The Henson Journals

[406]

Friday, August 22nd, 1913. Brussels.

We occupied the morning with a visit to Louvain, which is easily reached in about 30 minutes. Arriving at 10.40 a.m. we left again at 11.53 a.m: the hour intervening was spent in driving about the city, & visiting the principal objects of interest. The aspect of Louvain is clean & severe as becomes a seat of learning: the atmosphere is heavily charged with the feeling of restraint, & the soutane is everywhere. There is a very fine Hotel de Ville, & opposite to it a fine late Gothic Church, St Peter's. The screen with its rood is a splendid example of 15th century work. Also there is a noble tabernacle rising to the height of the choir arcades, also of that date. As mass was proceeding, & every corner of the Church disclosed a penitent, we could not make a detailed inspection. Two other churches – S. James & S. Gertrude – we visited. The first was being white–washed with more than a Churchwarden's zeal: it contains a fine Gothic tabernacle, enclosed by a brass grille cast in the 16th century. The last is enriched by magnificent wooden choir stalls, carved in the 16th century, & justly reckoned the finest extant example of Belgian wood carving. We saw the Building occupied by the University. It was originally erected in the 14th century as a warehouse for the clothmakers' Guild.[407]'L'Indépendance Belge' contains a 'Lettre du Vatican' written in a very unfriendly spirit. It discusses the revenues of the Papacy, their sources, & their disposition: and dwells on the fact that they are mostly spent on Italians, who yet make hardly any contribution to them. The article ends with some words of the abbé Lemire spoken in Rome twenty years ago:

"Les Romains, dit il, sont les chrétiens de saint Pierre qui s'établit sur son siège, vivant des aumônes des fidèles. Nous autres, nous sommes les chrétiens de saint Paul, qui montrait ses mains calleuses, vivait de son travail et se vantait de n'avoir jamais reçu l'aumône." 

Both 'L'Indépendance Belge' and 'l'Etoile Belge' give much space to the Balkan crisis, & dwell on the atrocities perpetrated by the Bulgarians. Much contempt is expressed for the European concert, & the retention of Adrianople by the Turks is spoken of as probable.

The result of the Chesterfield by–election is published, and gives little encouragement to those optimistic Unionists who are counting on victory at the polls. The Government candidate is returned by an increased majority in spite of 583 votes being thrown away on a Socialist candidate. The Unionist vote is slightly increased, but scarcely more than the Liberal–Labour vote.

[408]

After lunch Ella went off into the city to sate her soul with shopping: & I dawdled in the Hotel. On her return we chartered a cab for two hours, & were driven round the Bois de la Cambre, a beautiful park. We had tea in La Laiterie Restaurant very comfortably.

After dinner I read the 'Times" for today, which had just come in, also the 'Daily Telegraph'. The last paper, in yesterday's issue, had a most terrible account of the Bulgarian atrocities at Adrianople. This was furnished by the correspondent Ashmead Bartlett, who had been allowed to see the report which a Russian Commissioner had sent in to his own government. The effect of this disclosure must be considerable, & very unfavourable to the Bulgarians. It is, perhaps, hard that similar reports on the Greek & Servian atrocities have not been published, for there is but too good reason for thinking that all the Christian belligerents have been guilty of fearful cruelties. The Turk has been made normal.

I wrote a long letter to Pearce: & gave notice to the porter of our intention to leave tomorrow for the [sic] Hague. Our short stay in Brussels has been favoured with delightful weather. Heavy rains are reported from Scotland, where the prolonged drought had begun to have serious effects. Belgium is still anxious to have more sun. There was much rain earlier in the year.

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