The small building at the foot of the Belfry, now in course of (over) restoration, is the =Cloth Hall=, erected in 1424, a graceful but not very important Gothic edifice (of the Decorated period), with niches vacant of their statues. The _concierge_ of the Belfry now has a room in it. Application must be made here to mount to the summit. (1 franc, or 2 for a party.) Dark and steep. The =view= is extensive and beautiful, but not quite so striking as that at Bruges. The principal buildings of the city lie just below you: beyond, all Flanders. The =chimes= are celebrated. The chief bell is known as Roelandt. Now turn round into the _Botermarkt_ or _Marché au Beurre_ to the right, and inspect the =Belfry= again from the little bay in the corner opposite. This is the best near view of the tower. The portal to the R. was formerly the entry to the =town prison=, beneath the Belfry, now in course of complete restoration. In its gable is a too-famous 18th century relief (the _Mammelokker_) representing the Roman daughter feeding her father from her breast at the window of a prison, and doubtless intended to excite the charity of passers-by. It certainly serves no other function, for it is neither beautiful nor decorative. Cross over to the R. side of the Butter-market. The building on the L., in two totally distinct portions, is the =Hôtel-de-Ville=. The part at which you first arrive, (latest in point of time,) was rebuilt in the early Renaissance style in 1595-1628. It is one of the earliest and in many ways the best example of Renaissance architecture in Belgium, in part because it retains certain good features of local domestic building, such as the pointed gable-ends (round the corner to the L.) and the projecting windows with dormers on the main _façade_. (Look out for their origin elsewhere.) It has three storeys, with projecting half colonnades, the columns being Doric on the ground floor, Ionic on the first floor, and Corinthian on the second. Recollect the gable-ends and dormers for comparison with others in old houses in Ghent hereafter. Now, continue on to the corner, where we arrive at the earlier =Gothic portion= of the Hôtel-de-Ville, erected in 1518-1535 by Dominic de Waghemakere, who also built in part the cathedral at Antwerp. The projecting polygonal corner, with its handsome balcony, is very noticeable. The work is of the latest and most florid Gothic, somewhat lacking in grace and dignity, but ornate in its splendour. Observe the depressed arches, the noble cornice, the rich decoration of garlands. A few of the niches have now been filled with modern statues of saints. From the corner opposite, a good view is obtained of both parts of the Hôtel-de-Ville and also of the Belfry.