The Pulaskian., 1915-09-24

dfal also contains the tombstone of Christopher Plantin, who was com pelled nine times to ransom his print ing establishment, that is still intact in the Plantin museum, in the south western quarter of old Antwerp. The stained glass of Notre Dame is com parative1y modern, owing to the out rages of the Iconoelasts. It's tower, rising to height of more than four hundred feet, is prominent feature for miles in fiat country. In the Place Verte, before the cathedral, there is a bronze statue of Rubens. The organ of the cathedral is the largest in all Belgium.
 So many are the interesting old buildings of Antwerp and the number of treasures contained in them that the barest outline of them can be given here. Besides the cathedral and the Musee Plantin there are the Hotel de Vile, the Royal museum and the churches of St. Paul, St. Jacques, St. Andrew and St. Augustine, erected in the fifteenth, sixteenth and seven teenth centuries. The Royal museum, while modern in structure, has been the home of so many art treasures that it has become one of the best known buildings in the world. The collection of old masters numbers more than eight hundred priceless paintings, of which the most notewor- thy are the works by Rubens, Titan, Van Dyck, Van Eyck, Matsys, De Vos, Trans Hals, Van der Weyden and Hans Holbein
 Ancient Hotel de Vile.
 The Hotel de Vile, built toward the end of the sixteenth century by Cor nelius de Vriendt, was destroyed in part by the Spaniards during the Spanish Fury of 1756, when more than six thousand citizens were put to the sword, and the Antwerp burghers were hanged by dozens in various parts of the town. The building was restored in 1581, and since then has been unharmed. In it are the burgo- masters room, with it's beautifully carved chimney piece and various val uable paintings that depict the his toric events of the city. In the Sale des Marriages, the Sale du Conseil, the Sale Leys and the Sale du Milice are other interesting paintings and sculptures, among them a significant subject by Godding, who shows Bur- gomaster van Straelen on his way to execution after having been subjected to the cruelest forms of torture at the duke of Alva's orders.
 On the Grand place, where the Ho- tel de Vile is located, are also the homes of those forerunners of the la- Dor unions, the trade guilds. These organizations built their permanent offices, if they were to be called such, in the sixteenth and seventeenth cen turies The various guilds represent ed on the square are the coopers, arch CTS, clothiers and carpenters. On the same square there is the birthplace of Van Dyck
 The earliest mention Of Antwerp is in the fifth century, when 1t was in- cluded as one of the towns of Ger many. When the Northmen engaged in their raids they sailed up the Scheldt and stormed the town. At the time of the Crusaders the town formed one of the principal bulwarks of the Germans against the counts of Elan ders, and it's first claim to historic prominence was under the margravi- ate of Godfrey de Bouillon in the eleventh century. Three hundred years later Edward III of England made the town his temporary head quarters.
 It was not until the decline of Bruges that Antwerp rose to it's height of wealth and prosperity. When the Netherlands were able to secure con trol of the bulk of the trade from Spanish cities and central Europe, the rich men of Antwerp became known the world over.