were bold and warlike. They have
always been forward in asserting and defending their liberties; and you
will find that the burghers of Ghent figure largely in Mr. Motley's
Histories. I will not detain you longer now, but, as we pass through the
city, I shall have something more to say about its historic character."

A sufficient number of vehicles had been gathered during the professor's
lecture to enable the students to make the most of their limited time in
Ghent. They went first to the _Beffroi_, or Belfry-tower. It is a kind
of watch-tower, two hundred and eighty feet high, built in the twelfth
century. The structure is square, and is surmounted by a gilt dragon. It
contains a chime of bells, and a huge bell weighing five tons. The
records of the city were formerly kept in the lower part of the
building, which is now degraded into a prison. The entrance to the tower
is through a shop, and the view from the top is very fine.

The Cathedral of St. Bavon, the Church of St. Michael, and the Hotel de
Ville, or Town Hall, were pointed out, and the carriages stopped in the
Marche au Vendredi, a large square, or market-place, which takes its
name from the day on which the sale is held. The phrase means Friday
Market. Mr. Mapps explained the use of the square, and pointed out the
ancient buildings with Flemish gables, which look like a flight of
stairs on each slope, which surrounds it.

"This was the grand meeting-place of the citizens of Ghent," he
continued; "the counts of Flanders were inaugurated here with great
ceremony and splendor. Here the trades-unions, or societies of weavers,
used to meet. Here the standard of rebellion was planted, and the people
rallied around it to overthrow their oppressors. Here Jacques van
Artevelde, the Brewer of Ghent, encountered a hostile association, and
fought one of the most furious combats known in history. He was called
the Brewer of Ghent, because, though of noble family, he joined the
society of brewers to flatter the vanity of the lower classes. His
partisans were chiefly weavers, and his opponents the fullers. In the
midst of the strife the host--the consecrated bread and wine of the
Catholic mass--was brought into the square, in order to separate the
furious artisans; but it was disregarded, and the bodies of fifteen
hundred citizens were left on this spot.

"Van Artevelde, whose statue you see before you," added the professor,
pointing to the object, "was a person of grea