The churches are decorated with many capital pictures, by Rubens, and likewise by Quintin Matfys, a blacksmith, who commenced painter, in order to obtain for wife the daughter of a painter, who would give her hand to no person but one of his own profesfion. At the entrance of the cathedral, is placed an effigy of this true votary to the God of Love, with an infcription implying that love made a blackfmith an Apelles. The chapel of the Virgin, adjoining to the great church, is magnificent to a degree. The town is defended by a strong citadel erected by the Duke d'Alva, which commands not only the town, but the adjacent country. The people value themselves much upon their city's being the birth-place of Abraham Ortelius, the great geographer.

I do not recollect in my whole life to have been ever ftruck with fuch a reverential awe, as on entering the cathedral. My curiofity was scarcely gratified, when I faw a woman fix her eyes attentively upon me ̧ Mrs. Walker, (formerly Mrs. Delany,) who had been my companion in this tour, was alarmed at the circumftance, from the remembrance of the incident I have already mentioned relative to Sir Charles Hanbury Williams. As we could fee only the eyes of the phantom, which were large and wild, the reft of her perfon being inveloped in a large capoto, there was fome room for her apprehenfions.

Having enquired of the fervant that attended us, if I was not Miss Bellamy, upon his anfwering, Yes! fhe burst into an agony of tears, and cried out "Oh!

my fifter!" The church was crowded. And as the exclamation Oh! conveys the fame idea in every language, the congregation fuppofed I had fome how or other given offence to the perfon from whom it proceeded. Upon this they gathered roundme, in order to learn the caufe; and I was apprehenfive, to punish me for behaving ill in a place of divine worship; for my being better dreffed than thofe around me, would have pleaded, I found, in my disfavour. But on the fervant's informing them it was only a beggar, they immediately vanished: For the people of that country look upon poverty as contagious, and leave the relief of it to strangers.

When the crowd was difperfed, the perfon who had occafioned their notice flood filent, waiting for me to speak first; I therefore enquired who fhe was? She told me her name was Biddy Kendal, the daughter of Mrs. Kendal, whofe affemblies I had frequented when I was in Dublin, and to whom I had been fo kind. In one of my early letters to you I have mentioned this family. I recollected her immediately, and requested to know what was become of her fifter Betty. Upon my repeating that name, fhe eagerly took hold of my hand, faying with the true Irish accent, "Come and fee, my dear, I hope fhe is

VOL. III.

I

“alive,

"alive, though you will blefs her poor eyes, which <C are almost blind with crying." She at the fame time requested I would not go in a carriage, as she wished to avoid obfervation, and it would be impoffible for a coach to get up to the door. She might have spared this part of her request, as I had not a carriage there.

We then went out of the church, and, after many turnings and windings, arrived at the place of our deftination. But fuch a wretched habitation I could not fuppofe to have been within the limits of that opulent and beautiful city. We went up fomething like a ladder into this receptacle of mifery. And fuch a fcene never prefented itfelf to my view before. The first thing which ftruck my eyes was the corpfe of a man, covered over with a rug; a most shocking fight indeed to me. A little further, upon a wretched pallet fat a skeleton of a woman, with fcarcely any covering, wringing her hands, apparently in the most extreme anguish. Never did I behold a more perfect picture of despair. By her lay an infant seemingly in the gafp of death; and another in rags, about nine or ten years old, was warming fomething in a pipkin over a few charcoal embers which were in an earthen chaffing-difh; whilft the tears trickled down its cheeks.

I ftood for fome moments overwhelmed by the humane emotions that rushed impetuous from my heart:

a heart,

a heart, as fufceptible of the ills of others as of my own. The woman likewife feemed to fit abforbed in grief, and did not appear to obferve us. Upon which, her fifter going up to her, faid, " Take comfort Betty; "here is Mifs Bellamy come to see you !" Without making any reply, fhe ftared wildly, and instantly fell backward, to all appearance dead. dead. Before I came in, I had sent my fervant for fome refreshments for them; of which having partaken, the person I thought dying foon recovered; and, to my great furprize, seemed now to be altogether as cheerful as fhe had a few minutes before been oppressed with mifery. And what was more extraordinary, did not take the leaft notice of the poor clay-cold corpfe which lay near her. And fearing to renew her agonies, I took care not to turn my eyes towards it.

My introductress now informed me, that her fifter, having married an officer in the Irish brigade, was, with her husband and brother, fhipwrecked,and that she had reason to fear they both perished: That she had the misfortune, by this event, to lose the whole of her property; but her life, and those of her two children, had been faved by one of the mariners, the person there lying dead, who was a native of Antwerp: That with great humanity the man had brought them to that lodging, where he had parted with his last stiver for their fubfiftence: And that the inconveniencies he had experienced, from letting her fifter have the

lodging, had brought on an ague, of which he had died that morning.

Biddy Kendal added, that a lady of quality having wrote to her to come to Spa, to be her companion, upon her arrival at Flufhing the found a letter, acquainting her with the diftreft fituation of her fifter. Excited by humanity, as well as the calls of confanguinity, she had come to Antwerp; where she had expended every fhilling, and parted with most of her cloaths, to support the unfortunate family. She concluded with telling me, that they were under great apprehenfions, from not being able to inform the proper officers of the death of her fifter's preferver; and likewife from the fear of being turned into the ftreet pennyless.

I was afraid, before I received this information, that the dead man had been Mrs. Bramfted's hufband, (that was the name of the woman) fo that I was not fo much concerned when I found it was the mariner, who was a fingle man, and now gone to receive the reward of his humanity. The fervant, who attended me on my tour, was an Italian by birth. He had formerly lived with me in England, but preferred travelling as valet du voyage, with persons who vifited the continent. Upon this occafion I called him in, and confulted him on what could be done. He told me he knew a perfon in the fuburbs, who, he believed, would accommodate the family.

And

as