the choir,
with a portrait of Robert de Bethune, Count of Flanders, who died at
Ypres in 1322 and was buried in the church, was uncovered early in the
eighties during a restoration; this had been most villainously repainted
by a local "artist"(?); and I mortally offended the young priest who
showed it to me, by the vehemence of my comments.

The stalls of the choir, in two banks or ranges, twenty-seven above,
twenty-four below, bore the date of 1598, and the signature of d'Urbain
Taillebert, a native sculptor of great merit, who also carved the great
_Jube_ of Dixmude (see drawing). Other works of Taillebert are no less
remarkable, notably the superb arcade with the Christ triumphant
suspended between the columns at the principal entrance. He was also
the sculptor of the mausoleum of Bishop Antoine de Hennin, erected in
1622 in the choir.

In the pavement before the altar a plain stone marked the resting place
of the famous Corneille Jansen (Cornelius Jansenius), seventh Bishop of
Ypres, who died of the pest the 6th of May, 1638. One recalls that the
doctrine of Jansen gave birth to the sect of that name which still
flourishes in Holland.

Following the Rue de Lille one came upon the old tower of St. Pierre,
massed among tall straight lines of picturesque poplars, its bulk
recalling vaguely the belfry of the Cloth Hall. In this church was shown
a curious little picture, representing the devil setting fire to the
tower, which was destroyed in 1638, but was later rebuilt after the
original plans. The interior had no dignity of style whatever. There
were, however, some figures of the saints Peter and Paul attributed to
Carel Van Yper, which merited the examination of connoisseurs. They are
believed by experts to have been the "volets" of a triptych of which the
center panel was missing.

[Illustration: Gateway, Wall, and Old Moat: Ypres]

The Place St. Pierre was picturesque and smiling. Following this route
we found on the right at the end of a small street the hospital St.
Jean, with an octagonal tower, which enshrined some pictures attributed
to the prolific Carel Van Yper, comment upon which would be perhaps
out of place here. On the corner of this street was a most charming old
facade in process of demolishment, which we deplored.

Now we reached the Porte de Lille again and the remains of the old walls
of the town. Again and again we followed this same route, each time
finding some new beauty or hidden antiqui