By the entrance door is a =Portrait of Marie Moreel=, represented as a Sibyl. She was a daughter of Willem Moreel or Morelli, a patron of Memling, whom we shall meet again at the Museum. This is a fine portrait of a solid, plain body, a good deal spoiled by attempted cleaning. It comes from the _Hospice_ of St. Julian.
As you go out, cast a glance at the fine old brick buildings, and note the cleanliness of all the arrangements.
Return more than once: do not be satisfied with a single visit.
The other pictures and objects formerly exhibited in this Hospital have been transferred to the Potterie and another building. They need only be visited by those whose time is ample.
After leaving the Hospital, I do not advise an immediate visit to the Academy. Let the Memlings first sink into your mind. But the walk may be prolonged by crossing the canal, and taking the second turning to the R., which leads (over a pretty bridge of three arches) to the =Béguinage=, a lay-nunnery for ladies who take no vows, but who live in monastic fashion under the charge of a Superior. Above the gateway is a figure of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, (to whom the church within is dedicated) giving alms to a beggar. She wears her crown, and carries in her hand the crown and book which are her symbol. Remember these,—they will recur later. Pass under the gateway and into the grass-grown precincts for an external glimpse of the quiet old-world close, with its calm white-washed houses. The church, dedicated to St. Elizabeth, is uninteresting. This walk may be further prolonged by the pretty bank of the _Lac d’amour_ or _Minnewater_ as far as the external canal, returning by the ramparts and the picturesque =Porte de Gand=.
[The =town of Bruges itself= is more interesting, after all, than almost any one thing in it. Vary your day by giving up the morning to definite sight-seeing, and devoting the afternoon to =strolls= through the town and neighbourhood, in search of picturesqueness. I subjoin a few stray hints for such casual rambles.]
(1) Set out from the Grand’ Place, and turn down the Rue Breydel to the Place du Bourg. Cross the Place by the statue of Jan van Eyck; traverse the Rue Philippe Stock; turn up the Rue des Armuriers a little to the R., and continue on to the Place St. Jean, with a few interesting houses. Note here and elsewhere, at every turn, the little statues of the Virgin and Child in niches, and the old signs on the fronts or gables. The interesting =Gothic turret= which faces you as you go belongs to the old 14th Century building called =De Poorters Loodge=, or the Assembly Hall of the Noble Citizens Within the Gate, as opposed to those of the =Franc de Bruges=. Continue on in the same direction to the Place Jan van Eyck, where you open up one of the most charming views in Bruges over the canal and quays. The Place is “adorned” by a modern statue of Jan van Eyck. The dilapidated building to your L. is that of the =Académie des Beaux-Arts= which occupies the site of the Citizens’ Assembly Hall: the ancient edifice was wholly rebuilt and spoilt in 1755, with the exception of the picturesque tower, best viewed from the base of the statue. Opposite you, as you emerge into the Place, is the charming =Tonlieu= or Custom House, whose decorated _façade_ and portal (restored) bear the date 1477, with the arms of Pieter van Luxemburg, and the collar of the Golden Fleece. The dainty little neighbouring house to the L., now practically united with it, has a coquettish _façade_: the saints in the niches are St. George, St. John Baptist, St. Thomas à Becket, (or Augustine?) and St. John the Evangelist.