The  dozen  or  more  chapels  are  adorned  with
splendid  monuments  of  sculpture  and  paint-
ing, and  the  transepts  contain  the  two  great
masterpieces  of  Rubens,  the  "Descent  from
the  Cross,"  and  the  ''Elevation  of  the  Cross."
Before  these  productions  of  genius  I  saw
groups  of  visitors  lingering  with  a  sort  of
worshipful  gaze;  and  that  sight  of  the  lifeless
body  of  Christ,  held  by  Joseph  and  Nicodemus,
the  head  hanging  so  helplessly  on  the  shoul-
der, is  something  that  can  not  be  easily  for-
gotten.
The  Sunday  I  spent  in  Antwerp  was
a  day  of  Kermesse,  and  the  streets  were  full  of
processions.  In  the  afternoon  of  that  day  I
witnessed  a  procession  of  the  Virgin  through
the  nave  and  aisles  of  the  cathedral.  A  figure
of  the  Virgin,  richly  adorned,  was  carried  on
the  shoulders  of  priests,  while,  others  in  sacer-
dotal dress,  marched  before  and  behind,  carry-


IN  THE  NETHERLANDS.  281

ing  censers  of  smoking   incense  and  chanting
various  prayers  and  hymns.
Far  richer  in  its  monuments  and  decora-
tions than  the  cathedral  is  the  Church  of  St.
