Barges heavily laden with wood are pulled
laboriously through the locks of the canals which connect the Yser
with Ostend and Furnes. The ancient fortifications have long since
disappeared, with the exception of a few grass-grown mounds; and
only the grim tower of the Templars, standing by itself in a field
on the outskirts of the town, remains to show that this insignificant
place was once a mighty stronghold.
In those old Flemish towns, however, it is always possible to find
something picturesque; and here we have the Cloth Hall, with its
low arches opening on the market-place, and the Gothic church,
one of the largest in Flanders, with its porch and tower, where
the bell-ringers play the chimes and the people pass devoutly to
the services of the church. But that is all. Nieuport has few
attractions nowadays, and is chiefly memorable in Flemish history
because under its walls they fought that bloody 'Battle of the
Dunes,' in which the stubborn strength and obstinacy of the Dutch
overcame the fiery valour of the Spaniards.
They are all well-nigh forgotten now, obstinate Dutchman and valiant
Spaniard alike. Amongst the dunes not a vestige remains of the
field-works for which they fought.
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