The chief objects of interest at Ghent are the Cathedral, with its great =Van Eyck=; and the =Town Hall= and =Belfry=. These can be tolerably seen in one day: but a stay of three or four days will not be too much to explore the curious nooks of the early city. _B._ THE CORE OF GHENT [The =old town= of Ghent lies on the island formed by the junction of the Lys and the Schelde, with their various backwaters (all now largely artificial). Near this point, but beyond the Lys, the Counts of Flanders early erected a strong =castle=, the _Gravensteen_ or _Oudeburg_, beneath whose protection, aided by the two navigable rivers, merchants and weavers gradually settled. As at Bruges, the heart of the town, however, is purely =municipal and mercantile= in its architecture. The _Town Hall_, which was the meeting-place of the citizens, and the _Belfry_, which summoned them to arms or council, are the chief points of interest in the city. The Schelde is still tidal to its very centre. As most visitors will probably stop in one of the hotels on the =Place d’Armes=, near the S. end of older Ghent, I shall frankly take that square as our starting-point. It may facilitate recognition at first sight to add that the large square tower, visible to the R. from the Place d’Armes, is that of the Cathedral, while the tapering spire, crowned by a gilt dragon, belongs to the Belfry.] Go first on a =tour of orientation= through early Ghent. If you follow these directions implicitly, you can see everything important in one short walk. Cross the Place d’Armes diagonally to the N.E. corner, and follow the small and narrow streets which run due N. to the front of the =Cathedral=. Walk round the S. side of this, to form a first general impression, but do not enter it at present. Then, from the West Front of the Cathedral, take the Rue St. Jean straight before you. The tower with the gilded dragon which faces you as you walk is that of the =Belfry=. It was designed in 1183, about a century earlier than that of Bruges, but only erected between 1321 and 1339; it is a fine work in the Early Gothic style. Its windows have been walled up. The tapering turret which crowns the tower is unfortunately modern, and of iron. On the very summit stands a huge gilded =dragon=, which universal tradition represents as having been brought from St. Sophia at Constantinople to Bruges by the Crusader Baldwin of Flanders, (1204), and removed as a trophy by the people of Ghent (under Philip van Artevelde) in 1382. It certainly appears to be of Oriental origin, but is stated on documentary evidence (discovered by M. Vuylsteke) to have been made in Ghent itself in 1380. If so, it would seem at least to be based on an Oriental model.