The Poor Gentleman

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.