pays Bas. A crimson silk sash girded his waist,
in which was stuck an Oriental poignard, having its handle entirely
covered with precious stones, and scabbard tastefully enchased in
silver filigree. In his right hand he carried a short hunting-spear,
and in his left a small _cor de chasse_. His address, easy and
affable, was evidently that of one accustomed to the best society.
The reception he gave me was most flattering, and even affectionate;
and he incessantly repeated his admiration of England and her sons.
For my part, I told only half the truth in stating that the celebrity
of his chateau and gardens had procured him the honour of this
visit, never hinting how great a lion he was himself. After a short
conversation, he proposed showing me his chateau, &c., and conducting
me through several apartments on the ground-floor, we arrived at
his own bed-room in the extremity of the building. Nothing can be
conceived more desolate and cheerless. Superb as to dimensions and
form, these apartments were completely unfurnished, and in a most
melancholy state of dilapidation. The painting soiled and faded, the
elaborately-moulded ceilings and cornices coming down piecemeal and
covering the floors with their fragments; these floors themselves
rotten, and sinking in many places into holes. The shutters of the
high and numerous windows, some closed entirely, others only half;
others, again, with one leaf, perhaps, on the floor, and one hanging
by a single hinge. Such was the appearance of these once lordly
rooms. I shuddered as I traversed this scene of former splendour--of
present degradation. The mind, always busy on these occasions, called
up the beruffed slashed-sleeve cavalier of other days; the courtly
dame, the stomacher resplendent with costly jewels, ebon locks
falling in ringlets over her bare, well-turned shoulders and swelling
bosom. How changed the scene! The lordly _châtelain_ has given
place to the little curved Turkish figure before me; the brilliant
assemblage of knights and dames to desolation and solitude.
The dormitory of mine host, where at least some comfort might have
been expected, was only of a piece with the rest. Coarse, scanty, and
not very clean-looking bedding, lying in a confused heap upon a low
bedstead of common deal, without curtains--in short, such a bed as
one sometimes sees in an ostler’s room over the stables--a rickety
deal table, and a couple of old chairs. None of the appurtenances
of the toilet, nor any apparent means of stowing his wardrobe; bare
walls, and nought else. One might have imagined it the abode of
some poor devil whom charity had admitted to occupy a nook in the
deserted mansion. The Marquis showed all with perfect _sang-froid_,
unconscious that there was anything strange in a man of his princely
fortune living like a pauper, and continued leading me from room to
room, until we arrived at one smaller than the rest, and a little
less dilapidated, which he announced as his study--a title to which
a huge table, occupying the greater part of it, and covered with a
heap of papers, pictures, and writing material, all intermingled in
most glorious confusion, seemed to give some colour; and here were
also two or three common chairs. From amongst the litter on the
table, after a little hunting, he rummaged out a small miniature of
a female, which he thrust into my hand with an air of exultation,
as much as to say, “There!--what think you of that?” and evidently
supposing me as intimate with its features as himself, and as
evidently mortified at my asking who the original might be, whilst,
with rather a haughty air, he informed me that it was the portrait
of his dear mistress (kissing it respectfully), the Empress Maria
Theresa, whom he had had the honour to serve as an officer of
Hungarian hussars many years. Whilst laying the miniature again on
the table, he hurried out of the room, motioning me to follow him.
The old man was quite chivalric when speaking on this subject, and
apparently quite in earnest.
Our next visit was to the kitchen, whither he took me to see the
thickness of the walls, which were no less than 10 feet. Such a
den as this never before sullied the respected name of kitchen.
From the smallness of the windows, or port-holes, and the enormous
thickness of the walls, it was, even at this time of day, almost
dark enough to require candles; spacious and vaulted, with a floor
all decayed--and no wonder, for it was in great part covered by
an immense heap of potatoes, and quite devoid of furniture. Its
occupants were a second Dame Leonarda, and three or four dirty boys,
lounging indolently about. A wood-fire blazed on the ash-encumbered
hearth, over which was suspended an iron pot filled with potatoes.
He then led me through the casemates or subterraneous defences on
the western side, before mentioned; and having thus completed our
survey of the castle, we sallied from the portal to visit the gardens
and _pleasaunce_, the Marquis stepping out with all the briskness
of youth. We had got about half-way over the lawn, under one of the
magnificent clumps of beeches, when suddenly my conductor, stopping,
put his horn to his mouth and blew such a peal as made the woods ring
again. No result followed, and as he had not explained himself, I
was at a loss to conjecture the meaning of this, unless it were to
let me hear the echo. After waiting impatiently a few minutes, the
sound was repeated, and an instant afterwards out came all the boys
scampering through the portal and over the turf towards us, with an
activity strongly contrasted with their former listlessness. This,
however, did not satisfy their master, who, rating them soundly for
their inattention to his first summons, ordered them to bring out
the _carriole_. In a few minutes one of the old carriages I had
seen in the court was drawn out by a miserable half-starved-looking
beast, hardly deserving the name of a horse, and with harness to
match--that is, old, rusty, broken, and mended with bits of cord, &c.
Into the suspicious-looking vehicle we both got, and having exchanged
his hunting-spear for a shabby whip, the Marquis proceeded to do
coachman, and conducted me through his lovely domain; for lovely it
really was, in spite of the neglect evident in all directions--a
circumstance, however, that one scarcely regretted, since it threw
such an air of wildness over the scenery as to make it most charming.
The ground on which the castle stood ran out in knolls, with very
abrupt slopes, forming deep ravines, at the bottom of which streams
of limpid water ran bubbling along, until finding their way to the
main trunk, or great ravine, under the western front, they there
united their waters and formed a small lake, whose placid surface
was animated by swans and whole flocks of wildfowl, which here found
an undisturbed retreat. The whole of the ground above described,
excepting the level lawn in front of the great gate, was thickly
covered with wood--in some parts impervious from the thick shrubbery
of undergrowth, in others clear from this encumbrance--affording
splendid forest vistas between the boles of the magnificent
trees--the ground beneath carpeted with the most beautiful variety
imaginable of mosses and wild-flowers--innumerable creepers hanging
in festoons from the branches, with here and there a venerable ruin,
fallen against and only supported by its neighbours, increasing
the wildness and charm of this enchanting scenery. At times,
after following a path winding through the thick shrubberies, and
overshadowed by the luxuriant branches of the forest trees, so as to
be in perfect twilight, we suddenly came upon a small cleared space,
carpeted with turf, in the centre of which, perhaps, was a rustic
altar, or the fragment of a column, the marble of which, stained by
damps or the encroachments of variously-coloured lichens, harmonised
well with the tints of the sylvan scene around it. Some of these were
simple cylinders; others were angular, with projecting cornices.
Offerings of flowers there were on many of them--evidence of the
feelings and peculiar sentiments of the noble proprietor, and that,
although neglectful as far as repairs went, he still had eyes to see
and a heart to feel the beauties of his lovely domain. Again emerging
from the _demi-jour_ of the cool _berceau_, the road wound round the
face of a knoll, affording a charming view of the distant country,
with the lordly chateau towering in the foreground; then replunging
into obscurity, it opened again on a scene as extensive but of a
totally different character--the country towards Hal, with its long
and more thinly-wooded slopes and summits. In one place, a clearing
of three or four acres, bearing a crop of potatoes, presented
precisely such a scene as one meets with in America--the ground still
encumbered with roots and branches, the lofty surrounding wall of
grey stems, here and there a tree fallen against its neighbours, or
hanging forward as if ready to come to the ground at a touch; in
short, a scene of such savage wildness as one would hardly expect to
meet in this land of culture and improvement.
After a delightful drive, we returned to the chateau, passing under
the ramparts of the garden, which, lying on the slope of the hill,
are banked up in such a manner as to form a succession of nearly
level terraces. These are laid out in parterres, ornamented with
statues and fragments, &c. In the centre of these, a circular wooden
tower rises to a great height, forming a conspicuous object from
all the neighbouring country, over which the gallery on its summit
commands a most extensive view. The walls of this tower are of open
work, and, as well as the winding staircase within, are said to be a
_chêf d’œuvre_ of carpentry.
As it was growing late, I was obliged to decline my host’s invitation
to visit his farm in the valley below; and having, with the
assistance of one of his young pages, saddled my horse, I took leave,
and returned to Strytem highly pleased with my excursion.
A few days afterwards the Marquis sent me a bundle of papers
containing the history of Gaesbeke and its counts; but being unable
from want of leisure to copy any of it, I can only remember that
the chateau was built about the middle of the thirteenth century by
one of the Counts of Brabant, of whom it long continued to be the
principal residence. Of the present proprietor I could learn little
except what was imparted by himself during our ride, in substance
as follows:--Paul Acornati Visconti, an Italian by birth, inherits
Gaesbeke in right of his mother, and by the father’s side is of the
celebrated family of Visconti of Milan. Early in life he entered the
Austrian army, and served as lieutenant and captain of Hungarian
hussars during the Seven Years’ War. At the peace of 1763, finding
himself free, and in possession of a princely fortune, he gave
himself up to his vagabond propensities, and passed his time in
wandering over Europe, &c. &c. In this way he ran over all Germany,
France, and much of Russia and Poland; traversed Denmark, Sweden, and
Lapland as far as the North Cape. Either Dr Clarke or Acerbi mentions
meeting him at Tornea, or having heard of him there. He then visited
the British Islands, where he remained some time (I think he told
me he had been twelve times to England), extending his wanderings
to the remotest corners of Ireland, the Highlands of Scotland, and
the Western Isles. Here (in England) he became acquainted with many
of our celebrated characters--civil, military, and literary--of
whose intimacy he was not a little proud. He was delighted with
England and its inhabitants, but his fondness for both yielded to
the unaccountable mania with which he was subsequently seized for
Turkey, the Turks, their manners, their institutions, and everything
belonging to them; and after a prolonged residence amongst them, only
returned to his own country when the management of his extensive
estates in Italy and the Pays Bas imperatively required his presence.
What his religious sentiments might have been I know not, but in
every other respect he had become a complete Turk, and so determined
to remain; thus he has always dressed in the Oriental costume, as
I found him, and in every other way conforms to their customs. I
have already described the person of this curious character. His
health and activity are remarkable; and although a little curved,
there is nothing of the old man in his step, which is firm, light,
and active; his usual pace is a little trot. His manner of living is
extremely simple; his diet, I believe, principally vegetable, and his
beverage water. He seldom goes to bed before midnight, rising again
at three o’clock in the morning; and to this habit of early rising he
assured me he was indebted for his good health. Whether he had ever
been married I know not, but that he had a daughter I know, since
in the note of invitation to a fête he intended giving at Brussels,
he particularly mentioned his wish to introduce me to her. Amongst
the people of the neighbourhood I found he bore various characters,
some ascribing his eccentricities to a deranged intellect, others
to philosophy. Others believed him to be a magician, wherefore
the peasantry in general stand in great awe of him. All, however,
allow that he is a most charitable, good man. It is said that his
liberality towards even his most distant relations is so great, that
they amongst them enjoy more of his wealth than he does himself.
That he is wealthy is out of the question; his property is immense.
Besides the Gaesbeke estate, he possesses others both in the Pays Bas
and in Italy. Most of the best houses in Brussels are his, and the
Gaesbeke property alone comprises seventeen villages and parishes.
His own house in Brussels is said to be a magnificent one; in it
he gave the fête to which I was invited, which I afterwards heard
was very splendid, the first people of the country and many of our
most distinguished officers having been present. He seldom resides
in Brussels for any length of time, nor are his visits to that city
frequent, as he prefers retirement and the country.
The establishment at Gaesbeke consisted only of a gardener, an
old woman as cook, &c., and some five or six boys, from twelve to
sixteen years of age, whom he sometimes dressed in the Hungarian
hussar uniform, at others as Orientals--so said the people. Be that
as it may, they all wore the usual dress of the country when I saw
them. After this first visit the lovely domain of Gaesbeke became a
favourite lounge, and I passed many a delicious morning wandering
about its cool shady walks. Sometimes the Marquis was at home,
sometimes not, but it made little difference--he always received
me with the same kindness, and seemed not a little flattered at
the pleasure I took in his favourite woods; but we neither of us
interrupted the pursuits of the other, for if he were employed he
continued his employment, otherwise he would sometimes accompany me
himself, or send one of his young pages, if there were anything to be
done or seen that required assistance or a guide. It was not without
regret that, eventually, I was obliged to leave his neighbourhood
without having had an opportunity of taking leave of him.
There was another extraordinary character--a man of great wealth,
too--residing within a few miles of us, at Ternath, or St Ulris
Capelle; but him I only heard of from Leathes, who had visited
him, which I never had an opportunity of doing. This man differed
from Acornati in having his chateau splendidly furnished and his
pleasure-grounds, described as vieing in beauty with those of
Gaesbeke, kept in most excellent order. He had, moreover, a choice
collection of paintings.