The lover of the beautiful has yet another treat in store for him when he visits the famous old Hotel de Ville. It had hardly been completed, in 1565, by Cornelis de Vriendt when it was partially destroyed during the Spanish Fury. Rebuilt a few years later in its present form, it contains some of the most beautiful rooms to be seen in all Europe. The vestibule and grand staircase are richly decorated with coloured marble, while imposing frescoes depict the zenith of Antwerp's commercial and artistic splendour. The great reception-room is decorated with four superb historical frescoes by Baron Leys, while the exquisite Salle des Mariages is completely surrounded with allegorical paintings portraying the history of the marriage ceremony by Lagye, a pupil of Leys. In the rooms of this edifice the history of the famous old city lives again, while in its splendid fireplaces and minor decorations one can see examples of every branch of Flemish art. [Illustration: HOTEL DE VILLE, ANTWERP.] While the Hotel de Ville is most gratifying to the eye and the imagination, it is not, however, intimately associated with many important events in the history of the city. Albert and Isabella, while they ruled, were virtually independent sovereigns, but on the death of Albert without issue, in 1621, the country reverted to Spain. Thereafter, for more than two centuries, the city, together with Flanders, Brabant and the other loyal provinces of the Netherlands, became the football of European politics, and Belgium received its sinister name of "the cockpit of Europe." The people, as a whole, took little interest in the great wars of the Spanish and of the Austrian Successions that were fought largely to decide who should rule over them, since there seemed no likelihood of their in any event ever being able again to rule over themselves. Marlborough, after his great victory at Ramillies, occupied the city with English troops in 1706, and in 1715 the Hotel de Ville was the scene of the signing of the treaty that ended the war. By this treaty the Spanish Netherlands were ceded to Austria, becoming subject to the Emperor Charles VI. Thirty years later the French victory at Fontenoy made them masters of the city, and Louis XV had a joyous entry the following year. Two years later, in 1748, the country was handed back to Austria and Charles made a joyous entry in turn, the people apparently welcoming any change of government with complete impartiality. The Empress Maria Theresa was popular in her Netherlands dominions, but her son Joseph II made Austrian rule so odious that there was a revolt, and in 1790 Antwerp was taken by the patriot army, to the immense joy of its citizens. The Austrians soon crushed the revolution and reoccupied the city, but the great victory of the French republicans, under Dumouriez, at Jemappes destroyed the power of Austria in the Netherlands, and in 1792 the army of the _sans-culottes_ entered Antwerp.