In the 12th century the commercial privileges granted to Antwerp by the Dukes of Brabant, had attracted so many strangers, that the town was insufficient to contain them, and in 1304 John II. enlarged it considerably. Its harbour was open to ships of all nations, and in the sixteenth century Antwerp became the first commercial city in the world. The Scheldt was navigable for the largest vessels, being 20 feet deep, at low water, and 40 feet at high water. At this period the population of the city exceeded 200,000, among whom were 300 painters and 124 goldsmiths; 500 vessels entered the harbour daily, and 2,500 was the average number of those at anchor before the city. The taxes received in the city annually amounted to 2,000,000 florins (£160,000); the sums circulated every year by the commerce of the town exceeded 500,000,000 florins (£40,000,000). During the reign of the Emperor Charles V., a merchant of Antwerp, named Daens, having received the honour of his sovereign's company at dinner, closed the repast by throwing into the flames the Emperor's acknowledgment for 2,000,000 florins, which he had lent him, saying that the loan was more than repaid by the honour of the visit. It was on this occasion that the Emperor made the remarkable reply, which, coming from such a mouth, is a never-tobe-forgotten tribute to the dignity of commerce, "My friends! the nobles pillage me, the men of letters instruct me, but the merchants enrich me."

From the time of the independence of the United Provinces, the importance of Antwerp gradually declined; the Dutch, with their usual policy, having made themselves masters of the Scheldt, blocked up the entrance of the harbour, and by that means transferred to Amsterdam the greater part of the commerce of Antwerp. In 1576, the Spanish garrison having been left for a long time without pay, rose in a revolt, burnt the town-house, pillaged the city, putting to the sword more than 10,000 inhabitants. In 1582, the Duke d'Alençon,

the hand of Elizabeth of England, arrived in Antwerp, where he was inaugurated Duke of Brabant, in pursuance of the treaty made in 1580, at Plessisles-Tours. In 1583, the Duke contrived to introduce a numerous body of French troops into the territory, with whose assistance he endeavoured to establish himself as the absolute king of the Low Countries, but, being defeated in his attempt by the resolute resistance of every class of the inhabitants, he retired to Chateau-Thierry, where he died of grief, in June, 1584.

Here the celebrated truce, for 12 years, between Belgium and the United Provinces was signed, on the 9th of April, 1609. In 1700, the Duke of Marlborough took the town, and in 1746 it was successfully besieged by the French, but restored to Austria in 1748, by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. After the French revolution it was frequently taken and re-taken by the French and Austrians, but remained quietly in the possession of the former from 1794 until 1814, when it became part of the new kingdom of the Netherlands. By treaty made between France and Holland, in 1795, the mouth of the Scheldt was re-opened; and since that period, the commerce of Antwerp has been reviving, and, as the navigation of the Scheldt was declared open in 1863, it is fast regaining, the commercial advantages of which it had been deprived. There is no town in Belgium which possesses so many attractions as Antwerp. It literally abounds in the riches of art, and several days, at least, should be devoted to an attentive examination of its treasures. The churches claim our first notice.

The Cathedral of Notre Dame is the most splendid Gothic building in Belgium. It was commenced about the middle of the thirteenth century and occupied 84 years in building. It is 600 feet long by 230 wide, and 270 high, and contains 230 vaulted arcades, supported by 125 columns. The beautiful Tower is 402 feet high, and the ascent to it is by 622 steps; it was commenced in 1422 from designs by the architect Amelius, and finished in 1518. The exquisite lightness and purity of proportion exhibited in this tower are unequalled; the view from the summit extends over an immense expanse of flat country, taking in above 120 surrounding steeples. It was intended to have a second tower

of the same height, which was commenced, but was never built higher than the first gallery. In 1540 a chime of 84 bells was added to the tower. On entering the cathedral by the principal nave, the eye is struck with the magnificent cupola; in the ceiling is seen the Virgin surrounded by Angels with unfolded wings. Approaching the choir we perceive the grand altar, executed in marble from the designs of Rubens, and ornamented with his immortal work, representing the Assumption.

In this cathedral are also the Elevation of the Cross, consisting of a centre with two wings, and the Descent from the Cross, to which have been appended, as wings, the Visitation, and the Purification of Mary. These pictures are in Rubens' best style, the anatomical precision with which every muscle is delineated in the Elevation is beyond praise; in the Descent the right arm of our Saviour deserves particular notice. It would be impossible to particularise in detail all the objects of interest in this splendid building, but we must mention the chapel of the Sacrament, the altar of which, executed by Verbruggen, represents the Holy Ark, and is ornamented by a splendid picture of the Disciples at Emmaus, by Herreyns; the portraits of Luther, Calvin, Erasmus, and the other now celebrated reformers, contained in a picture representing our Saviour disputing with the Doctors, by Franck, the elder. The tomb of Ambrose Capello, 7th bishop, deserves particular praise; the pulpit, also by Verbruggen; the white marble figure sculptured by Scheemaekers, on the tomb of Van Delft; the mausoleum of the printer, Moretus, enriched by the pencil of Rubens; and an exquisite picture of the Marriage of Cana, by Martin de Vas. This cathedral formerly contained 32 altars, all of white marble, but one only escaped the devastating fury of the revolutionary mob.

Near the foot of the tower, outside the cathedral, is the tomb of Quentin Matsys, with this inscription:"Connubialis amor de mulcibre fecit Apellem." This epitaph commemorates the fact of Matsys having abandoned his original trade of a blacksmith, in order to study painting and render himself worthy of the hand of his beloved, the daughter of Flors, a painter, who had resolved to have none but an artist for a son-in-law. After indefatigable study for many months, Matsys began to hope that he should succeed in his new

undertaking, but had not determined in what manner to make his first attempt to win the professional approbation of Flors, when being one day in the artist's study, his attention was struck by a singular painting called the Fallen Angels, which Flors had just finished, after immense labour, and which he considered as his masterpiece. Actuated by a sudden and irresistible impulse, Matsys seized a pencil and painted an enormous bee crawling on the thigh of one of the Angels. Such an exploit would have ruined the young aspirant with most artists, but Flors had seen enough to appreciate the talent displayed in the execution, and not only forgave the singular manner of its development, but rewarded the artist with his daughter's hand. The picture is still preserved in the Museum. this tomb is the famous Well, the iron work of which was entirely made by Matsys with the hammer, and without the use of files, proving that he was as eminent in his original trade as in his adopted profession. On Sundays and high festivals the masses of the great German composers are admirably performed in the cathedral.

Near

St. Jacques (1491 to 1656, late Gothic style) it is of great extent, and adorned with a number of Ionic columns in marble, supporting the great entrance; the marble gallery and the grand altar, inlaid with white and black marble, and supported by twisted columns, are perfect specimens of art. In this church is the Tomb of Rubens; near it is a picture by himself, representing the infant Jesus sitting on his mother's knees, surrounded by a number of figures, all of which are portraits of the painter, his wives, and family; one of the females represents the original of the celebrated chapeau de Paille. The pulpit, chastely and elegantly sculptured by Willemssens, merits attention, as do all the windows. The various chapels, 28 in number, are built with marble of different colours; in that dedicated to the Holy Sacrament, is a splendid picture of the Last Supper, by Otto Venius, and three admirable pieces of sculpture, viz., St. Peter, by Verbruggen; St. Paul, by Willemsens; and the First Person of the Trinity, by Quellyn; and in that of St. Roch is a magnificent picture of the saint, by Seghers. The Last Judgment, by B. Van Orley, is a singular picture, deserving attention from the peculiarly vivid tint which the robes have retained, though more than 300 years have elapsed

since it was painted. There are numerous other works of great merit. The stained glass in the Chapel of S. Sacrament, is very fine.

The Church of St. Andrew was made a parochial church in 1529, by Margaret of Austria, the sister of Charles V. of Germany, on the occasion of her signing with Louisa of Savoy, Duchess of Angoulême, the mother of Francis I. of France, the treaty of Cambray, which, negotiated and concluded by the talents of two women, brought to a termination (though unfortunately but for a short time) the long pending wars between those powerful and rival princes. In this church are numerous marble altars of great beauty, and several fine pictures, the principal of which are the Martyrdom of St. Andrew, by Otto Venius, and the Guardian Angel, by E. Quellyn. It also contains a portrait of Mary Queen of Scots, and a marble mausoleum executed to her memory at the expense of two English ladies.

The parochial Church of St. Paul was built in 1546 by Henry III., Duke of Brabant, and contains numerous fine paintings, among which are the Adoration of the Shepherds and the Scourging of Christ, by Rubens; the Descent from the Cross, by Cels; Christ in the Garden, and the Seven Works of Mercy, by Teniers the elder; Christ bearing the Cross, by Van Dyck; a Head of Christ, by Otto Venius; Christ Crucified, by Jordaens; and St. Dominic, copied from Correggio, by Crayer. A globe, with Time holding an Arrow, which points to the hours in succession, forms the Clock, and is a curious piece of mechanism. Near the entrance of this church is the celebrated representation of Mount Calvary, beneath which is the Tomb of Christ, containing an image of the Saviour in a shroud of superb silk, surrounded by a vivid picture of Purgatory, the flames of which are reflected on every side, while the horridly grotesque expression of the tormented souls inspires, at first sight, a sentiment of involuntary awe, which stifles and subdues the perceptions of the ridiculous arising from a more detailed examination.

presenting the principal events of the life of St. Augustin, are not to be passed over without notice. The pulpit and the grand altar, the one carved the other sculptured by Verbruggen, are also much admired. The church of St. Anthony contains only two good pictures: a Dead Christ, by Van Dyck, and St.Anthony receiving the infant Christ from the hands of his mother, by Rubens. The Church of St. Charles Borromeo was formerly the most costly edifice of its size in Europe; it was commenced by the Jesuits in 1614, and finished in 1621. The most boundless expense was lavished on it; the finest marble was brought from Genoa for its construction, and the whole was completed from the designs of Rubens. The great altar was formed of marble, porphyry, jasper, and gold; and the shrines of the Virgin and St. Ignatius were of dazzling magnificence. But this splendid edifice was destroyed by lightning in 1748, and the present imitation of it in stone has supplied its place. The most remarkable pictures are Simeon in the Temple, by Delm; the Assumption, by Schut; and a Priest administering the Sacrament to a Knight, by Crayer. In the chapel of St. Ignatius is a communion-table of Carrara marble, sculptured in the finest style of art, by Van Papenhaved.

The Museum is the finest in the kingdom, and contains 700 pictures by the first masters of the Flemish school. Among them (in addition to the picture of the Fallen Angels we have before mentioned) are the Martyrdom of St. John, the Burial of Christ, and the Head of John the Baptist, by Quentin Matsys. TheHoly Family, Ste. Theresa interceding for the souls in Purgatory, the Communion of St. Jerome, Jesus shewing his wounds to St. Thomas, the Adoration of the Magi, St. Anne teaching the Virgin to read (an exquisite picture of still life), Christ between the Two Thieves, and numerous others, by Rubens (the last mentioned picture is, perhaps the finest specimen of the artist's genius; the impenitent thief is depicted with a fidelity almost too horrible to be contemplated). The Dead Christ, Christ on the Cross, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Dominic, and others, by Van Dyck.

Nicholas to a Poor Family, and others, by Otto Venius. The Last Supper, the Adoration of the Shepherds, and others, by Jordaens; the Resurrection, by Martin de Vos; the Adoration of the