The National tribune., 1910-01-13

The Pension Neef was only a short
walk from the Avenue Louise, where
Elizabeth and / went to take car
whenever we wanted to go down to the
shops of the upper town" This ave-
nue. is beautiful, wide street with the
double row of trees in the center, bor
dered by handsome stone buildings.
many of them private dwellings. Dur
ing the ride down you pass the COM
paratively new and modern building of
the Palais de Justice, with the gilded
cross on the top of its dome, said to
have cost s10,000,00O. 1t is considered
one Of the most beautiful of modern
buildings, as IT is one of the largest, its
area exceeding that of st. Peters at
Rome. II is q big court house, you
know, and there is not much of any
thing to see inside except handsome
rooms. The broad steps leading up TO
it are adorned by immense statues of
the old lawmakers, Demosthenes, Ly
curgus, etc, and from where it stands
you get & splendid view of the lower
town" Then the small square, sur
rounded by a handsome railing, on
which are As small bronze figures and
which incloses two colossal figures in
bronze. faced by a semicircle of 0 mar
BILE statues, arrests your eye, and you
find out as soon as you can what il
means. The two large figures in bronze
represent the unfortunate Counts Egg
mont and Horn. and the sculptor has
Shown them on their way to execution.
Count Egmont's hard lot always par
ticularly appealed to me. He was a
fascinating creature, and did a number
of interesting things. A very charm
ing, handsome gentleman he was, and
at one time the idol of the common
people, whose cause he so ardently
championed. Belgium was then under
the Spanish rule, you remember, and
Count Egmont was soldier in the army
of Charles V; in fact, he was the COM
mander of the Spanish cavalry, and it
was his brilliant charge which won the
victory of ST. Quentin over the French
The wicked Duke of Alva became jeaI-
Gus of him and his bitter enemy. Later
Egmont Joined with the Prince of
Orange, Count Horn and others in pro-
testing against the inquisition and the
rule of Philip II generally. Egmont
does not seem to have remained quite
true TO the people. for he afterwards,
for some reason, became a supporter of
the Spaniards and their policies. don't
know why he did this, and you had
better read up and find out The old
Duke of Alva got him finally and had
him executed, and he met his death so
spiendidly that the people forgot that
he had turned against them, and glori-
fed him into martyr for Flemish
freedom. While, as before remarked
/ have always had very kind feelings"
for Egmont, after all, his poor wife
with the II small children has me-"
] suppose her property must have been
taken away from her; that was the
way things were done in those days If
ycu failed to please the high and mighty
perSonages who had the say so. At all
events she hadn't a penny to bless her.
self with at the time of her noble hus-
bands taking off, and she and the chill
dren had TO treck for the nearest con-
vent. Now, wasn't that hard? Egmont
was selected for the delicate mission of
going to England to ask for the more
or less fair hand of Bloody Mary for
his royal master Philip II. and he was
present at the wedding. Can't you Just
see that Protestant:hating, blood-lov-
ing, cruel pair of fanatics surrounded
by the brilliant court, taking the solemn
vows 10 love, honor and obey and all
the rest? Can you for an instant imag-
inc Mary as a blushing bride or the
narrow-faced, sallow, mean-looking
Philip as happy bridegroom? should
say not. OBJ. Egmont was right in the
thick OF things at one time and had n
most romantic career, besides being so
awfully good-looking. The grand nal
ace which he, his nobly lady-wife and
the IL children once occupied is now
used for q small but choice picture GAL
lery. As to Horn, / really can't tell Won
the first thing about him. / don't think
he was nearly SO interesting or mag
netic as Egmont, but / imagine he was
the good, plain kind that sticks. i have
never heard that he wavered for an in
etant in the cause. but kept right on in