. Thackerayana;. .and laid them square like napkins on theirheads, and tucked up their long black outer dresses and trudgedoff to their convents. 1 The novices wear black veils, under one of which I saw ayoung, sad, handsome face. It was the only thing in the estab- BRUGES. 473 lishment that was the least romantic or gloomy; and, for the sakeof any reader of a sentimental turn, let us hope that the poor soulhas been crossed in love, and that over some soul-stirring tragedythat black curtain has fallen. The change from vulgar Ghent, with its ugly women andcoarse bustle, to this quiet, old, half
. Thackerayana;. .and laid them square like napkins on theirheads, and tucked up their long black outer dresses and trudgedoff to their convents. 1 The novices wear black veils, under one of which I saw ayoung, sad, handsome face. It was the only thing in the estab- BRUGES. 473 lishment that was the least romantic or gloomy; and, for the sakeof any reader of a sentimental turn, let us hope that the poor soulhas been crossed in love, and that over some soul-stirring tragedythat black curtain has fallen. The change from vulgar Ghent, with its ugly women andcoarse bustle, to this quiet, old, half-deserted, cleanly Bruges wasvery pleasant I have seen old men at Versailles with shabbycoats and pig-tails, sunning themselves on the benches in the had seen better days to be sure, but they are gentlemen so we found, this morning, old dowager Bruges basking inthe pleasant autumn sun, and looking, if not prosperous, at leastcheerful and well-bred. It is the quaintest and prettiest of all the. A Wayside Sketcher quaint and pretty towns I have seen. A painter might spendmonths here, and wander from church to church, and admire oldtowers and pinnacles, tall gables, bright canals, and pretty littlepatches of green garden, and moss-grown wall, that reflect in theclear, quiet water. Before the inn window is a garden, from whichin the early morning issues a most wonderful odour of stocks andwall-flowers. Next comes a road with trees of an admirablegreen. Numbers of little children are playing in the road (theplace is so clean that they may roll in it all day without soilingtheir pinafores), and on the other side of the trees are little, old-fashioned, dumpy, whitewashed, red-tiled houses. A poorer land-scape to draw was never known, nor a pleasanter to see; thechildren especially, who are inordinately fat and rosy. Let it 474 THACKERAYANA.
Size: 2099px × 1191px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1870, bookidthackerayana, bookyear1875
