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Peeps At Many Lands: Belgium By: George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond (1846-1929) |
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PEEPS AT MANY LANDS BELGIUM
BY
GEORGE W. T. OMOND
ILLUSTRATED BY
AMÉDÉE FORESTIER LONDON
ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK
1909
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I. THE SANDS OPPOSITE ENGLAND
II. INLAND: THE FLEMISH PLAIN
III. TRAVELLING IN BELGIUM
IV. SOME OF THE TOWNS: THE ARDENNES
V. BELGIAN CHILDREN: THE "PREMIÈRE COMMUNION"
VI. CHRISTMAS IN BELGIUM
VII. NEW YEAR'S DAY
VIII. PAGEANTS AND PROCESSIONS
IX. THE STORY OF ST. EVERMAIRE: A COUNTRY PAGEANT
X. THE CARNIVAL
XI. CHILDREN'S WINTER FESTIVALS
XII. THE ARCHERS: GAMES PLAYED IN BELGIUM
XIII. WHAT THE BELGIANS SPEAK
XIV. A SHORT HISTORY
XV. THE BELGIAN ARMY: THE CONGO
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS BY AMÉDÉE FORESTIER
A PEASANT WOMAN OF THE ARDENNES frontispiece
THE DUNES
A SHRIMPER ON HORSEBACK, COXYDE
THE VEGETABLE MARKET, BRUGES
ANTWERP
THE HÔTEL DE VILLE, BRUSSELS
AT THE KERMESSE
A CHÂTEAU IN THE LESSE VALLEY
A FARMSTEADING
PLAYING "JEU DE BOULE" AT A FLEMISH INN
VILLAGE AND CANAL, ADINKERQUE
WATERLOO: THE FARM OF LA BELLE ALLIANCE AND THE
MOUND SURMOUNTED BY THE BELGIAN LION
A MILK SELLER IN BRUGES on the cover Sketch Map of Belgium. [Illustration: SKETCH MAP OF BELGIUM.] [Illustration: THE DUNES.]
BELGIUM CHAPTER I THE SANDS OPPOSITE ENGLAND
If you leave the mouth of the Thames, or the white chalk cliffs at
Dover, and sail over the water just where the English Channel meets
the North Sea, you will in about three or four hours see before you a
long expanse of yellow sand, and rising behind it a low ridge of
sandhills, which look in the distance like a range of baby mountains.
These sandhills are called "dunes." Here and there at intervals you
will see a number of little towns, each town standing by itself on the
shore, and separated from its neighbour by a row of dunes and a
stretch of sand. This is your first view of the little country called Belgium, which is
bounded on the east by Holland, and on the west by France. It is, from
end to end, about half the size of Ireland. There are no cliffs or rocks, no shingle or stones covered with
seaweed. There are no trees. It is all bare sand, with moss and rushes
on the higher ground above the beach. In winter the wind rages with
terrific violence along the coast. The sand is blown in all
directions, and the waves dash fiercely on the shore. It is cold and
stormy, with mist and dark clouds, and sometimes violent showers of
hail. But in summer all is changed. Often, week after week, the waves
roll gently in, and break in ripples on the beach. The sky is blue,
and the sands are warm. It is the best place in the world for digging
and building castles. There are very few shells to gather; but there
are no dangerous rocks or slippery places, and children can wade about
and play in perfect safety. So many families Belgians, English,
Germans, and a few French spend the summer holidays there. Hundreds of years ago the storms of winter used to drive the waves
ashore with such violence that the land was flooded, and whole
villages were sometimes swept away. So the people made ramparts of
earth to keep back the water, till by degrees many parts of the
Belgian shore were thus protected. They still continue to build
defences against the sea; but instead of earth they now use brick and
stone. It looks as if in a few years the whole coast will be lined by
these sea fronts, which are called digues de mer . A digue , no matter how thick, which rests on the sand alone will not
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History |
Travel |
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