her prosperity and her gradual decay, and, in spite of so many
vicissitudes, it is still standing to bear witness to the genius
of our forefathers, to awaken memories of old times and admiration
for one of the most splendid monuments of civic architecture which
the Middle Ages has produced.'[*]

[Footnote *: Gilliat-Smith, _The Story of Bruges_, p. 169 (Dent
and Co., London, 1901). Mr. Gilliat-Smith's book is a picturesque
account of Bruges in the Middle Ages. Of the English works relating
to Bruges, there is nothing better than Mr. Wilfrid Robinson's
_Bruges, an Historical Sketch_, a short and clear history, coming
down to modern times (Louis de Plancke, Bruges, 1899).]

In olden times watchmen were always on duty on the Belfry to give
warning if enemies approached or fire broke out in any part of the
town, a constant source of danger when most of the houses were
built of wood. Even in these more prosaic days the custom of keeping
watch and ward unceasingly is still maintained, and if there is a
fire, the alarum-bell clangs over the city. All day, from year's
end to year's end, the chimes ring every quarter of an hour; and
all night, too, during the wildest storms of winter, when the wind
shrieks round the tower; and in summer, when the old town lies
slumbering in the moonlight.

[Illustration: BRUGES. A corner of the Market on the Grand' Place.]

From the top of the Belfry one looks down on what is practically
a mediæval city. The Market-Place seems to lose its modern aspect
when seen from above; and all round there is nothing visible but
houses with high-pointed gables and red roofs, intersected by canals,