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 A TOUR THROUGH 
 
 VALLEY OF THE MEUSE.
 
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 .SOFTHEWALI 
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 LONDON: ClIAI'MAX & HALL, 18(5 STHANO.
 
 LONDON : 
 \ I/KTK1.I.V HKOTHKHS AM) 
 
 I'lllSTKKS AND KMiJlVV>.li-.
 
 A TOUR THROUGH 
 
 VALLEY OF THE MEUSE: 
 
 WITH THE 
 
 LEGENDS OF THE WALLOON COUNTRY AND THE 
 AEDENNES. 
 
 BY DUDLEY COSTELLO. 
 
 "UN VOYAGEUR EST UNE ESPECE D' HISTORIES ; SON DEVOIR EST 
 DE KACONTEK FIDELEMENT CE Qu'lL A VU, OU CE QU'lL A ENTENDIT 
 DIRE." CHATEAUBRIAND. 
 
 SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 CHAPMAN AND HALL, 186 STRAND. 
 
 MDCCCXLVI.
 
 Stack 
 Annex 
 
 TO 
 
 HIS EXCELLENCY 
 
 M. SILVAIN VAN DE WETEK, 
 
 ENVOY EXTRAORDINARY AND MINISTER PLENIPOTENTIARY 
 
 rmoa 
 
 fois fHajcstp ti)e Itfng of tfie Belgians, 
 
 WHOSE COURTESY AND KINDNESS, NO LESS THAN HIS HIGH LITERARY ATTAINMENTS 
 
 AND GREAT POLITICAL ABILITY 1 , HAVE SECURED HIM THE REGARD 
 
 AND RESPECT OF ALL CLASSES OF ENGLISHMEN, 
 
 THIS VOLUME, 
 
 OcsrrtpttOr of tijc most picturesque 5ccncrp in iSelflium, 
 
 IS, WITH PERMISSION, RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED 
 
 BY HIS OBLIGED AND OBEDItNT SERVANT, 
 
 DUDLEY COSTELLO.
 
 CHAPTER I. .......... 1 
 
 Across the Channel The Flying Beacon The Fierce Hairdresser 
 The Baths at Dunquerque Summer Flowers Letting an Apart- 
 ment The Statue of Jean Bart The Valley of Roses The Musical 
 F6te Route from Dunquerque to Bergues Scenery at Rexponne 
 The Art of Packing The Corking Pins Belgian Beer Town- 
 hall of Vpres Lace Makers Diligence to Courtrai Hotel deVille 
 Vandyke The Battle of Ihe Spurs Road to Bruges The Pretty 
 Aubergiste Religious Character of the Brugeois Railroad to Liege. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 17 
 
 Liege General Appearance of the City Its Early History Disco- 
 very of Coal Employment of Children in Coal Pits Calamities 
 of Li6ge The Warde des Steppes Henry of Gueldres Condition 
 of the Lidgeois Henri de Dinant The Perron of Li6ge The Clergy 
 and the Nobles Radus des Prez Outrage on Henri de Dinant Siege 
 of Lie'ge Henri de Dinant quits Lie'ge His Return He finally 
 leaves the City His Patriotism Scandalous Life of the Bishop 
 The Pope's Remonstrance Death of Henry of Gueldres Le Mai 
 St. Martin Jean sans Fiti6 Li6ge in the Fifteenth Century Cruelty 
 of the Duke of Burgundy. 
 
 CHAPTER III 45 
 
 The Walloon Language Error of Sir Walter Scott Flemish never 
 spoken in Liege Origin of the Walloon Language Its Character- 
 istics The Popular Dialect War Cries The Lord's Piayer Hun- 
 garo- Walloons Fetes de la Reine Paskeies Political Songs Noels 
 TheCramignon Paskeie Walloon Chronicles Walloon Dramas 
 Decline of Walloon Literature Walloon Poet Recent Efforts. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 7 
 
 Walloon and Belgian Superstitions Kaboutermannekens Sotays 
 Brownies The Verd Bouc The four Sons of Aymon TheGattes 
 d'Or Exorcism Popular Superstitions The Court of the Cuckoo 
 The Bete de Staneux Ridiculous Usages May-day Ceremonies. 
 
 CHAPTER V 83 
 
 The Valley of the Meuse Departure from Liege Manufactories 
 Chateau of Jemtppes Tradition of Ameilthe One-eyed The Witch's 
 Tree Flemalle The Chatflaine's Revenge The Chateau de Chokier 
 Jean de Lardier Paquette the Innocent Banishment of de Lardier
 
 VI CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. (Continued) 83 
 
 Fidelity of Paquette Her despair Her murder Aigremont 
 William de la Marck Treachery of Jean de Home Execution of 
 De la Marck Chateau de Warfusee Clermont Ramioul Abbey 
 of Flone-Amay Tihange. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 101 
 
 Huy The Houyoux Marguerite de Navarre The Cathedral In- 
 terior Portail de la Vierge Peter the Hermit Singular Capture of 
 Huy Love of Liberty The Mehaigne Search for the Ruins of 
 Moha The Castle of Moha. 
 
 CiiAPTr.R VII 108 
 
 Gc, trude of Moha Thibaut de Champagne Albert of Moha The 
 Tournament of Andenne Emulation of the Young Damoiseaux 
 Their Tilting Match Fatal Issue of the Combat Vow of the Count 
 ;nl Countess Stone Crosses Henry of Brabant Cession of Moha 
 Birth of Gertrude Death of Count Albert Education of Gertrude 
 War of the Succession Gertrude's Beauty Thibaut of Champagne 
 Betrothal of Gertrude Theobald of Lorraine Gertrude's Marriage 
 Battle of Bouvines War against Lorraine Hatred of the Emperor 
 Sodaria The Duke Poisoned Geitrude a Widow Her Return 
 to Moha The Letter Thibaut in Provins Thibaut's Arrival at 
 Moha Gertrude's Second Marriage A Marriage of Love Thibaut's 
 Inconstancy Gertrude's Death Destruction of Moha. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 140 
 
 Scenery of the Mehaigne The Sire de Fallais The Sire de Fumal 
 Marie de Fumal Collard Buldin The Casting of the Pear Pro 
 cession to St. Sauveur The Pilgrimage Insolence of Baldin Pre- 
 parations for Marie's Marriage The Rescue Death of Baldin 
 Marriage of Richard and Marie Treason of Henry of Gueldres 
 Richard's Vigilance Discomfiture of the Bishop The Field of Dam- 
 martin The Sire de Waremme De Hemricourt and his Steed The 
 Combatants Preparations for the Fight The Battle. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 155 
 
 The Chateau de Beaufort La Guerre de la Vache Destruction of 
 Beaufort Andenne Ancient Inscription Rocks of Samson Tomb 
 of Sybilla of Lusignan Tomb of the Sire de Goumesuie Abbey of 
 Marche les Dames Namur. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 163 
 
 Namur The Blancq' Klocq' View on the Sambre The Suit-Fighters 
 The Melans and the Avresses The Field of Battle The Canon 
 of St. Aubaiu Poem on Stilt-Fighting Rules of the Combat The
 
 CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 FAGK 
 
 CHAPTER X. (Continued) 163 
 
 Brigades Edicts against the Stilters Revival of the Games The 
 last Fight Renewed Prohibition Attempts at Revival The Bleus 
 and Nankinets The last Exhibition. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 179 
 
 Namur and Dinant Beauty of the Valley Forest of Marlagne 
 Convent of Bare- footed Carmelites Chateaux and Villages Lustin 
 Profondeville Burnot Riviere Rouillon The Adventure of Jrhaii 
 Coniu The Valley of the Bocq Intermittent Spring -Chateau de 
 Poilvaehe Crevecreur and Bouvignes Siege of Bouvignes The 
 three Ladies of Creveceeur Their heroic Death Masses for their 
 souls Dinant. 
 
 CHAPTER XII 190 
 
 Dinant Its former Flourishing condition Commerce Insulting 
 Message to the Burgundians Revolt The Duke of Burgundy's Pre- 
 parations Renewed insults The Duke's vow -Violent Outrage of 
 the Dinantiiis The Town besieged and captured Cruelty of the 
 Burgundians Plunder of the City The City burnt Its entire de- 
 struction Marguerite de Valois at Dinant Her singular reception 
 Her danger Her stratagem- Another risk Her escape Mar- 
 guerite at Florennes Her safe return to France. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 207 
 
 Dinant Beauty of its situation The Citadel and River Belgian 
 Sportsmen- The H6tel de la Poste Excellence of Provisions Jam- 
 bon de Bastogne Fine Scenery The Roche a Bayard Traditions 
 of the Four Sons of Aymon Charlemagne's Revenge Bayard's 
 Escape Cause of Charlemagne's Hatred The Adventure of Rinaldo 
 Processions. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 224 
 
 Excursion to the Chateau de Walzen Walloon Guide Magnificent 
 Amphitheatre The River Lesse Profusion of Fruit The Old Castle 
 of Walzen -A Dinner al fresco Paradise for Bees Exaggeration 
 Pont sur Lesse The Weir Excursion to Freyr The Chateau The 
 Cicerone Discovery of the Grotto Anseremme. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 234 
 
 The Collegiate Church of Dinatit Saint Perpetuus Dangerous Rock 
 above the Church Its Removal Excursion to Montaigle Refuge at 
 Sommieres The Cur of Sommieres Road to Montaigle Ruins of 
 the Castle Picturesque Situation Formerly a Roman Station The 
 Legend of Gillfs de Chin Processions of Dragons The Dragon of 
 Mors Le Lumecon Exploits of Gilles de Chin Procession at 
 Wasmes- Banners and Pict'jros Death of Gilles de Chin His 
 Statue His Epit:iph. 
 
 a 2
 
 viii CONTENTS. 
 
 T4GB 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 250 
 
 Poilvache Early History of the Castle originally called " The Eme- 
 rald" Changed to Poilv:ique Its destruction The Gatte d Or 
 Bertha of Bierloz Her beauty and perfidy Her strange death The 
 ruins Beauty of Scenery Tour de Moniot The Gleaners Possible 
 Feud. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 259 
 
 Preparations for the Ardennes Horses The Side-saddle The Law 
 Suit Riding Habit The Musical Tailor The Serenade The Side 
 saddle again The Black Barb Departure for Givet Road to 
 Givet Frontier Douaniers Difficulty of Entrance -Guarantees- 
 Admission to La bc-lle France Givet Legend of the Comte de 
 Chimay His fondness for Hunting Its Consequences His Impri- 
 sonment The Young Cross-bowman The Discoveiy The Message 
 The Messenger The Rescue The Count's Speech and Revenge 
 His Death. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 277 
 
 The last Evening at Dinant Thunder and Lightning Road to the 
 Ardennes The Chateau de Celles Beauty of its situation Its struc- 
 ture Decay of the interior Its antiquity The Chateau of Ardenne 
 The Chateau of Ciergnon Scenery of the Ardennes Cross Roads 
 Village of Haii-sur-Lessc Approach to the Cave The Cave Its 
 great Beauty Variety of forms Its numerous halls The Salle du 
 Dome Effect of daylight The Nigrum Inscriptions Road to 
 Rochefort. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX -2(Hi 
 
 Hotel at Rochefort Picturesque Situation of the Town Stratagem 
 of the Comte de Rochefort The Leper Knight Appearance of the 
 Ardennes Beauty of the Scenery Appearance of St. Hubert The 
 Abbey The Abbey Church Origin of the Name of the Ardennes 
 St. Hubert's Stole Ceremonials for the Cure of Hydrophobia Con- 
 troversies The keys of St. Hubert Prayer to the Saint Brotherhood 
 of St. Hubert Rules and Regulations Singular Customs Auction 
 in the Open Air. 
 
 CHAPTER XX 303 
 
 The Cattle of St. HubeU The forest of Arden Truth of Shaksperes 
 description Scenery Beech Trees La Roche The Aeronaut 
 Blanchard Preparations for the Ascent Blanchard's trick His 
 threatened punishment Fate of the Balloon The Patron Saint and 
 the Virgin Ardennes Marche The Calvaire The Forest 
 Champion Bastogne Arlon The Controversy Inscription on the 
 Alt:ir Farewell to the Ardennes.
 
 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS, 
 
 FROM ORIGINAL SKETCHES I? Y DUDLEY C O S T E L L (), 
 ENGRAVED ON WOOD BY HENRY VIZ E TELLY. 
 
 PORTAIL DB LA VlEROE AT HuY ..... Frontispiece. 
 
 THE VALLEY OF THE MEUSE AT NAMOR, AND THE FOREST 
 
 OF ARDENNES Title-page. 
 
 THE DILIGENCE EN ROUTE FROM CALAIS 1 
 
 INITIAL LETTER "I" THE LIGHT-HOUSE AT DUNQUERQUE . 1 
 
 THE PERRON OF LIEGE 17 
 
 INITIAL LETTER "L" BELGIAN MARKET WOMAN ... 17 
 
 ARMS OF HENRY DE GELDRE, BISHOP OF LIEGE ~2i 
 
 ANCIENT PERRON OF LIEGE 2& 
 
 ARMS OF HENRI DE DINANT 30 
 
 ARMS OF RADUS DES PKEZ 31 
 
 INITIAL LETTER "T" . 45 
 
 THE CRAMIGNON (10 
 
 LA BETE DE STANEUX .67 
 
 INITIAL LETTER "I" BELGIAN DWARF . . . 07 
 
 CHATEAU DE CHOKIER .S3 
 
 INITIAL LETTER "I" . . 83 
 
 ARMS OF AMEIL DE LEXHY .... ... 86 
 
 ARMS OF JEAN DE CHOKIER 01 
 
 STANDARD OF ST. LAMBERT <7 
 
 STANDARD FEARER 100 
 
 ROINS or THE CASTLE OF MOHA 101
 
 X LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 TT.I 
 
 IN-ITIAL LETTER '-T "PEASANTS BEFORE A CROSS . . . 101 
 
 SEAL OF GERTRUDE DE MOHA 108 
 
 INITIAL LETTER "I "-KNIGHT 108 
 
 LE CHAMP DES CROIX 117 
 
 SEAL OF DUKE FERRY OF LORRAINE 127 
 
 SEAL OF DUKE THEOBALD OF LORRAINE ..... 132 
 
 HERALD ............ 154 
 
 CHATEAU DE BEATTVORT 155 
 
 INITIAL LETTER "T" GLEANER 155 
 
 STILT FIGHT AT NAMCR 163 
 
 SINGLE COMBAT WITH STILTS . 17S 
 
 RUINS OF THE CASTLE OF CREVECOLUR 170 
 
 INITIAL LETTER "N" PEASANT GIRL 179 
 
 INITIAL LETTER "D" SAILING BOAT 100 
 
 DINANT -207 
 
 THE ROCHE A BAVARD 2'J3 
 
 CHATEAU DE WALZEN 22 1 
 
 INITIAL LETTEK %< A" PICTURESQUE BELGIAN HOUSE . . 224 
 
 THE WEIB, ON THE LESSE 229 
 
 CHATEAU DE FREYR . . . 231 
 
 ANSEREMME ........... 231 
 
 RUINS OF THE CASTLE OF MONTAIGI.K 235 
 
 EFFIGY OF GILLES DE CHIN 249 
 
 TOUR DE MONIOT 256 
 
 ARMS OF JEAN DE CROY 268 
 
 THE CASTLE OF COUVIN . . .... 271 
 
 CHATEAU DE CELI.ES 277 
 
 RUINS OF THE CHATEAU DE ROCHEFORT ..... 290 
 
 LA Rof HE 305
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 OF the numberless English travellers who every summer 
 cross the channel, and a great proportion of whom traverse 
 Belgium, there are comparatively few who, after visiting the 
 churches and town-halls of Flanders, and feasting their eyes 
 on the splendours of Flemish art at Bruges, at Ghent, at 
 Antwerp, and elsewhere, pause on their way before they 
 reach the Rhine, or bestow more than a cursory glance 
 on the beautiful country which lies between them and 
 that much sought river. Some there are who linger at 
 Liege long enough to make the steam-boat excursion to 
 Namur and back ; others also avail themselves of the 
 southern railroad from Brussels to strike the Meuse at 
 Namur, and hastily descend the stream, leaving the beau-
 
 Xll PREFACE. 
 
 ties of the upper valley, as far as Givet, entirely unex- 
 plored; but by far the greater number speed rapidly on. 
 intent upon seeking at a greater distance those charms of 
 scenery and associatioii which are to be found so much 
 nearer home. The facility of communication afforded by 
 the South Eastern Railway* is now so great that a tra- 
 veller, bent upon reaching his destination without delay, 
 may find himself, four and twenty hours after leaving 
 London, in the midst of some of the most picturesque 
 scenery in Europe, the general features of which he may 
 examine in a few days, or enjoy its details at leisure 
 throughout the summer months. Additional inducements 
 to examine this part of Belgium also offer themselves in 
 the progress which is being made by the construction of 
 the Sambre and Meuse railway, an enterprise not only of 
 the greatest utility in a commercial point of view.- 1 - but 
 one that will enable those who travel for pleasure, to visit 
 
 * The journey from London to Ostend by the South Eastern 
 Railway occupies only nine hours under ordinary circumstances ; four 
 hours by land and five by sea. The distance from Ostend to Liege, 
 by railway, is performed in about seven hours ; so that, allowing for 
 delays, the whole may be completed in the twenty-four hours. The 
 route by sea, direct from London to Ostend, is rather longer. 
 
 t See the admirably lucid and satisfactory Report of Mr. Sopwith.
 
 with ease scenery which hitherto has been almost unap- 
 proachable. 
 
 AVithout desiring to institute a comparison between the 
 Rhine and the Meuse, for they differ essentially in their 
 characteristics, or endeavouring to deter those whose 
 aspirations lead them towards " the exulting and abounding 
 river," the object of these pages is to show that the Meuse 
 possesses beauties of its own, which will amply reward all 
 who seek them ; that its history, its language, its customs, 
 and its traditions, are replete with interest ; and the lover 
 of nature, and the inquirer into the past, may alike find 
 food for admiration and reflection as he wanders between 
 its banks.
 
 Across the Channel The Plying Beacon -; 
 The Fierce Hairdresser The Baths at <^ --' *' - ~-w-^.^"~ 
 Dunquerque Summer Flowers Let- 
 ting an- Apartment The Statue of Jean Bart The Valley of 
 Roses The Musical Fete Route from Dunquerqne to Berguea Scenery 
 at Rexponne The Art of Packing The Corking Pins Belgian Beer 
 TownHallof Ypres Lace Makers Diligence to Courtrai Hotel de Ville 
 Vandyke The Battle of the Spurs Road to Bruges The Pretty Auber- 
 giste Religious Character of the Brugeois Railroad to Liege. 
 
 T WAS early in the month of August, last 
 year, when, having projected a journey to 
 the Continent, by the route of the Valley 
 |i,, of the Meuse, we left London by the 
 South Eastern Railway for Dover, intending to pro- 
 ceed direct to Ostend. The wind, however, blew so 
 fresh when we reached the coast, that the shortest 
 passage became the most desirable, and we accordingly
 
 THE FLYING BEACON. 
 
 changed our plans and crossed over to Calais, pitying 
 ourselves, of course, for our brief sufferings, but with 
 little feeling of commiseration for a party of pleasure, 
 some hundred and fifty unhappy wretches, who left 
 Dover Harbour in another steamer, on a day's excur- 
 sion to Boulogne and back ; lucky, indeed, if they 
 managed to get safely there, to say nothing of the 
 comforts of the return voyage ! 
 
 Kestored to our proper equilibrium at Dessin's, we 
 sought the earliest means of leaving Calais, and soon 
 found ourselves on the road to Dunquerque, whose tall 
 lighthouse beckoned us on so long after night fell, that 
 we began to fancy we were pursuing a gigantic will-o'- 
 the-wisp, rather than approaching a steady, respectable 
 beacon. At length we contrived to lose sight of the 
 light, under the shadow of the thick avenue of Limes 
 that terminates at the gates of Dunquerque, and the 
 brief formality of passport-giving over, in a few minutes 
 more we were comfortably housed in the Hotel de 
 Flandres, our wants most carefully attended to by the 
 quaint old head- waiter, who speaks more English than 
 French, and has passed the greater part of his life 
 afloat, as captain's steward on board of British men-of- 
 war; his reverence for the maritime prowess of his 
 countrymen is consequently not very profound. It is 
 scarcely necessary to add, that he does not entertain 
 the warlike sentiments of la Jeune France; indeed, the 
 feeling of enmity towards England is little prevalent in 
 French Flanders, the utility of commerce being there
 
 THE FIERCE HAIRDRESSER. 3 
 
 held in higher estimation than the noise and smell of 
 gunpowder. One exception I found in Dunquerque, in 
 the person of a fierce-looking hairdresser, whose profes- 
 sional services I required ; but even his hostility, though 
 he dealt in very bitter words, was limited to a demon- 
 stration after the manner of the Philistines, by cutting 
 his enemies' hair as closely as it could well be shorn. 
 
 As we wished to bathe somewhere on the coast 
 before we travelled further, we made inquiry here, hav- 
 ing no desire, if it could be avoided, to go on to Ostend. 
 The answer was highly in favour of the new " Etablisse 
 ment des Bains," at Dunquerque, and after inspecting 
 them, we were quite satisfied to remain. They are 
 very well conducted and cheap ; the bathing also is 
 good, on a fine, hard sand, though the water is not 
 deep. The whole of the coast, from Calais northward, 
 is a constant succession of low sand-hills, called 
 "Dunes" (whence the name of Dunquerque), and 
 it is consequently unpicturesque ; but what the shore 
 wants in beauty is, in a great degree, made up in wild- 
 ness, and in the extreme fragrance of the hardy flowers 
 that cling to the unpromising soil. It is seldom that 
 a French town can be commended, on account of the 
 odours that belong to it, but Dunquerque is one of 
 the few, and deserves all praise, as well on this account 
 as on that of its great cleanliness, exceeded by no 
 place that I have met with in any part of Flanders. 
 It is the delicious perfume of these summer flowers, 
 wafted by the sea breeze, that makes one never tire of
 
 4 THE BATHS AT DUNQUEBQUE. 
 
 the walk from the town to the beach, though the dis- 
 tance from the foot of the glacis to the pier-head is at 
 least a mile. In the extreme heat of the day the 
 Etablissement offers a most agreeable retreat, where 
 English and French newspapers, plenty of books and 
 maps, a good pianoforte, and an excellent billiard- 
 table, afford the means of filling up the time as plea- 
 santly as can be desired. Once a fortnight there is a 
 grande soiree, when all the elite of Dunquerque 
 assemble ; but every evening there is impromptu 
 dancing, for the natives are so far French in feeling, 
 as to think that a salle de danse should contrive always 
 to fulfil its destiny. 
 
 Of this fondness for dancing, or, rather, as an illus- 
 tration of the laisser-aller that characterises our mer- 
 curial neighbours, whenever amusement is in question, 
 the following instance may serve : Preferring the quiet 
 of a lodging, wherever it can be had, to the bustle of 
 an hotel, after some search, for Dunquerque is defi- 
 cient in accommodation of this kind, we discovered 
 a very nice apartment. The terms, moderate enough, 
 were soon settled, and we said we would send down our 
 baggage in the course of the morning; to this, how- 
 ever, an objection was raised, the hostess said she 
 was very sorry, but it was not possible for us to come 
 in till the next day. 
 
 " But why not ? " we replied ; " nothing seems to 
 be wanting, the rooms appear quite ready." 
 
 " Oh, yes, the apartment is ready ; but I am going
 
 LETTING AN APARTMENT. 5 
 
 to give a little soiree musicale this evening to a few 
 friends, and you see, therefore, the impossibility of my 
 having the honour of relinquishing it to you." 
 
 As the necessity for entertaining her friends ap- 
 peared greater than that of letting her lodgings, we 
 were compelled to submit, but we thought it might 
 have been as well if the words, "a louer presentement," 
 in the bill in the window, had been changed to " to be 
 let when convenient." 
 
 For those who seek a relaxation from bustle and 
 fatigue, and wish to know how quietly and cheaply it 
 is possible to live, a better place than Dunquerque can 
 scarcely be named, and during the fortnight that we 
 stayed we found it all we could desire. But even 
 the quietest spots are not without their moments 
 of excitement, and one afternoon we found the whole 
 town in commotion, in consequence of a musical fete 
 that was about to take place in honour of the hero of 
 Dunquerque, the famous Jean Bart. As the naval 
 illustrations of France are not very numerous, it is 
 natural that she should wish to make the most of all 
 whom she can by possibility claim as belonging to 
 her; and therefore it is that she is proud of Jean Bart, 
 who happened, by the chance of war, to be born a 
 Frenchman,* though his feelings, habits, and language 
 
 * Dunquerque, which had for two centuries acknowledged the 
 authority of Spain, and never belonged to France, was besieged and 
 taken by the Due d'Enghien, afterwards the Grand Conde, on the 18th 
 of October, 1646. Jean Bart was born 22nd October, 1650. 
 
 A 2
 
 6 THE FETE OF JEAN BART. THE VALLEY OF ROSES. 
 
 and maritime education were essentially Flemish. 
 Dunquerque, however, has reason to boast of her son, 
 and it will not be long before the principal square in 
 the town is adorned by the statue of the celebrated 
 chef d'escadre. The excavation for the pedestal had 
 already been begun, and it was to meet some of the 
 contingent expenses that the musical fete was got up. 
 Twice had the weather proved unpropitious, but on 
 this occasion the heavens were serene, and all the 
 world hurried out to the Rosendael, or Valley of Eoses, 
 a rather pretty but somewhat cockney kind of tea- 
 garden, about half a mile outside the town, in the 
 direction of Furnes. The price of admission was not 
 ruinous, the tickets being ten sous each, a modicum 
 determined on for the benefit of " Messieurs les 
 Marins" who were especially invited by the affiches to 
 attend ; but whether the jolly tars had other occupations, 
 something else to do with their money, or were in- 
 different to the memory of the Flemish privateer, 
 certain it is that the aforesaid Messieurs mustered in 
 very small numbers, leaving the honour of France in 
 the keeping of a very warlike knot of gentlemen of the 
 National Guard, the greater part of whom were per- 
 formers upon wind instruments. The music was good, 
 but as the selections were all from the newest operas, 
 the fete might as well have been given in honour 
 of Donizetti, or any other modern composer; however, 
 the receipts, though not over abundant, constituted the 
 real tribute to the memory of Jean Bart, and perhaps,
 
 ROUTE FROM DUNQUERQUE TO BERGUES. t 
 
 at the time I am writing, the inauguration of the statue 
 of another hero may have been added to the Pantheon 
 of France. 
 
 At the end of a fortnight, having profited suffi- 
 ciently by our stay, we took our departure from Dun- 
 querque, not coastwise through Ostend, as we had 
 originally purposed, but by a pleasanter though more 
 circuitous route inland. Meeting with a voiturier from 
 Bergues, we made an agreement with him to take us as 
 far as Ypres, there being no diligence to that place, and 
 on the day agreed on he came punctual to his appoint- 
 ment. From Dunquerque to Bergues the road runs 
 by the side of the canal that communicates with Lille, 
 nor is there anything worthy of observation, except the 
 singularly-mournful cemetery, filled with black crosses, 
 that greets us as we turn towards the ramparts of 
 Bergues. Beyond that town the country assumes a 
 very different aspect, the marshes disappear, giving 
 place to the most luxuriant vegetation, and fields of 
 the richest culture ; it is the great butter district of this 
 part of France, and stands in high estimation in the 
 department. But the road itself is as beautiful as the 
 soil is fertile, passing, at the village of Rexponne, 
 through an avenue of lofty trees, the natural inclina- 
 tion of whose boughs forms a perfect Gothic arch of 
 the most graceful foliage for upwards of a mile, till it 
 reaches the frontier village of Oest-Kappel. A few 
 yards further, and we stand on the territory of Belgium, 
 where the Custom-House authorities lie in waiting to
 
 8 THE ART OF PACKING. 
 
 vex the traveller's baggage, disturb his equanimity, and 
 disarrange the system of his packing. It is well known 
 to all who are in the habit of travelling, that the great 
 art of packing consists in a nice arrangement of parts, 
 without which the best-intentioned carpet-bags cannot 
 contain one-half of what is intended to be crammed 
 into them. Discompose the judicious order of the first 
 plan, and even your own master-hand cannot restore it 
 exactly to what it was before ; as in a fine picture there 
 are certain touches that cannot be imitated, so in a dis- 
 turbed carpet-bag there are nooks and corners which 
 will not be filled ; the harmony that once pervaded the 
 whole has departed. If the process of restoration be 
 submitted to a stranger, and that stranger be a Custom- 
 House officer, adieu to everything Like the once- 
 admired internal economy. Thus it befel with us at 
 Rousbrugge, where our baggage was remorselessly 
 seized, thrown down into the dusty road, and rifled as 
 ft lay there. Already had our portmanteau yielded up 
 its contents ; wistful eyes had already scrutinised many 
 an article of apparel, eager to pronounce it unworn; 
 already was the hand of the searcher deep in the 
 bowels of a stout sac-de-nuit, when, with a sudden 
 exclamation, French in its origin, but Belgian by 
 appropriation, the groping was discontinued and the 
 hand withdrawn, its owner wringing and squeezing it 
 with irrepressible manifestations of pain. The fact 
 was, that in the precipitation of his search the curious 
 official had accidentally come in contact with a
 
 THE CORKING-PINS. BELGIAN BEER. 9 
 
 chevaux-de-frise of stiff, sharp corking-pins, which 
 were lying perdus in the middle of the bag, and the 
 salutation they gave him instantaneously checked his 
 ardour; he huddled the displaced articles into their 
 receptacle, crushed them down by brute force, closed 
 the bag, gave up the keys, and troubled us no further. 
 Whether it be worth while to adopt the corking-pin 
 system of defence on principle, I leave to the consider- 
 ation of future travellers. 
 
 After passing through Eousbrugge, the quantity of 
 hop-gardens on every side plainly intimated that we 
 had exchanged the wine of France for the beer of 
 Belgium: it remained to be seen whether the latter 
 was likely to be a tolerable substitute. Accordingly, 
 at Poperinghes, where we stopped for half an hour to 
 bait our horses, I called for some of their best, which 
 was handed to me in a glass mug with a handle. One 
 draught was sufficient ; I then perfectly comprehended 
 the reason why every man we met had a pinched face 
 and a sharp nose, with beer like that of Poperinghes 
 such a result was inevitable. 
 
 A word, en passant, on the subject of the staple 
 drink of the Low Countries. There are great varieties 
 of beer, the principal being the Biere de Louvain, 
 the Biere de Diest, the Faro and Lembick of Bruxelles, 
 and a particular kind, brewed in the latter city, called 
 Biere d'Orge; the last of these is tolerable, the first 
 only is good, the rest are execrable, at least to an 
 English palate.
 
 10 TOWN-HALL OF YPRES. LACE-MAKERS. 
 
 The pleasing character of the country increases as 
 we approach the ancient city of Ypres, whose numerous 
 towns are seen at a considerable distance, for the road 
 takes a wide sweep before it makes direct for the town. 
 Ypres is a quiet, pleasant-looking place, with its pic- 
 turesque gable-ends, its spacious square, and magnifi- 
 cent Town-hall, a gorgeous specimen of the archi- 
 tecture of the fourteenth century. The hand of resto- 
 ration has been busy with its pinnacles and the rich 
 fret-work of its windows, and ah 1 has been effected in 
 perfect taste : for the sake of uniformity, one wishes that" 
 the east end, which was built in 1720, were made to 
 resemble the rest of the building ; it does not, however, 
 injure the effect of the fagade. We loitered for half an 
 hour in the cathedral, beside the tomb of Jansen, and 
 gazed upon the portrait of the persecuted bishop, as he 
 stands in the long file of the prelates of Ypres. Our 
 admiration of the finely-carved pulpit was freely given ; 
 nor were some curious antique pictures, of the age, if 
 not by the hand, of Memling, passed over without 
 admiring comments. But our chief amusement, on 
 this fine summer's day, was in wandering through the 
 streets, and watching the groups of lace-makers assem- 
 bled at work in the open air, in the broad shadow of 
 the churches or lofty houses. At every window, also, 
 numbers of girls were seated, all intent on the Valen- 
 ciennes lace which they make so deftly, and of which 
 they show you the pattern so willingly, smiling with 
 the utmost good humour, and speaking in low, soft
 
 DILIGENCE TO COURTEAI, 11 
 
 voices, a language (Flemish) which, for once, one is 
 sorry not to understand. We had a pleasant walk, too, 
 on the grassy ramparts, where the ditches, hroad and 
 deep as canals, were covered with water-lilies, as if 
 these fortifications had never known anything of war's 
 alarms. In the afternoon we set out in a diligence, 
 open in front, that held nine persons inside, and was 
 of course full. There was some little difficulty at first 
 in bestowing the passengers, but a steady jog-trot soon 
 settled everybody in his proper place, and we got on 
 very comfortably, being edified on the way by experi- 
 ments in the art of war, on the part of certain braves 
 Beiges, part of the peaceful garrison of Ypres, who were 
 practising street firing and other military evolutions on 
 the high road to Menin. 
 
 Of Menin, little is there to say, nor did we remain 
 there long enough to observe more than that it ap- 
 peared clean, and not altogether so dismal as some 
 have described it. 
 
 About seven in the evening we reached Courtrai, 
 crossing the picturesque bridge over the river Lys, 
 beside which still stand the massive towers of its an- 
 cient castle, no longer an ofience to the city, as in 
 the days of feudal domination. It is something to 
 discover an hotel that is both good and cheap, and in 
 these particulars "Les Armes de France," in the street 
 leading from the bridge to the great square, may claim 
 honourable pre-eminence. Here we rested well, and 
 gave the next day to the "sights," which, as Courtrai is
 
 12 HOTEL DE VTT.T.F, AT COURTRAI. VANDYKE. 
 
 not visited by every traveller, it may be worth while to 
 enumerate. The Hotel de Ville stands first, not on 
 account of its external architecture, for that dates only 
 from the 17th century, but for the curious and ela- 
 borate carved chimney-pieces and other interior deco- 
 rations, which are rendered familiar to the lovers of 
 art through Haghe's beautiful lithographic drawings. 
 One can never do wrong to enter the first open 
 church in any of the Belgian cities, and in that of 
 Notre-Dame, into which we made our way somewhat 
 circuitously, we met with what fully repaid us for a 
 much longer detour, the famous Raising of the Cross, 
 by Vandyke. It is one of those pictures which, 
 like those in the gallery at Antwerp, exalt the master 
 almost to the level of his master, Rubens ; and again 
 and again we returned to it before we left the church. 
 Threading our way up a narrow street, at the corner 
 of which stood an image of the Virgin in the midst 
 of a forest of paper lanthorns, to be lit up in her 
 honour at dusk, we stumbled upon the Museum, 
 where, for a few sous, we were admitted to contrast 
 the state of existing art in Belgium with what it was 
 in the days of its glory. Without instituting a direct 
 comparison, the modern Flemings have good reason 
 to be proud of names such as those of Wappers 
 and De Keyser, the last of whom has illustrated 
 Courtrai by a noble picture which is now in the 
 Museum. The subject is the celebrated Battle of 
 the Spurs, fought in the year 1302, in the meadows
 
 BATTLE OF THE SPURS. ROAD TO BRUGES. 13 
 
 of Groeninghe, eastward of the city, where Robert 
 d'Artois and nearly the whole of the chivalry of France 
 fell before the "goedendags" of the roused communes 
 of Flanders. The moment chosen by the painter is 
 that of the Count d'Artois' overthrow, when horse 
 and man were driven to the earth beneath the thun- 
 dering blows of the terrific butcher of Ghent, who 
 one knee on the Count's breast is preparing to give 
 the fatal coup de grace. Eobert d'Artois, still clinging 
 to his steed, has fallen backwards, and extending his 
 sword in the vain hope of finding a nobleman to 
 whom he might surrender, " rescue or no rescue." 
 His proffer is met with savage disdain; for the fierce 
 Flemings, resolved to give no quarter, replied to the 
 unhappy Prince that "they did not understand French." 
 The accessories of the picture are beautifully filled 
 up, and the whole is remarkable for boldness of con- 
 ception, vigorous drawing, and great harmony of co- 
 louring. A long price has been paid for it by the 
 municipality of Courtrai, I think 15,000 francs, yet 
 it is worth the money. Of the field of battle itself, 
 little is now distinguishable, the railroad of Ghent 
 runs across it, and a small chapel, in which hangs a 
 single spur of gold, is the only memorial on the spot. 
 Instead of proceeding by the railway direct to 
 Ghent, we chose the little-frequented road from Courtrai 
 to Bruges, across a country cultivated like a garden. 
 The harvest was not yet gathered, but its abundance 
 spread over the fields like waving gold. Beyond these
 
 14 THE PRETTY AUBERGISTE. 
 
 rich plains the way lies through a thick forest, with 
 sunny glades and long shady vistas, offering every 
 charm of which a level country can boast. At a little 
 road- side inn, on the skirts of the forest, appropriately 
 dedicated to St. Hubert, there issued forth, to offer 
 refreshment to the passengers in the diligence, as 
 pretty a girl as one could well hope to look upon 
 though bound to the city of Bruges, esteemed the 
 head-quarters of Flemish beauty. Her dark hair, 
 lustrous eyes, slender waist, and graceful figure, sug- 
 gested no unapt resemblance to the fair Isabelle de 
 Croy, when she waited on Maitre Pierre, at Plessis les 
 Tours; and a deep, demure-looking old priest, who 
 formed one of the party in the diligence, might have 
 sat for the portrait of the false merchant. Her liqueurs 
 were not left untasted ; and under their influence, the 
 driver flogged his horses into a brisker pace, and we 
 trotted merrily along till we reached the barrier at 
 Bruges, where a careful perquisition was made, to see 
 if we carried any contraband provisions, for the regula- 
 tions of the good city will not admit the wing of a 
 chicken duty free. Nothing having been discovered, 
 we were allowed to move on, and in due time were 
 installed in the hostelry called "Den Gouden Beer," 
 imaged forth as a formidable bear wearing a golden 
 collar. 
 
 To give any detailed description of places so well 
 known as Bruges and Ghent would be a work of 
 supererogation, for all that can be told has been
 
 RELIGIOUS FEELING OF THE BRUGEOIS. 15 
 
 written by countless travellers, to say nothing of 
 Murray's excellent "Hand-book." Under such cir- 
 cumstances, one wishes rather to record impressions 
 than furnish a catalogue of remarkable objects. Again, 
 as in former years, I was struck with the devotional 
 character of the religious worship offered by the Flemish 
 people, more apparent, perhaps, at Bruges than any 
 where else in Belgium, for there everything lends itself 
 to the feeling : the air of loneliness which pervades the 
 city, the sombre costume of its inhabitants, and the 
 quaint style of its architecture. The expression of this 
 sentiment is witnessed in its most picturesque form in 
 the church of the Hospital of St. John, at the hour of 
 the vesper mass, where the majority of the devotees 
 are women, whose long black cloaks and hoods impart 
 much of solemnity to the scene. While the last rays 
 of evening struggle faintly through the narrow, darkened 
 windows of the building, the blaze of light at the altar 
 illumines the rich coffer of St. Ursula, which stands 
 there displayed to the faithful, and falls upon the 
 fantastically- shaped head-dresses of the sisters of the 
 order, who still adhere to the costume of the fifteenth 
 century ; the air is filled with the odour of incense, 
 the pealing tones of the organ swell upon the ear, 
 the sonorous voices of the priests, and the choral 
 response of the sisters, melt into the general harmony; 
 the mind is abstracted from the present, and if religion 
 itself be not impressed upon the spectator, a feeling 
 akin to it, at least, is produced ; for " the place becomes
 
 16 MODERN EESTO RATIONS. 
 
 religious, and the heart runs o'er" with an emotion 
 which little else could excite. It will gratify all lovers 
 of Gothic architecture to know that in Bruges, as in 
 most of the Belgian cities, the restoration of time-worn 
 edifices is going on actively and in excellent taste ; 
 and that the cathedral of St. Salvator like that of 
 St. Gudule, at Bmxelles is rapidly regaining its 
 former external beauty. Much also is being done to 
 illustrate its monuments of art, pictorial as well as 
 architectural, and of this evidence is afforded in a mag- 
 nificent work now in progress, intituled " Les Sjrfen- 
 deurs de I' Art en Belgique." 
 
 Several days were devoted to Ghent, Antwerp, and 
 Bruxelles, and some hours to Mechlin and Louvain, 
 whose splendid town-hall is the architectural gem of 
 Belgium; and then, taking up that route which our 
 visit to those cities had interrupted, we sped on by the 
 railroad to Liege, the spot from whence we proposed 
 to begin our tour through the valley of the Meuse.
 
 Liege General Appearance of the City Its Early History i 
 Discovery of Coal Employment of Children 
 in Coal Pits Calamities of Liege The Warde 
 des Steppes Henry of Gueldres Condition of i 
 the Liegeois Henri de Dinant The Perron of 
 Liege The Clergy and the Nobles Radus des 
 Prez Outrage on Henri de Dinant Siege of 1 
 Liege Henry de Dinant quits Liege His Return He finally leaves 
 the City His Patriotism Scandalous Life of the Bishop The Pope's 
 Remonstrance Death of Henry of Gueldres Le Mai St. Martin 
 Jean sans Pitie Liege in. the Fifteenth Century Cruelty of the 
 Duke of Burgundy. 
 
 IEGE is a city of striking appearance, 
 whether it be approached by land or 
 water. Seated in a broad and fertile 
 valley, at the base of lofty hills, which 
 shelter it on the north and west, and 
 open to the south in the direction of the noble river 
 whose rapid waters divide it from the populous faubourg 
 of Outre-Meuse, it occupies a space on which the eye 
 rests with pleasure as it embraces the general mass 
 
 B 2
 
 18 GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE CITY. 
 
 or examines its details. It is perhaps from above 
 the new bridge that Liege is seen to the greatest 
 advantage, with the Meuse in the foreground, 
 sweeping past the high-raised gardens that ornament 
 its left bank, crowned by the lofty buildings of the 
 Seminary and Royal College, and the picturesque 
 towers and spires of the churches of St. Jacques and 
 St. Paul, while far away stretches the town, gradually 
 climbing the heights of St. Laurent and St. Walburge, 
 above which rise the frowning battlements of the citadel 
 The general aspect of Liege, contrasted with the 
 quaint old cities of Flanders, is comparatively modern ; 
 but on the quays that extend below the Pont des Arches 
 ranges of buildings appear, carved and decorated with 
 all the fantastic ornament that used to mark the dwell- 
 ings of the citizens during the 15th and 16th centuries ; 
 the streets which intersect these masses are so extremely 
 narrow as to be almost impassable for carriages, and 
 many that are used for thoroughfares are accessible only 
 to the foot passengers. It is in this quarter, chiefly, that 
 vestiges remain of the old town, which, more perhaps 
 than any other in Europe, has experienced the horrors 
 and desolation of internal and foreign warfare. But 
 the necessities of a large population, and the restored 
 commerce of a great city, such as Liege, have led to a 
 great deal of improvement within the last few years; 
 and new streets and buildings have risen in every part, 
 replacing what was old and dilapidated, and giving an 
 air of life and health to the whole. So great has been
 
 MODERN IMPEOVEMENTS. 19 
 
 the change wrought within the last fifteen years that 
 any former recollection of the town was of little service 
 in enabling us to find our way from the point where we 
 were set down, the principal hotels in the neighbour- 
 hood of the theatre not being at that time in existence. 
 
 It may, at first sight, appear almost superfluous to 
 dwell upon a place which, since the establishment of 
 railroads, may be called the turnpike-gate of northern 
 Europe ; but there is so much in the early history of 
 Liege connected with the history of the Meuse, that a 
 brief detail of some of the most remarkable events 
 which have befallen the former, becomes to a certain 
 extent necessary. It may not, at the same time, be 
 uninteresting to say something of the language and 
 literature of the Walloon country, of which Liege was 
 the capital. 
 
 From a very early period the Liegeois like their 
 Flemish brethren of Ghent and Bruges were dis- 
 tinguished for an ardent love of liberty, and a firm 
 determination to maintain the rights and privileges 
 which, as the city grew into importance, they wrung 
 from their successive rulers. Alternately oppressed by 
 the harsh control of their bishops, who exercised a 
 power both spiritual and temporal, and the tyranny of 
 the nobles, who constituted a numerous and formidable 
 body, the history of Liege is, for several centuries, the 
 recital of one continuous struggle the struggle of the 
 many against the few the weak against the strong 
 whose parallel may everywhere be found in the history
 
 20 ITS EARLY HISTORY. 
 
 of feudal Europe, in all save the terrific visitations 
 which it endured at the hands of its merciless masters. 
 
 Founded as early as A.D. 559, by St. Monulphus, 
 Bishop of Tongres; enlarged and embellished by St. 
 Lambert, who, after his martyrdom in 708, became the 
 patron saint of the city ; increasing and prospering 
 under St. Hubert ; fostered by Charlemagne ; and 
 endowed with churches and colleges by the celebrated 
 Bishop Notger, Liege had, towards the close of the 
 tenth century, assumed a prominent position amongst 
 the cities of Europe. The early discovery of coal, and 
 its utility for all manufacturing purposes, contributed 
 in no slight degree towards the wealth for which Liege 
 soon became distinguished, and her commerce became 
 widely extended. The history of this discovery, as it 
 is related by Gilles d'Orval and other old chroniclers, 
 is curious, though the period at which they fix it is 
 probably later than the real date. 
 
 " Under the reign," says Gilles d'Orval, " of Albert 
 de Cuyck (at the commencement of the thirteenth 
 century), a certain old man, of venerable appearance, 
 with long white hair and a flowing beard, and wearing 
 a white robe, passed one day through a street of Liege, 
 called Coche, and, observing a blacksmith at work, 
 who was complaining bitterly that with all his toil he 
 could scarcely earn a livelihood, owing to the great 
 expense of firewood, stopped and addressed him. 
 ' Cease your lamentations,' he said, ' and go to the 
 neighbouring mountain where the monastery stands ;
 
 DISCOVERY OF COAL. 21 
 
 you will there find certain veins of black earth, which 
 you must dig out and burn : it will heat your iron far 
 better than wood.' Having uttered these words, the 
 old man disappeared." 
 
 Brusteme tells the same story in different words : 
 '* Passing through the Rue de Coche, the old man 
 encountered the blacksmith, who was at his work, and 
 politely accosting him, wished him ' good day,' and 
 profit in his labour. ' What profit/ replied the black- 
 smith, ' do you think I can derive ? Nearly the 
 whole of what I gain I am obliged to lay out in buying 
 charcoal, or what the Franks call cokis ; there remains 
 very little profit after that.' ' Friend,' returned the old 
 man, ' go to the mountain where the monks live, dig 
 there, and you will find a black earth very useful for 
 your calling.' After saying this, the blacksmith saw 
 him no more. He, however, made no mystery of 
 what had been said to him, and the mountain being 
 examined, coal was discovered, to the great advantage 
 of the whole country." At a later period it was found 
 out that the lucky blacksmith's name was Hulloz, and 
 etymologists have hence derived the word " Houille," 
 the generic name for coal throughout the Pays de 
 Liege and the north of France. The old man of 
 course passed for an angel, for the historian Fisen 
 observes " Angelus fuisse creditus est." 
 
 The Pere Bouille, in his " Histoire de Liege," ac- 
 counts for Fisen's opinion in an ingenious manner. 
 " It is at least probable," he observes, " that this old
 
 22 DISCOVERY OF COAL. 
 
 man was an English traveller, since coal had, according 
 to the testimony of Matthew Paris, been used in 
 England as far back as the year 1145 ;" an interpreta- 
 tion at which the Pere Saurnery, who quotes the tra- 
 dition,* is exceedingly angry, accusing Bouille of never 
 having read the authority whom he cites, which is not 
 unlikely, as he places the year 1145 in the reign of 
 Henry the Third, and calls the historian " Mathias," 
 not " Matthew" Paris.f But whatever the obliga- 
 tions of ancient Liege to angels or Englishmen, it is 
 somewhat singular, in connection with the tradition, 
 that modern Liege should be indebted to an English- 
 man for placing her manufactures on the footing on 
 which they now are. The well-known establishment 
 of Seraing will be a lasting monument of the benefits 
 conferred on the country by the late Mr. Cockerill, 
 whose name is never mentioned by the working classes 
 of Liege without reverence and affection. 
 
 * Delices des Pays cle Liege, 5 torn, folio, 1738 44 
 f The reader who recollects the Reports on the manner of working 
 the coal mines in England, which were published by the House of 
 Commons in 1843, may wish to learn how these matters were ordered 
 in Liege a century ago ; he will be struck by certain points of resem- 
 blance as regards the employment of children in the pits. Saumery 
 says : " Comme ils ne trouveroient point facilement des Aprentis, ils 
 ont soin de s'en faire, qui leur servent d' abord de compagnons. 
 A peine les enfans ont atteint 1'age de 9 a 10 ans, qu' on les descend 
 dans les fosses. Apprendre a marcher sur les mains, en meme terns 
 que sur les pies, est leur premier exercise. II est vrai que pour les 
 mettre en etat de trainer la petite voiture, on leur attache a chaque 
 main une espece de petit bane, eleve de 4 5 pouces ; et on les 
 forme, en tres peu de terns ii ce menage ; dont je ne crois pas qu' on
 
 THE WABDE DES STEPPES. 23 
 
 The first calamity that befel the city, arose from 
 the ambitious designs of Henry, Duke of Brabant, at 
 the commencement of the thirteenth century; when, 
 after the death of Albert, Count of Moha, he laid claim 
 to that rich inheritance, and brought on the feud 
 which is known as the war of the succession of Moha. 
 The Bishop of Liege, who also claimed the county, 
 as a reversionary fief of the church, took up arms to 
 defends his rights, and a sanguinary contest ensued. 
 Fortune favoured the first attempts of the Duke of 
 Brabant ; he entered the province of Liege with an 
 immense force, and ravaging the country with fire and 
 sword, surprised the capital on the 3rd of May, 1212, 
 and quickly made himself master of the place. In 
 four days the city was delivered up to pillage, and 
 was then only saved from the flames by the oath of 
 fidelity, which the clergy and people swore to observe. 
 
 puisse rendre d' autre raison, sinon que les peres, y ayant ete formes, 
 les dispositions qui y sont necessaires, se transmettent aux enfans avec 
 le sang. Qui ne se representera des Lapins, des Blereaux et des Renards 
 creuser des terriers pour les servir de retraite et d'azile, voyant ces 
 innocens condamnes par le sort de leur naissance & des travaux si 
 denibles, et qui paraissent si peu proportionnes a la delicatesse de leur 
 age! Quoiqu'il en soit, plus de 30 personnes, parfaitement instruites 
 de ces travaux, et qui m'ont offert de m'en faire instruire par mes yeux, 
 m'ont assure que ces enfans ainsi courbes tirent les voitures de char- 
 bon, avec une vitesse incroyable, non-seulement de 20 et 30 pas, mais 
 de toute la longueur de la veine, eut-elle un quart de lieue, ou plus ; 
 en un mot, qu'au bout de 12 ou 15 jours, cet exercise est pour eux un 
 amusement et un jeu, et qu'ils ne sont jamais si contens, que lorsqu'ils 
 aont dans les fosses." The children were, however, only employed six 
 hours a day.
 
 HENRY OF GUELDRES. 
 
 But compulsory oaths are never binding, and easily 
 released by the Pope from theirs, the Liegeois shook 
 off their apathy, and burning with the desire of ven- 
 geance, retrieved their lost fame at the celebrated 
 battle called the Warde des Steppes, which was fought 
 on the 13th of October, 1213. The Duke of Brabant 
 was completely defeated, and only obtained peace on 
 the most degrading conditions : he was obliged to 
 deliver up his sons as hostages, and come to Liege 
 and walk uncovered and barefooted from the gate of 
 St. Walburge to the cathedral of St. Lambert. 
 
 For a period the city prospered in peace and quiet- 
 ness, but evil days were in store, and soon after the 
 election of Henry of Gueldres to the episcopal throne 
 of Liege, a troublous time began. 
 
 Henry was the son of Gerard the Third, Count of 
 Gueldres, and Margaret of Brabant. Too young to 
 receive the order of priesthood he 
 had obtained a dispensation from 
 the Pope to govern his dominions, 
 and hence the title which he at first 
 bore of " The Elected of Liege." 
 He was ill-fitted to exercise either 
 the temporal or spiritual functions 
 confided to him. Incapable of 
 moderating his passions, he gave 
 himself up to the most shameful 
 debauchery, oppressed his people, wasted the property of 
 the church, and trafficked in benefices, selling them to
 
 HENRY OF GUELDRES. 25 
 
 the highest bidder, or bestowing them, on the creatures 
 who ministered to his vices. A knight rather than a 
 priest, he was constantly at war with his neighbours 
 and subjects : he revelled in luxury, and, passionately 
 fond of dress, never showed himself in public without 
 being covered with rich furs and precious jewels. To 
 sum up all and complete a worthy picture, he possessed 
 little or no information, and could scarcely read.* 
 The reign of this prince, which was one of the most 
 stormy in the history of Liege, originated the bloody 
 revolutions of which the city was the theatre for nearly 
 five hundred years. He was the first violently to in- 
 fringe those privileges of the Liegeois which, originally 
 known as the " Loi Charlemagne," and founded upon 
 traditions of the old Koman law, had been confirmed to 
 them by successive princes, and especially by Bishop 
 Albert de Cuyck, at the close of the twelfth century, 
 in the great charter which bears his name. 
 
 A few words may here be necessary, as to the social 
 condition of the people and their rulers at this time. 
 Like most of the cities of Belgium during the middle 
 ages, Liege was a fortified town, and contained within 
 its walls a few buildings of importance, such as the 
 churches, the monasteries, the bishop's palace, the hotel 
 de ville, and the maison des eclievim, called the Destroit. 
 It was, for the most, peopled by merchants and artisans, 
 who had sought shelter behind its ramparts from the 
 
 * Zantfliet apud Martene, Hocsem apud Chapeavilii, et cetera, 
 c
 
 26 CONDITION* OF THE LIEGEOIS. 
 
 tyranny and rapacity of the feudal nobles of the open 
 country. The streets narrow, unpaved, crooked, and 
 of unequal length were composed of houses almost 
 entirely built of wood. Each profession, placed under 
 the patronage of some saint, occupied a separate street 
 or quarter, and the workmen of the different trades 
 formed separately organised societies, with their own 
 governor or elder. At the beginning of the thirteenth 
 century Liege was divided into six great vindves, or 
 quarters, a name that is still retained, distinguished 
 from each other by their different blazons and war- 
 cries. The inhabitants of five of these vindves were 
 divided into great and little ;* the sixth consisted of 
 the nobles, who had isolated themselves in the quarter 
 called Des Prez, on the opposite side of the Meuse. 
 Those of the citizens who were termed " the great," 
 were the rich burgesses who followed the knights to 
 war, and aided them in case of need in their enterprises 
 against the people ; " the little " were the artisans of 
 the common trades, a vast assemblage of the poor and 
 suffering, always oppressed, incessantly under the ap- 
 prehension of fresh taxes and ruinous fines, and a prey 
 to the most odious and arbitrary despotism. 
 
 It was from amongst the class of nobles that the 
 echevins were elected magistrates who were not only 
 the judges but the governors of the city ; and these, in 
 
 * ' Ceis borgois on nommoit les grans, et les gens laburans des 
 commons mestiers, on nommoit les petits." HEXRICOURT, " Miroir 
 des Nobles de la Hesbaye."
 
 HENRI DE DINANT. "27 
 
 their turn, chose from their body two chiefs of the cor- 
 poration, who were then called " maitres a temps" and 
 at a later period " burgomasters." These men, imbued 
 with all the prejudices of their caste, not only looked 
 down with contempt upon the working-classes, but 
 kept the burgesses also in a state of hard subjection 
 a system that led eventually to the union which over- 
 threw them. 
 
 There was yet another power in Liege, the Church 
 to whom it might have been supposed the people 
 had a right to look for support against their secular 
 masters, but the clergy had hitherto taken part with 
 their oppressors. A time was, however, at hand which 
 completely changed the aspect of affairs : it was brought 
 to pass by the genius and courage of one man, who 
 merits as high a place in his country's annals as Eienzi 
 has won in those of Rome. This man was Henri de 
 Dinant. 
 
 Sprung from the nobility, he shared in none of the 
 sentiments of his class in relation to the common 
 people ; his sympathies, on the contrary, were entirely 
 enlisted in their favour, and all the actions of his life 
 tended to endear him to them. He was affable and 
 free of speech, and went amongst them without reserve, 
 his earnest desire being to awaken them to the con- 
 sciousness of their invaded rights, and rouse them to 
 shake off the yoke under which they groaned. He ex- 
 plained to them the nature of their privileges, and 
 taught them the doctrine of unity, by which alone they
 
 '28 THE PERRON OF LIEGE. 
 
 co aid hope for success. He was eminently qualified 
 by nature to become popular, his countenance was 
 expressive, his character noble and elevated, his 
 courage tried, and he possessed a power of eloquence 
 that captivated all who heard him. It was little won- 
 der, therefore, that he became the idol of a people who 
 had never dreamt that commiseration for their suffer- 
 ings could exist. A favourable opportunity was alone 
 wanting to enable the future tribune to execute the 
 vast projects which he had formed; and he who knew 
 as well how to take advantage of one as how to wait 
 for it, saw it at length arrive. 
 
 A murderous outrage, committed on a citizen by 
 one of the dependents of a canon of St. Lambert, fur- 
 nished the occasion. The echevins, willing enough 
 to strike a blow against the authority of the Church, 
 demanded that the culprit, who had taken sanctuary, 
 should be given up to the laws. The canons, claiming 
 the right of punishing their own servants, resisted, and 
 the magistrates, impelled by the popular effervescence, 
 pronounced sentence of banishment against the offender, 
 which was proclaimed at the Perron of Liege.* The 
 canons, conceiving their privileges violated, appealed 
 
 * The Perron was a column of bronze, surmounted 
 by a fir-cone of the same metal, the symbol of associ- 
 ation and independence amongst the inhabitants of the 
 North. The base of the column was supported by four 
 
 lions. The word "Perron" is derived from Finns 
 
 rotunda.
 
 THE CLERGY AND THE NOBLES. 29 
 
 to the bishop, who excommunicated the echevins, and 
 threw an interdict upon the city. 
 
 Henri de Dinant, who never for a moment lost sight 
 of his projects for the freedom of his fellow- citizens, 
 availed himself of this state of things to remind the 
 people of their rights, and his friends and agents were 
 active in the good work ; he knew how to influence the 
 passions of the multitude, and, following his advice, 
 the citizens sometimes lent their aid to the nobility, 
 sometimes to the clergy, thus gradually widening the 
 breach between the two rival powers. A second event, 
 similar in character to the first, still further advanced 
 his object. The bishop, appealed to this time by the 
 people, promised himself to govern the city, and re- 
 strain the nobility. The echevins, who foresaw in this 
 assumption of power, the ruin of their own authority, 
 violently opposed it, and recourse was had to arms. 
 Observing the wise counsels of Henri,* the people 
 remained neuter in the struggle, and the nobles for a 
 time obtained the mastery over the clergy. 
 
 It was thus, by showing the people how to profit 
 by the dissensions between their rulers, and making it 
 apparent to them that their weight was always suffi- 
 cient to turn the scale, he taught them the true value 
 of the power which he sought to place in their hands. 
 It would occupy far too great a space in this volume, 
 destined materially for another purpose, to detail the 
 
 * " Si dist Henri, ne muchies point en ces querelles." Chronique 
 Manuscrite. 
 
 c 2
 
 30 HEXRI DE DIS'ANT. 
 
 events of the struggle for liberty, in which Henri de 
 Dinant played so conspicuous a part. The account is 
 full of interest ; but I must necessarily limit myself to 
 the mere facts. Elected by the people 
 their own maitre a temps, and thus 
 invested with legitimate authority, his 
 first care was to organise a powerful 
 force of citizen-militia, raising at 
 once a third estate, to the astonish- 
 " f c ' ment and unconcealed dread of the 
 
 other two.* His next act was one of decided oppo- 
 sition, refusing his assent to a demand made by the 
 bishop upon the military services of the citizens, to 
 prosecute a war against the Countess Marguerite of 
 Flanders, which he declared to be contrary to the great 
 charter of the Liegeois : Henry of Gueldres was com 
 pelled to abandon his purpose, and left the city, vow- 
 ing vengeance against the tribune. The nobles, whose 
 influence he was daily diminishing, were no less inimi- 
 cal to him, and sought to remove him by assassination, 
 but the project failed, and the exasperated populace 
 rising against them, they also fled from Liege to join 
 the bishop. The civil war now began, and was con- 
 tinued with various success, the advantage, however, 
 being chiefly with the people, who, headed by Henri 
 de Dinant, exacted heavy atonement for former wrongs. 
 
 * " Adont sont li esquevins esmayez et dient : nos astons dechius 
 comme mesqueins ; nos avons brasseitune male brasse, si nos le con- 
 vient boire." JEAN D'OUTREMEUSE.
 
 EADUS DES PREZ, 31 
 
 At length two serious defeats, sustained in one day by 
 the partisans of Henry of Gueldres, led to propositions 
 of accommodation, and a hollow peace was concluded. 
 The circumstances under which it was broken are too 
 illustrative of the character of the age to be omitted. 
 
 To meet the expenses of the late war, Henri de 
 Dinant had caused the levy of a new tax to be borne 
 by all alike. The echevins vainly pleaded their ex- 
 emptions : Henri went from door to door raising the 
 tax, and came in turn to the Destroit. The echevins 
 were assembled, and amongst them was Eadus des 
 Prez, one of the most influential personages in Liege, 
 a proud and impetuous young man, 
 full of ardour and courage, who fore- 
 saw that if the principle of general 
 taxation were admitted, there was an 
 end of the privileges of his order. 
 
 Furious at the boldness of the tri- 
 PRS 
 
 bune, he rushed towards him, and 
 
 with a fierce expression of countenance, " Traitor," he 
 cried ; " vile and disloyal man, you have long plotted 
 our ruin and sought our overthrow ; but know, that be- 
 fore that day comes yourself shall die." " Give a mark, 
 Messire, as the burgesses have decreed," replied Henri, 
 coldly ; " any of you who refuse to pay the tax shall be 
 declared alien and banished." " Thou banish me from 
 Liege !" exclaimed Eadus, exasperated ; "from Liege ! 
 where my ancestors have dwelt since the days of 
 Charlemagne and Ogier of Denn-marche, while thine
 
 32 OUTRAGE ON HENRI DE DINAXT. 
 
 were only petty citizens of Dinant, who fled hither, 
 doubtless, for their misdeeds ! Thou shall never say so 
 more there is one who knows how to prevent it." 
 With these words, the knight drew a dagger that hung 
 from his girdle, and rushing upon Henri, stabbed him 
 three times in the breast. The tribune fell for dead, and 
 the eclievins, seized with terror, precipitately abandoned 
 the Destroit, and took refuge beyond the Meuse in their 
 own vindve, calling in their flight upon all their friends 
 to arm, to avoid being surprised by the people. Knights, 
 squires, and men-at-arms were soon ready, and flew to 
 defend the approaches to the Pont des Arches. Radus 
 raised the drawbridges in the principal streets leading 
 to the river, so as to cut off all communication, except 
 by a narrow passage supported on a few beams, over 
 which it was with difficulty that five men could pass 
 abreast. The Des Prez posted themselves at the 
 entrance of this dangerous passage, and swore that no 
 citizen, nor even the foul fiend himself, should cross it. 
 While these preparations were being made beyond 
 the Meuse, the disturbance rose to its height in the 
 city. The news of the assassination spread with the 
 rapidity of lightning; the citizens flocked in crowds to the 
 Destroit, hoping that it was only a false alarm ; but the 
 lifeless form of Henri de Dinant, exposed to their gaze 
 as it was borne homewards, roused them to ungovern- 
 able fury. The deep tones of the tocsin now swelled 
 above the tumult; the shops and houses were all 
 closed. The workmen seized the weapons with whose
 
 CONFLICT AT THE POXT DES ARCHES. OO 
 
 use they were now familiar, and in large bodies has- 
 tened towards the Pont des Arches, uttering the well- 
 known cry of " Liege and St. Lambert ! " At the 
 foot of the bridge they encountered the stern array of 
 men-at-arms, headed by Kadus des Prez and his 
 brothers, John and Kaes, and the noble knights of 
 their lineage. In vain the multitude strove to break 
 through the determined phalanx : at eveiy blow that 
 was struck a citizen fell, and for a time they were held 
 completely at bay. At length the brave companions 
 of Des Prez began to give ground, and upwards of two 
 hundred of the assailants crossed the bridge ; the 
 narrow passage across the timbers was crowded with 
 those who followed, when suddenly a loud noise was 
 heard the beams cracked and bent, and, yielding to 
 the enormous pressure, they fell, and more than a 
 hundred perished in the river, leaving a wide gulph 
 between the bold burgesses who had crossed and the 
 mass of their fellow- citizens who vainly strove to aid 
 them. At the sight of this fearful catastrophe, a loud 
 cry of distress arose. " Hahay ! hahay !" was heard on 
 all sides ; " we must succour our brothers across the 
 Meuse." Some threw themselves into boats, others 
 tried to swim across the river ; but none succeeded in 
 reaching the opposite shore. Meantime, the brave 
 citizens, whom no succour could reach, continued to 
 struggle fiercely with the Des Prez. They had no hope 
 left ; before them was the whole chivalry of Liege 
 behind them a fearful abyss : to sell their lives dearly
 
 34 CONFLICT AT THE POXT DES ARCHES. 
 
 was all that remained, and they fought with despera- 
 tion. But their numbers diminished every moment 
 their strength failed them, and driven back by the 
 knights, of whom they scorned to ask quarter, the 
 wounded and the wearied found with the dead a grave 
 in the rapid river.* 
 
 The people swore to revenge them, but night 
 coming on put a stop to the conflict. They returned 
 to the market-place, and there learnt, to their great 
 delight, that Henri de Dinant was not dead, and that 
 his wounds, though severe, were not dangerous. This 
 was happy news for the citizens, and contributed 
 in no slight degree to raise their courage. They 
 resolved to attack the vinave of the Des Prez on the 
 following day, but the nobles, fearing the issue of the 
 struggle, withdrew in the night; the bishop followed 
 their example, and there only remained with the 
 citizens the provost of St. Lambert and a few canons 
 who had embraced the popular party. 
 
 The bishop " gros de jiel et de passion," as an 
 old chronicler observes " resolved from henceforth to 
 do everything in his power to reduce his refractory 
 subjects. He implored the succour of the neigh- 
 bouring princes, collected all the vassals of the Church, 
 and by these means set a large army on foot, with 
 which he invested the city, vowing to reduce it to 
 ashes, having first given it up to unrestrained plunder. 
 
 * Jean d'Outremeuse has preserved the date of this terrible event : 
 it befel on the 19th April, 1256.
 
 SIEGE OF LIEGE. 35 
 
 This last design was opposed by Kadus des Prez at the 
 head of the chivalry of Liege, who succeeded in turning 
 aside the bishop's anger from the city and concentrating 
 it upon Henri de Dinant. It was resolved to summon 
 Henri and his principal abettors to judgment in the 
 camp of Vottem, and in the event of their non-appear- 
 ance to pass formal sentence upon them, which was 
 accordingly done. Henri, on his side, was not idle, 
 and made every preparation for resistance. The siege 
 commenced, and hemmed in on all sides, the Liegeois 
 soon felt the evils attendant upon it. Provisions failed, 
 and the sufferings of famine increased the horrors of 
 war. The citizens began to waver ; but Henri and his 
 immediate adherents were firm, till, moved by consi- 
 deration for the people, he consented to their desire to 
 make terms for themselves, knowing well that he must 
 be excepted from any treaty. It happened as he fore- 
 saw ; the terms were hard, and, above all, the bishop 
 demanded that Henri and his friends should be sur- 
 rendered to him unconditionally. The deputies who 
 had been sent refused the conditions, and returned 
 sadly to the city. When they were made known, a 
 general desolation prevailed throughout Liege : the 
 women wept, and the men abandoned themselves to a 
 gloomy despair. It was then that Henri de Dinant 
 demonstrated the nobility of his character. He sum- 
 moned the citizens to the great market-place, and thus 
 addressed them : " Good people," he said, " I have 
 loyally served you night and day ; it is on your account
 
 36 HENRI DE DIXAXT QUITS LIEGE. 
 
 that I find myself in this strait ; I am still, however, 
 no less devoted to you than before, and I come to offer 
 you my body that you make take it to the bishop. But 
 be sure of this, that when once I am dead, you will fall 
 into a state of slavery worse than the former one; 
 think, besides, of the shame that will fall upon the city 
 if you conclude a peace without comprehending all the 
 citizens : better that it should be entirely ruined than 
 thus dishonoured ! " 
 
 The result of this address was the endeavour to 
 obtain better terms from the bishop; but the prince 
 was inexorable. A momentary re-action showed itself 
 amongst the citizens ; but it subsided again, and no 
 thought prevailed but submission. It was in vain that 
 the Liegeois urged Henri de Dinant to remain amongst 
 them, assuring him that they would care for his 
 personal safety ; he felt that they were unworthy of 
 the sacrifices which he made, and slowly passing 
 through the crowd, he shook the dust from off his feet, 
 and turned his back upon the ungrateful city, without 
 the hope of finding " a world elsewhere." 
 
 Peace was concluded the same day, but the con- 
 ditions were harder than those at first rejected. All 
 the privileges for which the Liegeois had fought were 
 annihilated ; the bishop possessed himself of the castle 
 of St. Walburge, which he converted into a citadel, 
 compelled the citizens to pay a large sum to defray the 
 expenses of the war, and exacted a heavy fine because 
 Henri de Dinant had not been delivered up to him.
 
 RETURN OF HENRI DE DINANT. 37 
 
 The knights and nobles returned to Liege, in the suite 
 of Henry of Gueldres; the burgesses swore to serve 
 him faithfully henceforward, and he, on his part, pro- 
 mised to administer equal justice. These promises 
 were idle words. The old rule was resumed, and 
 fresh discontents arose ; but the citizens had now 
 no military organisation, and were without a leader. 
 They sighed for Henri de Dinant, and finally resolved 
 on sending a secret message to him, urging him to 
 return to Liege. 
 
 In spite of his experience of the fickleness of the 
 people, his love for the city was too strong to suffer 
 him to resist their importunity, and he once more 
 presented himself at the gates. He was received with 
 rapture, hailed as the father of his country,* and con 
 ducted in triumph to his former dwelling. The bishop 
 was absent at the moment, but the echevins prepared 
 for the struggle which they knew to be imminent. It 
 was averted only by the representation of the Dean 
 and Chapter of St. Lambert, who went to Henri de 
 Dinant, and set before him the fact that his presence 
 in the city, far from benefiting the people, would only 
 be the cause of greater evil. " The citizens," they 
 said, " are weakened, ruined, and incapable of offering 
 a long resistance to the bishop ; they will soon lose 
 courage, and will abandon or give you up to make 
 then- peace. Leave us, then, and thus prevent the 
 
 * " Revertendi processit obviam ingens armatorum multitude, 
 patrem populi salutantium." Fiseii.
 
 38 HE FINALLY QUITS LIEGE. 
 
 misfortunes with which your country is threatened." 
 Henri had only too much reason to admit the truth of 
 these arguments; he felt that it was his duty, under 
 such circumstances, to avoid the occasion of more 
 blood being spilt; and once more sacrificing all he 
 held dear, he silently quitted the city in the middle of 
 the night, and never again re-entered its walls. 
 
 Meantime the bishop had heard of his arrival, and 
 hastily returned to Liege, but Henri was already gone. 
 He, however, wreaked his spite against him, as far as 
 lay in his power, by causing Ins house to be levelled 
 to the ground, and from some of the timbers a gibbet 
 was constructed, on which he the same day hung the 
 unfortunate Gerard Baisier, one of the chiefs of the 
 people, whose great crime was being the friend of 
 Henri de Dinant. 
 
 The tribune, after quitting Liege, took refuge with 
 the Countess of Namur; but driven from thence, by 
 the persecutions of the bishop, he fled to the court 
 of Margaret of Flanders. Here he was hospitably 
 received, and here, it is supposed, he passed the 
 remainder of his days, having resisted the offer of the 
 countess to enable him to wage war against Liege. 
 " I have never yet committed treason," was his reply ; 
 '' and I never mean to do so. The bishop is my 
 sovereign, and Liege is my country ; I will never fight 
 with you against either." * Such is the last record 
 
 * "Onques mains trahison ne fys, onques ne feray," &c. JEAN 
 
 OUTERMEUSE.
 
 SCANDALOUS LIFE OF THE BISHOP. 39 
 
 that remains of this noble-hearted man. How the rest 
 of his life was past is unknown; his name, however, 
 survives in Liege as one of the watchwords of liberty ! 
 
 In closing this episode of the city's history, some- 
 thing more remains to be said of its unworthy prince. 
 After the final subjugation of Liege, the bishop 
 abandoned himself without restraint to all his incli- 
 nations; he set no bounds to his licentiousness, and 
 to find the means of gratifying his passions, he 
 alienated the Church property, sold benefices, and 
 taxed the people in a thousand ways, so that he was 
 universally hated, and the name by which he became 
 known was the disgraceful one of " Grand Ribaud de 
 la Cite!' At length, having long disgusted the people, 
 he committed a crime which converted his most faith- 
 ful friends, the family of the Des Prez, into his bit- 
 terest enemies. 
 
 Coene le Frison, of Jupille, one of that noble race, 
 had a beautiful daughter, named Bertha, for whose 
 hand the greatest lords of Liege aspired. Henry of 
 Gueldres saw and fell in love with her, and from that 
 moment revolved the means of gratifying his hateful 
 passion. He had even the audacity to attempt it in 
 her father's castle, where he was received as a guest, 
 and unhappily, by violence, he succeeded. Alarmed 
 by Bertha's cries, Coene rushed to the spot, but too 
 late to save his daughter's honour or avenge her. 
 Henry had precipitately taken flight, and reached 
 Liege in safety. His remorse, after the act, was in the
 
 40 HIS DISPOSITION. 
 
 first instance unfeigned, for he knew how dangerous 
 would prove the hatred of his former friends. He 
 endeavoured in vain to enter into terms of composition 
 with them ; their only answer was defiance and threats 
 of revenge. The matter was referred by the Des Prez 
 to the chapter of Liege, but Henry had no dread of 
 the reproof of his canons. One of them, however, the 
 Archdeacon Thibant de Plaisance, a man nearly eighty 
 years of age, had the courage to reproach him with his 
 scandalous life, and Henry, beside himself with pas- 
 sion, struck him to the ground. His temerity would 
 have cost him his life, but for the interference of the 
 archdeacon, who contented himself by saying, that as 
 he purposed visiting the Holy Sepulchre before his 
 death, he should, after having made the pilgrimage, 
 inform the Pope of the whole aifair. Thibant, a few 
 days afterwards, set out from Liege, and was on his 
 return towards Eome from Syria, when he learnt that 
 he had in his absence been elected to the pontifical 
 throne, under the name of Gregory the Tenth. Like 
 Louis the Twelfth of France, he forgot his personal 
 injuries when he became a sovereign, and strove, by 
 mildness only, to reclaim the Bishop of Liege. He 
 addressed to him a long, pastoral letter, in which he 
 enumerated all Ms offences, and exhorted him to re- 
 pentance : the only effect it produced was to elicit from 
 Henry an exclamation, that the Pope was evidently 
 afraid of him, and a threat that all the evil he had yet 
 done was nothing to what he intended to commit here-
 
 HIS DEATH. 41 
 
 after. The Pope, finding that nothing could move 
 him, ended by citing him to appear before the council 
 of Lyons, and there, in 1274, he solemnly deposed 
 him from his see. 
 
 Deprived of his ecclesiastical authority, he began a 
 new career of rapine and adventure, and made himself 
 a terror to the Liegeois, by pillaging castles and 
 villages, and holding the inhabitants to ransom. The 
 hatred against him in Liege was so general, that a 
 price was set upon his head, a reward of twenty 
 livres de gros being offered to whoever should take 
 him dead or alive. 
 
 Justice at last reached him, he fell, in the year 
 1283, by the hands of Coene le Frison, who had long 
 dogged his footsteps : the father at length avenged 
 his daughter's outraged honour ! 
 
 The events which succeed in the history of the 
 struggle between the commons and their rulers, must 
 be sketched more briefly. 
 
 The next great effort that was made by the people 
 to shake off the heavy yoke of their oppressors, is 
 commonly known in the annals of Liege, as "La Mai 
 St. Martin"* It was one fatal to the power of the 
 nobles, who were utterly defeated, in the year 1312, 
 in an attempt which they made to crush the citizens. 
 The contest was bloody and fearful, excesses of the 
 worst kind were committed, and the flower of the 
 
 * La Mai, la male journee, the evil day. 
 D 2
 
 4'-> JEAN SANS PITIE. 
 
 chivalry of Liege was well-nigh swept away.* As a 
 separately formidable body, they were no longer to be 
 feared ; the social war continued, but henceforward it 
 was between the Prince and the people. The latter 
 were now recognised as no longer existing by their 
 sovereign's will, for in the peace of Anyleur, concluded 
 the year succeeding the Mai St. Martin, we meet with 
 the following remarkable words, " The candidate for 
 admission to the magistracy must belong to one of tlte 
 trades ! " 
 
 John of Bavaria, who was elected to the bishopric 
 of Liege in 1390, when he was only seventeen years of 
 age, made his reign terribly conspicuous in the city's 
 annals by the bloody characters in which it was written, 
 and earned for himself the well-deserved epithet of 
 "Jean sans Pi tie." The Burgundians now, for the 
 first time, enter upon the scene, led by the fearless 
 duke who murdered his cousin, Louis of Orleans, in 
 the Rue Barbet, in Paris, and who afterwards perished 
 by assassination on the bridge of Montereau. He 
 gained the decisive victory of Othee f over the 
 Liegeois, and restored the power which he had lost to 
 John of Bavaria, who cruelly retaliated upon his sub- 
 jects. The best blood flowed on every side, and to 
 such an extent did he cany his thirst for vengeance, 
 
 * See for the details of this event, and many other curious parti- 
 culars in the history of Liege, the " Recits Histoiriques sur 1'ancien 
 pays de Liege," by M. L. Polain, Bruxelles, 1842. 
 
 t It was at Othee also that he gaine the surname of " Jean sans 
 Pitie."
 
 LIEGE IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 43 
 
 that the city appeared one vast slaughter-house. 
 " The sanguinary rage of the bishop," says Merzerai, 
 "was not confined to the chiefs of the revolt, but 
 extended to women and children, priests and nuns. 
 Around Liege, and the cities in its alliance, were only 
 to be seen forests of wheels and gibbets, and the Meuse 
 was choked with the bodies of the unhappy citizens, 
 who, tied back to back, were thrown in pairs into the 
 river." He abrogated the charter of the Liegeois, and 
 despoiled them of all the privileges which they had 
 been three centuries in acquiring, but his triumph was 
 fortunately of short duration. Ten years afterwards 
 the people re-conquered their rights, and John of 
 Bavaria resigned the bishopric. 
 
 The conspiracy of Wathieu d'Athin, or " Le Jour 
 des Rots," though involving many sad calamities, must 
 be passed over, to advert to the days of Charles the 
 Bold, when the heaviest misfortunes occurred that ever 
 befel Liege. 
 
 In the year 1465, the wealth and power of the city 
 were great, its commerce was in the highest degree 
 nourishing, and upwards of 120,000 inhabitants were 
 numbered within its walls. The reigning bishop was 
 Louis de Bourbon, elected to his high office at eighteen 
 years of age. A pleasure-loving prince, and unequal 
 to the consideration of serious questions, his thoughts 
 were completely centered in his own gratification, and 
 his rapacity kept pace with his wants. He soon sowed 
 the seeds of discontent amongst his people ; and chiefs
 
 44 CRUELTY OF THE DUKE OF BUBGUXDY. 
 
 to lead them in revolt speedily appeared in Eaes de 
 Heers and Bare de Surlet, who sought to strengthen 
 their hands by entering into secret negociations with 
 Louis the Eleventh of France, on the faith of whose 
 promises they so implicitly relied, that when the dis- 
 sensions between Bourbon and the Liegeois had 
 reached their height, the latter hesitated not at once to 
 declare open war against the Duke of Burgundy, who 
 espoused the quarrel of his cousin, the bishop. 
 
 The history of this war has been too often told to 
 render a repetition of it necessary here.* The heroic 
 conduct of the six hundred Franchimontois, the perfidy 
 of Louis the Eleventh, and the cruelty of the Duke of 
 Burgundy, are indelibly engraven on its pages. The 
 sacrifice of sixty thousand citizens, and the almost 
 total destruction of the city, attest the sanguinary spirit 
 of the age. 
 
 With the extinction of the feudal system, which 
 gradually gave way in the course of the fifteenth cen- 
 tury, ends the necessity for reference to the history of 
 Liege, as far as the present work is concerned. The 
 legends of the Meuse belong almost entirely to the 
 period which has been dwelt upon, and it was princi- 
 pally with the view of connecting the capital with the 
 country that this chapter was written. 
 
 * Philippe de Comines, Le Mayeur, Bouille, &c.
 
 The Walloon Language Error of Sir Walter Scott Flemish never 
 spoken in Liege Origin of the Walloon Language Its Charac- 
 teristicsThe popular Dialect War Cries The Lord's Prayer 
 Hungaro-Walloons Fetes de la Reine Paskeies Political Songs 
 Noels The Cramignon Paskeie Walloon Chronicles Walloon 
 Dramas Decline of Walloon Literature Walloon Poet, Recent 
 Efforts. 
 
 HKOUGHOUT the country that borders 
 the Meuse between Liege and Givet, em- 
 bracing the Condroz and a part of the 
 Ardennes on the right bank, and the dis- 
 tricts of the Hesbaye and Entre-Sanibre- 
 et-Meuse on the left, the language of the people is 
 perfectly distinct from those of its various neighbours. 
 With the frontier of Prussia on one hand, and Brabant 
 on the other, it resembles neither German nor Flemish, 
 but remains what it has ever been, a language apart. 
 This language is the Walloon. 
 
 Its origin and character have given rise to much 
 discussion amongst the learned, and many ingenious 
 theories have been raised by different philologists, who 
 have sought to derive it from all but its most obvious 
 source some tracing it exclusively from the Latin, 
 others from the German, others again from the Celtic,
 
 46 ERROR OF SIR WALTER SCOTT. 
 
 and some unhesitatingly ascribing to it a Flemish 
 parentage. This last derivation is esteemed by the 
 Liegeois themselves, " the unkindest cut of all ;" and 
 it is on this account that, whenever the romances of 
 Walter Scott are spoken of in Liege and translations 
 of his works are widely spread throughout Belgium 
 one of the comments invariably made is on the great 
 error he committed, when, in Quentin Durward, he 
 makes the citizens of Liege speak Flemish ; for they 
 justly assert that there is not a single monument, or 
 street, or corner, in the old city, whose appellation is 
 in the slightest degree connected with the Flemish 
 tongue, to say nothing of the living proofs that exist 
 in the still surviving literature of the Walloons, and 
 the daily speech of the people. 
 
 Jealous, as the Liegeois naturally are, of the little 
 nationality that time has left them, they deeply feel the 
 attempt to confound their language with the unhar- 
 monious tongue of the Low Countries ; and Sir Walter's 
 mistake injures them the more from its having been 
 carelessly adopted by others Victor Hugo, in his 
 recent work " Le Rhin," being one of the most notable 
 examples. 
 
 But it is not by foreigners alone that this heresy 
 has been propagated. Paquot, a learned man, and 
 himself a native of the province of Liege, asserts in 
 one of his works,* that a part of the inhabitants of Liege, 
 
 * " Memoires pour servir a 1'histoire litteraire du pays de Liege."
 
 ORIGIN OF THE WALLOON LANGUAGE. 4/ 
 
 particularly in the faubourg of St. Walburge, formerly 
 spoke Flemish. He, however, adduces no proof, while, 
 on the other hand, an authority of the greatest weight, 
 the noble chronicler, Jacques de Henricourt,* who 
 wrote, not in the last century, but in the year 1360, 
 expressly states that it was the custom in the thirteenth 
 century for the Liegeois nobility to place their sons as 
 pages in the castles of the county of Looz, for the 
 purpose of learning Flemish. This testimony is decisive 
 against Paquot ; but negative proofs are not the only 
 ones in confirmation of a different origin for the Walloon. 
 That origin is undoubtedly Gaulish, though few 
 traces remain of so remote a parentage: they are 
 chiefly to be found in the names of places whose ety : 
 mology is derivable from no existing language. Its 
 principal modifications arose from the influence of the 
 Latin of the cloister during the dark ages, an influence 
 that eventually formed the " Langue Eomane." As 
 that learned archaeologist, the Baron de Reiffenberg, 
 remarks :f " The Walloon is the ' Langue Eomane,' 
 or French language, directly sprung from the de- 
 generate Latin ; from the Latin which became the pre- 
 vailing language of the Gauls. The Celtic, the tu- 
 desque, and other words borrowed from different 
 tongues which are to be found in it, form only a 
 secondary element ; but the syntax of those languages 
 has doubtless considerably affected it." 
 
 * "Miroir des Nobles de la Hesbaye," p. 281. 
 
 f " Cronique de Philippe Mousques." Introduction.
 
 48 ITS CHARACTERISTICS. 
 
 Sanmery, who was not so deeply skilled in philo- 
 logy, observes in the "Delices du pays de Liege": 
 " Let it not be imagined that the populace of Liege 
 speak French. Then 1 language is only a Gaulish 
 patois such as the Walloon ; but so disfigured that 
 the French understand but a few words of it, and then 
 only by paying great attention when it is spoken. 
 They are themselves perfectly understood by this 
 people (the Liegeois), but they labour under the dis- 
 advantage of not understanding them. It must be 
 owned that certain works of imagination, such as 
 sonnets, epigrams, madrigals, satires, bonmots, and 
 witty expressions in this patois, possess a delicacy and 
 energy which it would be difficult to translate into any 
 other language, and more particularly into the French. 
 No person of intelligence who understands this lan- 
 guage can refuse it his admiration." 
 
 Although there is every reason for believing that the 
 Walloon idiom was spoken and written during the 
 earliest periods of the history of Liege, yet no monu- 
 ments exist to prove it anterior to the ninth century. 
 It was certainly the common language of the people in 
 the time of Bishop Notger, for he is described as 
 employing it when he preached to them, whereas, in 
 addressing the clergy he always spoke Latin : 
 
 " Vulgar! plebem, clerum sermone latino 
 Erudit et satiat magna dulcedine verba."* 
 
 The jongleurs, who about this time first made their 
 
 * Chapeauville," Gest Pontif.Leod. Script :" Fisen, " Hist.Eccl.Leod."
 
 WAR CRIES. 49 
 
 appearance, necessarily used the common tongue, and 
 the songs, chansons de gestes, and romances of chi- 
 valry which succeeded, and which formed the delight of 
 the people, were composed in the popular dialect. 
 
 The war cries uttered on the field of battle are 
 irrefragable monuments of the language spoken by the 
 combatants. In 1213 the battle of the Warde des 
 Steppes was gained by the Liegeois over the Bra- 
 baii9ons. In the army of Liege were the contingents 
 brought by the Counts of Limburg, of Namur, of 
 Looz, &c. ; and many of the latter were unfortunately 
 slain by the Liegeois, owing to their speaking Tudesque, 
 and being consequently mistaken for Brabanc,ons. This 
 distinction between the dialects of Liege and Looz 
 prevails at the present day. 
 
 The idiom employed by Bishop Notger in the 
 eighth century continued to be the medium through 
 which the people were addressed by the preachers, and 
 was so popularly identified, that when, in the year 1451, 
 the apostolic legate, Nicolas Cusani, wished to interfere 
 in the affairs of the clergy of Liege, the latter refused 
 to obey him, alleging that the bull conferred on him as 
 legate no jurisdictional power over the Walloons, but 
 only over the Germans.* 
 
 The Lord's Prayer was also invariably recited in 
 Walloon at Liege. The subjoined version, though 
 somewhat Frenchified by the author who gives it,t 
 
 * Foullon, " Hist. Episc. Leod." 
 
 f Davity, " Description de 1' Europe." Paris, 1660, in folio. 
 E
 
 50 THE LORD'S PRAYER HUNGARO- WALLOONS. 
 
 may serve to denote some of the characteristics of the 
 language. 
 
 " Nos peer kest a cier, santifie se ti norn. Ti 
 royame nos avienn. Ta volontei so faite en 1'terr 
 com a cier. Dine no nos pein k'tidien ajourdhu : et 
 pardon no pechei com no pardonn no detteu. Et 
 nos indus nin en tentation, mein delivre no de mal. 
 Amen." 
 
 As a proof of the identity of the Walloon language 
 at an interval of four hundred years, the following 
 story is cited by M. Henaux, who has devoted much 
 time to the consideration of the subject: "In the 
 month of July, 1477, seven Hungarians, who had just 
 made the pilgrimage to Aix la Chapelle, came by 
 invitation to Liege. To the surprise of everybody, they 
 spoke the most perfect Walloon, absolutely identical 
 with that spoken in the city. Inquiry as to the cause 
 being made, the strangers stated that they formed part of 
 a colony of Liegeois, who, in consequence of famine in 
 their native country, had left it and settled at Agra in 
 Hungary, in the year 1052. The King of Hungary had 
 readily admitted them into his dominions, and gave up 
 to them an uncultivated district, which soon became 
 covered with houses, and was called by the natives the 
 "Walloon Villages" (Gallica loca). To ascertain the 
 truth of this statement, the ancient chronicles of the 
 city, preserved in the cathedral, were examined, and in 
 them were found the details of the famine in the year 
 1052, which expatriated so many of the Liegeois. The
 
 FETES DE LA REINE. 
 
 burgomasters and echevins accordingly signed and put 
 the city's seal upon an attestation, which they gave to 
 the Hungaro-Walloons, recognising that the latter 
 derived their origin from the Pays de Li6ge. 
 
 With the exception of certain changes in the or- 
 thography, and some augmentations to the vocabulary, 
 the Walloon language of the present day differs little 
 from that of the fifteenth century ; in pronunciation it 
 remains the same. 
 
 The earliest work in Walloon, to which a positive 
 date can be affixed, appeared in the year 1060, and 
 consisted of a collection of popular enigmas in verse : 
 it was made by Egbert, a monk of Liege, and met 
 with much success. There are many evidences of the 
 peculiar poetical tendencies of the WaUoons, and they 
 are particularly noticeable in the accounts which have 
 been handed down of the Saturnalia which, under the 
 name of Fetes de la Heine, were celebrated in Liege 
 about the middle of the twelfth century. On these 
 occasions the clergy, as well as the people, appeared 
 in grotesque dresses, and danced in the churches and 
 streets, accompanying their songs, which were not 
 remarkable for decency, with the beating of drums and 
 the music of other instruments. Political songs were 
 also much in vogue, indicating the popular feeling ; 
 and the satirical humour which has always been the 
 first characteristic of Walloon poetry, rendered them 
 extremely piquant. The first of these pasJceies (the 
 Walloon word for poetical satires), of which mention
 
 52 PASKEIES. 
 
 is made, was composed and sung by the Liegeois on 
 the capture of the castle of St. Walburge, in the year 
 1250, and from that time there appears to have been 
 no lack of them. The scandalous life of Henry of 
 Gueldres originated many of these satires ; that which 
 was made on the occasion of his infamous abuse of the 
 hospitality of Coene le Frison, was sung in all the 
 streets, and his deposal at the Council of Lyons gave 
 rise, says Melart, to numberless " satyres, vadevilles, 
 et chansons diffamantes et bouffones."* 
 
 These political songs have all unfortunately been 
 lost in the destruction which has swept away so many 
 of the public records and monuments of ancient Liege ; 
 but the ordinary songs of the people, anterior to the 
 political era, and transmitted carefully from father to 
 son, yet survive. Most of these were of a semi- 
 religious type, and were usually sung on Sundays and 
 fete days, in the public squares, the cloisters, and often 
 in the cemeteries, diversifying the games with which 
 the people amused themselves. In the evening they 
 assembled before the chapels or images of saints, at 
 the corners of the streets, to sing canticles in the 
 popular dialect a custom that still prevails in the 
 faubourgs and the country. Among these rhythmical 
 legends are many Noels, which are very curious in 
 several points of view. The following specimen, 
 which is extracted from a collection of Walloon songs 
 
 * " Hist, de la Ville de Huy.," 1. iii. p. 157.
 
 NOELS. fto 
 
 ami poems recently published, will give some idea of 
 their nature : * 
 
 NOEL. 
 
 MARE'iE. 
 
 Doux Diew, so-j'ewaraye ! qu'est c'qui j'6 dire ? 
 In ang' ves les doze heure est v'nou d'a cire, 
 Qu'a v'nou dire af biergi, qu' estit a champs, 
 Q,ue 1' Messeie esteut v'nou, qu'on d'mandef tant ; 
 Oh ! ouiss' corez-v' si vit', kiper' Bietme ? 
 L' av' oiou dire ossi d' ouss' qui vos v'nez ? 
 
 [Sweet God, how astonished I am ! what is it I hear ? 
 An angel towards midnight is come from Heaven : 
 Has come to tell the shepherds, who were in the fields, 
 That the Messiah was come, so much asked for ; 
 Oh ! where do you run so quickly, Father Bietme ? 
 Have you heard it also where you come from ?] 
 
 BIETME. 
 
 Oh ! i n'y a rin d'pus vraye, kimer Mareie ; | 
 Tots les voesins coret po 1'alle veie ; 
 Ji 1'a veiou 1'prumi, j'el pout bin dire, 
 II est ne d'vin on sta, ci rivet des cire, 
 Comm' li pus pauv' de mond', ca i n'a rin 
 Qu' in' krippe et on pou d'four po 1'mett' divin. 
 
 * " Choix de Chansons et Poesies Wallonnes." Recuellies par 
 MM. B*** et D***. Liege, 1844. The collection is interesting, 
 but it would have been more valuable had a glossary been added. 
 
 f As a slight guide to the pronunciation of Walloon, the reader 
 must remember that the "a circumflex" is pronounced like "o." 
 
 J Kimer, Scottice, Kimmer. 
 
 E 2
 
 54 XOELS. 
 
 [Oh ! there is nothing more true, gossip Mary ; 
 All the neighbours run to see him ; 
 I have seen him the first, I can well say so ; 
 He is born in a stall, this little king of Heaven, 
 Like the poorest in the world, for there is nothing 
 But a crib and a little hay to put him in.] 
 
 On bouf, in agn' sofflet po 1' rischafe ; 
 Sins coula, ji n' se k'mint qu' i pout dure ; 
 Li biname tron' tot, i mour di freud ; 
 Ji m'li va vit' poerte on bon cofteu ; 
 Li pauv' mere esst ossi tote egealaye, 
 N'av' nin on pau de legn' po fe n' blamaye ? 
 
 [An ox (and) an ass breathe to warm him ; 
 Without that, I don't know how he could live. 
 The well-beloved trembles all over, he will die of cold ; 
 I am going quickly to take him a good covering ; 
 The poor mother is also quite frozen, 
 Have you not a little wood to make her a fire ?] 
 
 MARElE. 
 
 Si fait, passez por cial qwand vos irez, 
 Ji m' li va fa on fa, vos li poetrez ; 
 J'a eco des lign'rai, j'el's i donret, 
 Des beguins et des fahe et on bonnet, 
 Et s' li poetret j' ossi saqwant pan'hai, 
 On pau de souc, de bourre et de lessai. 
 
 [Oh, yes, call for that when you go, 
 
 I will make her a faggot, you will take it ;
 
 NOELS. 
 
 I have also some linen, which I will give her, 
 Some hoods and veils, and a cap. 
 I will also take her some small loaves, 
 A little sugar,* some butter and milk. 
 
 This kind of dialogue is carried on through several 
 stanzas; and after all the proposed offerings have 
 been named, Bietme politely offers his arm to Mary 
 to assist her through the dirt. 
 
 Mareie, tinez-m'po 1'bress', ca vos toumri, 
 I fait bin trop mava, vos v' degrettri. 
 
 [Mary, take my arm, for you will tumble, 
 The road is much too bad, you will make yourself all 
 over mud.] 
 
 Arrived near the spot where the infant Jesus is 
 lying, Mary exclaims : 
 
 Qu'est c'qui j'veu la lava, est c'la qu'il est ? 
 Ji veu comme in 'clarte dri ci croupet. 
 
 [What is that I see yonder, is it there he is ? 
 I see something like a light behind that tuft.] 
 
 Bietme replies : 
 
 Awet, kimer Mareie, la nos 1'trouv'ran ; 
 Vos n'avez maie veiou on s'fait efant. 
 
 * This was probably an addition to the old Noel, when sugar be- 
 came the common substitute for other modes of sweetening.
 
 56 NOELS. 
 
 II est blanc comme in 'niv', s'esst-i-rondlet ; 
 On 1'magn'reut bin tot crou, si bai qu'il est. 
 
 [Yes, gossip Mary, there we shall find him ; 
 You never in your life saw so well-made a child : 
 He is white as an egg, and so plump ; 
 One could eat him undressed, he is so lovely.] 
 
 Mary, who has been followed by several companions, 
 is afraid to go in, and says to Bietme : 
 
 Vos inturrez 1'prumi, kiper' Bietme, 
 Ca por nos n'savan k'mint qu'i fat fe. 
 Nos loukran apres vos ; mi feye, vinez, 
 Tinez-m'di dri po 1'cotte, et s'-mi suvez ; 
 Ai sogn' tot z-intrant de fe 1'honneur, 
 Et di v'jette a g'no d'vant noss' Saveur. 
 
 [You will enter the first, Father Bietme, 
 For we do n't know what we ought to do. 
 We will look at him after you ; r i faith, come, 
 Hold me behind by the jacket, and so follow me ; 
 Take care all as you enter to do him honour, 
 And to throw yourselves on your knees before our 
 Saviour.] 
 
 Bietme is the pink of politeness ; he replies : 
 
 Avou voss' permission, tot 'li k'pagneie ; 
 Bonjou, binamaye Dam' nos v'vinan veie ; 
 N's apoertan on qwatron di novais oil 
 Et in' mich qui n'est cute i n'y a qu'on jovi.
 
 NOELS. 57 
 
 S'a-j'eco on cofteu, po afule 
 
 Voss' pauv' pitit efant qu'esst egeale. 
 
 Bonjou, sdveur de mi am', mi biname, 
 
 Qu'a-j'ma m'cour di v've'i tant edure ! 
 
 Louki, kimer 'Mareie, a foec' di freud 
 
 Les lam' tourmet d'ses ouie, gross' comm' des peu. 
 
 Ca, vos direz a 1'mer, cou qu'vos estez, 
 
 Et fan vite in' blamaye po 1'reschafe. 
 
 [With your permission, all the company ; 
 Good day, well-beloved lady ; we have come to see you ; 
 We have brought a quarter of a hundred of new laid 
 
 eggs, 
 
 And a loaf, which was only baked yesterday. 
 I have also a covering, to wrap up 
 Your poor little child, who is frozen. 
 
 Good day, saviour of my soul, my well-beloved, 
 
 My heart is sore to see you suffer so ! 
 
 Look, gossip Mary, the cold is so severe 
 
 It makes the tears fall from his eyes, as large as peas. 
 
 Now, tell the mother who you are, 
 
 And make a fire quickly to warm her.] 
 
 Mary next performs the hospitable objects of her 
 mission, expressing herself all the while in the same 
 simple and quaint language as if she were rather 
 ministering to the wants of a neighbour's child than 
 to the Son of God and before taking leave she asks 
 permission to kiss him. The Noel closes with a moral 
 reflection.
 
 58 NOELS. 
 
 Several of these Noels begin with an expression of 
 doubt as to the truth of the joyful advent, expressed 
 sometimes in a dialogue between a herald-angel and a 
 shepherd, sometimes in a discussion between two 
 peasants. In the former case the angel generally 
 speaks French, the shepherd Walloon, as in the fol- 
 lowing Noel, which is written in the dialect of Verviers. 
 
 UN ANGE. 
 
 Allons, pasteur, qu'on se reveille ! 
 Un Dieu vient de naitre en ce lieu ; 
 II est venu vous rendre heureux ; 
 
 C'est 1'objet sans pareil. 
 II fait eclater en touts lieux 
 
 Ses merveilles. 
 
 UN BERGER. 
 
 Quu d'hez-v'do, binamaie ? 
 Quu v'nez-v'tant barbotter ? 
 Allez ! v's estez troviblaie 
 Du nos v'ni tant temter. 
 Rutournez au pus vite 
 Au pais d'oii qu'vos v'nez, 
 Ni mi, ni m'sour Magrite 
 Nos n'nos saurin lever. 
 
 [What is it you say, well-beloved ? What is it you 
 have come to prate about ? Go along ! you must be crazy 
 to come here to tempt us so. Return as fast as you can to 
 the country from whence you came. Neither myself nor 
 my sister Margaret will stir for you.]
 
 59 
 
 L' ANGE. 
 
 Que dites vous, berger fidele?- 
 Vous vous trompez on ne peut plus ; 
 Yenez reconnaitre Jesus, 
 
 Le fils de 1'Eternel 
 Qui vient reparer vos abus 
 
 D'un saint zele. 
 
 LE BERGER. 
 
 C'esst on' furieus' misere ; 
 On n' saureut gott' doirmi, 
 Avon lu tintamores 
 Q,uu vos v'nez fer voci. 
 Jans ! faut veie su c'est veur 
 Cou qu' vos nos racontez. 
 Portaut nos a' polans creure 
 Tot veiant ciss' clorte. 
 
 [It 's a great annoyance ; one cannot get a wink of sleep 
 for the uproar that you come and make here. Jans ! we 
 must see if it is true what you come and tell us. How- 
 ever, we may even believe you, seeing this bright light.] 
 
 The remainder of the Noel exhibits the conviction 
 and adoration of the shepherd. 
 
 There was one popular song of great antiquity in 
 Liege, which had nothing to do with either politics or 
 religion, though it was often looked upon with dread, 
 as the precursor of popular disturbances. This was 
 the famous Crdmignon, known better as a dance than 
 a song, but always accompanied by the latter. As
 
 60 
 
 THE CKAMIGNON. 
 
 soon as winter was gone and the fetes of the different 
 parishes began, the Cramiynun made its appearance, 
 
 and lasted through the summer and 
 autumn. It was danced sometimes by 
 girls, sometimes by young men, but more frequently 
 by both together, hand in hand, forming a chain of 
 great length, which went winding and turning through 
 the streets, along the quays, across the squares, and 
 into every nook and comer of the city, waking the 
 inhabitants, if any slept, with the loud chorus, its 
 accompaniment. To lead the dance, it was necessary 
 to possess great physical force and strength of lungs; 
 this was called " mine I'Cratnignon" as it is expressed 
 in the old verse 
 
 Prinde voss baston, Simon, 
 Es mine li Cramisrnon.
 
 THE CRAMIGNON. 61 
 
 The words of the song are trivial, and express the 
 determination of a certain gentleman, named Piron, 
 not to dance unless he is supplied with every separate 
 article of dress, each of the most approved kind. It 
 begins thus : 
 
 I. 
 
 nse ) 
 
 }- bis. 
 -s ; J 
 
 Piron n' vout nin danse 
 S'i n' a des nous soles 
 Et des soles tot ronds ) 
 
 %. Q] g ( 
 
 Po fe danse Piron. J 
 
 [Piron will not dance at all unless he has new shoes ; 
 and shoes quite round to make Piron dance.] 
 
 2. 
 
 Piron n' vout nin danse "k 
 
 A < } bis. 
 
 S i n a des riouves chassesj 
 
 Des chassettes 
 
 Totes vettes, 
 Et des soles tot ronds 
 Po fe danse Piron. 
 
 And so on through all the articles of the toilette. 
 But although the words of the Cramignon are insigni- 
 ficant, the music to which it is set is pleasing, and, like 
 that of the Noels, the melody is rather plaintive than 
 
 gay- 
 
 The rulers of the Liegeois did not always look upon 
 the Chanson d 'Cramignon as merely an innocent 
 pastime. Under the apprehension of riots, edicts were
 
 Ci'i THE PASKEIE. 
 
 frequently proclaimed against it. One of these, in 1 685, 
 has for its object, " to prevent that custom of the citizens 
 of both sexes from assembling and running through the 
 streets in great numbers, under pretence of amusement, 
 during the festivals of the parishes ;" and prohibiting 
 any meetings or dances after nine o'clock in the 
 evening. The Cramignon, however, survived these 
 ordinances, though it is now all but forgotten. 
 
 I have said that one of the tendencies of the 
 Walloon muse was towards satire ; satire is, indeed, its 
 principal characteristic, though it is by. no means 
 wanting in gracefulness of expression, picturesqueness 
 of imagery, or power of thought. Amongst the most 
 remarkable specimens of this kind, the Paskcie, called 
 " Les Aiwes di Tongue" (the Waters of Tongres), 
 written in 1700, is perhaps the best known. It was 
 the production of a lawyer, named De Eickmau, and, 
 though composed only for the author's amusement, 
 had the effect of entirely discrediting the efficacy of 
 the mineral springs of Tongres, which, according to 
 this poem, were of no value, while the medical men 
 who gave it their recommendation, did so merely on 
 account of the money which they received for their good 
 word. 
 
 The few last lines state this opinion in terms suffi- 
 ciently intelligible : 
 
 Et ji v's assur' qui 1'pus grand bin, 
 Qu'ill fret, ci seret as flamins,
 
 WALLOON CHRONICLES. 63 
 
 Q.U' a ciss" fin la ont foirt payi 
 Trint' deux docteurs avou 1' gazli. 
 Herod' ni d'na nin tant d'argint 
 Po fer mori les ennocints. 
 
 [And I assure you, that the greatest good they will do 
 will be to the Flemings, who for this purpose have well- 
 paid thirty-two doctors. Herod never gave so much money 
 to procure the deaths of the Innocents.] 
 
 But, as may readily be supposed, the literature of 
 the Walloons was not limited to poetical effusions, 
 though these alone have, for obvious reasons, survived. 
 Not only were all the municipal acts and public treaties 
 written in Walloon, but it finally extended to the 
 ecclesiastical courts, and was the exclusive language of 
 the early historians. A brief enumeration of some of 
 the principal of these may suffice :: Luc de Tongren 
 wrote a history of the Liegeois in 1070; the Life of 
 St. Bathilde was composed by Lambert le Begue in 
 1173; Enguerran de Bar, a canon of the cathedral, 
 wrote his " Chronique des Liegeois " in 1203 ; another 
 work, bearing the same name, by the Canon Ea- 
 dulphus, appeared in 1210; and the " Chronique des 
 Vavassours," drawn up by Bishop de Pierrepoint, 
 followed in 1225; Guillaume de Pettersen, Jean de 
 Bal, and Jean Dupin subsequently wrote histories in 
 Walloon, and in 1390 the celebrated Jean d'Outre- 
 meuse gave his famous Chronicle to the world, which 
 still remains inedited.
 
 I WALLOON DRAMAS. 
 
 The " Miroir des Nobles cle Hesbaye," written by 
 Messire Jacques de Hemricourt in 1398, is the best 
 known work of that period extant. It has passed 
 through several editions, and is valuable for the gene- 
 alogical information which it contains.* 
 
 The long years of anarchy and suffering which deso- 
 lated Liege for the greater part of the fifteenth century, 
 appear to have thrown an interdict upon all literary 
 exertion, which extended to the seventeenth; and 
 during this interval, the ascendancy of the French 
 language became so great as entirely to supersede the 
 Walloon, for all the purposes of biography or history. 
 The popular dialect, in fact, only retained its hold 
 through the medium of poetry; but, as if to avenge 
 herself for the neglect which had fallen upon the sister 
 muse, the triumphs of the latter were more brilliant 
 than they had ever been before. The eighteenth cen- 
 tury may, indeed, be looked upon as the Augustan era 
 of Walloon poetry, when it flourished in every shape, 
 heroic, lyrical, and dramatic. We have already 
 spoken of " Les Aiwes di Tongue," or " Tonk," as it 
 is sometimes written, and this was followed, about 
 1725, by the "Pasquee critique et calotene so les 
 Affaires del Medicene," an amusing and elegantly- 
 written poem. In 1757 appeared the first of a series 
 of Walloon dramas, intituled " Li Ligeoi Egagi," a 
 burlesque opera, by J. J. Fabry; followed successively 
 
 * The best edition is that published in folio at Brussels, in 1672, 
 by the Sieur de Salbray.
 
 DECLIN 7 E OF WALLOON LITERATURE. fi5 
 
 by " Les Ypocontes," of S. de Harlez ; " Li Voiegge 
 di Chofontaine," of de Cartier; and "Li Fiesse di 
 Houte-si-Plou," of H. G. de Vivario. All these works 
 had great success, and the merit of Hamal's music, to 
 which they were married, may be inferred from the 
 fact of its having elicited the frequent praise of the 
 celebrated composer Gretry. But even before the 
 popular admiration for these poems had subsided, the 
 French language again predominated, and the Society 
 of Emulation, founded in 1779, succeeded in banishing 
 the Walloon from literature and society, a task the 
 less difficult, as the necessity for a richer and more 
 copious language became apparent. Some swans, 
 however, still sang their dying strains, the most notice- 
 able amongst whom was Martin Simonis, who flou- 
 rished so lately as 1831. He was a workman in an 
 iron-foundry, and a true scion of the " genus irritabile, ' 
 the caprices of his muse, at war with the constituted 
 authorities, consigning him not unfrequently to the 
 public prison. His greatest misfortune, however, was 
 an uncontrollable fondness for pequet* and from his 
 indulgence in it he was rarely to be found sober. When 
 reproached by a friend for this fatal predilection, and 
 urged to abandon it, his reply was, Kiment, vos pinsez 
 fiilremint, vos! qui flair eu la comme qoula on mesti qui 
 in' a coste si cher a apprinde! " (What ! do you really 
 
 * 1 he name of the juniper- bush, in Walloon, is pequet ; and geneva, 
 however made, is called by the same name. 
 
 F 2
 
 WALLOON POETS. 
 
 think, now, that I shall leave off an art that has cost 
 me so much to learn ?) 
 
 At the present moment efforts are being made 
 amongst the litterateurs of Liege to revive, if not the 
 Walloon language, at least a knowledge of what it was, 
 and foremost among these literary patriots is the 
 author of " The Travels of Alfred Nicolas," a work 
 that obtained some celebrity in Belgium about ten 
 years ago. The " Wallonades," which he has lately pub- 
 lished,* are written in an easy, agreeable manner ; and 
 although the satire of the principal poem, called 
 " Montfort," is directed entirely against the wandering 
 propensities and insatiable curiosity of our countrymen, 
 the English reader will hardly fail to be amused by it. 
 M. Simonon has also in the press a collection of 
 " Poesies en Patois de Liege;" a " Dictionnaire Ety- 
 mologique de la langue Wallonne " is in preparation ; 
 and to the " Etudes Historiques et Litteraires par le 
 Wallon," by Ferdinand Henaux, I have myself been 
 much indebted. 
 
 * Liege. Felix Oudart, editeur. 1845.
 
 LA BF.TE DE STAKE OX. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Walloon and Belgian Superstitions Kaboutermannekens Sotays 
 Brownies The Verd Bouc The four Sons of Aymon The Gattea 
 d'Or Exorcism Popular Superstitions The Court of the Cuckoo 
 The Bete de Staneux Ridiculous Usages May-day Ceremonies. 
 
 N the Walloon country, and indeed in 
 almost all parts of Belgium, a great deal 
 of superstition still prevails amongst the 
 peasantry. The belief in the existence 
 and agency of good and evil spirits is more or less 
 prevalent, and mountain sprites, dwarfs, and domestic 
 goblins abound. The dwarfs are generally located in 
 caverns and subterraneous places; they are called in 
 Flemish, Halvermannekens* and Kaboutermanne- 
 kens,-\- names which sufficiently express their presumed 
 appearance. The inhabitants of the village of Hasselt, 
 in the Campine, say that a great number of these 
 
 * Half men. 
 
 f Little fellows.
 
 68 KABOUTERMAXXEKEXS. 
 
 dwarfs came into that part of the country, on the occa- 
 sion of a great war ; that they dwelt in holes dug in 
 the ground in the middle of a wood, and that they 
 sometimes came into the village to ask for one thing 
 or the other, but never did harm to any one. 
 When the wives of these dwarfs became old, their 
 husbands, giving them a small fresh loaf, made them 
 enter a hole in the ground, and carefully closed the 
 aperture : the credulous peasants add, that the poor 
 old she -dwarfs were quite content to die in this 
 manner. 
 
 At the village of Gelrode, the country people show 
 a hill, called Kabouterberg, in which are excavated 
 several caves, and gravely declare that these grottoes 
 were the abodes of dwarfs, who served the miller who 
 dwelt there, and that when the latter was desirous of 
 whetting his grindstone, he had only to place it at the 
 door of his mill, with a slice of bread and butter and a 
 glass of beer, and in the night a dwarf came, who, for 
 this trifling reward, performed the work, and the miller 
 found the stone ready when he wanted it. The same 
 assistance was given him when he wanted to have his 
 linen washed. It is related, also, that, at a village near 
 Mechlin, a miller, the favoured race, apparently, 
 being engaged in sifting flour, and not having time to 
 finish his task, put off the rest to the following day, 
 and, going home, accidentally left behind him a 
 slice of bread and butter, which had formed a part 
 of his supper. Next morning he was very much
 
 SOTAYS. 09 
 
 astonished to find that the flour was sifted, and the 
 bread and butter gone. He resolved to repeat the 
 experiment, and the same result ensued. On the third 
 night, curious to know who the labourer could be who 
 worked at night for such slight payment, he hid him- 
 self behind some sacks of flour, and about midnight 
 saw a little dwarf make his appearance, perfectly naked, 
 who immediately set to work. The miller, a modest 
 man (a rarity in Brabant), and moved with pity at 
 the nakedness of the laborious dwarf, added, on the 
 following night, a complete suit of clothes to the un- 
 sifted flour and bread and butter ; after which the good 
 little spirit never showed himself again without being 
 dressed from head to foot. 
 
 In some of the Flemish provinces the dwarfs are 
 called Dwergen, Aardrnannetjes, Drollen or Trollen, 
 and Werkgeesten. In Holland there is a popular 
 belief in a dwarf whom they call Ongeborene Jan 
 (Unborn John) ; another Oo/ti Hendrick (Uncle 
 Henry) ; others, Zwarte Piet (Black Peter), and Joris 
 op de stelten (George on stilts). 
 
 In the Pays Liegeois the domestic offices volun- 
 teered by spirits are performed by goblins of larger 
 growth : they correspond exactly to the Brownie of the 
 Scottish borders and the "lubber friend" of Milton. 
 The name they bear is Sotays. It is said of them, 
 that no labourer works so hard, is so active, and, above 
 all, so disinterested. The Sotay thrashes the corn and 
 winnows it, he mows, he cleans out the stable and the
 
 70 BROWNIES. 
 
 cowhouse, nor does he omit to curry and nib down the 
 horses, for which he has a particular regard. By day- 
 light all the work of the house is finished without any 
 one having seen how or by idiom. The sole reward, 
 and all he asks, for this labour is a bowl of milk the 
 " cream-bowl duly set." Were these goblins numerous, 
 their employment would render labour cheap. It 
 would seem, however, that they are not always to be 
 depended upon, for the Monk of St. Gall relates an 
 anecdote of one of these spirits, whom he calls a demon, 
 or larva, whose pursuits were somewhat questionable. 
 He says that the goblin used to amuse himself by playing 
 every night with the hammer and anvil of a smith, and, 
 in return for the use of these instruments, was in the 
 habit of filling the smith's pitcher with excellent wine, 
 which he stole from the bishop's cellars hard by ; that 
 the bishop discovered the theft, and having exorcised 
 the spirit, succeeded in making him assume the shape of 
 a man, when he had him flogged and put in the pillory 
 " as if he had been a robber ! " No one can say that 
 the prelate's view of the case was not a sensible one. 
 
 The Sotays, though a kind, beneficent race, could 
 manifest strong feelings of resentment if treated with 
 ingratitude. The proud and ambitious Lord of Mont- 
 fort was made to experience this change in a signal 
 manner. He had contrived, though in what way we 
 are not told, to form a close alliance with the King of 
 the Sotays, called Verd Bouc, who, to the great regret 
 of the villages, farms, and peasants' cabins, abandoned
 
 THE FOUR SONS OF ATMON. 71 
 
 the country and established himself in the noble manor 
 of Montfort, not far from Tilf, on the banks of the 
 Ourthe. With such a powerful ally, the Lord of Mont- 
 fort succeeded in everything he undertook. His 
 granaries, his coffers, and his caves were alike well 
 filled. His flocks were the most numerous, his war 
 horses the finest, the best- conditioned, and the 
 strongest in the country. If he went to war with his 
 neighbours an occurrence not very rare by the aid 
 of the Sotays he always gained the victory ; and if his 
 disputes were terminated by negociations, the ingenuity 
 and sensible counsels of the Sotays always secured him 
 the advantage. In short, the Lord of Montfort was 
 only too well off, and, like most people in that con- 
 dition, he abused his position. Covetous of more than 
 the spirits could perform or ascribing less merit to their 
 exertions than they deserved, he went so far as to 
 quarrel with the Verd Bouc, and treat him with con- 
 tumely, a proceeding which it was not in the nature of 
 the goblin to forgive, for vengeance was an attribute 
 dear to him in his double capacity of king and spirit. 
 An occasion for exercising it was not long wanting. 
 The four famous sons of Aymon, being at that time in 
 the Ardennes seeking adventures, arrived in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Montfort, and travelling near the castle, 
 were set upon by the people of the count, who, for- 
 getting they had to deal with knights- errant, sought to 
 levy a toll from them. The only payment which they 
 received was in hard blows, for the sons of Aymon
 
 1-2 THE GATTES 
 
 bestired themselves lustily, and quickly putting them to 
 flight, followed up their advantage, and attacked their 
 master in his stronghold. The castle, however, was 
 strong, and it is probable then- efforts to reduce it would 
 have failed if they had not been aided by the Verd 
 Bone, who, in the guise of a ram probably a battering 
 ram knocked down several thick walls and made a 
 breach through which the Paladins could enter. Hence- 
 forward all resistance was vain. The terrible Rinaldo 
 drove back all before him, knights, squires, and pages 
 were swept down like corn : the Sotays threw a yellow 
 powder into the eyes of the men-at-arms ; and at length 
 the formidable blade of the Enchanter Maugis severed 
 the head of the guilty Lord of Montfort. History ^ays 
 nothing more of the castle; but it appears that the 
 Sotays, having had enough of great people, resumed 
 their primitive habits, and returned to their country 
 abodes. Amongst other pursuits, they addicted them- 
 selves to metallurgy, in which they became tolerably 
 proficient, and the peasants dwelling near Dinant 
 in the olden time much famed for the manufacture of 
 pots and kettles often experienced the good offices of 
 the amateur tinkers. If a cauldron were cracked or a 
 saucepan out of order, it was only necessary to place it 
 on the door- step and go away directly, and in the 
 course of two minutes the damage was found to be 
 repaired gratis . 
 
 To almost every ruin in the provinces of Namur 
 and Liege and their number is "legion" popular
 
 EXOECISM. 73 
 
 superstition assigns a class of evil spirits, called by the 
 Walloons " gattes d'or," golden goats, from the Wal- 
 loon " gdtt" goat. It is said that these familiar 
 demons guard a concealed treasure in the depths of a 
 precipice under the ruins, and the common people add, 
 that if a man be rash enough to attempt to discover 
 the hidden treasure, the gattes employ a charm, or use 
 a species of fascination, which draws the unwary seekers 
 towards them, leading him on till he is lost in the 
 bowels of the earth, when the gattes disappear and he 
 perishes. The crevices and cavities of the rocks, on 
 which most of the old ruins stand, are pointed to by 
 the peasants as the entrances to the abodes of these 
 spirits. 
 
 It is not long since an instance occurred which 
 shows that the belief in the existence of concealed trea- 
 sure, indicated by the traditions respecting the Sotays, 
 is not confined to persons of the least educated class. 
 A garde chasse, who had long superintended the dis- 
 trict in which the ruins of Logne are situated, was one 
 day making his rounds beneath the old walls, when his 
 attention was arrested by sounds that seemed to pro- 
 ceed from a cavity below them, and, looking upwards, 
 lie saw a slight smoke issue from the aperture. 
 Curious, as well as bound by his duty, to ascertain 
 the cause of a circumstance so unusual, he carefully 
 and cautiously ascended the mountain side, and as he 
 neared the cavern the sounds became more distinct, 
 and were regular in their intervals. He groped his
 
 74 POPULAK SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 way silently into the aperture, and had not proceeded 
 far before, at a turn of the rock, he perceived three per- 
 sons, two of them in peasants' costume ; the third in the 
 dress of a priest. The former were busy with crow and 
 pickaxe excavating the solid rock, which had already 
 yielded beneath their efforts to a considerable extent. 
 A small wood fire blazed on the ground, and over its 
 flame stood the priest, with censer and mass-book in 
 hand, chaunting litanies in a low and earnest tone. 
 The garde chasse was surprised, as well he might be, 
 at witnessing such a scene in the bowels of the earth, 
 but his notions of duty were too strict to admit of his 
 long remaining a passive spectator. He accordingly 
 broke in upon the incantation, for such it proved to be, 
 and then discovered that the priest was no other than 
 the cure of a neighbouring village ; and from the 
 broken exclamations of the peasants, he gathered that, 
 under the auspices of the Church, they were seeking 
 for one of the treasures supposed to have been guarded 
 by a gutte d'or. The success of the experiment may 
 be inferred from the interruption ; but the cure did not 
 escape merely with the disappointment of Douterswivel, 
 the story got abroad, and reaching the ears of the 
 Bishop of Namur, the reverend treasure-seeker was sus- 
 pended for some time from the exercise of his clerical 
 functions. 
 
 The superstitious opinions which are generally held 
 by the Walloon people are common to all the Belgian 
 peasantry, as they originally were to all the nations
 
 POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. <O 
 
 claiming a northern origin. They believe much 
 in omens, among which several that are local may be 
 enumerated. For instance, to meet a priest, when on 
 the way to accomplish any unusual undertaking, is 
 held to be significant of its failure, and the experi- 
 mentalist invariably turns back, looking upon his day 
 as lost. Perhaps this superstition may arise from the 
 supposition that the priest, as a spiritual director, is 
 sent in opposition to the undertaking. The cries of owls, 
 the howling of dogs, the crossing of forks, the spilling 
 of salt, and the number thirteen at a feast, are here, as 
 everywhere in the north, received omens. There are 
 few who like to throw reeds into the fire, because 
 they look upon them as contributing towards the sup- 
 port of oxen, and an ox was present at the "birth of 
 our Saviour, a sequitur which might save many 
 other objects, from conflagration ! They are very care- 
 ful in placing the bed of a dying person, lest the rafters 
 of the room should be in a contrary direction, for they 
 think that if so, the agonies of death would inevitably 
 be protracted. In washing Linen they are careful not 
 to say, the lessive " boils," but that it " plays," other- 
 wise the linen would be destroyed. To take a wren, 
 threatens misfortune or death in the family of the 
 captor. The value of a caul is universally recognised, 
 and the child that is ne coiffe is looked upon as " born 
 to good luck." Precious stones are supposed to pos- 
 sess, beyond their value in the market, uncommon 
 virtues, the turquoise preserves the wearer from falls
 
 76 POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 
 
 and other accidents; the magnet possesses properties 
 still more precious ; and the aerite is considered invalu- 
 able in the detection of thieves. The mode employed 
 to discover them is by grinding the metal to dust, and 
 mixing it with bread, which is given to the suspected 
 person, who, if he be " a true thief," is unable to 
 swallow it. 
 
 Diamonds, emeralds, and pearls precious stones, 
 indeed, among peasants were formerly used to detect 
 infidelity, a fact that might readily be supposed if the 
 peasants' wives wore them. On Easter Sunday it was, 
 in many places, the custom to breakfast on two eggs 
 laid on Good Friday, in order to keep off fever : perhaps 
 if those who frequent the Kermesse at Easter were to 
 drink rather less, the result would be no less satisfac- 
 tory. There are many persons who still abstain from 
 eating meat after Lent, to ward off the tooth-ache, an 
 equal abstinence from sweetmeats would doubtless be 
 as effectual. On Christmas-eve the yule clog is burnt, 
 and a fragment carefully kept and put under the bed, 
 to act as a preservative against lightning, in the same 
 way as the willow-branch, blest on Palm Sunday, is 
 kept in a sacred corner. If the custom of affixing 
 formularies against the incursions of rats and mice has 
 vanished, and the prayer against the wolf has fallen 
 into desuetude, we may easily believe that cats and 
 mouse- traps are more useful than heretofore and wolves 
 less frequent ; but the peasants, in some remote 
 villages, still smear the walls of their houses with
 
 POPULAR SUPERSTITIONS. 77 
 
 chalk, in the form of a cross, to guard them against 
 fire. It may be presumed, that those who adhere to 
 this custom have no faith in the efficacy of fire insur- 
 ances, or are unable to pay for their security. 
 
 At the town of Fosses, in the province of Namur, a 
 superstition exists which induces the women of the 
 country round, at the period of the annual fair, to 
 flock thither with osier wands, with which they touch 
 the image of St. Bridget, a saint highly venerated 
 there. When they return home they touch their cattle 
 with the same wands, either to cure their ailments or 
 preserve them from the murrain. 
 
 Although the mountainous districts of all countries 
 are the strongholds in which a belief in the intercourse 
 with the world of spirits finds refuge, there is yet no 
 want of this kind of faith in the lowlands. For in- 
 stance, at Willsbeeck, Vyve St. Bavon, and other 
 villages near Courtrai, a curious custom is observed, 
 which obtains in other parts of Belgium. When a 
 person dies, the clergy of the parish come in procession 
 to conduct the body to the place of interment. If on 
 their way they come to a spot where four roads meet, 
 the bearers of the coffin set down their load, kneel in 
 silence, and utter a short prayer. Their reason for 
 doing so, arises from the belief that those who have 
 quitted this world may yet return to it; but, as there 
 might be some difficulty in the dead man finding his 
 way home again, his friends pray for him in the cross 
 roads, that he may hit upon his path the more readily, 
 
 G 2
 
 78 THE COURT OF THE CUCKOO. 
 
 and uot be misled by evil spirits " Kwaedegeesten." 
 But at Oostmallen, near Turnhout, a far more extra- 
 ordinary custom exists, for which it would be difficult 
 to assign a satisfactory reason. When the husband 
 dies, his widow seats herself astride upon the bier, and 
 in this demonstrative manner accompanies the corpse 
 to the grave ! 
 
 The ceremony called the Court of the Cuckoo, 
 which used to take place annually at Polleur, was, 
 however, amongst the most singular observances of the 
 whole country. Polleur is a very ancient village, near 
 the famous castle of Franchimont, at the bottom of the 
 valley watered by the Haegue, lying between Venders 
 and Spa. Here, on the first Sunday after the 15th of 
 August, was celebrated this remarkable fete, and the 
 concourse of people who came to it was immense. 
 A mock court of justice was formed, with a regular 
 president, and the members assembled in the first 
 instance at the principal cabaret of the village, situated 
 close to the bridge which joins the commune of 
 Polleur to that of Sart. From the cabaret the court 
 adjourned to the bridge itself, and here were sum- 
 moned to appear before the tribunal ah 1 those husbands 
 whom their wives had deceived, or beaten, or who had 
 proved too complaisant in exercising their marital 
 authority, or to whom, in short, was attached any ridi- 
 culous mark of notoriety. The proceedings began 
 with pleadings of the most burlesque description, not 
 very dissimilar, perhaps, to those called "judge and
 
 LA BETE DE STANEUX. 7fl 
 
 jury" clubs in London, and the strangers who looked 
 on were often appealed to, and absurd questions asked 
 of them, not always of the most delicate nature, which 
 provoked peals of laughter from the assembled crowds. 
 The accused, who were of course always found guilty, 
 were then condemned to pay a fine, the proceeds of 
 which were expended at the cabaret; and now and 
 then, to give variety to the scene, the delinquent was 
 compelled to get into a cart, which was backed off the 
 bridge till it reached a stagnant dung-pit, where it was 
 tilted over, and the unhappy inmate was half smothered 
 in a bed which was of anything but roses. To close 
 the proceedings out of doors, the last married man in 
 the village was brought before the court, and the fact 
 being clearly proved against him, he was very sum- 
 marily thrown over the bridge into the waters of the 
 Hsegne, a process which, however, only ensured him 
 a good ducking. The remainder of the day was 
 passed in the cabaret, how it is scarcely necessary 
 to say. 
 
 There was another cmious feature in the cere- 
 monies of the " Cour du Coucou :" this was the exhi- 
 bition of a banner on which was painted the likeness 
 of a monster called " La Bete de Staneux." It repre- 
 sented a kind of centaur, half woman and half horse, 
 with the tail of a lion. The hair was long, and floated 
 down the back, and the feminine conformation very 
 fully developed. The figure held a bow in its left 
 hand, and an arrow in its right. This picture was
 
 80 RIDICULOUS USAGES. 
 
 exposed to view in the cabarets of the village, and 
 continued to be produced in public until 1789, when 
 the fete of the " Cour du Coucou" was suppressed. 
 From time immemorial it had been carefully preserved 
 in the parish church, but it was only during the last 
 sixty years that the curates had allowed it to be seen 
 beyond its walls, At the same time there was also 
 paraded a figure rudely carved in wood, which ordi- 
 narily stood in the porch of the church; this image 
 was burnt. 
 
 According to the most received opinions, the Bete 
 de Staneux was supposed to represent the ancient 
 goddess of the Ardennes, where Diana, under various 
 forms, was worshipped. The people of Polleur have a 
 tradition that the exhibition of the picture was made 
 to commemorate the victory gained by their ancestors 
 over a monster that formerly infested the forest of 
 Staneux, hard by. There was at one time scarcely a 
 house in the village of Polleur that did not possess a 
 small framed picture of the Bete de Staneux. 
 
 Bidiculous usages were practised besides in other 
 parts of Belgium. At Moerbeke, in the district of 
 Termonde, it was the custom to conduct to an old 
 chapel called Hoog-Castelle, in the lordship of Castelle. 
 a woman, very well dressed, seated upon a cart loaded 
 with dung, and drawn by four wretched horses. When 
 she reached this place she descended from her throne 
 amidst the shouts of the spectators, most of whom en- 
 tered the chapel with her, and there she commenced
 
 MAY-DAY CEREMONIES. 81 
 
 her task of conferring offices, that had a satirical appli- 
 cation ; as, for instance, the post of receiver on him 
 whose accounts had not been kept in the most correct 
 manner ; that of huntsman on him who, in pursuit of 
 game, had fallen into a ditch; that of coachman or 
 waggoner on him who had upset his vehicle; that of 
 counsellor on him who had, on some important occa- 
 sion, given ridiculous advice, &c. Various things were 
 also put up to auction, as a preserve of grasshoppers 
 for hunting, fishing on a hill without water ; and other 
 absurdities. Every peasant in the parish who failed to 
 attend this fete was carried thither, his hands and feet 
 being tied with straw bands. 
 
 The custom of celebrating the opening of the 
 month of May existed everywhere in the neighbour- 
 hood of the Meuse, and at the present day maypoles 
 are still planted before the roadside chapels, and 
 images of the Virgin, and before the house of the cure. 
 At Aerschot, and several other places in the Campine, 
 a maypole is set before the doors of the unmarried 
 women, the young and pretty having one covered 
 with leaves and flowers, while that of the old maids is 
 nothing better than a dry and withered trunk. 
 
 The last observance that I shall notice here, is that 
 which is retained in the church of Nivelles, where there 
 is a crypt, in which, between the wall and a pillar, at a 
 short distance from it, is a hole, above which the peo- 
 ple believe that none in a state of mortal sin can pass. 
 As the space between the pillar and the wall is very
 
 82 THE WHITE LADY. 
 
 narrow, it is, perhaps, rather the corpulence of the 
 sinner than the magnitude of his offences that prevents 
 a free passage. 
 
 Tallement des Beaux tells a story of a " white 
 lady," the tradition of whose appearance is preserved in 
 the families of Angeweiller, Croy, Bassornpierre, and 
 Salm, all of whom it severally affected. This fain- 
 had given to one of the counts of Angeweiller, as a 
 token of love, a crystal goblet, a spoon, and a ring, 
 which at his death he was to leave to his three daugh- 
 ters, as a wedding portion that would ensure good 
 fortune to the families into which they married. The 
 goblet passed by marriage into the house of Croy. 
 The Marquise d'Havre, a descendant of that house, 
 wishing one day to show it to a friend, let it fall and 
 broke it into a hundred pieces. She picked them up 
 again, and said, " If I cannot keep it whole, I will at 
 least preserve every fragment." She then locked 
 them up in a casket. On the following day, when she 
 opened the casket, she found the goblet as perfect as 
 before the accident.
 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Valley of the Meuse Departure from Liege Manu- 
 factoriesChateau of Jemeppes Tradition of Ameil the 
 One-eyed The Witch's Tree Flemalle The Chate- 
 laine's Revenge The Chateau de Chokier Jeande Lardier 
 - Paquette the Innocent Banishment of De Lardier 
 Fidelity of Paquette_Her despair Her murder 
 Aigremont William de la Marck Treachery 
 of Jean de Home Execution of De la Marck 
 Chateau de Warfusee Clermont - Ramioul 
 , Abbey of Flone-Amay-Tihange. 
 
 lil"" -"'. 
 
 T was on a bright and lovely morning, 
 towards the close of August, when we took 
 our departure from Liege to explore, at 
 leisure, the beautiful scenery on the banks 
 of the Meuse, as far as the French frontier. Desirous 
 of pausing on our route to visit any out-of-the-way 
 place that might offer, or of stopping, just as inclination 
 prompted, we allowed the steam-boat to Namur to 
 proceed with its freight of some thirty or forty pas- 
 sengers, amongst whom we remarked a large proportion 
 of priests, and set out in a light open carnage, which
 
 84 MANUFACTORIES. 
 
 we had hii'ed at a very good repository in the Hue do 
 la Pommelette, having for our driver one of that civil, 
 obliging race which seems to be indigenous to Liege. 
 There was every appearance of steady weather, and as 
 we drove along the Quai d'Avroi, beside the sparkling 
 waters of the Meuse, we caught glimpses of woods and 
 meadows and distant heights, from which we might 
 fairly infer the beauty of the country we were about to 
 enter. 
 
 After quitting the faubourg, we lost sight of the 
 river, and the road ran for three or four miles through 
 a rich and fertile plain, crowded on the left hand with 
 manufactories in full activity, and cultivated on the 
 right, to the very summit of the hills that enclose the 
 valley, with waving corn-fields below and vineyards 
 above ; at intervals also appeared the country-houses 
 of the wealthy proprietors of the establishments whose 
 tall chimneys rise like landmarks of commerce. After 
 passing through the long villages of Sclessin and Til- 
 leur, we rejoined the Meuse at Jerneppe, near which are 
 still to be seen two very ancient chateaux, erected in 
 the thirteenth century. They stand on the banks of a 
 narrow stream that takes its rise at Hollogne-aux- 
 Pierres, and comes brawling down the valley. The 
 first of these, whose walls are overgrown with moss and 
 ivy, was built by the Sire Antoine de Jemeppe, at the 
 fatal period of the war between the powerful families of 
 the Awans and the Waroux. Antoine had espoused 
 the cause of the latter, and the Sire d' Awans having
 
 CHATEAU OF JEMEPPE. 85 
 
 learnt that he was just on the point of completing the 
 great tower of his castle, resolved to destroy it. Ac- 
 companied by a number of Mends, always ready for an 
 expedition of this nature, he set out to accomplish his 
 object, but was met on his way by the lord of Jemeppe, 
 who, with an equal number of knights, had posted 
 himself at the village of Loncin to dispute his approach. 
 The combat was long and bloody, and when the day 
 went down the Sire d'Awans, his three valiant brothers, 
 and several other knights of his party, lay dead upon 
 the field. Notwithstanding its antiquity, there are 
 many apartments in the building still habitable Of 
 the second chateau, which was almost entirely rebuilt 
 about seventy years since, the only old parts re- 
 maining are the towers which formerly protected the 
 drawbridge. A little higher up the stream there is 
 yet a third chateau, that formerly belonged to the 
 family of Courtejoie, but is now in the occupation of 
 a farmer. 
 
 The lover of the marvellous may meet, in this part 
 of the country with enough to gratify his appetite. 
 Only a few miles from Jemeppe, in one of the numerous 
 valleys that intersect the Hesbaye, is the pretty village 
 of Fontaine, close to which stands the old castle of 
 Lexhy, on whose donjon tower formerly stood the 
 beacon which served to guide travellers on their way 
 from Tongres to Amay, along the road that was called 
 the Chaussee-verte. 
 
 The following singular tradition is related of one
 
 86 TRADITION OF AMEIL THE ONE-EYED. 
 
 the former owners of this castle : " Ameil de Lexh'y, 
 of the noble family of Dammartin, was a bold and 
 adventurous knight, and led a free 
 and jovial life, somewhat too free, 
 indeed, if all the stories told about 
 him were true ; but then he was 
 young and handsome, and much 
 
 that was said to his discredit might 
 haye arigen from envy It chanced 
 
 one day that Ameil found himself alone in his castle ; 
 the heat was intense, for it was the middle of August, 
 and, desirous of enjoying the refreshing coolness of the 
 fountain of St. Oude, he bent his steps down to the 
 village. The season of harvest having just begun, not 
 an inhabitant was to be seen, and Anieil pursued his 
 way without encountering any one till he reached the 
 fountain. As he drew near, to his extreme surprise, 
 he perceived a lady, richly attired, seated beside the 
 bubbling waters of the spring, and gazing intently upon 
 them. At the sound of Ameil's footsteps, she raised 
 her head suddenly, as if startled by his approach, and 
 the young knight beheld a countenance whose loveli- 
 ness surpassed all he had ever heard or dreamt of. The 
 momentary astonishment over, which the sight of the 
 beautiful stranger had caused him, Ameil, with all 
 courtesy, addressed her, and begged to be informed 
 who she was and whence she came. These questions 
 the lady declined answering, contenting herself by 
 saying that she was nobly descended, and from a
 
 AMEIL THE ONE-EYED. 87 
 
 distant land ; that being on a pilgrimage to Aix-la- 
 Chapelle, and overpowered by the heat of the day, she 
 had paused to rest beside the fountain, while her 
 attendant was gone to obtain some provisions at the 
 nearest town. It was of little moment what answer 
 the lady made, for her glances had already fascinated 
 the susceptible Ameil, and he lent only a too ready 
 credence to the tale she told. The more he gazed 
 upon her the stronger grew the passion which swelled 
 his heart, and it was not long before he proifered love. 
 The unknown at first was coy and reserved, and turned 
 a deaf ear to his protestations ; but by degrees the elo- 
 quence of the Sire de Lexhy made some impression, 
 and, unmindful of the mission on which her attendant 
 had been sent, the lady at length agreed to accept the 
 hospitality of the chatelain. He accordingly conducted 
 her to his castle, and did everything in his power to 
 make her welcome. A splendid entertainment was 
 prepared, the lady was pledged in the richest vintages 
 of the Ehine every appliance that love could lend 
 was remembered, and every precept that morality incul- 
 cates was forgotten ! The stranger consented to become 
 the ladye-love, "par amours" of Ameil de Lexhy. 
 
 When the morning came the fair one rose, and 
 gracefully thanking Ameil for his hospitable care, she 
 asked him if he knew who she was to whom he had 
 extended his kind courtesy. The chatelain replied in 
 the negative. " I will tell you then," exclaimed the 
 damsel, with an expression of countenance hitherto
 
 AMEIL THE ONE-EYED. 
 
 foreign to her features ; I will tell you ; know that 
 you last night slept in the embraces of the devil ! " 
 Ameil was for a moment confounded with horror ; but 
 quickly recovering his courage, with the natural hardi- 
 hood of his character, returned, "The devil! Be it so, 
 return then to hell, and say that for once the devil 
 has tasted happiness!" Ameil paid dearly for his 
 temerity. The fiend glared upon him with fury ; the 
 beauty of her form and features suddenly disappeared, 
 and a hideous monster stood before him, who darting 
 upon the knight, with fierce talons tore out his right 
 eye. Ever after the chatelain of Lexhy was known by 
 the name of " Ameil the One-eyed."* 
 
 Legends of this nature were the common property 
 of the writers of the middle ages. There is a story 
 told in the celebrated chronicle of Philippe Mouskes, 
 bishop of Tournay, respecting the mother of Eleanor 
 of Aquitaine, which in many particulars resembles the 
 one just narrated. t 
 
 Not far from Fontaine stands a tree, which is cele- 
 brated throughout the country as indicating the spot 
 where a wretched creature, the reputed scourge of the 
 district, was executed for witchcraft. The spells which 
 she cast upon man and beast were so numerous, that at 
 length the peasants all rose against her; she was tried, 
 
 * " ^ Ameil a I'CEil" The story is told by Hemricourt, "Miroirdes 
 Nobles de la Hesbaye," p. 138. 
 
 f " Chronique de Philippe Mousques." Par le Baron de Reiffen- 
 berg, 2 vols. 4to. Bruxelles, 1838.
 
 THE WITCH'S TREE. 89 
 
 and, of course, found guilty, and was sentenced to be 
 burnt alive. The last surviving witness of this cruelty 
 is old and withered, and still bears the name of Lap 
 del Makrall " the Witch's Tree." 
 
 Immediately opposite Jemeppe, and connected with 
 it by a light suspension-bridge, is Seraing, the vast 
 establishment for the production of machinery of the 
 late Mr. Cockerill, formerly the palace of the prince- 
 bishops of Liege. We had already visited this 
 remarkable foundry, as well as the crystal works 
 which are manufactured in what was once the Abbey of 
 Val St. Lambert, situated higher up on the same side 
 of the river, so that there was no inducement now for 
 turning out of our path. The next place we reached 
 was Flemalle, where there is a very old church, built 
 as far back as the year 807 by Zuentibold, King of 
 Lorraine, at the instance of his only daughter, who 
 retired from the world, and shut herself beside it in a 
 lonely cell, and was canonised as St. Relinde. The 
 chateau which adjoins the church is also of great anti- 
 quity, but no vestiges remain of the famous Tour de la 
 He id, where dwelt the noble Damoiseau de Flemalle, 
 who perished with his brother, the Sire d'Awans, at the 
 fatal fight of Loncin. This tower, like every other 
 relic of the feudal ages, recalls a bloody tragedy. The 
 widow of the Damoiseau de Flemalle having learnt 
 that Warmer, of the family of Sclessin, had boasted 
 that her husband fell by his hand, resolved to revenge 
 his death. She summoned her nephew, Guillaume 
 
 H 2
 
 90 THE CHATELAINE'S REVENGE. 
 
 Cossint, to her aid, and by dint of tears and earnest 
 prayers, and the bestowal of a large sum of money, 
 induced him to undertake to be her avenger. Cossint, 
 knowing that Warmer and his two brothers occupied a 
 tower, called Bellefroit, at Fragnee, on the Meuse, 
 embarked with an armed party, and suddenly attacked 
 the fortress one morning at daybreak. The resistance 
 was determined, but Cossint succeeding in cutting 
 through the piles which supported the building, the 
 tower fell with a tremendous crash, and Warnier and 
 one of his brothers perished in the ruins. The 
 younger brother fled and took refuge in the abbey of 
 St. Gilles, where he thought himself in safety, but such 
 was the anarchy of the time, that this holy place was 
 not respected ; the sanctuary was violated about three 
 months afterwards, and the unhappy knight was slain. 
 The Chateau de Flemalle was in later days the abode 
 of the venerable Breuche de la Croix, the pastor of the 
 village, a man of refinement and an elegant poet. 
 
 After passing through Flemalle the scenery be- 
 comes extremely fine, the hills rise to a greater 
 height, and their surface is more broken and pic- 
 turesque. At a turn in the road we suddenly came in 
 sight of the magnificent towers of the Chateau de 
 Chokier, apparently suspended above the village, so 
 deeply are the rocks on which it stands mined on this 
 side. Though burnt by the people of Huy, in the 
 time of Englebert de la Marck, about the middle of 
 the fourteenth century, the chateau has resisted the
 
 THE CHATEAU DE CHOKIER. 91 
 
 hand of time, and escaped the fury of the many wars, 
 civil and foreign, that have desolated the Pays de 
 Liege. Saumery says of it, that " the bravest and the 
 most ferocious troops have always looked upon it 
 with respect." The title of De Chokier is an illus- 
 trious one in the annals of Liege. It belonged to the 
 noble family of De Surlet, whose descendants are dis- 
 tinguished even to the present day. 
 
 Respecting one of this house, Jean 
 Surlet de Lardier, who occupies a 
 conspicuous place in the history of 
 his country, an affecting incident is 
 told. This nobleman, who had dis- 
 tinguished himself above all others 
 by his bravery on the fatal day of 
 the Mai St. Martin, escaped the bloody retribution 
 with which the people visited their tyrants, and was 
 amongst those who were permitted to return to Liege 
 when the peace of St. Martin was concluded. His 
 great object after his return was popularity, and he 
 obtained it by the general courtesy of his demeanour. 
 In the year 1314 he was elected echevin and maitre-a- 
 temps of the city, and, directing all his energies to the 
 defence of the people's rights, he acquired the flattering 
 surname of Civis Maximus. So great was his influence, 
 and so highly was he esteemed in Liege, that it was a 
 common saying amongst the citizens, " No harm can 
 happen to me to-day, I have seen the beau sire De 
 Lardier." To such an extent did this sentiment prevail,
 
 99 I'AQUETTE THE INNOCENT. 
 
 that even when the Host was met in the streets, 
 if Jean de Lardier passed at the same time, the people 
 bent the knee to him rather than to the holy symbol. 
 
 There dwelt at this time in the faubourg St. Laurent, 
 at Liege, a young girl, named Paquette, to whom nature 
 had not only denied beauty but ordinary intelligence, for 
 which cause she was known in the city as Paquette the 
 Innocent. She had reached her eighteenth year, but in 
 every action of her life was a helpless child. One ray 
 of understanding alone had reached her mind ; it was 
 the sentiment of admiration so universally felt for Jean 
 de Lardier. The poor innocent conceived a violent 
 passion for the great citizen, but had no thought of 
 demonstrating it otherwise than by gazing upon him. 
 Every morning, as regularly as the day came, Paquette 
 used to seat herself on the steps at the door of his 
 house in the Rue du Souverain-Pont, and wait patiently 
 till he came out, when she cast herself on her knees, 
 and strove to kiss his hand, or the hem of his garment. 
 If she succeeded in the attempt, she returned home 
 happy for the rest of the day. This was the sole inter- 
 course that existed between the Innocent and the noble 
 maltre-a-temps, for Paquette possessed neither wit nor 
 beauty. 
 
 There never yet was a popular idol who did not, sooner 
 or later, experience " how mutability hath sovereign 
 sway" in the affections of the multitude. Jean de 
 Surlet was not an exception. After years of fidelity to 
 the people, sustaining their cause through good and
 
 HER ATTACHMENT. 9d 
 
 evil report, he was at length accused of betraying their 
 interests in his devotion to the new bishop, Englebert 
 de la Marck. To accuse was to condemn, and Jean 
 de Lardier, lately the theme of every man's praise, 
 was ignominiously banished from the territory of Liege. 
 
 In this reverse of fortune, there was yet one heart 
 " amongst the faithless, faithful only found;" it beat 
 in the bosom of Paquette the Innocent. Unable to 
 comprehend the guilt of the maltre-a-temps, or, if 
 comprehending, unwilling to credit it, she still con- 
 tinued to haunt the spot where she had been so long 
 accustomed to see him. Every day she took her place 
 beside the steps on which he used to tread, and there 
 she would sit with upturned head and watchful eyes, as 
 if she expected at each moment to behold him. When 
 the day closed she rose, and, with a heavy sigh and 
 dejected countenance, went slowly back to the faubourg 
 St. Laurent. 
 
 When the thirst for vengeance is excited in certain 
 minds, it knows no limit. Independently of the popular 
 frenzy which now ran so high against him, Jean de 
 Lardier had many bitter personal enemies, whose ani- 
 mosity was not satisfied with simple banishment. They 
 would gladly have taken his life; but as he was now 
 beyond their reach, they resolved to stab him in a part 
 where he was still vital : 
 
 " Frustrate of their will, 
 Not half sufficed, and greedy yet to kill," 
 
 They remembered the devotion of Paquette the Inno-
 
 94 MURDER OF PAQUETTE. 
 
 cent, and the many kind words and gentle actions of 
 Jean de Lardier whenever he saw her, and they rightly 
 imagined that the sacrifice of this poor girl would pain- 
 fully affect him. The death of poor Paquette was 
 consequently decreed. It cost them nothing to con- 
 vict so unresisting a victim. Her innocent love, the 
 daily act which bound her to existence, offered the 
 ready means of accusation. It was alleged that she, 
 the poor innocent, who knew not the motives for her 
 own acts, was in secret communication with the enemy 
 of the city for the overthrow of the state. It- was only 
 necessary to utter the magic word " treason," to excite 
 the people. Knowing well where Paquette was to be 
 found, the mob rushed to the Rue du Souverain-Pont 
 to seize her. Instinctive fear at the sight of the fero- 
 cious crowd caused her to fly; and the same instinct 
 of self-preservation led her for refuge to the church of 
 St. Catherine, where she threw herself before the image 
 of the Virgin, embracing its feet, and calling aloud for 
 protection and mercy. The statue wrought no miracle 
 in her favour, and the hearts of her pursuers were cold 
 as the marble to which she vainly appealed. They 
 dragged her from the altar, and hurried her away 
 through the streets till they reached the Pont des 
 Arches, and without a word of shrift, though she had 
 little need for such preparation, they hurled her into 
 the river. Her last words, as she struggled faintly 
 with her executioners, expressed the thought of her 
 whole life, " Adieu," she cried, turning her eyes from
 
 AIGREMONT. 95 
 
 the crowd, " adieu, beau sire De Lardier!" He for 
 whom she had been sacrificed, was suffered after many 
 years to return to Liege, but neither happiness nor 
 fame were his again, and he did not long survive. He 
 died in 1347, and his remains were buried in the 
 church of the Dominicans. On his tomb was this 
 inscription : 
 
 : SIS : 
 
 Our admiration of Chokier had not subsided, 
 when, on the opposite side of the Meuse, we beheld 
 the towers of Aigremont, built also on the crest of a 
 precipitous rock. Its first walls, according to tradition, 
 were raised by the four famous sons of Aymon, but only 
 the foundations of the ancient edifice remain. The 
 present chateau was completely rebuilt in the course of 
 the last century, and owes the interest which now 
 attaches to it solely to its picturesque situation. But 
 it was not so in former days, when its walls recalled 
 the memory of the deeds of the sanguinary William 
 de la Marck, for here the Wild Boar of the Ardennes 
 took up his principal abode. 
 
 After the death of Louis of Bourbon at the bloody 
 fight of Wez, his successor, Jean de Home, became ap- 
 parently reconciled to the scourge of the bishopric, and 
 offered him every demonstration of friendship : as a 
 token of peace, the bishop and William de la Marck 
 even shared the same bed. But treachery was all the
 
 96 THE WILD BOAR OF THE ABDENNES. 
 
 time silently at work, and it was determined to take 
 possession of his person at a grand banquet to which 
 the Wild Boar had been invited by the Abbot of 
 St. Trend. When the guests rose from table, the Sire 
 de Montigni and his brother Jacques de Home, who 
 were to do the deed, made business at Louvain the 
 pretext for their sudden departure. The Bishop of 
 Liege gaily offered to ride with them a short distance 
 from St. Trond, and invited William de la Marck to be 
 of the party, which he, suspecting nothing, willingly 
 agreed to. They had scarcely ridden a mile, when 
 Montigni, affecting to slight the appearance of Wil- 
 liam's horse, challenged him to try its speed ; his only 
 reply was to bury his spurs in the sides of his steed and 
 set off at full gallop. In a few minutes he was out of 
 sight of his suite, and fell into the ambuscade which had 
 been prepared for him, and Montigni following closely, 
 came up and showed him the Archduke Maximilian's 
 order for his arrest. 
 
 " Say rather for my death," was all that De la 
 Marck uttered. 
 
 He foresaw his end but too certainly. Scarcely had 
 he reached Maestricht, the place assigned for his deten- 
 tion, when he was brought before his judges, and after 
 the mere form of trial, sentenced to be beheaded, the 
 remainder of the night being all the time allowed him 
 to reconcile his soul with heaven. The next morning 
 he was brought out upon the square of the Vrythoff, 
 and led towards the stone scaffold, ornamented with four
 
 HIS EXECUTION. 97 
 
 bronze lions, which was only used at the execution of 
 criminals of high rank. Before he ascended the steps, 
 De la Marck cast his eyes round him, and perceiving 
 the Bishop Jean de Home, by whose treachery he had 
 fallen, he addressed him in words of brief but bitter 
 reproach ; then taking his long beard in his hands, and 
 holding it back with his teeth, he courageously extended 
 his neck to the headman's axe.* 
 
 To the lordship of Aigremont was attached the 
 high dignity of Haut-voue of the Hesbaye. By virtue 
 of this title the Lords of Aigremont 
 alone enjoyed the privilege of carry- 
 ing the standard of St. Lambert, 
 and leading the armies of Liege 
 into the field. This noble ensign 
 was borne by a long line of gallant 
 knights. 
 
 From gazing on these distant 
 towers, we turned to the nearer view of the magnificent 
 ruin of a mountain, half of which, shorn away by a deep 
 
 * " In the year 1674 some workmen digging near the high altar of 
 the churca of the convent of the Dominicans at Maestricht, found a 
 skeleton wrapped in a robe of red silk damask : a skull, covered with a 
 red cap of the same stuff, lay beside it. The Pere de Heer, who was 
 present at the discovery, after examining the silk garments, said that 
 they were almost perfect, and distinctly recognised stains of blood on 
 the dress. They were the remains of the famous William de la Marck, 
 Comte d'Aremberg, who was beheaded by Jean de Home, Bishop of 
 Liege, in 1485, at the corner of the Vrythoff, and who was interred in 
 this church by the Dominican monks with all the honours due to 
 nobility."
 
 98 CLERMOXT. RAMIOUL. 
 
 quarry, has left behind a broad surface of pale yellow 
 streaked with rich veins of deep red, which glowed in the 
 bright sunshine like stains of blood. These are the rocks 
 of Engis, and in the plateau above, reached by a steep 
 winding path, stands the modern chateau of Warfusee, 
 belonging to the Comte Emile d'Oultremont. It is 
 built on the foundations of the old chateau of War- 
 fusee, celebrated in the olden tune for the loves of the 
 beautiful Chatelaine Alix and the valiant Rae's, Comte 
 de Dammartin, from whose union sprung the noblest 
 houses in the Hesbaye. Le Mayeur, in his poem, " La 
 Gloire Belgique," thus alludes to them : 
 
 " Tel fut chez le Liegeois ce Raes de Dammartin 
 Que la sensible Alix par un fecond hymen 
 Avait rendu 1'auteur d'une tige vaillante, 
 Non moins riche en vertu qu' heritiere puissante." 
 
 One could have wished that the charms of the lovely 
 Alix had been sung by a better poet. 
 
 From Engis, looking across the Meuse, may be 
 descried the height where stood the old chateau of 
 Clemiont, whose origin is supposed to date from the 
 days of Pepin de Herstal, the father of Charlemagne. 
 It was in the twelfth century the residence of Giles the 
 Leper, Comte de Duras, of whom we shall have occasion 
 to speak hereafter. Near Clermont are also seen the 
 turrets of Ramioul, where dwelt the greatest hero of 
 whom the middle ages can boast, the illustrious Godfrey 
 of Bouillon, who before his departure for the Holy 
 Land, gave the territory to the chapter of St. Servais
 
 VIN DE JEHAY. 99 
 
 at Maastricht, on condition of their offering up constant 
 prayers for his soul. The chateau has been rebuilt, 
 with the exception of the two wings, which are old. 
 
 Pursuing our route towards Huy, we passed beneath 
 the extensive vineyards of Jehay, which give then* name 
 to all the wine that is made in this part of the country. 
 We tasted some of the produce, said to be of a good 
 year, but found it sharp and rough. The abbey of 
 Flone next greeted us ; it is an old, and was once an 
 important monastery of Augustines, the abbots of which 
 formerly owned the greater part of the coal and lead 
 mines which abound in this district. It is now a 
 compact brick building, having an air of more comfort 
 than beauty. It was rebuilt in the seventeenth cen- 
 tury. Beyond Amay, which is remarkable for its 
 pretty church with three spires, the scenery increases 
 in beauty. The rocks rise perpendicularly above the 
 Meuse, leaving barely space for the road ; then* summits 
 are crowned by thick woods, and wherever a cleft 
 appears some hardy shrub has cast its roots, and 
 spread its waving foliage to the breeze. Where the 
 acclivity is less precipitous, a few patches have been 
 reclaimed for vineyards ; but though they are cultivated 
 amongst the scoriae of zinc mines, the vintage has 
 gained nothing by it. At Ampsin, as well as we could 
 discern, through the glimpses afforded by the inter- 
 mission of the smoke from the furnaces of Corphalie, 
 we caught sight of Tihange, celebrated for the tourna- 
 ment given by Basin, Comte de Huy, who poisoned the
 
 100 
 
 OGIER THE DANE. 
 
 Comte de Looz, the victor in the lists, by presenting 
 him a cup in which to drink the health of Charle- 
 magne. For this and other felonies he was seized by 
 Ogier of Denn-Marche (commonly called Ogier the 
 Dane), who had him taken to Paris, where he was 
 condemned to be flayed in boiling water and afterwards 
 burnt, a sentence which was carried into effect. A 
 little further, in following the sweep made by the Meuse, 
 we came in sight of the lofty citadel of Huy.
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Huy The Houyoux Marguerite de Navarre The Cathedral Interior 
 Portail de la Vierge Peter the Hermit Singular Capture of Huy 
 Love of Liberty The Mehaigne Search for the Ruins of Moha 
 Trie Castle of Moha. 
 
 HE Hotel de la Poste at Huy is so de- 
 lightfully situated on the river, that one's 
 choice of an inn is made while crossing 
 the bridge that connects one half of the 
 town with the other. There is, indeed, another, the 
 '' Aigle Noir," apparently very comfortable, but it has 
 not the advantage of situation to recommend it ; and 
 as its rival lacks nothing that can render a traveller's 
 stay agreeable, it claims the preference. 
 
 There are few towns more picturesquely placed than 
 Huy. The Meuse here makes a sudden curve, retreat- 
 ing from the hills which have for some miles confined 
 
 I 2
 
 102 THE CITADEL OF HUY. 
 
 it on the right bank, and sweeping now beneath the 
 ridge that protects the left. 
 
 Like Soracte's height, which on " the curl hangs 
 pausing," the citadel of Huy seems suspended above the 
 cathedral, as if to threaten it with instant ruin; and 
 until one has fairly crossed the bridge, it is difficult to 
 imagine where the road runs that is to let one out of 
 the town again Then, indeed, it becomes apparent; 
 but there is not much space to boast of between the 
 perpendicular rock and the river. The first time I 
 travelled along the valley of the Meuse, I passed 
 through Huy without being aware of the town on the 
 right bank, and supposed that the citadel and the 
 cathedral were all it contained. On this occasion, as 
 we had leisure to examine it, I was undeceived, for 
 wandering to the end of the street, at the foot of the 
 bridge, which seems to lead nowhere, I saw a narrow 
 bridge on the left hand, and heard the rush of rapid 
 waters, which proved to be those of the Houyoux, 
 a noisy torrent, whose frequent debordements have earned 
 it a bad reputation, ever since the days when Marguerite 
 de Navarre and her suite were nearly drowned by a 
 sudden inundation.* Beyond this stream lies the 
 
 * Melart, in his " Histoire de Huy," says that the Queen of 
 Navarre imagined that the inundation was contrived for her annoyance : 
 " qu' on eust tire toust expret des escluses de certains estangs pour la 
 perdre et noyer, de quoi elle en partit fort fachee et mescontente." 
 In her memoirs, however, Marguerite says nothing of the kind, hut 
 ascribes the flood to natural causes : " II s' emeut un torrent si im- 
 petueux, descendant des ravages d' eau de la montagne en la riviere," &c. 
 Et voila comme on ecrit 1'histoire !
 
 THE CATHEDEAL. 103 
 
 greater part of the town, its market-place, town-hall, 
 churches, and principal streets, everything, in fact, 
 that constitutes the materiel of a town, though the 
 approach to it is so completely masked, that its being 
 overlooked need excite little surprise. After all, the 
 traveller who sees only the cathedral, need not disquiet 
 himself if he sees nothing else. It is a massive and 
 well preserved specimen of the architecture of the early 
 part of the fourteenth century, having been begun in 
 1311. The interior is all of dark grey marble, and the 
 roof, which is lofty, is painted exactly like the borders 
 of the illuminated manuscripts of the period, in a 
 graceful pattern of many-coloured flowers. There is 
 scarcely a fragment of stained glass left, but the form 
 of the windows, and particularly of the rose window at 
 the west-end, is extremely beautiful. Many of the 
 shrines are exceedingly curious, and, as well as a series 
 of grotesque heads in the apsis of the cathedral, belong 
 to a much earlier period than the present building. 
 There is one picture (an Adoration of the Magi) worth 
 examining, chiefly in reference to the time when it was 
 painted, which, from the costume, must have been in 
 the fourteenth century. Several tombs of the bishops 
 of Huy decorate the interior ; but the most interesting 
 feature of the building is the curious gateway forming 
 the entrance from the street. It is called the " Portail 
 de la Vierge," and merits description. 
 
 The lower part, which is open, is supported by 
 three pillars, forming a double entrance, whose gro-
 
 104 POKTAIL DE LA VIEEGE. 
 
 tesquely carved capitals are surmounted by three 
 figures, the size of life, the Virgin and Child in the 
 centre, and two bishops, one of them the founder of 
 the cathedral, at the sides. The upper part, which 
 contains a high, pointed arch, subdivided into compart- 
 ments, is covered with quaint sculp ture in high relief, 
 the subjects of which are the Nativity, on the left hand, 
 and the Adoration of the Magi, on the right In the 
 central compartment is represented the Murder of the 
 Innocents, and figures of saints and angels, under 
 richly-carved canopies, border the arch. The Annun- 
 ciation, and Descent of the Holy Spirit, are figured 
 above. The whole of this sculpture is uninjured and 
 is stained a deep yellow. 
 
 In the church of the Holy Sepulchre was formerly 
 to be seen the tomb of one whose eloquence wrought 
 so great a change in the condition of Europe in the 
 middle ages. This was Peter the Hermit who, in the 
 fulfilment of a vow made during a tempest, on his 
 return from the Holy Land, built a monastery at Huy, 
 called the " Neu-Moustier," where he afterwards was 
 buried. In the year 124=2, more than a century after 
 his death, his grave was opened, and the body found 
 uncorrupted. It was removed to a little grotto, con- 
 structed under the tower of the church, where it 
 remained exposed to the gaze of the public, separated 
 only from the street by an iron grating. At a later 
 period the remains were transferred to the sacristy, 
 where Villenfagne saw them as recently as 1786. He
 
 SINGULAR CAPTURE OF HUY. 105 
 
 says * that the head was then in good preservation ; he 
 counted all the teeth, not one was missing, and they 
 were all large and fine. During the unhappy period 
 of the Keign of Terror, the sacristry was plundered, the 
 coffin of Peter the Hermit broken open, and his ashes 
 scattered to the winds, none daring to collect them again. 
 
 Huy has witnessed numerous sieges and has been 
 frequently taken. The castle was once singularly sur 
 prised, in 1595, by the famous Haranguer, renowned 
 for the boldness with which, a few years before, he 
 effected the capture of Breda. At the head of thirty 
 men, having climbed by ropes into a small house 
 beneath the castle walls, he lay in ambuscade in a spot 
 which the inhabitants of the garrison were obliged to 
 pass to go to mass, and seizing upon them as they 
 approached, one after the other, he tied their arms and 
 legs, threw them into a deep hollow, and quietly 
 marched into the castle, which offered no resistance. 
 
 The Hutois, like their neighbours and allies of 
 Liege, always held their freedom in great estimation, 
 and a memorial of their love of liberty existed till lately 
 in an inscription upon the stones, which formed the 
 limit of the commune of Huy. It ran as follows : 
 
 " Mieux vaut mourir de franche volonte, 
 due du pays perdre la liberte." 
 
 All that is interesting in the town of Huy may well 
 
 * Villenfagne " Researches sur 1'Historie de la ci-divant Princi- 
 pante de Liege."
 
 106 THE MEHAIGXE. 
 
 be seen in a couple of hours, including even the citadel; 
 but no lover of the picturesque should leave the neigh- 
 bourhood without devoting a day or two to the banks 
 of the little river Mehaigne, which falls into the Meuse 
 above the town, at the faubourg of Statte. The Mehaigne, 
 which rises between Gembloux and Xamur, takes its 
 course through the district called the Hesbaye, and 
 passes many a feudal tower on its way to join the 
 Meuse. We crossed it by a little bridge beneath the 
 high rock, on which is built the church of Statte, and, 
 passing through some corn-fields, ascended by a rugged 
 road, resembling a deep water- course, to a broad plateau, 
 waving also with golden grain. Half-an-hour's walk 
 across the plain brought us to a cluster of cottages, at 
 the entrance to a narrow lane that led to the village of 
 Moha. Here we inquired, adopting as much Walloon 
 patois as we had contrived to pick up, whereabouts the 
 ruins of the castle were situated ; but whether from 
 imperfect pronunciation on our part, or ignorance on 
 that of the peasants, the inquiry was fruitless, and its 
 repetition only excited laughter. Having reason to 
 believe that there were ruins somewhere near, knowing 
 their history by heart, we pursued our way through the 
 village till we reached the churchyard, where the sexton, 
 like Hamlet's friend, was singing, as he delved "a pit 
 of clay." He proved more intelligent, and, rising from 
 his work, came to the churchyard wall, and pointing up 
 the valley, desired us to look under the branches of 
 some trees that overhung the road. We did so, and
 
 THE RUINS OF MOHA. 107 
 
 could then discern a solitary grey tower, half covered 
 with ivy, about a quarter of a mile distant, which he 
 told us was all that remained of the once famous castle 
 of Moha, for the possession of which, and the wide 
 territory dependent on it, the long and bloody feud 
 arose which was called "the War of the Succession 
 of Moha." But the sexton knew nothing of the 
 past, nor was he old enough to remember the latest 
 changes that had come over the building, for the chapel 
 of St. Gertrude, which stood within the walls, was only 
 destroyed during the French revolution. Still less 
 could he give us any information about Friar George, 
 a hermit, the last of his order, who dwelt beside the 
 chapel, and died there in the middle of the last century. 
 Satisfied, however, with the fact that the ruins which he 
 pointed out were those we sought, we descended the 
 steep path, by courtesy called a road, and more than 
 shared by a sparkling stream, which gushed from a 
 spring about half-way down, and rapidly took its course 
 to swell the torrent of the Mehaigne. From the valley, 
 below a pretty foot-bridge, we obtained a beautiful view 
 of the ruins crowning a steep hill on the right bank of 
 the stream, above which it rises precipitously, and having 
 gazed our fill, we took the only path by which the castle 
 is accessible, and soon stood in the midst of the few 
 broken walls which once formed the stronghold of the 
 powerful family of Moha. Will the reader pause with 
 me here, to listen to the story of its beautiful chatelaine, 
 as I have gathered it from contemporaneous chronicles.
 
 SEAL OF CEBTIU'DE DE MOHA. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Gertrude of Llcha Thibaut de Champagne Albert of Moha The 
 Tournament of Andenne Emulation of the Young Damoiseaux 
 Their Tilting Match Fatal Issue of the Combat Vow of the 
 Count and Countess Stone Crosses Henry of Brabant Cession 
 of Moha Birth of Gertrude Death of Count Albert Education 
 of Gertrude War of the Succession Gertrude's Beauty Thibaut 
 of Champagne Betrothal of Gertrude Theobald of Lorraine- 
 Gertrude's Marriage Battle of Bouvmes War against Lorraine 
 Hatred of the Emperor Sodaria The Duke Poisoned Gertrude 
 a Widow Her Return to Moha The Letter Thibaut in Provms 
 Tmbaut's arrival at Moha Gertrude's Second Marriage A Mar- 
 riage of Love Thibaut's Inconstancy Gertrude's Death Destruc- 
 tion of Moha. 
 
 N the " Chronique de St. Denis," as in 
 most of the chronicles of the same period, 
 in treating of the history of the famous 
 trouverre, Thibaut de Champagne, King 
 of Navarre, we find the following simple record of one 
 of the events, and that certainly not the least important, 
 of his life : " Thibaut eut trois femmes ; de la derniere, 
 qui etoit de la naaison de Bourbon, naquirent les enfans 
 qui lui succederent."
 
 ALBERT OF MOHA. 109 
 
 This, in the eyes of the chronicler, is all that is 
 worthy of notice. Thibaut was a king, and had fulfilled 
 his destiny ; the royal race which he, for a time, repre- 
 sented, failed not through him ; a Bourbon wife con- 
 tinued his line : 
 
 " The rest is silence ! " 
 
 And yet how much may lie concealed beneath the few 
 words that tell of the earlier claims upon the love of 
 one whose name has been so widely spread as a poet 
 and a lover. How much remains untold of the wives 
 who are not even named in this brief memorial ! To 
 rescue one of them from oblivion, and, perchance, 
 inspire an interest in her fate, is the object of the 
 narrative now written. 
 
 Of all the nobles of the Hesbaye, at the close of 
 the twelfth century, there were none so powerful, or 
 whose territory was so extensive, as Albert, Count of 
 Moha, in the principality of Liege, and of Dasbourg, 
 in the province of Alsace. He had married Gertrude, 
 the only daughter of the Count de Looz, and their 
 union was blest by two sons, who, as they grew towards 
 manhood, gave promise of inheriting their mother's 
 beauty and their father's valour. 
 
 Albert of Moha was an accomplished knight, and 
 delighted greatly in those passages of arms which 
 formed the chiefest recreation, as they were the neces- 
 sary pleasure, of the chivalry of the middle ages. To 
 train up his sons in the career of glory to which his own
 
 110 THE TOURNAMENT OF ANDENNE. 
 
 life had been devoted, Count Albert omitted no oppor- 
 tunity of showing them the splendours of all the tilts 
 and tournaments that were held throughout the country, 
 and the ardent boys entered as eagerly into the spirit 
 of the scene as their father could desire. Their conver- 
 sation by day, and their dreams by night, were ever of 
 splintered lances, cloven helms, hacked shields, and 
 shivered swords, and already they beheld themselves, in 
 imagination, victors in the lists, and proudly wearing the 
 prize bestowed by beauty. In an evil hour this passion 
 was nurtured, for misery and death canie in its train. 
 
 When Baldwin, Count of Flanders, assumed the 
 Cross, to celebrate his departure for the Holy Land, 
 he gave a grand tournament at Andenne, on the Meuse, 
 between Huy and Namur, at which were present, 
 Philip, Count of Namur ; Louis, Count of Looz ; 
 Hugues de Florinnes, and the flower of the nobility 
 of Flanders, Hainault, Brabant, and Liege. The 
 Count de Moha, so skilled in knightly exercises, was 
 a distinguished guest, and rendered himself conspi- 
 cuous in the jousts. 
 
 On his way homeward, his mind still full of the 
 glorious pageantry of which he had borne so notable a 
 share, his discourse to his sons, William and Henry, 
 who accompanied him, turned entirely on the events of 
 the tournament; the good fortune of one knight in 
 tilting; the misadventures of another; the gallant 
 bearing of a third ; passing in review all the incidents 
 of the mimic fight, and commenting upon all in the
 
 EMULATION OF THE DAMOISEAUX. Ill 
 
 tone of one thoroughly acquainted with his subject. 
 His sons listened eagerly, though silently, to all he 
 said ; and their hearts beat high in their bosoms when 
 the count pointed out to them the path leading to 
 renown, which they were destined to follow. He little 
 thought that the seed which he had sown was so nearly 
 ripe, and how fatal would be the harvest ! 
 
 It was not many days after the tournament of An- 
 denne, that the Count de Moha was compelled to absent 
 himself for a brief period from home, and the opportunity 
 presented itself which the unhappy boys had so long 
 sighed for. Much as their father had said to them of 
 deeds of chivalry, and however earnestly he had exhorted 
 them to perform their knightly devoir when the day 
 came for them to add to the fame of the illustrious 
 house of Moha, he had never yet permitted them to 
 bear other arms than the light weapons which the 
 custom of the times allowed to children of noble birth. 
 They were already skilled to ride ; but the management 
 of the warlike lances, to wield which was the great 
 object of their ambition, had hitherto been denied them. 
 "Their tender years," said the count, "unfitted them 
 as yet to grasp the weapons of men ; " but he promised 
 them that the time was not far distant when they should 
 regularly enter the novitiate of then 1 future career. Alas, 
 for the impatience of youth ! content with nothing but 
 the immediate accomplishment of its wishes ! No 
 sooner was the count departed, than his sons hastily 
 sought the armoury; and, yielding to their earnest
 
 112 THEIE TILTIXG-ilATCH. 
 
 solicitations, the armourer suffered them to have two 
 of the lightest but sharpest lances in the rack. They 
 wished for them, they said, only for an hour, to show 
 how well they could carry them on horseback; and 
 they were suffered to depart. The instant they obtained 
 permission, they hurried to the stables, joyfully mounted 
 their favourite steeds, and galloped off to a meadow 
 about a mile from the castle It was a beautiful spot, 
 lying on the borders of the Mehaigne, which here 
 formed a curve almost surrounding the field. Around 
 it rose, on three sides, the steep banks of the river, 
 richly clothed with wood, save here and there, where 
 some bold rock thrust its huge grey mass above the 
 slope. It was, indeed, almost a perfect amphitheatre, 
 and seemed as if designed by nature for the exhibition 
 of warlike games and exercises. The road that led to 
 it ran zigzag along the hill side from the castle gate ; 
 it then traversed the neck of the valley, crossed the 
 *trearn, and pursued the same serpentine track to gain 
 the ascent on the opposite side, in the direction of 
 Meefe, whither the Count de Moha had that day gone. 
 The noble boys rode gaily down the valley, and 
 dashed across the level sward, brandishing their lances, 
 and shouting their father's well-known cri-de- guerre, 
 " Frapez por Moha ! " After two or three turns round 
 the meadow, they reined in then* horses, and drew up 
 to agree upon the way in which they should run the 
 tilt they so anxiously longed for. The terms were soon 
 settled; for all their experience had failed to teach
 
 THEIR TILTING-MATCH. 113 
 
 them how many precautions were necessary to prevent 
 the most friendly joust from becoming a service of 
 danger. They thought only of the delight of couching 
 their spears, and galloping their horses against each 
 other ; nor once remembered the precaution of the bar- 
 rier and the blunted lance. Accordingly, they wheeled 
 round, and, riding to opposite extremities of the field, 
 prepared for the headlong charge. 
 
 It is a matter of too common observation to induce 
 us to speculate upon the cause which, when Count 
 Albert left the Castle of Moha that morning, filled his 
 breast with an undefinable sense of apprehension. 
 Every one in the course of his life has experienced the 
 feeling, without being able to account for it, the 
 shadow, at some period or other, has fallen on every 
 man's heart. Count Albert stood high in every one's 
 estimation ; all things prospered with him : he was 
 a happy husband and father, a powerful noble, a suc- 
 cessful warrior; he lacked nothing to make the mea- 
 sure of his happiness complete. And yet when he 
 slowly paced his way along the road to Meefe, a thrill 
 of something more like fear than he had ever expe- 
 rienced, shot through his bosom, and cast a gloom 
 over his spirits. He strove in vain to shake it off, and 
 at length, finding it beyond his control, he suddenly 
 turned his horse's head, and, to the extreme surprise 
 of his attendants, who had ever known him constant 
 in his undertakings, gave orders for their immediate 
 return with him to Moha. Having issued the order,
 
 114 THEIR TILTING-1IATCH. 
 
 he struck his spurs in his courser's sides, and set off 
 at a quick pace in the direction of home, leaving 
 his people to follow him as they might, 
 
 It was not long before he came in sight of the 
 well-known turrets of Moha, shining in the sun on the 
 opposite side of the valley. He drew his rein for a 
 moment while he paused to look on them, but scarcely 
 had he done so, before his ear caught the sound of the 
 heavy tread of horses somewhere beneath him. He 
 was too practised in such matters not to be aware that 
 the sounds proceeded from the regular pace of horses 
 in quick motion, and his curiosity was excited to know 
 what was the cause at a time and place so unusual; 
 if he needed further stimulus it was presently given by 
 the echoes of his own war cry, resounding shrilly 
 through the valley. He hesitated no longer, but 
 galloping down the steep, reached a turn of the road 
 commanding a full view of the meadow. To his infi- 
 nite astonishment and dismay, he at once discovered 
 the cause of his inquiry ; for there, at either end of the 
 field, mounted on his finest destriers, and holding 
 lances in the rest, sat two youthful figures, with no 
 defensive armour on, preparing to joust. 
 
 The quick eye of a father instantly recognised his 
 sons in the imprudent assailants, and his agony was 
 intense, for he was still at least a quarter of a mile 
 from the spot where they stood, and the road was steep 
 and hidden amongst the trees. It would be impossible 
 to reach them in time, for already then* horses pawed
 
 FATAL ISSUE OF THE COMBAT. 115 
 
 the ground impatient for the loosened rein. He rose 
 in his stirrups, and stretching out his hands towards 
 the field, shouted with the utmost power of his voice 
 " Henry, William ! stop, rash boys ! stay, I command you !" 
 But the warning came too late : in the excitement 
 of the moment the youths heard it not, for their own 
 voices were raised, or, hearing, could not check their 
 impetuous career. Their steeds thundered across the 
 meadow, and the unhappy Count of Moha sat rooted 
 to the spot. But his suspense was not of long dura- 
 tion. In a few moments the space that separated the 
 boyish combatants was cleared the horses drove 
 against each other their riders, with their lances 
 levelled, thought not, or were not skilful enough to 
 turn aside the points no corselets covered their fair 
 breasts, on which floated the scarfs of the colours of 
 their house, which their mother's hands had that day 
 tied across them they wore no shield or helm to pro- 
 tect their light, frail figures their lances were directed 
 too truly, and in the shock that followed, each was 
 unhorsed, and, weltering on the ground, their heart's 
 blood dyed the green grass on which they fell.* 
 
 * " Un accident memorable et du tout tragic digne d'estre ici 
 rapporte c'est qu'estant nostre comte en 1'an MCCI., de retour de cer- 
 taine feste et tournoy qu'on avoit celebre a Andenne, ses deux fils 
 ieunes garpon qui 1'avoient accompage voulant esprouver leur dexterit6 
 sans avoir prins esgard aux armures et autres circonstances s'entre- 
 tuerent courant 1'un sur 1'autre." Butkens : " Trophies du Brabant," 
 libvre ix. p. 647. Melart, in his " Histoire de la Ville du Huy," and 
 Renacle, in his " Cabinet Historial," describe this unfortunate event 
 in a similar manner.
 
 116 VOW OF THE COUNTESS. 
 
 The Count de Moha uttered one wild and terrific 
 cry, and then sped like lightning down the rocky way. 
 It was all in vain, the boys were past all earthly care, 
 and he who but an hour before rejoiced in two fine 
 sons to perpetuate his name and honours, was now 
 childless ! 
 
 Deep and bitter was the grief of the Count de 
 Moha, and sad and heavy the task which fell on 
 him to be the bearer of such woful tidings to the 
 wretched mother. He accused himself he even 
 accused Heaven, and then with passionate tears he 
 prayed for mercy from an offended God ! But on 
 none other would he devolve the duty of imparting the 
 sad tidings. He entered the castle, and going straight 
 to his wife's apartments, 
 
 " Madam," said he, abruptly, " if God had refused 
 us heirs to our name, to what use would you have 
 devoted the wealth you possess '? " 
 
 "Albert! gracious God!" she replied; "what is 
 the meaning of this sudden question, which fills me 
 with terror ? Why have you returned so speedily ? " 
 
 The count, gazing on her stedfastly, repeated the 
 question. 
 
 " Heaven pity me ! " cried the countess, who in- 
 stinctively trembled for her children ; " if I am to learn 
 a fatal truth only at this price, I will answer : I would 
 build a monastery in honour of the mother of God, 
 that people might pray there for the repose of our 
 souls."
 
 LE CHAMP DES CROIX. 117 
 
 " So be it then," returned her husband : " Gertrude, 
 your sons are dead ! " 
 
 It was after a death-like swoon of many days that 
 the unhappy lady of Moha learnt the full extent of her 
 misery. Who shall describe the sorrow and gloom 
 that hung like a funeral pah 1 above the Castle of Moha ? 
 At one blow everything seemed to have been torn away. 
 Albert and Gertrude felt that they had grown old in a 
 single day. They had now nothing to live for, and 
 passed their hours in tears and prayers, and fruitless 
 regrets. They never quitted the precincts of their 
 castle, save to inspect the progress of the Abbey of Val 
 Notre Dame, which they immediately began to build; 
 there they caused to be erected a lofty tomb to the 
 memory of their sons, and in the field where they met 
 their death, still called "Le Champ des Croix," they 
 raised two stone crosses, on each of which might be 
 read the following inscription : 
 
 <ttl : a : mSCfc : !S : Hi : JFIILS : 
 
 : QiS 
 
 The crosses stand there no longer, but a tree has 
 been placed to mark the 
 spot, which may even now 
 be seen at a little distance 
 from the road that leads 
 from Huy to Meefe. 
 
 Time wore on, but the grief of the Lord and Lady 
 of Moha had lost nothing of its poignancy. The
 
 118 HENRY OF BRABANT. 
 
 nearest relation of the count was Henry, Duke of 
 Brabant, his nephew by the mother's side. He was 
 cruel, greedy, and avaricious, and little love subsisted 
 between the relations; but the lack of affection is, in 
 high places, often supplied by sentiments of pride, and, 
 looking round him, Count Albert could discover none 
 who shared his blood so well qualified from position as 
 Henry of Brabant to succeed to his wide domains. 
 He, therefore, entertained the idea of constituting him 
 his heir, but not without exacting certain conditions. 
 These were, that Henry should, within the space of 
 three years, pay into his hands the sum of fifteen thou- 
 sand silver marks, a proposition which was readily 
 agreed to by the duke. But from whatever cause, 
 whether unwillingness on Henry's part to ratify his 
 agreement, in the hope, perhaps, that the count's 
 death might intervene, or from after considerations 
 originating with the count himself, the negociation fell 
 to the ground, and Albert of Moha resolved upon an 
 entirely different disposition of his property. 
 
 Hopeless, now, of ever having another child to 
 inherit his domains, and the thoughts both of himself 
 and his wife becoming every day more and more with- 
 drawn from the world, Albert formed the resolution of 
 dedicating all he possessed to the Church, by a formal 
 cession of his territory to the Prince Bishop of Liege, 
 his old and valued friend. 
 
 There were conditions annexed also to this act, for 
 it was stipulated between the count and the bishop that
 
 CESSION OF MOHA. 119 
 
 the latter should pay the sum of fifty thousand marks 
 of silver for the succession, and that if it so happened 
 that an heir should be born to the estate, the child 
 should inherit, though only holding the property as a 
 fief of the church.* 
 
 The cession was made according to the custom of 
 the time, on the altar of St. Lambert at Liege, by the 
 symbolic offering of a live turf and the branch of a 
 tree.f But scarcely had the conditions been ratified 
 when an event occurred which was least expected : the 
 Countess of Moha was found to be enceinte, and before 
 the close of the year gave birth to a daughter, who was 
 christened Gertrude, after her mother. 
 
 This event caused a complete revolution in the 
 count's mind, and induced him to endeavour to annul 
 the deed of cession ; but, however warm a friend, the 
 Prince Bishop thought the succession of Moha too 
 valuable to be lightly parted with, and stedfastly refused 
 his consent, so that the count was obliged to let the 
 matter rest as he had ordered it. 
 
 Meantime, the joy of possessing another child to 
 replace those which she had so cruelly lost, proved 
 insufficient to remedy the shock which the countess had 
 suffered, and not many months elapsed before she too 
 was numbered with the dead. 
 
 Albert of Moha, heirless and broken in spirit, sur- 
 
 * Villenfagne, " Essai Critique sur 1' Histoire de Liege," torn. 2, 
 p. 259. 
 
 f Butkens, Preuves. p. 234.
 
 120 THE COUNT'S ILLNESS. 
 
 vived her yet a few years. His glory had departed, 
 and but for the love he bore the little Gertrude, his 
 life had sooner ended. But the time came, when, worn 
 with sickness and sorrow, and finding his end ap- 
 proaching, he felt that he must provide for his 
 daughter's safety, for he knew the nature of Henry of 
 Brabant, and foresaw the coming storm. He accord- 
 ingly dispatched couriers to the Prince-Bishop of Liege 
 and to his relation and old companion in arms, Ferry, 
 Duke of Lorraine, praying them to come as speedily as 
 they might to hear his last request. They were soon 
 by his bedside, and, taking a hand of each as they 
 leant over him, he said : " The moment draws near 
 when I shall be again united to the objects of all my 
 love. I should die without a single regret, were it not 
 for the thoughts of my daughter Gertrude. Duke 
 Ferry, be to her as a father in my stead ; she wih 1 be 
 worthy of your care, for I already see in her the virtues 
 of her sainted mother, whose image she is. My most 
 earnest wish is that, when old enough, she should 
 become the wife of your son Theobald. And you, 
 venerable Hugues de Pierrepoint," he added, addressing 
 the bishop, " be you also her protector ; watch over 
 her as the child of your adoption. Preserve her in- 
 heritance of Moha, which one day will belong to your 
 church." Then calling his child to him, as she stood 
 weeping at his feet, though scarcely comprehending 
 her deep cause for sorrow, for she was barely eight years 
 of age, he bade her dry her tears, and receive his
 
 HIS DEATH. 121 
 
 blessing. He kissed her tenderly, and pressed her 
 to his heart, praying that from her head might be 
 averted the woes which her mother had endured. The 
 sorrows of Gertrude were destined to be of a different 
 nature. 
 
 Exhausted by the exertions which he had made, the 
 Count of Moha now took leave of his friends, and 
 begged to be left alone with his confessor Helwin. 
 On the following day he died. 
 The first care of the Duke of Lorraine was to remove 
 his infant ward from the house of death, and, leaving 
 the obsequies of his deceased Mend to be performed by 
 the Bishop of Liege, he set out at once for Metz, where 
 he placed her under the care of the pious Abbess of 
 Romorontin, the friend of his amiable duchess, until 
 the time should arrive when the young chatelaine 
 might appear in the world. Here her education was 
 carefully looked to, according to the fashion of the 
 time, and Gertrude grew as fan' a maid as ever inspired 
 the vow of enamoured knight or woke a minstrel's 
 strain. 
 
 Meanwhile it fared ill with her heritage, for though 
 the Duke of Lorraine did all that lay in his power to 
 improve her estates and collect her revenues, he could 
 not guard against the ambitious designs of one who 
 was as powerful as he was cunning and unscrupulous, 
 especially as his own dominions were so remote from 
 Moha. 
 
 But it is not our purpose here to enter into the
 
 122 WAK OF THE SUCCESSION. 
 
 details of the sanguinary " War of the Succession of 
 Moha," as it was ever afterwards called. It is enough, 
 perhaps, to mention that it was originated by the Duke 
 of Brabant, who, with disappointment rankling at his 
 heart, resolved to obtain by force that which at one 
 time he had nearly possessed by negociation. As the 
 nephew of the late Count of Moha he assumed to be 
 his heir, and demanded that the Prince-Bishop of 
 Liege should give up to him the castle of Moha, its 
 dependencies and revenues. Hugues de Pierrepoint 
 evaded his demands by proposing to submit his claims 
 to the arbitration of the emperor ; and the duke, in 
 revenge, collected the forces which he had long held 
 in readiness, and at the head of twenty thousand men 
 inarched upon Liege. The particulars of the sacking 
 of the city, and of all the horrors which ensued, are to 
 be found detailed at length by the historians of the 
 province,* as well as the account of the bloody fight, 
 called " La Warde de Steppes," in which the Liegeois, 
 in their turn triumphant, eventually quelled the usurp- 
 ing Henry. Be it our task to return to the story of 
 the hen-ess of Moha. 
 
 The beautiful Gertrude, nurtured with the tenderest 
 care in the convent of St. Ursula, under the immediate 
 eye of the Duchess of Lorraine, made her appearance 
 at court in the fifteenth year of her age. All the 
 chroniclers agree in describing her as one of the fairest 
 
 * Vide Chapeauville, Melart, Bouille, Foullon, Gilles d'Orval, Vil- 
 lenfagne, and others.
 
 GERTRUDE'S BEAUTY. H3 
 
 creatures that ever the eye beheld, and as remarkable 
 for the sweetness of her disposition and the accom- 
 plishments of her mind, as for the graces of her person. 
 The brilliancy of her beauty was perhaps subdued, but 
 a softer charm was added, by a shade of melancholy 
 which often passed over her features, when in riper 
 years she recalled the misfortunes related to her of her 
 childhood, and those which had preceded her birth. 
 But her spirits were not saddened nor her happiness 
 marred by these recoUections, and if at times they 
 imparted a pensive expression to her countenance, it 
 suited well with the dignity of her form and the grace 
 of her demeanour. 
 
 Her appearance at the court of Duke Ferry was 
 the signal for a succession of splendid fetes. The 
 nobles of Lorraine vied with each other in their en- 
 deavours to attract her notice and win her smiles ; but 
 none devoted themselves to her service with a fervour 
 and assidiu'ty comparable with her youthful cousin, the 
 gay, the handsome, the accomplished Thibaut, Count 
 of Champagne. 
 
 This celebrated trouverre, whose numerous poems 
 attest his proficiency in the " gaie science," and place 
 him at the head of the poets of the thirteenth century,* 
 was at this time in the flower of his youth, and was 
 looked upon as the first among the preux chevaliers of 
 
 * Vide " Poesies de Thibaut de Champagne, Roi de Navarre," by 
 M. Levesque de la Ravaillere ; also, "Specimens of the Early Poetry of 
 France," by Miss L. S. Costello.
 
 THIBAUT OF CHAMPAGNE. 
 
 the time. His high descent the prospect of the 
 crown which he afterwards wore the splendour of his 
 appearance the beauty of his person his skill in every 
 knightly exercise and more than all, the charms of 
 his muse, made him an object whereon men fix then- 
 eyes with envy, and women with admiration. To the 
 fair Gertrude were dedicated the earliest offerings of his 
 lute ; from her society alone, as he told her, he 
 gathered the inspiration which gave his verses what- 
 ever charm they possessed. What wonder then that 
 the preference which Gertrude felt should ripen 
 speedily into love ! 
 
 But a serious obstacle, of which Gertrude had 
 never thought, interposed to ruffle the current of that 
 stream which never yet ran smooth. She had for- 
 gotten that, when yet a child, she had been affianced 
 to her nearer relative, Count Theobald, the eldest 
 son of the Duke of Lorraine. It was only as a child 
 that she had seen him when first she was brought to 
 Metz, for when she left the convent for her uncle's 
 court, her cousin Theobald was winning his spurs in 
 the south of France, in the terrible wars then waged 
 against the Albigenses. His name had always been dear 
 to her as one worthy of a sister's love, for his virtues 
 were the theme of universal praise ; but she dreamt of 
 him only as a brother, nor deemed that he suffered 
 wrong when she encouraged the attentions of his 
 cousin, the all-accomplished trouverre. 
 
 The Duke of Lorraine, engrossed by affairs of state,
 
 GERTRUDE IN LOVE. 125 
 
 and little versed in the signs that denote affairs of the 
 heart, witnessed the gallantry of Thibaut, and the fre- 
 quent pre- occupation of Gertrude without mistrust; if 
 he rallied her occasionally on fits of absence which some- 
 times stole over her, it was jestingly to reprove her for 
 the gravity that did not suit her years : he had no concep- 
 tion that her thoughts demanded a more careful scrutiny. 
 
 But the Duchess Agnes, his wife, was less short- 
 sighted ; she guessed too truly that Gertrude had fallen 
 in love, and, tenderly attached to her, was deeply 
 grieved at the discovery, both for her own and her son's 
 sake. An explanation ensued, in which the duchess 
 calmly represented to Gertrude her duty, and the 
 danger of encouraging the evident admiration of the 
 fascinating trouverre, and after a long struggle, Ger- 
 trude's sense of propriety gained the ascendancy, and 
 in addition to the feelings of gratitude which the 
 duchess's kindness had inspired, a new sentiment arose 
 in her mind ; it was the proud thought of having sacri- 
 ficed her love to her duty, the holy sense of her obedi- 
 ence that stirred within her, and made her feel even 
 pleasure in the act which banished her happiness for 
 ever. She resolved to return to the world, and armed 
 herself against all weakness when she should once more 
 encounter her lover. 
 
 But they were not destined to meet. Thibaut had 
 left the court. The duchess had made him aware that 
 as a man of honour, and a loyal friend of her son, he 
 could no longer remain where his presence was likely 
 
 K 2
 
 120 THEOBALD OF LORRAINE. 
 
 to prove so dangerous. Gertrude wept over his ab- 
 sence, but remained firm in her resolution to think 
 of him no more in the light of a lover. 
 
 The war against the Albigenses was now over, and 
 Theobald of Lorraine returned to his home. His 
 name was not only renowned as a warrior, but he had 
 gained the happier reputation of distinguished hu- 
 manity, a quality rarely shown in the fierce conten- 
 tions of that age, and almost unknown in the extermi- 
 nating wars of religion, amongst which that preached 
 by St. Dominick may be reckoned as the fiercest on 
 record. The Duchess Agnes had not praised her son 
 without cause. He was in every respect worthy of 
 admiration ; and the three great qualities, " cuer vaillant 
 et li don d' amor et de Constance," which formed the 
 character of a noble knight, were fully developed in 
 him. 
 
 It was impossible that Gertrude de Moha could 
 behold him without confessing that he was worthy of 
 any woman's love, not from the graces of his person, 
 for such attractions are fleeting (though Theobald was 
 esteemed " un des plus beaux homines de son temps"), * 
 but from the generosity of his heart, and " the white- 
 ness of his soul;" and but for the magical power of 
 a first impression, she felt that she could have resigned 
 herself to become his bride without a sigh. She had, 
 however, not only schooled her heart to forget the 
 
 * Dom Calmet " Histoire de Lorraine."
 
 GERTRUDE S MARRIAGE. 
 
 1-27 
 
 past, but to welcome the future ; and the noble qualities 
 of her affianced husband exacting her esteem, the task 
 of dedicating herself to his happiness lost much of its 
 bitterness. Theobald himself saw nothing in Gertrude 
 but an object of exclusive worship ; she was not only 
 the acknowledged " darne de ses pensees," but the 
 undisputed mistress of his heart, and he looked for- 
 ward anxiously to the day when he might call her his 
 own. His mother had predicted rightly; Gertrude 
 having once recognised his merit, her affection soon 
 followed. There was nothing to divert the current of 
 her thoughts from the course of duty, and when the 
 time was fixed for their union, Gertrude went willingly 
 to the altar. 
 
 The marriage took place at Colmar, in Alsace, with 
 a splendour and magnificence worthy of their exalted 
 rank, in the presence of the Emperor, who bestowed 
 on the Duke of Lorraine the title of Vicar of the 
 
 SEAL OF DUKE FERRY 
 OF LOIUlilNE. 
 
 Empire, and granted him the privilege of bearing the 
 Roman eagle on his banners, and three alerions on his
 
 128 BATTLE OF BOUVIXES. 
 
 shield.* But the rejoicings on occasion of the wed- 
 ding were unexpectedly interrupted by a melancholy 
 event, the sudden death of Duke Ferry, the father 
 of Theobald. He was deeply regretted by his family, 
 but by none more than by Gertrude, towards whom he 
 had ever conducted himself as a kind and affectionate 
 parent. The funeral obsequies were performed at Nancy, 
 and Theobald succeeded his father as Duke of Lorraine. 
 Scarcely, however, had he assumed the reins of 
 government when a fresh war broke out, which called 
 him from his country, and from the arms of his young 
 and lovely bride. The Emperor Otho and John, King 
 of England, united by the same motive of hatred 
 against Philip Augustus of France, resolved upon his 
 ruin, and decreed the partition of his dominions between 
 them, drawing numberless vassals of the French crown 
 to then 1 ranks by the promise of restoring to them the 
 feudal rights which it had ever been the policy of Philip 
 to abrogate. The consequence of this expedition, 
 the glorious battle of Bouvines, in which the Imperial- 
 ists were utterly defeated, is an event too well known 
 to admit of repetition here.f Theobald, a vassal of 
 
 * At the period of the first institution of coat-armour the bearings 
 possessed a significance, which in after times was less considered. Thus 
 the alerions, " eagles without beaks or talons," were used to denote 
 enemies disarmed, or put hors de combat. Vide Le Pere Menestrier 
 " Origine des Tournois." 
 
 t The best account of this celebrated battle is to be found in 
 M. Capefigue's " Histoire du Regne de Philippe Auguste." M. Cape- 
 figue has closely followed the metrical Latin chronicle of Guillaume 
 le Breton.
 
 WAR AGAINST LORRAINE. 129 
 
 the empire, fought on the side of the vanquished, and 
 could personal prowess have redeemed the day, his 
 efforts might have availed; but it was otherwise or- 
 dained, and all that the Duke of Lorraine could accom- 
 plish was a better retreat than was effected by many 
 of the grand feudatories who fought beneath the ban- 
 ners of Otho. 
 
 During his absence the treachery of friends had 
 been at work, and Frederick, King of the Romans, who 
 was bound to Theobald by many ties, had thought the 
 opportunity a favourable one for taking possession of 
 the town of Eoscheim, which formed part of the terri- 
 tory of the Duke of Lorraine, as Count of Dasbourg, 
 in right of his wife. 
 
 Allowing himself barely time to embrace his beloved 
 Gertrude, the duke quitted Metz to recover the lost 
 town ; but the enemy suddenly entering Lorraine with 
 an overwhelming force of cavalry, he was obliged 
 to throw himself into the small town of Almance. 
 Frederick laid seige to it, and summoned the Count 
 of Bar, and Blanche, Countess of Champagne, to come 
 and join him. Notwithstanding their relationship to 
 Theobald, they acceded to the desire of the King of 
 the Romans, and their united forces attacked Nancy, 
 which they pillaged and then set on fire. The unhappy 
 Duke of Lorraine, seeing the danger which threatened 
 him, vainly implored the aid of his friends. He was 
 compelled to surrender to Frederick, to whom, as well 
 as to whose allies, he made immense concessions. He
 
 130 HATRED OF THE EMPEROR. 
 
 hoped by doing so that he might be permitted to 
 return to Metz, to forget, in the endearments of home, 
 the misfortunes he had experienced. But an adverse 
 fate denied him that comfort, and contrary to the faith 
 of the treaty agreed on, the perfidious conqueror kept 
 Theobald prisoner, and bore him a captive to Wiirzburg. 
 
 In the meantime the Duchess Gertrude, shut up 
 with her mother-in-law, Agnes, within the walls of 
 Metz. was barely able to hold the place against the 
 hordes of German troops that desolated Lorraine. She 
 wept for her husband's captivity, and knew not where 
 to seek for aid to procure his release. In this extremity 
 she had recourse to Conrad, Bishop of Metz, who had 
 always been the fast friend of Theobald, and possessed 
 great wealth. The bishop yielded to her solicitations, 
 and what the force of arms could not wrest from 
 Frederick, the power of gold performed. He con- 
 sented to set Theobald at liberty and grant him peace, 
 on payment of the sum of twelve hundred livres, 
 "monnoie de forts."* 
 
 The time was now come when, after all his misfor- 
 tunes, the Duke of Lorraine hoped, in the arms of 
 Gertrude, to bid defiance to his evil star, but still it 
 shed its lurid light upon his track. The hatred of 
 Frederick followed him as he bent his steps home- 
 wards, and again it assumed the guise of treachery. 
 The duke had reached the Rhine on his way to Lor- 
 
 * Dom Calmet.
 
 SODARIA. 131 
 
 raine, when, halting for the night, an adventure, which 
 he deemed an accident, befel him. A lady, apparelled 
 and attended as might become one entitled to carry 
 hawk on glove and ride an ambling palfrey, and 
 moreover of surpassing beauty, presented herself at 
 the hostelry where the duke was staying. She feigned 
 great surprise at finding that the house was occupied 
 where she had purposed passing the night; and, in the 
 spirit of the age, which granted everything to a lady's 
 lightest wish, the duke placed himself entirely at her 
 disposition, and invited her to share the supper which 
 was in preparation. The lady, after a little hesitation, 
 accepted the offer, and during the repast availed herself 
 of the opportunity whioh she had been seeking ever 
 since Theobald left Wiirzburg. Hers was no casual 
 encounter with the duke ; she was an emissary of the 
 King of the Romans, and had dogged his footsteps for 
 many days. The time was now come for accomplishing 
 the murderous designs of Frederick, and the unsus- 
 pecting Theobald received from her hands a poisoned 
 cup, with which the feast was crowned. In the stillness 
 of the night she quitted the place, and left the duke to 
 languish beneath the slow but certain effect of the 
 poison.* In a short time its consequences became 
 
 * Fide Ducange art. " Sodaria." " Quamdam meretricem, quam 
 Sodariam vocant, post Ducem direxit." Chronic. Senoniense, lib. 3, 
 cap. ult. Dom Calmet ascribes the duke's death to jealousy, and calls 
 the lady by the name that implied her calling. He says : " Lorsqu' il 
 eut passe le Rhin, une courtisane, nomme Sodaria, qu' il avoit connu en 
 Allemagne, etant venu le joindre, comme ne pouvant se separer de sa
 
 132 
 
 GERTRUDE A WIDOW. 
 
 
 apparent, in the gradual wasting of his frame and 
 diminution of his strength. He reached Nancy, and 
 again beheld his adored Gertrude, but the hand of 
 death was on him : he lingered for some weeks, and 
 then died in the arms of his afflicted and desolate wife. 
 " Who is there," says an historian whom we have 
 already quoted, " but must lament the untimely fate of 
 
 so accomplished a knight, 
 whose career was so full 
 of promise ? This valiant 
 prince, so zealous in the 
 cause of religion and jus- 
 tice, and whose views for 
 the prosperity of his domi- 
 nions were so enlarged, 
 died in the flower of his 
 age, without leaving an heir to his body. It is thus 
 that Providence often sports with those designs of men 
 which appear the best concerted." 
 
 The grief into which Gertrude was plunged, on the 
 death of her kind and affectionate husband, was ex- 
 cessive. She gave way to it uncontrolled, for the heart 
 of the Duchess Agnes was too deeply wounded by the 
 same blow to enable her to offer consolation. Nancy 
 
 personne, lui fit avaler un poison lent, apres quoi elle disparut." If, 
 however, jealousy had been the motive, it is more probable that she 
 would have had recourse to a quick rather than a slow poison ; that he 
 might never again meet his wife. Revenge, such as Frederick sought, 
 works willingly by slow degrees. I think, therefore, that Dom Calmet's 
 version of the story is scarcely the authentic one.
 
 HER RETURN TO MOHA. .133 
 
 had been assigned as her dower and place of residence, 
 but she resolved rather to seek the charming valley in 
 which she had passed her infancy, and live once more 
 beneath the turrets of Moha. Resisting, therefore, the 
 kind importunities of her relatives, who would gladly 
 have retained her in Lorraine, Gertrude returned to 
 the banks of the Mehaigne, the remembrance of whose 
 verdant glades had always haunted her like some happy 
 vision. Alas ! in dreams of happiness, never realised , 
 Gertrude's life passed on till its close ! 
 
 Her return to Moha was the cause of great joy to 
 all her vassals ; the family name had long been en- 
 deared to the country, and under the sway of one so 
 gentle and so good as the sorrowing duchess, a widow 
 at sixteen, her retainers had little to fear for their 
 future welfare. The life she led was a solitary one, 
 her only visiters being the good Bishop of Liege, who 
 had so nobly defended her patrimony, and her near 
 relations, the Countess of Neufchateau and her daugh- 
 ter Alide. It was in vain that the nobles of the Hes- 
 baye sought admission to the castle of Moha, or strove 
 by the splendour of their feasts, to withdraw her from 
 her retirement. Their courtesies were as courteously, 
 declined, and the widowed duchess continued to live in 
 quiet if not in content. 
 
 But a circumstance at length occurred which awoke 
 Gertrude from her dream of tranquillity, and gave an 
 entirely different direction to her thoughts. Amongst 
 a packet of letters which she one day received from the
 
 134 THE LETTER. 
 
 Duchess Agnes of Lorraine, was one from Conrad. 
 Bishop of Metz, who had proved so warm a friend to 
 her late husband. After dwelling upon the misfortunes 
 which she had endured, the letter went on to say : 
 
 " If anything can alleviate the bitterness of your re- 
 grets, it iSj I trust, the assurance that your sorrows and 
 the resignation which you have shown, have gained you 
 the esteem of all who have heard your name. Amongst 
 those who have visited Lorraine, since the death of 
 your husband, has been the Count of Champagne ; 
 he arrived in Metz only a few days after your departure, 
 and was much grieved to find that you were gone, 
 the more so as his desire to offer you consolation, 
 which the ties of consanguinity permitted at the court 
 of Lorraine, could not with propriety be rendered in 
 your castle of Moha. He returned almost immediately 
 to Provins, where he appeai-s to have remained almost 
 entirely since his first abrupt departure from his uncle's 
 court. We hear that his sole occupation consists in 
 cultivating that art whose exercise has already made 
 him so famous. You owe him some consideration for 
 the affectionate manner in which he spoke of you." 
 
 Thibaut, then, had not forgotten his early passion. 
 He had hastened to Lorraine to calm her grief and 
 share her sorrows ! He had spoken of her with interest ! 
 He had been grieved at her departure ! Could it be 
 true that Thibaut, indeed, loved her still, her "\\lio 
 had wed another ? 
 
 It was no longer treason in Gertrude to encourage
 
 THIBAUT IN PKOVINS. 135 
 
 ideas which conjured up the image of former love. 
 She had paid the debt of obedience to her father's will ; 
 she had, at whatever cost, fulfilled the promises made 
 by herself; she had honoured and wept over the un- 
 fortunate Duke of Lorraine, and once again she was 
 free, without disrespect to his memory, to yield up her 
 heart to its first possessor. Everything that Conrad 
 had written betokened that Thibaut still remembered 
 her, and she knew by her own heart that memory is love 
 in absence. 
 
 Time wore on, and Gertrude received no further 
 direct tidings of Count Thibaut. The prescribed 
 period of widowhood was past, and yet he neither sent 
 nor came. It was said that he still held his castle at 
 Provins, where it was rumoured he had caused his 
 verses to be graven on its walls and windows ; but no 
 more positive indication of his former love reached the 
 chatelaine of Moha, and her heart began to sink be- 
 neath the sickness of hope deferred. 
 
 One day when Gertrude was seated at a little 
 turret window, which commanded the view of the 
 approach to Moha, the clattering hoofs of a steel-clad 
 horseman were heard on the drawbridge, and, looking 
 up, the chatelaine recognised the pennon of the Bishop 
 of Liege. It was a messenger from Hugues de Pierre- 
 point bearing a letter, in which he craved permission 
 to visit her on the morrow, and dine at the castle, 
 bringing with him a noble stranger, who was now stay- 
 ing with him.
 
 136 GERTRUDE'S SECOND MARRIAGE. 
 
 Gertrude's heart promptly suggested who the noble 
 stranger might be, but she restrained her joy while she 
 replied with all reverence to the bishop, that what- 
 ever her castle afforded was ever at his command; 
 then, dismissing the messenger with an ample largess, 
 she abandoned herself to the fondest and most flatter- 
 ing anticipations. 
 
 Her long- cherished hopes were realised. It was 
 yet early on the following day when the Bishop of 
 Liege arrived at Moha, attended by a splended train, 
 amongst whom were the Counts of Looz and Warfusee, 
 the Dame de Haneffe, Alide de Neufchateau, and 
 others of her friends ; but Gertrude's eye sought only 
 one form amid the gay assemblage, and there, con- 
 spicuous above all, in her estimation, rode Thibaut, 
 Comte de Champagne. Before the close of the solemn 
 banquet, which was that day held at Moha, Count 
 Thibaut had secured the promise of Gertrude's hand, 
 and the last health that was drunk before the guests 
 departed, was that of the future Countess of Cham- 
 pagne. 
 
 The conditions of the contract were drawn up 
 without delay, the marriage was celebrated in the 
 castle of Moha, and Thibaut and Gertrude set out 
 immediately for Provins. 
 
 At length Gertrude had achieved the object of her 
 dearest wishes. She was wedded to the one whom her 
 young heart had first chosen ; he possessed every 
 external quality that could gladden the eye, and excite
 
 A MARRIAGE OF LOVE. 137 
 
 the admiration of the world ; and the cultivation of his 
 mind appeared to promise that all resembled them 
 within. But Gertrude of Moha was not the first to 
 discover that a marriage of love is not invariably the 
 happiest. For the first year of their union not a cloud 
 arose to shadow the brightness of their hours ; but, as 
 if he had merely sought a new sensation, dependent on 
 no fixed principle for its endurance, at the expiration 
 of that period his affections towards Gertrude became 
 estranged, his manners grew cold, his periods of 
 absence frequent. It may be that Thibaut who, be- 
 sides his illustrious descent, which he traced to Charle- 
 magne, had made a name for himself in an art that 
 began to be esteemed no less than the profession of 
 arms, was disappointed to find himself childless; or, 
 perhaps, the natural inconstancy of his disposition pre- 
 vailed, for the judgment that has been passed upon 
 him appeal's, when we consider the various acts of his 
 life, to be a just one. 
 
 " Nul homme n' eut moins de Constance dans ses 
 projets et dans ses entreprises, dans ses haines comme- 
 dans ses affections."* 
 
 * It would seem as if the creed of Thibaut de Champagne, in regard 
 to the marriage vow, had been literally founded upon the judgment 
 rendered by his ancestress, the Countess of Champagne, at the famous 
 Court of Love, which was held in the middle of the twelfth century. 
 When the question was formally put, whether true love could exist 
 between married people, the Countess answered: "L'amour ne peut 
 etendre ses droits sur des personnes mariees ; car les amans s' aiment 
 et se livrent volontairement : les 6poux sont tenus par devoir de ne se 
 refuser rien 1'un a 1' autre;" " Biographi e Universelle" art. Thibaut. 
 
 L 2
 
 J:>8 THIBAUT'S INCONSTANCY. 
 
 But whatever the motive that influenced him, its 
 effects were sufficiently plain. On a heart like that of 
 Gertrude, formed for tenderness and love, and keenly 
 alive to coldness and neglect, the estrangement of 
 Thibaut fell with withering force. She questioned 
 herself to discover the painful cause, but in the recti- 
 tude of her own mind and the truth of her affection, 
 she found no subject for reproach ; she then with tears 
 besought an explanation from her husband, but her 
 inquiries were at first eluded, and afterwards coldly 
 repelled. At last, the fatal blow was struck, and Thi- 
 baut reproached her with sterility, adding as the 
 sure precursor of his acts that plea which cruelty 
 had so often sheltered itself behind, that they had been 
 married within the prohibited degrees of consanguinity. 
 It was enough for Gertrude ; she saw her fate. It was 
 evident that Thibaut intended to repudiate her. There 
 were none to say him nay, for the Church sanctioned 
 the deed. The performance of a hollow penance could 
 release him from ties that had become hateful ; and 
 the accomplished knight, the loyal gentleman, the 
 tender hearted poet, the adoring lover, could avail 
 himself of such means to break a heart, whose only 
 fault was loving him. 
 
 The divorce between the Count and Countess ac- 
 cordingly took place,* and Gertrude returned to Moha 
 to die ! 
 
 * " Quam tamen ventilata postmcdum affinitate." Chronicle of 
 Alberic des Trois Fontaines.
 
 GERTRUDE S DEATH. 
 
 139 
 
 She had only attained the twenty -first year of her 
 age, when her sorrows were ended in the grave. 
 
 Count Thibaut survived to marry the Lady Agnes 
 do Beaujeu, from whom after a time he was alike 
 released by divorce. His third wife was Margaret of 
 Bourbon, who brought him children. The finger of 
 suspicion was pointed at him on the death of Louis 
 the Eighth of France, and scandal had been busy with 
 hi sname and the fair fame of Blanche of Castille. He 
 died thirty years after Gertrude de Moha, and many 
 believe by poison. 
 
 The castle of Moha was destroyed by the Hutois in 
 1376, but the memory of its lovely chatelaine has not 
 perished with her dust.
 
 Scenery of the Mehaigne The Sire de Fallais The Sire de Fumal Marie 
 de Fumal Collard Baldin The Casting of the Pear Procession to 
 St. Sauveur. The Pilgrimage Insolence of Baldin Preparations for 
 Marie's Marriage The Rescue Death of Baldin Marriage of Richard 
 and Marie Treason of Henry of Gueldres Richard's Vigilance Dis- 
 comfiture of the Bishop. The Field of Dammartin The Sire de War- 
 emme DeHemricourt and his Steed The Combatants Preparations 
 for the Fight The Battle. 
 
 HE scenery of the Mehaigne is extremely 
 beautiful. Immediately opposite Moha 
 the rocks rise abruptly in dark, naked 
 masses above the river, whose turbulent 
 waters fret and foam at their base. Higher up the 
 valley assumes a more sylvan character, thick woods 
 wave upon the heights, and rich meadows of emerald 
 brightness are spread below; but the river is every- 
 where the same rapid, impetuous stream. 
 
 As we were desirous of exploring as much as could 
 be seen in a long summer's day, we continued our 
 course beside the Mehaigne for four or five miles, until 
 we reached the villages of Fumal and Fallais, the first 
 on the right bank, the second on the left. The situa- 
 tion of these villages is highly picturesque, and to the 
 ancient chateaux belonging to them, some debris of
 
 THE SIRE DE FALLAIS. 14] 
 
 which still exist, is attached a legend, which independ- 
 ently of its illustrating a curious local custom, may 
 perhaps afford some interest. 
 
 About the year 1255, there dwelt at Fallais a noble 
 knight, named Kichard, the son of Count Arnold, the 
 lord of Beaufort sur Meuse. He was young, handsome, 
 and brave, and delighted in the military pastimes of the 
 age, no less than in its sterner occupations. He was 
 equally ready to splinter a lance for a fair lady's smile, 
 as to arm in defence of his country ; and to these chi- 
 valrous qualities he added the rarer one of being the 
 friend and protector of the poor. His name was con- 
 sequently revered throughout the Hesbaye. 
 
 It was far different with the fierce chatelain of 
 Fumal whose towers rose within sight of those of 
 Fallais. He was as rapacious and violent as the Sire 
 Richard was kind and courteous ; he gave no thought 
 to the poor but to oppress them, and cared for nothing 
 but his own gratification, passing his time in hunting 
 while abroad, and in feasting and carousing at home. 
 His wife, of a noble race, had been sacrificed to him on 
 account of his wealth, but his coarse and brutal habits 
 soon broke her heart, and when she died she left two 
 children, a son and a daughter, both of tender age, 
 though with a few years difference between them. 
 
 Philip, the elder, brought up, or rather left unedu- 
 cated, by his father, acquired at an early age the habits 
 of those who surrounded him, and became, like them, 
 licentious, violent, and dangerous. He soon discovered
 
 142 MARIE DE FUMAL. 
 
 that the dissipated life of the Sire de Fumal would 
 inevitably waste his inheritance, and being of a roving, 
 venturous disposition, he resolved to seek a fortune for 
 himself elsewhere, and for this purpose entered into 
 the sendee of Henry of Gueldres, Bishop of Liege, 
 a prince whose vicious character attracted rather than 
 repelled him. 
 
 Marie de FumaJ was in all things the opposite of 
 her brother, pious, charitable, and simple : she owed 
 much to the tender care of her nurse, Marguerite, a 
 kind, good woman, who watched over her with a 
 mother's solicitude. Isolated with her in a remote part 
 of the chateau, the pursuits of Marie were tranquil and 
 uninterrupted ; the female accomplishments of the age 
 were few, but their acquirement was fortunately within 
 her reach, and by the time she had attained her 
 eighteenth year, her mind had developed charms as 
 attractive as those of her person. 
 
 This calm, happy life was not, however, destined 
 to endure ; it was broken in upon by the presence of 
 a stranger at Fumal, whom Marie soon learnt to look 
 upon with fear and aversion. This intruder was the 
 Sire Collard Baldin, of Hosden, a lordship on which 
 the fief of Fumal was dependent a circumstance 
 which, combined with others, gave him authority over 
 the Chatelain of Fumal. 
 
 Baldin was a man of about forty years of age ; he 
 had passed his time chiefly in foreign countries, from 
 whence he seemed to have returned imbued with everv
 
 COLLABD BALDIN. 1-48 
 
 vice. The first sight of Marie inspired him with a 
 violent passion, which he resolved, at every risk, to 
 gratify, and his visits to the chateau became more and 
 more frequent. Not only were his tastes and habits 
 those of the Sire de Fumal, but the large sums of 
 money which he had lent to the latter, gave him an 
 all-powerful influence, and placed everything at his 
 disposal; an authority which he was not slow to ex- 
 ercise. It was in vain that Marie represented to her 
 father the discomfort which was thus created ; he was 
 indifferent to her complaints, and she was compelled 
 to endure the arrogance and insolence of Baldin, with- 
 out the means of redress. He, who now saw himself 
 virtually lord and master of Fumal, did not stop here ; 
 but urged his addresses to Marie in a tone and manner 
 that excited both indignation and dread. 
 
 At this period in the history of Fumal, the season 
 arrived for the celebration of a singular custom of the 
 country, called the " Casting of the Pear ; " a custom 
 which was not discontinued until the close of the last 
 century.* 
 
 About a mile from Fumal, on the left bank of the 
 Mehaigne, between Fallais and Vieux-Waleffe and the 
 hamlets of Pitet and Dree, is a valley, in the midst of 
 which rises a high rock, which separated the juris- 
 dictions of Fallais and Warnant. The limits of the 
 two communes were so uncertain as to render an 
 
 * " La Jetee de la Poire."
 
 144 THE CASTING OF THE PEAR. 
 
 annual ceremony necessary to determine them. It 
 began with a grand mass in each of the village 
 churches; and then all the inhabitants, formed in 
 procession, marched to the sound of cymbal and 
 trumpet, till they reached the rock, on the summit of 
 which were planted the banners of Fallals and War- 
 nant; and where a young man stood, dressed in the 
 gayest colours, and chosen for his strength and agility 
 from the flower of the peasantry. To him was pre- 
 sented, on a trencher, a thick slice of a pear or an 
 apple, which he took, and, turning towards the east, 
 threw it as far as he could The spot where it fell 
 formed the boundary for the next year between the 
 two communes. 
 
 It was not alone the ceremony of casting the pear, 
 that attracted such numbers to the spot ; the day was 
 one of religious solemnity, celebrated by pilgrimage to 
 the shrine of the Virgin, in the chapel of St. Sauveur, 
 who was speciaUy prayed to on this occasion. High 
 and low mixed freely in the procession, no distinctions 
 of rank being made ; and another peculiarity was ob- 
 servable the person who offered up prayers always 
 associated eight others in the intercession; an act 
 which was called a neuvaine. 
 
 On the day on which this ceremony took place, in 
 the year 1255, Marie de Fumal was amongst the first 
 to offer her vows to the Virgin, surrounded by a crowd 
 of young and ardent devotees, whose choral hymns 
 awoke the echoes of the village as they slowly moved
 
 MEETING OF RICHAKD AND MARIE. 145 
 
 towards the antique chapel There were many youths 
 of noble lineage who strove to touch the heart of the 
 beautiful Marie, but they all had sighed in vain ; she 
 had never yet seen one to whom she could freely give 
 her affections; but her time at length was come. 
 
 It chanced that Eichard .de Fallais had returned 
 from a distant expedition only the night before the 
 Jetee, and hearing that it was about to take place, 
 resolved to witness it. His sudden presence caused a 
 great sensation; he was welcomed enthusiastically by 
 all, and the frankness and grace of his demeanour 
 corresponded with the cordiality of his reception. He 
 was not seen without emotion by Marie, for she con- 
 trasted his appearance and the evident joy of his 
 friends at seeing him, with the evil reports which her 
 father's companions had spread respecting him; and 
 her embarrassment increased when he came to ask her 
 hand for the dance. What happened may easily be 
 imagined, and needs few words to tell. Richard de 
 Fallais and Marie de Fumal fell deeply in love, and 
 the summer day on which they met was the happiest 
 that either had yet known. 
 
 If her home had previously been distasteful to 
 her, how much more so did it now become ; for there, 
 at every moment, she was exposed to the persecutions 
 of Baldin, who, having heard of the attentions of 
 Richard de Fallais, dared even to utter threats, de- 
 claring that in spite of herself he would force her to be 
 his wife before many days were over. Sunk in the
 
 146 PREPARATIONS FOP. MARIE'S MARRIAGE. 
 
 lowest stage of debauchery, the Sire de Fumal, who 
 had no will but of the dissolute companion of his 
 pleasure, yielded a ready assent to the demand which 
 Baldin made for his daughter's hand, and it was agreed 
 that the marriage ceremony should take place at 
 Hosden. 
 
 Baldin was absent for three days, making the ne- 
 cessary preparations. On the evening of his return to 
 Fumal, he abruptly announced to her that it was her 
 father's order to get ready to set out on the following 
 morning for Hosden. It was in vain that Marie wept, 
 Baldin was inflexible ; nor would he even suffer her to 
 see the Sire de Fumal. He took occasion, also, to 
 dismiss from her service the faithful Marguerite, who 
 had so long attended her ; but it was in an evil hour 
 that he did so, for, availing herself of her liberty, she 
 made her way that same night to Fallals, to tell the 
 impending fate of the Chatelaine Marie to the ena- 
 moured Richard. The gallant knight hesitated not a 
 moment what course to adopt. Calling for his arms, 
 he threw himself on his steed, and, followed only by 
 one squire, he galloped off towards Hosden, and by 
 daybreak reached the Bruyere de Tilleul, where he 
 paused to await the arrival of the recreant who was 
 bearing away his beloved Marie. 
 
 It was not long before he descried a party of men- 
 at-arms, escorting a closed litter, and at their head rode 
 one in complete armour, whom Richard de Fallais at 
 once recognised as the Sire de Hosden. The moment
 
 THE RESCUE. 147 
 
 he saw him approach he set spurs to his horse, and, 
 galloping up, in a loud voice commanded Baldin to 
 stop and declare who that litter contained. 
 
 "By what right," returned Baldin, "do you in- 
 terrupt my progress; and what matters it to you 
 whom I convey?" 
 
 " It matters much," said Bichard ; " and by our 
 Lady of Andenne I will know this moment:" and, 
 riding up to the litter, he heard the voice of Marie de 
 Fumal, calling upon him for protection. 
 
 " You hear, Baldin," exclaimed the knight, " it is 
 the daughter of the Chatelain de Furnal, who cries to 
 me for aid ; no lady ever yet appealed to Kichard de 
 Beaufort in vain, and least of all shall she." 
 
 " Traitor," exclaimed the Sire de Hosden, trembling 
 with rage, " she is my affianced bride her father has 
 given her to me I will part with her only with life:" 
 and, uttering these words, Baldin set lance in rest, and 
 rushed upon the Sire de Fallais. 
 
 Richard coolly awaited the shock : with one hand 
 he thrust aside the wavering ill-directed weapon; and, as 
 Baldin passed him in his career, he rose in his stirrups, 
 and with his gauntleted hand dealt him so heavy a 
 blow on the helm, that he rolled him in the dust, 
 from whence he never rose, for his neck was broken in 
 the fall. 
 
 The men-at-arms stood dismayed when they wit- 
 nessed the marvellous prowess of the Sire de Fallais. 
 He left them to the care of the body, and commanded
 
 148 MARRIAGE OF RICHARD AND MARIE. 
 
 the bearers of the litter to accompany him to the 
 castle of Fallais. He had little difficulty in consoling 
 Marie for the loss of her destined husband ; nor was it 
 with aversion that she listened to the suit which he 
 preferred. After a short rest at Fallais, he conducted 
 her to the convent of Soliere, and placed her under 
 the care of the abbess, until the celebration of their 
 nuptials ; an event which was deferred for a time by 
 the death of the Sire de Fumal, the victim of intem- 
 perance. 
 
 But the anxieties of the Sire de Fallais and his 
 lovely wife did not end with their marriage. Their 
 happiness and the lady's beauty became the common 
 theme, and at length reached the ears of Henry of 
 Gueldres, whose character closely resembled that of 
 our own Henry the Eighth. He was desirous of 
 satisfying himself if all that was said of her loveliness 
 were true, and if so, of winning her to his will. There 
 was, however, a great difficulty in his obtaining access 
 to the chateau of Fallais, for the Sire Richard was no 
 partisan of his, but belonged to the popular side. He 
 accordingly addressed himself to Philip de Fumal, and 
 won him over by gifts and favours to assist his views. 
 Richard received his suzerain coldly, but the bishop 
 seemed not to notice it ; he soon found that fame had 
 not spoken too highly of the charms of the young 
 chatelaine, and at once acknowledged himself their 
 slave. He frequently made himself the guest of the 
 Sire de Fallais, but was careful, at first, in preventing
 
 TREASON OF HENRY DE GUELDRES. 149 
 
 the motive of his visits from transpiring. One day, 
 however, heated with wine and stimulated by the 
 flatteries of his companions, he made the libertine 
 exploits of his life the subject of boastful discourse, 
 and said enough to put one far less watchful than 
 Kichard de Fallais on his guard. It was, therefore, with 
 deep but dissembled suspicion that he heard the bishop 
 announce to him, shortly afterwards, that he had nomi- 
 nated him provost of the city of Bouillon, where his 
 presence, he said, was immediately necessary, and 
 whither he ordered him to repair on the following day. 
 
 Richard made no reply, but had no intention to 
 obey the mandate, and remained quietly at Fallais. 
 Three days elapsed, and the bishop, thinking the coast 
 was clear, presented himself at the chateau. He was 
 greatly irritated at finding the chatelain still there, and 
 demanded why he had not gone to Bouillon. 
 
 " Instead of going to Bouillon," replied Richard, 
 " know, bishop, that I remain here to take care of my 
 wife. Dissimulate as you may, beau sire, be assured 
 of this, that you will never see her again. Keep your 
 office of provost : I renounce it. I am rich enough to 
 be indifferent to your gifts." 
 
 The bishop, in a furious rage, rode away from 
 Fallais, vowing to God that he would level the walls 
 to the ground. He attempted, indeed, to make good 
 his word, and marched against it with a strong body 
 of troops ; but the people of Huy, who were the fast 
 friends of their Franc-Bourgeois, the Sire Richard, 
 
 M 2
 
 150 DISCOMFITUEE OF THE BISHOP. 
 
 rose at once in his favour, and the bishop was obliged 
 to raise the siege. It was characteristic of the age 
 that when Henry of Gueldres gave orders for breaking 
 up his carnp, the Chatelain de Fallals appeared at 
 one of the windows of his castle, and, leaning out, 
 exclaimed, in a tone of derision, " What, my lord, are 
 you going away, leaving Sire Richard to sing in his 
 cage, beside the fair lady whom you covet so much ? " 
 
 The bishop uttered not a word, but took the road 
 direct to Liege.* 
 
 The Sire de Fallais and Ms wife lived hencefor- 
 ward without molestation. Two sons and a daughter 
 were born to them ; the former sustained then: father's 
 line, the latter finished her days in the cloisters of the 
 abbey of Val Notre Dame. 
 
 We returned to Huy by the paths that cross the 
 table-land above the left bank of the Mehaigue, and, 
 on our way, caught sight of the plain of Dammartin, 
 whereon was fought, in 1325, the great battle between 
 the powerful factions of the Awans and the Waroux, 
 which ended in the complete discomfiture of the latter. 
 It was not a simple feud, but one widely embraced ; 
 for there is not an ancient family in the district of the 
 Hesbaye that had not an ancestor in the field. The 
 leader of the Awans was the redoubtable Chatelain of 
 Warenime, a man of such gigantic bulk, that, when he 
 was encased in his armour, it required the assistance of 
 
 * Chronique de Jean d' Outremeuse.
 
 DE HEMEICOUET AND HIS STEED. 151 
 
 two squires to lift him into his saddle. His friends 
 expressed to him their fear that he was too heavily 
 armed, but De Waremme replied, "Have no fear, for 
 I swear to you, by God and St. George, that since it 
 has required two men to seat me on my good steed 
 Moreal, it shall take at least four to make me get off 
 again :" and this was no idle vaunt, as the events of 
 the day proved. 
 
 Another gigantic warrior who fought for the 
 Awans was the Sire de Hemricourt, an ancestor of 
 the noble chronicler, whom we have had frequent 
 occasion to quote. His strength of limb and mas- 
 siveness of frame were such, that, except his stirrup- 
 leathers broke, it was impossible to unhorse him; and, 
 in confirmation of his prowess, the following story is 
 told : Being engaged as one of fifty knights chosen 
 to fight on the side of the King of Sicily, against an 
 equal party for the King of Arragon, a war-horse was 
 sent to him by the king to ride on the day of battle. 
 But Hemricourt, like the champion of Israel in the 
 choice of his weapons, would not trust his steed till he 
 had tried him. He therefore mounted, and, accom- 
 panied by some friends and attendants, rode out into 
 the country, and, coming to a large lime-tree, he got 
 off his horse, and made his squires fasten the girths as 
 he directed. He then mounted again, and having had 
 his legs tightly fastened to the girths, he seized a thick 
 branch of the tree with his right hand, and drove his 
 spurs into his courser's flanks, but in spite of all its
 
 152 DE HEMRICOURT AND HIS STEED. 
 
 efforts the horse was unable to get away.* Heniri- 
 court, therefore, sent back the animal to the king, 
 saying, that it wanted both strength and courage, and 
 was dull to the spur. The king then sent him another, 
 which he submitted to the same test, and the contest 
 between man and horse was long and violent. At 
 length, owing to the girths and the poitrail breaking, 
 the destrier got away, leaving the knight and his 
 saddle suspended from the tree. This horse the Sire 
 de Hermicourt kept, though an ignominious fate 
 awaited it. When the knight and his associates came 
 to the place appointed for the combat, the Airagonese 
 did not appear, and the King of Sicily, taking advan- 
 tage of the circumstance, meanly required that the 
 horses should all be returned. When the messenger 
 came to De Hemricourt, " What," cried he, " has the 
 king, your master, only lent me this carrion t to defend 
 his honour at the risk of my life, I, who am no sub- 
 ject of his ? Is it thus he shows his gratitude ? By 
 the eyes of God he shall have his present back again, 
 but in such a state that no knight shall ever mount 
 him again with honour!" So saying, he had the 
 horse brought out of the stable, and, with his own 
 hands cutting off his mane and tail, desired the groom 
 to lead him away. 
 
 There were also amongst the knights who fought 
 
 * Mais onkues le dyestrier ne soy pout parter ne le dit suignor de 
 fjrchier ne departir du tilboul." " Miroir des Nobles de la Hesbaye." 
 f " Coronge," charogne.
 
 THE AWAXS AND THE WAROUX. 153 
 
 on the same side, two whom circumstances rendered 
 remarkable these were the Seigneur de Clermont, and 
 the aged Wilkar d'Awans, both of whom were blind, 
 but who, nevertheless, were resolved to share in the 
 common danger. 
 
 An equally strong impulse moved the partisans of 
 the Waroux, for in the ranks of the latter were seen 
 the Sire de St. Servais, who had lost the use of both 
 hands and one foot, and was fastened in his saddle. 
 The Waroux were led by the Sire de Hermalle, the 
 ruins of whose castle are still to be seen on the right 
 bank of the Meuse, a little below Huy. Two hundred 
 and seventy knights and a large body of retainers con- 
 stituted the force of the Awans : the chivalry of the 
 Waroux amounted to three hundred and fifty. 
 
 The two armies were drawn up on the plain of 
 Dammartm, with standards displayed and pennons 
 floating in the air. A deep silence prevailed ; each 
 knight was bareheaded, his helmet hangiig to his 
 saddle-bow until the signal for the fight should be 
 given, when two horsemen were seen spurring across 
 the plain. They rode up hastily between the opposed 
 ranks, and, in the name of the Prince-Bishop of Liege, 
 prohibited the fight, proclaiming what was called a 
 quarantaine, or truce, for forty days. They might as 
 well have cast their proclamation to the winds. It 
 seemed indeed as if this had been the signal expected, 
 for at the sound of the heralds' voices every knight put 
 on his helmet, laid lance in rest, and dashed forward
 
 154 THE BATTLE. 
 
 against the foe. The shock was terrible, and many fell 
 to the ground who never rose again. In the melee 
 that ensued the Sire de Hermalle was slain on one side, 
 and the two brothers of the Chatelain de Waremme 
 on the other. Many more noble knights lost their 
 lives in this fatal fight, which lasted till the close of 
 day, and but for the defection of the lords of Ville and 
 Berloz, who drew off their forces, the issue might have 
 been doubtful ; but the Waroux, weakened by this loss, 
 at length gave way, leaving sixty-five knights dead on 
 the field of battle, besides an uncounted number of 
 manans, " que ne vallaient le parler .'"
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Chateau de Beaufort La Guerre de la Vache Destruction of Beau- 
 fort- Andenne Ancient Inscription Rocks of Samson Tomb of 
 Sybilla of Lusignan Tomb of the Sire de Goumesnie Abbey of 
 Marche les Dames Namur. 
 
 3? HE scenery after leaving Huy increases in 
 beauty ; the features of the country assume 
 a grander character, the heights are loftier 
 and their crests more broken, and the 
 more frequent windings of the Meuse offer 
 greater variety in the landscape. The road now runs on 
 the right bank of the river, and soon passes beneath the
 
 156 THE CHATEAU DE BEAUFORT. 
 
 high rock on which are seen the ruins of the once famous 
 chateau de Beaufort, the cradle of the four illustrious 
 families of Fallais, Goesne, Spontin, andCelles. Beaufort 
 was formerly a stronghold of great importance, as its 
 commanding position and the extent of the walls that 
 still remain sufficiently testify. There are deep, subter- 
 raneous passages below, reaching as far as the Meuse, 
 which were no doubt used for sortie and retreat by the 
 garrison of the castle. In one of these passages is a 
 large hall with seats cut out of the solid rock, where 
 flows a fountain of delicious water. Beyond this point 
 it is dangerous to explore, owing to the foulness of the 
 air which extinguishes the lights. The superstition of 
 the peasants assigns to this impenetrable cavern the 
 abode of the Chevre d' Or. The castle sustained many 
 sieges in its time. The most remarkable was that 
 which it underwent in the course of the memorable war 
 which is known by the name of the " Guerre de la 
 Vache." It originated, as its name implies, in a quarrel 
 for a cow. 
 
 Andenne, which is higher up the Meuse, was a 
 celebrated place for tournaments. In the year 1275 
 a very splendid one was held there, at which were 
 present the Comte de Namur, his brother Godefroid 
 de Courtenay, the Duke of Brabant, the Counts of 
 Luxembourg and of Bar, and a great part of the 
 nobility of the country. 
 
 Amongst the spectators attracted hither was one 
 Rigaud de Corbion, an inhabitant of Ciney, a town in
 
 LA GUERRE DE LA VACHE. 157 
 
 the Condroz, who, seeing a peasant from a neighbour- 
 ing village pass by, leading a cow, which he recog- 
 nised as having been stolen from Ciney on the last 
 market-day, went and informed Jean de Halloy, the 
 high-bailiff of the Condroz, who happened also to be 
 present at the tournament. As Andenne was out of 
 his jurisdiction, he had no present power to arrest the 
 thief; he therefore went to him, and by fair speeches 
 induced him to agree to take back the cow to its 
 owner, promising him faithfully, if he did so, that no 
 harm should happen to him. The peasant trusted to 
 the high-bailiif's word, and set forth with the cow ; but 
 no sooner had he entered the territory of the Condroz 
 than he was arrested, condemned, and hung upon the 
 spot. 
 
 The village of Jallain, to which the unfortunate 
 peasant belonged, formed part of the lordship of the 
 Sire Jean de Goesne, the brother of Henri de Beaufort ; 
 and he, enraged at the duplicity of the high bailiff, and 
 the infraction of his own rights as suzerain, com- 
 plained to Jean d' Enghien, then Prince-Bishop of 
 Liege. The bishop gave him no redress, and Jean de 
 Goesne therefore took the law into his own hands ; and 
 associating with him his brothers of Beaufort and Fal- 
 lais, his cousins the lords of Spontin and Celles, and 
 numerous friends beside, he ravaged the Condroz as 
 far as the gates of Ciney. The Bishop of Liege, irritated 
 at the audacity of his great vassals, raised a large force 
 and invested the chateau of Fallais ; while the people
 
 158 DESTRUCTION OF BEAUFORT. 
 
 of Huy besieged Beaufort, and the Bailiff of the Con- 
 droz attacked and burnt the chateau de Goesne, at 
 Tihange-le-Marets. These proceedings, joined to the 
 appeals which were made to them, induced the Counts 
 of Namur and Luxembourg and the Duke of Brabant 
 to take up arms for the Beauforts, and the war became 
 general. It lasted for three years, in the course of 
 which not less than thirty thousand men lost their 
 lives for the sake of a cow ! 
 
 Peace was at length restored through the interven- 
 tion of Philippe le Hardi. 
 
 The destruction of the chateau de Beaufort oc- 
 curred nearly two centuries later, when, holding out for 
 the Burgundian party, it was surprised by the Hutois, 
 sacked, burnt, and dismantled. * 
 
 Beneath the shadow of woods which thickly clothe 
 the steep sides of the mountains, and beside the mur- 
 muring waters of the Meuse, we continued our course 
 till we reached Andenelle, remarking on the other side 
 of the river the pretty village and shining quarries of 
 Seilles. Andenelle is a hamlet on the Meuse, and 
 about a quarter of a league inland lies Andenne, as 
 famous now for its pipes and pottery, as formerly for 
 its passages of arms, when spears and shields seemed 
 scarcely less fragile. Here stood in ancient days a 
 
 f " Le surprendrent, le bruslerent, et demantelerent, en sorte que 
 1'on voit a present, qui nous fait voir de quelle rage et animosite noz 
 ancestres estoient portez contre leurs ennemis." Melart Hist, de 
 Huy.
 
 ANCIENT INSCRIPTION. 159 
 
 celebrated abbey, founded in 686 by St. Begge, the 
 daughter of Pepin of Landen. The chapter of Andenne 
 was one of those, of which several examples existed in 
 this part of the country, composed of men and women. 
 It consisted of thirty canonesses and ten canons, it 
 being requisite that the ladies should be of noble birth. 
 It was ruled by a provost and an abbess. In 1785 
 the establishment was, by order of the Emperor Joseph 
 the Second, transferred to that of Moustier at Namur. 
 There are no remains now of the ancient abbey, but a 
 singular monument still exists in the faubourg of Hors- 
 Seille, at Andenne. It is called the "Fontaine de 
 rOtirs" where, on a kind of terminus representing the 
 head of a bear, or rather that of a wild-boar, may with 
 difficulty be deciphered the following inscription : 
 
 : BE : tf Etf 1ST : H : JFI1Z : TSajTaiHUEIL : STST : 
 
 ; WM.% . fas ; flUSE : * : a ; 
 
 A league beyond Andenelle is Sclayn, one of the 
 prettiest villages on the Meuse, and here we proceeded 
 on foot, wishing to loiter beneath the magnificent 
 rocks that border the way as far as the ruins of 
 Samson. It is in this pail of the Valley of the Meuse 
 that the peculiar character imparted by the castellated 
 forms of its numerous crags becomes first apparent. 
 Broken into separate masses and standing out in high 
 relief against the clear blue sky, with fissures like 
 " refts of ruin," it is impossible at a distance to dis- 
 tinguish them from the gray walls of feudal times, and 
 the deception is the more natural from the frequent
 
 160 ROCKS OF SAMSON. 
 
 apparition of ruined towers and battlements throughout 
 the valley. At Samson, where the rocks lie scattered 
 in the most picturesque groups, are the remains of one 
 of the oldest castles to be found in the country. It is 
 said by some that the foundations originally supported 
 a temple dedicated to Mercury, the work of the 
 Romans; others assert that the building rose in the 
 time of the early Frankish kings. Its antiquity is, 
 however, indisputable, and as far back as the twelfth 
 century we find that the lordship was hereditary in the 
 family of Lusignan, for in the chapel of the Priory of 
 Nameche, on the opposite side of the Meuse, was 
 formerly to be seen the tomb of Sybilla de Lusignan, 
 the sister of Baldwin the Fourth, King of Jerusalem, 
 and wife of Guy de Lusignan. On the tomb was a 
 female figure carved in blue-stone, in full costume, with 
 a purse at her waist, an antique head-dress (the width 
 of the stone), and a little dog at her feet. Round the 
 edge of the tomb was the following inscription : 
 
 : BE 
 : BE! : 1.KGX3GE : i.1 : K<Dg : BE 
 
 Sybilla died in the castle of Samson, and was 
 buried in the priory at Nameche, but when that 
 building fell into decay in 1C 90, her remains were 
 transferred to the parish church, where the effigy is 
 still to be seen. Another sepulchral monument in the 
 same .chapel attested the hereditary title of Chatelain
 
 MARCHE LES DAMES. 161 
 
 of Samson. It was to the memory of the Sire de 
 Goumesnie, who was represented armed cap-a-pied, 
 with a long sword in his right hand, and his left resting 
 on a shield bearing a cross. The epitaph ran thus : 
 
 : 
 
 : S<Effi<BK : 
 
 aa 
 
 The moon rose before we left Samson, and gave us 
 light enough to trace distinctly the outline of the 
 modern chateau of March e les Dames, at the foot of 
 the high rocks which give so imposing a character to 
 the left bank of the Meuse, below Namur. This build- 
 ing, the property of the Duke d'Aremberg, stands on 
 the site of an old abbey, which was founded by a 
 number of ladies whose husbands had gone to fight for 
 the holy sepulchre. Thither they retired, addicting 
 themselves solely to religious exercises, and offering up 
 constant prayers for the success of the arms of the 
 Christians in Syria. As the church of Notre Dame 
 de Marche was then in a very dilapidated state, these 
 pious ladies built a new church, which was consecrated 
 on the 17th of January, 1103, by the suffragan of 
 Liege, in presence of Godefroid, Count of Namur, the 
 Comte de Nameche, and other knights and nobles. 
 
 * This epitaph is preserved in the chronicle of Paul de Croonen- 
 dael, in the "Monuments pour Servir a 1' Histoire des Provinces de 
 Namur, de Hainaut, et de Luxembourg," par le Baron de Reiffenberg. 
 Brussels, 1844. 
 
 N 2
 
 162 XAMUB. 
 
 Several of the ladies were afterwards happily reunited 
 to their husbands, on their safe return from the Holy 
 Land ; but the widows of those who died for the Cross 
 remained faithful to their resolve of secluding them- 
 selves from the world, and passed the rest of their 
 days in the abbey. It was not until the year 1440 
 that it was expressly dedicated to a religious com- 
 munity, when the nuns of the order of Citeaux were 
 formally installed at Marche les Dames, which owes 
 its name to the motive which prompted its founders. 
 
 It was nearly midnight when, after passing through 
 the faubourg of Jambes, we crossed the bridge at 
 Namur, immediately under the walls of the citadel, 
 and drove to the Hotel de Harscamp.
 
 Nanrur The Blancq' Klocq' 
 View on the Sambre The Stilt- 
 Fighters The Melans and the 
 Avresses The Field of Battle 
 fhe Canon of St. Aubain Poem 
 on Stilt-Fighting Rules of the 
 Combat The Brigades Edicts 
 against the Stilters Revival of 
 the Games -The last Fight Re- 
 newed Prohibition Attempts at 
 Revival The Bleus and Nan- 
 kinets The last Exhibition. 
 
 HE situation of Namur, at I 
 the confluence of the Meuse \ 
 and Sambre, is very fine; * 
 but the city itself does not contain much that is 
 attractive, at least for those who visit Belgium 
 in the expectation of meeting everywhere with fine 
 pictures and quaint architecture. It once boasted a
 
 164 THE BLANCQ' KLOCQ'. 
 
 noble Gothic cathedral, dedicated to Our Lady ; 
 but this last vestige of antiquity falling into decay, 
 was demolished, and the church of St. Aubain, re- 
 built in 1767, was raised to the dignity of metro- 
 politan. The period at which it was erected says 
 quite enough to account for the absence of all in- 
 terest in examining its architecture; but it contains 
 one object that claims attention, a slab of marble 
 behind the high altar, beneath which is deposited the 
 heart of Don John of Austria, the hero of Lepanto. 
 There is also a fine mausoleum, erected to the memory 
 of Bishop Pisani de la Gaude, the work of one of the 
 most distinguished amongst Belgian sculptors, Par- 
 mentier of Ghent. The church of St. Loup, built by 
 the Jesuits, is, like all the edifices erected by them, 
 profusely decorated with various-coloured marbles of 
 very elaborate workmanship : it also contains some 
 very bad pictures. The collegiate church of St. Peter 
 was once amongst the finest buildings in Namur; but 
 this, too, was destroyed about a century since, when the 
 French bombarded the city. The church was burnt; 
 and, with other objects that perished at the same time, 
 was a famous bell, called in Walloon the Blancq Klocq. 
 This bell, which contained a great deal of silver, was 
 cited for twenty leagues round as the best toned 
 throughout the provinces ; and the inhabitants - of 
 Namur held it in such veneration, that they made 
 relics of its fragments. It bore the following inscrip- 
 tion: " Quand je sonne je fais trembler le cceur de
 
 THE STILT-FIGHTERS. 165 
 
 1'homme," signifying that it always tolled at public 
 executions. 
 
 There is one part of Namur which still has an air 
 of antiquity, and is certainly picturesque, the part 
 seen from the bridge which crosses the Sambre, where 
 the numerous balconies and conservatories that over- 
 hang the river, and a mill-race somewhat higher up, 
 produce a very pleasing effect. The distant citadel, 
 that crowns the height above Namur, is also seen from 
 this point, and adds greatly to the beauty of the view. 
 
 But, if the city contain little that is ancient, and 
 if its general history be comparatively deficient in 
 interest, one local peculiarity which formerly distin- 
 guished it, renders a somewhat lengthened detail not 
 inadmissible. The use of stilts, as a general custom, is 
 commonly supposed to have been confined to the wide 
 sandy plains of the Landes, between the Garonne and 
 the Adour, but they have for centuries enjoyed a far 
 greater celebrity at Namur. The frequent inundations of 
 the Meuse and Sarnbre, which formerly used to flood the 
 whole city, led, doubtless, in the first instance, to their 
 employment ; but that which was originally a necessity, 
 became, in the course of time, an amusement, and one 
 that developed singular features. As far back as the 
 eleventh century may be traced the existence of games 
 on stilts ; these games gradually assumed a party cha- 
 racter, and the players finally resolved themselves into 
 distinct bodies, ready at all times to do battle against 
 each other, even to the peril of life and limb. They
 
 166 THE MELANS AND THE AVRESSES. 
 
 were known as the contending factions of the Melans 
 and the Avresses, the former representing the old 
 town, as it existed before its third extension at the 
 commencement of the fifteenth century ; and the latter, 
 the faubourgs of Namur and the parts subsequently 
 added. They wore distinguishing colours, those of the 
 Melans being yellow and black, the blazon of the 
 house of Flanders; and those of the Avresses, red and 
 white, the colours of the shield of Catharine of Savoy, 
 the mother of Count William the Second, during 
 whose reign the city was extended. Each party had 
 its banner borne by an officer, called the Alfer* whose 
 duty it was to display it from the Hotel de Yille, 
 during the heat of the contest, encouraging the com- 
 batants by their cries, and not unfrequently descending 
 to the arena to share the dangers of the fight. 
 
 These combats were conducted with great formality 
 whenever a sovereign or other great personage honoured 
 the city with his presence. The market-place of St. 
 Kemy was usually selected as the champ-clos, and 
 there the opposing brigades assembled to the number 
 of from fifty to a hundred each, besides those who were 
 called Souteneurs, who came into the field to aid their 
 comrades in case of accident, and when disabled to 
 
 * Some antiquarians contend that the word Al-fer is derived from 
 the Latin, Aquila-ferens, bearing the eagle, the eld Roman standard. 
 But, admitting this interpretation of the origin of the word, it is more 
 probable that the people of Namur adopted it during the rule of the 
 Spaniards, than inherited it from the remote domination of the Romans, 
 Alfertz signifying, in Spanish, an ensign.
 
 THE FIELD OF BATTLE. 167 
 
 supply their places. These bodies were regularly mar- 
 shalled under proper officers, and there being frequently 
 as many as twelve brigades on each side, the number 
 of combatants amounted sometimes to nearly two 
 thousand. Few spectacles could have been more 
 animated than those which were presented in Namur, 
 when these conflicts took place : the whole of the 
 population were present, every window, roof, and 
 " coign of vantage," was filled with eager spectators ; 
 and amidst the ranks of the stilted warriors might be 
 seen the wives and daughters of the combatants 
 stimulating their husbands, sons, and lovers by their 
 reproaches and exhortations, and giving effect to the 
 stimulus by administering the refreshment of strong 
 waters. It was, in short, a scene of universal excite- 
 ment, and its influence over the minds of those who 
 shared in it was so great, that, as an instance, a story 
 is yet remembered in Namur, of a certain canon of 
 St. Aubain, who, leaving the field of battle for the 
 cathedral, was so impressed with all he had heard and 
 seen, that for every amen and oremus which he should 
 have uttered, he substituted the war-cries of "Melans" 
 and "Avresses." 
 
 The struggle usually lasted for some hours, until, 
 at length, worn with fatigue, one party declared itself 
 vanquished. The victors then in token of their 
 triumph, did what was technically termed "lever 
 I'echasse," that is to say, hopped upon one stilt while 
 they held the other in their right hands, the drums and
 
 168 RULES OF THE COMBAT. 
 
 fifes struck up a merry tune, and the troops marched off 
 in as regular order as the casualties of the fight per- 
 mitted. 
 
 A long account of one of these battles is to be 
 found in a poem published anonymously in 1669, but 
 presumed to be by the Baron de Walef, a Liegeois poet 
 of some merit, bearing the title of "Les Echasses," 
 where we read that, 
 
 " Sur des batons ferrez des hommes vigoureux 
 Surpassent les geans des siecles fabuleux." 
 
 The interest of such a poem is, however, purely local, 
 though the "moving accidents" of the field are 
 vigorously while circumstantially told. 
 
 Like the jousts and tournaments of the middle ages, 
 the combats on stilts were regulated by fixed laws, any 
 departure from which was visited by severe censure. 
 Thus, in endeavouring to dismount an antagonist it 
 was only permitted to strike with the elbow, and fitter, 
 or strike, with the foot of the stilt against the same 
 part of the adversary's prop. But however loyally the 
 game might be played the risks were many, and broken 
 ribs, that "sport for ladies" in the forest of Arden, 
 were frequently the consequence of the heavy falls 
 which the combatants suffered. Sometimes, when 
 unusually excited, a general cry arose for what was 
 termed the boute-a-tot, a word that signifies a duel 
 a I' outrance, when the struggle became one of life and 
 death, it being then allowable to strike at will with 
 hand or foot or stilt : or recourse was had to what was
 
 THE BRIGADES. 169 
 
 called " dormant I' avion" a mode of attack of the most 
 formidable kind, which consisted in charging with the 
 stilt in a horizontal position, and overthrowing all that 
 came in the way. 
 
 Several amongst the bodies of the trades gave their 
 names to the brigades to which they belonged. Thus, 
 amongst the Melans were found the brigades of the 
 street-porters, the butchers, the boatmen, the lawyers, 
 (called " de la Plume") and the brewers, who were 
 commonly designated " la Maison du Eoi," in conse- 
 quence of then 1 occupying the post of honour and wear- 
 ing the richest habiliments ; it was hinted, by-the-bye, 
 that these gay brewers preferred fine clothes to hard 
 blows. Certain streets also furnished their respective 
 quotas to the Melans : the Hue de la Croix sent forth 
 the brigade of Soubise ; the Eue du Pont-Spailard, that 
 of the Prince de Ligne ; and the square of the Pied du 
 Chateau, and the neighbouring quarter, the brigade of 
 the Black Grenadiers. Many of the costumes were 
 very splendid : the Maison du Hoi wore round hats 
 with plumes of white feathers and breeches of red satin, 
 and their leaders were decorated with scarfs of gold or 
 silver tissue ; the butchers wore a fur cap ; and the 
 brigade of Soubise, a tin helmet, adorned with a red 
 grenade. 
 
 On the other side, the Avresses recruited their 
 brigades amongst the brickrnakers, the tanners, the 
 stone-cutters, the wood-cutters, and others, whose occu- 
 pations belonged to the suburbs or were pursued outside
 
 170 EDICTS AGAINST THE STILTERS. 
 
 the city. The tanners wore white breeches and waist- 
 coats and long red stockings called hozettes ; the Mon- 
 tagnards, amongst whom were the wood-cutters, c., 
 appeared in a costume in which the colours of the 
 Scottish plaid were conspicuous ; and the brigade of 
 Yedrin added to the gaiety of their apparel a magnifi- 
 cent white banner, on which was figured the image of a 
 cow, in all probability a memorial of the famous Guerre 
 de la Vache. There was still another brigade, dis- 
 tinguished less for its costume than its value on the 
 day of battle. It was composed of veterans, who were 
 kept in reserve for important occasions, like Cromwell s 
 Ironsides, or Napoleon's Old Guard ; they were called 
 the Kacasseux. 
 
 These details may serve to show how completely 
 the sport of stilting was identified with the inhabitants 
 of Namur ; indeed, there was not a single citizen whose 
 name was not enrolled in some brigade ; the first 
 tiling a boy was taught was how to go on stilts, and in 
 every house were several pair of different dimensions 
 suitable to all ages. 
 
 A sport so exciting as stilting, which kept, as it 
 were, an organised body of citizens always on foot, 
 ready, if need were, to turn their skill to then* own 
 proper account, in opposition to authority, was of a 
 nature to create mistrust and jealousy in the minds of 
 rulers who followed the system of Spanish or Austrian 
 policy; and accordingly we find that, during the 
 eighteenth century, the magistrates of Namur exerted
 
 EDICTS AGAINST THE STILTEBS. I'll 
 
 themselves to the utmost to bring the custom of stilt- 
 ing into disrepute. In 1732, a blow was aimed at it, 
 in an edict prohibiting the spectators from mingling 
 with the combatants, under the pretext that " the dis- 
 orders which arose on these occasions proceeded, for 
 the most part, from the indiscreet zeal of quarrelsome 
 men, who threw themselves amongst the ranks of the 
 stilters, inciting them to violence by insults and blows." 
 A few years afterwards, an edict of the 17th of Decem- 
 ber, 1755, interdicted the stilters from assembling in 
 the market-place of St. Remy, and limited them to the 
 Place Lillon, with a prohibition against passing the 
 refuge of Floreffe ; at the same time the amusement 
 was licensed but from the Epiphany till Ash- Wednes- 
 day, and then only after the hours of Divine service. 
 Those who infringed this decree were threatened with 
 being seized and taken at once to prison, without any 
 other form of process, and subjected, moreover, to the 
 penalty of a fine of three florins. The military 
 governor of Narnur, a certain Baron de Schwartzeri- 
 burg, whose representations had led to this decree, on 
 his part threatened to fire upon the stilters, if they 
 assembled in front of the guard-houses. Another 
 decree of the ] 7th of February, in the following year, 
 revoked the verbal permission that had been given for 
 a general combat in the Place Lillon at the approach- 
 ing carnival, " to prevent the consequences which 
 might arise from dissensions and quarrels." 
 
 Not content with these regulations, the magistracy
 
 172 EDICTS AGAIXST THE STILTER3. 
 
 took other steps, less direct but not less to the purpose. 
 A decree of the 20th of August, 1756, revoked the 
 privilege granted by the Archduke Albert, of admitting 
 beer and other liquors free of duty to the stilt-fighters.* 
 But it was difficult to extirpate a custom that had 
 taken so deep a hold, and the decree of 1755 was so 
 frequently disobeyed, that, in 17G6, severer enact- 
 ments were ordained, suspending all stilt-fighting what- 
 ever throughout the year, the pretext for which was the 
 recent death of the Emperor Francis the First. This 
 prohibition was renewed every year, until, on the 9th 
 of February, 1796, a final decree appeared, which was 
 thus worded : " The mayor and municipal authorities 
 of Namur having been informed that, preparatory to 
 die stilt-fight in which the Melans and Avr esses were 
 about to engage on Sunday last, in the Place de Gra- 
 vieres, differences of opinions and quarrels arose, which 
 reached such a pitch that they led to serious disorders, 
 in which many were hurt, and the lives of several 
 endangered; have, therefore, in order to prevent the 
 recurrence of similar acts, decreed, that in future no 
 
 * The Governor of Namur having learnt that the Archduke Albert, 
 newly arrived in the Low Countries, was about to visit the city, sent a 
 message to inform him, that, on his approaching Namur, he should 
 dispatch to meet him two troops of combatants, who, being neither on 
 foot nor on horseback, would yet display a mode of fighting which he 
 trusted would interest the Prince. Albert was so highly gratified 
 with the exhibition that he a>ked the stilt-fighters what privilege 
 they desired to have granted, and learning their wishes, he forthwith 
 exempted them from the payment of the duty upon all liquors con- 
 sumed at their exercises.
 
 REVIVAL OF THE GAME?. 173 
 
 Melans or Avresses, whether in the city or without, 
 nor any other person of what quality or condition 
 soever, shall fight, or even mount, on stilts, or appear 
 in them at any time whatever in any part of the city, 
 unless such combats be duly authorised by the muni- 
 cipality, under pain of being immediately apprehended 
 and taken to prison, to be kept there on bread and 
 water for the space of six weeks; revoking to this 
 effect all former edicts which may have permitted, at 
 certain seasons of the year, the indulgence in combats 
 of this nature." 
 
 Such was the condition of the latest enactments 
 against stilt-fighting in Namur at the period of the 
 arrival, in 1774, of the Archduke Maximilian, when, 
 to do honour to the prince, it was proposed to enter- 
 tain him with the spectacle of one of these combats. 
 Many difficulties arose to prevent its accomplishment, 
 but they were finally overcome, and full permission 
 was obtained for the celebration of the stilt-fight, the 
 last that is worthy of the name. 
 
 The Place St. Aubain, in front of the cathedral, was 
 once more selected for the exhibition, and some hun- 
 dreds of cart-loads of sand were strewed upon the pave- 
 ment to soften the violence of a fall. A large semi- 
 circular enclosure was formed with posts and ropes, and 
 two companies guarded the entrance. The archduke, 
 travelling under the title of the Count of Burgaw, had 
 arrived in Narnur the evening before the combat, and 
 
 had been met at the extremity of the faubourg by the 
 
 o 2
 
 174 THE LAST FIGHT. 
 
 magistracy of Nanmr, accompanied by the brigades of 
 stilters. On the following day, the 31st of May, 1774, 
 after having visited the fortifications, and dined at the 
 palace of the governor, the Prince de Gavre, he pro- 
 ceeded with his suite to the palace of the bishop, where, 
 from the broad balcony that overlooked the square, a 
 perfect view of the mimic field of battle was obtained. 
 
 The Melans, who had assembled their forces in the 
 Place St. Remy, were the first to arrive, and entered 
 the arena by the lower part of the Place St. Aubain ; 
 the Avresses, whose muster had been made in the 
 Place Lillon, soon made their appearance at the oppo- 
 site side of the square. Both bodies marched in 
 regular order, preceded by drums and fifes, and every 
 man proudly carried his stilts over his shoulder, while 
 on the flanks capered a number of hobby-horses, whose 
 business it was to keep off the crowd. At five o'clock 
 in the afternoon of a splendid day the ceremony began. 
 
 As soon as the contending parties had entered the 
 camp, the order was given for mounting, arid after 
 having defiled before the archduke, each side prepared 
 to do its devoir. 
 
 The Melans were drawn up on the left hand in two 
 lines ; the first was composed of the brigades of the 
 captain, the volunteers of Gavre, the brewers and the 
 boatmen ; the second of those of the porters, the men 
 of the pen,* advocates, notaries, &c., the butchers, and 
 
 * "La Plume."
 
 THE LAST FIGHT. 175 
 
 the guards. The brigades of the hussars, placed on the 
 left flank of the two lines, formed the reserve. The 
 AvresseS) more numerous, were disposed in three lines 
 the brigades of the captain, of the hussars of Wepion, 
 and La Plante were in the first line ; those of St. Croix, 
 of Astalle, and the stone-hewers, formed the second; and 
 the third consisted of the mountaineers, the tanners, 
 the cuirassiers, and the commune of Jambes, on the 
 other side of the Meuse. The porters and tanners, 
 who constituted the elite of each force, were posted 
 in the last line. 
 
 On a signal being made by the governor the 
 battle began, the foremost lines advancing with slow 
 and steady pace to the attack ; and soon the arena 
 resounded with the rattling weapons of the combat- 
 ants, and many a " tall fellow " measured his length 
 on the sandy plain. The fortune of the day was 
 . various ; sometimes the party of the Melans, headed 
 by their valourous chief Castaigne, seemed to be car- 
 rying all before them ; anon, the Am -esses would rally, 
 and, led to the charge by their captain, Godinne, 
 drove back their impetuous assailants. It was not 
 long before the sustaining lines joined in the affray, 
 and the reserve, disdaining to be idle, made the nielay 
 general. The struggle was long and fierce ; and in 
 the moment of excitement many a voice was raised 
 for the Boute-d-tot; but the leaders, fearing the con- 
 sequence in the presence of the archduke, refused to 
 give the word, and the fight was therefore marked
 
 1T6 THE LAST FIGHT. 
 
 by no more fatal consequences than distinguished 
 those " gentle passages of arms," where fractured col- 
 lar-bones and broken legs and arms rewarded the 
 exertions of the adventurous knights of old. The 
 battle lasted for two hours, and then the Melans, whose 
 lines were completely broken, whose reserve had been 
 put to flight, and whose best champions had fallen 
 before the "clanging blows" of their adversaries, were 
 compelled to yield to the superior numbers of the 
 Avr esses. The stilt was raised, the drums and fifes 
 joined in a martial strain, and the colours of Catherine 
 of Savoy waved triumphantly over the field. 
 
 When the stilt-fight was over, the prince was en- 
 tertained by the now obsolete amusements of the Dame 
 des Machabees and the Jeu des Anguilles, games 
 always highly popular in Namur, and which seemed to 
 amuse the archduke mightily ; in the evening a grand 
 masquerade, given by the Prince de Gavre, at which 
 all the notabilities and many of the stilters were pre- 
 sent, closed the entertainments of the day. It was one 
 memorable in the annals of Narnur, for it witnessed the 
 downfall of an amusement that had subsisted for cen- 
 turies. The prohibitive enactments were renewed, the 
 allowance which the stilt-fighters had been in the habit 
 of receiving was withheld, and their number fell ofl' 
 greatly, so that in a few years little remained but the 
 name of an amusement that had once been part of the 
 existence of the Namurois. 
 
 Two attempts were made at subsequent periods to
 
 THE NANKINETS AND BLEUS. 177 
 
 revive the games on particular occasions, but they 
 proved comparative failures ; for when once the na- 
 tionality of a custom is destroyed, its revival can be but 
 for an hour. 
 
 The first of these efforts was on the arrival in 
 Namur, on the 3rd of August, 1803, of Napoleon, at 
 that time first consul. But there was a striking dif- 
 ference between this exhibition and that of the thirty 
 years previous. Instead of the numerous brigades 
 which, then defiled through the streets, it was now 
 scarcely possible to muster even three. The old de- 
 nominations of M elans and Avr esses were lost, and the 
 two parties were represented only by the porters and 
 tanners, who called themselves Nankinets and Bleus ; 
 the first from the stuff of which their dress consisted, 
 and the last from the colour of their garments. The 
 whole number of combatants did not exceed a hundred 
 and fifty men, exclusive of the reserve of the hussars, 
 who, to render the sides equal, were divided into two 
 bodies. But the battle was not fought fairly; old 
 prejudices awoke, and the hussars, who had been made 
 Bleus against their inclination, joined the ranks of the 
 Natikinets, who thus gained the day. The world's 
 great master might in this slight incident have beheld, 
 foreshadowed, the event which led to his first great 
 defeat in the land of his former triumphs. At a later 
 period of the day, the Bleus, burning to avenge the 
 treachery by which they had suffered, attacked their 
 adversaries in a part of the town called the Quatre
 
 178 THE LAST EXHIBITION. 
 
 Coins, and, asking no permission, assailed them with 
 the Boute-a-tot ; nor was it till the military interfered, 
 that the combatants, after sustaining much personal 
 injury, were separated. 
 
 The second and last public exhibition took place 
 on the 26th of September, 1814, to celebrate the return 
 of Wilharn of Nassau to his hereditary dominions ; but 
 it proved but the ghost of former games. Few in 
 number, and unsupported by popular enthusiasm, the 
 stilt-fighters exhibited their art with as little advantage 
 as the tilters of a more recent day ; and the arena was 
 never again opened. 
 
 The use of stilts is not, however, forgotten by the 
 Narnurois ; at fairs and village festivals groups of half 
 a dozen may still occasionally be seen amusing the 
 crowd with their antics, and sometimes, though rarely, 
 engaging in single combat
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 ^V - - 
 
 Namur and Dmant Beauty of the ^'JX 
 Valley Forest of Marlagne Convent 5 
 of Bare-footed Carmelites Chateaux , 
 and Villages Luatin Profondeville *** 
 Burnot Riviere Bouillon The 
 Adventure of Jehan Cornu The 
 Valley of the Bocq Intermittent 
 Spring Chateau de Poiivache 
 Crevecceur and Bouvignes '-? 
 Siege of Bouvigues The three 
 Ladies of Creveccsur Their heroic 
 death Masses for their souls Dinaut. 
 
 ;, 
 
 traveller should leave Namur without 
 ascending to the citadel, from whence the 
 view is superb beyond description. The 
 toil of climbing to the battlements, even 
 in the hottest weather, is well repaid ; for wherever the 
 eye turns, it rests upon the loveliest scenery imaginable. 
 Northward, the Meuse extends its glittering waters till 
 they are lost beneath the grey rocks of Marche les 
 Dames ; to the west, lie the fertile plains of Brabant 
 and the Hesbaye ; to the east, the Condroz, the gra- 
 nary of Belgium, and frontier of the Ardennes; and 
 turning to the south, appears the district of "Entre 
 Sambre et Meuse," rich in mineral wealth, and covered
 
 180 BEAUTY OF THE VALLEY. 
 
 with waving forests. In this direction the view is 
 closed by the high promontories of the upper valley, 
 which reveals just beauty enough to stimulate the desire 
 for more. However beautiful the Valley of the Meuse 
 below Namur, it falls far short of the part between 
 Namur and Dinant. 
 
 The navigation of the river is practicable only for 
 the long flat-bottomed barques that are towed against 
 the stream ; for the attempt that was made two years 
 ago to run a steamer to Dinant, proved a failure, 
 owing to the shallows and accidents of the current. 
 But there is little lost in being compelled to journey 
 by land, for the road follows closely every winding of 
 the river, being seldom distant from it more than a 
 hundred yards, and in many places running by the 
 very margin. The scenery is, on both banks, an 
 alternation of richly-wooded heights, cultivated to their 
 base, with massive grey rocks that assume the most 
 picturesque forms, and sometimes rise perpendicularly 
 over the valley to. the height of two or three hundred 
 feet. The Meuse is here a broad and rapid stream, 
 resembling, in the volume of its waters, the Moselle 
 rather than the Rhine, but losing nothing by com- 
 parison with either river, though marked by different 
 characteristics. Its combinations are full of beauty, 
 and it lacks neither history nor tradition to impart to 
 it a permanent interest. 
 
 The pretty village of Wepion was the first place 
 that arrested our attention, lying sheltered beneath the
 
 THE FOREST OF MARLAGNE. 181 
 
 steep slopes that form on this side the boundaries of 
 the ancient forest of Marlagne. This forest has been 
 celebrated since the earliest ages of Christianity as the 
 chosen abode of saints and hermits, who led a life of 
 austerity in its wild recesses ; but the dwellings of these 
 solitary men have all disappeared, with the exception 
 of the hermitage of St. Hubert below Namur, which is 
 much visited by the curious, not only on account of the 
 beauty of the situation, but the remains of its Gothic 
 architecture. 
 
 In the year 1615, the Archduke Albert and the 
 Infanta Isabella, desirous of leaving a monument of 
 their piety in this part of the country, made a grant of 
 a large tract of ground in the forest of Marlagne, for 
 the purpose of forming a permanent establishment of 
 barefooted Carmelites; but it was not appropriated 
 until two or three years afterwards, when the Provincial 
 of the Low Countries, the reverend father, Thomas de 
 Jesus, a Spaniard, desirous of gratifying his passion 
 for solitude, obtained not only the direction of the 
 grant but other endowments from Albert and Isabella, 
 who themselves laid the first stone of the church. 
 The monastery was soon built and peopled with Car- 
 melites, who, up to the period when Galliot, the his- 
 torian of Namur, wrote, continued to lead a life of 
 austerity ; but after the French Revolution they were 
 heard of no more. 
 
 A little beyond Wepion, the road runs through 
 orchards of walnut-trees and gardens of the richest
 
 182 CHATEAUX AND VILLAGES. 
 
 produce, beside the chateau of Folz, and on the 
 opposite side of the Meuse is seen the chateau of 
 Dave, an ancient feudal memoir, of whose former 
 authority one monument still exists in the old pillory 
 that stands before the gates A succession of villages 
 and chateaux follow, each rivalling the other in pic- 
 turesqueness of situation : Lustin, which stands on 
 the right bank, on a distant height ; Profondeville, 
 lying in a deep valley in front, where the river makes 
 a sudden bend ; Burnot and Riviere, at the mouth of 
 a swift stream, which in its course turns the wheels 
 of numerous iron forges ; and the chateau of Rouill on, 
 from whose grey, crumbling walls may have been wit- 
 nessed the remarkable adventure which is said to have 
 occurred beneath them, the account of which I trans- 
 late from the old black-letter authority : * 
 
 " A.D. 1188. Of an adventure which befel Jehan 
 Cornu, knight, and cousin of Count Baldwin, of 
 Hainault. Of a very bold enterprise which he under- 
 took on the Meuse. 
 
 " Certes, it must not be forgotten how Messire 
 Tehan Cornu, all armed and mounted on his horse, 
 leaped from the banks of the River Meuse into a 
 boat, where he defeated several men-at-arms, who had 
 been lying in ambuscade for him on his return to 
 Namur from the siege of Bovines. 
 
 * " Crpniques et Annalles de Haynnau, par Maistre Jacques de 
 Guise ;" one of those rare and curious volumes printed by the famous 
 Galliot du Pre, at Paris, in Io31.
 
 ADVENTURE OF JEHAN COBNU. 183 
 
 " One day, the Count of Hainault being before the 
 town of Bovines, to which he was laying siege, and 
 Messire Jehan Cornu at Namur, to defend that city 
 for my lord the count, it happened that the count 
 having occasion for him, sent a message requiring 
 his presence, in consequence of which Messire Jehan 
 set out for Bovines, accompanied only by two knights, 
 and seven servants, well armed. And when he had 
 performed the count's bidding, he returned towards 
 Namur. Now, it chanced that some of the followers 
 of the Count of Namur, about forty in number, strong 
 and well appointed men-at arms, resolved to lie in am- 
 bush for the said Cornu, and some amongst them took 
 a boat, by means of which they passed the river Meuse, 
 and concealed themselves in a narrow way by which 
 the said Cornu was obliged to pass. The brave 
 knight, who was riding greatly in advance of his 
 company, no sooner perceived them than, knowing 
 he could not avoid their attack, he determined at 
 once to assail them, and, galloping forward, charged 
 them so fiercely, that they all took flight, and made 
 towards their boat. 
 
 " Now the said Messire Jehan Cornu, who with great 
 eagerness followed them, as soon as he reached the 
 brink of the river, drove his spurs so deeply in his 
 horse's sides that he made him at once leap into the 
 boat, and came down so heavily into it that it sank, 
 and several of the men in it were drowned, while the 
 others tried to save their lives by swimming. But the
 
 184 THE VALLEY OF THE BOCQ. 
 
 said Messire Jehan being still on horseback swimming 
 amongst them in the midst of the river, slew one of them, 
 and took another prisoner, whom he dragged out of the 
 water with him, without himself receiving any harm or 
 accident. For which thing and hardy enterprise he 
 was much loved and feared by all men, and also praised 
 and honoured." 
 
 After passing Riviere, where the Meuse suddenly 
 turns again, sweeping past the chateau of Godinne on 
 the right bank, and the village of Annevoye on the left, 
 the shining rocks of Yvoir come in view, whose bare, 
 precipitous clefts offer a striking contrast to the rich 
 gardens and woods of the modern chateau of Hun, 
 beyond which they rise. Yvoir is a very ancient village 
 at the mouth of the little river Bocq, a narrow but deep 
 and rapid stream, which in its course from the lakes 
 of Champ de Bois in the Condroz, turns the wheels of 
 many forges. The gorge through which it runs is ex- 
 tremely picturesque, the mountain sides now rising 
 perpendicularly in abrupt masses of dark grey rock, 
 and then throwing out broad sweeping curves, feathered 
 to the summit with the lightest and most graceful 
 foliage. The valley that lies between is sometimes so 
 narrow as to afford little more than room for the stream 
 and the path beside it, and then, the hills receding, 
 wide meadows spread themselves out, whose brilliancy 
 is heightened by the profusion of lilac crocuses which 
 cover them. About three miles up the valley, in a 
 narrow strip of meadow land, the landmark to guide
 
 INTERMITTENT SPRING. 185 
 
 to it being an enormous conical rock in the wood 
 above, exists, what a few years since was known as an 
 intermittent fountain, which rose and fell every seven 
 minutes ; but the curiosity of the peasants, who have 
 choked it up by the number of things they threw into 
 it, has destroyed its properties, and the water now has 
 ceased to flow at all. It was with difficulty we found 
 the spot, and when found there was nothing worth 
 seeing : but the walk up the valley would compensate 
 for any trouble. 
 
 At Moulin, from whence we crossed the Meuse 
 on our search, in a ferryboat which is propelled by a 
 rope extended above the river, are now several copper 
 and brass works and iron forges, where once stood an 
 abbey, founded in 1231, for nuns of the order of 
 Citeaux, and richly endowed by Baldwin de Courtenay, 
 Count of Narnur and Emperor of Constantinople. 
 About half a mile further, the valley opens : in front 
 are seen the broad plains of Anhee, one mass of golden 
 grain; beyond them the distant church of Senenne 
 and the ridge of Haut le Wastia ; and, a little to the 
 left, the winding Meuse, flowing beneath the towering 
 heights of Poilvache, whose widely spread ruins cut the 
 sky with then: clear dark outline. Poilvache is so 
 closely connected with the history and traditions of 
 the Meuse, that I shall reserve a description of it till 
 a later period, when it became the object of a separate 
 excursion. The high land, which had receded near 
 Moulin to form the wide basin of Anhee, closes again 
 
 p 2
 
 186 BOUTIGXES. 
 
 upon the river about half a league further on, and the 
 road runs beneath a wall of naked rock on the left 
 bank of the Meuse ; while, on the opposite side, the 
 valley and heights of Bloquemont and Barcq are cul- 
 tivated as far as the eye can reach. The river flows 
 here in a deep but narrow channel, but widens higher 
 up, where its course is broken by several islands. At a 
 little wayside chapel, built beneath a lofty rock and 
 dedicated to the sufferings of our Lord, with this in- 
 scription, " Passant considerez les douleurs que j' ay 
 souffert," we first caught sight of the ruins of the 
 chateau de Crevecoeur, and the town of Bouvignes, 
 sheltered below it. There are few sites more pictu- 
 resque than that of these old ruins, and their history is 
 full of interest. 
 
 The castle, of which these shattered walls are the 
 only remains, was built in the year 1320, and the name 
 it still bears was given it as a taunt and defiance to the 
 people of Dinant, the mortal enemies of those of Bou- 
 vignes, who the following year retorted by the erection 
 of the castle of Montorgueil. Crevecceur was not how- 
 ever the only defence of Bouvignes, for two centuries 
 before a strong castle had been built to protect the 
 town by Godefroid, Comte de Naniur ; and it was more- 
 over surrounded by walls and towers, but of these only 
 a few shapeless buttresses exist. Bouvignes itself, once 
 so flourishing, consists now of little more than a single 
 street ; it was formerly the dreaded rival of Dinant, 
 and thek mutual hatred, which had endured for cen-
 
 THE CHATEAU DE CREVECffiUR. 187 
 
 times, led the way to their mutual ruin. After sus- 
 taining many sieges and rude assaults, and keeping its 
 enemies both far and near at bay, the day of destruc- 
 tion at length arrived, in the war between Henry the 
 Second, of France and the Emperor Charles the Fifth. 
 Henry having assembled a powerful army on the 
 Meuse, a strong body commanded by the Duke de 
 Nevers, approached Bouvignes about the middle of 
 June, 1554. The terror of the inhabitants was great, 
 when they saw themselves surrounded by so formid- 
 able a force ; they decided, however, upon a vigorous 
 resistance. But all their bravery was ineffectual ; they 
 were compelled to yield to numbers and the heavy 
 fire which was poured on them for several successive 
 days. On the 30th of June the French effected an 
 entrance into the town, and the defenders took refuge, 
 some in the castle of Bouvignes, others in that of 
 Crevecoeur. But the former were soon obliged to sur- 
 render, and Crevecceur alone was left with its banners 
 flying. 
 
 It is to this period in the annals of Bouvignes 
 that the romantic story is attached, which has immor- 
 talised the three heroines of Crevecceur. 
 
 Amongst the brave men who had thrown them- 
 selves into the castle to defend it, were three of the 
 most distinguished knights in all the country. Their 
 wives, young and beautiful, determined to share their 
 husbands' danger, took refuge with them, and contri- 
 buted in no slight degree to encourage the garrison,
 
 188 THE THREE LADIES OF CREVECffiUR. 
 
 both by word and deed. They were seen on the ram- 
 parts, fighting beside their husbands, tending the 
 wounded and dying, and aiding in repairing the battered 
 walls of the castle, unflinching beneath the heaviest 
 fire. Even when their husbands had fallen they 
 " shed no ill-timed tear," but courageously maintained 
 the defence ; and having now no hope but in a glorious 
 death, fought on with desperation, rivalling the bravest 
 men around them. One by one of their companions 
 in arms were slain, till at last these three heroic women 
 were left alone. The French troops, seeing no other 
 defenders, slackened then- fire, with the intention of 
 taking them alive. But there was one thing which 
 the ladies of Crevecoeur dreaded more than death, that 
 was dishonour ; and they apprehended their lot but 
 too truly, if they became the prisoners of the licentious 
 soldiers of the Duke de Nevers. When, therefore, all 
 hope was gone, when the power of resistance was over, 
 and death from their enemies' hands evaded them, 
 they boldly compelled then* fate. Hand-in-hand they 
 ascended the parapet, and slowly walked to the extreme 
 verge of the battlements, then, raising their eyes for a 
 moment in prayer, they threw themselves from the 
 tower and were dashed to pieces on the stones below. 
 The name of Heruieline has alone been preserved, 
 those of her sisters in heroism are unknown. 
 
 This memorable event took place on the 2nd of 
 July, 1554, and to this day the anniversary is cele- 
 brated in the church of Bouvignes by masses in their
 
 DINANT. 189 
 
 honour, for which purpose an annual sum was devoted 
 out of the rents of the farm of Rostenne, a hamlet at 
 a short distance from the town. 
 
 A modern poet, Monsieur A. Quetelet, has left 
 some lines sufficiently descriptive of the dilapidated 
 town and ruined castles of Bouvignes : 
 
 " O voyageur ! cette enceinte tranquille, 
 
 Et ce castel etonnent tes regards ; 
 Mais ce hameau fut jadis une ville 
 
 Dont un vainqueur a brise les remparts. 
 D' un meilleur sort sans doute elle etait digne, 
 
 Car ses guerriers sont morts avec honneur ; 
 Tu vois, helas ! les debris de Bouvigne, 
 
 Et ce castel se nommait Creve-Cceur! " 
 
 As we quitted the narrow street which runs through 
 the town, the bridge, the cathedral, and the citadel of 
 Dinant came in full view. In a quarter of an hour we 
 were comfortably established at the Hotel de la Poste, 
 at the corner of the market-place.
 
 Dinant Its former Flourishing Condition. Commerce Insulting 
 Message to the Burgundians Revolt -The Duke of Burgundy's 
 Preparations Renewed insults The Duke's vow Violent outrage 
 of the Dinantais The Town besieged and captured Cruelty of the 
 Burgmidians Plunder of the City The City burnt Its entire 
 destruction Marguerite de Valois at Diiiant-Her singular recep- 
 tionHer danger Her stratagem Another risk Her escape 
 Marguerite at Florennes Her sale return to France. 
 
 I D not the history of the world afford 
 numberless examples of the entire 
 ruin of states and cities, once great 
 and flourishing, it would be difficult 
 to believe, from the present appear- 
 ance of Dinant, that she ever held the high place 
 which historians have assigned her amongst the cities 
 of Europe. 
 
 Hemmed in between the Meuse and the high chain 
 of rocks, which rise almost perpendicularly at the 
 distance of only a few hundred feet from the river, 
 the space which the town occupies could never have 
 been greater in breadth than it is at present, though it 
 must have been considerably longer, if it contained a 
 population at all proportionate to the wealth ascribed 
 to it. According to Duclerq and others, it even ex- 
 ceeded Liege itself in riches, and from the warlike
 
 FORMER PROSPERITY OF DINANT. 191 
 
 character of its people, combined with the strength of 
 its position, had never been subjected to the vicissi- 
 tudes which, at one period or other, had desolated 
 almost every city on the continent. 
 
 The great commerce of Dinant consisted in the 
 manufacture of copper utensils, which procured for 
 their wares the name of " Dinanderies," and for them- 
 selves the sobriquet of " Koperes," freely bestowed 
 upon them by their rivals of Bouvignes and Namur. 
 As far back as the fourteenth century, the Dinantais 
 were celebrated for their workmanship, and the wealth 
 that resulted from it; and it was in the jealousy of 
 " the trade" that the long wars originated, which broke 
 out between Dinant and Bouvignes, in 1317, and from 
 whence an enmity arose, that as long as either was 
 independent was never extinguished. 
 
 But the period of the greatest prosperity of Dinant 
 was that of its downfall ; and modern history has per- 
 haps no parallel to offer to the sudden and complete 
 destruction of a city so rich and powerful. 
 
 It was in the year 1466 that this fatal calamity 
 befel, when the spirit of hostility which the people of 
 Dinant had always manifested against the House of 
 Burgundy, and which was secretly fomented by their 
 treacherous ally, Louis the Eleventh of France, de- 
 clared itself so violently, that war became the necessary 
 consequence. It proved, unhappily, a war of extermi- 
 nation. 
 
 Misled by the false reports which circulated through
 
 192 INSULTS TO THE BURGUXDIAXS. 
 
 the country after the battle of Montlheri, and believing 
 that the Comte de Charolais had been completely de- 
 feated there, though his victory was perhaps the most 
 undecisive affair that ever was fought, the inhabitants 
 of Dinant, following the example of the Liegeois, at 
 once declared against the Duke of Burgundy, or rather 
 against his sou; for the hatred which they bore to 
 Charles the Bold was even more personal than poli- 
 tical. Their first exploit was to attack and pillage 
 Bouvignes, which belonged to the Duke of Burgundy, 
 where they displayed the effigy of the Comte de Charo- 
 lais hanging to a gibbet, taunting the Bouvignais with 
 these words : " Behold the son of your duke, the 
 false traitor, the Count of Charolais, whom the King of 
 France means to hang like this figure here, if he has 
 not already done so. He calls himself the son of your 
 duke, but he is a villain bastard, and was changed at 
 nurse with the son of the Sire de Heinsberg, our former 
 bishop. Did he think to ruin the King of France ? " 
 In fact, there was no kind of reproach that these violent 
 people did not utter against the Comte de Charolais, 
 who, when he was informed of these things, registered 
 a vow against Dinant, which he only too truly fulfilled. 
 The magistrates of Dinant, wiser and calmer than 
 the people, succeeded in moderating this intemperance 
 for a time ; and the Duke of Burgundy was willing 
 enough to accept a sum of money for the outrage com- 
 mitted at Bouvignes, his earnest desire being to detach 
 the Dinantais from their alliance with the Liegeois.
 
 THE DUKE OF BURGUNDY'S PREPARATIONS. 19(5 
 
 For another year, therefore, they remained at peace; 
 but about the middle of the year 1466, instigated by 
 some banished men of Liege, the people of Dinant rose 
 in revolt, and put to death the magistrates who had 
 compounded for their previous conduct with Duke 
 Philip. For this they were placed under a sentence of 
 excommunication, but they refused to obey the pope's 
 authority, and constrained the priests to celebrate mass, 
 drowning two or three who resisted them. 
 
 When news was brought of these events to the 
 Duke of Burgundy, though his health and strength 
 were failing fast, he gave orders for the immediate 
 assemblage of all his vassals and men-at-arms at 
 Narnur ; but a sudden attack of apoplexy had nearly 
 prevented his taking the field. He recovered, however, 
 though not to lead his forces in person, and the Comte 
 de Charolais assumed the command. 
 
 The campaign, whose object was the subjugation 
 of the entire province of Liege, was begun by the siege 
 of Dinant. The Liegeois had sent thither a garrison 
 of four thousand men, and had promised to come to 
 their assistance with forty thousand more. Confiding 
 in this promise, and relying on the protection of Louis 
 the Eleventh, the people of Dinant resolved to defend 
 themselves to the last. The Comte de Charolais 
 marched against them with a large force. " II avoit 
 devant luy touts ses archiers, et estoit son estendart 
 battu d'or, a 1'enseigne de 1' imaige de Saint George a 
 chevai, perchant ung serpent de sa lanche." The
 
 104 RENEWED INSULTS. 
 
 Dinantais made a sally to defend the faubourg on the 
 left bank of the river, but were driven in; the faubourg 
 was carried, and Charles took up his head-quarters in 
 the abbey of the Freres Mineurs, immediately opposite 
 the centre of the town. The Comte de St. Pol, the 
 Constable of France, who followed Charles, not as a 
 subject of Louis the Eleventh, but at the head of his 
 vassals of Picardy, established himself on the right 
 bank of the Meuse, and, after preparing his batteries, 
 siinirnoned the town to surrender. 
 
 But, however imminent then* danger, the Dinantais 
 had lost neither then- courage nor their pride, and 
 returned an insulting answer to the proposition : 
 
 " What folly," they replied, " has possessed your 
 old mummy of a duke to come here to die ? Has he 
 lived long enough, that he seeks now a villanous 
 death ? And your Count Charlotel, what does he 
 want here ? He had better go back to Montlhery, to 
 fight with the noble King of France, who has promised 
 to come and succour us, and will not fail. As for your 
 count, he has come here to meet his fate ; his beak is 
 too young to hurt us.* The Liegeois whom we have 
 here will speedily dislodge him with shame." 
 
 The Dinantais, however, soon found to their cost 
 how vain was the trust reposed on a monarch like 
 Louis the Eleventh, who, having made his own peace, 
 cared nothing what befel his former allies ; and for this 
 
 * " Vostre Comte, & nialle heure y vint il oncques ; il a le becque 
 trop josnes." Du CLEKCQ.
 
 THE DUKE'S vow. 195 
 
 and other insults, both Philip and Charles swore they 
 would have ample revenge. They vowed if they took the 
 city to destroy it from roof-top to foundation, and sow 
 iron and salt upon the ruins., " conrme anchiemment 
 on faisoit quand on destruisoit une ville ;" " and," adds 
 the chronicler, with tenible brevity, "ainsy en fust faict." 
 
 Though the feuds of centuries had divided the 
 people of Bouvignes from those of Dinant, as effec- 
 ally as the broad river that flows between the two 
 places, the former were anxious, when they heard of 
 the fearful threats of the duke, to save their old ene- 
 mies from destruction. The presence of an army, 
 however friendly to themselves, was in itself a misfor- 
 tune to the whole country, and, moreover, the com- 
 merce of Dinant was too valuable to be lost, its 
 manufactories supplying all the neighbouring towns 
 with copper and pewter utensils. Interest, therefore, 
 stimulated them as strongly as humanity. 
 
 But the people of Dinant themselves were as much 
 opposed to conciliation as either Philip or Charles, and 
 seemed madly bent on rushing upon their destruction ; 
 nothing could induce them to listen to reason; like 
 those whom superstition declares to be doomed, they 
 plunged headlong on their fate. They cut off the head 
 of the messenger whom the Bouvignes had sent to 
 advise them ; and on the bearer of a second letter, a 
 poor imbecile child, they committed even more cruel 
 outrages. These acts were not of a nature likely to mo- 
 derate the temper of one so violent as Charles the Bold.
 
 196 DIXAXT BESIEGED. 
 
 The siege was straightway begun. The Comte cle 
 Charolais opened his batteries on one side, and the 
 Constable of France on the other. For six days the 
 firing continued without intermission, and the town 
 presented little more than a heap of ruins ; the walls 
 of the city, nine feet thick, exhibited wide rents, " for 
 ruin's wasteful entrance," and the principal breach, was 
 already sixty feet wide. Upwards of seven hundred of the 
 besieged had fallen, and at length fear fell upon them 
 They now sought to capitulate, but the Duke of Bur- 
 gundy would no longer listen to terms ; he refused to 
 receive their envoys, and, with a refinement of cruelty, 
 instead of at once ordering the assault, the good Duke 
 Philip continued for two days more to batter the de- 
 fenceless town. The ganison of the citadel, amongst 
 whom were many French, contrived to effect their 
 escape, and nothing remained for the Diuantais but to 
 await the coming blow. For a moment there appeared 
 a chance of rescue, for they learnt that the Liegeois 
 were afoot to relieve the city ; but the same intelligence 
 was also communicated to the Duke of Burgundy by 
 Louis de Bourbon, the Bishop of Liege, and Philip 
 having called a council of war, determined on an 
 immediate assault. Everything was accordingly pre- 
 pared for the purpose, but the besieged saved him the 
 trouble ; they surrendered at discretion, and gave up 
 the keys of the city, without demanding any pledge or 
 guarantee for their safety. 
 
 The Comte de Charolais placed guards at all the
 
 PLUNDER OF THE CITY. 197 
 
 gates, and gave orders that none, under pain of death, 
 should enter the city before he had received the orders 
 of his father, who was at Bouvignes. It was at first 
 the duke's intention to have entered Dinant; but, it 
 being represented to him that, as he did not intend to 
 show any clemency, it was more proper that he should 
 not show himself. The billets were regularly distri- 
 buted, as if it had been the duke's intention quietly to 
 occupy the town ; and when every soldier had reached 
 his quarters, the signal to plunder was given. 
 
 It was obeyed with pitiless cruelty. The Burgun- 
 dians were excited by the opposition their arms had 
 met with they had treasured in their memories the 
 taunts and insults of the Dinantais they were waging 
 war with an excommunicated people and, more than 
 all, they were stimulated by the wealth of the conquered 
 city. Nothing escaped them, and not a citizen re- 
 mained in Dinant whose property was not seized : the 
 streets were crowded with carts, and the Meuse covered 
 with boats laden with the spoil. 
 
 Hitherto the fury of the conquerors had been re- 
 strained. Blood had been shed only in the way of 
 war, or for what was deemed retribution; and the 
 honour of the women was protected. The Count de 
 Charolais issued an order prohibiting violence to their 
 persons, and rigidly enforced his decree. A gibbet 
 was erected in the market-place, where three archers, 
 who had endeavoured to carry off a woman against her 
 will, were hung up as an example. Children and 
 
 Q2
 
 198 THE CITY BURNT. 
 
 priests were also excepted from harm. All were col- 
 lected together, and an escort given to conduct them to 
 Liege.* It was a melancholy sight to behold this 
 multitude leaving their homes to be pillaged; their 
 husbands, their fathers, and brothers to be delivered 
 over to the fury of the Burgundians. They wept with 
 loud lamentations, which created pity in all who be- 
 held them ; and when they took leave of the city, 
 which they were doomed never to see again, three loud 
 cries of distress burst from them, which caused a 
 shudder of agony in ah 1 who heard. 
 
 The plunder of the city had now lasted four days ; 
 and its wealth being exhausted, the Burgundian 
 troops, impatient for revenge, hastened the work of 
 destruction. On the 29th of August, 1466, a fire 
 broke out in the quarters of the Sieur de Ravestein, 
 which was certainly not accidental, and in all pro- 
 bability originated with the soldiers. It was even said 
 that Charles had caused it to be done secretly, in order 
 to put an end to the pillage, and restore order in his 
 army. This has been denied ; but, when his after-acts 
 are considered, is by no means unlikely. He publicly 
 gave orders for extinguishing the flames, and exerted 
 himself personally to suppress them ; but this was 
 more with the idea of saving the relics in the cathedral, 
 than from motives of humanity ; for when his troops 
 had all retired from the city, he fulfilled his original 
 
 Du Clercq: " Mem."
 
 ITS ENTIRE DESTRUCTION. 199 
 
 threat by issuing counter- orders to burn, and the 
 suburbs fell with the body of the town. The flames 
 arose on every side ; the Hotel de Ville, which had 
 been made into a temporary powder-magazine, ex- 
 ploded with fearful effect; and, while the pious Bur- 
 gundians were intent on saving the Chasse of Saint 
 Perpetuus, they suffered a number of rich prisoners, 
 who had been shut up in the cathedral for ransom, 
 to perish without an effort to relieve them. In other 
 parts of the city, murder and fire went hand-in-hand 
 in completing the work of death. 
 
 As soon as the heat from the smouldering ruins 
 permitted, the Comte de Charolais, determined to leave 
 no part of his vow unfulfilled, sent out a proclamation 
 to the peasants of all the country round, promising 
 three petars a day to all who would come and assist 
 in the demolition of the walls which yet remained 
 standing. They set to work in good earnest, for they 
 expected to find a rich booty amongst the ruins. Nor 
 were they disappointed ; for it was said that the fur- 
 naces of the coppersmiths produced as much as was 
 valued at a hundred thousand florins ! In four days, 
 walls, towers, gates, and houses, all were razed to the 
 ground, the body of the cathedral being alone pre- 
 served.* In the place of a rich and flourishing city, 
 nothing was to be seen but a heap of ruins and ashes ; 
 and the poor women who, after the retreat of the 
 
 * It is evident, from the architecture of the nave of the cathedral, 
 that its columns and pointed arches must have been left standing.
 
 200 MARGUERITE DE VALOIS AT DIN ANT. 
 
 Burgundians, returned sadly to the spot to seek out 
 their lost abodes, were unable to recognise where they 
 had stood. 
 
 Thus fell the unfortunate city of Dinant ! Never 
 since the destruction of Jerusalem had any city expe- 
 rienced so terrible a fate. As the old chronicler 
 observes, whose account we have followed, " Ceulx qui 
 regardoient la place ou la ville avoit este, povoient dire, 
 ' Cy fustDynant!"' 
 
 To what extent the unfortunate city recovered from 
 its ruin is not known, its archives being lost in a second 
 disaster, scarcely less terrible than the first, by which it 
 was visited about the middle of the sixteenth century 
 under Henry the Second of France ; but as the parti- 
 culars of this event are more generally known, I refrain 
 from inserting them here. One more incident, con- 
 nected with the history of Dinant, may not, however, 
 be inappropriate. 
 
 In the year 1577, the celebrated Marguerite de 
 Valois, the beautiful wife of Henri Quatre, on her 
 return from Liege, whither she had gone on a political 
 errand, under the pretext of taking the waters of Spa, 
 chose for her route the lovely valley of the Meuse, and 
 leaving Huy early in the morning, arrived at the close 
 of the day at Dinant. It was at an unfortunate 
 moment, for a spirit of discontent had spread through- 
 out the towns in the diocese of Liege, and the Dinantais 
 were in open revolt. The presence of the Grand Master 
 of the court of the Bishop of Liege, who accompanied
 
 HER SINGULAR RECEPTION. 201 
 
 Marguerite, did not increase her welcome; and, to add 
 to her misfortune, it was the day for electing the bur- 
 gomasters of the city. 
 
 The queen has described the scene so well, that her 
 own words can alone do it justice.* " Everything was 
 that day in disorder everybody was drunk no magis- 
 trates recognised; in short, a complete chaos of con- 
 fusion. This town, when the people were in their 
 proper senses, declared for the States ; but Bacchus 
 now ruling, they could not declare for themselves, and 
 recognised nobody. As soon as they saw us approach 
 the suburbs, with a retinue so large as mine, they were 
 quite alarmed. They left their glasses to run to arms, 
 and, all in tumult, instead of opening the barrier they 
 closed it upon us. I had sent on before a gentleman 
 with the quarter-masters, to beg them to allow us to 
 pass, but I found them all stopped there, and shouting 
 without being heard. I then stood upright in my 
 litter, and, taking oif my mask, I made a sign to the 
 nearest to say that I wished to speak to him ; and, 
 being come to me, I begged him to procure silence, 
 in order that I might be heard. This being with 
 some difficulty accomplished, I represented to them 
 who I was, and the reason of my journey; that, so far 
 from seeking to bring evil upon them by my coming, 
 I would not give them the slightest reason for sus- 
 picion, and that all I begged of them was to let me 
 
 * " Memoires de Marguerite de Valois," 1713, in 8vo.
 
 202 HER DAXGEJK. 
 
 enter, myself and my women, and a few of my people, 
 to pass the night, and the rest might remain in the 
 suburb. They were content with this proposition, and 
 granted my request. I then entered the town with 
 the principal persons of my train, amongst whom was 
 the Grand Master of the Bishop of Liege, who unfor- 
 tunately was recognised as I entered my hotel, and 
 followed by ah 1 the people, drunk and armed. Then 
 they began to utter loud cries and threats, and sought 
 to beat down the good man, who was eighty years 
 old, and wore a white beard that reached to his 
 middle. I made him come into the hotel, on which 
 these drunkards poured the shot frorn their harque- 
 busses against the walls, which were only of clay.* 
 Seeing this tumult, I asked if the master of the house 
 were within. By good luck he was at home, and I 
 begged him to go to the window, and invite the prin- 
 cipal amongst them to come that I might speak to 
 them, which, with some difficulty he agreed to do. 
 At last, having called out loudly from the window, the 
 burgomasters came to speak to me, so drank that they 
 knew not what they said.f I then assured them that 
 I had not known that the Grand Master was inimical 
 to them; I remonstrated with them as to the im- 
 
 * It is evident, from this fact, that Dinant had not recovered, in 
 1577, from the effects of the last bombardment of the town, else in a 
 country where stone is quarried so easily, Marguerite would scarcely 
 have been so poorly lodged. 
 
 f These notable burgomasters were named Huart Davant and 
 Jaques Maigreit.
 
 HEK STRATAGEM. 203 
 
 portance of offending a person of my quality, who was 
 the friend of all the principal lords of the States ; and 
 that I felt certain the Comte de Lalain, and all the 
 other chiefs, would be greatly annoyed at the reception 
 which I had met with. When they heard me name 
 M. de Lalain, they changed ah 1 of a sudden, and paid 
 him more respect than all the kings to whom I 
 belonged. The oldest amongst them came forward, 
 and, smiling and stammering, asked me if I was really 
 a friend to the Comte de Lalain; and seeing that 
 claiming relationship with him w r ould serve me more 
 than a connection with all the potentates of Christianity, 
 I replied, ' Yes, I am not only his friend, but his cousin 
 also.' Then they all did reverence to me, and ten- 
 dered me their hands, and offered me as much courtesy 
 as before they had proffered insolence ; begging me to 
 excuse them, and promising me that they would say 
 nothing to the good old Grand Master, and that they 
 would let him go away with me." 
 
 The sequel of Marguerite's adventures, as they 
 concern the Dinantais, will not be out of place here. 
 
 The Queen of Navarre had scarcely escaped from one 
 danger when she fell into another. Du Bois, the agent 
 of Henry the Third to Don John of Austria, having 
 sold himself to the Spaniards, came to seek her, and 
 told her that having received orders from the king, her 
 brother, to facilitate her return to France, he had asked 
 from Don John a troop of cavalry, commanded by 
 Berlaimont, to conduct her safely to Namur, he
 
 Jo I 
 
 ANOTHER EISK. 
 
 ended by begging Marguerite to induce the Dinantais 
 to receive this troop into their town. The Austrian 
 prince hoped by this means either to take possession 
 of Dinant or of the queen ; but Marguerite, suspecting 
 the motives of Du Bois, told the inhabitants of the 
 danger which awaited them, and advised them to ami 
 themselves and carefully guard the gates of the town, 
 making them see of what consequence it was not to 
 open them to any but Berlaimont alone and unaccom- 
 panied. She succeeded in persuading them, and they 
 promised to expose their lives in her service, and gave 
 her a guide to conduct her across the Meuse, which she 
 wished to leave between her and the troops of Don 
 John. Admission into Dinant was then granted to 
 Berlaimont, who proposed to introduce his men. At 
 this demand the citizens, in anger, were ready to mas- 
 sacre him, and threatened to fire upon his people if he 
 did not withdraw them from the ramparts. Neverthe- 
 less Berlaimont and Du Bois endeavoured to persuade 
 Marguerite that Don John of Austria waited for her at 
 Namur. In order the better to deceive them she pre- 
 tended to give herself up to their control, and, accom- 
 panied by two or three hundred armed men, she quitted 
 the house in which she had passed the night, and then 
 amusing them both by light conversation, she took the 
 way towards the river, and, followed by her suite, 
 entered a large boat, which was speedily rowed across 
 the Meuse, notwithstanding the ineffectual remon- 
 strances of Du Bois, who persisted in crying out to her
 
 MARGUERITE AT FLORENNES. 205 
 
 that the king's intentions were for her to return to 
 Namur. 
 
 On the other hand, the Dinantais continued to 
 threaten Berlaimont with cannonading his troop if it 
 approached too near the town, and by this means 
 facilitated the flight of the Queen of Navarre, who, 
 assisted by the guide, reached the lower court of the 
 castle of Florennes, where she demanded permission 
 to be lodged in the donjon keep. The barony of 
 Florennes belonged at that time to Charles de Glimes, 
 a friend of Marguerite, but he was absent from the 
 chateau ; and the chatelaine, a sister-in-law of Ber- 
 laiinont, raised the drawbridge, and resolutely re- 
 fused admission to any one whatever. Another cir- 
 cumstance arose to increase the difficulty of Mar- 
 guerite's position. Don John of Austria having re- 
 ceived intimation that Marguerite intended to sleep 
 at Florennes, sent out three hundred horsemen to cut 
 off the road leading to it, and seize the chateau. These 
 troops, persuaded that the princess had taken refuge 
 in the donjon, encamped at some distance from thence, 
 in order to surprise her on the following day. The 
 Queen of Navarre redoubled her entreaties with the 
 chatelaine of Florennes, but she was inflexible, and 
 Marguerite's danger became imminent, when, happily, 
 towards the close of the day, the baron himself arrived, 
 and by his orders the drawbridge was raised, and 
 Marguerite placed in security. To guard her against 
 surprise on her way, he told her that he had been
 
 206 HER SAFE RETURN* TO FRANCE. 
 
 ordered by the Comte de Lalain to accompany her into 
 France, where, finally, she safely arrived. The king, 
 the royal family, and the court all went to meet her at 
 St. Denis, where, she says, " they had great pleasure 
 in making me relate the honours and magnificence of 
 my journey to Liege and sojourn there, and the adven- 
 tures which befel me on my return." 
 
 A century elapsed before Dinant again experienced 
 the vicissitudes of war, but the day of her destiny was 
 not yet over, and in 1674 she had to sustain a third 
 siege, and was taken by the Imperialists, under the 
 Count de Souches. 
 
 The unfortunate Diuantais seemed, like the ass in 
 the fable, always exposed to the blows of every master. 
 Within a year the Marshal de Crequi, commanding the 
 French forces, was sent to drive out the Imperialists. 
 He took the place without much resistance. At the 
 peace of Nimeguen, Louis the Fourteenth endeavoured 
 to keep possession of Dinant, but the Bishop and 
 chapter of Liege refused to consent, and it returned to 
 its old allegiance.
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Dinant Beauty of its situation The Citadel 
 and River Belgian Sportsmen The Hotel de 
 la Poste Excellence of Provisions Jambon 
 de Bastogne Fine Scenery The Roche a 
 Bayard Traditions of the Four Sons of Aymon 
 Charlemagne's Revenge Bayard's Escape 
 Cause of Charlemagne's Hatred The Adven- 
 ture of Rmaldo Processions. 
 
 H E situation of Dinant is in the high- 
 est degree picturesque. It is an ex- 
 tremely long and narrow town, consisting of little 
 more than one street, which runs for nearly a mile 
 from one extremity to the other, its breadth being 
 in few places more than a hundred yards. Below 
 the bridge the houses are built close to the river, 
 and above it are separated only by a long quay, 
 planted with trees, which serves for recreation as well 
 as commerce. At the foot of the bridge is a tolerably 
 spacious market-place, one side of which is filled up by 
 the cathedral, whose singularly shaped spire barely 
 reaches to the base of the walls of the citadel, which 
 rise immediately above it. The town is backed by a
 
 208 THE CITADEL. 
 
 steep ridge, cultivated here and there about half-way up 
 in terraced gardens, which have been formed upon the 
 ledges of the rock, whose grey and broken crest, 
 crowning the height, seems like the dismantled parapet 
 of some former defence. In two or three places ad- 
 venturous hands have cut a path nearly to the summit, 
 indicated by a pleasant summer-house ; but for the 
 most part the surface of the mountain that overhangs 
 the town is wild and bare, and marked only by the 
 fissures, in one of which, it is said, was formerly the 
 oracle of the goddess who gave her name to the place.* 
 
 At a sharp angle of the ridge, formed by a deep 
 ravine, up which the road winds to the plains of the 
 Condroz, is built the citadel, a formidable fortress, 
 which commands all the approaches to the town, and 
 appears to laugh a siege to scorn. The Meuse is, at 
 Dinant, about three hundred and fifty feet wide, and 
 flows beneath a fine bridge of five arches in a strong 
 deep current, though both above and below the town 
 there are dangerous obstructions to the navigation. On 
 the left bank of the river is the pretty faubourg of St. 
 Medard. 
 
 It was on the 3rd of September that we arrived at 
 
 * The etymology of Dinant is, according to some antiquarians, to 
 be found in the name of Diana, to whom the town, situated in the 
 midst of a great hunting country, was originally dedicated. It was 
 called by the Romans Dionacum, or Dionatum, from the goddess, who 
 uttered her oracles in a cave (Diana aittrum) above the town. Vide 
 Duchesne " Recherches."
 
 BELGIAN SPOKTSMEN. 209 
 
 Dinant the first day of the shooting season in Bel- 
 gium and it was not without difficulty that we suc- 
 ceeded in getting an apartment, the house being full of 
 sportsmen. If we had not been told that this was the 
 case, we might have guessed it from the endless howling 
 of the chiens de chasse, who, locked up in their mas- 
 ters' bedrooms, gave utterance to every description of 
 canine melody, rendering sleep impossible till long 
 after midnight, when the festivities of the chasseurs, no 
 less riotous than their dogs, broke up. If there is one 
 thing more than another that distinguishes a modern 
 Belgian from his kind, it is his excessive fondness for 
 making a noise. No time or place appear to have any 
 influence in subduing his clamorous tendencies, as if to 
 howl and shout like an enrage were the great arm and 
 object of his existence. These sportsmen, who were 
 chiefly from Brussels, gave us another taste of their 
 quality as soon as day began to break, and if they 
 exercised their lungs to the same extent when they got 
 to the field, unless the birds were deaf, their sport must 
 have proved a blank. 
 
 As we purposed making some stay at Dinant, our 
 first thought was to establish ourselves in a lodging ; 
 but accommodation in this respect is rare, and, after 
 some inquiry, we found we could not possibly do better 
 than remain where we were, at the Hotel de la Poste. 
 Its situation, at the corner of the market-place, oppo- 
 site the cathedral, has everything to recommend it, 
 and our good-natured, obliging landlady, Madame 
 
 R 2
 
 !>10 THE HOTEL DE LA POSTE. 
 
 Lallieu, promised to make us as comfortable as we 
 could wish, and she was quite as good as her word ; 
 no imposition was attempted, our fare was admirable, 
 the servants were civility itself, and the most econo- 
 mical could not have found fault with the charges. 
 
 The means of living at Dinant are worth a passing 
 comment. Nothing can equal the richness of the 
 milk, the bread and butter are both excellent, the 
 water is delicious, and the eggs and vegetables are 
 plentiful and cheap. The .Meuse and the many 
 streams that water the valleys produce abundance of 
 fish, trout, grayling, and perch; and, for those who 
 are fond of them, the ditches yield crawfish of enor- 
 mous size, the largest being sent to Brussels, and often 
 sold in the market there for twenty francs apiece. 
 Hares, partridges, pigeons, greves, and gelinottes are 
 abundant, and of exquisite flavour ; the mutton of the 
 Ardennes vies with its venison, and for the epicure 
 there is one dish that is incomparable : this is the 
 jambon de Bastogne, which we found so good that we 
 begged the chef to give us his receipt for curing it, 
 and here it is : " The ham is cured in a brine of salt, 
 saltpetre, and aromatic herbs, viz., a few bay leaves, 
 wild thyme, a handful of juniper berries, and a little 
 garlic. It is steeped for about six weeks, and then 
 dried in the smoke of the chimney, over a wood fire. 
 When wanted for dressing, it is buried in the ground 
 for twenty-four hours, and then boiled, with the addi- 
 tion of the same aromatic herbs, in the water. After
 
 JAMBON DE BASTOGNE. 211 
 
 boiling, the bone is taken out, and the ham is pressed 
 under a heavy weight." As a corollary to the dress- 
 ing, it may be added, that it often happens that the 
 ham, when produced at table, disappears at one sitting. 
 As the late Lord Blayney did not think it beneath his 
 military dignity to tell how hams were boiled in hock at 
 Bayonne, this simple notice of the treatment of the ham 
 of the Ardennes may be permitted here. As a dinner 
 is everywhere on the Continent incomplete without a 
 dessert, the denizen of the Hotel de la Poste, may, if he 
 chooses, take his, al fresco, in the terraced garden at 
 the back of the house, where grapes, pears, peaches, 
 figs, and apricots cover the walls. 
 
 Dinant offers the best head- quarters for a traveller 
 who wishes to explore the Ardennes, and our first 
 inquiry, as soon as we were settled, was for saddle- 
 horses. The horses were promised at once, "im- 
 possible de trouver mieux," especially a black one 
 that had carried a lady; but respecting a side-saddle 
 there was some demur; however, that was promised 
 also when the time should arrive for making the pro- 
 posed excursion. In the meantime, we devoted our 
 days to exploring the beautiful scenery on the river, 
 and in the lovely valleys around, and found that there 
 was enough to occupy us for months to come, if we 
 could have spared the time. 
 
 The greatest natural curiosity in the neighbourhood 
 of Dinant, is the singular, pointed rock, called the 
 " Eoche a Bayard," which stands about three-quarters
 
 21'2 THE ROCHE A BAYARD. 
 
 of a mile from the town, on the high road to Mezieres, 
 and rises perpendicularly above the river, in shape like 
 one of the Swiss "aiguilles," leaving only just space 
 enough for the road to run between it and the moun- 
 tain, of which ages ago it probably formed a part. A 
 more perfect resemblance to a ruined castle, than is 
 formed by the broken outline of the rocks which slope 
 towards the Eoche a Bayard, it is difficult to imagine ; 
 everything is there to complete the illusion, tower, 
 turret, loop-holed window, and ivy-covered buttress; 
 even a name has been given to the isolated fragment 
 below. 
 
 What right it has to the name it bears none can tell, 
 though the valley of the Meuse is rife with traditions 
 respecting the valiant sons of Aymon, and their match- 
 less courser, Bayard. From Aigremont to Poilvache 
 there is scarcely a ruin that does not recal some daring 
 exploit of the stout Rinaldo de Montauban and his 
 cousin, the sage enchanter Maugis ; and the tradition 
 is still current in the Ardennes, that Bayard yet lives, 
 and may occasionally be seen scouring over the deso- 
 late heaths of that wild district; while the belated 
 peasant is said often to hear the shrill neigh of the 
 noble steed, resounding through the depths of the 
 forest. 
 
 That delectable romance, the " Histoire des Quatre 
 Fils Aymons" the "Legenda Aurea" of Belgium 
 says, that when Charlemagne at length acceded to the 
 urgent desire of the twelve peers to make peace with
 
 THE FOUR SONS OF AYMON. ^lo 
 
 the sons of Aymon, he did so upon these conditions, 
 that Rinaldo, the eldest of the brothers, whom he 
 mortally hated, should clothe himself in poor attire, 
 and undertake the pilgrimage to the Holy Sepulchre, 
 and give up his horse Bayard to the emperor. Rinaldo 
 with reluctance accepted the terms offered, and pre- 
 pared for his journey. " Alors il commen9a a s'habiller 
 d' une serge violette, se chassa de gros sonliers, et se fit 
 donner un gros bourdon pour le porter a la main," and 
 Charlemagne became the possessor of the steed which 
 he had so much coveted for the revenge which he now 
 proposed to take. The manner of it is thus told : 
 
 The king then commanded that the camp should 
 be broken up to return to Liege, and when he came 
 upon the bridge over the Meuse, he caused Bayard, 
 the good horse of Rinaldo, to be brought to him. 
 As soon as he saw him he said "Ah, Bayard, you 
 have often caused me much annoyance, but I have 
 at last attained the means of vengeance." He then 
 ordered a heavy stone to be fastened to his neck, and 
 caused him to be thrown from the bridge into the 
 Meuse, where he sank at once to the bottom. When 
 the king saw this, he was filled with joy, and said, 
 " I have now all I wanted he is at last destroyed." 
 Bayard, however, was not so easily got rid of. When 
 he found himself plunged into the river, he " struck 
 out so vigorously with his feet, that he succeeded in 
 breaking the stone, and, rising to the surface, swam 
 boldly across the Meuse. When he reached the
 
 214 BAYAED. 
 
 opposite shore, he neighed loudly, and then galloped 
 off with such rapidity that it seemed as if a thunder- 
 bolt urged him. He then plunged into the forest 
 of the Ardennes. Charlemagne, seeing that Bayard 
 had escaped, was very much irritated, but all the 
 barons were exceedingly glad." 
 
 " Beaucoup de gens disent," adds the romance, 
 " que Bayard est encore vivant dans le bois des 
 Ardennes, mais quand il voit homme ou femme, il 
 fuit et on ne peut 1'approcher." 
 
 The cause of Charlemagne's hatred to this paragon 
 of coursers arose from the frequent discomfitures which 
 he had experienced through his agency, in his feuds 
 with the sons of Ayrnon. The popular romance from 
 which I have quoted contains several stories in which 
 Bayard plays a very conspicuous part, but in none 
 more so than the following, which, as I am speaking 
 of a spot that bears his name, may perhaps not in- 
 appropriately figure in this place. 
 
 The extraordinary speed of Bayard was one of the 
 qualities that distinguished him above all other horses. 
 Rinaldo constantly turned it to account, but never more 
 signally than at the races which Charlemagne caused 
 to be run at Paris, for the purpose of procuring the 
 best horse in the world for his nephew Koland. The 
 Duke Naimes had advised the emperor to publish, 
 at the sound of the trumpet, his will that all the horses 
 of his army should run, and that to the owner of the 
 fleetest should be given a crown of gold, five marks
 
 ADVENTURE OF RINALDO. 215 
 
 of silver, and a hundred pieces of rich silk; that by 
 this means he would discover the best horse, and 
 could then buy the steed and give it to Roland. 
 Charlemagne approved of the plan, and caused lists 
 to be constructed, placing the prize at the end of 
 the course. A certain squire, being on his way into 
 Gascony, passed by Montauban, and told Kinaldo 
 of the emperor's design, adding that the period fixed 
 upon for the race was the approaching festival of St. 
 John. When Kinaldo heard this news, he laughed, 
 and, turning to his friend, the famous necromancer 
 Maugis, the son of the Duke of Aigremont, he said, 
 " Charlemagne shall see the best trick in the world, 
 and I will win his crown; I will mount Bayard and 
 put it to the proof." Maugis at first dissuaded him, 
 but seeing that Rinaldo was resolved, he made him 
 consent to let Maugis accompany him, and, for greater 
 security, to take with them a number of knights 
 well armed. 
 
 When the time arrived for them to set out, Rinaldo 
 took leave of his wife, and with his brothers and friends 
 departed on their way to Paris. When they arrived at 
 Orleans, they gave out through Maugis, who spoke 
 for all, that they were Bearnois, and were going to 
 Paris to try their luck at the race. They continued 
 their route, and arrived at Melun, where they remained 
 in the town. On the eve of St. John, Rinaldo called 
 Maugis to him, and said, " Cousin, what shall we 
 do ? The race takes place to-morrow we must there-
 
 216 ADVENTURE OF RINALDO. 
 
 fore go and sleep in Paris." " You are right," replied 
 Maugis ; " but leave even-thing to me." He then took 
 a certain herb, which he peeled, and squeezed the 
 juice into some water ; he then rubbed Bayard all over 
 with the decoction, so that he became perfectly white, 
 making it impossible for any one to recognise him. 
 At the same time he anointed Einaldo with an elixir, 
 which gave him the appearance of a youth of fifteen 
 years old. When Maugis had thus metamorphosed 
 Einaldo and his horse, he showed them to the other 
 sons of Aymon, and asked them what they thought 
 of the transformation, " See," he added, " how old 
 Bayard is grown." They knew not what to say ; but 
 Rinaldo having mounted his horse, told them to be 
 under no apprehension on his account, for his disguise 
 was complete. The brothers then confided Einaldo to 
 the care of Maugis, and they set forth. 
 
 Charlemagne, perceiving that his barons were now 
 all arrived, assembled the Duke Naimes, Ogier of 
 Denn-marche, Foulques de Morillon, and others, and 
 said to them, " Seignors, take with you a hundred 
 knights, well armed, and go out on the road towards 
 Orleans, in order that no one may pass you without your 
 knowing who they are. I have an idea that Einaldo 
 may come, and if the thought struck him he would 
 soon be here." " Sire," replied the barons, " we will obey 
 your commands, and if Einaldo is mad enough to come 
 he cannot escape being taken " They accordingly took 
 the road towards Orleans, and halted when at the
 
 ADVENTURE OF RINALDO. 217 
 
 distance of two leagues from Paris. They were some 
 time there before any travellers passed ; at last, when 
 Duke Nairnes saw that none came, he said to Ogier, 
 " By my faith, the king's commands make us look like 
 fools, to bring us here to wait." " Sir," replied Ogier, 
 you are right ;" for my part, I will stay here no 
 longer;" and as he was about to return, Duke Naimes 
 saw Rinaldo and Maugis approaching from afar. 
 Foulques cried out, " Here is Rinaldo ! he cannot 
 escape us!" "It is true," said Naimes; "that horse 
 resembles Bayard, if he were at the court." Foulques 
 then drew his sword, and advanced to Rinaldo, but he 
 was surprised not to discover him. Rinaldo and 
 Maugis moved on, and Duke Naimes seeing them pass 
 by, called Maugis to him and said, " Who are you, 
 and whither do you go !" " Sir," replied Maugis, 
 " I come from Peronne ; my name is Josuraius." 
 Naimes then asked him if he could give him any 
 news of Rinaldo, the son of Aymon. " Yes," answered 
 Maugis, " he rode two days in our company." Naimes, 
 seeing that Rinaldo said nothing, observed, "I think 
 that he who is there without speaking is ill disposed 
 towards us." " Sir," answered Maugis, " he is my 
 son, who is not able to speak French." Then Duke 
 Naimes said to Rinaldo, " Can you not give me some 
 account of Riualdo ?" To which the knight replied, 
 " Imi scaius prena Tranches en prenant par cheval a 
 Paris couronne ri non draphonis gagnir mi." 
 
 At this Naimes burst out laughing, saying, " Who
 
 21* ADVENTtTtE OF RINALDO. 
 
 taught you your language ? I can't understand n 
 word you say ;" and so they passed freely, continuing 
 their way until they reached Paris, when, as they 
 entered the city, Binaldo was recognised by a man 
 whom they met. A great many people followed them, 
 and when the man saw that a great crowd had assem- 
 bled, he became emboldened, and seized Bayard by the 
 bridle, but the noble animal gave him so furious a kick 
 that he stretched him dead upon the ground. The crowd 
 seeing this, quickly withdrew, and Rinaldo and Maugis 
 pressing on were not recognised again. Not finding 
 any inn where they could stop, they put up at the 
 house of a shoemaker; and when they dismounted, 
 Maugis tied up one of Bayard's feet with a piece of 
 waxed silk. The host, who saw him do this, asked 
 him why he tied up his horse's foot, and who the 
 knight was who rode him. " Sir," answered Maugis, 
 "I have tied up the foot of this horse because he is 
 lame ; he who bestrides him is my son." As Maugis 
 spoke, he accidentally let fall the name of Kinaldo, 
 " Ah !" returned the host, "you have said enough, the 
 young man, without doubt, is Einaldo who slew Ber- 
 thelot, the king's nephew ; he shall learn the news of 
 this event before the day is much older." Rinaldo. 
 though much excited, made answer, " You are mis- 
 taken, I do not know who Rinaldo is, I have never 
 seen him." " Hold your tongue," said the host ; " I 
 know you well enough :" saying which, he was on the 
 point of leaving the house, but Rinaldo, running after
 
 ADVENTURE OF P.IXALDO. 219 
 
 him, dispatched him with a single blow. When 
 Maugis saw the host fall, he cried out, " Oh, my 
 cousin ! what have you done ? We are lost, unless God 
 help us." Maugis then went to the stable, saddled 
 Bayard, made Rinaldo mount him, and immediately 
 they left the spot. When the man's wife and children 
 discovered what Rinaldo had done, they began to utter 
 loud cries and lamentations; but Rinaldo and Maugis 
 rode on so quickly, that no one could tell whither they 
 had gone, for they mixed themselves amongst the 
 crowd. Bayard went on hobbling towards the gate of 
 St. Martin, and there they rested all that night. On 
 the following day, Rinaldo and Maugis went to mass 
 with the other barons, and then to the meadow, 
 near the Seine, following the king. Charlemagne 
 commanded that his crown should be placed at 
 the extremity of the course, with the five marks of 
 silver and the silk, which having been done by Ogier 
 and Nai'mes, the knights mounted their horses, every 
 one expecting to gain the prize. The king then 
 directed Duke Nai'mes, Ogier, Guidelon of Burgundy, 
 and Richard of Normandy, to take several well-armed 
 knights to keep the course clear. The knights who 
 were to contest the prize now drew up, and seeing 
 Rinaldo, began to jeer him on account of his lame 
 horse, saying to each other, " This fellow will cer- 
 tainly win the prize;" and one knight, addressing 
 Rinaldo, said, " You were quite right, valiant sir, to 
 bring your horse ; he cannot fail to win."
 
 ADVENTURE OF KINAI.DO. 
 
 When Rinaldo heard these speeches he was very 
 much angered, but, for fear of losing the prize, he said 
 nothing. The king, too, was exceedingly angry with 
 the speakers, and commanded, on pain of his dis- 
 pleasure, that no one should reproach the new comers. 
 When Duke Nairnes and Ogier saw that all was ready, 
 they gave the signal for the trumpets to sound, and 
 every one set off. Maugis immediately untied Bayard's 
 foot, but before he had done, the others were a long 
 way in front. Rinaldo now seeing that it was time 
 to make an effort, said to Bayard, " We are a good 
 deal behind, and if you are not the first you will be 
 blamed for it." When Bayard heard his master's 
 words, he snorted, threw out his neck, and dashed 
 forward with so much spirit, that the earth seemed 
 to shake under his feet, and in a few moments he 
 passed all the others. When the knights who kept 
 the course saw him run, they were very much asto- 
 nished, and said to each other, " How rapidly that 
 white horse runs ; a little while ago he was lame, 
 and now he is the best amongst them." The emperor 
 called Eichard of Normandy to him, and said, " Did 
 you ever see so many fine horses race before ?" " Xo, 
 sire," replied Richard; " but the white horse has passed 
 them all. Great God ! how like he is to Bayard, if he 
 were not of a different colour ; and the rider, too, is 
 lighter than his master." Now, you must know that 
 Bayard ran so well, that he reached the goal first, 
 and Rinaldo dismounting, took the crown which lay
 
 ADVENTURE OF RINALDO. 221 
 
 there, and put it under his arm, leaving the money and 
 the silk. When he had taken the crown, he rode slowly 
 towards the king, and Charlemagne, who saw him 
 come, said, smilingly, " Stop, friend, wait a little ; 
 if you wish to keep my crown, you may have it, 
 and I will give you such a price for your horse that 
 for your whole life you will never know what it is 
 to be poor." " Parbleu ! " said Rinaldo ; " these fine 
 words are worth nothing my name is Rinaldo, and 
 I carry off your crown ; seek another horse for Roland, 
 for you will neither have your crown nor Bayard." 
 Having uttered this speech, he turned and galloped 
 off like lightning. When Charlemagne heard these 
 words, he was at first so enraged that he could not 
 speak ; but when he recovered himself, he cried,-^-" Sir 
 knights, it is my enemy Rinaldo, the son of Aymon!" 
 On which the knights drove their spurs into their 
 horses, and rode after Rinaldo in pursuit, but in vain ; 
 for Rinaldo, leaving them far behind, swam Bayard 
 over the Seine, and then dismounted. By this time 
 the king had reached the bank of the river, and called 
 out to Rinaldo : " Son of a valiant man," he said, 
 " give me back my crown, and I will restore you thrice 
 its value, and grant you a truce for two years ! " 
 Riualdo answered, " I will have nothing of the sort ; 
 you shall never see your crown again ; I wiU sell it, and 
 pay my knights ; I will put the great carbuncle that is 
 in it in front of my castle, that all who go on the pil- 
 grimage to St. James may see it." Charlemagne knew 
 
 s 2
 
 '4'4;l ADVEKTURE OF EIXALDO. 
 
 not what to reply to this ; and Einaldo then joined 
 Maugis, who counselled their immediate return, and 
 they therefore set out for Melim, where they were met 
 by Allard and the rest. Rinaldo and Maugis told 
 them what had happened, and they all took the road 
 to Montauban, where they arrived safely, much to the 
 delight of all the vassals, who were delighted to hear of 
 what their lord had done. But it is not alone on the 
 banks of the Meuse that Bayard and the four sons oi 
 Aymon are renowned : their celebrity extends to all 
 parts of Belgium, their names are recorded in the 
 streets of their principal cities, and they formed a 
 leading feature in many of the religious processions. 
 
 In the year 1490, on the day of the Kennesw. 
 a famous procession was instituted at Louvain, to com- 
 memorate the victory gained over the Normans six 
 hundred years before, viz., in 891, and it was renewed 
 in 1G56, 1G60, 1G63, and 1681. Behind the members 
 of the university came Bayard and the sons of Aymon. 
 The enormous quadruped bore the arms of his masters, 
 " De gueules au chef de meme, et charge de trois pals 
 d'azur vaire d'argent." Bayard reappeared at the fete 
 of Malines in 1825, in company with many notabilities, 
 marshalled " in most admired disorder : " there were, 
 for instance, winged allegorical figures on horseback ; 
 standard-bearers ; troops of young girls, also en Ama- 
 zone, representing the arts and sciences ; a car, con- 
 taining the famous Pucelle of Malines; another car, 
 that held the whole court of Rome, with Pope Stephen
 
 PROCESSIONS. 
 
 223 
 
 the Third conferring on St. Rombant his mission to 
 the Low Countries, and surrounded by a group of 
 cardinals, no doubt very much astonished to find them- 
 selves in the presence of a pope who flourished several 
 centuries before the first creation of cardinals. With 
 these came a crowd of saints, allegorical personages, 
 heralds, huntsmen, pages, chamberlains, the great 
 officers of the Crown, the court and royal 
 family ; a vessel with three masts, steered 
 by St. Catherine ; a family of giants, For- 
 tune and her wheel, Venus 
 and Cupid on horseback, Jl 
 and, finally, the famous fj^B 1- m 
 
 courser, Bayard. The 
 Ommeyanck, or " Pn> 
 cession of Giants," at 
 Brussels, would also 
 have been incomplete 
 without him.
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Excursion to the Chateau de Walzen Walloon Guide Magnificent 
 Amphitheatre The River Lesse Profusion of Fmit The Old Castle 
 of Waizeii A Dinner al fresco - Paradise for Bees Exaggeration- 
 Font sur Lesse The Weir Excursion to Freyr The Chateau The 
 Cicerone Discovery of the Grottc Anseremme. 
 
 LITTLE beyond the Roche a 
 Bayard, a fine broad road on the left 
 hand leads to the heart of the Ar- 
 dennes ; but our first excursion being 
 to discover the chateau de Walzen, 
 which we were told stood someirhcre on the Lesse, 
 about three or four miles off, we continued straight on 
 through a very pretty village, completely overshadowed 
 with walnut trees, where some travelling artists were
 
 WALLOON GUIDE. 225 
 
 studying effects, until we arrived at a small cabaret. 
 Here we thought it advisable to ask our way of an 
 old one-eyed cobbler, who was seated beneath the 
 withered branch of pequet, that served as a sign to 
 the cabaret, and who was busily engaged in the sur- 
 gery of old shoes. His answer, " Podri I' mohonn," 
 was rather unintelligible to those not yet sufficiently 
 versed in Walloon to know that it meant " behind 
 the house;" and as our looks bespoke our embar- 
 rassment, the little man nimbly jumped up from 
 his work, and, taking us round, pointed to a narrow 
 lane on the left hand, as the direction we ought to 
 follow. It was a steep ascent, leading into corn fields, 
 and opening out into a fine expanse of country, from 
 whence the deep valleys of the Meuse and the Lesse 
 could be distinctly traced. Here at the foot of a 
 solitary tree, the only guide-post a path to the right 
 soon sinks into a hollow road, which seems to lose 
 itself in a thick wood. As we descended, the sound 
 of rushing waters was distinctly heard, and, at a sharp 
 turn of the road, a magnificent scene opened before us. 
 It was a vast amphitheatre of oval form, the largest 
 diameter being about a mile, and the shortest nearly a 
 thousand yards. The walls of this vast colosseum are 
 lofty hills, covered with living foliage, and whose ver- 
 dant slopes are occasionally broken by enormous masses 
 of gray rock, as fantastic in shape as if the hand of 
 man had purposely fashioned them. The arena is one 
 wide meadow of the brightest green, round which, at
 
 2 2 6 MAGNIFICENT AMPHITHEATRE. 
 
 the base of the woods and rocks, rush the rapid waters 
 of the Lesse, murmuring hoarsely beneath a stupendous 
 cliff, where a weir has been thrown across. The stream 
 appears completely to encircle the meadow, and where it 
 goes to seems a mystery, for there is no apparent outlet ; 
 in its approach, too, it is only visible at intervals above a 
 small wooden bridge, the entrance to the amphitheatre. 
 The whole scene resembled, though on a much larger 
 scale, the beautiful valley above the ruins of Moha, 
 and in the days of chivalry no more appropriate site 
 could have been found for a grand passage of arms. 
 
 We pursued a winding road till we reached the 
 bottom of the slope, when our course lay through 
 orchards, meadows, and gardens, rich in fruit, corn, and 
 autumnal flowers, and through thickets which afforded 
 a pleasant shelter from the burning rays of the sun, 
 now riding high in the heavens without a cloud. 
 
 A fine chateau, belonging to M. Delaert, is a pro- 
 minent feature in the valley, and it indicates either 
 great liberality or confidence in the owner, that apricot 
 and peach trees are trained on the outside of the high 
 garden walls, where the fruit grows within reach of 
 every wayfarer. Seeing that numbers had fallen un 
 cared for, we put a liberal interpretation on the display, 
 and found the peaches as delicious as they were 
 tempting. After passing the chateau, another amphi- 
 theatre appears, less regular than the first, but pos- 
 sessing many of its attributes; this form, indeed, 
 distinguishes the valley of the Lesse, a turbulent stream
 
 THE CHATEAU OF WAL7EN. '2 '2 7 
 
 that seems to run impatiently round and round, to 
 force itself a passage through the mountains. Follow- 
 ing the path across some corn-fields, bordered by a 
 thick hedge of hazel and wild cherry, both abundant 
 in fruit, the next bend of the river brought us in sight 
 of the modern chateau of Walzen, perched on the 
 summit of a perpendicular rock above the deep waters 
 of the Lesse, but far lower than the ancient castle, the 
 mins of which are visible on another height about half 
 a mile beyond. 
 
 Little remains of the old castle ; and of its former 
 lords, all that is told by Hemricourt is, that it 
 was the abode of the " Bon Escuwier, Wathi de 
 Walzen," who flourished in the fourteenth century. 
 Below the chateau is a water-mill, and seeing a fern-- 
 boat we hailed the miller, and under his pilotage crossed 
 the river, seated comfortably in chairs, with a dry board 
 placed beneath our feet, a necessary accommodation, 
 the boat being half full of water. Meaning to stay and 
 dine here in the open air, we asked the miller, a sturdy, 
 well-limbed, good-natured fellow, what he could give us ; 
 he promised milk and potatoes, which, with the contents 
 of a travelling panier, made an excellent dinner. An 
 angler who was whipping the water with a fly sug- 
 gested thoughts of trout, but the sun shone too brightly 
 for the fish to bite, and the fisherman abandoned his 
 sport without any result. Beside this brawling stream, 
 for on our side of the dam its course was broken by 
 large stones, while beneath the chateau it was still and
 
 228 PAKADISE FOR BEES. 
 
 deep, we lingered for two or three hours, and then, 
 re-crossing the fern 7 , began the ascent to the ruins. A 
 good-natured fanner seeing us about to take a circui- 
 tous route, rode after us to tell us we were at liberty to 
 shorten the distance by crossing the grounds of the 
 chateau, and we were glad to profit by his suggestion. 
 Here we found walks, admirably well kept, leading by 
 zigzag paths to the very top, amid plantations of fir and 
 lilac, interspersed with juniper and wild cherry, the 
 natural growth of the soil. A young man and a girl 
 were beating the juniper bushes to collect the berries 
 for the distiller at Houyel, a village a few miles off; and 
 the air was filled with their aromatic odour, mingled 
 with that of the young fir-cone and the perfume from 
 the purple heath. This region must be a perfect 
 paradise for bees, for everything that they most love 
 grows in profusion. The ruins are difficult of access, 
 and the walls are such mere shells that it is better to 
 leave them " alone in their glory," and allow them 
 rather to form part of the fine view which greets us 
 from the table land above them. 
 
 Having gazed our fill we descended by a different 
 path amongst thickets of filbert trees and blackberry 
 bushes, and crossed a broad piece of stubble, envying 
 the possessor of such wide domains in so lovely a spot. 
 A covey of eighteen partridges suddenly rose, and their 
 whirring wings put all our speculations to flight, or 
 rather gave them a new direction, and we fancied every 
 tuft a bird till we were fairlv out of the field. At the
 
 EXAGGERATION. 
 
 2-29 
 
 foot of the hill we met an old woodcutter whom we 
 questioned about the chateau. "It belonged," he said, 
 " to the young Comte d' Hamal ;" and he then entered 
 into a long, melancholy story about the death of the 
 late count and seven of his family only a month before 
 in Paris ! He succeeded in exciting our commise- 
 ration, but it was afterwards very much modified when 
 we found that there had been only one death in the 
 family. The fondness for exaggerating evil, the pro- 
 pensity of common minds, was probably the source of 
 this fiction. 
 
 On our way home, we crossed the bridge leading 
 into the large amphitheatre, and passed through a small 
 farm or rather cluster of cottages, called the hamlet of 
 Pont-sur-Lesse, where we entered the meadow that
 
 230 THE WEIR. 
 
 had so much attracted us at first. It proved as beau- 
 tiful on a closer examination, as we had at first 
 thought it ; and, crossing to the wen 1 , we sat down in 
 front of the magnificent rock which rises there from the 
 bed of the river. It is a most secluded spot, the haunt 
 of numerous kingfishers, who, no doubt, find their 
 account in selecting this locality, to judge by the num- 
 bers of fish which we saw incessantly leaping against 
 the weir, not with the hope of reaching the upper 
 water, for it was too high, but seemingly only for sport, 
 as if they were trying which could leap furthest ; for 
 a moment their silver scales glittered in the air, and 
 then the rushing waters whirled them away into the 
 glassy depths below the fall. We loitered here some 
 time, and then the sinking sun, having already cast 
 the valley into shadow, warned us to retrace our steps 
 homeward. On our way up the hill we stumbled by 
 chance on an old cross of dark grey stone, nearly buried 
 in the earth at the foot of a huge rock. An inscrip- 
 tion in very legible letters, slightly obliterated at one 
 extremity, told of a fatal accident that had happened 
 on the spot nearly two hundred years since; it was as 
 follows : 
 
 : ac : i=sr ff-ffis : faaorajiEF : JFIILS 
 
 DtFEJLiLt : 3?E : D : 15 : 3#S : HE : 24 : fB& : 167 : 
 
 The boy had most probably fallen from the rocks above. 
 
 Our next excursion was to the famous grotto of 
 
 Freyr, in the woods behind the chateau of the Duchesse
 
 EXCURSION TO FREYR. 
 
 231 
 
 de Beaufort Spontin, about three miles above Dinant, 
 on the left bank of the Meuse. To enjoy the shade 
 we crossed the bridge, and followed the towing path 
 through the faubourg of St. Medard ; with smiling 
 gardens and rich orchards, on one hand, and the deep, 
 full river, flowing rapidly, on the other. For the first 
 mile the road is overshadowed with fine walnut trees, 
 and as they disappear the scenery becomes more pic- 
 turesque, and the rocks of Anserenime rise towering 
 above the river, the chosen abode of hawks and crows, 
 always at war with each other, and screaming in their 
 circling flight. The river here makes a deep bend as it 
 passes the island of Moniat, and then a broad basin 
 appears, shut in like a lake by the rugged mountains 
 above the Chateau de Freyr.
 
 232 THE CHATEAU. 
 
 This chateau, which figures in diplomatic annals, 
 being the place where the famous treaty of commerce 
 between France and Spain was signed in 1675, 
 was the seat of the ancient barony of Freyr, 
 which passed into the family of Beaufort Spontin, 
 by the marriage, in 1410, of the Seigneur de Sorinne 
 with Marie d'Orjot, the last descendant of the counts 
 of Agimont and Walcour. The chateau itself, an 
 immense parallelogram, flanked by four towers with 
 pointed roofs, presents nothing remarkable ; but its 
 situation is in the most romantic part of the Meuse, 
 which here exhibits every charm that woods, rocks, and 
 waters can lend. The gardens of Freyr, though laid 
 out in the formal style of two centuries ago, are still not 
 wanting in attraction ; and the sparkling fountains, gay 
 parterres, and long walks, glowing with ripe autumnal 
 fruit, greatly relieved the monotony of their construc- 
 tion. The gardener's son was our cicerone, and a 
 youth of less intelligence it is perhaps difficult to meet 
 with. His discourse, as he led us through the woods, 
 was chiefly about serpents, and he questioned us very 
 particularly in regard to the quantities which he had 
 heard existed in England. He then dilated upon the 
 adders of Freyr, which he said were as thick as a man's 
 body, and very numerous ! No doubt, if he had been 
 pressed on the subject, he would have peopled the 
 caverns with dragons; but we prudently abstained from 
 asking more than the modern history of the grotto, 
 leaving to other authorities the responsibility of de-
 
 DISCOVERY OF THE GEOTTO. 233 
 
 riving the name Freyr from the Scandinavian Venus, 
 Friga. 
 
 It is only five and twenty years since the grotto 
 was accidentally discovered while the late duke was out 
 shooting. His dog, in the pursuit of a fox, ran into 
 an earth and disappeared so long that he was thought 
 to be lost; but in the course of about half an hour 
 he was distinctly heard yelping at a considerable dis- 
 tance from the spot where he entered, and on closely 
 examining the rocks a deep fissure was found, opening 
 out into a spacious chamber, and communicating by a 
 long and sinuous passage with the fox earth. Some 
 labourers were immediately set to work with pickaxe 
 and mattock ; and, the lower aperture enlarged, formed 
 the entrance to a series of eight beautiful galleries, 
 thickly encrusted with stalactites, and terminating in 
 the lofty hah 1 first discovered, which admits a ray of 
 daylight through the brushwood that nearly covers the 
 fissure. The grotto is three hundred and fifty feet in 
 length, and many of the clusters of stalactites are ex- 
 tremely beautiful. Amongst the curious objects which 
 it contains are a mushroom, agaricus rotula, which 
 becomes fossil by the absorption of the water falling 
 from the stalactites charged with carbonate of chalk. 
 The thermometer of Reaumer always remains at eight 
 degrees above zero, summer and winter. Some bones 
 and two or three skulls are shown ; but whether they are 
 the relics of ancient sacrifices, the remains of venerable 
 hermits, or the disjecti membra of refugees or murdered 
 
 T 2
 
 234 
 
 THE GROTTO. 
 
 travellers, tradition is silent. Our guide said that an 
 iron vessel and a poignard were also found when the 
 grotto was first opened ; but, as his tendency was evi- 
 dently towards the marvellous, we were willing to sup- 
 pose them merely an accompaniment to his gigantic 
 adders. We returned from the grotto by a different 
 path, passing under a very fine natural arch or open 
 cavern, and slowly followed the course of the Meuse to 
 Anseremme, where we entered one of the flat-bottomed 
 boats that ply at the ferry, and, with a pretty girl for 
 our Palinurus, paddled down the river till we reached 
 the quay at Dinant.
 
 CASTLE OF MONTAIOI.E. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The Collegiate Church of Dinant Saint Perpetuus Dangerous Rock 
 above the Church Its Removal Excursion to Montaigle Refuge at 
 Sommiers The Cure of Sommiers Road to Montaigle Ruins of 
 the Castle Picturesque Situation Formerly a Roman Station The 
 Legend of Gilles de Chin Processions of Dragons The Dragon 
 of Mons I.e Lumecon Exploits of Gilles de Chin Procession at 
 Wasines- Banners and Pictures Death cf Gilles de Chin His 
 Statue His Epitaph. 
 
 HE Collegiate Church of Dinant, whose 
 oddly shaped spire seems to have been 
 raised on no conceivable principle of art, 
 possesses some features worthy of notice. 
 It is of fine proportions, and built of two 
 kinds of calcareous stone, gray and white, and the black 
 marble of the country has not been spared in its con- 
 struction. The architecture is early pointed of the 
 beginning of the thirteenth century but its antiquity is
 
 236 SAIKT PERPETUUS. 
 
 apparent only in the nave and baptistery and southern 
 porch, the rest of the building having suffered so much 
 during the frequent sieges. The baptistery is extremely 
 curious, and contains an ogive sweep opposite the 
 window, richly ornamented with figures in the arch, 
 besides others on pedestals. Here was formerly shown 
 the great treasure of the church the statue of Saint 
 Perpetuus, the patron of the city in solid silver ; but 
 that has long disappeared, and the saint is now only 
 figured in stone in one of the aisles. Though it is 
 difficult to understand how anything so fragile could 
 have been preserved, some fine old stained glass is still 
 left here and there ; and some of the windows, particu- 
 larly those in the south transept and over the western 
 entrance, are of very beautiful forms. The font, too, 
 is a fine one, and the sculpture over the south portal 
 is curious and elaborate. In the tower is a fine 
 carillon, whose melody rings in the air every half 
 quarter of an hour a little too often, perhaps, on a 
 first acquaintance. 
 
 Besides the chances of war the church has run 
 several risks from fire, and on one occasion was almost 
 buried beneath a mass of rock which fell from the 
 heights under which it is built. This catastrophe befel 
 when the church was full of people, during the funeral 
 ceremony of one of the principal citizens. 
 
 A few days after our arrival we found that the 
 apprehension of a similar accident was entertained 
 throughout Dinant, a deep crack having suddenly
 
 DANGEROUS BOCK. 237 
 
 made its appearance on the surface of the rock, 
 impending over the church and neighbouring houses. 
 To prevent the mass from falling unawares, it was 
 resolved at once to dislodge the most suspicious look- 
 ing fragment, and the whole town was in commotion 
 to witness the operation. The market-place, the 
 bridge, and the opposite shore of the Meuse were 
 crowded with gazers, and eager heads were thrust from 
 every window that could command a view of the spot. 
 The inhabitants dwelling on the dangerous side of the 
 church, were obliged to evacuate their dwellings, and 
 the result was looked forward to with the greatest 
 anxiety. Many wise heads were shaken, and not a 
 few of the alarmists predicted the entire destruction of 
 the church and buildings adjacent. One old woman 
 fell on her knees, and, with many tears and lamenta- 
 tions, put up prayers for the preservation of her abode, 
 and one could not but sympathise with her solicitude, 
 though some who professed themselves acquainted with 
 the precise position of the rock, declared that there was 
 no real danger. 
 
 We had intended that day to visit the ruins of the 
 castle of Montaigle, about six miles off, in the district 
 Entre Sanibre et Meuse, and stopped on the bridge to 
 witness the engineering experiment. At the hour 
 appointed, a workman was lowered by cords from the 
 parapet of the citadel, and there, suspended over an 
 abyss, some three hundred feet deep, with apparently 
 no resting-place for his foot as he swung from point to
 
 238 ITS REMOVAL. 
 
 point, he plied both pickaxe and lever for about hall' 
 an hour, till the threatening mass was sufficiently 
 loosened for the grand coup. He gave it at last, and 
 down it thundered, an avalanche of stone, shivering in 
 its descent into a thousand splinters as it encountered 
 the unequal surface of the rock below, but falling per- 
 fectly harmless, the direction given to it having been 
 well calculated. A cloud of dust rose as it fell, and 
 when that had cleared away, the workman was seen 
 standing on a narrow ledge at the foot of the walls of 
 the citadel, busily engaged in smoothing the surface 
 of the rock from whence the enormous fragment, 
 which it was supposed weighed about forty thousand 
 pounds, had been detached. The people shouted 
 with exultation, the devotee clasped her hands, and 
 wiped her eyes, and we ascended the steep winding 
 road that led to the heights opposite Dinant, but 
 stopping frequently to gaze upon the rock, where the 
 miner was still unconcernedly at work. 
 
 When the level ground is reached, a broad expanse 
 of corn land appears, dotted with farm buildings of 
 large extent, and many of them having that fortified 
 character which is peculiar to Belgium, and did such 
 good service at Hougoumont; in the distance the 
 horizon was skirted with thick woods, towards which 
 we made our way. 
 
 The previous night had been tempestuous, with a 
 good deal of thunder and lightning, and the skies were 
 not yet entirely clear, as we found to our cost in tra-
 
 EXCURSION TO MONTAIGLE. 239 
 
 versing the wide plain between Bouvignes and Som- 
 miers ; for when we were about midway across, without 
 a tree or hedge in sight, the rain came suddenly 
 down in torrents, and drove us for shelter into a corn- 
 field, where the sheaves of rye were yet standing, with 
 which we raised a defence against the storm. When 
 its fury was spent, we scrambled on over a very 
 yielding, slippery soil towards Sommiers, to dry 
 our feet, and ascertain whereabouts the ruins of Mont- 
 aigle were hidden, for this country is so deeply inter- 
 sected that most of its beauties come upon us by 
 surprise. 
 
 The cabarets in the village looked much too dark 
 and dirty to tempt one to enter, so we waded on to 
 the upper extremity, where the only building stood, 
 into which we thought it worth while to venture. It 
 was apparently a farm-house, and while we stood ask- 
 ing for admission of a group of children, who were 
 staring at us from an open barn, a tall man, wearing 
 the clerical soutane, opened the door, and courteously 
 begged us to enter. He was the cure of the village, 
 and a better specimen of the simple country pastor 
 it would be difficult to meet. He led us into his par- 
 lour, and immediately pressed refreshments upon us: 
 " Would we have coffee ? No ? Then, as he had 
 just dined (it was only twelve o'clock), we must take 
 our share with him of a bottle of Bordeaux, that 
 could do no harm ; on the contrary, as we felt damp, 
 it would be exactly the thing." A sprightly looking
 
 240 BEFUGE AT SOMMIEKS. 
 
 girl of fifteen, the cure's niece, instantly disappeared, 
 but speedily returned with wine-glasses, followed by a 
 clean, good-natured looking old woman, bearing the 
 promised bottle. She was the cure's mother, and took 
 her seat beside the stove, while the good priest drew 
 the cork, and filled bumpers all round. It was impos- 
 sible to refuse hospitality so earnestly proffered. 
 
 The cure was a quiet good-tempered man, about 
 forty years of age, of plain, farmer-like aspect, with 
 contentment legibly written on his broad, shining face. 
 His cure consisted of about five hundred souls ; the 
 duty he said was "tres facile," for his parishioners 
 were " des manants bien doux ;" and he passed his 
 time in this quiet village much at his ease, except per- 
 haps in the winter season, when the distance at which 
 the different farms in his parish were separated, ren- 
 dered his duty rather more severe. He was simple, 
 untravelled, and unlettered, knowing little beyond his 
 metier de pretre, and at this season was occupying his 
 leisure in making and setting springes for grives, 
 " le meilleur oiseau qui existe, apres le becasse." He 
 had been cure of Sommiers about ten years, and 
 never left it except once a year to go to his native 
 place, Namur, where all his brothers and sisters 
 lived. He said that the owners of the farms and 
 chateaux all round were his friends, and that he 
 led a very tranquil, happy life. It was easy to be- 
 lieve him. 
 
 An hour soon passed in conversation, and during
 
 EOAD TO MOKTAIGLE. 241 
 
 that time the skies again became bright, and having 
 received minute directions as to the route we were to 
 follow, we took a cordial farewell of the cure, and 
 resumed our progress towards Montaigle. 
 
 About a mile beyond Sommieres the path lies 
 through thick woods, which clothe the sides of a 
 deep valley. Emerging from these by a hollow road, 
 arched over with oak, and ash, and hazel, with a 
 gleam of light in the distance, immense gray rocks 
 come suddenly in view, their surface broken by innu- 
 merable clefts, the nests of hawks and crows ; beyond 
 these extends a broad, emerald mead, a nearly perfect 
 amphitheatre, where on a bold promontory, on either 
 side of which flow the sparkling waters of the Flavion 
 and the Sosoye, stand the ivy- grown towers of Mont- 
 aigle, presenting an ensemble more complete than any 
 we had yet seen. 
 
 The situation of Montaigle is well chosen both for 
 aggression and defence. It is perched at one ex- 
 tremity of a high, narrow peninsula, commanding 
 three separate valleys, by which alone it could be 
 approached. There are numerous towers still stand- 
 ing ; we counted eight nearly entire, save where some 
 deep rents had scored their sides. A quantity of ivy 
 grows on the walls, and there is much foliage within of 
 beech, birch and mountain ash. In one tower is a 
 steep staircase descending two stories deep, but the 
 way down to the vaults is difficult and dangerous. 
 Access to the ruins can onlv be obtained on one side
 
 '242 RUINS OF THE CASTLE. 
 
 over a narrow footbridge that crosses the Flavion, and 
 then the road climbs a steep, rocky pass till it reaches 
 the level greensward at the foot of the castle. 
 
 Montaigle was formerly a Konian station, and 
 derives its name from that which they bestowed on it, 
 " Mons Aquila3." It is supposed that when Julius 
 Cfesar made the conquest of Belgium, one of his legions 
 wintered at this spot under the command of Quintus 
 Cicero, the brother of the immortal orator. The castle 
 bore also the name of Faing, which some derive from 
 Fanium, and assert that a Koinan temple once existed 
 here, while others, with more probability, deduce the 
 etymology from Faigne or Fange, which in Walloon 
 signifies generally a place covered with brushwood. 
 But whatever may be the remoteness of its origin, it is 
 certain that in the middle ages it was a castle of great 
 importance when it belonged to the noble Hainault 
 family of Berlaimont, from whom it was re-purchased 
 in 1289 by Philippe de Gourtenai, Count of Namur. 
 In 14-31 the Liegeois besieged and took Montaigle, 
 which they burnt and devastated, and its walls have 
 never been rebuilt. 
 
 Of the lords of Berlaimont, the former possessors 
 of Montaigle, the most celebrated in history is the 
 famous Gilles de Chin, the hero of Mons, whose 
 memory is kept alive in that city to this day. Al- 
 though the scene of his greatest exploit be distant from 
 the Meuse, yet as his name is conspicuous in the roll 
 of the feudal Chatelains who foraged on its banks, I
 
 THE LEGEND OF GILLES DE CHIN. 4o 
 
 cannot deny myself the pleasure of telling his story 
 here. 
 
 Amongst the religious ceremonies, half Pagan in 
 their origin, which are not yet quite obsolete in various 
 parts of the Continent, the procession of the dragon, 
 on Trinity Sunday, at Mons, is perhaps the most re- 
 markable. The dragon, whether as an object of reli- 
 gious aversion or a necessary appendage to the earlier 
 ages of Christianity, has always occupied a conspicuous 
 position before the public. At Tarascon, where it was 
 called "La Tarasque;" at Poitiers, where it bore the 
 name of " La grand gueule ou la bonne St. Vermine ;" 
 at Rouen, known as " La Gargouille ;" at Rheirns, as 
 " La Kraulla ;" at Troves, as " La Chair Salee ;" at 
 Metz, as " La Graoulli ;" at Paris, as " The Dragon 
 of St. Marcel ;" at Vendome, as " The Dragon of St. 
 Bienheure ;" at Louvaine, Ramillies, and elsewhere, 
 under other local designations; the annual fetes in 
 honour of St. Martha, St. Radegonde, St. Romain, St. 
 Marguerite, St. Victor, and a host of other Saints, 
 not forgetting our own patron Saint, St. George, and 
 the Archangel Michael ; all of whom vanquished 
 Dragons or their similitudes, were long observed ; and 
 still at Mons, the monster victim is paraded with much 
 pomp and circumstance. 
 
 The dragon is there carried in procession, an 
 animal of enormous size and surpassing hideousness, 
 whose ferocious appearance is set off by a number of 
 figures grotesquely apparelled, like the knaves of cards.
 
 vUi THE DRAGON OF MOXS. 
 
 and mounted on hobby-horses of wicker-work; these 
 attendants are called, in the patois of Moiis, " Chin- 
 chins." After the procession, the towns-people as- 
 semble in the principal square, opposite the Hotel 
 de Ville, where a furious single combat takes place 
 between the dragon and a man armed at all points 
 like a knight, who represents St. George, The dragon, 
 after fighting most gallantly with claws and tail, is of 
 course finally vanquished, St. George giving him the 
 coup de grace by shooting him with a pistol ! During 
 the procession, and, indeed, until the monster has 
 received his death-wound, the multitude continue to 
 sing a popular song, called " Le Dou-dou," the words 
 of which are as follows : 
 
 Nos irons vir 1' car d' or a 1' procession de Mon, 
 Ce s'ra P poupee St. Georg' qui no' suivra de long. 
 C' est P doudou, c' est I* mama, 
 C' est T poupee, poupee, poupee, 
 C' est 1' doudou, c' est P mama, c'est P poupee St. Georg' qui va. 
 
 Les gins du rempart riront com' des kiards de vir tant de carottes, 
 Les gins du culot riront com' des sots de vir tant de carot a leu' pots. 
 
 There are many more verses, but as they are not 
 more remarkable for either sense or elegance, those 
 I have given may suffice. 
 
 While the combat lasts, the city guard march round 
 the square, occasionally discharging their fire-arms. 
 The whole ceremony is from this circumstance called 
 " Le Lumegon," the patois of Mons for liniagon the 
 circular movement of the burgher guard being com- 
 pared to a screw.
 
 THE DRAGON OF MONS. 245 
 
 The popular tradition concerning the origin of this 
 custom is, that it was instituted to keep in remem- 
 brance a celebrated feat of arms, performed by a knight 
 named Gilles de Chin, the lord of Beiiairnont and 
 Chamberlain of Hainault, who, in the year 1133 slew 
 a terrible dragon which abode in the forest of Wasmes, 
 a league and a-half from Mons, and desolated the 
 entire province. The head of this pretended dragon 
 is still shown in the public library of the city, and has 
 given rise to much discussion amongst the learned but 
 unscientific writers who have described it. The Abbe 
 Hosart declares the head to be that of a hippopotamus, 
 and endeavours to show that it was violently cut off' 
 with a hatchet, while M. Hoverlant is equally strenuous 
 in asserting that it is the head of a real dragon, and, 
 in support of argument, writes eighty pages of history 
 to prove the existence of dragons.* All the natural- 
 ists, however, who have examined the skeleton, pro- 
 nounce it to be the head of a crocodile, which was, in 
 all probability, brought from the East by one of the 
 Crusaders, perhaps by Gilles de Chin himself, whose 
 deeds of arms have been recorded both in chronicle and 
 romance. t That he was a notable preux, there can be 
 
 * Vide ' Kssai sur 1' Histoire de Tournay," par Hoverlant. 
 
 t On our way homeward, through Hainault, we stopped at Mons, 
 and had the satisfaction of making a personal acquaintance, not only 
 with the crocodile's head in the public library, but with the dragon 
 himself, whom we found shut up in a lumber-room at the back of the 
 Hotel de Ville. The person who showed him said that he was sup- 
 plied with a new mine, and that his coat was freshly painted every year. 
 He is truly a formidable beast, and m?rits the immortality which he
 
 246 EXPLOITS OF GILLES DE CHIX. 
 
 little doubt; for in his first essay of arms at the tourney 
 of " La Garde St. Remy," we are told that he over- 
 threw four knights with his lance, and " pms Gillion 
 de Chin, mist la main a 1' espee, sy eucommencha a 
 ferir a destre et a senestre, puis quant il n' avoit espace 
 de esmer son cop, il frappoit du pumel de son espee 
 sur ces healmes par sy grant force qui les estonnoit, en 
 tel rnaniere que tons estourdis, ilz tomboient par teiTe, 
 &c."* Gislebert de Gernbloux, the famous chronicler 
 of Hainault, testifies, in a more positive manner, to 
 one of his exploits in the Holy Land, though the beast 
 which he slew was neither a dragon or a crocodile, 
 but a lion. He says : " Hie equidem Egidius de Gin 
 dum vixit omnium niilituni in hoc sseculo viventium 
 probissimus in aimis dictus est, qui in transmarinis 
 partibus cum leone ferocissimo solus dimicans ilium vicit 
 et interfecit non sagitta vel arcu sed scuto et laucea." t 
 This, and other feats of arms, the valiant knight may 
 have performed in the Holy Land; but there is no 
 evidence to show that his warlike arm ever rid his 
 
 appears likely to enjoy; for the people of Mons, notwithstanding their 
 locality in the midst of railroads and coal-mines, would part with many 
 things more willingly than their dragon. 
 
 * " La Chronique de bon Chevalier Messire Gilles de Chin, 
 publiee d'apres un manuscrit de la Bibliotheque de hourgogne a 
 Bruxelles, par la Societe des Bibliophiles a Mons." 1837. 
 
 f The type of the combat of the Seigneur de Berlaimont with his 
 dragon may be found in that described by the Abbe Vertot, in his his- 
 tory of the Knights of Malta, where he gives the details of the manner 
 in which a knight, named Dieudonne de Gozon, vanquished a terrific 
 crocodile in the island of Rhodes. " Histoire de 1' Ordre de Maltre," 
 ed. 1726, torn 2, pp. 22, &c.
 
 PROCESSION AT WASMES. 247 
 
 native country of such a monster, though the popular 
 belief, aided by painted and graven records, asserts the 
 fact. The country people at Wasmes pretend to show 
 the cavern in which the dragon dwelt, and every year 
 a procession takes place, on the Tuesday after Pente- 
 cost, in memory of the event. At two o'clock in the 
 morning the priest says mass, and at four the cortege 
 sets out. Besides the image of Our Lady of Wasmes, 
 another banner is borne, depicting the combat between 
 Gilles de Chin and the dragon, with the Virgin appear- 
 ing to him. On one side these lines are written in 
 large characters : 
 
 " Attaques Gilles de Chin ce dragon furieux 
 Et tu seras de lui par moi victorieux." 
 
 Previous to 1789, six brotherhoods, in different 
 costumes, accompanied the procession, which lasted 
 four hours, and had the right to pass in any direction, 
 even across the standing corn. 
 
 In the church of Wasmes may still be seen a very 
 badly painted picture, representing the knight on his 
 knees before the Virgin, and these rhymes beneath : 
 
 " Sainte Vierge en ce jour 
 Je viens pour t'implorer 
 De detruire en ce jour 
 Un dragon qui vient nous devorer." 
 
 Amongst the written authorities for the story is one 
 contained in a MS. of the public library at Mons, 
 which, under the head of " St. Gislain," gives the fol- 
 lowing note :
 
 '-i48 DEATH OF GILLES DE CHIN. 
 
 " Au diet cloistre de Saint Ghislain gist Gilles de 
 Chyn, mais sa sepulture est toute brisee; 1'escripture 
 qui estoit sur son tombeau est telle et portait les 
 armes de Couchy. 
 
 " L'an mil cent et xxxvn, iij e jours devant le niy- 
 aoust, trespassa messire Gille de Chin ly boins chers 
 <]ui fut tue d 'une lariche, et est cius qui tua le gayant, 
 et en fet-on 1' obit* a Monsieur St. Ghislain en 1 ' abbaie 
 u il gist, trois jours devant my-aoust, aussi solemuelle- 
 ment c'on fait du roy Dagobert qui fonda 1'egle, ne 
 quy d ' abbet en 1' an quiconque puisse dire, ne pour 
 feste qui soit ou ne liroit a faire son service. t Et fut 
 tue a Rollecourt Gille de Chyn d ' une lanche." 
 
 De Bossu, in his history of Mons, quotes an 
 epitaph which was to be seen in the vaults of the 
 abbey of St. Ghislain at the village of Wasmes, which, 
 however, is only another version of that which still 
 exists on the shield of the statue of Gilles de Chin, 
 in the possession of the conservator of the public- 
 library at Mons. 
 
 This curious statue is in the black marble of the 
 country, but not being polished, it has the appearance 
 of hewn stone. It is slightly mutilated, but the work- 
 manship has been carefully executed. The knight is 
 
 * The arms of Coucy in Picardy, and of Berlaimont in Hainault 
 were the same : " Fasce de vair et de gueule." The arms of Chin 
 are the sime, with a canton argent for difference. In Hemricourt's 
 " Noblesse de la Hesbaye," the arms of Berlaimont are charged, in 
 addiiion, with six escallop shells on the fesse, three, two, and one. 
 
 f This in ss is still celebrated annually on the 12th of August.
 
 HIS STATUE. 
 
 240 
 
 represented with his hands clasped on his breast, a 
 helmet on his head, and a hauberk round his neck, over 
 which is his surcoat. His shield, 
 bearing the inscription, is sustained 
 by a thong, which crosses his body 
 diagonally, and is placed on the 
 left of the figure, His feet rest 
 upon a dog, a remarkable feature, 
 for dogs,* the emblems of fidelity, 
 were only placed at the feet of 
 women, while those of men always 
 rested on lions. The face of the 
 statue is of white marble, as were 
 also the hands, but they have been 
 broken. 
 
 The inscription on the shield 
 probably of three centuries later date than the statue 
 
 is as follows : 
 
 " Cy gist Messire Gilles de Chin, chambellan de 
 
 Haynnau, Sr. de Berlaymont, aussi de Ohievres et de 
 Sars de par sa fernme Dame Idon. Personnaige digne 
 de memoire tant pour son zel au service de Dieu que 
 pour sa valeur dans les armes ; lequel ayde de la vierge 
 tua un dragon qui faisoit grand degast au terroir de 
 Wasines. II fut enfin occy a Eouillecourt 1' an 1137. 
 Et icy ensevely ayant donne de grands biens a ceste 
 maison an village de Wasmes. Requiescat in pace." 
 
 (Gilles Be (Kfiin 
 r. fie Berlapmont. 
 
 * A dog was perhaps chosen on account of the assistance rendered 
 by one in the attack upon the dragon.
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Poiivache Early History of the Castle originally called "The Eme- 
 rald" Changed to Poilvaque Its destruction The Gatte d'Or 
 Bertha of Bierloz Her beauty and perfidy Her strange death 
 
 The ruins -Beauty of Scenery Tour de Moniot 
 
 The Gleaners Possible Feud. 
 
 I HE ruins of Poiivache, once the strongest 
 and most formidable castle in the Wal- 
 loon country, stand upon a broad and 
 lofty promontory about three miles below 
 Dinant on the right bank of the Meuse. 
 The immense height of the rocks, rising 
 full 300 feet perpendicularly above the 
 village of Houx, rendered the castle inac- 
 cessible on the river side, while on the east 
 it was defended by a strong line of walls and towers, 
 and on the west by a deep ravine, besides being pro- 
 tected by a donjon keep on a neighbouring height, 
 which still bears the name of the tower of Mono'i or 
 Moniot. It once held a town within its walls, but in
 
 EARLY HISTORY OF POILVACHE. '251 
 
 the vast space which they still enclose nothing but a 
 few crumbling fragments now remain. 
 
 The first authentic record concerning Poilvache 
 dates from the eleventh century, though tradition 
 assigns it a still greater antiquity, being named in 
 romance as one of the castles which were attacked by 
 the four valiant sons of Aymon, in the course of their 
 long feud with Charlemagne. It was certainly a fief 
 of the empire, for in the year 1086, the Emperor 
 Henry IV., bestowed it on Conrad, Count of Luxem- 
 bourg, as a marriage portion with his daughter Cle- 
 mence. From his family it passed into that of Lim- 
 bourg, in the person of Count Waleran who held it in 
 1287. In 1280, it became the property of Henri 
 1' Aveugle, Count of Luxembourg, who held it in fee 
 of the Counts of Namur.* At his death a violent 
 dispute arose as to whether it should belong to the 
 houses of Limbourg or Luxembourg ; but it was at 
 length agreed that the latter should retain it, and thus 
 it continued in the family of Luxembourg till the time 
 of Charles, the Blind King of Bohemia, who fell so 
 nobly at Crecy, and who, previous to the campaign 
 
 * A charter of this year (1280), published in the " Monuments pour 
 servir a I'Mstoire des provinces de Namur, &c." by the Baron de Reiffen- 
 berg, specifies the nature of the tenure of Poilvache : ".Nous Henris, 
 coens de Luxembourch, et Marchis d' Erlons, faisons savoir & tous 
 cheaus qui ces lettres verront et orront, ke nous le chastiel et le ville 
 de Poilvache, &c. &c., avons reprins et reprendrons en fief et en 
 hommage perpetuelement et hiretaulment pour nous et pour nos hoirs 
 singneurs, &c., de no tres chier et amei singneur et fil, Guyon Conte 
 de Flandres et Marchis de Namur, a tenir de luy, &c."
 
 252 EARLY HISTORY OF POILVACHE. 
 
 against the English, sold it in perpetuity for 27,300 
 florins to the Count of Namur, who then formally 
 annexed it to his territory. 
 
 During the time that Poilvache belonged to the 
 King of Bohemia it was called " Castrum Bohemorum," 
 but it originally bore the poetical designation of " The 
 Emerald," before it was known as Poilvache. Philippe 
 Mousques, whose chronicle was written in the earlier 
 part of the thirteenth century, described it as " Poil- 
 vake li fors castiaus," but adds that, " the envious and 
 evil-speaking people of Huy and Dinant * who dwelt 
 near, looked upon the castle as an ill- neighbour, and 
 called it out of spite ' Poilvaque/ f because their swine 
 and cows and all their cattle were carried off from 
 before their doors, although in the country of (Count) 
 Waleran (Limbourg), it had, by Ian, been proclaimed 
 ' Emerald.' But the name of Polivache clung to it." 
 
 The castle withstood repeated sieges, the most re- 
 markable being those under the conduct of Jean d'Eppes, 
 Prince Bishop of Liege, in the thirteenth century, and 
 of Adolphus de la Marck at a later period, when 
 it was almost entirely destroyed. It was afterwards 
 rebuilt and restored to its original splendour; but its 
 day of ruin came in 1430, when Bishop Jean de Heins- 
 
 * Mais la gent envionse et baude 
 Cil de Hui et cil de Dinant 
 Ki la entor ierent manant, &c. &c. 
 
 f " Poilva'jnf ," literally "robber of the cows' hide." Fide Roque- 
 fort, " Gloss, de la Langue Roman;" art " Poiler."
 
 THE GATTE D*OR. 253 
 
 berg at the head of the old enemies Poilvache, 
 the people of Huy and Dinant, attacked and took it, 
 leaving nothing but the broken walls which still crown 
 the rocky heights, to tell the tale of its former gran- 
 deur. Poilvache is one of those ruins to which the 
 superstition of the Walloons has assigned an important 
 rank. The larvae, or familiar demons called " Nutons"* 
 are supposed to haunt the caverns in the rock ; and a 
 tradition prevails here of the existence of the gatte d'or, 
 the treasure-fiend who has chosen his dwelling at Beau- 
 fort, at Moha, at Franchimont, at Ambleve, everywhere, 
 in short, where subterranean passages are to be found. 
 Not far from Poilvache, on the banks of the river 
 Bocq, is a high rock on which are still to be seen 
 the ruins of an old tower, which, in the early part of 
 the thirteenth century, was tenanted by an old knight 
 named Gauthier de Bierloz, one of the class called 
 Milites casati, who, possessing small fiefs, lived in 
 dependence on some prince or high justiciary. He 
 had but one child, a daughter named Bertha, of sur- 
 passing beauty She had, of course, numerous ad- 
 
 * The word Nuton is derived from Noctis homines, in Walloon, 
 Nutte horns; in the same manner sotay comes from sublerra, soterre. 
 Philippe Monsques, speaking of the former, says: 
 
 " Quar nient plus, comme s'il fust nuituns, 
 Ne sorent qu' il devint ca-scuns." 
 
 In clearing a forest, the labourers often find the remains of old 
 forges which they call " Crayats de Nutons," and if any scoriae of iron 
 or lead are amongst them, they give them the name of " Vesses de 
 Nutons." The belief is constant everywhere in the country that these 
 gnomes were the first to teach mankind the value of iron.
 
 254 BEKTHA OF BIEELOZ. 
 
 mirers, but had distinguished above them all a young 
 esquire named Alard, in the service of Waleran, Duke 
 of Limbourg, her father's suzerain, who dwelt at 
 Poilvache. 
 
 The mutual love of Bertha and Alard was known 
 to the Duchess of Limbourg, who approved of then- 
 union, which was on the point of being celebrated, 
 when Bertha, for the first tune, came to the Castle of 
 Poilvache. Her beauty caused such a powerful effect 
 on the duke, that it overcame every sentiment of 
 honour and fidelity ; and the duchess being suddenly 
 obliged to visit her domains at La Roche, Waleran 
 took advantage of her absence to declare the passion 
 which Bertha had inspired. Dazzled by his rank and 
 the splendour of his offers, Bertha forgot the vows 
 she had proffered to Alard, and yielded to the spirit of 
 avarice which formed the basis of her character. Her 
 unfortunate lover was thrown into one of the deepest 
 dungeons of the castle, where, it was said, he perished 
 miserably, and Bertha became the avowed mistress of 
 the duke, who gratified her love of personal splendour 
 by heaping upon her all the wealth of which he was 
 master, while she consoled herself for the execration of 
 the world by appearing, on all occasions in public, 
 decked in the most costly attire, and wearing the 
 richest jewels. 
 
 Her hour of triumph was however brief; for one 
 day she suddenly disappeared, and none could tell 
 whither she had gone. Waleran caused every search
 
 HER STRANGE DEATH. 255 
 
 to be made for her, and at last, all of mortal that 
 belonged to her was found. Her body, loaded with 
 gold chains, was discovered in one of the vaults of the 
 castle the same that had witnessed her lover's last 
 sigh. How it came there, or what was the immediate 
 cause of her death, none could imagine; but, ever 
 since that time, the story goes that the gatte d'or has 
 haunted the caverns beneath Poilvache, where it has 
 been often seen blazing with gold and jewels, and 
 luring to the edge of a fearful precipice those who have 
 been bold enough to enter. The peasants believe that 
 the gatte d'or of Poilvache is the spirit of the ava- 
 ricious Bertha of Bierloz, who still guards the treasures 
 which, in her lifetime, she prized beyond her truth 
 and fame. 
 
 Though not treasure- seekers, we were very desirous 
 of exploring the ruins of Poilvache, and though the 
 ascent was infinitely more difficult than we had antici- 
 pated, we succeeded in scrambling up to them on the 
 eastern side, and entered by a window broken down to 
 a doorway, at a part where the castle hangs nearly per- 
 pendicularly over the village of Houx. The walls are 
 on two sides still entire, and the whole enceinte is 
 clearly defined, occupying ten acres of ground or more. 
 It is very much overgrown with shrubs, wild cherry, 
 dwarf oak, hazel, and barberry, and the turf is one 
 carpet of wild thyme filled with bees. Nearly in the 
 centre of the area is the vaulted entrance to a deep 
 well supplied by the river, into which we very
 
 256 
 
 TOUR DE MONIOT. 
 
 cautiously peeped; but though we looked with reverent 
 gaze, none of the spirits of the mountain were visible. 
 The view of the country from the battlements of Poil- 
 vache is most magnificent, and the course of the Me use 
 may be traced for several miles, both above and below 
 the castle. Between Poilvache and Dinant the scenery 
 is of a sterner character than in the direction of Yvoir, 
 the hills being more bare and the rocks more naked 
 and abrupt. 
 
 TOUR DE MONIOT. 
 
 The rock on which the ruins stand is the abode 
 of the largest and fiercest hawks to be found throughout 
 the country apt representatives of the old feudal 
 seigneurs.
 
 THE GLEANERS. 257 
 
 After lingering for some hours in this enchanting 
 spot, we took a different and easier path to descend, 
 where the stream of the Houx divides the heights 
 of Poilvache from those of Moniot. On our way home 
 we observed in some large corn-fields, where the 
 labourers were carrying oats, a vast concourse of women 
 and children, many of whom had passed us on the 
 road, who were assembled for the purpose of gleaning 
 They had taken up their station, rake in hand, in 
 different parts of the plain, and it was as much as the 
 labourers could do to prevent them from falling to 
 before the ground was clear. As soon as the last pile 
 of sheaves was carried the signal was given, and the 
 whole were let loose ; tongue and hand went together, 
 all screamed with anxiety and delight, and plied their 
 rakes with so much good- will that in a quarter of an 
 hour the field was bare. Hardly was this labour of 
 love accomplished, when a cloud of light-armed female 
 peasantry swept down upon the plain in the direction 
 of Dinant; but they came too late the harvest was 
 already gathered. We encountered several groupes of 
 women after we left the field, moving leisurely towards 
 the scene of action. 
 
 " If you don't move a little quicker," we observed, 
 as they passed us, "you will be able to glean very 
 little." 
 
 " Comment ! " was the reply, " on nous a dit pour 
 six heures." 
 
 " Precisement et on a commence a quatre heures." 
 
 v 2
 
 258 POSSIBLE FEUD. 
 
 The same story repeated, served to quicken their 
 pace astonishingly. At last canie one old woman and 
 her daughter; the fatal news was imparted. At first 
 she seemed scarcely able to comprehend so violent a 
 breach of faith ; but when assured of it she shook her 
 rake in anger, shrieked out to her daughter, " Jesus ! 
 Teresa; on a meschine!"* and scurried away as fast 
 as her legs could carry her, and her voice still rent the 
 air, long after she was out of sight. 
 
 It is the custom during the season of harvest 
 for the farmers to send word to the different villagers 
 at what hour the gleaning is to begin. Some perfidious 
 emissary, a partisan of those of Houx, had purposely 
 deceived those of Dinant, a deed to beget ill-blood. 
 
 * Moissonne.
 
 Preparations for the Ardennes Horses The Side-saddle The Law 
 Suit Riding Habit The Musical Tailor The Serenade The Side- 
 saddle again The Black Barb Departxire for Givet Road to Givet 
 Frontier Douaniers Difficulty of Entrance Guarantees Admis- 
 sion to La belle France Givet Legend of the Comte de Chimay 
 His fondness for Hunting Its Consequences His Imprison- 
 ment The Young Cross-bowman The Discovery The Message 
 The Messenger The Rescue The Count's Speech ani Revenge 
 i His Death. 
 
 S one of our objects in fixing our- 
 selves at Dinant had been to make 
 it the point of departure for the 
 Ardennes, for which its situation 
 renders it so convenient, we began, 
 after a three weeks' sojourn, to make preparations for 
 the expedition. 
 
 It may be asked what preparations were necessary ? 
 The high-roads were good, they were traversed by dili- 
 gences, the boars and wolves had not yet been driven 
 by winter from their lairs, the country was free from 
 robbers, and, as the advertisements, say, " the most 
 timorous might venture with safety." 
 
 It will, however, be remembered that in order com- 
 pletely to explore the country, it had been our inten- 
 tion to ride through it, nor did this seem of difficult
 
 260 HORSES. 
 
 accomplishment, for horses of first-rate character were 
 confidently promised, and one in particular, " un noir 
 qui a porte line dame Anglaise," was vaunted by our 
 host as second only though the simile was not his 
 " to the flying camel of the Prophet." In the article of 
 quadrupeds, therefore, all seemed satisfactory, though, 
 for some reason or other, we could never succeed in 
 obtaining a sight of the animals ; but we were told as 
 is the custom wherever the French language is spoken 
 to make ourselves " parfaitement tranquiDes," so we 
 thought no more about them. 
 
 But if horses were plentiful and first-rate, it did not 
 appear that their equipments were equally so ; and the 
 question put by M. Lallieu was, to an English lady, 
 rather startling. 
 
 " What kind of saddle would Madame like to 
 have ? " * 
 
 We replied there was but one kind, " a side-saddle." 
 
 " Ah ! oui -je comprends ; pour se mettre d' un 
 cote." 
 
 " Of course ; that which the lady had who rode the 
 black horse." 
 
 " C'est bien vrai, Monsieur, mais il faut que je 
 vous explique un peu; desirez vous acheter la selle ? " 
 
 " Buy the saddle ! No ; who ever heard of buying 
 a saddle when one hired a horse ? If you sold the horse 
 with it, well and good. Havn't you got a side-saddle ? " 
 
 * In the Ardennes, and generally throughout the Walloon country, 
 the women ride a califourchon.
 
 THE SIDE SADDLE. 261 
 
 " Quant a moi, Monsieur non ! Mais je vais 
 vous dire, il y a une selle dans la ville que je pourrais 
 vous procurer." 
 
 And then to depart from colloquy M. Lallieu 
 proceeded to explain the state of the case. 
 
 It seemed that an English lady and gentleman, 
 who, like ourselves, had been staying at the Hotel de 
 la Poste, were desirous also of riding, and there being 
 at that time no such thing as a side-saddle in Dinant, 
 the gentleman sent to Namur and bought one, and 
 when he went away parted with it for a consideration 
 to M. Lallieu, who, in his turn, disposed of it to the 
 saddler of Dinant there being only one of the craft ; 
 but in the course of the latter negotiation some misun- 
 derstanding arose which led to a proces, and the 
 saddler and mine host were consequently at feud. A 
 more unlucky demand than ours could therefore hardly 
 have been made. M. Lallieu's proposition was, that 
 the difficulty should be solved by our buying the saddle. 
 But as, in all probability, we should not have required 
 it for more than a week, and as we could not well have 
 packed it in a carpet bag or portmanteau when we set 
 out on our travels, we were obliged to reject the offer, 
 and M. Lallieu, being very desirous of obliging us, 
 promised, by diplomacy or otherwise, to obtain the 
 desired object. 
 
 A riding habit was the next thing necessary, and 
 attracted by certain engravings from the Petit Courier 
 des Dames, representing Amazons in various attitudes,
 
 '262 THE RIDING HABIT. 
 
 which figured in a tailor's window, we inquired whether 
 it were possible to have one made. 
 
 " II n'y a rien de plus facile," was the tailor's reply, 
 and so he would have answered had he been required 
 to steer a seventy-four, or ride a steeple-chase ; for to a 
 tailor whatever may be his country "il n'y a rien 
 d'impossible." To him, therefore, was confided the 
 task of building the habit, which was promised within 
 two days; but certain misgivings afterwards arose in 
 our minds, when we met that same tailor, that very 
 afternoon, at the head of a band of musicians, himself 
 the bearer of an enormous French horn, proceeding 
 along the banks of the Meuse, to practise alfresco, for 
 the approaching fete of Bouvignes. He betrayed no 
 symptoms of embarrassment at being thus caught " in 
 the manner," but with a bow of the most graceful kind, 
 as if he had been the maitre de la cour to his majesty 
 King Leopold, saluted us with a flourish of his hat and 
 a sort of self- approving gesticulation as he turned to 
 his companions, which seemed to him a sufficient com- 
 pensation for any delay that might happen to arise 
 from his indulgence in his musical propensities. Our 
 misgivings, however, were more than confirmed the 
 following day, when we passed the shop and saw no 
 signs of work, though the sounds which issued from a 
 little back parlour intimated only too plainly that 
 " music had charms." However, at the end of four 
 days, the work was finished, 
 
 " If ' finished' might be said where fit was none;"
 
 THE SERENADE. 263 
 
 and perhaps it was as much in token of triumph at the 
 accomplishment of the arduous feat as for any other 
 cause, that the tailor's tremendous horn poured forth 
 its unmistakeable tones in a serenade that took place 
 the same night beneath our bed-room window. The 
 loudest in exultation as the serenaders cheered when 
 they departed, was unquestionably that tailor ! 
 
 As we had been requested to name beforehand the 
 day on which we intended to set out, to give time for 
 the famous black horse to be brought in from a distant 
 farm, we gave the intimation for the second day follow- 
 ing, and again the saddle became the subject of 
 discussion. To influence our decision, a large book 
 was produced, containing engravings of all the saddles 
 that ever were used since the days of their first inven- 
 tion, our particular attention being directed to one as 
 " bien commode," which bore a striking resemblance 
 to an easy chair of the largest dimensions. By good 
 luck the right species found one representative in the 
 volume, and this alone we said was admissible. It was 
 a tolerably-faithful portrait of the cause of litigation 
 between the saddler and our host, and seeing that we 
 were bent upon having this and no other, it was finally 
 promised, moyennant a certain sum for its hire, and the 
 hire also of a whip and bridle ! 
 
 All the preliminaries being now settled, the day 
 broke which was to witness our equestrian experi- 
 ment. We had resolved, before we actually proceeded 
 to the Ardennes, to give the horses a trial, in an
 
 264 THE BLACK BARE. 
 
 excursion that should last only one day, and we had 
 reserved the scenery between Dinant and Givet for this 
 purpose* 
 
 At an early hour the clattering of hoofs beneath 
 our windows announced the arrival of the steeds ; but 
 when we came to the door of the hotel we looked in 
 vain for the spirited black barb. In its place stood a 
 seedy-looking animal, the picture of passive dejection ; 
 and its companion, a stouter beast, belonged manifestly 
 to the team of a diligence. Vain was our reclamation, 
 vain our objurgation : these were the horses, and there 
 were no others to be had in Dinant. 
 
 " Us sont accoutumes a faire de longues courses 
 tous les jours," was the eager exclamation of M. Lallieu, 
 " il vous meneront parfaitement bien, je vous en 
 reponds." 
 
 No one who looked at these unhappy brutes could 
 have doubted for a moment their habit of making long 
 journeys the only question was, whether they had 
 not been too much accustomed to do so ; but as better 
 might not be, and as it often chances that " the dullest 
 will show fire," we determined to accept our fate, at 
 least for that day, and to the great delight of the good 
 people of Dinant, who had simultaneously come to 
 their doors and windows to gaze on the habit Amazone, 
 and catch a glimpse of the wondrous saddle, we clat- 
 tered merrily through the street, and soon left the 
 Roche a Bayard behind. It was not long before we 
 found that the cheval de diligence and the cheval de
 
 ROAD TO GIVEX. 265 
 
 xelle are two distinct animals, and the necessity for 
 revising the treaty, and contracting another on a new 
 basis, at once became evident ; but as we were bent on 
 making out the excursion, like the lady Banssiere, we 
 " rode on." 
 
 The day was rather overcast and threatened rain, 
 but there was a fine, cool breeze, and the road itself 
 was delightful. A little beyond Anseremme, at the 
 bridge over the Lesse, we began to ascend, climbing 
 the mountain which overlooks the valley of the Meuse 
 on one side, and that of the Lesse, on the other. The 
 gardens and turrets of Freyr were soon passed on the 
 right, and the spire of Hulsonniaux on the left, and, 
 passing through Falmignoul, we got into a thickly- 
 wooded country, picturesque in the extreme, from the 
 great variety it offered. Near Blaimont the descent is 
 very rapid, the road winding quite round the base of a 
 mountain, and crossing a high bridge of a single arch, 
 over a valley, dry at this season of the year, but in 
 winter filled by a tributary of the Meuse. At the 
 extremity of this valley we caught a glimpse of the 
 ruins of Agimont a little above the two villages of 
 Hastiere-Lavaux and Hastiere-par-dela ; near which 
 was formerly an abbey, built in the tenth century, but 
 burnt and destroyed by a body of French Calvinists, 
 under the command of the Seigneur de Genlis, in 
 the religious war of 1568. 
 
 As we approached the frontier the character of the 
 scenery suddenly changed ; the hills were wide and bare,
 
 266 DOUANIERS. 
 
 and the Meuse now flowed between level banks entirely 
 devoid of beauty. The last Belgian village is Heer, a 
 straggling, dilapidated, miserable place, noticeable only 
 on account of the quarries of red marble in its neigh- 
 bourhood. A little further on we crossed the frontier^ 
 and with the fine fortress of Charlemont in view rode 
 down the avenue that leads to Givet. 
 
 At the drawbridge we met with a slight interrup- 
 tion. At the sound of our approach two officers of the 
 douane came forth from their glte by the wayside, and 
 laid a hand on each bridle. 
 
 " Pourquoi a, mes amis ?" was the interrogatory. 
 
 " II faut donner une caution avant que d' entrer 
 dans la ville." 
 
 " A guarantee ! for what ?" 
 
 "That you do not intend to sell these horses in 
 France !" 
 
 It was impossible to help laughing at the idea, for 
 both our steeds together would have been dear at a 
 hundred francs; and I asked the douanier if he thought 
 it at all likely that I could sell them, even if I were so 
 disposed. 
 
 " I don't know, indeed," he replied, grinning in 
 spite of himself; " but for ah 1 that you can't enter with- 
 out giving a caution." 
 
 While this colloquy was going on, my own poor 
 beast stood quietly enough ; but its companion, as if to 
 show that it really was worth something, manifested 
 the greatest impatience, and in spite of the sentinel
 
 ADMISSION. 267 
 
 who brought his bayonet down to the charge, endea- 
 voured to dash across the drawbridge, so, fearing some 
 mishap, as the ditch of the fortification was inconve- 
 niently near, I pulled out a note with which I had been 
 supplied by my host at Dinant, addressed to him of 
 the Mont d' or at Givet, and asked if that would satisfy 
 him that we had no intention of smuggling the valu- 
 able animals we rode. He glanced at it, gave it to a 
 man to carry to the hotel, took off his cap, welcomed 
 us to la belle France, the sentry raised his musket, and 
 we entered Givet in triumph. 
 
 However beautiful France may be in the interior, 
 she rarely displays her charms on her frontiers, at 
 least on the northern boundary; and no one who 
 enters Givet would willingly stay there longer than is 
 necessary to change horses. But as we were not per- 
 mitted to change ours, we were content to bait them, 
 and ordering a dinner to be got ready by our return, we 
 pushed on to Vireux, passing by the picturesque ruins 
 of Hierches/and skirting the ancient forest of Couvin, 
 which in former days extended to the banks of the 
 Meuse, and was as famous then for its wild boars and 
 wolves as it now is for its mines and quarries. Of 
 a certain lord of that forest, who flourished in the 
 fourteenth century, the following singular story is 
 told : 
 
 Jean de Croy, created by Charles the Bold Comte 
 de Chimay and Grand Bailli of Hainault, was a 
 brave and warlike baron. Always ready to break a
 
 LEGEND OF THE COMTE DE CHIMAY. 
 
 lance, to fly a falcon, or track a boar, he was surnamed 
 "Le Comte a laHouzette," on account of the long boots 
 which he constantly wore. 
 His chiefest delight was in 
 the chase, and, like the Wild- 
 grave of the German ballad, 
 he suffered no consideration 
 to mar his sport; he never 
 stopped for anything, but rode 
 furiously straight on, little 
 heeding the damage he did to the crops of the unfor- 
 tunate husbandmen. No representation availed them 
 with the reckless count, whose only reply was a 
 haughty expression of contempt, or threat of punish- 
 ment; until, at length, finding remonstrance useless, a 
 few of the most resolute amongst them entered into a 
 secret combination, to put an end to this destruction 
 of their principal means of subsistence. They deter- 
 mined to lie in ambuscade for the count, to take 
 advantage of some unguarded moment, and having 
 captured their tyrant, either to put him to death, or 
 confine him so closely, that no mortal should ever 
 know whether he were alive or dead. 
 
 The opportunity for carryimg their design into 
 execution was not long wanting. 
 
 One day when the count was hunting in the 
 neighbourhood of Couvin, and, according to custom, 
 devastating the fields and gardens that lay in the way 
 as he swept over them with horse and hound, the
 
 HIS IMPRISONMENT. 269 
 
 confederates who had been anxiously watching his 
 progress, took advantage of his having outstripped his 
 companions in the eager pursuit of a stag which he 
 had followed into a thick wood, and suddenly falling 
 upon him, tore him from his horse, bandaged his eyes, 
 tied his arms behind his back, and in this condition 
 led him away prisoner, suffering his steed to run loose, 
 and thus give to his followers the appearance of their 
 master having been thrown over some precipice, or 
 into the river. They dragged the count through the 
 wood, and, knowing the country thoroughly, they led 
 him round about, and up and down, for the greater 
 part of the night, in order to impress him with the 
 idea of having been removed to a considerable dis- 
 tance, though, in point of fact, they had kept him con- 
 stantly traversing the same ground. 
 
 Besides this mystification, they had another object 
 in view in keeping him a prisoner under their own 
 eyes. The dungeons of the castle of Couvin were well 
 known to some of them, and there they could confine 
 the count secretly, and, at the same time, supply him 
 with what was necessary for keeping body and soul 
 together. Accordingly, at daybreak, he was conducted 
 to the deep fosse of the castle, and there conveyed by 
 a secret passage into a cell, where they left him, per- 
 chance, to languish for the remainder of his days. 
 
 In the meantime, great was the grief that pervaded 
 the castle of the Sire de Croy, when the sudden 
 absence of the count was known. Days passed away, 
 
 w 2
 
 270 THE YOUNG CROSS-BOWMAN. 
 
 and DO tidings came to tell of where he was, nor was 
 there any positive indication of his fate ; and the noble 
 Countess of Croy, believing herself a widow, mourned 
 for her husband as dead. The wretched prisoner, 
 ignorant of the place of his confinement, and having 
 no knowledge of his captors, endured seven years of 
 dreary captivity; which, however, would have been 
 embittered still further, had he known that his prison 
 was barely three miles from his own castle of Chimay, 
 and that many a time his friends and retainers had 
 passed within a bow-shot of the place where he lay. 
 
 But the punishments which Heaven inflicts on 
 man are sometimes remitted even on earth, and thus 
 it befel the Comte de Chimay. The dungeon in 
 which he was confined formed no portion of the castle 
 of Couvin, but was merely a hollow in the rock on 
 which it stood. All the light that entered it came 
 from a narrow, oblique fissure, only a few inches wide, 
 hardly visible on the outside, for the rock rose high 
 and steep above a beautiful meadow watered by a 
 clear deep stream, which, from the shadow that fell 
 upon its surface from the dark woods around, was 
 called the " Black Water." This meadow was the 
 frequent resort of the youth of both sexes, for games, 
 and sports, and rustic dances; and here, one sum- 
 mer's day, a young shepherd, named Jehan Basselaire, 
 having left his flock on the hill side, came to shoot 
 with his cross-bow at the hawks that haunted the 
 crevices of the rock. The first arrow that he shot
 
 THE DISCOVERY. 
 
 271 
 
 missed its object; but, by a singular chance, passed 
 through the fissure which gave light to the dungeon 
 of the Comte de Chimay, who, seeing the arrow fall, 
 was at first no less astonished than afterwards he was 
 delighted, for he thought some friend had found out 
 the place of his captivity, and had adopted this mode 
 of awakening his attention, and, perhaps, of bringing 
 him succour. By dint of great exertions, for the 
 count was weak from long confinement, and the ascent 
 to the aperture was both difficult and dangerous, he 
 
 succeeded in rais- 
 ing himself to its 
 height, and waited 
 for some further 
 indication. It was 
 not long before 
 he received one. 
 The young shep- 
 herd had 
 (' watched 
 the flight 
 of his ar- 
 row, had 
 seen it 
 strike the 
 rock and 
 
 then disappear. He could ill afford to lose it, and, 
 moreover, was curious to learn whither it had gone, so 
 he resolved to search the rock and endeavour to 
 
 CASTLE OF COCVIN.
 
 272 THE SHEPHERD'S FRIGHT. 
 
 recover his weapon. The task was no easy one ; but, 
 mountain-bred, and accustomed to clamber similar 
 heights from causes less urgent than this, Jehan 
 Basselaire was not long before he accomplished his 
 object. He reached the aperture, balanced himself 
 carefully on a projecting ledge, and thrusting his arm 
 into the hole began to grope about for his arrow. 
 
 The count, who had drawn himself as near the 
 entrance as possible, perceived by the shadow that 
 darkened the crevice that some one was near, and pre- 
 sently saw a hand and arm approach. The moment it 
 was within reach he grasped it in his clutch, and held 
 it with all his strength. Loud were the cries of the 
 unhappy boy as he clung to the face of the rock, be- 
 lieving firmly that he had been seized by a nuton, 
 one of those spirits that are supposed to this day to 
 haunt caverns in the recesses of the mountains, where 
 they jealously guard immense treasures. By turns he 
 prayed to the blessed St. Genevieve and invoked the 
 mercy of the demon, and it was long before he could 
 sufficiently master his fear to believe that the hand 
 which held his wrist was a mortal one. The count 
 soon gathered from the boy's exclamations, that acci- 
 dent alone had caused the arrow's flight; but the fact 
 was still most gratifying, for it showed him how he 
 might make it the means of deliverance. 
 
 Soothing the fears of young Basselaire, the count's 
 first question was to know the place of his confinement, 
 and to his astonishment he learnt that his dungeon
 
 THE MESSAGE. 273 
 
 lay beneath the towers of Couvin. He then inquired 
 the boy's name, which he recognised as one familiar to 
 him, and finding that he had a father, he desired the 
 young shepherd to return home, and without saying a 
 word to any one else of what had happened, to inform 
 his father that the Comte de Chimay, so long lost to 
 the world, lay there in durance, and desired his pre- 
 sence, with the materials for writing, in return for 
 which service, he promised, on the faith of a nobleman 
 and a true knight, to establish both father and son on 
 his estates for the rest of their lives. He then released 
 the boy, and bade him " God speed." 
 
 Fear operated equally with the hope of reward in 
 making the shepherd boy a trusty messenger. He 
 reached home, and privately told his father all that had 
 happened. The elder Basselaire was not one of those 
 who had any resentments to gratify by the imprison- 
 ment of the Comte de Chimay; on the contrary, his 
 interests were directly in favour of his release, even had 
 he not been assured of the gratitude of the noble 
 family of Croy. It was not long, therefore, before he 
 obeyed the count's wish, and great was the joy of the 
 latter at the prospect of freedom which now opened 
 before him. He wrote a brief but explanatory letter to 
 his wife, urging her to lose no time in getting ready his 
 vassals to release him at whatever price. 
 
 Before the sun rose on the following day Basselaire 
 was at the gate of the castle of Chimay, and as soon as 
 the drawbridge was lowered, he presented himself for
 
 274 THE CHATELAINE. 
 
 admission, saying that lie was the bearer of a letter 
 which conveyed important tidings to the countess. 
 The warders, whose duty it was not to admit any whom 
 they did not know, and seeing only a villain, poorly 
 clad, refused to allow him to pass, in spite of his 
 earnest entreaties. A squire who was present, when he 
 heard the purport of his visit, offered to be the bearer 
 of the letter, but to this Basselaire would by no means 
 agree, his orders being to deliver it into no other hands 
 than the countess herself. When the warders saw how 
 obstinately he adhered to his purpose, they told him 
 he must then be content to wait until the chatelaine 
 left her apartment to attend mass in the chapel of the 
 castle. 
 
 He waited accordingly, and at length, at the usual 
 hour at which she went to mass, the chatelaine, attired 
 in deep mourning, approached the drawbridge to ascend 
 to the chapel. Basselaire, advancing with profound 
 respect, knelt before her, and delivered the letter 
 which he brought. The moment the lady saw the 
 superscription she recognised the handwriting of her 
 husband, and fell in a swoon into the arms of her 
 attendants. 
 
 When she recovered herself she thanked the messen- 
 ger with earnest expressions, and at once gave orders 
 to her people to assemble all who owed allegiance to 
 the house of Croy, and soon the inhabitants of seven- 
 teen villages who called the lord of Chimay their 
 suzerain were collected beneath the castle walls ; and
 
 THE RESCUE. 275 
 
 with all the arms they could muster, they set out 
 for the town of Couvin, and summoned the bourgeois 
 of the place. 
 
 Great was the surprise of the Couvinois at this un- 
 expected apparition. They knew nothing of the im- 
 prisonment of the Comte de Chimay, for the confede- 
 rates had kept their secret closely, and the magistrates 
 of the town went forth and anxiously demanded the 
 meaning of this warlike summons. It was no less a 
 surprise when they were told that beneath the turrets of 
 their castle lay hidden the long absent Comte de 
 Chimay. Had they been disposed to resist the warlike 
 chatelaine, their propensity wo.uld have been checked ; 
 but they had not been sufferers from the comte's fond- 
 ness for the chase, and they at once readily offered to 
 assist in the search. Guided by Basselaire, the cell in 
 which he was confined was soon discovered, an opening 
 was forced, and by their united exertions the prisoner 
 was released from his dungeon. 
 
 Hunger, sorrow, and neglect had so changed the 
 features of the noble Jean de Croy, that those who had 
 known him best could with difficulty recognise, in the 
 pale-bearded spectre who now met their view, the once 
 gay and gallant knight who called himself their lord 
 and master. Scarcely a vestige of clothing remained 
 on his wasted limbs, and that which he wore crumbled 
 into dust beneath the touch of his anxious deliverers. 
 
 Their grief at his evident sufferings soon yielded to 
 joy at finding that it was indeed the seigneur de
 
 376 THE COUNT'S SPEECH AND REVENGE. 
 
 Chimay, and with loud exultation they bore him away 
 from the hateful place of his confinement. 
 
 A few days sufficed for his recovery, a few more 
 were given to the society of the affectionate Marguerite 
 de Craon, his dearly loved wife, and then the Comte 
 de Chimay resolved upon taking a signal revenge. It 
 is true the authors of his wrong remained ever un- 
 known to him, but he was no less resolved to leave 
 " a token and a sign" that the great ones of the earth 
 suffer no slight to pass unnoticed. He armed his 
 vassals, and marched upon the devoted town of Couvin. 
 The axe, the torch, and the battering- train soon did 
 their work upon the ancient walls of the castle ; and 
 what the traveller now sees above the dark current of 
 the Eau Noire is all that remains to tell of the spot 
 where the Comte de Chimay passed so many years 
 in sad captivity. 
 
 In allusion to the name by which the castle was 
 called by the country people, Couve, instead of Couvin. 
 the Comte de Chimay is said to have exclaimed : 
 " Couve couve, couve tu m' as, couver jamais plus 
 ne pourras." * 
 
 The pursuits of the Comte de Chunay were after- 
 wards less hostile to his dependents and more so to 
 the enemies of his country. He fell at the fatal 
 battle of Granson. 
 
 581EZ BI<3 $@K IE $<$ DE 
 
 * " Conve cover thyself, thou hast covered me ; thou shall hence- 
 forth cover nothing more."
 
 CHATEAU DE CELLES. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The last evening at Dinant Thunder and lightning Road to the 
 Ardennes The Chateau deCelles Beauty of its situation Its struc- 
 ture Decay of the interior Its antiquity The Chateau of Ar- 
 denne The Chateau of Ciergnon Scenery of the Ardennes Cross 
 Roads Village of Han-sur-Lesse Approach to the Cave -The 
 Cave -Its great beauty Variety of forms Its numerous halls 
 The Salle du Dome Effect of daylight The Nigrum Inscriptions 
 Road to Rochefort. 
 
 excurs i n to G"ivet having fully 
 satisfied us that we should gain nothing 
 by attempting to ride through the Ardennes, 
 the treaty of the saddle was annulled on the 
 following day; and it was arranged that we 
 should have a light carriage instead, eking out 
 on foot what we failed to accomplish en voiture. 
 
 The last evening we passed at Dinant will long live 
 in our recollection, owing to the superb effect of a storm
 
 278 ROAD TO THE ARDENNES. 
 
 which we watched from the bridge over the Meuse. 
 Nothing could equal the splendour of the lightning as 
 it glanced across the river, or the magnificent voice of 
 the thunder rattling amongst the crags above the town ; 
 and it was only the deluge of rain which followed that 
 drove us from our " stance." 
 
 The next morning, though the skies were still 
 black, we set out on our journey. A little beyond the 
 Koche a Bayard, we bade " a vain adieu" to the Meuse, 
 as we turned from its lovely banks in the direction of 
 the Ardennes. For nearly three miles the road was one 
 continuous ascent between lofty hills, thickly covered 
 with beech, birch, and aspen; but having gained the 
 table land, a wide extent of country lay before us of 
 shining corn-fields, intermingled with dark woods, and 
 in the distance could be faintly traced the shadowy out- 
 line of the heaths and forests of the Ardennes. 
 
 The first object we were desirous of seeing was the 
 ancient chateau of Celles, lying out of the high road 
 about hah a league to the right. Inquiring the nearest 
 way of some woodcutters, we left the carriage in the 
 village, and walked across some corn-fields, till we 
 reached the entrance of a lonely dell, where the road 
 descended with many windings, amongst high rocks 
 and over-hanging woods, the features of the scenery 
 increasing in grandeur and beauty at every step. 
 While we were questioning each other as to the possible 
 whereabout of the chateau, its turrets and pointed 
 roofs came suddenly in view.
 
 THE CHATEAU DE CELLES. 279 
 
 It was as if we had accidentally opened a page of 
 an illuminated chronicle, or stumbled upon a picture 
 by Memmling or Van Eyck, so perfectly in keeping 
 with the period of construction were all the visible ex- 
 ternal walls. The building is of irregular quadrilateral 
 shape, and is protected at each angle by a circular 
 tower with a pointed roof, none being equal in size. 
 The few windows apparent are of more recent date 
 than the arrowslits in the towers, except one or two in 
 the angles. The chateau stands on a high conical hill, 
 commanding a view of four different valleys watered by 
 two clear streams, the Celles and the Mirande ; the 
 mountains which surround it are all higher than the 
 chateau; but before the employment of artillery they 
 were too distant to offer any advantage to an enemy. 
 A narrow isthmus leads to the only door at the foot of 
 the principal tower, through which admission to the 
 interior can be obtained. This portal is coated exter- 
 nally with iron in horizontal bands, which are fastened 
 by large nails ; and a ponderous key, nearly a foot long, 
 turns the only lock. The entrance, through a vaulted 
 passage, is oblique and winding, and leads into an 
 irregularly- shaped court-yard on a steep slope. On 
 one side are two rows of open galleries, one above 
 the other ; on another is a closed gallery, curiously tes- 
 selated with stone ; and on the side opposite the en- 
 trance are the principal apartments. The interior is in 
 a sad state of dilapidation, the rooms being chiefly 
 used as stores for fruit and vegetables apples, pears,
 
 280 ITS STRUCTUr.E. 
 
 onions, and potatoes lying about in heaps. The 
 chateau has not apparently been inhabited by the 
 family for at least a century, some wretched pictures 
 over the fire-places, one or two damaged looking-glasses 
 with the gilding sadly smirched, and some broken 
 furniture, affording evidence of their origin in the 
 time of Louis the Fifteenth. If these things only had 
 been suffered to fall into decay it would not much 
 have mattered, but the neglect to which the building 
 is exposed threatens more serious consequences, in the 
 breaking up of the floors and crumbling of the walls. 
 It is impossible to give an exact idea of the interior, 
 the rooms are so numerous and so oddly shaped, 
 adapting themselves to the irregular outline of the 
 building, and occupying corners in which there is 
 scarcely room to turn round. There is a line of 
 communication all through, but to preserve it all kinds 
 of passages must be threaded, for the most part 
 deprived both of light and air. In one turret- 
 is a small chapel, where a prie-Dieu, decked 
 with faded velvet, yet remains, amid other tinselled 
 trumpery. 
 
 The Chateau de Celles boasts a high antiquity, 
 the walls of the original foundation having been raised, 
 it is said, by Pepiu de Herstal, in the eighth century ; 
 but the present construction dates, apparently, from 
 the fourteenth century, and, externally, it is almost a 
 perfect specimen of that period. It is one of the 
 cradles of the noble family of Beaufort, and belongs
 
 VILLAGE OP CUSTINK. 281 
 
 now to the Count Augusts de Liedekerke Beaufort, a 
 rich man, who seems content to let the old walls stand 
 as long as they will, without troubling himself about 
 the interior, and quite satisfied with the chateau as 
 long as the gardens yield their rich produce. He has 
 other chateaux, one at Villers sur Lesse, but lives, 
 when in this neighbourhood, at the Chateau de Noisy, 
 about a mile from Celles, on a steep and well-wooded 
 height. It would, no doubt, cost a large sum to restore 
 the old place ; but, if restored, it would be a perfect 
 gem. 
 
 Having regained the high road, we proceeded 
 through a deep gorge, watered by a clear stream, to 
 the village of Custine, where the mowers were busy in 
 the valley cutting a third crop of grass ; and as soon 
 as we reached the top of the high hill beyond the 
 village, we observed a small tower on the right hand, 
 built after the fashion of those at Windsor, and like 
 them in colour, indicating the entrance to the domain 
 of Ardenne, the king's chateau de chasse. A drive of 
 about half-a-rnile through young plantations of ash 
 and fir, brought us in front of the building, which we 
 passed to reach the stables. Having ordered breakfast 
 to be got ready at the little cabaret " Aux bons enfants," 
 we hurried to the chateau, and knocked for admission, 
 for the long threatening rain now began to fall fast. 
 
 Till within the last two years no strangers were ad- 
 mitted without a special order ; and even an ambassa- 
 dor figured amongst the disappointed; but travellers 
 
 x 2
 
 282 THE CHATEAU OF ARDENNE. 
 
 now are made welcome, and the gates were opened to 
 admit us. It is a modern building, considerably en- 
 larged since the king purchased it, but possessing no 
 architectural beauty. The corps de bailment is very long 
 and narrow; it is very plainly fitted up, and except that 
 the Tournay carpets are all of one pattern, the decora- 
 tions are not at all remarkable. There is a full-length 
 portrait of the King by SchefTer, and one of the Queen 
 by Dubufe, both good likenesses ; and in another room 
 are full lengths of the young Duke de Brabant, and his 
 brother, the Comte de Flandres, painted two or three 
 years since. The execution is very good, and the por 
 traits highly interesting. 
 
 These are all the pictures ; the rest of the chateau 
 is merely a country house, unadorned even by the 
 trophies of the chase, though the king is so fond of 
 sporting, comes here at all seasons, and goes out in all 
 weathers. On the roof of the building is a small belve- 
 dere, from whence, we were told, the view on a fine day 
 is superb, extending as far as St. Hubert ; but, as it 
 now poured in torrents, we could not see beyond the 
 jardin potager, which is cultivated, to the exclusion of 
 flowers, beneath the very windows of the chateau ! 
 The same cause that spoiled the prospect prevented us 
 also from going down to the pavilion, built on a high 
 rock over the Lesse, about a quarter of a mile below ; 
 we indemnified ourselves, therefore, as well as we could, 
 by the excellent breakfast which we found ready at the 
 cabaret, and then resumed our route.
 
 CHATEAU OF CIERGNON. 283 
 
 Our destination was now the famous caves of Han-sur- 
 Lesse, distant about eighteen miles from Dinant and ten 
 from Ardenne. The road thither is mountainous and 
 picturesque in the extreme ; now buried in deep forests 
 of oak, then forcing its way apparently through deep 
 clefts of rock, and anon stretching across wide heathy 
 plains, but at every moment developing some new feature 
 of beauty in the landscape. 
 
 The rain fell heavily at first, but in about an hour 
 the weather cleared, and as we drew near Ciergnon, 
 where the king is building another chateau de chasse, 
 about two leagues from Ardenne, the view was unim- 
 peded. It stands well on a bold height, and has a 
 good middle-age aspect, though new. After passing 
 through some deep perpendicular cuttings of slate, we 
 crossed the Lesse at Vegnee, here, as everywhere in its 
 course, a rapid winding river; and a few miles further 
 on another stream, the Wimbe, warned us that it was 
 time to exchange the smooth high-road for a blind 
 track on our left hand, that led across a dreary moor. 
 
 It is here that the wild character of the scenery of 
 the Ardennes first becomes evident. Nature appears 
 suddenly to have assumed a rugged, intractable aspect^ 
 and in place of the rich plains and smiling valleys that 
 mark the country near the Meuse, a vast expanse of 
 dark heath spreads before the traveller, broken by rocks 
 and scattered clumps of fir and pine, and intersected by 
 deep gulleys, whose stony beds have been ploughed by 
 the mountain torrents.
 
 EOAD TO HAN-SUK-LESSE. 
 
 Bad cross-roads abound on the continent; but one 
 might search Europe through without succeeding in 
 finding a worse than that which leads to Han-sur-Lesse. 
 It must at all seasons of the year be execrable ; but at 
 this moment, when the rains had swelled the floods, its 
 bad qualities came out in high relief. If we had walked 
 we should have been up to our knees in wet and mire, 
 and the rain had again begun to drive, so we were fain 
 to sit still in the carriage at the risk of being overturned 
 at every step, an event which was more than once 
 on the point of being realised. At length, after fording 
 three deep streams, with the water over the fore-wheels, 
 crossing a large pond, and finally the river Lesse itself, 
 at a place where a herd of cattle set us the example, 
 we found ourselves in the village of Han, having 
 reached it by the only carriage-road that exists between 
 it and Dinant. As a considerable tax is paid by 
 visitors to the cave, which goes to the owner of the 
 property in which it is situated, it is at least bad policy 
 not to afford greater facility of access. The village of 
 Han is one of the most wretched dreary places it is pos- 
 sible to imagine something resembling the worst one 
 meets with in the remoter valleys of the Pyrenees, 
 Gavarnie for instance. But its cave is scarcely less a 
 miracle of nature than the wondrous Circus. We 
 stopped at the only inn the village boasts a mere 
 road-side cabaret and, accompanied by two guides, 
 made the best of our way to the cave. The person who 
 leases it for the show has thrown a gaily-painted
 
 THE CAVES OF HAN-SUR-LESSE. 285 
 
 wooden bridge across the Lesse, and built himself a 
 comfortable-looking house near the entrance, but no- 
 thing could well be worse than the path which we were 
 obliged to follow ; however, it is to be hoped that time,, 
 which " sets all things even," will one day macadamise 
 the road, and render " facilis" this " descenstts averni." 
 
 Unlike the generality of caverns the entrance to 
 that of Han is by water, bensath a low-browed arch in 
 the rock, of about sixty feet span, from whence flows 
 the Lesse, in a deep, slow current, having buried itself 
 on the opposite side of the mountain, about a mile and 
 half off in a straight line, but nearly four miles (6000 
 metres) in its presumed windings. Provided with 
 long torches and a large bundle of straw, we followed 
 the guides into a flat-bottomed boat, and slowly pad- 
 dled against the stream, which is here twenty-five feet 
 deep; the only sounds we heard being the ripple of 
 the water, and the shrill screams of multitudes of bats, 
 disturbed by the glare of the torches. After a winding 
 course of about ten minutes, the boat was moored to 
 the foot of a rock, the straw was thrown out, and we 
 landed to explore the recesses of the cave. In conse- 
 quence of the late rains, the percolation of water was 
 greater than usual, and the paths we were obliged to 
 ascend were slippery and difficult, and in many places 
 deep in mire; but however toilsome the way, the 
 beauties of the cavern are more than sufficient to repay 
 any trouble. 
 
 I have seen many caverns in different parts of the
 
 286 THEIR GREAT BEAUTY. 
 
 world, and had always been of opinion that those in the 
 Bermudas surpassed all others in magnificence ; but I 
 am compelled to acknowledge that they will not bear 
 comparison with that of Han-sur-Lesse. The masses 
 of stalagmite are of wondrous size, and their surface 
 glitters like diamonds, while the stalactites hang in 
 countless numbers in the most beautiful groups ima- 
 ginable, assuming every possible variety of picturesque 
 shape. In one place may be traced the form of a 
 swan suspended by the neck ; in another, a salmon 
 hanging by the head; here are wreaths and clusters 
 of flowers, there heads of animals, the semblance of 
 Gothic arches, with all their delicate tracery, statue- 
 like masses of snow-white stone that seem fresh from 
 the sculptor's hands, every image, in short, that 
 fancy can suggest finds here a representative. 
 
 The names of some of the various caverns will give 
 a tolerable idea of their appearance. There is the 
 Salle des Drapeaux, in which the vault appears hung 
 with banners ; the Salle des Jumeaux, where two lofty 
 stalagmites rear themselves like phantoms in the 
 shade ; the Eocher aux Fleurs, covered apparently 
 with flowers; the Boudoir de Proserpine, a crypt fit 
 for a goddess ; the Salle de la Cascade, where the water 
 seems to have frozen as it fell ; the Salle de Mont- 
 blanc, a vast stalagmite, like a mountain covered with 
 blocks of ice ; the Salle du Trone, a spot that might 
 have witnessed the conference between Manfred and 
 Arimanes; and, finally, the Grand Dome, a spacious
 
 GRANDEUR OF THE SALLE DIT DOME. 287 
 
 cavern whose vault, glittering with stalactites, is up- 
 wards of three hundred feet high. The grandeur of 
 this cavern was fully shown when the guides ascended 
 to a high rock in the midst of the Salle du Dome, 
 and waved the blazing straw to and fro, illuminating, 
 for an instant, the darkest recesses, and revealing its 
 immense extent. 
 
 To examine the cave minutely would have required 
 at least four or five hours ; but we could not spare so 
 much time underground, as it was necessary to hus- 
 band the daylight, to give us a chance of reaching 
 Bochefort in safety ; for we were given to understand 
 that bad as the road had proved from Vegnee, it was 
 much worse in the opposite direction ! Our stay was, 
 however, long enough to enable us to see and enjoy 
 all its chief beauties, and then we prepared to return 
 the way we had entered, though there is a sortie on 
 the other side of the mountain. Perhaps the finest 
 effect in these subterranean expeditions is witnessed 
 as the explorer comes back again to the daylight ; we 
 certainly thought it not amongst the least as we first 
 caught a glimpse of its clear blue ray falling upon 
 the stream, as we turned the last projection of the 
 rock. 
 
 When we got back to the inn at Han it needed a 
 glass of pequet, the only restorative the place offered, 
 to dispel the chill of the cave, before we ventured to 
 inscribe our names in the Nigrum of the hostelry. 
 This book, which is a good deal dilapidated, and much
 
 288 NIGRUM AT HAX. 
 
 scribbled over, contains a fair proportion of the inanity 
 and false enthusiasm usually vented in places of this 
 kind. Two of the inscriptions amused us : the first 
 was a specimen of the sublime, the writer a French- 
 man, and doubtless of the ecole romantiqac : 
 
 " Dieu ! ! ! Quelle grotte !!!!!! 
 
 " H. AMAREL." 
 
 The other, by a Belgian, was an experiment in the 
 English language, somewhat of the quaintest : 
 
 " Nothing can exceed the beauty of the grot of Han.* I am ex- 
 tremely glad to have had the pleasure of have s?e him to-day. 
 
 " V. VIGNERON, from Mons." 
 
 Having paid our guides (the tariff, by the bye, for 
 a party of three or fewer persons is six francs), we 
 hastened our departure, resisting the importunity of 
 the innkeeper, who would fain have persuaded us to 
 pass the night in his miserable auberge, and who by 
 way of inducement, when he learnt that we were 
 bound for St. Hubert, observed, " Vous ne serez plus 
 avance a Kochefort qu' ici," forgetting to throw into 
 the account the difference of the accommodation be- 
 tween his den, and the comfortable hotel of the widow 
 Souka. 
 
 In giving directions to our driver to proceed to 
 Rochefort, we found that his knowledge of the country 
 ceased at the village of Han, so we were obliged to 
 take a guide to set us in the right track for crossing 
 the mountain ; but bad as the road proved, it was
 
 ENTRANCE TO ROCHEFOET. 289 
 
 quite worth while to take it, to witness the singular 
 effect of a high cross that stands beside a withered tree 
 on the mountain side, and stretches out its spectra] 
 arms as if to bar the traveller's passage. At this point 
 our guide left us, and though the rest of the way was 
 neither easy to find nor pleasant to follow, we managed 
 to escape being benighted, though darkness overtook 
 us before we got into the high road that leads to 
 Bochefort. 
 
 It was with some difficulty we effected a passage 
 through the town, for the pavement was " up," and no 
 light of any kind shed its friendly ray to guide us on 
 our path. We were fain, therefore, to trust to chance ; 
 and the same good fortune that had saved our necks so 
 often in the course of the day befriended us still, and 
 carried us on in safety.
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Hotel at Rochefort Picturesque Situation of 
 %^-vv: !// * the Town Stratagem of the Comte de Roche- 
 
 *N"-~ T(!/ ~ ~~ 
 
 XTK.L.: ^ t~T~ fort The Leper Knight Appearance of the Ardennes 
 Beauty of the Scenery Appearance of St. Hubert The Abbey The 
 Abbey Church Origin of the Name of the Ardennes St. Hubert's Stole 
 Ceremonials for the Cure of Hydrophobia Controversies The keys 
 of St. Hubert Prayer to the Saint Brotherhood of St. Hubert Rules 
 and Regulations Singular Customs Auction in the Open Air. 
 
 HE Hotel de 1' Etoile at Rochefort, kept by 
 Madame Souka, is as comforable an inn 
 as a traveller can well desire, and its clean- 
 liness and cheapness equally recommend it. Our 
 dinner of trout from the river Homme, and mutton 
 from the heaths of the Ardennes, for we were 
 now fairly within its precincts, was a favourable speci- 
 men of the fare that is usually met with in this district. 
 The situation of Rochefort is very picturesque ; it 
 is encircled by rapid streams, whose course may be 
 traced through lovely valleys, bright with verdure ; and
 
 SITUATION OF BOCHEFORT. 291 
 
 above it rise the ruins of the old castle, once a place of 
 great renown, and celebrated for the siege it sustained 
 for seven months against the Prince Bishop of Liege 
 and his allies, who, failing in their direct attacks, 
 sought to reduce it by famine. The Comte de Eoche- 
 fort who defended the castle, was really straitened for 
 provisions ; but, in order to deceive the enemy, had 
 recourse to the stratagem of feeding a sow with corn, 
 and turning her out into the hostile camp, where, as he 
 had expected, she was taken and killed, and from the 
 nature of the provisions on which she had been fed, 
 the conclusion was drawn that corn was plentiful in 
 the fortress. Terms of accommodation were accord- 
 ingly proposed, and the siege was raised. 
 
 Eochefort was formerly one of the lordships of the 
 famous Gilles de Duras, a passage in whose history is 
 curiously illustrative of the moral effect produced in 
 the middle ages by the leprosy, that scourge of rich 
 and poor. The story is thus told in the " Chronique 
 de Hainault : 
 
 " A. D. M.C.IIII.XX. ix. In the time of the afore- 
 said Baldwin the Courageous, Count of Hainault, lived 
 the Count of Duras, named Giles, a valiant and bold 
 knight, who besides the castles which he possessed of 
 Clermont between Liege and Huy, and Eochefort in 
 the Ardennes, was Advoue at St. Trond and Dinant. 
 The said Giles had two brothers, one named Conon* 
 
 * Of Count Conon it was said : " S'il estoit petit de corps, encores 
 1' estoit il plus de couraige et de science."
 
 292 THE LEPEK KN'IGHT. 
 
 and the other Peter. This Giles, by the will of God, 
 was a leper, and for this cause, he laid aside the arms 
 of chivalry, which all his life he had much loved and 
 used, and gave to his brother Conon his county of 
 Duras and other fiefs, and to Peter, his other brother, 
 he assigned another portion of his territories, reserving 
 only for his lifetime the town of Joudogne, which 
 young Henry of Louvain, by the permission of the 
 Count of Flanders, a relation of the said Giles of 
 Duras, afterwards took possession of. Now it hap- 
 pened that when the said Giles, who was a leper, 
 heard of this, he asked pardon of God, and straight- 
 way resumed his arms to take his revenge, and set 
 himself against the Duke of Louvain, and took up his 
 abode at Clermont, from whence he issued to harass 
 and infest the territory of the duke, taking prisoners 
 the merchants of the country, and robbing them of 
 " escarlattes," wines, cloths, and other merchandise, with 
 all their gold and silver, and keeping them in confine- 
 ment till they had paid a heavy ransom. He also carried 
 off the cattle, horses, and vassals of the Duke of Louvain, 
 holding the latter to ransom, and in this manner he 
 did much damage, and the war lasted a long time." 
 
 The chronicle adds, that when Gilles de Duras was 
 fully avenged he renounced all knightly employment, 
 and returning to the poor and suffering condition of a 
 leper, in that manner ended his days ; his brothers, who 
 had no heirs, gave all their possessions to the chapter 
 of St. Lambert at Liege.
 
 APPEARANCE OF THE ARDENNES. 293 
 
 Between Rochefort and Wavreille, on the road to 
 St. Hubert, those features of the Ardennes exhibit 
 themselves, which an intelligent Belgian writer has 
 thus described: 
 
 " The Ardennes in general, and that country called 
 particularly Ardenne, extending from France to Prussia, 
 in breadth about ten leagues, along the crest which 
 separates the waters of the Meuse and the Moselle, 
 require to be distinguished. 
 
 " In the first the earth is tolerably productive, and 
 wheat, rye, maslin and beet-root are cultivated ; fruits 
 abound and are of fine growth ; in the second, on the 
 contrary, the fields produce only light crops of rye, 
 oats and potatoes ; fruits are more rare, and vegetation 
 less vigorous ; the tops of the hills are almost always 
 bare, and the climate is colder, because the ground is 
 higher and more exposed to the wind. The arable 
 land, for want of manure, remains fallow for many 
 years, and then abandoned for grazing, it serves to feed 
 quantities of horses, sheep, and oxen, which acquire 
 those qualities such as no other cattle in Europe can 
 surpass ; the horses are strong, active, and muscular ; 
 and the flesh of the horned animals, and the sheep in 
 particular, is of a fine aromatic flavour. The game is 
 excellent, the rivers swarm with fish, and the extensive 
 woods, where commonal rights are exercised, offer a 
 great resource to the poor people, whom they supply 
 with abundance of fire-wood." 
 
 For the first few miles the country is broadly sweep- 
 
 Y 2
 
 294 BEAUTY OF THE SCENERY. 
 
 ing, wild and sterile, and then descending into a well- 
 watered valley, thick woods arise, the outworks of the 
 deeper forests that lie beyond. Few labourers and 
 fewer travellers are seen, and an air of extreme solitude 
 prevails, the silence being only broken by the chatter- 
 ing cry of the jay, or the shriller scream of the towering 
 hawk. At Croupont the wildness of the scenery is 
 " tempered into beauty/' by the fertility of the narrow 
 valley through which runs the little river Homme, now 
 foaming impetuously on one side of the road, and then 
 abruptly crossing to the other, its waters being swelled 
 by gushing streams, which seern suddenly to burst from 
 the mountain's side. Here and there the valley widens, 
 affording room for a level mead of emerald brightness, 
 and anon it contracts till little more than the width of 
 the road is left between the hanging woods that clothe 
 the opposite steeps. The flocks of sheep are more nume- 
 rously dotted along the hill slopes; and here as every- 
 where else throughout Belgium, the shepherd and his 
 dog invariably march in front, and are closely followed 
 by their fleecy care. 
 
 Nothing can well be imagined more smiling and 
 pretty than this little valley ; but at Avenne a change 
 takes place, and the dark forests of the Ardennes begin 
 to spread across the country. For about four miles 
 the road gradually ascends, taking its course through a 
 limb of a vast forest of beech and oak, the wayside 
 being thickly fringed with hazel and wild raspberry 
 bushes, the fruit of the latter of the most delicious
 
 GENERAL APPEARANCE OF ST. HUBERT. 295 
 
 flavour. Game is plentiful here, our path, as we 
 walked in front of the carriage, being frequently crossed 
 by hares, and more than once by the no less timid 
 chevreuil. The forest at length opened out into a 
 broad expanse of moor land, and as we strained our 
 eyes to note the features of the landscape, the impos- 
 ing towers of St. Hubert were distinctly seen rising like 
 a landmark in the waste. 
 
 It would be difficult to meet with indeed almost 
 to imagine a greater contrast than exists between the 
 miserable town of St. Hubert and its magnificent Abbey 
 Church, though, when we consider the estimation in 
 which the Hunter Saint has always been held by 
 Roman Catholics since the period of his canonization, 
 our wonder at the splendour of his shrine is changed to 
 surprise at the poverty of the place which contains it. 
 But the Abbey Church is of much more ancient date 
 than the town, and originally stood alone in the forest, 
 a place of pilgrimage for devotees from distant lands. 
 By slow degrees a town arose, but possessing from its 
 situation no commercial advantages, and the inhabitants 
 being for centuries almost beyond the pale of civiliza- 
 tion, it never rose into importance, nor exceeded the 
 limits of a large village. Except in costume and a few 
 other particulars, the inevitable consequence of the pro- 
 gress of events, the town of St. Hubert at the present 
 day can boast of little improvement over what it was 
 three centuries ago. 
 
 It is built on the slope of a barren moor, formerly a
 
 296 THE ABBEY CHURCH. 
 
 dense forest ; but the trees have now receded for several 
 miles, and the country round bears only the name of 
 what it once was. The Abbey Church stands in the 
 centre, and one side of the square or market-place in 
 front of it is occupied by a very large building, anciently 
 the Abbey, but now the " Maison Centrale de Deten- 
 tion," or public prison of the province of Luxembourg. 
 The monks of St. Hubert were of the order of St Bene- 
 dict, and the Abbey originally bore the name of An- 
 daine, but when the remains of St. Hubert were re- 
 moved from Liege, where they were first interred, it 
 took the name by which it was ever afterwards known. 
 It is recorded that on more than one occasion the holy 
 brotherhood greatly relaxed from their piety, but the 
 fame of St. Hubert's shrine, though frequently the 
 subject of controversy, still remains. 
 
 The church is built in two very opposite styles, being 
 of Greek architecture without and Gothic within ; the 
 Tuscan, Ionic, and composite orders decorate the exte- 
 rior ; and the interior exhibits in the nave, the aisles, 
 the choir, and the crypt, the pointed arch of the thir- 
 teenth century; there is also an equal contrast in 
 colour, the outside being all of black marble, and the 
 inside marble of various hues. It is profusely adorned 
 with sculpture and carved wood, the most striking 
 object, frequently repeated, being the stag bearing be- 
 tween his antlers the miraculous crucifix from which 
 issued the voice which effected the conversion of St. 
 Hubert.
 
 ST. HUBERT'S SHRINE. 297 
 
 The history of the saint's conversion as he hunted 
 in the Ardennes* is too generally known to require 
 repetition ; but some particulars respecting the worship 
 that is paid to him may not be out of place. 
 
 The custom of going, for the cure of hydrophobia, 
 to St. Hubert's shrine, which is still practised, is of very 
 ancient date. The anonymous author of the " Life of 
 St. Lambert," written about the end of the eleventh 
 century, makes mention of several persons who were 
 there cured in 825. The legend relates that the stole of 
 St. Hubert, which works the miracle, was brought from 
 heaven by an angel, who gave it to St. Hubert while 
 praying at the tomb of St. Peter in Rome, with these 
 words : " Hubert, the Virgin sends you this stole. It 
 will be a sign to you that your prayer has been heard, 
 and a perpetual token that she will never forsake you. 
 You will possess a perfect knowledge of all that con- 
 cerns the functions of your ministry." St. Peter also 
 brought him a golden key while he celebrated mass at 
 the time of his episcopal consecration, assuring him 
 that God would grant him a special power over evil 
 
 * Speaking of the Ardennes, Saumery says : " A number of altars 
 were raised in different parts of the forest to Diana, and hence the 
 etymology of Ardenne, ' Ara Dianas.' At a place called Amberloux 
 an antique marble was found with the inscription ' Curia Arduennae." " 
 Thierry, in his " Histoire des Gaulois." gives the following more pro- 
 bable derivation : " This great extent of forests, which covered the 
 space comprised between the Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheldt, was 
 called in Celtic Ar-denn, that is to say, the profound. These forests 
 were as old as the world."
 
 208 ST. HUBERT'S STOLE. 
 
 spirits. The following is the rubric of the regulations 
 to be observed by those who are taken to be cured, in 
 order that the miracle may stand some chance of suc- 
 ceeding; it was printed in 1G71. 
 
 " The person who is attired with the stole in honour 
 of St. Hubert, must begin by confessing and commu- 
 nicating for nine successive days ; must sleep alone 
 either in white sheets newly washed, or else entirely 
 drest ; must drink alone, and not bend the head down 
 in drinking at fountains or rivers. Item, may drink 
 red and white wine and " clairet," mixed with water, or 
 water only ; may eat white and other bread ; pork of a 
 male pig not more than a year old ; capon or pullets 
 of the same age ; fish having scales, such as smoked 
 herrings and carp, and hard-boiled eggs ; all of which 
 must be eaten cold, and in no other manner. Item, 
 the head must not be combed for forty days, and if the 
 person receives a wound, or the bite of any animal 
 drawing blood, he must practice the same abstinence 
 for the space of three days without returning here. Item, 
 on the tenth day he must have his bandage taken off 
 by a priest, and cause it to be burnt, and the ashes cast 
 into the piscina. Item, he must keep the feast of St. 
 Hubert every year, viz., on the 3rd day of November. 
 Item, he may grant reprieve to all persons bitten by 
 any mad animal from forty to fifty days." The Sorbonne 
 condemned all these practices as superstitious by a de- 
 claration of the 10th of June, 1071, and as early as the 
 fifteenth century the celebrated theologian Gerson had
 
 CONTROVERSIES. 299 
 
 pronounced against them. The clergy of St. Hubert, 
 in defending their practices against the attacks of the 
 Sorbonne, drew up an explanation of all the means 
 employed in the cure of people who had been bitten, 
 and caused it to be approved of by the Bishop of 
 Liege and the faculty of theology of Louvain. This 
 explanation did not, however, prevent a canon of 
 Rheims in 1 709 from undertaking to refute and attack 
 the miracles of St. Hubert in a letter which he wrote to 
 M. Heunebel, a theological doctor of Louvain. It is 
 reprinted in the " Critical History of Superstitious Cus- 
 toms," by Father Le Bran. The author attacks in it the 
 vulgar opinion of the non-diminution of the stole of St. 
 Hubert, and maintains that the greater part of the 
 afflicted who go to the shrine of St. Hubert become 
 mad, and cites several instances derived, for the most 
 part, from the " Treatise on Superstitions," by Thiers. 
 
 " Those who are cured," he observes, " have either 
 not been bitten by dogs really mad, or have had other 
 ailments distinct from hydrophobia ; or it has been the 
 strength of their constitutions, or the physical remedies 
 which have cured them, and not the miracle denied by 
 the most skilful theologians and medical men." He 
 treats the practice of the ' neuvaine' as eminently super- 
 stitious, and finally refutes the system adopted. 
 
 Of course the clergy of St. Hubert replied to this 
 attack, but by arguments which failed to meet the 
 objections raised ; and the question appears since to 
 have rested where all such questions remain : the
 
 300 THE KEYS OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 world of common sense deny the miracle, the super- 
 stitious and priest-led affirm it. 
 
 What are called the keys of St. Hubert consist of 
 an iron, heated red-hot, and applied to the animals 
 bitten by mad dogs. It appeal's never to have borne 
 the form of a key ; for in the town of St. Hubert itself 
 the amulet was an iron ring inserted in the wall of one 
 of the houses in the principal street, opposite the hotel 
 kept by M. Margerotte. It no longer exists, though 
 the belief in the potency of St. Hubert is, among the 
 peasantry, as strong as ever. In other places where 
 St. Hubert is especially venerated, the form of the ex 
 orcising instrument in no way resembles the key given 
 by St. Peter ; at Liege it is also an iron ring, and at 
 Utrecht an iron cross. 
 
 The prayer, which is preferred to the saint when a 
 cure is desired, is as follows : 
 
 " Grand St. Hubert, patron des Ardennes, qui 
 avez eu /' avantage de voir 1' image du Christ entre les 
 cornes d'un cerf, et qui avez regu une Sainte Etole 
 miraculeusement par le ministere d un Ange, nous vous 
 prions de nous appliquer la vertu de ce present divin, 
 nous preservant, par vos merites, de tous dangers, de 
 rage, fureurs, tonnerres et autres malheurs ; et faites 
 que nous eussions le bonheur de vous voir un jour 
 dans le Ciel Ainsi soit il." 
 
 The miraculous stole is preserved in a rich coffer in 
 the treasury of the church, and it is believed that how- 
 ever often fragments may be cut from it, it always
 
 THE BROTHERHOOD OF ST. HUBERT. 301 
 
 remains entire. St. Hubert's ivory crozier, the sole of 
 one of his shoes, and his comb, are also preserved. 
 We did not hear that any use was made of the latter, 
 though to judge from the appearance of the towns- 
 people it might not be undesirable. The saint lies 
 buried in some part- of the church, but his place of 
 sepulture is kept a profound secret. 
 
 Connected with the reverence in which St. Hubert 
 is held in a country that offers such attractions to sports- 
 men, the following account of a brotherhood bearing 
 his name will perhaps afford amusement. It was insti- 
 tuted at Louvain in 1701, and the Duke d'Aremberg 
 declared himself at its head. Some of the regulations 
 are sufficiently curious. Thus runs the preamble : 
 " As it is well-known that emperors, kings, and other 
 potentates have from the most remote times manifested 
 the most anxious interest in the pursuit of the noble 
 and illustrious sport of the chase, and have not only 
 followed it themselves, but permitted it to their subjects : 
 
 " We, as true lovers of the chase, have thought 
 good, for the maintenance of the same, to constitute a 
 brotherhood under the following rules and regulations:" 
 I give only the most prominent. 
 
 The third article declares that " None shall be ad- 
 mitted into the brotherhood who are not noble, or 
 persons born in wedlock, or otherwise honest and 
 virtuous." 
 
 The fifth, " That the brotherhood shall each be 
 obliged to keep a good sporting dog, and be provided
 
 302 THE BROTHERHOOD OF ST. HUBERT. 
 
 with a game bag, powder, ball, and a good fowling- 
 piece, and to wear at all assemblies a little hunting- 
 horn attached to a green riband." 
 
 Article 6. " That there shall be the following officers 
 belonging to the brotherhood : the noble lord general 
 of the chase ; the chief (kooftman) ; the provost, 
 colonel, major, captain, lieutenant, ensign, fiscal advo- 
 cate, two treasurers, a secretary, an inspector of arms, 
 and a master of the ceremonies ( introducteur ) , who 
 shall be changed every year, with the exception of the 
 principal officer, whose office continues during life." 
 
 Article 7. " That the provost of the brotherhood 
 shall cause to be celebrated every year a solemn mass 
 on St. Hubert's day, at which all the brothers shall 
 attend before they take the field." 
 
 Article 8. " That no one shall be excused from 
 going out on the first day, except for good and suffi- 
 cient reasons, and that after having been permitted to 
 absent himself, he shall pay a crown for the expenses of 
 the hunters." 
 
 Article 9. " That all the game which shall be shot 
 on St. Hubert's day shall be carried into the town of 
 Louvain, and placed at the disposal of the treasurer 
 of the brotherhood, whose duty it is to furnish the 
 dinner." 
 
 Article 10. " That every year, on the Sunday after 
 the fete of St. Hubert, a dinner shall be given, to which 
 the protector of the brotherhood shall be invited, and 
 from which no brother shall be absent under any pre-
 
 SINGULAR CUSTOMS. 303 
 
 text whatever, under pain of paying double the amount 
 paid by a brother present at the banquet," &c. 
 
 In the church of St James, at Louvain, a solemn 
 mass is annually celebrated on St. Hubert's day, at 
 which are present all the sportsmen in the city, who, 
 the day before, have had a grand battue. The produce 
 of this chasse pays the expenses of a grand supper for 
 the sportsmen. On this day every one goes to the 
 church porch to buy small loaves, which are sold there, 
 and are supposed to possess the property of averting 
 madness. In order to render this preservative effica- 
 cious, it is necessary the bread should be eaten after 
 fasting, and devoutly reciting a pater and an ave. The 
 article of prayer is not dispensed with even in the case 
 of animals; but as they cannot pray for themselves, 
 their masters do it for them. This last custom exists 
 almost everywhere in Belgium. 
 
 Besides the Abbey Church there is positively nothing 
 to be seen in St. Hubert, and the rain coming on 
 heavily, we were driven into our hotel, which combines 
 the comforts of an inn with the attractions of a general 
 shop, where cloth, linen, spirits, wines, hardware in 
 short, everything wanted, can be bought, except books; 
 for on inquiry we found there was no printing-office or 
 depot for the sale of literature in the place.* 
 
 * This will appear less surprising when it is known that in so large 
 a place as Dinant there is no such thing as a cutler's shop. The 
 reason assigned for this is, that all the cutlery in Belgium being made 
 at Namur, there is no necessity for selling it in other places.
 
 304 AUCTION IX THE OPEN AIR. 
 
 From our chamber window we noticed some of the 
 peculiarities of the town's people. Immediately oppo- 
 site we observed a great crowd assembled at a public 
 sale that was going on in the open street. The lower 
 floor of one of the houses had been converted into a 
 store for various kinds of merchandise coloured cali- 
 coes, cotton handkerchiefs, ribbons, lace, stockings, 
 shirt collars, &c. all of which were separately handed 
 out by two girls to the auctioneer, who stood on a high 
 flight of stone steps, where he vociferously proclaimed 
 the excellence of his wares. Whenever the bidding 
 waxed slack, an old woman might be seen threading her 
 way through the crowd with a bottle of pequet in one 
 hand and a glass in the other, stimulating the slow and 
 prompting the wealthy by the potency of her liquor. 
 That it was potent there could be little doubt, for every 
 now and then a scuffle was improvised, which had its 
 origin in the desire of some townsman to bonnet some 
 female peasant, a proceeding to which he seemed irre- 
 sistibly attracted by the absurdly antique shape of the 
 ladies' head-gear. A reversed coal-scuttle with two 
 enormously-high peaks before and behind, suggests but 
 a faint image of the chapeau des Ardennes. In spite 
 of the torrents of rain, the sale lasted till dark, and the 
 cabarets resounded till a late hour with the voices of 
 those who had bought and sold.
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Arden Truth of Shakspere's description Scenery Beech Trees 
 La Roche -The Aeronaut Blanchard Preparations for the Ascent 
 Blanchard's trick His threatened punishment Fete of the Balloon 
 The Patron Saint and the Virgin Ardennes Marche The Calvaire 
 The Forest Champion Bastogne Arlon The Controversy In- 
 scription on the Altar Farewell to the Ardennes. 
 
 T was in a thick fog, on a very cold morn- 
 ing, that we left St. Hubert, at an hour 
 when nothing seemed stirring except the 
 pigs and cattle, which slowly made their 
 way to the doors of the different houses, by the passage 
 common to all the inhabitants, men and animals 
 alike, where they stood gazing wistfully up and down 
 the street as if extremely unwilling to venture forth. 
 
 We left them in their perplexity, and set out across 
 a desolate moor, in the direction of Champion ; a large 
 kite that kept circling over our heads being the only 
 companion of our journey. After a time he too left 
 
 z 2
 
 306 THE FOREST OF ARDEN. 
 
 us, having, no doubt, scented his quarry, and for some 
 miles we pursued our silent, lonely route. As we 
 advanced deeper in the forest an occasional woodcutter 
 might be seen ; in some of the more open spaces large 
 coveys of partridges were feeding; and in one sylvan 
 spot we were agreeably surprised by the apparition of a 
 superb fox, leisurely cantering across the road as if on 
 his way which was probably the case to breakfast 
 at somebody's expense. We stopped for ours at 
 Champion, a large inn standing alone at a point 
 where four roads meet, on the skirts of the most 
 picturesque part of the forest. 
 
 It is here truly the scene as Shakspere has 
 painted it, a perfect picture of sylvan beauty. Except 
 the " green and gilded snake," and the " lioness, with 
 udders all drawn dry," that laid in wait for Orlando's 
 elder brother, all the features of " the forest of Arden," 
 in "As You Like It," are drawn to the life. The truth 
 of the description arises of course from the poet's 
 quick sense of the beauties of nature, and his ready 
 apprehension of all that unites to render forest scenery 
 delightful, whether in England or beyond the Meuse. 
 Nurtured in tradition, and steeped in the recollection 
 of the days when he 
 
 did lay him down within the shade 
 
 Of waving trees, and dreamed uncounted hours," 
 
 the forest of Ardennes was to him as real an object 
 as the woods that bordered the Avon; and thus the 
 scenery of his unrivalled comedy is as true as the
 
 THE FOBEST OF ARDEN. 307 
 
 personages with whom he has filled these wilds are 
 instinct with life. At every step we meet with 
 
 " Oaks, whose antique roots peep out 
 Upon the brooks that brawl along the wood ;" 
 
 we cannot penetrate beyond the glades, without dis- 
 turbing some " careless herd, full of the pasture," the 
 "dappled fools" that formed the subject of the moralising 
 reverie of the " melancholy Jaques ;" we linger in many 
 a spot where still seems to echo the song of the forester 
 lord, nor can we refrain from chanting with him 
 
 " Who doth ambition shun, 
 And loves to lie i' the sun, 
 Seeking the food he eats, 
 And pleas' d with what he gets, 
 Come hither, come hither, come hither ; 
 Here he shall see 
 No enemy, 
 But winter and rough weather." 
 
 It would have been lese-majeste to Shakspere to 
 have loitered in the " forest of Arden," without follow- 
 ing the example of Orlando, albeit our case was not 
 so seemingly desperate as his ; and the bark of one fail- 
 tree was certainly " marred" in consequence, with what 
 effect future travellers who sojourn for a few hours at 
 Champion must determine. The indications are carved 
 on a noble beech * which stands alone at the very angle 
 of the forest on the road to La Eoche. 
 
 * Although oaks are numerous in the Ardennes, beech trees are still 
 more so. The peasants call the beech " le brochet des bois," because 
 it prevents all other trees from growing near it Its Walloon name is 
 fays, from the Latin fagus, and many plants are called after it ; Beau- 
 fays, Thirifays (beech of Thierry), Fayenbois, &c.
 
 308 LA ROCHE. 
 
 A drive through the forest of about two hours brought 
 us to La Roche, a pretty village, most picturesquely 
 situated upon the little river Ourthe, which, in its 
 course to join the Meuse at Liege, passes through 
 scenery of the most beautiful description. Here are the 
 ruins of a fine old castle, one of the many that are scat- 
 tered throughout the ancient district of the Ardennes, 
 the cradles of some of the most illustrious families in 
 Europe, where the feudal system lingered longer than 
 in any other part of Belgium. But the division of the 
 country' between the Counts of Narnur and Luxem- 
 bourg and the Bishop of Liege, whose territorial rights 
 were ill defined, involved the noblesse of the Ardennes 
 in fierce and frequent wars, which laid the foundation 
 of the ruin that was hastened by the dukes of Burgundy, 
 and consummated by the armies of France and Austria, 
 in the violent struggle that brought on the invasion of 
 1554. Few of the old feudal castles have survived that 
 stormy period, and their walls are now " all tenantless 
 save to the crannying wind." 
 
 The village of La Roche was, about sixty years 
 since, the scene of an occurrence which sufficiently 
 shows how isolated it was, and how completely igno- 
 rant its inhabitants were of what was then causing the 
 liveliest sensation throughout the country. 
 
 It was at the time when the discovery of aerostation 
 had begun to excite attention, when Blanchard, the 
 aeronaut, unworthy, however, as he appeared of the 
 title of " intrepid" which has always been the property.
 
 THE AERONAUT BLANC HARD. 309 
 
 tie riyueur, of those who sail the skies, arrived at 
 Liege. He obtained from the authorities permission 
 to construct his balloon in the citadel, and establish a 
 laboratory to supply him with the gas necessary for 
 inflation. 
 
 Everybody in the city and its neighbourhood im- 
 patiently awaited the issue of an experiment fraught to 
 them with so much novelty ; and the 18th of December, 
 1786, was fixed upon for the ascent. On the day ap- 
 pointed, the crowd to obain admission to the citadel 
 was so great, that a serious accident had nearly oc- 
 curred, from the great pressure of the people anxious 
 to secure the best places; it was, however, happily 
 averted, and the numerous spectators, amongst whom 
 were the Prince Bishop and all the municipal officers 
 were finally accommodated in safety. 
 
 At a signal given by the discharge of artillery, the 
 covering that concealed the balloon was all at cnce 
 withdrawn, and the many- coloured orb appeared, held 
 down to the earth, from which it seemed eager to 
 escape, by a dozen men who grasped the cords. 
 Blanchard was seated in the car. The immense ma- 
 chine was gently swayed over to where the Prince was 
 stationed, and Madame de Berlaimont, who sat beside 
 him, descended from the platform with a bouquet 
 in her hand, which she presented to the aeronaut. 
 Blanchard, affecting to stoop to receive it, desired the 
 soldiers to cut the cords, and at the same time that the 
 balloon flew up with the rapidity of lightning, quietly
 
 310 HIS TRICK. 
 
 slid down to the ground, where he lay as if stunned by 
 the fall. 
 
 The Prince rose in anger, and turning to those who 
 sat near him, exclaimed, " I was warned of the trick 
 which this fellow intended to play us ; but I could not 
 believe that the impudent Frenchman would have 
 audacity enough to sully his honour and reputation by 
 an act offensive to a whole people." Then turning 
 towards Blanchard, who still pretended to be in a 
 swoon, " I am not the dupe of your miserable jugglery," 
 he added, " you shall not be lost sight of till you have 
 constructed another balloon ; and if you do not go up 
 in it, you shall be handed over to the arm of justice, 
 and lose your head like a common robber." Having 
 uttered these words, he immediately got into his car- 
 riage, and returned to the palace.* 
 
 In the meantime the tenantless balloon soared 
 majestically into the air, was for some time kept in 
 view, and finally disappeared in the direction of the 
 Ardennes. 
 
 Now it happened, sur ces entrefaites, that a great 
 discussion had arisen in the little village of La Roche, 
 in which piety and poverty were at issue. The 
 images of the patron saint and the Holy Virgin 
 were both in a pitiable condition as regarded costume, 
 
 * In consequence of this threat Blanchard constructed another 
 balloon, in which he actually did ascend on the 27th of the same 
 month ; but the Prince Bishop, Cesar Constantin Hoensbroeck, was 
 so indignant at the aeronaut's conduct, that he refused to witness the 
 ascent
 
 FATE OF THE BALLOON. 311 
 
 and the inhabitants were too poor to supply the 
 wants of each ; a collection was made, but it did not 
 realise more than enough to purchase a robe for 
 one. Opinions, were divided, some declaring for the 
 patron saint, others for Our Lady ; the partisans of 
 the former were in the majority, and on the day of 
 his fete he appeared, " clinquant-neux," in a garment 
 of great splendour. But .scarcely had his image 
 received the honour due, when a wondrous object 
 greeted the astonished eyes of the villagers, by the 
 appearance in the sky of an enormous globe of re- 
 splendent hue, which descended directly upon the 
 tower of the church. It was found on examination to 
 be composed of silk, and the inhabitants of La Roche 
 were at once convinced that it was a present from the 
 Virgin to deck her image ! They acted immediately 
 upon this impression, the balloon was at once cut 
 into pieces, and a series of robes was made that have 
 honourably sustained the credit of the Virgin's ward- 
 robe from that day to this. 
 
 We next turned our steps in the direction of 
 Marche, the capital of the fertile district called " La 
 Famene," but still a part of the Ardennes. The road 
 was rough and hilly, but the beauty of the scenery 
 amply repaid the toil. It is in this part of the Ar- 
 dennes, as well as near the Ambleve, that those streams 
 are met with, in whose beds are found a large mother- 
 of-pearl mussel, containing pearls, which though not 
 large are of a very fine colour. They belong to the
 
 312 MAECHE EX FAMENE 
 
 class of the anodon cyyneum of Cuvier. It was 
 evening when we arrived at Marche, and took up our 
 quarters at the Cloche d'Or, the first house that one 
 meets in approaching from the forest. It is a nice 
 quiet inn, with a very good-natured landlady and 
 attentive servants, and the supper of Drives which they 
 served up, was good enough to dispel our remorse at 
 being obliged to eat them. 
 
 Marche is a small town seated in a smiling valley 
 amidst low hills, for the most part highly cultivated ; 
 but the distant heights are thickly covered with wood. 
 It looks very pretty at a distance, but the streets are 
 dirty and ill-paved, and it contains little to interest 
 the traveller. Near it, on a rocky eminence, are the 
 remains of a very old fortress, of which nothing is left 
 but the ruined wall of the donjon-keep, of immense 
 thickness, at the base of which some straggling wild 
 vines cling for existence. The view from tins height 
 over the Famene is very pleasing. Westward of the 
 town is a pretty walk of half a mile, along an avenue 
 of beech, leading to a Calvaire, the various stations 
 being marked by singularly-shaped altars surmounted 
 by crosses. At the extremity of the avenue, on a bold 
 rock that overlooks the plain, is a small chapel, built 
 in 1626, and beneath it a crypt, dedicated to our 
 Saviour, arched over by the natural vault of the rock, 
 and approached from the outside. It is much resorted 
 to for prayer. In the neighbourhood of Marche are 
 many other chapels, which attract devotees from far and
 
 THE FOP I 313 
 
 near. After visiting the ruined castle and the Calvaire, 
 on the following afternoon we were again en route 
 through the forest, performing nearly the whole dis- 
 tance as far as Champion, about twelve miles, on foot, 
 the better to enjoy the beauty of the scenery. After 
 crossing the Hedre and the Wame, two foaming moun- 
 tain torrents, we kept by the left bank of the latter 
 stream almost till we reached Champion, and dis- 
 covered, perhaps, even more sylvan loveliness than we 
 had already been charmed with. The moon rose be- 
 fore we had cleared the forest, and added infinitely to 
 the romance of the scene, though it was impossible to 
 augment its beauty. Imagination might well have 
 pictured the enamoured Orlando appealing to " the 
 thrice-crowned queen of night" in such a spot ! 
 
 Champion is a good inn, but were it not so one 
 might well compound for slight inconveniences, by the 
 reflection of having slept in the very heart of the forest 
 of Ardennes. We passed the whole of the next day 
 " under the shade of melancholy boughs ;" and having 
 dismissed our carriage, which was taken back the 
 nearest way to Dinant, we waited patiently for the 
 arrival of the diligence from Namur, to take us on to 
 Luxembourg. It anived about midnight, and luckily 
 there were places vacant. The bright moonlight had 
 a different task assigned it now to that of the preceding 
 night. Then it " left that beautiful which still was 
 so," now it "made that which was not;" for we had 
 to cross the dreariest part of the Ardennes, the grim
 
 ol 4 I'.ASTo.iNK. 
 
 capital of which is Bastogne, where we arrived about 
 three o'clock in the morning. An hour's delay, while 
 the innkeeper, the ostler, and the horses were being 
 woke-up to enable the regular diligence to proceed, 
 enabled us to gaze our fill at a town that has been 
 satirically named " Paris in the desert." Not being 
 well able to discern the materials of which the houses 
 were built, it struck me as bearing a greater resem- 
 blance to a new settlement in North America, than to 
 anything else. Bastogne is, as I have already said, 
 the chef -lien of those delicious hams which form the 
 glory of the charcutiers of Brussels, but it was in vain 
 that we clamoured for a few slices for supper ; neither 
 that nor anything else that was eatable was forth- 
 coming, and when the horses at length arrived, we 
 slowly wended on our journey. The sun rose as we 
 entered the last woody outpost of the Ardennes, and 
 never had I witnessed a more glorious effect, as it 
 seemed, when seen through the trees, like a vast red 
 ball of fire coursing through the forest. At length, 
 about seven in the morning, we began to ascend some 
 steep, sandy hills, and when we had laboured for some 
 time the town of Arlon appeared, standing at the 
 highest point of elevation in this part of the country. 
 As the clock was striking eight, the diligence drew up 
 at the Hotel du Nord, and the German salutation that 
 greeted us, in a dialect that closely resembles the 
 Transylvanian or old Saxon, reminded us how close 
 we were to the frontier.
 
 ARLON. O J > 
 
 Although A lion is rising in importance, and bears 
 a name celebrated for its antiquity, its attractions are 
 not such as to make any long sojourn necessary. The 
 derivation of the name of the city gave rise, about a 
 century ago, to a very bitter controversy between Pere 
 Berthollet, a Jesuit, and a Capuchin, who wrote under 
 the name of the magistrates and people of Arlon. 
 
 The Pere Berthollet disputed the signification of 
 the figures on an ancient altar found here, denying that 
 it was other than an ordinary funeral monument, while 
 his adversary held out manfully in favour of what was 
 called " the old tradition of Arlon." This old tradi- 
 tion held that Arlon was a place where the worship of 
 Diana was particularly celebrated, and that the etymo- 
 logy of the word Arlon was Ara Luna>, confirmed by 
 the discovery of the altar. This was the general belief, 
 and in substituting an image of the virgin for the 
 statue of Diana, the following lines were engraved on 
 the pedestal : 
 
 Ara fuit Lunae, quae nunc est ara Mariae ; 
 
 Virginis intactse simbola Luna refert. 
 Sic urbs Arlunum quae Lunse diceris Ara, 
 
 Arluni Dominam, recte vocabis earn. 
 Nomen et a sacra jam jure resumito Luna, 
 
 Arlunum Lunae, quod dedit Ara Deo. 
 
 Vestra ferunt Lunam Arluni monumenta profanam, 
 
 Turmatim populos hi coluisse Deam. 
 
 Mistica Luna pari per vos celebretur in Ara 
 
 Quae Virgo nobis arrha salutis erit 
 
 Hue ergo celerate pedem, juvenesque senesque, 
 
 Audiet una pias mistica Luna preces.
 
 31 C FAREWELL TO THE ARDENNES. 
 
 " The moon in this place, formerly a famous idol, 
 has yielded to Mary, being her symbol. If her profane 
 altar gave the name to Arlon, Arlon now takes that of 
 Mary, and renders to your new and divine mistress the 
 honour formerly paid to the goddess. 
 
 " Its profane remains prove that your ancestors 
 flocked in crowds to this place to address the idol, to 
 offer the same worship to the mystic moon. It is the 
 assurance and pledge of your safety. Hasten, then, old 
 and young. Mary will reward your prayers twofold." 
 
 It was to witness at Treves a scene of superstition 
 as gross as ever was offered at the shrine of a Pagan 
 divinity that we hurried from Arlon, and bade farewell 
 to the Ardennes.
 
 ^HIBRARY 
 
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 OTH^ 
 
 IIVERSto 
 
 MIFO