ANTWERP. 97 



sorry to learn, that young lads convicted merely of desertion 

 from the army, were mingled with the more atrocious of- 

 fenders. In general they were secured with iron fetters; 

 and we were glad to escape from the disagreeable sound of 

 the clanking of chains. 



That the town in which Vandyke, Rubens, Masseys, and 

 the Teniers, once flourished, should still be distinguished 

 for paintings, we naturally expected. There are, in fact, 

 several large collections, to all of which our countrymen 

 find easy access. Indeed, where the pictures are for sale, 

 the visits of the English are eagerly courted. We were 

 satisfied with a view of the sale-collection of M. Beeckman, 

 a merchant in the Place de Mere. M. Poorten of this 

 city, we may remark, has of late years acquired a high 

 reputation for painting animals. 



M. Smetz's Place. 



Aug. 21. — This morning we procured a voiture to con- 

 duct us to the country seat of M. Smetz, in the parish of 

 Deurne. This obliging gentleman, we found, had waited 

 at home to receive us ; and before he set off for the city, 

 he called his gardener, Mr Andre van Donkelaar, and gave 

 him directions to shew us every thing about the grounds. 



There is here a union of the Dutch and the English 

 style of gardening, the place having been originally laid 

 out in 1752, and having subsequently undergone many al- 

 terations and received many improvements. Close by the 

 house, the eye is distressed, at one moment, with the 

 most precisely clipped hedges of tree box, four feet and 

 a half high, tortured into the resemblance of modern bee- 

 hives, and of antique vases ; and it is relieved the next, by 

 a fine sheet of water, over which a bridge is thrown. This 

 sort of conflict is felt throughout: but, as a whole, the 

 place is delightful ; for the grounds are made to unite 



