Clark, John D.

English

University of New Mexico

New Mexico Quarterly
Volume 1 | Issue 4 Article 18
1931
An Appreciation of Belgium and the Belgians
John D. Clark
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Recommended Citation
Clark, John D.. "An Appreciation of Belgium and the Belgians." New Mexico Quarterly 1, 4 (1931). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/
nmq/vol1/iss4/18
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.: An Appreciation, o~' ,~~.e~gi~l?' ~l1d
, the .Belgl;l:lJS
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: ,By JOHN D. C~A!tK
I have. Ii very vivid recoliectioJ of ~y fir~tevening lin: Belgium. I lan~ed from La .tans-Atlantl~ steamer. ia
Ant..•.. werp late one. afternoo~, and If".compa~y with a.Belg •.n~ .
put up at a very old tavern, w' Ich my companion s Id j'
"Tllurists' have :never heard of." j It ",as l!n Antwerp ·U t
0:' day.... The street~.. were .d.,.e.corate~di and the .folk were se. t:.~4.f.'
at icafe tables an the sidewalks, I talking, singing,- or iUs~ i
.sitting beside tlleir partly -emp I glasses. ' ' .: I· I..
The host and hostess-at the tTavetn were brother n hsis~r, young poople who ~d 1ee~ refugees in Eng ~ t,
during the.World w,ar. ,Their EJ.ghSh was excellent. Thel igu~sts were their especial care. j, As ,I needed the 'ser .ce 'If
of a liarber, the host pointll? out. ,.neighb~ring shop, a~fof ! "h~.. f, an hour the.. bar.her ph~d lusl shears, as he. told hIS U= ! I
tomer of the neighborhood and i1'ls inhabitants. Then m t·
dinner tifiIe. -No, We tavern did,not serve meals, but i t 'i
gtie It would onlY make known·wllathe would like, it ul~r
bll pleas~r? If have hi~ dine rith .thehost !'-nd ~os eSf·r . I
• Ai!! evemng fell;:dan~mg started m the streets, an. theI In~ libprs, a. few a1:',~ tIme, care to the hostelry fo rt-I ,I
ft1e hment. Each was presented to the guest.' If h~Yr
. spo e French, c~nversation wa~ not difficult, and if Q yt·
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FIe ish, well, there was the hOft to m~erpr,et; . Sever Iff!: ,
tne evening visitors had been t~Amerlca, and were agerlI ., , . ' .
fC!>r news from! here. ' For that lDatter,' all wanted.to Jtn',OIW!
roo e of the Uplted: States. rHad a busy evening tal in Jsf, king Belgi~n cigars, and d~nking mineral water.. (I~
. ':'fa ,only too obvious that I coul4 no~ acceptthe of.t:-rep ~4
Ij1v.tations to partake of the Jjlelglan beer)., Fmall; ,~
if hour Jr"ew, late, I said goodjnight to my cbmpanio s t
tp evening a!'d mounw.d the ~tairs to a rather ge em: If.
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Clark: An Appreciation of Belgium and the Belgians
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406]' T k e EW M EX Ie 0 Q'u ARTERLY
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"Bon soir,·MO+SieUr I'Americai1);" and· feIIasleell as the
music and dancing continued., . .
Next mornin there was an, early train to catch~ Not a
soul awake in he tavern, aside from a woman who I spoke
only Flemish.. reakfast seem'ed out of the questionJ but a
passingpostm. diFected me to a cafe where rol1s ·and! coffee
came forward at once. , The proprietor, learning' pf the
early- train, tel phoned for a taxi" which was waiting as
.
. breakfast was' nished.'A hasty return to the tavern' for
~he baggage, a~ d then a Idde through the city to the most
distant station. The chauffeur' sugge~ted that if his ,pas-
senger would s t in front with him, that he (the driver)
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could point out laces of interest. \ "
At the sta ion, a porter led me to the trjlin for Ger-
. many. Then c me the tip for the ~ervlce.--':Belgianmoney
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. ·was new to me nd I gave too little. (If you have ever done
this elsewhere ou may know the full significance (1)f this'
;faux pas.~· at a surprise! The porter lifted' his cap
an~ said, "Sir, OU are· a stranger here and do not know, but
we have a re lar charge for this service and qtite by
,chance you lac having paid it." A handful o(ch~nge :Was
Ii then extended, nd the porter 'selected the exact sum, which
a few minutes ater I read in the Belgian time table tb be
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the standard fe. . :
There wer 'other things :Which ~ent to .make t~e jvis-
itor appreciate elgium. The custo~s inspectons we~e'Very
courteous. No stooping over to open baggage 'pn t~e <,tock
(as in New rk), but comfortable ii)spectioJ} on ,tables
,-placed for con enience near the end of the gan -plalilk•. ~A
Q • taxi was at the end of the table; not hundreds 0 yards dis-
tant.
Necessity ade my first visit to Belgium one (J)f !less
than eighteen ours, and likewise necessity sh rtened: my
.second, but wh n opport~nity came for a third, this oppor-
tunity was em raced with pleasant anticipation.. ' '
It was ra ning when I arrived in Antwer' ~I Firom 'a
guide 'book I ad selected a hotel near the cehter hf the
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New Mexico Quarterly, Vol. 1 [1931], Iss. 4, Art. 18
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A' NAp p R. E1J l}\ T I 0 'N ~l 0 F BEL G I U M [40'1
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cit~ and was driven there.. Thel hotel' was only partiall'
,m~e~n and I was di~appoin~~a'a~' I saw my' room
The host,who seemed tot have 're~d my mind, said that'D
·wopld be ,pleased to ,teJ~phone to I, anot~er hotel and ask i
I . o~ld . secure better apcommo~ations. He did sO,an
re otted that he had madereserv~tions for me. He showe
no &sappointment at s~eing m~ go,. and indeed tried t
m k$ me understand th4t he wa~ better pleased if he ha
·he p,~ me to se~ure ·wh8.Jt, at thej~i~e~ ~e did not h~ve un
•ocq~Pled. .He ~d have, ~n exc?llr.n~dIning room and late.\. I ~Ined wIth hIm ,oftenj and ··If Ihe were about, he neve
,fa~led to ·eome to lny tab~e togre~te.'
.i! The foregoing is a 'very fair- example of Belgian hos
pitality and desire to please thei visitor. It wasrepea'te
arild repeated. Ther-e c~mes to Ptind the dock policem ,i I
~'o left his beat.totak~ ~.e t? t~e e~d of the pier, there t r. i,
Q1f.ect my attentron~o th..•. e,p;nts..,. of Intere.st on the watelj- t, /_
fri)nt. Then th~re was ,the. h stl in.a Scheidt ,River hotel~ I "
.w~o conversed with me duri Dunch, and who ~ater, lb.11
se~ing me in a large up-town caf~, left his seat andcame'f' I
sit..• with me, thete,to ~e SUgge.~.. tions cOncerning interesj I
in/g trip~ .I mi~ht hav~ ~verlooke~ making. ' '. '!
•.1 The Belgians und~rstands'l the ways of the Ang~f-f I
'Saxon. Daily service hf two large ferries .,M a d fro~ !
'" 'Englan~~ perm~g trits a~rossi~he Channel wi\ho t pass~ t
port, encourage. terminghng pf the two peopl ; T'~, I
Belgians sp"end vac . I . < England, and the E glish ..J~ I
Belgium. Six large li~ers mak~ r.egular trips'.' om' Ant.;. .
werp to New York, notjto mentiPn. the many smaller boat$'
. which ply, between the Scheidt 'apd the United States. 'Fpt.
that ma~er, the Belgia' has . ~ij,taetwith much of the ~nt .
·tire world. It is rare that th s.nip,ping news does not list
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J : at least a hundred alJ.d! fif ve$s 1s on their way to A*tL
r · werp from nearly eyery/pa '.~ ·globe.· .I have visited six jof e nJine .Belgian provinces,' A
- sandy seacoast 'a1;. the rlort 'an: st gives way to fe!1ile
pllllns as one~ eastrd sdut1' until at thll eastern~ bor-I
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Clark: An Appreciation of Belgium and the Belgians
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408 ] The ME X leo Qu A. R T E R L Y
dary on~ is in t e-beautiful Ardenn~ts, with the~r deep,ar-
row' valleys an forested hills. On 'th~ Flanders Plains'fre
the glorious old FlemiSh.-eit.ies;~' Bruges w~s to me poss b.ly,
the most inter sting city of all Europe. The Belfry as
magnificent. he ancient system; of canals,' their boats,
their bridgest a d t~ quaint ol~ houses and gardens,w~iich
lined the bank of these canals, held my attention h9ur
after hour. Br 'Ssels is called la' little Bary; and it see~ed
it. G4ent was ore like Bruges. Antwerp had the anc,'nt
and the modern . The thousand-year':old Steen castle ( ow
a museum) ~ se of, the Inquisition, the cath~dral, and ·he .
ancient houses are the best· of the old. The skyscraper
. (note that the ord is singular), the transportation $'s-
tem, the wareh uses, and the· docks and quays, and the .
mod,ern o~ule~ rds, are. the new. Louvain .has 'its :fu~­
famed unIverSI . For Glndustry, there remaIn CHarleroI,
Liege, Namur, a d Mons. Ostende is a.world-known water-
ing resort. Bl kenberghe follows in popularity, and La
Panne is a mod of quiet, seaside simplicity. As an inland
watering place, pa, the oldest of aU health resorts, <levoted
to the drinking of mineral waters, ranks well toward the
top. it has pala iaI hotels, a casino, baths, promenades: and \
concert halls, an facilities for short excursions in some of I
the loveliest sce ery in- Europe.
If a visitor to Belgium is at all observing, he ··notices
-that the Belgia s are speaking the two languages, ',which
are always upon he public signs, French and Flemish\ The
peop,!e ,of 'Belgi are about half Flemish and half Wal-
loon. Those qu lifted to judge, tell us that the Walloons
have imaginatio and initiative, while the Flemings have
the steady qualit of· seeing a thing through.. The Walloon _
is darker, more volatile, and a more ready talker. The
Fleming is more reserved in manner and more cauti~us of
. thought ~ntI spe h with the stranger.
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After man . cont~cts with both, I am hazarding a
"snap judgmen" that each has contributed much to the
~ other toward m king both most· worth.;.whiIe, charming
people.
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I A Nj: A P P.R EC~1; I ?N! 0 F BEL G I U M [409 r",
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• 1 {~ . " i1 I have found three gre~tple~suresintravel: 'Readi*g'r
a~out pl~c~s to. ~hich. Ipoped ~oljoq~ney, the actual vi~tt, I
apdagaln teadIng, thIS lfltter tune wIth the understandI~g
':Ithill~ co~es from ha~ seen PI4.ltes-and objects which a ~ Id~scrIbed In the books. 1 I,' .r.
. Running this 'g~mu~ of read~ng, visiting, and ,readi g~ I
t~ere has come tome anj appreci*tion of Belgian contrib -I
. -tlon to America. It wasIa pleas~e to read of Flemish a : ,!
a, greater pleasure to seelit and t~ .realize itssigitificance !
the lives of the Belgia~k .Its ~efiEtction in, England a d l .
America is more slowly Irealiz~d.l ' . '.' ; ~ I
! That over 'one-half ~f~the £fst.se.ttlers of New Yo:~ I .
state came from the, sou,thern o~ Be~gIc Net~erlands, t ~~. l.-.--<'
Ipore Belgians than Hol~an,ders rer~e among t~e firs~ s 1 '
I tIers of New Jersey, Delaware, and PennsylvanIa, that e
~rst-name of the settlen¥ntat ~~w'Yorkw~sNovum B ~ ,
~cum, ~~d that the first I~overnor of the New Netherl~n ~r
q,~t o~cIallY "~ew. Bel~~Landf was a Wal1oon-Pler~
.. ¥lnult, or Peter ~Inne'fIt, ~he sf1:m~ 'who purchased M ~L ,
'fttan Island fro.m the. i1ndI;an.s".!'.'IS not c()tpmonly kno ,', "
ough we know well, tpat the Wilgrims were located if
he Netherlands some y;ears be'fpre coming to Americ ~,xi~es in Leyden and'A~sterdam~ We also know too Ii ~e'
~f the Walloon, (the woVd ~omes!ftom wal, stranger, ali "
and oon, one), and their' ,flig~t 1~om southern Belgium r
.f567, to 'England; Irela1id, Gertpany, and the Dutch ,-
public, from·twhich so Il'\!any lib~y-Ioving Americans la ~
tame. ' ''''; I . I " 'Ii .
~,' If one found himse* in Ne~ York with about $300 ~
his pocket, and a. month pf leisur¢.,.at·his command, he co c: d
~ee- Belgiu~, dip int? H~lland, rpss. the R~ine; in Ger,~a W;
. ~o to ParIS, and- returIlj. to th pnIted States and stIll pe
~ithin the limit 'of his Wn.•l. .e, a d.I.:.,- al~O. hav~ some Ch.ang ...~•. inIS pocket. On AugustJ!;rflt, raps-AtlantIc f~res were ,t··rastically. rwo 16,~' ton bo~ts of ~the Red ~tar i~e.. ' tfer round trip passa&i~t~eb,st o~ the~~ip, for a d*t12000 Three boats of10ffiKMarItIme aelge !~f
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Clark: An Appreciation of Belgium and the Belgians
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410 ] T keN E W ME X leo QUA R T E R L Y
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about half the a ''ve tonnage, offer round rip~, cabin CIJss.,
at about $180. passport costs $6.00. No visa is requited
to Belgium. ";
A, :(ifteen-da ticket on the, Belgia~ railroads, tra el ;
where you will, s much as you wish, costs $9.85; sec .nd
class, or $6.44 th rd. Students. would do well to use third
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class. Excellent· .ooms in good hotels can be had for a 101-.
lar, or even mu less. Breakfast costs from fifteen to
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thirty-five cents. Some of the large modern departm nt
stot~s serve mar lou8 meals for 14.5 fra~cs (1 franc i~ 2.8" I
cents). In three isits to Belgium I was never· overchar~etl
a cent. Tips.' reo always 10 per cent of the ill.'
Admissions to m ~eums and galleries. are seldom in exc ss
of five francs. . n automobile with driver can: be ren ed '
for about seven ' ents a mi,le. One woul~ need to b a
spendthpift to us over $150 in Belgium on a' trip of ne
month from Ame ica. .
Not ali of us Imet the king and queen of Belgium wen
they visited Ne~ lMexico a fe~ years' ago, but most,of.lu.UIS
have heard praiS s of them SInce then. They are· typI~1
of their people. ·'nheir country cannot come to us. ' fro
appreciate it, we should visit Belgium. ' .. !
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BIBLIOGRAPHY .:
I
Travel ($1.00). National Student Federation
adison Avenue, New York City., I
. ~f Todoly-Belgium. (1f\ shillings). , BOdter
llandbook'of Stuaen
of America, 218
Buchan, The Natw
and Stoughton.
Charriaut, La Belgiq e Modern. (9 francs). E. Flammarion, Pa:tis.
, Ensor, Belgium, (2s., ~.) Bome University Library. i
Holland, The Arden '8 and the, Walloon Country. (7s., 6.) 'Meqici
Society. ,
Linden, llistoire de elgique. (8 francs). Payot, Paris.
Muirhead, Belgium a the W ftern Front. MacMillan, London., ,;
Holland, The Belgia. 'at 1l0me.. Methuen, London. \ ; I . ~
Boulger, B~ium of the Belgians. Pl;;ltnam. • I "
G~iffis, Belgium, the and of 4rt. Hough~on Miffiin Co., Boston. ,[ .
Brand ~hitlo~k, Bel ium: A Persimal:varrative. New York. S~i·b- "
ner s, -1919. . _ ," "
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New Mexico Quarterly, Vol. 1 [1931], Iss. 4, Art. 18
https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/nmq/vol1/iss4/18


An Appreciation of Belgium and the Belgians

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An Appreciation of Belgium and the Belgians

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