But all this came to an end. The channel which joined this great city
to the sea dried up. There were wars and rebellions which drove the
foreign merchants away. They went to Antwerp. Bruges fell, and has
remained fallen ever since.
It is now a quiet, sad place, so poor that the streets are badly
lighted, seldom cleaned, and have a desolate, neglected appearance.
The few families of the upper class who live there belong to what is
called the _petite noblesse_; there is almost no trade or commerce;
and many of the lower orders live on charity.
But this dead city is very romantic, with all its memories of olden
times. Nobody should go to Belgium without visiting Bruges, once so
famous and now so fallen, not only because it is picturesque, with its
old buildings and quaint views such as artists love to paint, but also
because it is so quiet that you can watch the customs of a Belgian
town without being disturbed by a crowd--the market-folk with their
wares spread out on the stones of the street, the small carts drawn by
dogs, the women sitting at their doors busy with lace-making, the
pavements occupied by tables at which people sit drinking coffee or
beer, the workmen clanking along in their wooden shoes, and
numberless little things which are different from what you see at
home.
Pages:
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33