Peeps at Many Lands: Belgium

At Many Lands: Belgium, by
George W. T. Omond

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Title: Peeps At Many Lands: Belgium
Author: George W. T. Omond
Illustrator: Amedee Forestier
Release Date: November 1, 2006 [EBook #19692]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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MANY LANDS: BELGIUM ***

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[Illustration: A PEASANT WOMAN OF THE ARDENNES.]

PEEPS AT MANY LANDS
BELGIUM

BY GEORGE W. T. OMOND
ILLUSTRATED BY AMÉDÉE FORESTIER

LONDON ADAM AND CHARLES BLACK 1909
* * * * *

CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
THE SANDS OPPOSITE ENGLAND II. INLAND: THE FLEMISH
PLAIN III. TRAVELLING IN BELGIUM IV. SOME OF THE
TOWNS: THE ARDENNES V. BELGIAN CHILDREN: THE
"PREMIÈRE COMMUNION" VI. CHRISTMAS IN BELGIUM VII.
NEW YEAR'S DAY VIII. PAGEANTS AND PROCESSIONS IX.
THE STORY OF ST. EVERMAIRE: A COUNTRY PAGEANT X.
THE CARNIVAL XI. CHILDREN'S WINTER FESTIVALS XII. THE
ARCHERS: GAMES PLAYED IN BELGIUM XIII. WHAT THE
BELGIANS SPEAK XIV. A SHORT HISTORY XV. THE BELGIAN
ARMY: THE CONGO
* * * * *

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

BY AMÉDÉE FORESTIER
A PEASANT WOMAN OF THE ARDENNES frontispiece THE
DUNES A SHRIMPER ON HORSEBACK, COXYDE THE
VEGETABLE MARKET, BRUGES ANTWERP THE HÔTEL DE
VILLE, BRUSSELS AT THE KERMESSE A CHÂTEAU IN THE
LESSE VALLEY A FARMSTEADING PLAYING "JEU DE
BOULE" AT A FLEMISH INN VILLAGE AND CANAL,
ADINKERQUE WATERLOO: THE FARM OF LA BELLE
ALLIANCE AND THE MOUND SURMOUNTED BY THE
BELGIAN LION A MILK-SELLER IN BRUGES on the cover
Sketch-Map of Belgium.
* * * * *
[Illustration: SKETCH-MAP OF BELGIUM.]
[Illustration: THE DUNES.]
* * * * *

BELGIUM
CHAPTER I
THE SANDS OPPOSITE ENGLAND
If you leave the mouth of the Thames, or the white chalk cliffs at Dover,
and sail over the water just where the English Channel meets the North
Sea, you will in about three or four hours see before you a long expanse
of yellow sand, and rising behind it a low ridge of sandhills, which look
in the distance like a range of baby mountains. These sandhills are
called "dunes." Here and there at intervals you will see a number of
little towns, each town standing by itself on the shore, and separated
from its neighbour by a row of dunes and a stretch of sand.

This is your first view of the little country called Belgium, which is
bounded on the east by Holland, and on the west by France. It is, from
end to end, about half the size of Ireland.
There are no cliffs or rocks, no shingle or stones covered with seaweed.
There are no trees. It is all bare sand, with moss and rushes on the
higher ground above the beach. In winter the wind rages with terrific
violence along the coast. The sand is blown in all directions, and the
waves dash fiercely on the shore. It is cold and stormy, with mist and
dark clouds, and sometimes violent showers of hail. But in summer all
is changed. Often, week after week, the waves roll gently in, and break
in ripples on the beach. The sky is blue, and the sands are warm. It is
the best place in the world for digging and building castles. There are
very few shells to gather; but there are no dangerous rocks or slippery
places, and children can wade about and play in perfect safety. So
many families--Belgians, English, Germans, and a few French--spend
the summer holidays there.
Hundreds of years ago the storms of winter used to drive the waves
ashore with such violence that the land was flooded, and whole villages
were sometimes swept away. So the people made ramparts of earth to
keep back the water, till by degrees many parts of the Belgian shore
were thus protected. They still continue to build defences against the
sea; but instead of earth they now use brick and stone. It looks as if in a
few years the whole coast will be lined by these sea-fronts, which are
called digues de mer.
A digue, no matter how thick, which rests on the sand alone will not
last. A thick bed of green branches is first laid down as a foundation.
This is strengthened by posts driven through it into the sand. Heavy
timbers, resting on bundles of branches lashed together, are wedged
into the foundations, and slope inwards and upwards to within a