Like the psalms from some old cloister, when the nuns sing in the choir; And the great bell tolled among them, like the chanting of a friar. Visions of the days departed, shadowy phantoms filled my brain; They who live in history only seemed to walk the earth again; All the Foresters of Flanders,--mighty Baldwin Bras de Fer, Lyderick du Bucq and Cressy Philip, Guy de Dampierre. I beheld the pageants splendid that adorned those days of old; Stately dames, like queens attended, knights who bore the Fleece of Gold. Lombard and Venetian merchants with deep-laden argosies; Ministers from twenty nations; more than royal pomp and ease. I beheld proud Maximilian, kneeling humbly on the ground; I beheld the gentle Mary, hunting with her hawk and hound; And her lighted bridal-chamber, where a duke slept with the queen, And the armed guard around them, and the sword unsheathed between. I beheld the Flemish weavers, with Namur and Juliers bold, Marching homeward from the bloody battle of the Spurs of Gold; Saw the fight at Minnewater, saw the White Hoods moving west, Saw great Artevelde victorious scale the Golden Dragon's nest. And again a whiskered Spaniard all the land with terror smote; And again the wild alarum from the tocsin's throat,-- Till the bell of Ghent responded o'er lagoon and dike of sand, "I am Roland! I am Roland! there is victory in the land!" Then the sound of drums aroused me. The awakened city's roar Chased the phantoms I had summoned back into their graves once more. Hours had passed away like minutes; and, before I was aware, Lo! the shadow of the belfry crossed the sun-illumined square. On entering Normandy, Master Lewis engaged passages on diligences, wherever a promise of a route amid pleasant scenery offered itself. It seemed to be the boys' greatest delight to ride on the top of a diligence. These French stage-coaches are lofty, lumbering vehicles, composed of three parts. The front division is called _coupé_, and is shaped somewhat like an old-time chariot. It holds three persons. Next is the _intérieur_ or inside, holding six persons, an apartment much shunned in pleasant weather in summer time. Behind is the _rotonde_ which collects "dust, dirt, and bad company." Over all is the _banquette_, a castle-like position on the top of the coupé, a seat protected by a hood, or head, and leather apron. To secure this seat beside the "driver" was Tommy Toby's highest ambition, when about to leave a newly visited place. In one of these rides, when Tommy and Wyllys Wynn occupied this high seat, Tommy said to the driver,-- "It seems strange to me to find such great forests in old countries like England, Belgium, and France. I fancied that great tracts of wood only existed in new lands like America, or half-civilized places. Are there wild animals in the woods here?"