he presented me his card of address, and hoped on my return to London, I would make it convenient to call on him, when he would be happy to introduce me to his mercantile friends. I mention this as only one instance of the civilities I received, while on the Continent, from Englishmen, who came travelling for pleasure or on business on the Continent, and to show that Americans, when abroad, have it in their power, even without introductory letters, of extending their acquaintance to any extent, and to be received in circles which may prove of great advantage to them, on a future occasion; also to their friends, on going abroad. To make friends, and be respected when from home, study an unassuming and modest behaviour always.

An American may take out a patent in Belgium, either for an invention or discovery, for any article of importation. He must, however, if not a resident of Belgium, name an agent in the province where he makes the demand. The patentee (though a foreigner) enjoys the same privileges as if he were a Belgian, and in many cases is entitled to the same advantages as those conferred by the permission of King Leopold, to settle in the country.

There is nothing more tempting to a tourist than the curiosity shops of Brussels;-those in London or Paris are not to be compared with them. In almost every street you meet with one. The beautiful objects displayed tempt the idle saunterer to walk in and look over them. Indian gods in gold and silver, suits of ancient armour not to be surpassed;-yet these are comparatively valueless, when you ascend to a hall above, and find a superb collection of handsomely framed pictures, having on them the names of Rubens and Vandyck-black oak chisellings, so exquisite as to excite the wonder and admiration of the stoic-add to these, gems of every kind, vases of every description, statues, medals, books, and painted glass, and you have a tolerable idea of these curiosity emporiums. But the tourist should not fail to examine them, should he not make a single purchase; the fair dealers will smile, and hope he will call whenever it may suit his pleasure in passing.

I will also remark to the tourist, that should he visit the Continent of Europe, either direct from the United States, or via England, he has only to take with him English sovereigns to meet his travelling expenses, as they are known to pass everywhere, and ofttimes at a premium, making bills of exchange or letters of credit, to meet the current travelling expenses, totally unnecessary.

Should the tourist happen to pass the Sabbath in Brussels, and wish to hear and respond to the English Church service, he has only to leave the Bellevue Hotel, or the Hotel de Flandre, cross Place Royale, and in five minutes he will be at the English Church, near the Museum, in which pews are set apart for strangers, and while there, he may probably meet with some few Americans,

which will enhance the pleasure of passing a few days in the gayest and cheapest city in Europe. Concerts here are frequent, and got up most admirably, the admittance three francs, at which the King and Queen often attend, also at the Theatre, situated in the Place de la Monnaie; it is of stone, very handsome, and exceedingly commodious, having four tiers of boxes; the pit is divided into three compartments, stalls, parquet militaire-(where officers in full dress are allowed to enter for one franc)-and the parterre, at the same price for any one.

At the Theatres, or at Concerts, the Belgian ladies attend most frequently in their morning or visiting dresses, and in so doing, the gentlemen feel quite at ease, as much so as if promenading in the enchanting park. Not so, however, with the English ladies, who appear in full costume to be admired; and the tourist will, at a glance, know the Belgian from the English ladies, by their appearance. If the ladies in America could but follow the example of the Flemish ladies, not merely in their plain dress at public amusements and at Church, but in their plain, modest, becoming promenade costume, and natural gait, the murmuring clergymen would have double their present fees, and the gambling houses, billiard rooms, oyster houses, &c., would be in a great measure deserted, and drunkenness and immorality known only by name. The extravagance of the present age, and great desire for finery, to excel in the fashionable world, drives bipeds to dandyism in costume, to imitate a certain animal in features, to dissipation, and last, not least, an exile from the fairer portion of creation, to whom I will briefly say, that external beauty and gay costume may attract momentarily, but something else is requisite to secure the affections of man at the present enlightened age of fortune-hunting mania.

Having made my arrangements to leave Brussels for Paris, I called at the Hotel de Flandre to take a parting leave of my travelling companions from London, Sir Charles J- and daughters, and passing into the Court yard, found them on the eve of stepping into their barouche for an excursion through the city, Boulevards, &c, and they insisted on my occupying the vacant corner, which I without hesitation accepted; and the reader, if he has ever rode through the beautiful Boulevards, and around the environs of Brussels, will readily conceive the exquisite pleasure it afforded me, more especially when in such company as the talented Sir Charles, and his highly gifted and accomplished daughters, who were admirers of nature, and with dispositions of a truly romantic order. On our return to the hotel, I was pressed to stay and dine, and while the arrangements were making for the splendid repast, Sir Charles wrote and handed me a warm, friendly introductory epistle to his brother, the Rev. Professor JEdinburgh, which he hoped I might deliver in person, and should I

at

be in Scotland on his return, promised to ascend with me to the lofty Ben Lomond, have a range through the Highlands, and afterwards visit the cottage in which the celebrated John Paul Jones was born, the gallant naval hero of the American Revolution, whose life and exploits I had written some years previous, and published in London by the late eminent John Murray, Esq., of Albemarle Street. Mrs. H., the eldest daughter of Sir Charles, also presented me the card and address of her husband, No. -, Bedford Square, London, on which she placed her own fair autograph as a passport, with a wish I would deliver it in person at her mansion. Her wish was complied with to the very letter, and the pleasing result will be given in a future chapter of "Ramblings in London," &c.

The next chapter will be a trip to Paris, view of the country, its fortifications, manners, customs and costumes of the French peasantry, arrival at the barrier St. Denis, remarks, &c.

CHAPTER XXV.

From Brussels to Paris; City of Valenciennes; The Country around; The Peasantry, etc.; Middle and Lower Orders of the French; Hats and Coats; A French Veteran; Devotion of the Common People for the Memory of Napoleon; Beautiful Scenery on nearing the French Capital; Arrival at the Faubourgs; Disrespect of the Sabbath; Coach-yard of Lafitte and Co.; Hints to the Tourist in regard to Hotels, etc., etc.

THE diligence for Paris leaves Brussels every morning at 8 o'clock, distance from the gates of each city 225 miles, and is generally performed in twenty-eight hours-fare through thirty francs.* The centre of the road the whole distance is paved with stone similar to those used in paving the streets of a city. The horses are changed every eight miles, and are furnished by the farmers along the road, without regard to colour, size, &c., at a certain fixed price.-These horses travel at a hand-gallop the whole of the distance, up hill and down. Five are used in each team-three abreast, as leaders; for the diligences are heavy, and have a ponderous and unwieldy appearance to an American eye, but are both commodious and easy, although cumbered on the top to a great height with way-baggage, as well as the baggage of the passengers, to whom the proprietors are very liberal indeed. A conducteur accompanies the diligence from city to city, and is always a respectable and responsible personage, polite almost to a fault to the passengers, sits above the coachman to see all that passes on the road day and night, and is sheltered from the weather by a leather top and apron; with the conducteur I took my seat to see the country and gain information, rather than be cooped up and squeezed to a mummy in the inside, compelled to listen to the noise of half-a-dozen infants, and the lullabys of their affectionate parents. The whole country included between the frontier of France, and a line supposed to be drawn from Ostend to Arlon (including the

* A railway also connects the two cities.

province of Liege), abounds in marble, slate, hewing stone, lime, &c.; the quarries alone of Vielsalm in Luxemburg, furnish annually about 80,000 hones.

The tourist should not forget to have a passport, for to attempt to pass the Belgium frontier without one, is impossible; should it be attempted, he would be looked upon as a suspicious character, and treated accordingly. No American to their credit has ever yet made the attempt, and I trust never will.

When the diligence arrived on the frontier, it was detained about twenty-five minutes in examining the luggage. Handing my keys to the polite officer, I walked into the hotel, and quietly took a fine breakfast, while most of the passengers were looking, watching, and scolding the officers for examining too scrictly the contents of their trunks. All this gave me time to walk through the village, and examine its beautiful church and some fine paintings within, as well as some of the well-filled and fashionable shops, &c. I will here observe, for the benefit of the tourist, that as theft is not known in France, there is no fear of trusting luggage, or even money, with the conducteur, or police.

On arriving at the ancient and strongly fortified city of Valenciennes, our passports were demanded, and a fee of one franc charged for examining each. Valenciennes is one hundred miles from Brussels, and one hundred and twenty northeast from Paris, and is noted for its manufactures of lace, wool, stuffs, cambric, &c.; the river Scheldt flows through it, and from here it is navigable for small craft. The fortifications are immense here, as well as along the whole frontier; and intimating a desire to view them, to the polite conducteur, he stopped the diligence, and alighting outside the gates (having an hour to spare) I wended my way, examining as I went along, fortifications that seemed to my eye impregnable, like the straits of Thermopylæ, as if one hundred men could keep at bay 10.000; the zig-zag causeway, wide, deep moat, draw-bridges, portcullis, &c., all defended by cannon of the largest calibre, pointing in every direction, to sweep to destruction every obstacle in their range. In the great square is the market, and Cathedral, of the tenth century, in which are many valuable paintings and other curious relics. I ascended its great tower to see the old chime-bells, the most musical in all France, and also most costly and ancient. From the tower, a complete and extensive view is had of the city and country around. While there, I could, in imagination, behold the great Napoleon on his proud charger, standing and reviewing his grand invincible army, as it filed in regular order into the city gates, marching to victory. In the whole distance from Brussels to Paris, not the sign of a fence is to be seen; and it seems like travelling through an immense field of waiving grain, right and left for hundreds of miles. No animals