HENRY VIII. 249 SCENE BEFORE A JUDGE 273 THE RACK 281 THE HANSA FACTORY, ANTWERP 313 SIR THOMAS GRESHAM 327 RATH-HAUS, MÜNSTER 363 RATH-HAUS, LÜBECK 367 RATH-HAUS, BREMEN 373 * * * * * [Of the architectural views reproduced in this volume some have been copied from prints in the British Museum, others from drawings and photographs in possession of the authoress, and the remainder from various German authorities. The illustrations of German life and manners are taken from Otto Henne am Rhyn's "Cultur Geschichte des deutschen Volkes," to the publisher of which volume our best thanks are due. T. FISHER UNWIN, G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS.] [Illustration: DOMINION OF THE HANSA XIII-XV CENTURIES T. FISHER UNWIN, 26, PATERNOSTER SQUARE, LONDON, E.C.] STORY OF THE HANSA TOWNS. PROEM. There is scarcely a more remarkable chapter in history than that which deals with the trading alliance or association known as the Hanseatic League. The League has long since passed away, having served its time and fulfilled its purpose. The needs and circumstances of mankind have changed, and new methods and new instruments have been devised for carrying on the commerce of the world. Yet, if the League has disappeared, the beneficial results of its action survive to Europe, though they have become so completely a part of our daily life that we accept them as matters of course, and do not stop to inquire into their origin. To us moderns it seems but natural that there should be security of intercourse between civilized nations, that highways should be free from robbers, and the ocean from pirates. The mere notion of a different state of things appears strange to us, and yet things were very different not so many hundred years ago.