asked himself what proofs he could show the coming enemy that the picture was no longer in the Cathedral or in Ghent; for no one doubted that the attempt to gain possession of it would be made. The brave Canon had thought it all out; and Van der Heuvel was once again interviewed. It was important that those connected with the concealment should tell the same story. 'We shall inform them,' said the Canon, 'that, the Chapter of the Cathedral having once failed in their trust by selling the shutters of the Van Eyck, the present authorities had begged the Belgian Government to undertake the safe-guarding of the picture. Would M. Poullet, the Minister of Justice, write a letter which the Canon might show to the Germans?' At Van der Heuvel's request the Minister gladly acceded and wrote the following letter:

'I have the honour to inform you that it is urgently necessary to take measures for saving the picture of the Mystic Lamb ornamenting the Cathedral of St Bavon from the peril which threatens it. I therefore beg you to facilitate the work of the man charged with transporting the picture to England; he will present himself on Monday, the 31st inst., at the Cathedral.

'Believe me yours, etc.,

'P. POULLET,

'Minister of Science and Art, and Minister of Justice ad interim.

'To M. le Président of the Fabric of St Bavon at Ghent.'

From force of habit Poullet had written Brussels' and had altered it to 'Antwerp,' where he now was; and, as we shall see, this mistake inspired doubts in the Germans when they saw the letter. The Canon was much surprised at this new idea of the Van Eyck being sent to England; but Van der Heuvel answered that he had himself recommended Poullet to say this, so that it might turn away German suspicions from Ghent.

To return to the second act. The Germans took possession of Ghent and had been only a fortnight in the town when they sent word to the Canon that the

Baron von Keudell, then calling himself Civil Administrator, was coming to visit the Cathedral. It was the Canon's duty to go round with distinguished visitors, and he held himself ready. This was on Monday, Oct. 26, 1914; and he knew the real object of the visit. When the Baron and his suite had entered the chapel of Judocus Vydt, the Canon drew back the curtain and, opening the shutters, remarked :

"Here is the place where formerly 'The Adoration of the Lamb' was placed and exhibited."

"Yes," said Keudell, "and I know that it is no longer

here."

"Yes, it is gone; I can read you this official letter on the subject"-and very solemnly Canon Van der Gheyer read out Poullet's letter. When he reached the sentence about England, the German burst forth

""What! you trust England, and you believe they will return your picture! Make the sign of the Cross over your Van Eyck, you will never see it again!"

""I do not know," answered the Canon, "what arrangements were made by our Government and that of the English. I had only to obey orders. It would certainly be a great misfortune for Ghent if the picture did not return here, but I must own I would rather know it was intact in England than see it burnt here by the Germans. Everybody can admire it there, while the ruin you wrought at the Louvain Library benefits no one."

In January 1915 the President of the Fabric of the Cathedral received a letter begging him to furnish a certificate to say that the Germans had not taken away the Van Eyck. The Italians had published this report and were spreading it broadcast. Of course the certificate was gladly given, for the enemy had had no chance of stealing it. The Chapter were now beginning to feel quite easy about the safety of their treasure; but they did not measure the persistency of their enemies. On Feb. 7, 1915, the Canon received a police visit to inform him that the Commandant would come and see him. At five o'clock the German appeared. He required, said he, to receive another refutation of the supposed theft of the Van Eyck, adding that the military were the people who should hold it and not the civil rulers of the town. After inquiring the Canon's name, he

apologised for disturbing him and retired; but now a stream of Germans visited the Cathedral to ask questions as to the disappearance of the picture. This curiosity was usually stopped by saying it had been sent to England after the burning of the Louvain Library.

This spring the Canon and his friends visited the precious cases and to their joy found the pictures in perfect preservation. But in August 1916 they were again alarmed. A message was received by the authorities announcing that two special commissioners would visit them on the subject of the disappearance of the Van Eyck. The Belgian President of the Cathedral Fabric merely showed them Poullet's letter and said that his treasurer, the Canon, had carried out the work of sending off The Mystic Lamb.' Three inquisitors immediately visited the Canon; Dr Hensler, GovernorGeneral in Brussels, was the chief of them, but Dr Clemen was the spokesman. He had been specially charged by His Imperial Majesty-a profound bow to this great unseen authority followed-to make examination of the condition of the pictures in Belgium.

an

""Pray tell me what is the actual state of the Van Eyck picture?"

"That is impossible. We delivered it to the Belgian Government, so that they might send it to England at the end of August. We received a letter ..

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""I know that quite well; I have seen the letter," interrupted the President impatiently, "but since then have you received no news of the picture?"

"How could I receive a letter from England? You know that it would be only through illegal means if I did so, in which case I should certainly now be detained in prison."

""Do you think," persisted Dr Clemen, "that these panels are in England?"

"I have no means of knowing. I've only had to execute orders, which we did all the more willingly that then our responsibility ceased. You are already aware that the Canons of Ghent Cathedral were very much blamed for selling the shutters of the polyptych, which are, as you know, at Berlin. The present Chapter were afraid of the responsibility of guarding the picture, and were only too glad when the Government came to our rescue."

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Certainly," said Dr Clemen, "but it seems to me that

as an art-lover you would still be interested in the fate of the picture."

""I trusted my Government."

""We assure you that we are as anxious about the preservation of this chef d'œuvre as you are; and our visit is chiefly to tell you how to keep the picture safely in its hiding-place. We have no intention of taking it from you. Now tell me to me alone-where you have hidden it. I want to see it simply to help you to safeguard it."

"Your promises are entirely useless, and even if you offered me enough gold pieces to cover this table I could only tell you what you already know."

""But tell me, who were the people who saw the picture taken away? It could not possibly go unseen by any one." ""But this really happened; for a fortnight after it was gone, I was blamed for leaving it in its chapel here."

""It seems to me impossible. You must have had scaffolding, and all this getting-down is not done in a minute."

The Canon pointed to some photographs, which Berlin photographers had taken before the war. "I assure you that, to help those photographers, I looked after the taking down of the four panels, and with only the help of two ladders it was all done in thirty-five minutes."

"I understand; but this last time, what about the cases which were necessary?"

There was no

"I had previously ordered the cases. mystery about it; and in the account-book which the German authority required to see, I put down the expenses.

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"“You must love the English very much," said Dr Clemen sarcastically, "for you are making them a handsome present, worth ten or twenty million francs" (cf. note to p. 245).

"The picture has no price. As to loving the English, I only love my own country passionately. Till 1914 I was in sympathy with the Germans and often went to visit their works of art, but since then my affection is centred on Belgium alone. . . ."

"I agree that the place of the picture should certainly be in St Bavon."

"But that is not, alas! the general idea in Germany. Dr Schäffer said in 'Die Kunst' that not only must the Belgian millions be taken, but also their works of art, and chiefly the Van Eyck of St Bavon."

""Oh! Schäffer is 'un cerveau brulé.'

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"But his advice appeared in a serious magazine."

""Do you know the workman who carried off the picture?' ""No; that was not my business."

"What! you confide such a treasure to an unknown man?” ""He could not be unknown, as he represented the Belgian Government."

""How did you know that?"

""He brought a letter with him."

"It might have been false. Handwriting is easily imitated."

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'Really, you are not speaking seriously? I had received all necessary verbal instructions from the Minister Van der Heuvel."

"Well then, as you can tell me nothing more, I will question the church employés."

"They saw nothing."

""You can really tell me of no one who knew the Government functionary?"

""No one."

""And, though your picture was universally beloved, you asked no one to its burial!”

Dr Clemen was beaten, but the German efforts were not exhausted. On August 25, 1916, the Canon was warned by a friend that Major Heitz, Chief Police Commissioner, wished to see him on the subject of the Van Eyck. Anxious to be beforehand with him, as he bore no very amiable character, the Canon himself went to Major Heitz's office. The interview lasted an hour, but the Canon soon found he need not fear the official. He had previously warned his friends, the Coppejans and Cornélis, that he might have to disclose their names, and they had agreed to this step. The Canon, who could out-talk a German, began a long tale of all the events connected with the picture's disappearance. He wove a beautiful story round the Minister Van der Heuvel's doings. Heitz was specially anxious to find out who had driven the cart containing the cases and to what station they had gone. No one had thought

of the driver; and the Canon fell back on the fact that he had to get the picture down and see it in its cases, but the rest was entirely the affair of Van der Heuvel. Heitz remarked that there were three possibilities-the picture was in England, or hidden near Ghent, or on board a ship in the harbour at Havre. The Canon was glad to hear this. It looked as if the Germans did not altogether believe the picture was at Ghent,