CITIES OF BELGIUM =G r a n t A l l e n ’ s H i s t o r i c a l G u i d e s= Fcap. 8vo, green cloth, with rounded corners to slip in the pocket, price 3s. 6d. net each. I. P A R I S. By GRANT ALLEN (_Second Edition_). II. F L O R E N C E. By GRANT ALLEN (_Second Edition_). III. T H E C I T I E S O F B E L G I U M. By GRANT ALLEN (_Second Edition_). IV. V E N I C E. By GRANT ALLEN. V. T H E C I T I E S O F N O R T H E R N I T A L Y. By GEO. C. WILLIAMSON, Litt.D. VI. T H E U M B R I A N T O W N S. By Mr. and Mrs. J. W. CRUICKSHANK. LONDON: GRANT RICHARDS 48 LEICESTER SQUARE GRANT ALLEN’S HISTORICAL GUIDES =CITIES OF BELGIUM= BY GRANT ALLEN [Illustration] LONDON: GRANT RICHARDS 48 LEICESTER SQUARE BUTLER & TANNER, THE SELWOOD PRINTING WORKS, FROME, AND LONDON. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION RECENT alterations, especially in the Brussels Gallery, make a new edition of this book imperative, and, as I had been with my father during its inception, I have undertaken such revision as is necessary. In the main, however, my work has been merely mechanical, and the guide remains substantially identical in detail with that originally published in 1897. Since that date it has been remarked in more than one quarter that many interesting towns and objects have been omitted. I can only reply that it would be impossible to deal exhaustively with a country so rich in historical and artistic interest as Belgium in a single volume of this size, and that my father only professed to point out such sights in the chief towns as seemed to him most worthy of interest. To alter even slightly the work of an author (especially when, as in this case, that author is powerless to object) is a task to be approached with the utmost diffidence, and I can only trust that those who use this book will impute all blame for any errors or omissions wholly to me, rather than to one who is beyond the reach of criticism. JERRARD GRANT ALLEN. July, 1902. INTRODUCTION