The Poor Gentleman
His heart beat violently as he entered deeper and deeper into the heart of the city . . . nearing the house he was to visit. As Monsieur De Vlierbeck entered Antwerp, where he knew he would be an object of notice, he assumed a jaunty, self-satisfied air. Anyone seeing him which might have deceived into believing him the happiest man on earth . . . even while he suffered from the profoundest agony. He was, he feared, about to suffer abject humiliation. This would cut him to the very heart! But there was a being in the world whom he loved better than his life or honor -- his only child, his daughter. For her, how frequently had he sacrificed his pride -- how frequently had he suffered the pangs of martyrdom! Novelist Hendrik Conscience (1812-1883) took part in the 1830 Flemish revolution for independence from the Netherlands, and afterwards helped create a revival of Flemish letters with such novels as The Lion of Flanders and The Poor Gentleman.
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