THE MENTOR 1920.03.15, No. 199, Belgium the Brave LEARN ONE THING EVERY DAY MARCH 15 1920 SERIAL NO. 199 THE MENTOR BELGIUM THE BRAVE By RUTH KEDZIE WOOD DEPARTMENT OF VOLUME 8 TRAVEL AND HISTORY NUMBER 3 TWENTY CENTS A COPY The Cloth Hall of Ypres Ypres has a past quite different from that of Nieuport or Dixmude, a past of war and magnificence. Her main square, next to that of Brussels, is the most beautiful in the world. Her Town Hall, her Cathedral, her Market Hall, combine all the splendors. The Town Hall and Cathedral are assuredly beautiful, but the Market Hall is more than that, for it is unique. Its severity, its length, the symmetry of its lines, its roofs like great wings feathered with slates, its soaring and massive walls, suggest a giant triumphal arch. It is so large that in time of peril the whole town could gather there for shelter. The Market Hall of Ypres has always been a communal building. In the Middle Ages it was the business center of the cloth makers, the weavers. It has seen popular revolts and rioting. It has known agony and passion, joy and pride. For centuries it has stood there, the wonder of Ypres. ÉMILE VERHAEREN Born at St. Amand, Belgium, on the River Scheldt, May, 1855; died at Rouen, France, November, 1916. Verhaeren, a patriot of exalted inspiration, was one of the finest poets of his generation. He “made poetry realize the modern world.” “At his highest, he is the voice of the city, the train, the factory, the dynamo; the spirit of the crowd, the multitude, the dream within them and beyond them.” * * * * * THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION ESTABLISHED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A POPULAR INTEREST IN ART, LITERATURE, MUSIC, SCIENCE, HISTORY, NATURE AND TRAVEL THE MENTOR IS PUBLISHED TWICE A MONTH BY THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION, INC., AT 114-116 EAST 16TH STREET, NEW YORK, N. Y. SUBSCRIPTION, FOUR DOLLARS A YEAR. FOREIGN POSTAGE 75 CENTS EXTRA. CANADIAN POSTAGE 50 CENTS EXTRA. SINGLE COPIES, TWENTY CENTS. PRESIDENT, W. D. MOFFAT; VICE-PRESIDENT, PAUL MATHEWSON; SECRETARY, G.W. SCHIECK; TREASURER, J. S. CAMPBELL; ASSISTANT TREASURER AND ASSISTANT SECRETARY, H. A. CROWE. March 15, 1920 VOLUME 8 NUMBER 3 Entered as second-class matter, March 10, 1913, at the postoffice at New York, N. Y., under the act of March 3, 1879. Copyright, 1920, by The Mentor Association, Inc. [Illustration: BEGUN IN THE YEAR 1200 BY COUNT BALDWIN IX OF FLANDERS THE CLOTH HALL. YPRES] _BELGIUM_ _History_ ONE