The Amulet

At the period of which we speak, Antwerp counted among its inhabitants

nearly a thousand merchants from other countries, each of whom had his own

attendants; one chronicle estimates, perhaps with some exaggeration, the

number of strangers engaged in commerce at five thousand.[4] Twice a day these merchants met on Change, not only for purposes of trade

and for information of the arrival of ships, but principally for banking

operations.

To convey an idea of the amount of wealth at the disposal of the houses of

Antwerp, it suffices to say that the king of Portugal obtained in one day

in this city a loan of three millions of gold crowns, and Queen Mary of

England contracted a debt of seventy millions of francs.

One merchant, called the rich Fugger, left at his death legacies amounting

to nearly six millions of gold crowns, a sum which for that period would

seem fabulous, if the fact were not established by indisputable documents.

This wealth and the presence of so many nations vying with each other had

carried luxury to such a height that magistrates were frequently obliged

to publish edicts, in order to restrain the lavish expenditure. This was

not done on account of the foreign inhabitants of the place, but for the

advantage of many noble families and the people of the middle classes, who

were tempted by the example of others to a display of magnificence which

might have seriously injured their fortunes.

The greater part of the Italian merchants from Lucca, Genoa, Florence, and

other cities beyond the Alps, were noblemen, and from this circumstance

they were thrown into intimate intercourse with the noble families of

Antwerp, all of whom spoke fluently three or four languages, and who

particularly studied to speak with purity and elegance the soft Italian

idiom.[5] In the Hipdorp, not far from the Church of St. James, stood an elegant

mansion, which was the favorite resort of the élité of the Italian

merchants. It was the residence of William Van de Werve, lord of Schilde.

Although this nobleman did not himself engage in mercantile transactions,

because the aristocratic families of Brabant regarded commerce as an

occupation unsuitable to persons of high birth,[6] he was very cordial and

hospitable to all strangers whose rank entitled them to admission to his

home circle. Moreover, he was extremely wealthy, luxurious in his manner

of living, and so well versed in three or four different languages, that

he could with ease enter into an agreeable and useful conversation in

either of them.

The house of Mr. Van de Werve had still other attractions to noble

foreigners. He had a daughter of extraordinary beauty, so lovely, so

modest, notwithstanding the homage offered to her charms, that her

admirers had surnamed her la bionda maraviglia, "the wonderful blonde."