The men who show you over the
house are dressed as servants were in Plantin's time. By going there
you will get a far better idea of the family life of those times than
by reading any number of story-books or looking at any number of
pictures.
Antwerp has, like the other Belgian towns, had its ups and downs, but
now it is one of the greatest harbours in the whole world. So many
ships go there that there is hardly room for all of them. It may seem
an extraordinary thing that a country like Belgium, so small that two
or three English counties would cover it, should have such an
important harbour crowded with the shipping of all nations. But
Antwerp is connected by railways and canals with the busiest parts of
Europe, and the Scheldt is a noble river, by which merchantmen can
find their way to every region of the world.
A hundred years ago Antwerp was in the hands of the French, who had
seized Belgium; and when Napoleon was beaten he clung to Antwerp as
long as he could. Just before he fell, there was a conference at a
place called Chatillon, when they tried to make peace, but could not;
and afterwards, when he was at St.
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