The Ordway new era., 1914-10-23

he Traveller sNpplnB up the
reaches Of the Scheldt river
toward Antwerp in the misty
small hours of the morning has
ever been struck with q sense
Of curious, of almost uncanny. con-
trasts. The city is heavily fortified,
grim and gray in spite of its quaint
ness. The Scheldt flows through q
gentle country Of green meadowlands
and sleepy villages.
Antwerp Is perhaps the most I'm
portant port on the continent Of Eu-
rope In point Of commerce. place
very much alive and very real. The
Scheldt is toy river meandering
through Noah's ark Landscape.
The country Is mostly Dutch-the
Dutch Of the Imagination aid of chill.
dren's picture books. Flat meadows
border the river. broken with cluster
Ing villages. pert red rooted farm.
houses. tiny church spires. windmills
everywhere and rows and rows OF
regular green trees made after the
same pattern and looking for all the
world like rows of paper dolls, cut all
Of piece. that have delighted chill
dren for generations. Occasionally
appears a live thing-a COW, a dog
or horse modelled from the beasts In
pantomime, and now and then a
little wooden man or the little wooden
ladies OF his family. But over all Is
the quiet Of q child's toy village after
the child is tucked in bed. and the
whole country looks as II II were
stood on edge with It's feet in the wa
ter each morning and scrubbed behind
the ears.
battle-ground Of the Nations"
And yet Belgium and Holland, for
all their quaint charm and picture
book quality. have been for centuries
the battle-ground of the nations. Time
after time the great countries of Eu.
rope have fought one another tooth
and nail. with these two little king.
doms as pawns. their pleasant fields
the scene OF many . bloody battle.
Even now, though Holland has 80 far
escaped. Belgium is blood drenched.
her men moved down, her towns laid
waste. her peace and prosperity de.
stroyed; and all because her powerful
neighbors have seen fit to go to war.
Leave the wharf section, and Won
go back century or two. for the old
town of Antwerp is the quaintest of
places. The streets are narrow and
winding with houses leaning drunk.
emily against one another and noddine
at the shops across the way. Half the
furniture Of 10Th shops and houses
lives on the sidewalks and the people
live in the streets. especially the chill.
dren and the dogs. They play and
squabble cheerfully in mid-street.
while wheel traffic makes its way as
best 1t cana motley traffic 1t is,
too, carts drawn by dogs and filled
with glittering brass milk cans, smart
and cheap taxicabs, open flacres with
small, wiry beasts Of some equine
breed, though hardly recognizable as
of the same species as the magnif-
cent percherons, which do all the
hauling and heavy work.
These great horses swarm. splendid
fellows with enormous shoulders,
feathered fetlocks and the kindest of
faces. They are driven, II one can
call It that, by rope passed casually
round the nose. hitched to a long low
skeleton of a wagon and they tower
above both wagon and driver like
mammoths. Navigation of the streets
on foot is thus rendered extremely
difficult, for though the gentlest OF
beasts, they could crush a traveller
upder foot without seeing him.