gue to meet him--"Many thousands came
sliding or skating along the frozen canals from Amsterdam, Rotterdam,
Leyden, Haarlem, Delft." *{Macaulay's History of England.} All day long
the festivities of the capital were kept up, the streets were gorgeous
with banners, evergreen arches, trophies, and mottoes of welcome and
emblems of industry. William saw the deeds of his ancestors and scenes
of his own past life depicted on banners and tapestries along the
streets. At night superb fireworks were displayed upon the ice. Its
glassy surface was like a mirror. Sparkling fountains of light sprang
up from below to meet the glittering cascades leaping upon it. Then a
feathery fire of crimson and green shook millions of rubies and emeralds
into the ruddy depths of the ice--and all this time the people were
shouting, "God bless William of Orange! Long live the king!" They were
half mad with joy and enthusiasm. William, their own prince, their
stadtholder, had become the ruler of three kingdoms; he had been
victorious in council and in war, and now, in his hour of greatest
triumph, had come as a simple guest to visit them. The king heard their
shouts with a beating heart. It is a great thing to be beloved by one's
country. His English courtiers complimented him upon his reception.
"Yes," said he, "but the shouting is nothing to what it would have been
if Mary had been with me!"

While Ben was looking at the portraits, Mynheer van Gend was giving the
boys an account of a recent visit to Antwerp. As it was the birthplace
of Quentin Matsys, the blacksmith who for love of an artist's daughter
studied until he became a great painter, the boys asked their host if he
had seen any of Matsys' works.

"Yes, indeed," he replied, "and excellent they are. His famous triptych
in a chapel of the Antwerp cathedral, with the Descent from the Cross
on the center panel, is especially fine, but I confess I was more
interested in his well."

"What well, mynheer?" asked Ludwig.

"One in the heart of the city, near this same cathedral, whose lofty
steeple is of such delicate workmanship that the French emperor said it
reminded him of Mechlin lace. The well is covered with a Gothic canopy
surmounted by the figure of a knight in full armor. It is all of metal
and proves that Matsys was an artist at the forge as well as at the
easel; indeed, his great fame is mainly derived from his miraculous
skill as an artificer in iron."

Next, mynheer showed the bo