San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1883-04-12
THE TROUBLESOME BURGH-
US.

Philip Van Artevelde was Dutch
man. His father, Jacob, had beer
Governor of Ghent, and had made
himaelf great name by leadln5 1t 1t
volt against the Count OF FL 'udtr'
and driving him ont of the country.
Philip was quiet lIan. who attend
ed to his own affairs and took no par
in public business; but in the yeal
1851 the good people of Client found
themselves in very great difficulty,
Their city was subject to the Count oil
Flanders, who oppressed them in every
way. He and his mobiles thought
nothing of the common people, but
taxed them heavily and interfered
with their business.
The city of Bruges was the rival OF
Client, and in those days rivals In
trade were enemies. The Burgess peo-
pie were not satisfied with trying to
mako more money and get more
business than Client could, but they
wanted Client destroyed, and so they
supported Count Louis in all that
he did to injure their neighboring
city.
Having this quarrel on their hands,
the Client people did not know what
to do. Count Louis was too strong
for them, and they were very much
afraid he would destroy their town
and put the people to death.
A public meeting was held, and re-
membering how well old Jacob Van
Artevelde had served them against the
father of Count Louis, they made his
son Philip their captain, and told him
he must manage this quarrel for
them.
Philip undertook this duty, and
tried to settle the trouble in some
peaceable way; but the Count was an
cry, and would not listen to anything
That Van Artevelde proposed. He said
the Client people were rebels, and
must submit without any conditions
Mt all, and this the sturd y Client
burghers would not do.
Count Louis would not march
against the town and give the people
II fair chance to fight the matter out.
He preferred to sturve them, and for
that purpose he put soldiers on all the
roads leading toward Client, and &c
fused to allow any provisions to be
taken to the city.
The people soon ate up nearly all
the food they had, and when the
spring of 1882 came they were starry
ing. Something must be done at
once, and Philip Van Artevelde de-
cided that it was no use to resist
any longer. He took twelve deputies
with him, and went to beg the Count
for mercy. He offered to submit to
any terms the Count might propose,
f ihe Count would only promise not
TO put any of the people to death.
Philip even offered himself as VIC
tim, agreeing that the Count should
Danish him from the country as
punishment, if he would spare the
people of the town. But the naughty
Count would promise nothing. He
said that all the people of Client from
fifteen to sixty years old must march
halfway to Bruges baIe-headed, with
no clothes on but their shirts, and
each with a rope around his neck, and
then he would decide how many of
them he would spare.
The Count thought the poor Client
people would have to submit to this,
and he meant to put them all to death
when they should thus come out
without arms to surrender. He there
fore called on his vassals to meet him
in Bruges at Easter, and SO out with
him to destroy these troublesome
burghers."
But the troublesome burghers, as
We shall see presently, were not the
kind of men to walk out bare-headed,
with ropes around their necks, and
submit to destruction.
Philip Van Artevelde returned sadly
70 Client, on the 25th Of April, and
told the people what the Count had
said. Then the gallant Old soldier,
Peter van den BOssche exclaimed:
In a few DAYS tie town Of Client
shall be the most honoTed or the most
humbled town in Chnstendom."
Van Artevelde called the burghers
together, and told them what the sit
aation was. There were $4,000 peo-