1936 On the Continent

Scheldt, which is 500 metres wide atthis spot. But it is lengthened by very extensive maritime works. This has allowed for twenty-five basins for water traffic and there are no less than 47 kilometres of landing quays; the warehouses cover 170 hectares (1,700,000 square metres), and 800 kilometres of railway line are needed to link up the whole. The most important sluice is the “Kruisschans” (opened in 1928); it is 35 metres wide and 270 metres long …
    “Makes me think of the Ark,” whispered Muriel.
    … and 240 sailing routes connect Antwerp with ports all over the world, and 10,000 ships come into the harbour every year.
    On the other side of the Scheldt is a little place called Saint Anne, which can be reached by boat or by two tunnels built under the river bed. One small tunnel, reserved for pedestrians, is 570 metres long, and the other, for cars, is 2 kilometres long. These works represent an outlay of roughly 300,000,000 francs, and Antwerp may be justly proud of them.
    Antwerp can boast of all the attractions of a big city—sports grounds, open-air swimming pools, concerts, cinemas, smart shops, tea-rooms, dance-halls and theatres.
    Before leaving the town, let us make a note of a few addresses: Central Office of Tourism (9 rue Leys); Touring Club (Kipdorp 4); Automobile Club (26 Longue rue de l’Hôpital); Auberge de Jeunesse (Leemputstraat 21); Y.W.C.A. (39 rue des Palais); Y.M.C.A. (10 Avenue Elsdonck); British Consulate (105 Avenue de France).
    Then let us leave, full of regret, this active and versatile town, so brilliant and animated, so much more cosmopolitan than Brussels; where at every step one meets strangers and sailors from the seven seas, and where the East and West for ever meet.
Some other Stopping Places
    “And now,” asked Muriel, “are there any other interesting towns to go to? I would like to see something of the country and the natural scenery.”
    “There are towns in plenty, but it’s not absolutely necessary to visit them. They are less important and less characteristic than those we have seen. Chief among themare Liége and Charleroi, industrial towns which have a charm and beauty of their own but are not so animated as Brussels or Antwerp, nor so beautiful as Bruges or Ghent. Mons, near the French frontier, is in the centre of our black country, a poverty-stricken and arid region. Verviers, near Liége, is just one tremendous weaving loom for woollen materials. Most of the woollen fabrics used in Belgium come from Verviers, but quite a number of us, I admit, have a preference for English materials. A great number of little towns have various claims to fame or interest: Eupen and Malmédy—at the German frontier; Tongres, Lierre, Hasselt, Tournai, Louvain—which suffered a great deal during the War, and is rebuilt now, is the home of the famous centuries-old Catholic university; not far from Antwerp, if you care for curious things, you will find the quaint little town of Gheel.”
A Town of Lunatics
    Gheel is the town of lunatics. There are lunatics here as well as elsewhere. It’s your famous Bernard Shaw who said: “There are fools everywhere, even in asylums.”
    Here, in addition to the asylums, we have Gheel where harmless lunatics are allowed to roam in freedom. The only restraint put upon them is that they may not wander out of the town. They live with the inhabitants, who are paid for their board and lodging. If you spend an hour in this town, you will meet “pensionnaires,” as they are called, everywhere. They will come forward to greet you, in spite of the fact that they do not know you; offer to carry your parcels, then throw them down because they are too heavy. There are some very curious types among them: there is one who thinks he is the Saviour and who preaches from morning till night; another who imagines he’s a millionaire and who tries to borrow a franc; another, a woman, is convinced that she is the Queen of Holland. Another spends her day curtseying to the passers-by.
    “What a strange town!”
    There’s another man who shakes hands with everyone and who says he has 20,000 children and $$$-77
    beginning, then off he goes murmuring$$$ what a job.” They are gentle and harm$$$hour spent in their company it becomes almost impossible to determine who, in that little town, is sound of mind and who is not. Thus it may happen that you stop one of the many doctors that attend the patients and ask most earnestly whether he is happy in Gheel,