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Rh the Count of Flanders, and after his death to the house of Burgundy. The turbulent Ghenters rose again in 1448 against the Duke of Burgundy and carried on an unequal war for no less than five years. But feudal power triumphed for a time and in 1453 the people were signally defeated at Gavre and left 16,000 dead on the field.

The town and the whole of Flanders passed to the house of Austria by the marriage of Mary Burgundy with Maximilian—which marriage took place in Ghent in 1477. In 1500 the celebrated Charles V. was born in Ghent and during his reign Ghent progressed so greatly in wealth and population (175,000 souls) that Charles V. is said to have boasted jestingly to his rival Francis I. "Je mettrai votre Paris dans mon Gand" (glove.) Unlike Bruges, Ghent has succeeded in keeping a considerable trade within her limits tn the present day. Her present population is not much under 150,000, her streets are populous and her houses are fine and imposing in apearance [sic]. Cotton and linen goods are her principal commodities, and her engine factories have multiplied of late years.

The magnificent cathedral of Ghent with its lofty tower can be seen from miles outside the limits of the town, while in the interior it is one of the most richly decorated churches in Belgium. The crypt was constructed so early as the 10th century and the choir in the 13th century. The last chapter of the order of Golden Fleece was held in the nave of this cathedral by Philip II. in 1559.