turesqueness of its interior. The exterior, which is
unfinished, is also very effective, with its one lofty spire. The
other cathedrals of note include those of Tournay, Brussels, Mechlin,
Louvain, Liege, and Ghent. Belgium also possesses a great number of
large parochial churches.

When we turn to secular buildings we find the Belgian architecture of
the middle ages taking a leading position. The free cities of Belgium
acquired municipal privileges at an early date, and accumulated great
wealth. Accordingly we find town halls, trade halls, belfries,
warehouses, and excellent private dwelling-houses in abundance. The
cloth hall at Ypres has been repeatedly illustrated and referred to as
an example of a grand and effective building for trade purposes; it
is of thirteenth-century architecture and of great size, its centre
marked by a massive lofty tower; and its angles carrying slight
turrets; but in other respects it depends for its effectiveness solely
on its repetition of similar features. Examples of the same kind of
architecture exist at Louvain and Ghent.

The Town Halls of Brussels, Louvain, Bruges, Mechlin, Ghent,
Oudenarde, and Ypres, are all buildings claiming attention. They were
most of them in progress during the fifteenth century, and are fine,
but florid examples of late Gothic. Some one or two at least of the
town halls were begun and partly carried out in the fourteenth
century; on the other hand, the Hotel de Ville at Oudenarde, was begun
as late as the beginning of the sixteenth; so were the Exchange at
Antwerp (destroyed by fire and rebuilt not long since) and some other
well-known structures: their architecture, though certainly Gothic, is
debased in style.

The general aspect of these famous buildings was noble and bold in
mass, and rich in ornament. Our illustration (Fig. 39) shows the Town
Hall of Middleburgh in Holland; one which is less famous and of
smaller dimensions than those enumerated above, but equally
characteristic.

The main building usually consisted of a long unbroken block
surmounted by a high-pitched roof, and usually occupied one side of a
public place. The side of the building presents several storeys,
filled by rows of fine windows, though in some cases the lowest storey
is occupied by an open arcade. The steep roof, usually crowded with
dormer windows, carries up the eye to a lofty ridge, and from the
centre of it rises the lofty tower which forms so conspicuous a
feature