this jovial personage. I said a few favourable words of Polemburg,
and offered up a small tribute of praise to the memory of Berghem;
but, as I could not prevail upon Mynheer Knyfe to expand, I made one
of my best bows, and left him to the enjoyment of his domestic
felicity.

In my way home, I looked into another cabinet, the greatest ornament
of which was a most sublime thistle by Snyders, of the heroic size,
and so faithfully imitated that I dare say no ass could see it
unmoved. At length, it was lawful to return home; and as I
positively refused visiting any more cabinets in the afternoon, I
sent for a harpsichord of Rucker, and played myself quite out of the
Netherlands.

It was late before I finished my musical excursion, and I took
advantage of this dusky moment to revisit the cathedral. A flight of
starlings was fluttering about one of the pinnacles of the tower;
their faint chirpings were the only sounds that broke the stillness
of the air. Not a human form appeared at any of the windows around;
no footsteps were audible in the opening before the grand entrance;
and, during the half hour I spent in walking to and fro beneath the
spire, one solitary Franciscan was the only creature that accosted
me. From him I learnt that a grand service was to be performed next
day in honour of St. John the Baptist, and the best music in Flanders
would be called forth on the occasion. As I had seen cabinets enough
to form some slight judgment of Flemish painting, I determined to
stay one day longer at Antwerp to hear a little how its inhabitants
were disposed to harmony.

Having taken this resolution, I formed an acquaintance with Mynheer