. In the Belgian Parliament, though the members
generally make their speeches in French, they may use Flemish if they
like, and they sometimes do.

Walloon may be described as a very old form of French, but though the
Walloons are the most active and industrious of all the Belgians,
their language is not much known, and you will never hear it spoken
except in the Valley of the Meuse, and in the country parts of
South-West Belgium.

The three Belgian words for Christmas are _Kerstdag_ in Flemish,
_Noel_ in French, and _Nouee_ in Walloon.

CHAPTER XIV

A SHORT HISTORY

I must write just one chapter on Belgian history.

Dates are tiresome things, though they are useful pegs, so to speak,
on which to hang the facts of history, and help us to recollect the
order in which they happened. However, we shall not bother with many
dates. I shall make the whole story as plain and simple as possible;
and, besides, you can skip it all if you find it too stupid and dull.

The first thing to understand about the tiny corner of Europe which is
now called Belgium is that very long ago it was divided into a great
many small States, each of which was ruled over by some Duke, or
Count, or Baron, or some noble with another title, who made peace or
war with his neighbours, just as the Kings of Europe do nowadays.
There were the Dukes of Brabant, and the Counts of Flanders and of
Namur, the Lords of Malines, and the Bishop-Princes of Liege, and many
more. You will see where their States lay if you look at the map.

The most famous was Flanders, for the great Flemish cities, such as
Ghent, Bruges, and Ypres, became strong and rich by reason of their
trade and manufactures.

In the towns the merchants and tradesmen were banded together in
societies called guilds. There were guilds of weavers, and butchers,
and other trades; and they defended themselves so well against the
nobles, who often tried to attack their liberties, that the towns
became strongholds of freedom.

But, unfortunately, they were always quarrelling. Each town wanted to
be richer than its neighbour. Each town cared only for itself, so they
often fought. Ghent wanted to ruin Ypres, and the men of Ghent helped
an English army to attack Ypres. At other times the guildsmen of
Bruges fought against those of Ghent. Thus for many years this part of
Europe was divided into petty States, and the towns, in spite of their
wealth and freedom, were always rebelling agains