Produced by Audrey Longhurst, Valerine Blas and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.
Translated Expressly for this Edition.
In the "Amulet," Hendrick Conscience has worked up an incident whichoccurred at Antwerp, in the 16th century, into a story of great powerand deep interest. It was a dark and bloody deed committed, but swiftand terrible was the retribution, strikingly illustrating how Godlaughs the sinner to scorn, and how the most cunningly devised schemesare frustrated, when He permits the light of His avenging justice toexpose them in their enormity. On the contrary, it forcibly proves thatvirtuous actions, sooner or later, bear abundant fruit even in thisworld. If a man's sins bring upon his head a weight of woe, so do hisgood deeds draw down the benedictions of heaven and serve as a shield toprotect him from his enemies.
Baltimore.
Previous to the close of the fifteenth century, the direction taken byEuropean commerce remained unchanged. America had not been discovered, andthe only known route to India was by land.
Venice, enthroned by her central position as queen of commerce, compelledthe nations of Europe and Asia to convey to her port all the riches of theworld.
One single city, Bruges in Flanders, serving as an international mart forthe people of the North and South, shared, in some measure, the commercialprosperity of Venice; but popular insurrections and continual civil warshad induced a large number of foreign merchants to prefer Brabant toFlanders, and Ant