grown square. Here, after depositing a considerable sum of money,
they were permitted to live in groups of three and four in each house,
each coming and going as she pleased, without taking any formal vow.
Their days were given up to church, hospital, parish duties and work
among the sick and needy: an order, by the way, not found outside of
Flanders.

Each day brought for them a monotonous existence, the same duties at the
same hours, waking in a gentle quietude, rhythmed by the silvery notes
of the convent bell recalling them to the duties of their pious lives,
all oblivious of the great outside world. Each Beguinage door bore the
name of some saint, and often in a moss-covered niche in the old walls
was seen a small statue of some saint, or holy personage, draped in
vines.

The heavy, barred door was nail studded, and furnished usually with an
iron-grilled wicket, where at the sound of the bell of the visitor a
panel slid back and a white-coiffed face appeared. This secluded quarter
was not exclusively inhabited by these gentle women, for there were
other dwellings for those that loved the quiet solitude of this end of
the town.

The Malines Beguinage was suppressed by the authorities in 1798, and it
was not until 1804 that the order was permitted to resume operations
under their former rights, nor were they allowed to resume their quaint
costume until the year 1814.

In the small church on my last visit I saw the portrait of the Beguine
Catherine Van Halter, the work of the painter I. Cossiers, and another
picture by him representing the dead Christ on the knees of the Virgin
surrounded by disciples. Cossiers seemed to revel in the ghastliness of
the scene, but the workmanship was certainly of a very high order. The
Beguine showed me with much pride their great treasure, a tiny, six-inch
figure of the Crucifixion, carved from one piece of ivory by Jerome due
Quesnoy. It was of very admirable workmanship, the face being remarkable
in expression. Despatches (March, 1916) report this Beguinage entirely
destroyed by the siege guns. One wonders what was the fate of the
saintly women.

On the Place de la Boucherie in Malines was the old "Palais," which was
used as a museum and contained many ill-assorted objects of the greatest
interest and value, such as medals, embroideries, weapons, and a fine
collection of ancient miniatures on ivory. There was also a great iron
"Armoire Aux Chartes," quite filled with priceless