BRUGES (bruzh), BELGIUM. Quaintest of the many old Flemish towns is Bruges, which lies 55 miles north west of Brussels and about eight miles from the North Sea. It is intersected and surrounded by many canals, which connect it with Zeebrugge its seaport, with Ostend, and with many other places. Crossing these canals are 50 bridges—all opening in the center to permit the passage of boats—and thus the city gets its name, Bruges, meaning "bridges." In modern times this Venice of the North has dreamed peacefully of the days long past when it was one of the richest jewels in the crown of its sovereigns, the rich and powerful counts of Flanders—when its woolen trade flourished to such an extent that Philip the Good, in 1430, founded there the order of the Golden Fleece, in compliment to the growth of that industry. Tourists came from far and near to admire the monuments of that great epoch in its history—the beautiful Gothic church of Notre Dame (13th and 14th centuries), with its many art works and its splendid tombs of Charles the Bold and his daughter Mary of Burgundy, the old market hall with its famous chimes of 48 bells, and many other notable edifices. Other Flemish towns may have presented