Peeps At Many Lands: Belgium

er of Europe, that in a few hours the train can take you from one end of it to the other. I suppose that from Ostend to Liége is o

E MARKET, BR

tch the Spaniards defended it for three whole years. It must have been very strong in those days. But now it is quite changed, and has no walls, but just a long digue, and a great many hotels, lodging-houses, and big shops. Crowds of people go there in

ing. In winter it is an ugly, dull, stupid town, in which there is nothing to do, and nothing to see except fishing-boats and the steamers which carry trave

whose wealth was the talk of all the world. Their houses were full of precious stones, tapestries, silk, fine linen, and cloth of gold. Their warehouses were stored with costly bales. They lent money to Kings and Princes, and lived themselves in almost royal luxury. A b

aid to have been 200,000 industrious people. Churches rose, and other noble buildings. There were endles

sea dried up. There were wars and rebellions which drove the foreign merchant

olate, neglected appearance. The few families of the upper class who live there belong to what is called

ists love to paint, but also because it is so quiet that you can watch the customs of a Belgian town without being disturbed by a crowd-the market-folk with their wares spread out on the stones of the street, the small carts drawn by dogs, the women

e citizens to arms. The belfry of Bruges is, I think, the finest of them all. If you have ever been to Bruges you can never forget it. It rises high above the market-place. All day long, year

y there was a famous bell called "Roland," and if any of their rulers attempted to tax them against their will, this Roland was rung, and wagged his iron tongue so well that the townsmen armed themselves at once, and the tax-gatherers were driven awa

for lost time so well that now their town is full of flourishing factories, and has a harbour from which a deep canal leads to the River Scheldt, and is used by many ships.

nd towers of many an ancient building look down upon the crowded streets, you

he river to give him money. If the money was refused, the giant cut off one of the captain's hands, and threw it into the river. In Dutch the word werpen means "to throw," and thus the place where the giant lived was

andest in Europe, and where there are some famous paintings b

ss for a long time. You will see there the types and printing-presses of the sixteenth century, and also the very furniture of the sitting-rooms and bedrooms, just as they were in those bygone days. One of the rooms was the nursery of the Plantin ch

It may seem an extraordinary thing that a country like Belgium, so small that two or three English counties would cover it, should have such an important harbour crowded with the shipping of al

d afterwards, when he was at St. Helena, Napoleon declared that the war continued chiefly because he would not give up Antwerp. "Antwerp," he said, "was to me a province in itself. If they would have left it to me, peace would have been concluded." He wanted to keep a fleet

nd hurry on to Brussels, whi

and the tower is that of the Cathedral of St. Rombold. Malines was once, like Bruges, a most important city, and so many pilgrims went there that the cost of building the cathedra

the tower, the people thought there was a fire, and tried to put it out with water! Ever since th

hen the engineer had finished his work, the very day before the first train was to run, he looked at some plans he had of railways in England, and exclaimed: "By J

and on each side a place for riding on, shaded by rows of trees. There is a park, not very large, but with many trees and shady walks, and a round pond, in the centre of which a fountain plays. At one end of this park is the King's Palace, and at the other end the Hou

m in which Brussels lies is called Brabant. In olden times it was spoken of as "gay Brabant," and so, indeed, it might be nowadays. Dull, pompous pe

evard called the Avenue Louise. In the middle of this Bois de la Cambre there is a lake with an island, on which stands a little coffee-house, the Chalet Robinson; so called, perhaps, after Robinson Crusoe, who lived on an island. Belgian famili

, and after dinner off they go, the parents arm-in-arm, and the children strolling before them, and spend the rest of the day together. It is quite a sight on a summer eve

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ds to the Grande Place, a picturesque square surrounded by quaint houses with fantastic gables. These were the houses of the Guilds, or Merchant Companies, in the old days. One of them is shaped like the stern of a ship. Most of them are ornamented with gilded mouldings. They are beautif

ry pretty sight. But the best time to see the Grande Place of Brussels is at night, when all is silent,

The largest building is a modern one, the Palais de Justice, where the law courts sit. It cost nearly ￡2,000,000 to build, and is much bigger than anything in Londo

d iron works; Courtrai, celebrated for the manufacture of linen; Tournai, where carpets are made; Mons, with its coal-mines; and more besides, which all li

of trees, and the long, straight roads begin to disappear, the landscape becomes more picturesque, and soon you reach a river called the Meuse, which flows along through a romantic valley, full of quiet villages, gardens, woods, and hayfields, and enclosed by steep slopes clothed

wns-Liége, Namur, and Dinant-each nestling at the side of th

ich rushes in from the south through a narrow gorge; and the Semois, a stream the sides of which are so steep that there is

not care for going to the seaside, spend the holidays at the towns and vi