The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-07-02


Of the industrial centers
of France and. Belgium. Her famous
Halle des Drapiers stranded in the
monotony of deserted town, a splen-
did survival of the busy marts of the
Hanseatic League, her churches and
Gothic museum dim echoes cruel
past, her old houses and quiet tnhabi-
tants, the ghost of a turbulent city
which took her share in the heroic
events Of Flanders history. Ypres
with Bruges and Client was one of
the three "bonnes villes'' to appoint
deputies to defend the rights and pri-
viliges OF the entire Flemish people.
She starts her history as a fortress
on an island in the River Yperlee, on
the banks of which gradually cluster
ed the houses which formed the COM
mune of Ypres. Beginning as a CEN
ter of military defense she continued
so. French city by virtue of the
Treaty Of Nineguen, she was forth
fled by Vauban and this doubles her
Importance. During the Seventeenth
century Ypres suffered four sieges
and was each time captured by the
French armies. But long previously,
in the year 1903. she suffered a blow
from which her trade never fully re-
covered. Owing to the constant war
fare and the siege of the town by the
English under Spencer and the citi-
zens of Client, a large proportion of
her cloth weavers left her walls for
the banks of the Lys at Wervicq. The
extraordinary resistance of Ypres,
during this 81 days. siege, in spite OF
the desperate assaults of the English
and of its Client fellow countrymen,
is one of the proud chapters OF the
city's history. Only the gateways
were Of stone at that period, the ram
part being of earth planted with
masses of thorn bushes strengthened
by wooden posts, while as an outer
defense there were wooden stockades
and bitches between which ran a dyke
planted with a palisade Of pointed
stakes. The victory Of the townsmen
continued to be celebrated byt kerr
messe held on Aug. 1 Of each year
and known as Thuindag, the Day OF
Enclosures. Ypres had her share OF
the religious wars of the Sixteenth
Century. Preaching, in the fields sur
rounding the town, by converts to the
New Learning began as early as 1862
but until 1878 Ypres held for the
cause Of Philip. She then became the
headquarters of the Protestants and
five years later was beseiged by AL
exander of Parma, the siege lasting
from July, 1878 to April Of the fol.
lowing year. The town then capitu.
lated and fell a prey to the Sapnist
so1diery. She was reduced to some
5000 inhabitants and her fortified.
tons were in ruins. In 1859 VaubaI
says OF her that she was stformerl,
great, populous, and busy, but much
reduced by much sedition and revolts
of it's Inhabitants which 1t has endur
4 ed"
From early days Ypres was troub
led by bitter dissentions Of capita
and labor within her gates and by tn,
fjealousies with which the great town
| of Flanders regarded each other'
prosperity. Ypres and Poreingh,
were constantly at war, chiefly owing
to the monopoly which forbade weav
ing within three leagues of the tow
of Ypres; a law which was continual
| ly being ignored by the weavers o
the neighboring communes who mad
and sold imitation Ypres cloth Tn,
sharp line of delimitation drawn be
tween the artisan and merchant elias
led to q Jealous guarding of thei
i rights by the workers. In 1861 som
tragic incidents occurred, the mo-
rushing the Town Hall, imprisoninl
the magistrates in the belfry and. exc
cutting three of their members. Prob
ably no town has suffered more tina.
Ypres from war in all it's forms
At the west end of the Grand
iPlae d'Ypres stood, up to the autumn
of 1914, a monument which neithe
Bruges nor any other town Of mediev
al Flanders could equal. The Hall
DIES Drapiers, the Cloth Hall, wa
completed in 1904, 100 years after it
first stone was laid by Baldwin Q
Constantinople, Count of Flanders
The design, by an architect who re
mains unknown, was simple, bu
splendid in effect. The facade OF tn
ground flood, something like 10
yards in length, had rectangula
doors over which were two rows {
pointed windows, one over the othe
: and in exactly similar style. In tn
: upper row every second window wa
f. walled and in the niche stood statue
of historical characters. The edifie
was turreted and in the center ros
a belfry. The most beautiful of til
: additions made since the complete
of the hall was the Nieuwerck of til
3 Seventeenth Century, in the style.
the Spanish Renaissance.
:, FLOWER AND VEGETABLE