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STEAM VOYAGES.
VOL. I.
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H ii. ^ T
STEAM VOYAGES
ON
THE SEINE, THE MOSELLE, & THE RIIIiXE;
WITH
RAILROAD VISITS
TO
THE PRINCIPAL CITIES OF BELGIUM,
SfC. SfC.
By MICHAEL J. QUIN, Esq.,
Author of " A Steam Voyage down the Danube"
" A Year in Spain," 8fc.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
LONDON:
HENRY COLBURN, PUBLISHER,
GREAT MARLBOROUGH STREET.
1843.
^
J. L. COX & SONS,
PBINT£RS TO THE BONOTTRABLE EAST-INDIA COMPANY,
74 & 75, Gt. Queen St. Lincoln's-Inn Fields.
ADVERTISExMENT.
It was Mr. Quin's merit and good fortune
to open to his fellow-countrymen, and, in-
deed, to foreign tourists in general, the
grand and peculiar attractions which The
Danube had in store for their admiration.
His " Steam Voyage" down that river has
been diffused all over the continent, not only
in the English, but also in the French and
German languages, and has induced great
numbers of persons to visit scenes which had
been previously almost unknown.
In the present work, Mr. Q,uin has per-
formed a similar office for the river Moselle,
which, although familiar as to its name, on
account of the exquisite wines produced
upon its banks, has hitherto lain as much
VOL. I. b
VI ADVERTISEMENT.
concealed, from British tourists especially,
as the Danube itself previously to his expo-
sition of its wonders and beauties. And the
reasons for this neglect are obvious. In the
first place, the Moselle is entirely out of the
highway (the Rhine) of the vast majority
of our summer emigrants, whose object ge-
nerally is, to visit the baths of GeiToany,
or to proceed by Switzerland into Italy.
Although actually passing the mouth of
the Moselle, they never deviate into that
river, which would cause delay, and must
be visited entirely for its own sake. More-
over, until very lately, there were no steam-
vessels on the Moselle, and the only mode
of making a voyage upon it was by means
of the common passage-boats of the coun-
try, which were small, inconvenient, wretch-
edly managed, and by no means free from
danger in windy weather ; nor were the inns
on either bank at all calculated to invite
the stranger.
ADVERTISEMENT. vii
But the Steamer has effectually redressed
these evils. The voyage from Coblciitz to
Treves may be easily made in one day, and
it may be asserted without fear of contra-
diction, that tlie beauty of the scenery on
the banks of the Moselle, between those
two cities, is 'without rivalry in p]urope.
The visiter who chooses to linger on those
banks, and to ])enetrate into the country
beyond them, will find ample and delight-
ful occupation for weeks, amidst its innu-
merable sylvan and most romantic charms.
Ausonius, one of the later Latin poets, has
written an excellent poem in praise of the
Moselle ; it has figured nuich in several of
the ancient, and in most of the modern wars ;
its scenes of delicious repose invited many
religious orders, in the j)rimeval ages of
Christianity, to erect churches and monas-
teries upon the hills that crown its banks.
The same attractions induced great numljers
of the Crusaders, upon their return from
h2
Vlll ADVERTISEMENT.
Palestine, to fix their chateaus near those
holy places — so much so, that eight or ten
leagues of the margins of this river have
for ages preserved the title of the " Vale
of Chivalry ;" nor is there any country where
the memory of Bacchus is more honoured
than on the banks of the Moselle.
Besides his minute descriptions of the
Moselle, Mr. Quin presents us with an
amusing excursion up the Seine, and sketches
off in a few pages the principal beauties of
the Rhine and the Neckar. Altogether, his
work will be found to be the production of no
common traveller, and it is full of novelty,
even in these days of perpetual locomotion.
With deep regret the Editor finds it neces-
sary to add, that the talented author of this
work, whilst revising the proof sheets, be-
came seriously ill, and died at Boulogne,
where he had for some time been residing
for the benefit of his health. .
London^ June 3, 1843.
CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.
FT PAGE
CHA ER I.
Phoenix Steamer. Accommodations. Voyage to Havre. Ar-
rival at Havre. Harfleur. Railroad to Paris. French
Characteristics. Honfleur. Montagne de Grace. Castle
of Orcher. Presale Glutton. Tancarville. Quillebeuf.
The RoUo Steamer. A French Lady 1
CHAPTER II.
Lillebonc. Our Musicians. Breakfast. Our Waitress.
Her Activity. An Old Maid. Villequier. The Poplar.
Caudebec. A lost Island. Pictures on board. Jumieges.
The Giant's Chair. Signs of Prosperity 20
CHAPTER III.
A Steam Raft. Its Construction. Robert-le-Diable. Rouen.
Tower of the Cathedral. A Magic Mirror. Trade of Rouen.
Hill of St. Catherine. Curious Carvings. Rouen Museum.
Dorade Steamer. Elbeuf. An English Artist. A French
Artist. Yoimg France. An Octogenarian .. .. 37
X CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER IV.
Conveniences of Steamers. Prolongation of Life. German
Philosophy. Vernon. Animated Scenery. Paucity of
Birds. Paddles of the Dorade. Roch-Guyon. Count
D'Enghien. La Belle Mantes. Arrival at Paris .. 57
CHAPTER V.
Motives of Second Journey. A Florentine Gentleman. Tra-
velling Companion. The late Mr. Bellew. Sir M. D. Bel-
lew. Menai Steamer. A Minerva. A SnufF-man. Bene-
fits of Snuff. Three Corsicans. A second Napoleon . . 76
CHAPTER VI.
A City Man. A Traveller. Dinner. Ginger Beer. Empty
Sounds. A Royal Salute. Arrival at Ostend. Church of
St. Peter. Mrs. Trollope. Image of the Virgin. Mr. Beck-
ford. Ostend. The Sluice-gates. Paret's Museum. Mon-
strosities. A Camera Obscura . . . . . . . . 88
CHAPTER Vn.
Ostend. Railway. Railway inconveniences. Bruges. Houses
in Bruges. Bruges Ladies. The Chimes. Piety of the
People. The Cathedral. Notre Dame. Statue of the
Virgin. Hospital of St. John. Charity Sisters. Words-
worth. Southey. Hemling . . . . . . . . 104
CHAPTER Vni.
Mrs. Trollope. Church of the Capuchins. Attentions to
Cleanliness. Capuchin Monks. Church of the Holy Se-
pulchre. Hotel de Ville. Chapel of St. Basil. Mary of
Burgundy. Her Monument. Curious Chimney-piece.
' Magnificent Prospect. English Convent . . .. .. 118
CONTENTS. a
PACK
CHAPTER IX.
Ghent. Ladies of Ghent. Ghent Gentlemen. The Cathe-
dral. Chapel of " The Lamb." The Palm Tree. Eng-
lish Candelabras. Episcopal Monument. The Crypt.
Desecration of Churches. St. Michael's Church. Church
of St. Nicholas. Oliver Minjau. Tlie Theatre . . . . 130
CHAPTER X.
Red and White Roses. Way to the Races. Ladies of Ghent.
Ghent Gentlemen. Race Booths. Scene on the Course.
The Spectators. Groups on the Course. The lower Booths.
Quitting the Field. The Return Home. Prosperity of
Ghent. Its general Appearance. Cultivation of Flowers.
People of Ghent. Ancient Ghent . . . . . . . . 146
CHAPTER XI.
The Wonder of Ghent. The Beguinage. Menage of a Be-
guine. Her Fancy Work. Her Duties. Beguine Dress.
Evening Service. The Benediction. Solemn Scene. An-
tiquity of Begiiines. My Uncle Toby. Carmelite Chapel.
Elaborate Carvings. A Cowled Monk .. .. .. IGO
CHAPITER XII.
Journey to Malines. Cardinal of Malines. Cathedral. Splen-
did Monument. Vandyk. Rubens. Rubens's Charges.
Pork Pie. O'Connell. Brussels. Dr. Lever. The Park.
The Library. St. Gudule. Dullness of Brussels .. 173
CHAPTER XIII.
Waterloo. Serjeant-Major Cotton. British Bivouac. In-
clement Weather. Chateau of Hougoumont. Field of
Battle. Forest of Soignes. Chapel of Hougoumont. Its
XI CONTENTS.
PAGE
Crucifix. Statue of the Virgin. Terrible Slaughter. M.
Robiano. Position of the Guards. The Pyramid. The
Weather. Antwerp. The Cathedral. The Golden Fleece.
Vespers. Painted Windows. Dixit Dominus. The Con-
fitebor. The Beatus Vir. The Laudate. The Mass.
The Song of Evening. The Magnificat. Recal of the
Jews. The Procession . . . . . . . . . . 186
CHAPTER XIV.
The Blacksmith of Antwerp. The Two Misers. Tower of
the Cathedral. View from the Tower. General Chasse.
The late King of Holland. Chimes of Antwerp. Tomb of
Rubens. St. Jaques. The Holy Family. Fac-simile of
Calvary. Church of St. Andrew. The Museum. Depar-
ture for Liege. Varied aspect of the Country. Louvaine.
The Library. Former Manufactories. Expulsion of the
Weavers. Tlieir Guildhall. The University. The Hotel
de Ville. The Cathedral 200
CHAPTER XV.
Arrival at Liege, Its busy appearance. Quentin Durward.
The Wonder of Liege. Mineral Fountains. Caverns.
Chaud-fontaine. Its many Attractions. Beautiful Land-
scape. Young Blanchiseuses. A Dwarf. A Bible Dis-
tributor. Translations of the Scriptures. The Warm
Fountain. Railway to Cologne. The Brigand Idriel.
Scheme for his Capture .. .. .. .. ..211
CHAPTER XVI.
Visit to Spa. Castle of Franchimont. Its concealed Trea-
sures. Appearance of Spa. Its Public Establishments.
Its Waters. Their dangerous Effects. Ardennes Ponies.
CONTENTS. Xlll
PAGE
Country round Spa. Curious Cave. Toys of Spa. Re-
turn to Liege. Departure from Liege. Serang. Messrs.
Cockerill's Establishments. Vineyards. Banks of the
Meuse. Huy. Its Citadel. Journey to Namur. Extra-
ordinary Rocks. Their strange Configurations. A beau-
tiful Solitude-View of Namur . . . . . • . • 224
CHAPTER XVII.
Namur. Church of St. Loup. Jesuit College. Journey to
Dinant. First View of Dinant. Origin of its Name. The
Cave of Trou de Hans. Road to the Cave. The Royal
Hunting Lodge. Pretty Scenery. Forest of Ardemies.
Its abundant Game. Open Country. Its Hungarian Ap-
pearance. Our Voiturier. The Village of Hans. M. Le-
fevre. Discovery of the Cave . . . . . . • • 238
CHAPTER X\TII.
Cabaret of Hans. Its Parlour Ornaments. Lodge near the
Cave. Entrance to the Cave. Romantic Lake. Wonder-
ful Echoes. Straw Torches. Picture of Charon and his
Bark. Navigation of the Lake. Stalactites. Beaks of
Birds. Curious Drapery. Morning Star. Fish-Market.
The Hall of Debarkation. Boudoir of Proserpine. Her
Wardrobe. Sinuosities of the Cavern. Its vast extent.
Club of Hercules. Grotto of Mont Blanc. Ostrich Fea-
thers. Colossal Dome. Perilous Return. Remarks on
the Cavern. Ladies advised not to enter it . . . . 250
CHAPTER XIX.
Departure for Luxemburg. Shakspeare's Forest. A dear
Cup of Coffee. The Capuchin Church at Arlon. Festival
Day. Luxemburg. Its renowned Fortifications. Road
Xiv CONTENTS.
PAGE
to Treves. Admirable Ciiltivation. First View of the
Moselle. Village of Matter. Fine Fields of Corn. Vines.
Village of Igel. Its celebrated Monument. Secundini
Family. Description of the Monument. Subjects of the
Sculptures • • 264
CHAPTER XX.
Monument of Igel continued. Interior of a Chamber. A
Warehouse. Country between Igel and Treves. Stone
Crosses. Treves. Its great antiquity. Its former renown.
Its decay. Ruined by the Goths and Vandals. Situation
of Treves. The Black Gate. The Bishop's Bench. A
Holy Anchorite, The Amphitheatre. Barbarous Exhi-
bitions. Lancers exei-cising. Tunnels in the Rock. Pub-
lic Baths. Cathedral of St. Helen. The Baptismal Font.
The Archbishopric. The present King of Prussia. Elec-
toral Tombs 277
CHAPTER XXI.
Gradual of the Choir. The Crypts. Church of Our Lady.
Former Churches of Treves. Palace of the Electors. Ap-
pearance of a Cross in the Sky. Optical Illusions. Atmo-
spheric Influences. Poem of Conrad Celles. Ausonius.
His Poem on the Charms of the Moselle. Former Navi-
gation of the River . . . . . . • - • • • 289
CHAPTER XXII.
Steam Navigation of the Moselle. Our Embarkation. Tlie
Country Village of Pfalzel. Forges of Quint. Curves ia
the River. Village of Riol. Saloon of the Vessel. A
Farmer. Village of Trittenheim. The Friar Trithemius.
CONTENTS. XV
PAGB
Accusation of Sorcery. Tlic Friar's Celebrity. Calumnies
against liim. Invocations of the Dead. Mary of Bur-
gundy. An Incantation. The Friar's Doctrine . . . . 300
CHAPTER XXIII.
Camp of Constantino. Neumagen. Aerial Cross. Seen by
the Emperor and his Troops. Constantine's Vision. He
adopts the Cross for his Standard. Gibbon. Beauties of
the Moselle. Village of Piesport. Best Wines. Charm-
ing Landscapes. Vineyards. Gardens. The delicious
Braunerberger. Hill upon which it is grown. Cold Winds.
Cardinal de Cusa. His Hospital. Letter to its riotous
Inmates. Bemcastle. Exquisite Scenery. Ancient Man-
ners. Character of the Moselle .. ..311
ILLUSTRATIONS.
VOL. I.
View of Dinant Frontispiece.
VOL. IL
Castle of Ely Frontispiece.
STEAM VOYAGES
ON THE
MOSELLE AND OTHER RIVERS
IN
GERMANY AND FRANCE.
CHAPTER L
Phoenix Steamer. Accommodations. Voyage to Havre. Arrival
at Havre. Harfleur. Railroad to Paris. French Characteris-
tics. Honfleur. Montagne de Grace. Castle of Orcher.
Presale Mutton. Tancarville. Quillebeuf. The Rollo Steamer.
A French lady.
Some time before I set out upon my late jour-
ney to Belgium, Germany, and Italy, I had
occasion to visit Paris on professional business, in
company with my friend Mr. IVIathew Forster,
VOL. I. B
2 PHCENIX STEAMER.
now M. P. for Berwick ; and having learned from
the newspapers that a new and powerful steamer,
the " Phoenix," proposed to waft its passengers in
cio-hteen hours from the Iron Gate Stairs of the
Tower to the port of Havre, I gladly availed
myself of this mode of conveyance, the more es-
pecially as I was thoroughly sick of the old jog-
trot diligence along; the monotonous route from
Calais. I was told that a steamer in communica-
tion with the " Phcenix " would forward me on to
Rouen ; but I had no notion that I could accom-
plish the whole way from London to Paris by
steam, until I actually made the experiment. It is
not a little remarkable that in these days of adver-
tisements and placards, so little should have been
known at this side of the channel of the facilities
which exist for varying the lines and modes of
communication between the two capitals. I ven-
ture to say that not two out of ninety-eight readers
of these pages have ever before heard that, with
the exception of riding about ten minutes in an
omnibus, for which they would pay the sum of six
sous, they might transfer themselves, by the aid of
steam, from the Thames to the Tuileries.
ACCOMMODATIOxXS. 3
Steamers have plied foi* some years between
Havre and Southampton. Witliin the last season
or two, boats of considerable power, the " Queen
Adelaide " and the " Clyde," have been established
between Havre and London. I understood that
the " Phoenix," was specially built for its present
station. It is certainly a very beautiful vessel. The
principal saloon is fitted up in a style of decoration
and luxury, which induced me altogether to forget
that there was but a plank between my bacii and
the sea, wiiile I was stretched out on one of its
magnificent couches. The ladies' room is a bijou .
The furniture, the divans, as they may be called^
the draperies, are of almost oriental sumptuousness
and tempt even the most timoi-ous to repose.
The fare, exclusive of living, is a guinea and a
half. The table is- tolerably well served. In this
department, I am bound to remark, that there is —
or at least was — a disposition to overcharge beyond
all reasonable bounds. Two gentlemen, for in-
stance, ordered by way of luncheon, three mutton
chops, for which eighteen-pence at the utmost
would have been able compensation. They were
set down in tlie bill at four shillings ! an ex-
B 2
4 VOYAGE TO HAVRE.
tortion which was very properly resisted. The
item was then reduced to half its original amount.
The vessel and her engines (of a hundred and
eighty horse power) are of English construction ;
but the property belongs to a French company,
whose members are, I believe, exclusively merchants
residing in Havre. This enterprise is only one of
many in which they are engaged, Havre having
ranked, since the peace, among the most pros-
perous commercial ports of France, and very likely,
sooner or later, to attract to itself much of the
trade which has been hitherto enjoyed by Bor-
deaux.
We started from the Tower about ten o'clock
(7th of June) with fifty passengers, under a bril-
liant sky ; notwithstanding Paddy Murphy's dole-
ful jDrognostics to the contrary, the day, though
cold for the season, was remarkably fine. We
soon overtook and left far behind us the " Clyde,"
which had set out for the same destination an hour
before us. In endeavouring to avoid some small
craft, which we were near running down, we
grounded for a few minutes ; but we backed out of
the sand- bank by reversing the motion of our pad-
ARRIVAL AT HAVRE. 6
dies, and, the tide also coming to our assistance,
we moved on once more at a brilliant pace. Green-
wich Hospital, Gravesend, Heme Bay, ]\Iargate,
the North Foreland, and Ramsgate, successively
displayed their well-known features. We dined
merrily while passing the Downs, and, shooting
through the Straits of Dover, passed into the open
sea, catching here and there through our glasses
shadowy views of Ambleteuse and Boulogne on one
side, and of Dungeness upon the other. The sun
having bidden us a good evening, the stars soon
after told us that it was time to go to bed, a hint
which we took in very good part. There not being
state berths for all of us, mattresses were speedily
arranged in the saloon, and at four o'clock the
following morning, peeping through my window
after a delicious sleep, I found that we were snugly
anchored before Havre.
Our toilet was the work of a few moments. The
Custom-house officers, however, being still wrapped
in profound repose, I presume, some difficulty oc-
curred about our baggage. My friend, INIr. Forster,
who was my compagyion de voyage upon this oc-
casion, agreed with me to commit the care of our
6 HARFLEUR.
effects to a commissioner who had been recommended
to us, and to proceed without delay to Rouen by
the *' Normandie," which was ah'eady getting up
her smoke. We accordinjrlv landed at five o'clock,
and, as the " Normandie " was not to leave until
half-past six, Ave strolled through the town.
Havre is not only advantageously but very
beautifully situated on a part of the coast retiring
towards the south-east from the sea, where the Seine
fully discloses her mouth, and pours forth the full
volume of her waters. In the time of Louis XII.
it was an inconsiderable village — a mere hamlet in
fact, composed of a few fishermen's huts. The
ground upon which its extensive quays, and stores,
and other buildings, now stand, is almost wholly
composed of alluvial deposits brought down in the
course of ages from the interior of the country, and
stopped there by the tide. Harfleur was the prin-
cipal port of Normandy so late as the commence-
ment of the sixteenth century, — Harfleur, which is
now full two English miles at the least from the
sea, and no longer washed even by the current of
the river. This striking geological fact attests the
quantity of matter which the Seine is constantly
RAILROAD TO PARIS. 7
bringing clown from the territory through which it
passes, and is compelled to dispose on eitlier side of
its shores as soon as it meets the irresistible swell of
the ocean. It is evident, moreover, that the roads
of Havre are every year becoming more shallow,
and it may be inferred that the port itself would
soon have to move on farther towards the sea, if the
steam- boat, that most fortunate redresser of the in-
conveniences necessarily incidental to some of the
operations of nature, had not come to its assistance.
Venice, in like manner, was almost excluded from
intercourse with her well-beloved consort the
Adriatic, until the talismaiiic power of steam
restored her conjugal rights. The numerous
villas which shone in the morning beams on the
heiehts around Havre bear witness to the wealth
and numbers of its mercantile community ; and it
is a remarkable circumstance that this same com-
munity have succeeded very lately in extorting from
the government, through the agency of the Chamber
of Deputies, a law for the construction of a railroad
to Paris, which is to be subscribed for according to
the English system of public conijianies. Down
to the connuencement of the last session of the
8 RAILROAD TO PARIS.
French parliament, almost every enterprise of this
kind — roads, canals, bridges — were exclusively in
the hands of government.* But a new era in the
history of France has just begun under our eyes.
Commerce, as in other parts of Europe, has already
overthrown in that country the absolute power of
the sword, and before many years elapse a king
must be contented to reign there upon the same
conditions as he reigns in England. This is a re-
volution peacefully brought about by that worker
of endless miracles, the steam-engine, of whose
potency we can scarcely, even now, though it has
just brought New York half-way over the Atlantic
towards our shores, form any thing like an ade-
quate conception.
The " Normandie " commenced operations on the
Seine in July, 1835. It is a hundred and seventy-
eight French feet in length, and of a hundred and
twenty horse power, — the fare ten francs for the
principal places — for the secondary, six francs —
from Havre to Rouen. There is a restaurateur on
board, so that you can live as you like, breakfast
* It is now in progress of construction, 1843.
FRENCH CHARACTERISTICS. 9
or dine at any hour you please, in cabinets which
are raised upon tlie deck. When we went on board
we found a considerable number of passengers
already assembled there, all French, with three or
four exceptions. A band was also on board, mani-
festly a part of tlie establishment. And here I
could not help noticing a characteristic which
marked at once the decided difference that exists
between the genius of the French and English
people, separated though they be from each other
by so narrow a channel. A set of musicians on
board a Richmond steamer, for instance, would be
just the sort of group we often meet in the streets
of London — one dressed in blue, another in an old
black surtout, a third in a rusty brown coat with a
velvet collar that had seen better days, a fourth
probably in a mariner"'s jacket or a Scotch plaid,
their instruments being a violoncello, a fiddle or
two, a clarionet, and a harp. But the band of the
"Normandie" was all military in its appearance.
Its members were dressed in uniform, a dim grey
turned up with green — a cap perched on the side
of the head over thick curlinj; hair — moustaches
and formidable whiskers which almost concealed
10 HONFLEUR.
the human " face divine," — the instruments, French
horns, trombones, and clarionets. They played
several quadrilles very indifferently, and yet not
without a certain degree of effect, merel}/^ from the
military precision which marked their exertions.
Even the boy who had now and then to cleanse
accidental unsightlinesses from the deck, when he
had accomplished his work, shouldered his mop as
if it had been a firelock.
The bank of the Seine on our right was low and
at first concealed from us beneath a thick mist ; it
was also at a considerable distance, the river being
near the mouth quite as wide as the Thames at
Southend. A white sail glistened here and there
through the mist where a sunbeam found its way.
As we advanced, the country on that side became
more hilly, partly pasture, but chiefly occupied by
woods, amongst which neat cottages were now and
then observable. At half-past seven we arrived op-
posite Honfleur, a town very charmingly situated,
as it commands a full view of Havre and of the sea
on towards the English coast. It wears however
a melancholy aspect, on account of its old-fashioned,
darkly painted wooden houses and chuixhes. Before
MONTACNE DE GRACE. 11
Havre assumed any degree of importance, Ilonflcur
was scarcely inferior to Harfleur. It was the prin-
cipal emporium for colonial produce. Napoleon
visited this place in 1802, with a view to consider
whether it niirjht not be converted to some use in
the progress of the invasion, which he then medi-
tated atrainst Eno-land. But the accumulation of
sand was found so enormous, that the works which
he ordered to be executed there were speedily
abandoned. To the west of the town is a hillock
called the Montague de Grace ; on the summit is a
chapel dedicated to the Virgin, in which the sailors
make vows and offerings before setting out on long
voyages, and express gratitude on their return.
This hillock is said to contain in its bosom the re-
mains of several rare and curious fossils. The
skeleton of an Egyptian ci'ocodile was found in the
sand at its foot some years ago. We approached
near enough to Honfleur (some twenty passengers
being in waiting there for our steamer) to look into
its narrow streets, which appeared to me peculiarly
dismal, though the sun was shining full upon it.
A few fishing-boats were gliding by it at the time.
The Seine suddenly widens immediately above
12 CASTLE OF ORCHER.
Honfleur, making a bold sweep beneath a fine semi-
circle of hills, patches of which are cultivated.
They are, however, for the greater part, covered
with brushwood and heather, through which the
naked cliff often juts out with a picturesque effect.
The beach is sandy, edged above high water with
a border of lively green. On our left we obtained
a distant view of the castle of Orcher, on a lofty
pile of rock — amid the ruins of an ancient fortress,
erected to defend the entrance of the river. A range
of chalky hills extends a considerable way along the
verge of the Seine on that side. The castle is said
to have been the abode of Robert d' Orcher, one of
the chevaliers who accompanied Robert " the Devil"
into Palestine.
The castle of Orcher and its neighbourhood are
much frequented by the good citizens of Havre
during the fine season. It is celebrated for the
magnificent prospect which may be seen from its
western terrace, commanding the whole of the em-
houchure of the Seine, and an uninterrupted view
of the ocean. The rock yields a fountain which is
reputed to possess the power of petrifaction. As
we passed along through this varying panorama,
niESALE MLTTUX. 13
the novelty of the pictures which successively pre-
sented themselves to the eye on either bank of the
noble stream, was not a little heightened by the
pleasant faces • laughing everywhere around me.
The ^ftiters agitated by oui- paddles sparkled gaily
in the sun, while the music of our horns and
clarionets, amongst which a little octave flute poured
occasionally its brilliant notes, tended to dissipate
altogether from the mind every thought that was
not in keeping with the magic of the scene.
Villaiies and small towns, with their churches
and tapering spires, their old-fashioned high-roofed
houses, and white-washed neat cottages, generally
fronted with trellises upon which the vine already
began to spread its foliage, were now numerous on
botli banks of the river. The ranges of elevated
and undulatino; hills between which it maintained
its course reminded me very much of the Hellespont
— exhibiting the same low wooded and heathery
appearance, the naked cliff occasionally piercing
through the scanty vegetation. I understood, how-
ever, that the land immediately behind these hills is
remarkable for its richness. Indeed the pasturage
and valleys beyond Fiquefleur and Saint Sauveur
14 TANCARVILLE.
on our right are famous for a species of mutton
which rivals our South Down ; it is distinguished
in that part of France under the names of Presale
or Beuzeville. The territory beyond the hills on
our left was formerly celebrated for its vines, some
of which, however, only very rarely arrived at
maturity. Small steamers appeared to be engaged
actively in keeping up the communications betv/een
the opposite banks of the Seine, and from town to
town along the river from Fiquelieur. Several
were also occupied in towing vessels, deeply bur-
thened, against the current, destined for Rouen.
The river narrowed rapidly as v/e approached
Tancarville, a rather important and highly pic-
turesque village on our left, which stands on a
promontory so bold, that it appeared at some
distance almost to forbid our further advance by
water. At the foot of the promontory there is a
range of pretty cottages to which the artists of
Paris usually resort in summer to recover their
energies after their labours in the capital, and to
pursue their studies in tranquilHty. The summit
of the chalk rock, wliich rises to a considerable
height, and is precipitous all round, is crowned by
QUILLEBEUF. 15
an ancient castle. Inimediately below is a chateau
in the old French style, with a pair of round towers,
the tops of which arc slated and sharply pointed.
Small boats for fishing were moored near the cot-
tages. The whole scene looked romantic, and
peculiarly favourable to that visionary repose in
which painters and poets are so prone to indulge.
I was scarcely done with noting the beautiful
features of Tancarville on the left, wlien those of
Quillebeuf on the right still more strongly solicited
my admiration. It is the singular charm of this
voyaging by steam, that it is perpetually moving
one onward from scene to scene, whether one
chooses it or not. I own that I should have very
Avillingly lingered an hour or two before Tancar-
ville, enjoying the contemplation of that old castle,
that chateau and its towers, that white cliff shining
in the full blaze of the sun, and the dim woods
whicii appeared climbing the sides of the hills in
the distance. But the paddles would stop for no
such purpose. If a passenger or a bale of goods
were to be delivered over or to be taken in, they
were the most complaisant pieces of machinery in
the world, ceasing their roundabouts in a moment.
16 QUILLEBEUF.
But they have no poetry in their souls. They care
not one straw for all the combinations of hill and
valley, and singing brooks, and pendant foliage,
and laughing groups of children, that ever beguiled
the enthusiast. On they go, splashing the waters
on either side, and bearing the burthen with which
they are charged as rapidly as possible to its final
destination.
If Tancarville seemed to forbid our progress
when we first beheld it, Quiilebeuf appeared still
more resolved to accomplish that inhospitable pur-
pose. It is situated upon a peninsula, beyond
which the river is invisible to the voyager who ap-
proaches it, as we did, from the sea. It is only
here that those extraordinary serpentine windings
terminate, for which the Seine is distinguished
through its whole course as far as Paris — windings
infinitely more involved and circuitous than those
of the Danube. A right line drawn from Paris to
Rouen, and from Rouen to Quiilebeuf, would pass
through no fewer than twenty curves, the devia-
tions of which from the line increase the distance
between the two extremes by at least sixty or
seventy miles, if not more, A few canals, judi-
THE ROLLO STEAMER. 17
ciously cut through the levels which this part of
France presents, would materially benefit the navi-
gation of the river. The railroad, however, about
to be constructed from Paris to Havre, will douljt-
less put an end to all speculations of that descrip-
tion.
To the navigators approaching Quillebeuf from
the other side of the peninsula, this portion of the
river is said to present many dangers, on account
of the number and variations of its sand-banks. It
exhibits rather a handsome and extensive quay,
near which there were several vessels of consider-
able tonnage ranged in due order. It appeared
also to have a steam-boat of its own, desio-nated
under the name of the celebrated Rollo, who little
dreamed in the hours of his many triumphs that his
cognomen would ever be given to a machine worth
all his conquests put together. How tlie old rolj-
ber would be astonished if he could look out of his
tomb, and behold this steamer, with his name
painted upon it, moving without sail or oar against
the rapid current of the river — its cylinder rolling
upwards to the sky volumes of dense smoke, and
its su{erfluous vapour rushing out occasionally
VOL. I. c
18 A FRENCH LADY.
with a hissing sound, as if indignant at the uses to
which it had been subjected ! More passengers from
Quillebeuf.
Winding round the peninsula we found the river
still wide, but narrowing as we proceeded. Small
neat lighthouses appeared disposed at intervals along
the bank on our right, indicating the difficulties
and perils with which the navigation is here
attended. I wished for the pencil of Prout to
sketch the ghost of a windmill which stood on a
height with its tattered sails and its mill-house
crumbling into ruin. While I was endeavouring
to retain a collection of that fantastically pic-
turesque object, a very pretty young French
woman, attended by her husband (they seemed
newly married !) observed me attempting the sketch.
She had learned just English enough to be able to
understand it in reading, and to be ambitious of
using it in conversation. But — innocent little dove !
— she could seldom get beyond a word or two,
which she pronounced in the drollest way in the
world. I forgave her for her pretty presumption
in asking me whether I had never been in France
before ! What a question to a man who, as one of
A FRENCH LADV. 19
my critics has said, had already travelled as much
as Ulysses — a compliment he thought to an author
who had steamed down the Danube and galloped
over the Balkans — feats of which the old Ionian,
I fancy, had but a slender notion, or his son Tele-
machus either.
c 2
20
CHAPTER II.
Lillebone. Our Musicians. Breakfast. Our Waitress. Her
Activity. An Old Maid. Villequier. The Poplar. Caudebec.
A lost Island. Pictures on board. Jumieges. The Giant's
Chair. Signs of Prosperity.
The bank on our right as we advanced became
more and more rocky, clothed here and there with
patches of grass and brushwood. The rock was
wholly composed of chalk, and seemed to have
been cut through at once by a volcanic operation.
In some places it was so high, and deviated so
slightly from the perpendicular, that, while I gazed
upon it from beneath the awning of our vessel, I
might have imagined myself passing through a
tunnel excavated in a mountain. Though we kept
our way at some distance from the bank on our
left, which was comparatively low and open, we
obtained a glimpse of the interesting village (for it
is now no more than a village) of Lillebone. There
LILLEBONE. 21
was in the time of the Romans a rather important
town in the neighbourhood which they called Julia-
Bona, in honour of Julia, daughter of Julius
Ca2sar. Vestiges of a magnificent amphitheatre, of
a splendid bath-room, tombs, coins, swords, masks,
and other memorials of Roman luxury and prowess,
have been discovered there, which confer upon
Lillebone a classical interest. For EnohsJimen it
is, moreover, fraught with historical recollections, as
it was the residence of William the Conqueror at
the period when he resolved upon invading our
shores, and planned the battle of Hastings. It
was always a favourite place of abode of the old
dukes of Normandy. The chateau, by the bye,
Avhich William occupied, now belongs, I believe, to
our noble family of Harcourt, whose ancestors were
formerly lords of the county in which it stands.
The country, as far as I could observe it, seemed
pregnant with all sorts of beauty in that direction
— undulating hills teeming with richness — valleys
watered by limpid streams — extensive woods —
hamlets scattered here and there, — ruins of Roman
and Norman pride contrasted with the full bloom
of nature, which never grows old.
22 OUR MUSICIANS.
We at length left our wall of chalk behind us,
and emerged upon more open territory, the river
still boasting of its amplitude. Poplars now occa-
sionally lined the banks, some of them like palms
without branches, except near the summit, others
tall and tapering reminding me of the cypresses of
the East. Through the trees we had frequent
and pretty views of little hamlets and separate
cottages thatched with straw, the smoke curling
from their chimney-tops, and groups of their
young inhabitants peeping out at our steam-boat
as we glided along to the sound of our clarionets
and horns. And I must do our musicians the
justice to observe, that they appeared to feel the
variations of the scenery through which we passed ;
for the ruined castle they had their martial air;
for the remains of the church or the abbey, their
anthem ; for the spreading plain dotted with
sheep, their pastoral tune; and for the peopled
village, the waltz or the quadrille, which the
French village-girl dearly loves. Even the chil-
dren, the moment they heard the merry sound of
our flute, set off a-dancing — ^bless their blithesome
souls !
BREAKFAST. 23
Orchards, vineyards, meadows, now began to
crowd upon us, and — but it Avas near eight o'clock,
and my friend very rationally suggested to me
that it was high time to get some breakfast. So
we adjourned from our seats on the deck to a
cabinet, where a table spread with a cloth, and
already almost fully occupied by consumers of
mutton-chops and pommes-de-terre, and wine, and
fruit, and all sorts of good things, added not a
little to give a keener edge to the appetite existing
within me, though I had been rendered insensible
to it by the novelty, the beauty, the cheerfulness,
the magical variety of the living panorama, upon
which my imagination had l)een feasting all the
morning. The forethought of a rib of Presale,
or of a moderately-thick slice from the leg of a
Beuzeville, is by no means, however, without its
charms. So we took our seats, and, having or-
dered chops and coffee, waited for our turn to be
served.
The cabinet held some fourteen or fifteen
French, men, women, and children, intently occu-
pied in the business of the moment, — and I must,
in justice to our neighbours, remark that no peo-
24 OUR WAITRESS.
pie in this world, so far as I have observed, make
eating more completely a business than they do.
We had for all only one waiter, or rather waitress ;
a thick stout-built woman of a Flemish aspect,
much more of the man than the woman in her
face, her hands almost as huge and as dirty-
looking as the hoof of an elephant, her almost
inarticulated fingers laden with rings of pure gold.
A gaily-coloured yellow-and-brown-cotton hand-
kerchief was tied round her head, just permitting
her brown hair to be seen at the temples, where it
was decorated with small combs, and at the crown,
where two combs, also of real tortoiseshell, dis-
played her superfluous wealth. Her cheeks were
tanned almost black. Her gown was of strong
brown stuff. She wore two dirty aprons, one of
which was turned up at the corner, the said corner
being fastened under her waist IBand. Her legs
were cased in black woollen stockings, and her feet
moved about, I know not how, in a pair of short
list slippers, which were red some years ago.
Waitress I called her for the want of some other
name ; but it by no means expresses her true ca-
pacity; she waited for nobody, and on nobody;
HER ACTIVITY. 25
everybody seemed, to herself at least, to be under
her command. She had a miserable — Shakspcare's
apothecary-looking-wretch of a man assisting her,
who brought plates, and knives and forks, and all
that ; she took, or rather wrenched, every thing
out of his tremblinfj hands, scoldinff him all the
time with a most voluble tongue and a look of
thunder, before which I wonder how he has so
long survived — poor devil !
It really was curious to observe the steam-like
rapidity and precision with which this lump of
animated matter executed the many offices she was
called upon to perform. Now she appeared with
a heap of plates in her hand, which she dealt
around the table, long as it was, in a moment.
Parties were constantly succeeding each other in
the cabinet. One set called for oysters. She
passed the word to her ghost, who brought them
instanter. Another demanded coffee. Presto, she
was seen pouring it out into the large white cups,
which she had already set in order due. " Wine
— wine !"" cried out a third party. Out she went,
and before you could tell whether she had come
back or not, the wine was on the table. Eau-de-
26 AN OLD MAID.
vie, bifstek, salads, the made their appearance,
when called for, with similar celerity. Knives,
forks, and spoons, I think she must have produced
from her pockets. The bill she reckoned up for
all her different groups of customers without pen
or pencil, or asking what you had ; and this inter-
esting intelligence she contrived to impart to some-
body who presented you with a slip of paper ac-
curately containing the whole charge. Ours was
sufficiently moderate. For coffee, bread, and but-
ter, bifstek (for the mutton-chops were all gone),
pommes-de-terre au naturel (which, by the bye,
we could not use, they were so very natural, not
having been half boiled), and a dozen of oysters,
we paid four francs, and a half. The bifstek was
not bad, but the oysters, like all French oysters,
though lodged in immense shells, were mere em-
bryos, having neither consistence nor flavour.
I could not help being amused by the contrast
to our huge waitress which I found seated on a
bench on the deck, when we emerged from the
cabinet. It was a little, thin, dried-up old maid ;
her feet planted on a stool, her hands folded on
her lap, her body bent almost double ; near her a
VILLEQUIER. 27
small, plain wooden cage, with a few wires in
front, sloping back at tiie top, so as literally to
encase a parroquet on his perch. He must have
been a Quaker parroquet, if such a species the
naturalists acknowledge. From liis perch he could
not stir: no sound escaped his beak, and yet he
looked contented with his lot. Strange to say,
his proprietress (I was going gallantly to say his
fair propnetress, but the epithet would be won-
derfully inappropriate, for she was quite sallow)
seemed equally independent. Her bonnet was of
sky-blue silk^ with a wreath of convolvolus, the
flowep spread out, beneath which she wore a full
double-frilled cap. Her dress was a substantial
diamond-figure olive silk, over which she wore a
plain cashmere shawl.
I found that while we were engaged at break-
er o
fast our steamer had completed its course through
one of those extraordinary bends for which the
Seine is so remarkable. I cannot describe it bet-
ter than by comparing it to th© figure described
by a ball, which a boy flings upon the ground for
another to catch at a short distance from him,
when it rebounds just above his head.
28 VILLEQUIER.
The rebound brought us to Villequier, the pret-
tiest village, unquestionably, I have ever seen. It
is backed by an extensive theatre of rising grounds,
richly wooded. It is composed of a single row of
remarkably neat cottages, which run along the
edge of the river. The hills behind are crowned
by a fine chateau. The cottages were all trel-
lised in front by vines just beginning to spread their
beautiful leaves ; and moored in front of each was
a small boat, denoting, I believe, that the village
is principally inhabited by pilots, whose especial
office it is to conduct vessels from tliis place to La
Mailleray, the navigation at that point being
perilous. Linen, manifestly of a superior texture,
was hanging out to dry. Pretty well-dressed
women were busily engaged in arranging it on the
lines. Neatly clad urchins, with their red cloth
caps, were paddling about in boats, or playing in
the gardens attached to the cottages. It was
altogether a scene which gladdened the heart, and
fixed itself in the memory like a vision, or like one
of those enchanting vistas which Claude sometimes
shews through a forest. The country on the
opposite side, that is on our right, was open, and
THE POPLAR. 29
ratlicr marshy, long lines of poplar in the dis-
tance.
The bank on our right presented a similar
character for several leagues — low — here and there
marshy, and overgrown with reeds, occasionally
yielding good pasturage, u})on which sheep and
cows were feasting in great numbers, and univer-
sally lines of poplar trees, sometimes in squares,
more generally running straight along the river,
and bearing those palm and cypress forms which I
have already noticed. France may, indeed, be
deemed peculiarly the land of the poplar. I con-
fess I like it. There is something of a lofty melan-
choly about it, when its branches are in deep repose,
that touches my fancy. The slightest breath of air
elicits a gentle sound from them, and their tremulous
leaves wave together in the breeze, like the abundant
locks of a shepherdess pursuing a straying sheep
over the mountain. The pastoral airs of our
musicians were quite dehcious amid these sylvan
scenes.
We had scarcely done talking of the beauties of
Villequier, when Caudebec came within our hori-
zon. It is situated at the foot of a mountain, the
30 CAUDEBEC.
heights of which are crowned with forests. The
little river St. Gertrude comes sparkling down the
declivities, dividing itself into several streams,
which mingle with the Seine. The houses are
built on terraces, planted with the arbutus and
other flowering shrubs ; and the windows being for
the most part shaded from the noon-day sun by
Venetian blinds, all of Avhich appeared to have been
freshly painted, it had more the appearance of an
Italian than a French town, paint being a decora-
tion very sparingly used by our neighbours. The
public walk is well shaded by elm-trees, through
which the parochial church and its magnificent
tower were seen in their most picturesque point of
view. In the days of our perpetual wars with the
Normans, Caudebec was strongly fortified, and
cost our armies no little trouble. The fortifica-
tions, which were in an amphitheatrical form, have
been converted into gardens, and lend a singularly
beautiful feature to the scene. The church is in
the Gothic style. The principal portal is a model
of elegance. The tower looks Moresque, being
surmounted by three crowns, which remind one
of the Pope's tiara. Henry the Fourth said that
A LOST ISLAND. 31
it was the most beautiful cluirch he had ever
beheld. In the Chapel of the Virgin, within tliis
edifice, is preserved the marble slab which onco
covered the tomb of Agnes Sorel — by some good
fortune it was rescued from the ruins of the cele-
brated abbey of Jumieges, which we shall come to
presently.
A small island formerly existed immediately in
front of Caudebec, upon which a monastery was
erected belonging to the order of St. Wandrille.
The island, monastery, monks and all, suddenly
disappeared one fine morning — strange to say, it
reappeared as suddenly in the year 16-il, but was
soon after buried again beneath the waters, from
which it has never since emerged. The Seine and
its banks undoubtedly present ample materials for
geological speculation.
On we go — right bank still flat and marshy— on
the left shepherds and boys engaged in washing
slieep preparatory to the process of slicaring — here
and there clusters of cottages — the country elevated
— heights thickly wooded — now and then knolls
prettily cultivated — at intervals small lighthouses
on an economical scale — again we seem shut in
32 PICTURES ON BOARD.
within a lake — but there is nothing like perse-
verance. The river again opens, and our un-
poetical paddles, permitting us only a distant and
transitory glance at the ruins of the abbey of St.
Wandrille — a member of the renowned family of
Pepin, who preferred these solitudes to all the
feudal splendours of a court — impel us onward to
La Mailleray, where we stop some moments to get
rid of one boat load of passengers, and take in
another. It has a splendid old chateau, and the
spire of its church looks well through a cluster of
shady trees. Just beyond La Mailleray we find
Guerbaville, the principal station on the Seine for
the construction of those lighters which carry on
the traffic between Havre and Rouen. We sav\^
several of these boats in course of completion. It
is a place becoming every day of more importance,
and marks the immense strides which France has
taken since the peace as a commercial nation.
Pass an odd-lookinar chateau on the right —
windows narrow, edged with glaring red bricks —
corners of the buildino^ decorated with similar
materials — the intervening spaces as white as lime
could make them. The banks on both sides low
JUMIEGES. 33
— ruws of poplars as usual — liills in the distance far
— far away. My friend, the old maid, is chatting
with a tall, courtly seigneur of the days that are now
no more. His queue, his long coat, his silver hairs,
his gold-headed cane, and his richly chased snuff-
box, accord well with the polished ease of his con-
versation. My lady takes a pinch of his snuft'
quite comfortably. The parroquet looks as happy
as a prince. Just behind this precious trio is a
pretty lump of a child, her hair tied in blue riband
— her fingers playing with the strings of her high,
strong shoes — her smiling little maid carefully
watching her, and, at the same time, knitting a
stocking with all her might.
The river narrows — there they are — the ruins of
Juniieges ! — the royal abbey, as it might be called,
not merely from its extent and the feudal powers
which its priors wielded in the middle ages, but
from its having been the residence of more than one
exiled monarch. It was the state prison of various
dukes and princes first robbed of their dominions,
and then accused of high treason. Tiie eastern ex-
tremity of the abbey is a mere heap of ruins, but
enough of the great central tower, and of the
VOL. I. D
34 JUMIEGES.
towers of the portal, still remains to attest the
splendour by which the establishment was dis-
tinguished in the days of its pride. Alas .' while
I gaze upon its ancient ivy-mantled walls, round
which numbers of birds are hovering, the sacred
pile is rapidly receding from my view, but not
without compensation, for in no part of the Seine,
perhaps, is the panorama more romantic than
immediately above Jumieges. Poplars, willows,
olive trees, seem to have been planted by the hand
of Nature herself with a view to picturesque effect
amidst abrupt hills, and undulating vales watered
by meandering brooks, and animated by cottages,
and herds and flocks, goats and sheep, sometimes
climbing the neighbouring declivities, sometimes
reposing by the side of the river. The tinkle of
the sheep-bell was constantly in the ear, mingled
with the joyous shouts of children who ran out to
gaze upon our " Normandie," as she rushed against
the flowing stream.
In some of the chalk cliffs on our left, dwellings
were excavated, which appeared to be inhabited.
The chalk formations are very curiously mixed
with other rocks immediately beyond Dueler,
THE GIANT'S CHAIR. 85
There is one of these white cliffs particularly which
stands out boldly from the side of the hill, and is
not inappropriately called " The Giant''s Chair ;"''
for though at first a shapeless mass to the eye, it
opens gradually out until it assumes the appearance
of an immense arm-chair, fit for Go(j or IMaffOir to
take a nap in after dining upon a fat ox or two.
Other rocks of the same material looked like the
giants themselves.
Those who take delight in romantic scenery
will find ample gratification in the whole way from
Dueler to Rouen. Islands, thickly wooded — pen-
insulas jut'ting into the river, and forming ap-
parent lakes — groups of poplars, enclosing gardens
that remind one of the Hesperides — numerous
boats, their white sails spread to the breeze — cot-
tages, the walls of which are composed partly of
wooden beams, in the Swiss style, painted red or
black, the gables towards the river — lofty rocks
thrown into all sorts of ftintastic shapes, combine to
tell a story of their own, to which a true lover of
the " wild and wonderful " would listen with a
rapture he had never felt before.
For the more practical order of minds the same
D 2
36 SIGNS OF PROSPERITY.
portion of the Seine also possesses its charms.
Heaps of newly-manufactured bricks submitted to
the indurating powers of the furnace — pilef of fire-
wood collected for embarkation — groups of lighters
becalmed and laden with the produce of all parts
of the world — windmills busy on the heights —
stesLm-rafis of two or three tiers bearing passengers
for a few sous from Dueler to Rouen, or from
Rouen to Dueler — rocks yielding to the crow-bar
of the quarryman, and transforming under the
chisel of the stone-cutter — orchards, olive grounds,
vineyards — every sign of industry, and every em-
blem of prosperity that can bespeak a great and
growing nation, abound the whole way, until the
spires and steeples of Rouen rise upon the view.
37
CHAPTER III.
A Steam Raft. Its Construction. Robert-le-Diable. Rouen.
Tower of the Cathedral. A Magic Mirror. Trade of Rouen.
Hill of St. Catherine. Curious Carvings. Rouen Museum.
Dorade Steamer. Elbeuf. An English Artist. A French
Artist. Young France. An Octogenarian.
The steam raft mentioned Avas a curiosity in
its way. I have not seen any thing like it else-
where, and it might be introduced upon some of
our canals and rivers with creat advantage. Two
narrow boats of considerable length placed side by
side, leaving a space of about three feet between
them, support a platform which extends several
feet beyond their outward sides. They are urged
forward by a single wheel, which is placed between
the two boats, near the poops, where the steam
machinery is also arranged. The lower platform
sustains another, the interval between them being
partly occupied by what is called the parlour, or
38 A STEAM RAFT.
principal cabin. Beyond tlie cabin there is an open
space for passengers of a secondary class, and also
a space railed off for cattle, sheep, and poultry.
The upper platform is entirely open, and dedicated
to passengers of the third class. The parlour-
people pay twelve sous ; those on the open deck
in front of them, six sous ; and those on the upper
deck only three sous ; the latter station was
crowded. Indeed every part of the raft seemed to
be fully occupied. It presented a most extraor-
dinary appearance altogether, from its Noah-like
simplicity, belonging to the antediluvian ages, and
yet propelled by the most admirable of all inven-
tions appertaining to the time in which we live.
It moved forward with great rapidity, the mouth,
if such it might be called, formed between the two
prows, swallowing the stream continually, which
it discharged in foam behind, after being operated
upon by the paddles. The helmsman exercised a
complete control over its movements, directing it
here and there, with the utmost facility, amongst
the islands and near the villages, to take up fresh
passengers. Its slender chimney, its burthen of
animals of every degree, its reappearance after be-
ITS CONSTRUCTION. 39
ing occasionally lost among the islands, the rusti-
city of its form, very plainly constructed and
painted all white, its great velocity, as it seemed,
from its slight draught, to skim over the surface of
the stream, attracted general admiration. It looked
like a peasant-girl endowed by nature with all the
solid and useful accomplishments of civilized life.
There are two of these rafts which ply three
times a-day between La Bouille and Rouen. Ex-
cept so far as the steam machinery is concerned,
they are said to be very old acquaintances of the
Seine in this direction, their existence being trace-
able as far back as the middle of the seventeenth
century ; they are called by the Normans " boat-
coaches,*" bateaUiT-coches.
I ought to have before noticed, a little beyond
La Bouille, the village of IMoulineux, seated on
the declivity of a mountain, behind which extends
the forest of La Lande, celebrated in the middle
ages for the robberies and assassinations of which
it was the theatre. On the summit of an abrupt
hill are seen the ruins of an old castle built by one
of the Dukes of Normandy to defend the passage
of the river ; it is called the castle of llobert-le-
40 ROBERT-LE-DIABLE.
Diable, of whom many traditions are related, de-
monstrative of his perfect right to the title which
is added to his name. The frowning forest of La
Lande was the favourite scene of his adventures ;
from its dark recesses he rushed out upon the tra-
velling merchants of those days, and, after plun-
dering them of their property, he conveyed them
into its shades, whence they never emerged again.
The beauteous and retired banks of the Seine were
in those days much sought after, as sites for con-
vents and monasteries, by the religious of both
sexes. Amongst other audacious feats ascribed to
Robert, it is told that he broke periodically into
the nunneries in his neighbourhood, selected its
most attractive inmates, bore them away to his
bowers in the interior of the forest, and, after ren-
dering them the victims of his violent passions,
dismissed them with their bosoms mutilated in the
most barbarous manner. This outlaw is not to be
confounded with another Duke of Normandy, the
father of the " Conqueror," who lived some three
hundred years after ; and who, for some reason or
another, bore occasionally the same title, although
the reverse of the fiend in all things.
ROUEN. 41
We landed at Rouen soon after one o'clock, and,
having taken up our quarters at the Grand Hotel,
we proceeded forthwith to see the "lions'" of the
place, under the auspices of an English Cicerone,
the least talkative of the Tullian race I had yet
encountered. Rouen is undoubtedly one of the
most interesting cities in Europe. Its situation,
in the midst of undulating hills, teeming with na-
tural wealth, and diversified by scenery of the
most enchanting description ; its famed cathedral
and churches; its narrow lofty streets, built in the
fantastic styles of the middle ages ; the many cu-
rious old wooden edifices which strike the eye
in every quarter, present to the traveller many
objects well calculated to arrest his attention and
to gratify his curiosity.
It may be remembered that a few years ago, a
great part of the principal tower of the cathedral
was struck down by the electric fluid during a tre-
mendous storm. The damage has been since re-
paired in a most extraordinary manner — a manner
peculiarly French. An imitation of the former
summit, which was remarkable for its light and
airy appearance in consequence of its being pierced
42 TOWER OF THE CATHEDRAL.
through in every possible direction, has been framed
in cast-iron ; and this awful pile has been planted
on that portion of the old tower which survived
the tempest. I say awful, because it is calculated
to attract the lightning so powerfully when the
storm shall again collect its force in the neighbour-
hood of Rouen ; and, should vibration take place,
and the mass tumble, as it seems always threaten-
ing to do, the devastation it must produce would
be terrific. The difference of its colour from the
lower part of the tower, and from that of the sacred
edifice in general, is a deformity which no lapse of
time can remedy.
The interiors of the cathedral, and of the church
of St. Ouen, their richly-painted windows, their
vaulted roofs, their chapels, monuments, and altars,
we had merely time to glance at. They are so cele-
brated for the effect which they were intended to
produce — the instant diversion of the mind from
the ordinary affairs of life, and the impulsion of its
faculties to the contemplation of all that awaits us
in other worlds— that, even had leisure permitted
me to examine them in detail, I should have re-
served the memory of them in my own bosom.
A MAGIC MIRROR. 43
The subjects have been made so coniinon-placL" by
architectural tourists and professed book-makers,
tliat I could scarcely hope to redeem tlioni from
the jargon in which they have been involved.
There is a holy water vase at the entrance of the
church of St. Ouen, which is called tiie ma<ric
mirror — a name it well deserves ; when quite full,
as it happened to be when I saw it, it reflects the
whole roof so perfectly, that you feel, while look-
ing upon its surface, as if the beauteous pile were
suddenly turned upside down. The vessel is
placed precisely in the spot in which alone this
optical effect could have been created ; its posi-
tion is said to have been entirely accidental.
Tokens of the new industry of France are abun-
dantly manifest in the new buildings which are
seen by the river-side, and in the various manufac-
tories which have been erected at a short distance
from the town. The new custom-house is a superb
structure. It is a careful provision of the autho-
rities that the manufactories should have been kept
at some distance from the town. They are ranged
one after another with gardens and fields between
them, so as to mitigate the nuisance of their smoke
44 TRADE OF ROUEN.
as much as possible. The river in front of the mag-
nificent quay was crowded with shipping of con-
siderable burthen. A new suspension bridge, the
quay covered with all kinds of merchandise, nu-
merous shops filled with goods set out in the most
tempting array, many having long streamers of
gaily-coloured silks and cottons suspended from the
upper windows, streets constantly traversed by cars,
and waggons, and carriages, and a population in-
tent upon business, served at once to indicate the
decided change which has converted a strong mili-
tary fortress into an emporium of trade.
Before the revolution of 1789 Rouen was a place
of ramparts, ditches, castles, towers, bastions, case-
ments, drawbridges, and fortified gates. All these
emblems of strife have nearly disappeared. The
ancient physiognomy of the town has been wholly
altered ; with the exception of the churches and
the old wooden houses, few things now remain to
attest the antiquity of this once formidable strong-
hold of the Norman dynasties.
We dined at the table d'hote of our hotel —
which, by the bye, I would recommend all travel-
lers to do, for a better-served table I have sel-
HILL OF ST. CATHERIx\£. 45
dom i)Lvn in France — and, in the evening, drove
as far as we could, and walked the remainder of
the way, until we c()ni})leted the ascent of the hill
of St. Catherine, which commands a complete view
of Rouen and of the country in its neighbourhood.
The prospect fully rejxnd our toil. The sun,
which was just setting behind the town, lent a so-
lemn lustre to the roofs and steeples of the sacred
edifices with which Rouen abounds, the hiuh nar-
row streets being at the same time involved in
shade. The winding river was seen to a consider-
able distance, here covered with shipping, there
stealing its course through green pastures, now
darkening under the coming night, now borrowing
the red and purple colours of the clouds which
canopied the descending orb.
The ground on which we stood was once a for-
tress ; a portion of its castle still remains standing,
though much shattered by the lightning. The
walls are overthrown and covered with grass, and
the mounds visible on all sides clothed with ver-
dure, bear witness to the importance formerly at-
tached to the possession of this hill by the chival-
rous rulers of Normandy. Villas and new houses
46 CURIOUS CARVINGS.
of various descriptions appeared to be in progress
-of erection in the suburbs, and, had it not been
for that terrible eye-sore — the cast-iron topping of
the cathedral tower — I should have said that the
picture presented to our view combined features
of beauty and grandeur scarcely excelled by any
-other city I have seen in Europe — Constantinople
and Naples only excepted. That monstrosity does
all it can to mar the magic of the scene.
The traveller should not fail to visit the place
where the Maid of Orleans was so iniquitously
sacrificed, the more especially as near it he will
find a remarkably curious old mansion, called
" The Hotel du Bourgtheroude," which has puz-
zled all the antiquaries who have yet written about
Kouen. On two of the walls of the court-yard
are some bas-reliefs, executed in the rudest and
most clumsy style of the art, and yet possessing a
fastastic boldness and an expression of character
which strongly rivet the attention. One set of
these carvings represents the celebrated interview
between our Henry the Eighth and Francis the
First. The attempt to exhibit in stone the field
spread with the cloth of gold is very droll. The
ROUEN MUSEUM. 47
figures of the kings and their attendants are really
well laboured out, and several of the horses are
chiselled with no common spirit; but the whole
scene presents an a^^pect irresistibly comic. The
other compartment of the work is occupied with
pictures of pastoral life — men cutting down corn
— mowing iiay — ploughing — driving sheep to the
fold — and followinfr the various avocations of the
country. The whole scene reminded us of the
clown at Astley's theatre, who imitates the master
professor of the circus with a dexterity which,
though rude in its way, is still well worthy of the
laughing admiration it seldom fails to acquire.
The museum, also, of llouen, and the public
library, offer many objects worth inspection. The
former contains a considerable number of paintings,
the gift of Napoleon, selected from the Flemish,
Dutch, German, French, Italian, and Spanish
schools. In the library it is stated that there are
above a thousand manuscripts, amongst which I
had the good fortune to get a peep at the cele-
brated " Gradual," written by a Benedictine monk,
and illuminated in a style of matchless elegance.
A Garadul is a volume which contains a series of
48 ROUEN MUSEUM.
anthems, chiefly in the Gregorian note, and used
at mass and vespers in the Catholic church. The
first letters of the anthems are ornamented with
designs of the most exquisite beauty. The work,
which is upon vellum, is said to have employed
the leisure hours of the writer during a period of
thirty years. The museum and the library oc-
cupy apartments in the ancient Abbey of St. Ouen,
an extensive as well as a very stately edifice, which
has been used for several years as the hotel de
ville. There are large gardens attached to it,
which, though now used as a public promenade,
seem to have been well calculated to encourage
religious meditation. The views from the library
windows of the mountains in the neighbourhood of
Rouen are pregnant with all the charms of tran-
quillity.
It will be confessed, I think, that we were not
inactive during our short stay at Rouen. A fort-
night or three weeks might, indeed, be very plea-
santly engaged in examining this most interesting
town and the scenery for some leagues around it.
We had but a few hours to devote to any such
purpose. We remained there but one night. Quit-
DORADE STEAMER. 49
ting our beds at the early liour of three the follow-
ing morning, we embarked on board the " Doradc,"
so called from the fish of that name (the John
Dory, as we style it), which is said to be abundant
in this part of the Seine, and also of a peculiarly
fine flavour. The " Dorade " is an iron steamer,
about two hundred English feet in length, and at
midships twenty feet across, exclusive of the paddle-
boxes. It terminates in a point at both ends, and
is of forty-horse power. We found but few first-
place passengers on board. There were, however,
some twenty or thirty sturdy-looking rustics in
the rear, rather above the order of labouring pea-
santry, and yet not quite the yeoman in appear-
ance. I was told that the average daily number
of passengers by the boats which ply from Rouen
to Paris was about fifty. The first places are
twelve francs, the second nine. There is a restaura-
teur on board, so that, as in the " Normandie,'"' you
can dine very much according to your own taste.
The " Dorade,'' as well as the other boats on this
station, are necessarily narrow, as they have to pass
through the arches of several old bridges, to the
VOL. I. E
50 ELBEUF.
builders of which it never occurred to make any
provision for iron steam-boats.
We did not get away until about half-past four
A.M. The morning was remarkably cold, consider-
ino- that we were near midsummer. The wind
blew keenly from the east, and compelled us to
wrap ourselves in our cloaks. The ruin-crowned
eminences on our left teemed with the histories of
sieges and battles of former days ; in the midst shone
out the pretty chapel of the Virgin, seated, as if to
Avitness the meek triumph and uninterrupted con-
tinuance of religion through all the vicissitudes of
barbarian ages. The banks of the river on our
right were low and evidently subject to inundations,
which, although they contributed to fertilize the
land, left behind them marshes, said to be produc-
tive of malaria. An enormous winding of the river
took us down to Elbeuf, and then up in a parallel
course to Pont-de-1'Arche. Elbeuf has been long
celebrated for its fine cloth manufactures. The re-
vocation of the Edict of Nantes suspended their
prosperity for some time, by compelling its inha-
bitants, who are principally Huguenots, and almost
all engaged in that trade, to take refuge in Eng-
AN ENGLISH ARTIST. 51
laiul. During the early stages of the llevolution,
howivcr, the factories gradually resumed their for-
mer activity ; they extended rapidly after the sepa-
ration of Belgium from France, and they now aiford
occupation to five or six thousand persons of both
sexes and every age. The town is very agreeably
situated in a valley, overlooked by a chain of moun-
tains, well wooded throughout their whole extent.
One of Prout's most picturesque sketches of tlie
Seine is the Pont-de-1'Arche. A fine old bridge of
twenty arches extends from a little above the con-
fluence of the Seine with the Eure, and at the
same time passes over three branches of the former
river. It is said to have been erected so long ago
as the year 854. An ancient mill and church come
with great effect into the picture, and render it,
perhaps, the most interesting object between Rouen
and Paris. Amongst our English companions on
board, I detected one of our most accomplished
artists, in consequence of the enthusiasm with
which he admired this scene, and of the happy
phraseology which he used in pointing out its most
strikino- features to his wife and two female friends
bv w!iom he was accompanied. He turned out to
E 2
52 AN ENGLISH ARTIST.
be an old acquaintance of Mr. Forster ; and so we
all forthwith concluded a league of friendship, as if
we had known each other a hundred years. Mrs.
M was, if I might say so, quite a devotee to
the beauties, and still more to the antiquities and
legends, of the Seine. She had traversed it re-
peatedly — had stopped and roamed about for days
among its most storied towns and villages — had
collected many traditions from the elderly people
whom she had met everywhere — and was full of all
sorts of information, which to me was new and ex-
citing. The party, moreover, did me the favour to
say, that they had been already rendered quite
familiar with me through my voyage on the Da-
nube. It is indeed a compensation for many of the
ills of life thus to meet persons, strange to my eye
most friendly to my heart, by reason of the commu-
nication previously established between us through
the instrumentality of literature.
The bank on our right, hitherto monotonous,
began to be varied by bosomy undulations, soon
after we quitted Pont-de-rArche. Through some
of these eminences chalk formations occasionally
broke out ; but, for the most part, they were clothed
A FRENCH ARTIST. 53
with verdure, and presented at their feet lines of
poplars, the picturesque character of which I had
to defend against my fellow-voyagers, who almost
continually denounced them as a nuisance.
From the poplars our attention was directed to
a young French artist, who was sitting, as he con-
ceived, in a most striking attitude, near one of the
paddle-boxes, holding in his right-hand a tortoise-
shell, silver-headed cane, his left arm akimbo, one
lefj thrown over the other, his hair hancrincj in thick
ringlets over his shoulders, and on the top of his
heatl a little soft, yellow, round hat, or rather cap,
with a narrow edge turned'in all round. The hat
was less on the top than on the side of his pericra-
nium, where it hung with an air of coxcombry that
was exquisitely ludicrous. This is a style which
has been recently affected by the young artists of
France. The cut of the coat is also peculiar, the
object of the whole costume being to imitate the
portraits of Raffaelle as closely as a slight defer-
ence to modern fashion will permit. Thus they
separate themselves from the general mass of the
community ; wherever they meet they ai'e enabled
to recognize each other, and they flatter themselves
54 YOUNG FRANCE.
that their moustaches and whiskered cheeks and
chins, aided by a studious, pensive, languishing
look, render them irresistible to the ladies. The
inconsistency between the self-importance assumed
by this specimen of " young France," and his seat
near the paddle-box, where he was mixed up with
the motley groups of the secondary class of pas-
sengers, was not the least striking feature of the
exhibition which he presented to my friend M ,
who by stealth copied him off capitally.
Another character, or rather pair of characters,
we had on board, consisted of an elderly French
gentleman of the ancien rtgiw,e^ and his fat, dum-
pling-looking, neatly-capped and shawled house-
keeper. He appeared bordering close on his
seventy-fifth summer, enjoying a green old age, a
buoyant cheerful temper, a good appetite, and his
manners were of the most amiable and engaging
description. His companion made him put on his
cloak whenever she thought the wind blew too
keenly — and, undoubtedly, he had much occasion
for it ; as, although the sun shone out in a perfectly
cloudless sky, whenever we became, by the wind-
ings of the river, fully exposed on the eastern side.
AN OCTOGENARIAN. 56
the cold was more piercing than I ever felt it even
in Deceml)er. If the temperature varied, she took
olf the cloak again, and, folding it up neatly, held
it in her lap until he again required it. Her ser-
vices were all performed with a degree of recognized
authority, but, at the same time, with a manifest
feeling of respect and affection which were beautiful
in their way. When he slept, she shut her eyes and
nodded too ; when he awoke, she also brightened
up, as if by magnetic sympathy. The contrast
between them was complete — he a tall, slender, ve-
nerable, very gentlemanly-looking person ; she a
short, thick-built woman, cleanly and substantially
dressed, a stout gold ring: on the second finn-er of
her right-hand, but altogether a personage much
superior to our waitress of the " Normandie.'''
They breakfasted comfortably together on a potage,
and a bottle of the best vin de Macon, which she
reconnnended him to take in preference to another
he had named. She thought, good soul ! that the
Macon would do him more good. I observed that
she did not forget to help herself.
It is no uncommon thing for octogenarians in
France to go about attended by domestiqiies of
5Q AN OCTOGENARIAN.
this description ; in walking through the streets of
Paris, they are followed by these faithful nurses,
who carry their cloaks and umbrellas for them, and
warn them at the crossings, lest they should knock
a foot against a stone or be run down by a cab.
"When the master pays a visit, she sits in the hall,
or in a separate room, maintaining a certain degree
of state of her own, apart, indeed, from him,
but also distinguished from the rank of a menial
servant.
o/
CHAPTER IV.
Conveniences of Steamers. Prolongation of Life. German Phi-
losophy. Ternon. Animated Scenery. Paucitj- of Birds.
Paddles of the Dorade. Roch-Guyon. Count d'Enghien.
La Belle Mantes. Arrival at Paris.
By the bye, let us here observe one of the results
of steam-navigation, with reference to its probable
agency in extending the duration of human life.
Assuming that the gentleman whom I have just
noticed was obliged by his affairs to take a journey
from Rouen to Paris — if there had been no steam-
boat, he must have gone in the diligence, or posted
perhaps in his own carriage. He apjDcared to be
rheumatic, and very feeble ; if he had been shut
up in a carriage, and subjected to its motion, the
effect upon his health could not have been other-
wise than injurious; fQ\Qr, fatigue, loss of appe-
tite, would have tended to impair the little strength
that remained to him ; he might have had uneasy,
58 PROLONGATION OF LIFE.
interrupted slumbers, but he could not have slept;
whereas, on board the " Dorade,"" he had his couch
to go to when he pleased, whereupon to extend his
limbs — he had the deck to walk upon — the open
air to inhale — his meals when he liked — his bottle
of Medoc — and his domestique to cloak or uncloak
him, as the varying temperature of the day re-
quired. He suffered no more inconvenience in go-
ing to Paris by the steamer than he would have
had to encounter in his own house. Let the insur-
ance-offices look to it ; steamers will, I suspect, be
found no friends to their annuities.
Our secondary passengers appeared to be prin-
cipally mechanics and agriculturists — all well-built
men, in good condition, and comfortably dressed —
especially the farmer-looking men, who seemed to
have plenty of money. When the fare was de-
manded all round, they usually pulled out from
their waistcoat-pockets a cotton handkerchief well
stored with five-franc pieces. When the operation
of payment was over — a duty performed on one
side with a reluctance very little in keeping with
the avidity betrayed on the other — they diligently
knotted the handkerchief again, and stuffed it into
GERMAN PHILOSOPIIV. 59
the pocket whence it had been drawn. The lump
must have been inconvenient in sucli a place, but
I presume they like it, as a constant evidence that
their treasure is in safety.
As we glided along aniidst scenery ever new and
beautiful, we kept up a smart fire of conversation
upon all sorts of topics — the transcendental school
of Germany — to me an entire mystery — the perva-
sion of the electric soul of love throughout all na-
ture, in which I am a firm believer — the faculty of
consciousness bestowed upon all creatures, from
man down to the most minute gnat that dances
quadrilles in the sun-beams — of which said con-
sciousness I am also a decided advocate, as a power
of thought altogether separate from that which be-
longs to the human mind, and ceasing witii the
death of the inferior creature — the luxurious at-
tractions of the John-Dory for my namesake, the
well-known player — and a hundred other subjects.
We passed under a very handsome suspension-
bridge, near Chateau Gaillard : the ruins of tliat
celebrated castle present to the view a remarkably
imposing and picturesque object. It was origin-
ally erected by our Richard Cceur-de-Lion, to de-
60 VERNON.
fend his Norman possessions against France. It
was in one of its dungeons that Margaret of Bur-
gundy was strangled for her debaucheries. Near
it is the very beautiful town of Andelys, where
Poussin was born. A little shabby house is shewn
there, upon which lustre nevertheless dwells, be-
cause it is said to have been once the abode of
Corneille — such is tlie power of poetry ! Blan-
chard, the aeronaut, and Brunei, the engineer, are
understood also to have first seen the light at An-
delys. The hospital founded there by the Duke
of Panthievre, grandfather of the present King of
the French, is a most splendid pile, looking much
more Oriental than European. Mr. M ad-
mitted that my cypress-looking poplars, grouped
near this magnificent structure, added materially
to its picturesque effect.
Winding up the river we reach the town of Ver-
non, which, from a petty village, was converted
into a place of great strength by our Henry the
First. An enormous tower, in which the archives
of the district are now preserved, lifts its head like
a hoary warrior of those sanguinary ages. The
streets are wretchedly built, but the antiquity of
ANIMATED SCENERY. 61
the houses, its very beautiful parish church, and
its commanding situation, render Vernon an object
of marked interest in the panorama through which
we ai'e niovin^. Tlie bridy-e is one of the oldest
Structures of the kind on the river; in consequence
of some concussion to which it was subjected, one
of the arches was bent out of its place altogether ;
the modern restorer — instead of taking the whole
arch down, left the deformity just as it was, and
filled in the vacuum made by its displacement — a
truly French idea, worthy of the men who con-
ceived the idea of the iron summit to the tower of
the Rouen cathedral.
By noon we experienced some approach to the
genial temperature of summer; patches of grey
cloud were scattered here and there upon a dark
green sky ; great numbers of swallows were sport-
ing everywhere around us ; on either side were
fields of a rich emerald green, interspersed with
patches of a yellow flower, the seeds of which yield
oil. The contrast between the two lively colours,
and the chasins: of shadow after shadow as the
clouds passed over them, lent to the scene a magi-
cal variety.
62 ANIMATED SCENERY.
Out sounds the bell whenever we approach a
village or a town ; then the groups assembling on
the shore — the joy of friends meeting — the adieus
of friends separating — the sudden disappearance of
the one party from the other before they half finish
the talk which they had just renewed — the whirl
of the boat from fields glowing with herbage
amongst rugged rocks or mural precipices of chalk,
over whose snowy summits troops of jackdaws are
hovering — habitations, and even churches, exca-
vated in the hills — vineyards, planted on the slopes
where the southern sun seems to sleep — the alter-
nations of fertility and barrenness — the distant
vistas through clumps of trees and through arches
of bridges — the spires of churches, from which oc-
casionally flies the tri-coloured flag — old high-
roofed chateaus, with their straight avenues — these,
and a thousand other objects in the panorama, the
pencil in vain attempts to preserve. The slightest
movement of the helm to the one side or the other
imparts to the whole a new combination of features,
which the wild deviations of the current again tend
to diversify. Castles, and towers, and mountains
appear to turn themselves round on all sides, as if
PAUCITY OF BIRDS. C3
they were rivals in their claims upon our admira-
tion ; but lo ! just as we are about to decide to
which the j)rcference ought to be given, they all,
with a sort of flirting sauciness, bid us good-bye !
How very few birds one sees or hears in France !
With the exception of the swallows and jackdaws
just noticed, I saw none. At Rouen, I heard the
cuckoo ; but we all miss the twittering sparrow,
the joyous thrush and blackbird, the goldfinch,
and the other gay and musical visitors of our Eng-
lish woods and hedges. Absent too is that chorus
of insects, which in the summer-time seldom fail to
sing their vespers to the Creator in our own firma-
ment.
Many questions have been lately raised as to the
most advantageous mode of constructing steam-
boat paddles. Experiments performed by direction
of the Admiralty have developed a most unexpected
result, clearly demonstrating that the paddle-boards
hitherto employed have been much larger than is
required, and that vessels have been most unneces-
sarily shaken and the engines strained in conse-
quence. The constructors of the " Dorade" thought
that they could not make her paddle-boards suffi-
64 PADDLES OF THE DORADE.
ciently extensive. The arches of the bridges
through which she had to pass somewhat restrained
their ambition, but they endeavoured to compen-
sate the supposed evil as far as they could, by
ffiving; the board a direction divergent from the
axis. The consequence was, the vessel trembled
through all her joints at every stroke. Another
result was less disagreeable. The board struck the
water at an angle, which threw off the element be-
yond the outer edge in an arch of sharp light par-
ticles. Observing this,- I immediately looked for
the prismatic bow beneath, and there I found it,
larger or smaller as the course of the vessel changed
in relation to the sun. Sometimes a perfect circle
of the prismatic colours was formed in the bosom
of the river ; sometimes a bow which darted in and
out. We amused ourselves by contemplating this
additional proof, though none was required, of the
solution which science has long since given of the
phenomenon of the rainbow. A circle produced
by similar causes I had never seen before, and I
found that it was equally novel to the men belong-
ing to the vessel.
But here we are at Roche-Guyon— a very remark-
ROCHE-GUYON. 65
able-lookint^ place. It derives its name (Uoclic)
from a very precipitous, indeed, almost mural, rock,
at the foot of wliicli a Sieur de Guy, or Guyon,
built a cliateau in the time of Louis le Gros. In
the higher part of the rock a chapel was excavated
as a place of sepulture for Guy and his family, and
on the summit he raised a tower, from which he
could command a view of the country round for
many a league. The tower communicated with
the chateau by a staircase cut in the rock. Since
Guy's time many additions have been made to the
old chateau by several members of the Rochefou-
cauld family, who, at a vast expense, have also
formed extensive gardens and a magnificent pro-
menade on what was formerly a barren mountain.
This fortress — for such it was during the contests
for Normandy between England and France — was
gallantly defended by the widow of Guy, the sixth
Lord of Roche-Guyon (who was slain at the battle
of Agincourt), against the Earl of Warwick, The
Earl respected her valour so much that he offered
to leave her in possession of the place, if she would
plight her allegiance to the King of England. She
VOL. I. F
66 COUNT D'ENGHIEN.
refused the condition, and lost all her estates in
consequence.
It was here that the Count d'Enghien (the con-
queror of Cerisolles) met an ignoble death, his
head having been crushed to atoms by a heavy box
which was thrown down upon him from one of the
upper windows of the chateau. Francis the First
stifled all inquiry into this affair, lest it should
turn out that the Dauphin and the Marquis
d'Aumale (of the house of Lorraine) were impli-
cated in it. A chamber is still preserved exactly
in the same order in which it was when on one
occasion Henry the Fourth slept in this chateau —
the same bed — the same curtains — the same furni-
ture — the same fauteuil, which he used. A sus-
pension-bridge, remarkably light and graceful,
spans the river here, the work of M. BouUand,
civil engineer, who has been compensated by a
grant of the tolls for ninety-nine years. It would
be difficult to select, even on the banks of the
Seine, which abound in beautiful sites, a finer locale
for the country residence of a noble family than
Roche-Guyon.
LA BELLE MANTES. 67
Wheeling rouiul through the writhings of this
most serpentine river, by the charming villages of
Vetheuil and RoUeboise, we come within view of
the parks and palace of Rosny, celebrated as the
birthplace of Sully. It was also the favourite re-
sidence, at one time, of the present Duchess de
Berri, who spared no expense in embellishing it.
Everybody remembers the brilliant fetes which she
gave in that palace, with a view to strengthen her
political position in France. Sic transit ! An
interesting monument of her charitable and kindly
nature, however, still remains in an hospital for the
invalids of the village, which she built in 1820. In
the chapel of the hospital is a marble csnotaph,
wliich contains the heart of the late Duke, pierced
by the poniard of Louvel. Those were dark days
for France, portentous of the storm which has since
broken upon that country ! Has it passed away ?
Away with politics. On to La Belle Mantes, as
it is most deservedly designated. The approach
to the town is truly superb. Give me, ye gods !
some pencil that will duly paint that bridge on our
left over an arm of tlie Seine — the busy mill in its
central arch — the long vista through groves through
¥'2
68 WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR.
which we gaze upon it — the church beyond it — the
two towns of Mantes and Limay, which at first
seem one, until our course round a promontory dis-
sipates the delusion — and then a second bridge, in-
visible before, eminently picturesque, and then a
second and a third church, with their lofty old
towers, and, beyond all, a long, long line of pop-
lars bearing no foliage except on the very tops of
their tall, slender stems, where their branches
touching each other give them the appearance of a
garland suspended in the heavens. We all felt as if
we were under the influence of some enchantment,
or of one of those modern operations of magnetism
which are said to be capable of filling the soul with
ecstatic visions !
The origin of Mantes is traceable to the druidi-
cal ages. It took a distinguished part in all the
Norman wars. One of the most severe contests in
which it was engaged was its defence against Wil-
liam the Conqueror, who claimed it as his own pro-
perty. During the siege the Prince fell sick. His
emhojipoint being then somewhat beyond the ordi-
nary bound — in an age when everybody was fat, if
portraits are to be believed — the King of France
LLMAY. 69
said of him that he was in labour, and that no
doubt the ceremonies of his churching would be
magnificent. " By the splendour of God," ex-
claimed the hero, when he heard of the sarcasm,
" I shall be churched in Paris, and I shall be at-
tended by ten thousand lances in lieu of tapers !" A
fall from his horse, however, as he was, after his
convalescence, riding through the burning embers
of the town, put an end to his designs in this
world.
Mantes has about it all that cheerfulness of ap-
pearance so well expressed in the French phrase la
jolie. An air of elegance and mirth prevails through
tlie beautiful promenades by which it is surrounded.
The streets are neatly built. Limay, on the op-
posite bank, is connected with IVIantes by two
bridges — those which had such a bafflino; effect
upon my optic nerves — an island in the middle of
the river dividing it into two streams. One of the
bridges is higher up the Seine than the other, a
circumstance which added to the puzzling novelty
of the whole picture, as it gradually unfolded itself
to the view. Near Limay is a chapel, excavated in
the mountain, called the hermitage of St. Sauveur,
70 POISSY.
to which crowds from all the country round per-
form pilgrimages every year on the 6th of August.
On we go through green pastures, margined here
and there by banks of bright blue and yellow
flowers, which we can almost pull as we pass.
Troops of swallows again remind us of the summer
we ought to have, and would have but for the hor-
rible east wind. The birds look astonished at the
volumes of black smoke which curl from our chim-
ney-top, mingling with the white steam that issues
from the safety-valve. The smoke, when it first
bursts forth, uniformly spreads itself out in the
form of a Prince of Wales's plume.
We arrived at Poissy at five o'clock in the even-
ing. A very short canal, or an extension of the
railway from St. Germain-en-Laye, would have
saved a circuit of the river, which cost us, at least,
an hour and a half of time. But such an im-
provement as this is not all at once to be expected
in France. So the circuit we were obliged to make,
by Acheres, Audressy, Garennes, and Herblay, to
Maisons, where the splendid residence of M. Lafitte
comes suddenly on the eye.
Here is another striking proof of the changes oc-
FRENCH VILLAS. 71
curring amongst our neighbours in consequence of
their commercial progress. Before the Revolution,
the chateau of Maisons belonged to the Count
d'Artois, the late Charles the Tenth, who had
private apartments constructed in it for the use of
Louis the Sixteenth and Marie Antoinette. It is
built very much after the fashion of the palace of
the Tuileries. Napoleon made a present of it to
Lannes, afterwards Due de Montebello, and it was
purchased some years ago by its present possessor.
It is truly a princely residence.
The extensive park belonging to this splendid
domain has been lately divided into a considerable
number of allotments, for the erection of villas and
cottages in the old English style, such as we see in
the Regent's Park village. But the ancient trees
have not been all cut down, as they infallibly
would have been by an English builder in the first
instance. The old avenues and plantations are
preserved as much as the advantageous disposal of
the ground will permit, and with a view to the em-
bellishment of the cottages constructed amongst
them. More than a hundred of these charming
country habitations have been already finished and
72 RAILWAY.
occupied. Being situated upon rising ground,
they command ample prospects of the territory all
round ; and as the journey from them to Paris,
especially since the railway to St. Germain-en-
Laye has come into operation, is reduced to a few
sous in expense, and to less than an hour in point
of time, they have been much sought after by the
prosperous citizens.
We arrived at St. Germain-en-Laye at a quarter
past seven o'clock ; landed, walked to the railway
station-house in eight or ten minutes, and obtained
there tickets in return for checks, which were put
into our hands as we quitted the steamer. The
charge for these tickets, which I believe is half a
franc, was included in our fare ; so, of course, we
had nothing to pay. The station-house is a magni-
ficent building, and the arrangements for the ac-
commodation of passengers appeared to me in every
respect unobjectionable. There were a great many
applicants for places : but no rude contentions — no
pushing about — no disorder of any kind.
We entered the carriage indicated by our tickets,
a roomy and well-constructed vehicle, without
much show about it, and set off to the sound of a
RAILWAY. 73
trumpet, slowly at first ; the speed then was
gradually increased until it attained a velocity, at
no time, I think, exceeding fifteen miles an hour.
The trumpeter kept on sounding the whole way —
a precaution that might be introduced into our
railway arrangements with the most useful effect.
The warning; would be heard to a considerable
distance ; and if it had been in use here these last
two years, it would have undoubtedly jirevented
many accidents of a most disastrous nature. The
vibration of the train of carriafjes was somewhat
more than I had been accustomed to in Eng-
land.
We traversed the distance from the point of our
departure to Paris in twenty-seven minutes. At
the terminus, omnibuses were in waiting for pas-
sengers to all parts of the capital. We entered one,
which conveyed us to the Rue de Rivoli for six
sous : stopping at the gate of Mcurice's hotel, we
descended, and found ourselves in the saloyi of that
most comfortable establishment, precisely at half-
past eight o'clock.
In all my travels I never performed a journey
74 ARRIVAL AT PARIS.
more delightful than this was in every way. We
quitted London at ten o'clock on the Wednesday
morning — reached Havre in eighteen hours, that is,
at four o'clock on Thursday morning — stopped
there until seven — embarked on board the " Nor-
mandie " — arrived at Rouen about one the same day
— left Rouen on Friday morning at half-past four
— and sat down in Meurice's hotel at half-past
eight the same evening. Thus the possibility of
fatigue was, I may say, excluded. We slept, ate,
drank, walked about, nearly as we should have
done if we had been at home ; passed through a
long succession of the most beautiful and diversi-
fied scenery in France, took a short survey of one
of its most thriving ports, saw the " lions" in one
of its most ancient and interesting towns, breathing
all the way the fresh air of heaven, and the fra-
grance of myriads of wild-flowers, and feasting
upon the records and traditions of former ages, of
which we were reminded by old castles and monas-
teries, palaces, churches, ruins, mountains, full of
the memories of robbers, warriors, holy men, states-
men, court intriguers, princes, kings, and dynasties
ARRIVAL AT PARIS. 76
now no more. The whole, when I look back upon
it as I now write, seems to have been a pageant of
the middle ages, suddenly come, suddenly passed
away, in the midst of the toils of a busy London
life.
76
CHAPTER V.
Motives of Second Journey. A Florentine Gentleman. Travel-
ling Companion. The late Mr. Bellew. Sir M. D. Bellew.
Menai Steamer. A Minerva. A SnufF-man. Benefits of SnufF.
Three Corsicans. A second Napoleon.
A FEW years after my excursion by the Seine to
Paris, I was without much difficulty prevailed
upon to visit some of the other rivers of Europe
upon which the steam-engine had recently begun to
display its miraculous powers. It was, undoubt
edly, a great drawback to the pleasures I expected
from such a journey, that they were not to be en-
joyed also by my beloved family. But my daugh-
ters were not yet of an age to travel ; and the super-
intendence of their education demanded the pre-
sence of one who is herself the model of every thing
I should wish them to be There was, indeed, not
MOTIVES OF JOURNEY. 77
long since, amongst us a boy avIio had scarcely
attainetl his fifth summer, when once placing his
hands upon my knees, and looking up at me with
those eyes which Raphael or IVIurillo would, had
they seen them, have wished to transfer to one of
their cherubs, he demanded and obtained a promise,
that when next I set out upon my travels I should
take him with me. Little did I then think that he
was soon to leave his favourite seat upon those knees
vacant ; and that I was again to " set out upon my
travels"" without, at least, being importuned to
perform my promise. But his years were already
numbered ! Even the consolations which remained,
most dear to me as they assuredly are, could not
prevent that calamity from sinking deep into my
heart. Grey and thinning hairs speedily gave evi-
dence of a state of constitution for which change
of scene and climate was prescribed as the most
efficient remedy. This was another — and, I must
confess, the more imperative — motive for the reso-
lution which we adopted of separating for a season,
under the hope that I should return in renovated
health and spirits. That hope has been accom-
78 A FLORENTINE GENTLEMAN.
plished, through the favour of Providence ; and I
therefore now proceed gratefully and cheerfully to
write out the notes of my journal.
The spring of the year 1841, as well as the
winter by which it was preceded, I had spent in
Ireland — a country which I had been studying for
some time, with a view to collect materials for
a just representation of its actual condition and
capabilities. Having seen my family comfortably
established in the vicinity of Dublin, and within
the immediate reach of friends whose attentions
to them subsequently very much exceeded all
that I could have anticipated, I sailed from Kings-
town on the evening of the 20th of June, 1841 ;
arrived in Liverpool early the following morning,
and found myself soon after seated in one of the
first-class railway carriages, by the side of a young
Italian gentleman, who was on his way home to
Florence, from the south of Ireland, where he had
been visiting a noble family connected with his own
by marriage.
His absence from Italy was, moreover, conve-
nient for a while. He had been engaged in a duel
A FLORENTINE GENTLEMAN. 79
attended with some circumstances whicli broui^ht
the case under the notice of the tribunals. The
lapse of some few months might, it was hoped,
mitigate the hostility of his prosecutors, and so his
friends thoujiht that an excursion to the Emerald
Isle might be attended with more than one good
result, for they had heard of some rich heiresses
being of marriageable dispositions in the quarter to
which he was about to repair.
I found him a very agreeable, gentlemanly sort
of person, frank in his manner, and open as the day
with respect to his matrimonial speculations. His
age did not appear much to exceed three or four
and twenty years, although, for so young a man,
the hairs were remarkably thin upon his head. He
was dressed in a Greek red cap and a heavy great-
coat, Greek also, with its usual appendage, the
hood, and well lined with buffalo hair — a garment
by no means too warm for the occasion ; though
the month was June, the weather was of December.
This duelling affair suddenly summoned him to
Florence, and compelled him to suspend his opera-
tions for the establishment of a matrimonial firm,
into which, he said, he could bring j)lcnty of titles,
80 TRAVELLING COMPANION.
by way of equivalent, on his part, for the fortune
that was to be contributed on the other.
Conformably with a previous arrangement, T met,
in London, Mr. Bellew (eldest son of Sir Michael
D. Bellew, Bart., of Mount Bellew, in the county of
Galway), whom I had consented to take with me in
my meditated tour. Those of my readers who have
perused my "Steam Voyage down the Danube"
may possibly remember the strong objections I ex-
pressed in that work to companionship in travelling,
except under circumstances which would give me
an entire control over my own time and move-
ments, and afford me reason to expect that my
fellow-traveller might prove acceptable to me in
every respect. I had been long acquainted with
Mr. Bellew's family. I had held in the highest
esteem and respect his late grandfather — a perfect
gentlemah of the good old school, distinguished for
his most amiable character, his ardent devotion to
the faith of his ancestors, his literary acquirements,
all the domestic virtues, and an exquisite taste. Of
his attachment to literature a splendid monument
remains, in his formation of perhaps the largest and
most valuable private library in Ireland. Proofs
SIR M. D. I3ELLEW. 8"!
of his taste may be seen in the picture-frallery
which adjoins the library, but especially in the
princely and picturesque demesne, which he may
be said to have created out of a tract of territory
that had been previously little better than a wild
and barren waste. An extensive and unhealthy
marsh was converted by him into one of tlie most
beautiful lakes in the west of Ireland ; and often
have I arrested my steps while walking on the
margin of that magnificent sheet of water, to listen
to the breezes of summer " discoursing their sweet
music" amongst the oaks, the firs, the elms, and
the lindens (the children of his spirit of enter-
prise), now waving over vast spaces which the bog
and the fen had for centuries claimed as their own.
Such are amongst the wonders which a resident
intellijient, generous landlord mav effect in a coun-
try abounding in capabilities of the highest order ;
but which arc most strangely overlooked by capi-
talists, who feel little hesitation in lending their
millions to foreign — often insolvent — states.
jMy destined companion was still further recom-
mended to my good opinion by tlie sincere friend-
ship which I have long entertained for his father :
VOL. I. G
82 THE MENAI STEAMER.
of whom I shall say nothing more than that he
worthily fills the position he occupies in the line of
an ancient and ever virtuous family — a position
which may well be envied by those who visit him
in his hospitable mansion, enjoying the affections
of a most estimable lady and of a numerous fa-
mily, all remarkable for their intellectual endow-
ments. The attachment of his tenantry attests his
demeanour as a landlord; their comfortable — in-
deed, I might add, so far as the females are con-
cerned, their gay, and peculiarly becoming — dresses,
when they assemble at the markets and chapels,
furnish ample tokens of their general prosperity.
Behold my young friend and myself, then, em-
barked on board the " Menai '^ steamer, commanded
by Captain Townley, and bound for Ostend. This
boat was built as a yacht for private use ; it was
fitted up with every attention to neatness, and,
though the principal cabin was small, it had an
airy, pleasant appearance, which we accepted in
compensation for that defect. As we left the
Tower-stairs, the cool temperature of the morning,
and a clouded sky, predicted more of a winter than
a summer day. We had some squalls, and, as the
A MINERVA. 83
hours advanced, they brouujlit witli them an east-
erly \vind, Avliicli often made me wisli I had bor-
rowed from my railway acquaintance his Thcssalian
coat. Most happy should I have felt, even at the
expense of the laughter with which I should have
been greeted by the Misters, the Mistresses, and
the Misses Bulls on our deck, had I possessed the
opportunity of defending my proper person within
the hood and ample folds of that most enviable pro-
duction of Oriental skill.
Ungcnial, however, as the day turned out, it did
not j^rcvcnt me from admiring the exertions which
one of our fair companions on board was constantly
making in order to make herself look pensive and
romantic. As if awaking at times from her poetic
visions, she started into attitudes which she must
have thought as fine, graceful, and attractive as
those of a Minerva, but which did, in fact, mate-
rially augment the drollery of her appearance. Her
only care on earth, beyond herself, seemed to be a
dove and a canary, which were lodged in separate
apartments in the same cage. I could not observe
that she had any other companions. She appeared
to entertain no sort of doubt that her own dear self
g2
84 A SNUFF-TAKER.
and her two birds were the objects of general admi-
ration.
I was not a little amused by an elderly bachelor,
who, after very kindly offering me a pinch of snuff'
in return for a newspaper which I lent him, entered
into a dissertation upon the salutary influences of
tobacco, no matter how its essences were mingled
with those of the human system, whether by inhal-
ing as smoke, or snuff*, or imbibing during the pro-
cess of mastication. I follow his own technical
language. He said that he had paid great atten-
tion to the subject, and had collected a num-
ber of facts which fully convinced him that those
})ersons who constantly used tobacco, in any way,
were generally long-lived people. For his own part,
he preferred the snuff" mode of consumption, and,
under the hope that he should be enabled, by bis
doctrine, to add a few more years even to the ordi-
nary term of longevity, he carried a box in each of
his waistcoat pockets, one filled with snuff" somewhat
less pvmgent than the other, both highly scented.
He delivered his discourse with a degree of com-
placency, as if he had perfectly satisfied himself
that he had found out an infallible elixir for cheat-
BENEFITS OF SNUFF. 86
ing nature out of a greater number of" years than
she had originally intendetl to give him. A round,
ruddy, fat man he certainly was, of middle size,
with a pair of gold spectacles on his nose, most pro-
bably a retired vender of snuff", and now, appa-
rently, having no other occupation on this earth
than enjoying, in due rotation, his two boxes, lec-
turing upon the same, reading the newspapers, and
taking the best possible care to insure for himself a
good dinner, with its usual appendages, and an
agreeable ])ed.
A much more interesting spectacle than either of
the solo performers just mentioned, was presented"
in the attentions paid by a gentleman to his wife,
who appeared to be in one of the last stages of de-
cline ; not being able to remain below, she was
obliged to have a mattress arranged on deck, upon
which she lay almost incapable of motion. Though
well wrapped up, it was beautiful to observe the
vigilance with which her affectionate attendant en-
deavoured to protect her on all sides from the wea-
ther, and the ingenious contrivances of parasol and
umbrella by which he sought to prevent the vary-
ing winds from visiting her cheek too roughly. He
86 THREE CORSICANS.
Avas well repaid for his exertions by her sweet smiles,
not the less sweet because her indisposition made
them so languid.
The most remarkable characters on board were
three Corsicans, who kept up a conversation amongst
themselves during the entire day, and even to a late
hour of the night, in a tone and manner indicative
of more than ordinary excitement. They would
have afforded excellent models to an artist in wax-
figures for three regicides. One was of a singularly
repulsive countenance ; his face, covered nearly all
over with hair, and deeply pockmarked, betrayed,
by its contortions, a mind excessively haughty and
discontented, and turned for the moment into a caul-
dron which was boiling over with anti-English rage.
His companions fully shared his atrabilious dispo-
sitions. One of them frequently endeavoured, by
clapping a little hat on his head, folding his arms,
and throwing furious glances around him, to look
Napoleon. They permitted themselves to indulge
in many expressions which might have led to dis-
agreeable consequences, had any of our Hotspurs
been on board who understood their Italian. Those
who did understand it very properly abstained from
A SECOND NAPOLEON. 87
taking any notice of their conduct. There were
hung up in the cabin two portraits — one, by some
odd accident, of Mr. Attwood, M.P. ; the other, of
the Empereur — the latter certainly bordering on
caricature. The hairy-faced Corsican having once
glanced at the latter picture, turned away from it
with a fiery look, exclaiming that the English had
made Napoleon appear a rascally London apothe-
cary. I fancy that while recently in our metropolis
the critic had had too much, perhaps, of the luxu-
ries of the blue pill.
I should have liked much, had I been any thing
of a painter, to have made a sketch of this group,
and to put into contrast with it a troop of noble-
looking boys who enlivened our deck by their gam-
bols and their wild shouts of laughter. Their
roguish smiles when they endeavoured to hide from
each other behind a mast, or under a bench, their
blooming animated cheeks, their sparkling eyes,
their curling ringlets blown about in the wind,
would have lent a fine light to the foreground,
while the regicides might be disposed of in the dark
distance, shadowy, fiendish, like the witches in
Macbeth.
88
CHAPTER VI.
A City Man. A Traveller. Dinner. Ginger Beer. Empty
Sounds. A Royal Salute. Arrival at Ostend. Church of St.
Peter. Mrs. TroUope. Image of the Virgin. Mr. Beckford.
Ostend. The Sluice-gates. Paret's Museum. Monstrosities.
A Camera Obscura.
It certainly seems to be my fortune, when tra-
velling, to meet with a great variety of characters
which stand out from the ordinary canvass of hu-
man life. Among my new acquaintances on board
the " Menai," I cannot pass by a " city man," to
whom my newspaper, which I had lent him, intro-
duced me on this occasion. Upon ordinary sub-
jects he talked with a sufficient degree of intelli-
gence. But we had been scarcely five minutes in
conversation for the first time, when he mentioned
to me his name, adding that he had the honour
and happiness of being a particular friend of Sir
C , " whom, perhaps," he added, "you
A CITY MAN. 89
know — or of whom, at least, you must have often
heard."
" I think," said I, " I have heard the name he-
fore — was he not once an alderman ?"
** Yes, the same, but his friends, amongst whom
I am proud to feel that I am one, altliough I say
it, of the most higiily favoured, always call him
Sir C ; it sounds better; he ought long
ago to have been made a lord.*'
" You seem to admire him much."
" Admire him ! there's no such man, Sir, in the
world, in my humble opinion. iNIany a dish of
turtle, and the best of venison have Sir C
and I iiad together. And then to hear him,
after dinner, talk politics. Lord bless you. Sir,
he ought to have been prime minister, or, at least.
Chancellor of the Exchequer, long ago. It is my
humble opinion that in ten years he would have
paid oft' the national debt, and then we should have
had none of tliese reform bills which are now brinsr-
ing the country to ruin. I verily believe England
cannot last another year."
" Then what is to become of us all .''
90 A TRAVELLER.
((
The workhouse. Sir ; nothing but the work-
house, that is my humble opinion."
*' But who is to support the workhouse, if we
are all to be ruined P'"
" Sir C , no doubt of it ; his plans
must be taken up. Lord bless you, Sir, Billy Pitt
was nothing to him. I always carry about with
me a little book of which he condescended to make
me a present "" (producing from his pocket a splen-
didly-bound volume, the title of which I forget);
" I always read it when I am upon what I call my
outi7igs.''''
" I understand — your little journeys of plea-
sure."
" Just so, Sir ; I like to see a little of the world.
Last year I took a trip to Calais. I am an inde-
pendent man — little cottage at Hackney ; only a
maiden sister to provide for ; nice little garden in
front ; a place for a few poultry behind. I like to
hear my own cock crow of a morning, and to eat
my own new-laid eggs ; a stable for one horse, and
a little chaise, in which I go once a week to see Sir
C . '
DINNER, 91
" I suppose you are going to Brussels ?"
" No, Sir ; I may, if I can find a cheap lodg-
ing, remain at Ostend tliree or four days, and then,
perhaps, I may go to Dunkirk, just to see a little
of the foreign world, as one may say. Perhaps,
next year I may have my outing to Boulogne ;
that's the finest town in all France, Sir C
says — except Paris."
Our conversation was here interrupted by my
snuff-elixir friend, who came to say that dinner
would be ready in a quarter of an hour.
" Capital intelligence !" exclaimed my neighbour.
" Have you any notion what they are going to give
us for dinner ?"
" I took good care to find that out," replied the
aspirant octogenarian. " Leg of mutton, boiled,
with turnips."
" And, of course, caper sauce ?"
" And caper sauce ; fine piece of roast beef —
ducks — lamb — ham — fowl."
" Bravo !"
" Salmon — green pea-soup."
" Oh ! delicious — nothing like good green pea-
soup in the season — any sweets ?""
92 DINNER.
« Plenty !— Gooseberry pies— plum puddings-
custards— and all the fruits of the season for
dessert."
" And, of course, London stout ?"
" The best Barclay and Co."
" And ginger-beer too .''"
« Excellent ; at least, so they say."
" Now, gentlemen," whispered our informant,
" if you would take my advice, you would come
down with me to the cabin, and take your places
in good time."
" And as I have travelled somewhat and seen a
little of the world," added the outer, " let me re-
commend you not to sit near any particularly large
dish. You are expected to carve it ; and, while
you are carving for so many, you are losing your
own dinner."
Really there was no exaggeration in the pro-
phetic account I had received of our banquet. It
was excellently cooked, and admirably served.
The cabin was crowded ; but, as we were down in
good time, we had good places on a wide Ottoman,
which was fitted up all round the side of the cabin ;
affording, by its cushions and softness, some idea
DINNER. 93
of the couches on wliich the Roman epicureans
loved to recline when feasting on imperial sturgeon,
and quufling their Falernian wine. There is no-
thing to be compared with the keen sea-air for
whetting the appetite. The lamb was exquisite,
and the roast ducks particularly well-flavoured.
IMy friend's two sriuff-boxes were in full requisi-
tion, in consequence of his holding them up as pos-
sessed of so many virtues. The steward — a good-
natured sort of man — was charmed by the praises
which his dinner — very deservedly — received on
all sides.
" Best dinner I ever had in a steamer," said the
Hackney cottager.
" And to shew you my good opinion of your
fare,"" subjoined the man of snuff, " here are my
two boxes, take a pinch from each, I suspect such
snuff you never had before.""
The steward was all bows and smihng gratitude.
" I hear you have in your storerooms some ex-
cellent ginger-beer."
" I think you will find it good, Sir,""
*' Brine; me a bottle.""
" And me another," said the man of "the world.
'94 GINGER-BEER.
The bottles being produced, one was opened
with a discharge which threw all the ladies into a
state of consternation. They thought the boiler of
the enirine must have exploded. But a general
burst of laughter followed, when it was discovered
that although the sound promised beer of the first
order, there was scarcely a drop of it in the bottle.
The scene was truly ludicrous; my friend so
eao-erly holding out his glass across the table, and
the steward pouring into it literally nothing. The
second bottle was uncorked with similar results. A
second peal of laughter, louder and longer than the
first, instantaneously ensued. The steward was so
much ashamed of his boasted beer that he retreated
as quickly as he could with his empty bottles,
amidst the uproar of the cabin, which was not at
all diminished by a mischievous wag at the table,
who, sumiTioning the steward, gravely demanded
at once, for his own immediate use, twelve bottles
of " that excellent ginger-beer."
" Twelve bottles, Sir !" exclaimed the steward.
" Yes, twelve bottles ; I calculate that the whole
will produce, perhaps, one glassful."
EMPTY SOUNDS. 95
The ladies began to be convulsed with laun-htcr.
The steward with difficulty was prevailed upon to
produce three more bottles; hut when the first and
the second yielded no more than his original
samples, and were even still louder in their explo-
sions, there was scarcely a man in the company
who was not obliged to hold his sides.
*' Be off, be off,*' they shouted to the confounded
steward, " be off, unless you mean to kill us all.""^
I saw no more of the steward until, having been
awoke out of a sound slecj) by the repeated sounds
of cannon which came frotn a distance booming
over the sea, I called to h'un to inquire the cause
of this firinjr. He said that he believed it was a
royal salute at Ostend, — the King of the Belgians
having been expected to embark there on his way
to England. And so the fact turned out to be.
The solution of the mystery did not detract from
the majestic effect of the artillery, sending forth its
greetings, echoing through the tranquil murmurs
of the waves around us.
At half-past two o'clock on the morning of the
24th of June, we found ourselves at Ostend. We
landed forthwith, and proceeded to the Hotel des
96 ARRIVAL AT OSTEND.
Bains, which is designated upon its English sign-
board as " The Bath Hotel." There being an
arrear of the sweet restorer of life still due to me,
I had the account adjusted as speedily as possible,
after which I rose and went to the cliurch of St.
Peter, heard mass, and was charmed by the solemn
and collected manner in which the divine service
was performed. It Avas a " low mass," by way of
distinguishing it from the same sacred function
when celebrated with the accompaniments of the
choir and organ. A boy, remarkable for the neat-
ness of his dress and surplice, his graceful move-
ments, and a gravity beyond his years, attended
the priest. The sanctuary was surrounded, even
on this week-day, with hundreds of the faithful,
whose silent devotion gave at once a striking ex-
ample of the general piety I was prepared to wit-
ness in Belgium. The church consists of a nave
and two aisles, each of which is terminated by three
altars of a very handsome and striking character.
The stalls, the confessionals, and the pulpit are
most elaborately carved in the admirable style of
the middle ages.
It was in this church that Mrs. Trollope, when
MRS. TROLLOPE. 97
upon her late tour througli Belgium, beheld, placed
on one of the altars, what she is pleased to desig-
nate as a " profanation " most vexatious to her
" reformed eyes r in the shape of an image of the
Blessed Virgin, decorated after a fashion of which,
perhaps, modern good taste would not altogether ap-
prove. Those wlio differ from the Catholic faith
ought always to remember, that it is of a very
ancient date ; tiiat images of the Virgin and saints
can be no " profanation " in a church which has
always sanctioned them ; and tliat the drapery in
which those figures are often arrayed is not of last
week's fashion from Paris. Mrs. Trollope might have
soothed down her vexation if siie had dwelt more
upon the effect she saw produced by the very image
in question ; grotesque though it seemed to those
"eyes" which, having undergone the process of
" reformation," must, of course, beam with an in-
finitely purer light than any Catholic orb of vision
can ever hope to attain.
" Yet, I was touched,"" she savs, " by the ttn-
mistakeahle devotion of a poor old woman, who
kneeled on the pavement before it. Her withered
VOL. I. H
1
98 IMAGE OF THE VIRGIN.
arms were extended, and an air of the most pas-
sionate adoration animated her sunken features as
she gazed on ihe frightful idol.'''' Now, Mrs. Trol-
lope knew well, or, if she had questioned the poor
woman, might have at once learned, that this image
was no idol to her ; that it was not to the figure she
addressed her prayer ; and that, in fact, she did not
adore it at all, nor even the sainted personage whom
it represented. No ; that orison was for the in-
tercession with God of the Virgin Mother of His
own Son, and the pious soul that uttered it only-
used the image as a material instrument for exciting,
and preserving from distraction, the sentiments of
contrition, humility, and hope by which she was at
the moment actuated.
I say that Mrs. Trollope must have known all
this well, for she adds immediately afterwards —
" After all, there is something sublime in the state
of mind which allows not the senses to dwell on the
object before them, but, occupied alone by the
holiness of the symbol, is roused by it to such
thoughts of heaven as chase all feelings but those
of devotion. That this is often the case with sin-
MR. BECKFORD. 99
cere Catholics I have no doubt ; and it is impos-
sible to witness the feeling without losing all in-
clination to ridicule the source of it."
jMr. Beckford, whose account of his travels on
the Continent towards the close of the last century,
is unquestionably one of the most fascinating
volumes in our language, would have been sur-
prised, and, I think, much pleased, if he were now
to repeat his visit to Ostend, which he has described
as " a scurvy place," the favourite alx)de of " Dutch
skippers and mongrel smugglers," its " whole at-
mosphere impregnated with the fumes of tobacco,
burnt peat, and garlic." Far from answering to
this description, Ostend now presents a cheerful,
cleanly, and highly prosperous appearance. Under
the auspices of the reigning family, it has become a
much-frequented watering-place. There is a very
handsome bathing-house close to the seashore, and
an assembly-room accessible on very moderate
terms, in v.liich during the season balls are given
two or three times a week. A promenade, com-
manding a fine view of the sea, has been constructed
on the wall, which was originally erected as a pro-
tection against the inroads of that element.
II 2
100 THE SLUICE-GATES.
It cannot be doubted that the sea is gradually
retiring from the whole of this coast ; or perhaps,
more correctly speaking, that every year adds to
the accumulation of sand which the tides bring in
and deposit there from time to time. In order to
counteract this evil in some degree, advantage has
been taken of a small river which finds its way
through Ostend into the ocean, forming an estuary,
the sides of which have been carefully planked up,
while the waters of the stream are confined by dams
and sluice-gates, which are opened when the river
rises to a certain height within them. The rush of
the torrent thus artificially created impels before it
the newly collected sands, and keeps the passage
free from the constant invasion to which it had
been formerly subject.
These sluice-gates (slas van slijkens) are well
worth a visit. Mr. Bellew, the Rev. Mr. Tyrwhit
(one of our steam-boat acquaintances, a near connec-
tion of the well-known Usher of the Black Rod),
and I took a carriage to see them. They are ad-
mirably suited to their purpose, and kept in the
most perfect order. They are little more than an
English mile from Ostend, on the road to Bruges,
M. PARET'S MUSEUM. 101
and not far from them is a very neat-looking rustic
inn, which, besides its hospitable attractions, pre-
sents to travellers who love to contemplate the pro-
ductions of nature, many objects extremely curious,
and some rarely to be met with elsewhere. They
are the more interesting as having been chiefly col-
lected and preserved by the proprietor of the
aubergcy IVI. Paret, a most intelligent person, who,
without any advantages of education, and actuated
solely by his enthusiastic attentions to those opera-
tions of nature which escape the eyes of the great
majority of mankind, has through a course of not
many years assembled in his apartments between
four and five hundred objects, some of which have
been presented to him, others he has purchased,
but by far the greater number he owes to his own
industry and self-acquired skill.
His monsters are the most perplexing I have ever
seen, inasmuch as several of them exhibit limbs and
parts not of the nature of the parent which pro-
duced them. A calf with one of its feet only on
the ground, and another, together with its tail and
ears, on its back, might have been the result of a
mere malformation. But how can we solve the
102 MONSTROSITIES.
mystery of a creature, which ought to have been a
calf, bearing the head of a dog and the tail of a
horse ? Near this is another calf, with only three
feet, one of which is on its breast, the other two
upon its right shoulder ; and then follow a foetus
of a double calf, all its members mixed up together
in a most extraordinary manner ; a cat with two
bodies and one head ; and other objects of a very
puzzling description.
M. Parens collection of the sea, river, and land
birds of his own neighbourhood deserves the obser-
vation of the visitor. He possesses a great variety
of foreign blackbirds, reptiles, and insects. A
single oyster- shell, weighing nearly one hundred
and fifty pounds, may be ranked amongst his most
rare curiosities. He has also a great number of in-
teresting minerals, the productions of England,
Saxony, Belgium, Hungary, Siberia, the Ural
Mountains, the Alps and Pyrenees, the Cordille-
ras, Hecla, Vesuvius, Aleppo, and Australia.
After going through this cabinet mixture of
curiosities from so many parts of the world, you
are invited to take a survey of the living scenes
around you, through the medium of a camera ob-
A CAMERA OBSCURA. 103
scura which the iiifjcnious host has constructed on
tlie top of his inn. Here were exhibited to us a
woman running, as if for her life, along the bank of
the canal — then a brace of travellers with knap-
sacks on their backs on the same road — then a
whiskey, as the vehicle was formerly called, bear-
ing a Darby and Joan, the dame driving — and
then a dandy capering on the high road on a Bel-
gian steed. The waters of the canal sparkled in
the sun — the retiring waves left behind them sands
that shone out all like the dust of gold — and the
vessels gliding in the distance added not a little to
the animation and beauty of the scene.
104
CHAPTER VII.
Ostend. Railway. Railway inconveniences. Bruges. Houses in
Bruges. Bruges Ladies. The Chimes. Piety of the People. The
Cathedral. Notre Dame. Statue of the Virgin. Hospital of
St. John. Charity Sisters. Wordsworth. Southey. Hemling.
On account of its frequent demolition during
the stormy ages of war, Ostend, though of ancient
existence as a place of consideration in many points
of view, presents quite a modern appearance.
Within these latter years its fortifications have
been repaired and greatly extended, in pursuance
of the arrangements made at the last peace. Such
means of defence have now become almost useless,
as they can stand but a very short time before the
newly-invented instruments of hostility. Nothing
looks ancient about the town save its churches,
which, though not remarkable for their architec-
tural attractions, awaken interesting trains of
thought in the mind, as the venerable symbols of
RAILWAY. 105
a religion tliat has witnessed the ruin of so many
kingdoms, the slaughter of so many armies, driven
into combat against each other by the wild ambition
and folly of monarchs and statesmen, — the fall of
so many heroes, whose glory (?) has long since
vanished into oblivion, — and yet survives all these
successive events, dwelling apart in her own taber-
nacles, amidst contending nations, ever brilliant
and moving round her own unshaken centre, Hke
the sun itself above the storms of our firmament.
A magnificent canal extends from Ostcnd to
Bruges; it is nearly three times as wide as those
we are accustomed to in England. I should have
much enjoyed a passage upon it, had not the rail-
road been at hand, to accomplish in thirty minutes
a journey for which the Trekschuit would have
required at least three hours. The mere personal
transit by the new mode of conveyance is in every
way agreeable. The fares are economical ; the
carriages, both of the first and second classes,
roomy and comfortably fitted up ; the passengers
are everywhere treated with the utmost civility ;
and such accidents as those which are, or at least
106 RAILWAY INCONVENIENCES.
have been, of frequent occurrence in England, are
almost never heard of.
But in other respects the railway system in Bel-
gium is attended with an inconvenience which
English travellers, particularly those who speak no
language save their own, find extremely objection-
able. Every article of luggage, no matter how
trivial, must be sent beforehand to the office to be
weighed. Very often, the charge for luggage is
more than double the fare. Moreover, when
weighed, it is taken possession of by the officers
of the establishment, and, after being numbered,
is huddled away with the luggage of all the other
passengers, in such a careless manner, that boxes
of frail materials are not seldom broken in the oper-
ation — no very pleasant result for ladies who choose
to go on tours through Belgium with more than
one bonnet. And then the confusion that follows,
when, arrived at the station where the passengers
wish to stop, they proceed to claim their effects,
amidst a motley crowd of persons, all clamorous
for their respective trunks, bags, and band-boxes,
is really distressing, indeed so much so, that it is
BRUGES. 107
scarcely practicable for a female wlio takes even the
necessary quantity of apparel with her, to use the
Belgian railways without feeling very great annoy-
ance. In every other way, however, she would
have little, indeed nothing, to complain of.
We were conveyed in fifteen minutes over a dis-
tance of as many English miles in the railway from
Ostend to Bruges — so called, it is said, from the
Flemish word Briig, a bridge, a wooden construc-
tion of that kind having, in former ages, spanned
one of the canals which flow through that truly
venerable city. Near the bridge was an ancient
castle. While surveying some of its principal
streets, my first impressions led me to see in it a
resemblance to Venice. The annals of both these
once celebrated marts of commerce speak alike of
high prosperity in the middle and later ages, and
of subsequent decline almost to a state of ruin.
But the old capital of Flanders does not bear about
it so many tokens of decay as Venice. Her canals
are not stagnant, nor gloomy, nor traversed by the
mysterious gondola ; nor has she a deserted Rialto,
nor a Bridge of Sighs. Absent from her, too, is
that complexion of profound grief, which looks like
108 HOUSES IN BRUGES.
remorse for centuries of corruption and crime. On
the contrary, there are mingled with the sombre
shades of her picture warmer and brighter colours,
which appear to reveal a spirit of religious resigna-
tion and hope, that the days of her restoration to
a more fortunate state of existence are not far
away.
The houses in the leading, and even in some of
the retired streets, all remain as they were originally
erected, and in excellent preservation. They re-
minded me at once of the engravings I had so
often seen of Amsterdam, — lofty, fantastic gables,
extensive fronts, abounding in curious sculptured
pictures of various legends, different modes of life,
and scenes of battle with the old instruments of
war. I expected every moment to behold a knight
in full armour riding by, and young maidens, hav-
ing for a moment escaped from their vigilant du-
ennas, peeping through the lattices. The peeping
system is now very generally aided at Bruges by
small mirrors, so disposed outside the windows,
that the fair prude within may, while concealed
herself from observation, espy every person who
passes near her residence. The damsels of this
THE CHIMES OF BRUGES. 109
place were formerly much celebrated for tlieir
beauty : — " Formosis Bruga puellis." I am ready
to throw down my glove before any person who
would say that their character has declined in this
respect. Their figures and countenances are gene-
rally quite captivating. I saw an elderly lady — a
most comely person — with a very slight soiip^oji of
rouge on lier cheek — dressed in a cliarming cap, a
black silk mantilla, a ruby satin gown, fan in hand,
ringing at the door of a })alace, as the mansion may
be designated, where, I presume, she was about
to spend the evening. She was perfectly in keep-
ing with the whole aspect of the scene.
One cannot be an hour in Bruges without being
delighted with the music of the sweetest of all tlie
carillons of bells in the Netherlands. They not
only ring in the hours in pleasant sounds, but, on
some occasions, make the smith himself suspend his
ever-going hammer, to listen to the pieces of music
which these cliimes are taught to play. They re-
present on a large scale the machinery of a musical
box ; but in addition to this, they may be also ren-
dered obedient at any time to the skill of a per-
former who chooses to vary their usual tunes.
110 PIETY OF THE PEOPLE.
Those tunes are changed once a year, about the
time of Easter, The instrument is placed in a re-
markably lofty tower, called " Les Halles."" Hence
the bells, when heard below, come on the ear with
all tlie softness and sweetness of a lute. The inter-
polations of pleasing images with which they so
often interrupt the grave cares of the day are pecu-
liarly calculated to diffuse through the city a tone
of sprightliness. If that be their object, they have
undoubtedly accomplished it, for I observed very
generally an amenity in the features of the good
people of Bruges which placed them at once very
high in my esteem.
Had even that pre-engaging look been wanting,
I should have loved them for their most edifying —
I might justly say their enthusiastic — attention to
their religion. Solemn functions happened to be
celebrated in several of the churches on the day of
our arrival, in consequence, I believe, of numbers
of children of both sexes having been on that day
admitted to their first communion. The streets
were filled with processions of these happy little
beings, the females all arrayed in the white veils
which they had worn at mass in the morning. I
THE CATHEDRAL. Ill
saw them on their way to vespers, which were sung
in the cathedral.
If Ih'uges has preserved its ancient celebrity for
the beauty of its women, so has it also handed
down in a state of admirable preservation all the
splendid churches which the munificence of its
once nmncrous and opulent merchants elevated
to " greater glory" of the Omnipotent. Exter-
nally the cathedral, however, founded by St, Aloy-
sius, who first preached the gospel in that country,
is by no means attractive. It is constructed of
brick, and, like many of the churches in Belgium,
and even in Italy, wants the portico. The nave is
also rather short in proportion to the magnitude of
the choir ; but its internal ornaments are truly mag-
nificent. It abounds in paintings, many of them of
distinguished merit. There are also two very re-
markable bas-reliefs in wood, painted and gilt, exe-
cuted with wonderful attention to details, and in a
state of perfect preservation. They represent St.
Aloysius in his episcopal apparel, holding in his
hand a plan of the church. At his feet lie a cruci-
fix, a model of a cathedral, and a representation of
that without the aid of which no church of any
112 NOTRE DAME,
style can be built ; vi%. a sack of money. This
beautiful piece of carving is said to be the work of
Taminn, celebrated for his skill in this department
of the arts, which was so much cultivated in the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The choir is
ornamented with beautiful cartoons, executed by
Vander Borght.
The church of Notre Dame possesses a statue of
the Virgin, which no person should pass through
Bruges without seeing. It is in marble, from the
chisel of Michael Angelo. Like others of the most
celebrated sculptors and painters, he appears often
to have forgotten, when depicting the members of
the Holy Family, that they were of the tribe of
David. The Jewish features are not at all dis-
cernible in this statue. The head of the Virgin is
quite Italian. The hands of the two figures of
which the statue in question is composed are par-
ticularly beautiful. The drapery of the Virgin is
arranged with so much attention to gracefulness —
a character not usual in Michael Angelo's majestic
productions — that it has given rise to some doubts
as to the authenticity of the work.
The history of this statue is curious. It is said
HOSPITAL OF ST. JOHN. 113
to have been originally intended for a church in
Genoa, but that the vessel which was carrying it
from Civita Vecchia towards its destination was
captured by a Dutch corsair, and taken to Amster-
dam. A Bruges merchant there purchased it at a
very low price, and upon his return home, presented
it to the church of Notre Dame. This is the statue
for which Horace Walpole is said to have offered
thirty thousand florins.
But the gem of Bruges is the hospital of St.
John. It is under the care of an order who devote
all the time not required for their religious duties,
or the ordinary necessary routine of life, to the
patients received within thewallsof this ancient and
most admirable institution. One of its very attrac-
tive features is the perfect state of its preservation
through many ages ; the delicate cleanliness of the
apartments is a model for all buildings of that de-
scription. To see the Sisters of Charity move about
in their own grave and collected manner, going
through their appointed offices, not like mercena-
ries, but as if they were the nearest relatives of the
persons upon whom they were in attendance, must
of itself afford a healing influence to the bed of
VOL. I. I
114 CURIOUS CABINET.
sickness. We saw a young sister, rather remarkable
for her beauty, dressing the wounds of a very fine-
looking soldier, who had been serving in Algiers.
He was rapidly approaching convalescence, and his
eyes beamed with gratitude for the care with which
his protectress wound the bandages round his foot.
She seemed pleased to observe that his health was
so rapidly reviving, and yet, on neither side was
discernible the slightest approach to a mere human
affection. It was plain that the invalid felt that
all her care of him originated solely in the pure
spirit of her order.
While we were going over the curiosities in the
church of the hospital, the guide conducted us, with
an appearance of mystery, as if he conceived him-
self to be highly privileged in being intrusted with
the care of so great a treasure, to a remarkably
curious antique, called " la chasse de Sainte
Ursule,"'' a kind of cabinet, about three feet long,
and broad in proportion. The lid is of a conical
form. The sides are divided into panels worked in
gold, which represent the massacre of St. Ursula
and the eleven thousand virgins, by the Goths, at
Cologne. It is ornamented with paintings by
WORDSWORTH. 115
Hcmling, a celebrated artist, who was for a long
time an inmate of the hospital. He was a native
of Bruges. In the early part of his life, the dissi-
pations in which he indulged rendered him miser-
able. He enlisted as a common soldier, and having
been wounded on the field, he was conveyed to the
hospital. He had already shewn taste and talent
as a painter ; and after becoming convalescent, he
resolved, out of gratitude, to spend the remainder
of his days in the institution to which he owed the
recovery of his health, and to dedicate all his time
to its decoration.
The "ch^sse" is a sarcophagus in miniature.
It is placed under a glass cover. The faces of
the virgins are remarkable for the variety of their
expression, and the sense of beauty by which they
are througli(nit pervaded. It is said that the direc-
tors of the hospital were offered in exchange for
this very curious work a shrine of the same size, in
solid silver.
Bruges is a most interesting city in many points
of view. Both Southey and Wordsworth have
sung its praises. The latter has a sonnet upon it,
in which he describes it as ;
T ^
116 SOUTHEY.
" The city one vast temple, dedicate
To mutual respect in word and deed,
To leisure, to forbearances sedate,
To social cares, from jarring passions freed."
Southey writes of it in a much more animated
strain.
" Fair city, worthy of her ancient fame !
The season of her splendour is gone by ;
Yet everywhere its monuments remain ;
Temples which rear their stately heads on high,
Canals that intersect the fertile plain —
Wide streets and squares, with many a court and hall.
Spacious and undefaced — but ancient ail-
When I may read of tilts in days of old,
Of tourneys graced by chieftains of renown.
Fair dames, grave citizens, and warriors bold —
If fancy could portray some stately town
Which of such pomp the theatre might be,
Fair Bruges ! I shall then remember thee !"
In the chapter-house of the hospital, the atten-
tion of the traveller will remain long fixed in ad-
miration upon Hemling's master-piece, the Virgin
and Child with St. Catherine. It is enclosed in
folding-doors, a custom which had long prevailed
among the artists of the Low Countries, until the
time of Rubens. The folding-doors were painted,
and generally represented subjects more or less re-
lating to the principal picture ; but sometimes no
HEMLING. 117
connection appears between thcni. The shutters
of the painting just mentioned contain the decolla-
tion of St. John the Baptist and St. John tlie
Evangelist. I found it extremely difficult to (}uit
this admirable production. On the outside of the
shutters are the figures of several saints, whose
faces are finished with all the minuteness and care
that are usually observable only in miniatures.
118
CHAPTER VIII.
Mrs. Trollope. Church of the Capuchins. Attentions to Clean-
liness. Capuchin Monks. Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
Hotel de Ville. Chapel of St. Basil. Mary of Burgundy. Her
Monument. Curious Chimney-piece. Magnificent Prospect.
EngUsh Convent.
As I have had occasion, in a former chapter, to
animadvert upon Mrs. Trollope''s description of an
image of the Virgin, I am happy to have the op-
portunity of adducing here the generous evidence
given by her in favour of the Hospital of St. John,
and of the sisters to whose pious care the patients
in that establishment are confided. " On leaving
the chapel," she says, " I accepted the invitation
of a Catholic lady to accompany her round the fe-
male wards of the hospital. The rest of my party
declined joining us, from a fear of encountering
disagreeable objects ; but they were decidedly
wrong. The pain which the sight, or even the
MRS. TROLLOPE. 119
idea, of human suffering must ever occasion, was a
tliousaiul times overbalanced by the pleasure of
witnessing the tender care, the sedulous attention,
the effective usefulness of those heavenly-minded
beings, les Socurs de la Charitc. It is they who
are the only nurses in this large estabhshment.
Unpaid, uncontrolled by any one, they give their
lives to comfort and help those who would find
neither without them. IMy idea of heaven is a
place filled with Sisters of Charity. Perhaps I
shall hear that I am turned Catholic, if I confess
that the treasured symbols of that demonstrative
faith, which I there saw so fondly cherished in the
hour of suffering and death, touched my heart more
than it offended my orthodoxy. The dying eye,
expending its last beam in a look of confiding hope
at the image of the Redeemer, at that moment sug-
gested no idea of superstition."
The church of the Capuchins — like those of al-
most all the religious orders upon the Continent —
pleased me much, on account of the perfect clean-
liness and neatness of the sanctuary, and the care
that appears to be taken of all the ornaments and
utensils appertaining to the services of the church.
120 CHURCH OF THE CAPUCHINS.
Visit those edifices at what hour you may, after the
matin functions are over, and you will generally
find a monk or two dusting the altar, re-arranging
the burnished candlesticks, placing fresh cloths
upon the altar-slab, laying down carpets, or doing
one thing or another about the holy place, with
that kind of activity and attention which indicates
how much his heart is wrapped up in his labour.
I have made it a point, whenever I could conve-
niently do so, to steal away from the bustle of the
world on the vigil of a festival, and enter a convent
church, where I should be sure to find prepara-
tions going on for the joyous celebrations that were
to usher in the morning. I seldom failed to find
the good brothers employed in suspending drape-
ries round the choir, or on the columns of the sa-
cred edifice; decorating the interstices between the
massive silt or silver candlesticks with vases of real
or artificial flowers, beautifully arranged, and some-
times fixing festoons of flowers over spaces in the
sanctuary, capable of gracefully admitting decora-
tions of that character. Often the organist attends
to try if the instrument be in tune ; and after hav-
ing satisfied himself on that point, he goes on pre-
CAPUCHIN MONKS. 121
hiding, according to the ideas which his fancy
suggests at the moment. One may always know
that a festive function is going on in a convent
church when extempore ebulHtions of rejoicing re-
sound from the organ in the intervals that occur
between the anthems or psahus usually sung upon
tliose occasions.
When I visited the Capucliin convent at Bruges,
I was informed that the number of the brothers
then residing there was twenty-one. They follow
the rule of St. Francis of Assissium. They abstain
from meat, eggs, and cheese. They depend al-
most entirely upon the voluntary contributions of
the faithful. The primitive members of this order
were forbidden to live in houses constructed of
brick or stone; their appointed dwelhngs were huts
formed of mud or osier, accessible to all the world,
and devoid of any kind of door which could be
made fast by a lock. These injunctions, of course,
have fallen into desuetude. Their dress is a coarse
brown woollen cloth, with tlie hood and girdle;
their feet are slipped into sandals. The crown of
the head is shaved, and the hair beneath that circle,
as well as their beards, is generally remarkable for
122 CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE.
the care wliich is bestowed upon its preservation.
I observed some excellent paintings in their church.
Amongst the ecclesiastical edifices of Bruges,
there is one which is always visited by travellers as
a great curiosity — that which is said to bear a strict
resemblance to the church of the Holy Sepulchre at
Jerusalem. It was founded by a pious Fleming,
named Pierre Adornes, who is recorded to have
visited Palestine three times, in order to assure
himself that no error, even the most trifling, was
committed in his imitation of that venerable edifice.
One of the most interesting amongst the public
buildings in Bruges is the Hotel de Ville, a very
beautiful specimen, though on a limited scale, of
the Gothic style. It was founded in the year 1377,
by Louis de Maele, Count of Flanders, and was
formerly ornamented externally by more .than thirty
statues of princes of Flanders and Burgundy. The
principal windows were curiously surmounted or
surrounded by arms and sliields, and the whole
presented a bijou, which even now looks unique,
although, in the days of the French revolution, all
those monuments of the arts were most wantonly
destroyed by Dumourier and his Vandal myrn)i-
HOTEL DE VILLE. 123
dons, who had them actually pounded into dust, as
being, in his estimation, the effigies of tyrants,
whose memorials were not to be tolerated.
Near the Hotel de Ville is the chapel of St.
Basil, remarkable for its antiquity and its extremely
beautiful Gothic facade. Nothing can exceed the
finished taste with which this faqade is executed.
At least a portion of the edifice is very ancient.
While yet in its primitive condition, a nobleman of
Alsace is said to have deposited in its tabernacle a
drop of the blood of our Saviour, which he had ob-
tained in Jerusalem. The more ancient part of
the edifice is the crypt, or subterranean place of
AV'orship, the massive walls and columns of which
partake of the Egyptian character. Over the door
of the staircase which leads from the lower to the
upper chapel is the figure of a pelican, surrounded
by a Gordian knot, a mystical symbol of the re-
demption. The cofier in which the gift of the
Alsacian is now preserved is a most splendid piece of
workmanship, composed partly of silver gilt, partly
of solid gold. On its sides are set several jewels of
great value. The whole weighs nearly eight hun-
dred ounces. Upon great festivals, the altar is
124 MARY OF BURGUNDY.
ornamented by a representation of Mount Calvary
in massive silver, surmounted also by a silver cross,
which is more than eight feet in heig-ht.
Every traveller of any curiosity who has visited
Bruges, must, I presume, have seen the tomb of
Mary of Burgundy in one of the chapels of the
cathedral of St. Sauveur ; and also the sarcophagus
that is near it, containing the ashes of her father,
Charles the Rash. They had both been formerly
placed in the choir ; but when Napoleon was in
Brussels, in 1810, with the Empress Marie Louise,
he left 10,000 francs to defray the expense of their
removal to the chapel in which they are now placed.
They are, in my judgment, much overloaded with
enamelled shields and statues,and emblazoned arms.
All this array of the "pomp of heraldry" ill com-
ports, I think, with the solemnity that ought to
reign among the dead. The history of Mary of
Burgundy, however, imparts a peculiar attraction
to her tomb. She was the last of the native sove-
reigns of Flanders. Being out hawking one day,
she fell from her horse, and was so much injured,
that she soon after expired. She had scarcely be-
held her twenty-fifth summer when this accident
CURIOUS CHIMNEY-PIECE. 125
occurred; and her premature departure from
amongst her people, who still love to dwell upon
her memory, sheds a mournful interest round her
monument. It is inscribed with the following
epitaph : — " She reigned as lady of the Low Coun-
tries during five years, for four of which she lived
in tender affection with my lord, her husband. She
expired, deeply deplored by her subjects, and by
all who knew her, as was never princess before."
On looking over several books of modern travels
through Belgium, I have been surprised to find
that many of their authors passed through Bruges
without taking even a momentary glance at the very
curious chimney-piece of the chamber of the court-
house, specially devoted in former ages to the judi-
cial business of the district called " the liberty"" of
Bruges. It is a master-piece of carving in wood,
by an artist whose name, unhappily, is unknown.
It is adorned with statues, nearly of natural size, of
the Emperor Charles V.; of jMaximilian and ]\Iary
of Burgundy, on his left; and on his right, of
Charles the Rash and Margaret of Enjiland : these
Statues are all most exquisitely wrought. The his-
torian of Bruges assures us that nothing like them
126 CHIMES.
is to be found in the world. Behind them are
seen the escutcheons of Spain, Burgundy, Flanders,
and England. In the niche behind the statue of
Charles V. are several beautifully executed medal-
lions, containing, in profile, the portraits of Philip
the Handsome, of his father, and of Jane of Spain,
his mother. The lower part of the chimney-piece
is in touchstone ; it is decorated by little genii in
alabaster, and by the well-known scene in the his-
tory of the chaste Susanna.
Those ever- recurring chimes seduced me to
ascend the tower in order to examine the machinery
by which they are produced. While beneath it,
the sound was, as I have already intimated, soft
and clear; but when I mounted above the cylinder,
every note came upon my ear with a painful loud-
ness. I should like much to learn from the calcu-
lations of science, to what height those sounds rise
in the atmosphere before they die totally away.
Pope, I think, it is, who sings of the " music of
the spheres.^' Would not the perpetual circulation
of the unnumbered orbs which are distributed
through space yield harmonies that may be heard
at the gates of heaven .''
xMAGNIFICENT PROSPECT. 127
The prospect from tlie summit of the tower is
amonc: the most mafrnificent scenes I have ever be-
hekl. From the level character of the country all
round, the eye ranges without any impediment to
its view over an immense space of territory, reach-
ing on the south the frontiers of France, and on the
north, tlie sliores of the German Ocean. Within
these grand outlines may be perceived, under a
favourable sky, such as we enjoyed, a portion of
Holland, the spires of Ghent, and many rivers,
canals, villages, forests, gardens, and cultivated
fields, the latter clothed in all the diversified attire
of summer, and slumbering in imiversal repose.
Not the least interesting part of this enchanting
prospect was the city of Bruges itself, below, com-
manding the lines of all its streets, many of them
animated by lindens and plane-trees, in full foliage;
the roofs of all its buildin<Ts, the towers of its
churches, the squares and promenades, the private
gardens attached to convents and palaces, the rail-
roads, with the smoke of their engines, now curl-
ing dark in the air, now vanishing from view, as
the machine rushed away, like some sorceress gifted
with supernatural power, to a distance whence it
128 ENGLISH CONVENT.
was no longer discernible. To our eyes, thus on
high, the moving men below were reduced to di-
mensions which made them appear ludicrously in-
significant. For the moment, one thus elevated is
surprised to think, that in the bosoms of such dimi-
nutive beings arrogance or ambition could find any
room wherein to fix their abode.
Before leaving Bruges I paid a visit to the Eng-
lish convent, and was surprised by what I may
justly call the splendour of the whole establishment.
The chapel is a gem of itself, spacious, cheerful,
elegantly decorated, the very emblem of a religious
mind rejoicing in its purity and in the hope of future
happiness by which it is animated. While I was en-
gaged in admiring this charming oratory, the nuns
and young ladies of the convent came in in procession
to recite the Angelus and sing the Litany of theHoly
Virgin. The noiseless step, the grave, collected,
fervent demeanour of the veiled sisters ; the well-
disciplined movement of the youthful train com-
mitted to their care ; the nicely-arranged hair, the
modest dress, the graceful appearance of so many
young English maidens, blooming in health and in
their own native beauty, drew away for a moment
ENGLISH CONVENT. 129
(God forgive me !) my attention from the shrine in
whicli tlicy were assembled to pay their devotions.
Highly ornamented though it was, there reigned
throughout a degree of simplicity and a feeling of
repose which proved how well the architect applied
his skill, with a view to render the temple what
such an edifice ought ever to be, a house of prayer
and adoration, rather than of theatrical display.
VOL. r.
130
CHAPTER IX.
Ghent. Ladies of Ghent. Ghent Gentlemen. The Cathedral.
Chapel of " The Lamb." The Palm Tree. English Candela-
bras. Episcopal Monument. The Crypt. Desecration of
Churches. St. Michael's Church. Church of St. Nicholas.
Oliver Minjau. The Theatre.
From these scenes of solitude and piety I reluc-
tantly withdrew, just as the organ en toned the
Litany. The steam-engines of the railroad have
not in them one spark either of religion or romance
— no consideration for any thing in this world, save
the clock ; and so off we were, " bag and baggage,"
at a quarter to five p. m., for the ancient city of
Ghent. Our way was through fields and gardens,
full of the incense of flowers of every hue, and of
corn not yet quite ripe for the sickle, standing al-
most as high as our carriage windows, yielding, as
it waved under the influence of a light and balmy
zephyr, a murmur which even our " railing " could
GHENT. 131
not wholly subdue. Now and then the scene was
varied by our being whirled into woods, here and
there interspersed with wliite cottages, from which
issued groups of laughing urchins, who set up
shouts as we passed, tliinking no doubt that we
came so far for their particular amusement.
The towers and spires of Ghent speedily pre-
sented themselves to view. From the circuitous
course which the railway pursued, in order to avoid
the undulations of the ground, it seemed as if we
■were about to pass by altogether the place of our
immediate destination. However, we reached our
terminus in due time, having been exactly an houi-
and a half upon the journey. The usual noise,
trouble, and delay, arising out of the distribution
of the luggage, having been gone through, we
hastened away to the " Hotel de la Poste," but
could find no admittance there, the town being, we
were informed, thronged with visitors on account
of the approaching races and balls. After some
search we obtained accommodation in a new esta-
blishment, the " Hotel de Paradise,'' a most in-
viting title, of which the house proved itself by no
means unworthy. The chambers were fitted up
X2
132 GHENT GENTLEMEN.
with great taste, were cleanly, and cheerful ; the
beds were good, the attendance excellent, and our
dinners were served in a most comfortable manner.
Much of the luxurious spirit of enjoyment for
which Germany is famous, displays itself in Ghent.
The men and women all appeared, as we should
say of well-fed oxen, in prime condition. What
was still better, they looked not merely contented,
but happy. Shall I be ever pardoned by the
Ghentian demoiselles if I admit that, in point of
beauty, they must yield the palm to the ladies of
Bruges ? Would that I could, with a safe con-
science, bear testimony that the fact were other-
wise. But unhappily the difference is indisputable.
On the other hand, the former carry the victory,
so far as dress is concerned. Without subservience
to any particular fashion, they display remarkable
taste in the selection of colour and the style of their
apparel, Avhich presents an endless variety, never
devoid of grace. The gentlemen, of whom I per-
ceived a greater number (perhaps on account of
the races) in Ghent, in proportion to the popula-
tion, than in any other town in Belgium, appeared
all to pay the utmost attention to their costume.
THE CATHEDRAL. 133
They wore, generallv, the " cut-away coat,"" but-
toned tightly at the Avaist. Indeed, they required
some restraint in that direction, wherein the usual
consequences of good living Avere not easy to be
suppressed. I was not a little pleased by their
frank and free demeanour, and the confident, manly
tone of their conversation. Tlie more I knew of
them, the better I was enabled to comjirehend that
fine old Belgic feeling of independence which was
revived with so much reason and such entire suc-
cess in the scenes of the late revolution.
The morning after our arrival being Sunday,
June 27, Ave proceeded to the church of St. Bavon
to hear high mass. The bishop of the diocese was
present, and the service Avas performed in the most
edifying manner, accompanied by a fine organ and
several stringed instruments in perfect harmony.
During the procession of the " Asperges," before
the commencement of mass, the head of St. John
(the original tutelar saint), in silver, was borne
immediately after the crucifix. The cathedral, one
of the most spacious in Belgium, was croAvded by
both sexes, nearly in equal proportion. Their de-
meanour Avas of the most exemplary character.
134 THE CATHEDRAL.
The cathedral of St. Bavon is well known amongst
architects as one of the oldest and most interesting
churches in Europe. The earliest building, be-
neath which there is a crypt, is said to have been
constructed in the ninth century. It was then-
called the church of St. John. But Charles V.
having resolved to erect a citadel in the place where
the ruins of the abbey of St. Bavon previously
stood, he transferred the collegiate chapter of St.
Bavon to St. John's. After that time the church
took the name which it now bears. In compliance
with a request made to him by Philip II., King of
Spain, the Pope, Paul IV., raised it, in 1559, to
the dignity of a cathedral. Part of the ruins of
the abbey of St. Bavon may be still traced in the
old Spanish citadel. The abbey was founded
by that holy prelate about the year 608, amidst
the remains of an ancient temple dedicated to
Mercury.
The cathedral, in its pristine form, was of a
limited size ; it has been, from time to time, greatly
extended. It suffered many injuries during the
various siesres and contests of which Ghent and its
environs have been the theatre. Portions of it have
THK CATHEDRAL. 135
been frequently rebuilt and newly ornanuntctl ; so
much so, that it may be said to present to tlie
spectator a historical picture of ecclesiastical archi-
tecture, commencing with the ninth and terminating
with the eighteenth century — since which time it
has remained nearly in the state in whidi we now
find it. There is a peculiar charm in the aspect of
a temple in which one can thus contemplate the
results of operations carried on through a succes-
sion of nearly a thousand years — in which, wc
might say, ten centuries are assembled in the pre-
sence of each other to bear witness to the love of
the past generation for their holy religion — to the
unaltered, unchangeable character of the Catholic
faith — to the continued presence in its tabernacle
of Him who promised that He would be with his
church throucrhout all ages !
The chapels which surround the choir are pro-
fusely ornamented with marbles of various tints,
and different species of metals. They are deco-
rated by a great number of pictures, many of
which are executed in the most exquisite style by
artists of European celebrity. Amongst them is
one of Pourbus's best pictures, " Christ convei's-
136 CHAPEL OF THE LAMB."
ing with the Doctors." The artist, according to
his usual manner, has introduced upon his canvass
portraits of persons of distinction who hved in his
own time. The most remarkable are those of
Charles V., his son (Philip II.), and Pourbus him-
self. In the chapel of " The Lamb " is a master-
piece especially worthy of notice, not only on ac-
count of its being the production of the brothers
Van Eyck, the inventors of the art of painting in
oil, but also of the profound impression which it
leaves upon the mind. The subject is taken from
the Apocalypse. It represents the Heavenly Lamb
receiving the adoration of all the saints of the Old
and New Testament. On the right of the Lamb
are ranged the patriarchs and prophets on their
knees; on the left, the apostles and martyrs; in
the distance are groups of saintly men, bishops, and
virgins, holding in their hands branches of palm —
that most venerable, most graceful of all trees —
the beacon of the desert — the dweller by those
fountains of sweet waters, near which encamped
the children of Israel on their way out of the land
of Egypt — the tree whose feathery branches, min-
gled with those of the olive, were strewed upon the
THE rAI.M-TRLE. 137
road by which the Messiah entered Jerusalem, when
the descendants of that people hailed him as the
Blessed Oxk who came in the name of tlie Lord,
as HosAKNA in the hifrhcst — the emblem of his
victory over the powers of darkness — one of the
productions of nature annually gathered by his
church, sprinkled by her consecrated waters, blessed
by her solemn prayers, presented by her ministers
to her people, who hold its branches in their hands
during the reading of the Passion, as it is written
by St. Matthew, afterwards publicly wear them
as a symbol of their faith, and preserve them in
their homes as a token of their reverence and af-
fection for Ilim who laid down his life in atonement
for the sins of mankind.
It is impossible for a Christian who truly loves
his faith ever to behold the palm without the most
lively emotions ; but, in the picture under considera-
tion, the introduction of this accessory produces a
mysterious feeling, not unlike that which the Apo-
calypse itself excites in the mind. Indeed, the
artists seem to have participated in the inspiration
of the sacred writer while they were engaged in de-
signing their noble work. It is connected, accord-
138 ENGLISH CANDELABRAS.
ing to the fashion of those times (fourteenth cen-
tury), with three other paintings, the principal of
which, the middle one, represents the Redeemer as
seated upon a throne, and attired in the pontifical
costume. On his right is the Blessed Virgin,
beautiful as d. Madonna of Raphael, and on his
left is St. John the Baptist, presenting in his
stem, masculine figure, a fine contrast to the efful-
gent, heavenly countenance of the " Mother of
Divine Grace." In the lower distance is seen,
upon a luminous ground, a view of Jerusalem.
The English visitor will observe with particular
interest four magnificent candelabra of burnished
copper, ranged in front of the great altar, which
originally were the property of our Charles I., and
amongst the ornaments of Whitehall Chapel, that
were sold by order of the Commonwealth. His
arms are engraved on one side, on the other are
those of the Bishop Triest, who presented them to
the chapel.
The pulpit is a most elaboi*ate piece of furniture,
consisting partly of white marble figures and orna-
ments, partly of carved wood. The effect of this
mixture is far from being accordant with good
EPISCOPAL MONUMENT. 139
taste. There are several excellent monuments in
the choir. That of the bishop just mentioned is
said to be the finest piece of sculpture in Belgium.
The figure of the bishop, as large as life, is seen
kneeling on his tomb, in episcopal attire, contem-
plating the cross borne by the Redeemer. On the
opposite side is a statue of the Virgin. These
three figures are executed in the most finished
style. But the spectator turns from these magni-
ficent productions of the chisel of the celebrated
Duquesnoy with a lively interest to two beautiful
small angels, supported on an hour-glass, placed at
the foot of the monument. They are models of
grace and loveliness.
A volume might be written upon the ornaments
which fill this noble cathedral. It presents of itself
a coup d'ocil of the most imposing description. The
nave and aisles are of surprising extent, affording
ample space for the display of the processions,
which add so much to the pomp and solemnity of
the great festivals. Between those parts of the
edifice and the choir are several lofty columns of
variegated marbles. There are altogether four-and-
twenty chapels in this cathedral, each having in
140 THE CRYPT.
front of its altar a screen exquisitely wrought in
carved oak or marble, or brass richly gilt, or iron
fashioned in a style of singular beauty.
The crypt or subterranean church appears to be
a work of Cyclopean hands. It is irregular in its
design ; but this very irregularity speaks of those
primeval ages of the faith, when she had not yet
ventured to point her steeples to the skies, and was
obliged to carry on her functions in caverns con-
cealed from the eye of her persecutors.
I subsequently visited the church of St. Michael
with a painful interest. It was stripped of all its
ornaments by the Vandals of the French republic,
and then desecrated by being used as a " Temple
of Reason." Upon its altar was placed a statue of
the " Goddess of Liberty,"" at the feet of which
were celebrated the marriages contracted, as the
language of those lamentable days described them,
" in conformity with the law."" Nevertheless it was
a most gratifying spectacle to behold sacred rites
again solemnized in this once-degraded edifice ; it
was a triumph to hear, as I heard at vespers, the
" Laudate Pueri,"'"' and the " Magnificat "'"' finely
chanted beneath that roof which had witnessed so
ST. MICHAEL'S CHURCH. 14|
foul a profanation of tlic shrine of the arcliangcl.
" AVho," we might justly exclaim, when we think of
the rebellion against religion that marked those years
of terror, " who, indeetl,'''' to use the serapirs own
words, when he cast the accursed from the regions
of happiness, " is like unto God ?" It would seem
as if he permitted the genius of evil to usurp even
his own altars for a moment, in order to give testi-
mony to the faithfid of his power to conquer and
chase away the demon, when it suits his ever wise
purposes so to do.
St. Michael's church ranks next to the cathedral.
Its ornaments are, for the reason I have stated,
chiefly of the modern school of art. It possesses,
however, a splendid crucifixion, by Vandyck, pro-
nounced by Sir Joshua Reynolds to be " one of his
noblest works." One cannot too much admire tlie
figure of the horse which the artist has introduced
into this fine painting. I afterwards found it re-
peated in his picture of Charles V., in the Sal di
Baroccio, at Florence. To this church those visitors
must repair who wish to hear the anthems of our
church sung with a truly solemn effect. The organ
is, I think, at once the most powerful and melo-
142 CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS.
dious I ever heard. Some years ago the most
celebrated members of the bar were accustomed to
assemble in this edifice, for the purpose of afford-
ing not only legal advice to the poor, but also of
defraying the expenses of any suits in which they
might be engaged. The barristers who assembled
upon those occasions were enrolled in a confrater-
nity, called the " Brotherhood of St. Ivoy." I could
not learn why they had discontinued their meet-
ings, the last of which was held so late as the year
1830. I fear that the charitable dispositions of
my learned brethren are rather on the decline, not
only in the Netherlands, but elsewhere. Or, per-
chance, the poor have become less litigious than
they used to be — a circumstance by no means to be
lamented.
Several travellers have erroneously stated that
St. Bavon's is the oldest church in Ghent. That
honour belongs to the church of St. Nicholas,
which is situated near the corn-market. It is con-
structed in the primitive Gothic style, of Tournay
stone, to which time has imparted the colour of
black marble. It was burnt down in the year
1120, during a great fire which occurred at that
OLIVER MINJAL'. 143
time ill Ghent ; but it was soon after restored,
scarcely any deviation having been made from its
original plan. In the fifteenth century the to\ver
■was added to it ; the architect, with a degree of
taste not often visible in the buildings of that
period, rendered his work so conformable in every
respect with the original style of the church, that
it would seem as if both had been of the same age.
The portico is quite modern (1225). I cannot pay
a similar compliment to the designer of this ad-
dition, for it is in the Ionic order, which spoils the
harmony of the edifice.
St. Nicholas has had its vicissitudes during the
civil wars to which religious disputes gave rise. At
one time it was used as a stable, at another as a
store for provisions. The pictures by which it was
originally ornamented were all taken away or des-
troyed. Those which are now seen upon its walls are
modern, and not particularly worthy of notice. An
epitaph on a slab in this church records an extra-
ordinary fact — that a citizen of Ghent, named
OHver INIinjau, and his wife, Amelbergen Slaugen,
had thirty-one children ! Twenty-one of these
144 THE THEATRE.
were boys, and ten girls. When Cliarles V. made
his grand entry into Ghent, in the year 1526, he
observed amongst the crowd Minjau at the head of
his twenty-one sons, all clothed in uniform. In re-
compence for such an addition to the number of
his subjects the emperor assigned him a pension.
Unhappily he did not long after survive to enjoy
his good fortune. The singular plague called the
Sweaty which at that period swept away such num-
bers in England, extended itself to Ghent Minjau
and his wife saw the whole of their children perish
under the effect of this malady, one after another,
and eventually fell victims to it themselves ! They
were interred in the cemetery by which the church
was formerly surrounded.
The new theatre is very conveniently placed near
the " Hotel de la Poste." It may be justly classed
among the handsomest buildings of its kind in
Europe. There are appended to it concert rooms,
which, together with the theatre, are most splendidly
ornamented in the style belonging to the age of
Louis XIV. This remarkably fine edifice gives one
a stvong impression of the taste prevailing among
THE THEATRE. 146
the inhabitants of Ghent. Their love for music is
proverbial ; their musical professors have long
and most deservedly enjoyed a very high reputa-
tion. The university, also of modern date, is a
ren)arkably fine building, and well worthy of the
attention of visitors.
VOL. r.
146
CHAPTER X.
Red and White Roses. Way to the Races. Ladies of Ghent.
Ghent Gentlemen. Race Booths. Scene on the Course. The
Spectators. Groups on the Course. The lower Booths. Quit-
ting the Field. The Return Home. Prosperity of Ghent. Its
general Appearance. Cultivation of Flowers. People of Ghent.
Ancient Ghent.
Off to the races ! It was one of those fine days
of June, which, after a few genial showers of rain,
draw forth the full-blown red roses in all their pride
and beauty, but still leave upon the branches nu-
merous buds just beginning to shew their blushes,
and looking like so many smiling daughters of as
many joyous mothers. The white rose-trees seem
to be great favourites in the suburban gardens and
villas of Ghent. They were all out in their bridal
attire. Along the margins of the corn-fields, rows
of all sorts of flowers, of every hue, waved gaily in
the summer breeze, and yielded to the air their
choicest fragrance.
WAY TO THE RACES. 147
We had scarcely entered on the road leading to
the race-field, when we found ourselves forming
part of a procession of a long line of carriages and
vehicles, several of which recalled the fashions that
prevailed in England a century ago. By the way-
side were pedestrians without numher, many of
them muscular, ahlc-bodied young men, though
generally under what we hold to be the military
size. Arrived within a short distance of the scene
of amusement, we were stopped at a barrier, beyond
•which we were informed that we could not advance
in our carriage without paying five francs. We
might descend and walk on gratis, if we liked,
leaving our veliicle in waiting for us ; but being
somewhat experienced in the enjoyment of an ele-
vated seat, whence we might command a view of
the whole course, we drove on, submitting to the
extortion, and found a favourable station near the
tribune assigned to the judges of the contests
about to take place.
The area prepared for the races was not a very
spacious one. It was manifestly measured out with
a niggard hand from amidst the exuberant corn-
fields by which it was encircled. Benches, pro-
l2
148 LADIES OF GHENT.
tected from the sun by temporary sheds, were raised
to some extent, one above another, the lower being
appropriated to the "nobles" — a public distinction
more aristocratic than I had expected to find in
Belgium. Seats were also set apart for " membres
honoraires " and " membres eifectifs." The charge
for a place on the benches, noble or not noble, was
ten francs ; but the cards for the former were not
given without due discrimination. As soon as they
were filled by the dames and demoiselles formed out
of the " porcelain " earth of the Netherlands, I
walked down the lines to see to what style of
beauty they belonged. I am afraid of giving the
result of my researches, remembering my indiscre-
tions in Hungary, and the consequences thereof. I
was guilty of having stated in my "Danube"
pages that female education had not appeared, so
far as I could observe or learn, to have made as yet
much progress in that portion of the Austrian do-
minions; and for this statement I have been
soundly scolded in every company from Presburg
to the mountains of Transylvania — nay, and be-
yond them ! Taught by experience, therefore, I
am become sage, and so cautious in all such mat-
GHENT GENTLEMEN. 149
ters, that I will not even venture upon an innu-
endo.
The benches of every degree exliibited numerous
specimens of high corporal condition amongst the
male sex. In fact, I never saw in any country so
many examples of that "manner of man" which
on one occasion puzzled Washington Irvinjr so
excessively, and gave origin to one of the most
amusing of his " crayon " sketches. I allude to his
story of the " Fat Gentleman." The " cut-a-way "
coat was universal, and the difficulty of compelling
the lower button to go into its proper receptacle
seemed to have been generally no very easy matter.
Cheerful, good-natured faces, however, were beam-
ing everywhere with the joyous feelings which the
genial weather and sports of the day so naturally
excited. Not a little amusement arose from the
whitened patclies which defiled the gloss on the
cut-a-ways of the " honoraires " and the " efFectifs''
after they were placed in contact with the backs of
the benches. In order to save paint, these were
all washed over with lime, with a view to impart
to tiiem a gay appearance. The consequence was,
that all who came in contact with them presented.
150 RACE BOOTHS.
when they afterwards condescended to walk about,
much of the appearance of so many hodmen or
dusty millers !
There were numerous booths on the field, of va-
rious shapes, signalized by flags and streamers of a
hundred colours, which gave a highly picturesque
aspect to the scene. During the intervals of the
races, these places of entertainment were crowded
by the bourgeoisie of Ghent, and the peasantry
Avho flocked in from all the covmtry round. The
variety of their costumes, though many of them
wore the blouse, presented an interesting spectacle.
Beer was the general beverage, and the savoury
odours that came from the fires within and without,
gave token of ample provision having been made
for the consumption of the day. The circuit of
the course was kept free from intrusion by soldiers,
who were stationed at equal intervals from each
other. The contrast of their uniform with the
varied dresses of the multitude, the glancing lights
from their bayonets, when touched by the rays of
the sun, gave the circle, thus so completely de-
scribed, an aspect novel to my eye, and, I must
add, peculiarly striking and brilliant.
SCENE ON THE COURSE. 151
Wlien I took my seat on the roof of our carriafi^o,
and contemplated the wliole of tlie picture before
me — the masses of pedestrians already assembled
in the field — the numerous groups still bending
their way towards it, through the teeming and
flowery corn-fields and meadows all around — the
numbers of Belgian gentlemen galloping here and
there over the green turf — the equipages, some of
them splendid, others sufficiently elegant, several
grotesque, from their obsolete fashion — the grand
white stand, filled with " lords and ladies gay " —
and the booths and tents, with their streamers and
colours flying on high, illumined by the sun, and
gently agitated by light and variable zephyrs,
which prevented the summer heat from being op-
pressive — I felt that there are moments of happiness
even in this life — the happiness of seeing so many
of our species free from all care, and enjoying in
common one of the most exciting and, at the same
time, most innocent, of all recreations. A military
band was in attendance, and added to the feelings
of the hour that thrilling sense of pleasure which
music, especially in the open, liealtljy air, never
fails to awaken.
152 THE SPECTATORS.
Compared with the running at Epsom, Ascot,
or Doncaster, that of the course near Ghent was
immeasurably inferior, as one might expect ; ne-
vertheless it was not without a strong degree of in-
terest. Many more horses were entered than those
which made their appearance. There were, how-
ever, two or three very good races. It is impos-
sible to see even a pair of jockeys, ordinarily
mounted, drawn up abreast, waiting for the signal,
off at the same instant, watching each other in the
early movements of the contest, restraining their
own eagerness, pushing on gradually, coolly quick-
ening their pace, still reserving their strength until
the goal appears in sight, and then the rush on-
wards, the eagerness both of horse and rider, the
lash of the whip, the fiery look of the antagonists
at each other, the flight of the well-trained, grace-
ful, rival steeds, panting quite as much as their
masters for the victory, without forgetting for the
moment that there is in the world any other spec-
tacle worth attention.
Before quitting the course, I visited the lower
classes of booths, which were undistinguished by
any flags, and were of a much ruder construction
GROUPS ON THE COURSE. 153
than those already described. Here were assembled
the peasantry and the labouring orders from Ghent,
wholly given up to the pleasures of the hour. The
dancing-booths were crowded. Fiddlers and piper.«,
placed upon the tops of barrels, rasping and dron-
ing with all their might ; the stout, well-fed Fle-
mish gallants, and their fair partners, scarcely less
ponderous than themselves, decorated by enormous
gold ear-rings, stamping on the floor with swag-
gering gaiety ; now crossing hands, and changing
sides, and wheeling round in circles ; an occasional
wink of the eye, sly coquettish glances, and shouts
of universal merriment, placed before me, in life
and action, one of those old Flemish pictures in
which holiday rejoicings are so minutely, so ex-
quisitely, represented. Nor were there wanted to
fill up the scene the ballad-singers, with troops of
chubby urchins around them ; the sleight-of-hand
men, with their brass balls, their tumbling, face-
painted clowns, their noisy drums, and still more
noisy orations ; the gaming-tables for thimblerig-
gers ; monkeys riding on dogs ; dogs dancing
quadrilles; girls on stilts; the merry-go-rounds;
the gingerbread lotteries; the vendors of cheap
154 QUITTING THE FIELD.
ribands, caps, and shawls, puffing off their wares
in grandiloquent phraseology ; the tooth-drawers
and dealers in elixirs, by the use of which one
might live to the age of Noah ; fat cooks, weighing
out their smoking pork and beef a la mode, and
active, laughing, neatly-dressed female waiters,
handing round their tall glasses of beer, or their
smaller measures of genuine Schiedam.
The order with which the course was kept — the
regularity with which the hours mentioned in the
card for each start were observed — the quietness
with which every necessary arrangement was car-
ried on, reflected great credit upon " the membres
efFectifs," whose excellent arrangements enabled
the carriage folk and the equestrians to quit the
field, after the races were over, with the most per-
fect order. There was none of that crowding and
racing, upsetting and blocking up, lashing, and
swearing, and by-battling, which render the hour
of departure at Epsom so disagreeable and danger-
ous. Every thing went off with the greatest tran-
quillity anil regularity ; nor did I hear of a single
accident to mar the enjoyments of the day.
The return from the course was a highly inte-
PROSPERITY OF GHENT. 155
rcstiiif scene. The procession of vehicles and
horses extended more than a mile in length, mov-
ing at a slow pace, and attended on each side by a
long line of pedestrians. The dwellers of numerous
villas on the way, belonging to wealthy merchants
and gentry, were seattxl in semicircles in front of
their habitations, amidst gardens cultivated with
remarkable taste, at tables ornamented with flowers
(amongst which the dahlias were pre-eminently
beautiful), taking their coffee and fruit in shady
arbours, or the open air, and observing with joy-
ous looks the spectacle exhibited to their view.
Groups of laughing faces filled the windows of the
houses nearer to the highway ; and in front of all
the cabarets were assembled numerous guests, at-
tired in holiday costume, fathers and mothers, with
their juvenile tribes, and loving pairs, and single
gentlemen of every degree. The waiters seemed,
with all their running here and there, to have more
upon their hand than they could go through. They
Avere in agonizing requisition.
Certainly Ghent presented to me no signs of
decay. The scenes just described speak of general
prosperity and content. The city may be described
156 ITS GENERAL APPEARANCE.
as composed of many islets (twenty-six, it is said)
connected by nearly ninety bridges of wood or stone.
It is seated on the Scheldt, the Lys, the Lieve, and
the Moer, which communicate with each other by
their own branches and the canals. One of these
canals, a splendid work, forms a communication
between Ghent and Bruges. The scenery upon its
margin is not destitute of beauty. Upon its sur-
face may be seen, strewed in elegant variety, the
bog-bean and the water-lily, and dependent over
these, from the steep banks, the tassels of the flow-
ering rush. The numerous tall chimneys belong-
ing to manufactories for spinning yarn, the fabri-
cation of clothing of every description, of linens,
and especially of damask, so called from the city
of Damascus, whence the art of weaving it was
originally brought by the Crusaders, mark Ghent
at once as the Manchester of Belgium, while its
towers and steeples rising still higher, and almost
as numerous, proclaim it as the religious capital of
the kinfjdom.
The principal promenade is much frequented in
the afternoon by all the fashion of the town. It is
shaded by a triple row of trees, and refreshed by
CULTIVATIOX OF FLOWERS. 157
the waters of the Coupurc, \vliicli connects the l.ys
with the canal of Bruges. Not far from the pro-
menade is the Casino, an extensive and not inele-
gant buihling, in the Grecian style, surrounded by
gardens filled witli all kinds of flowers, and laid
out with great taste. The Casino serves for the
concerts of several musical societies, and the exhi-
bitions of flowers in summer and autumn given by
the botanical association of Ghent. Ik-hind the
building is an amphitheatre open to the sky, which
reminded me of that of Argos, from its having
been excavated out of a steep bank. It is ])lanted
with flowers, intermingled with a variety of mosses,
and ]:)resents in the fine season a charming appear-
ance, which must be rendered still more enchantine:
on those occasions when the brotherhood of St.
Cecelia summon all the musical population of Ghent
— a numerous race — to hear their admirable per-
formances. The amphitheatre aflbrds accommoda-
tion to six thousand persons, and is said to have
been often entirely filled.
I need hardly remark that the neighbourhood of
Ghent has been long celebrated for its cultivation
of dahlias, orange trees, camellias, azaleas, and
158 PEOPLE OF GHENT.
other valuable and splendid exotic plants, which it
exports to all parts of Europe, constituting in fact
a regular trade, that produces in some years a re-
turn of nearly two millions of francs. The city
wears a much more modern and cheerful aspect
than Bruges. Many of the houses are spacious
and palace-like, quite in the Italian style ; the ef-
fect of their fine fronts, however, decorated though
they be by bas-reliefs and frescoes, is much im-
paired by the inferior quality of the window-glass,
which has a muddy greenish colour. It is manu-
factured chiefly at Charleroi. The roguish espion
of which I made mention in my notes on Bruges,
is also much in use here. There are several ex-
tensive squares in Ghent, well planted with trees.
Considerable bustle prevails in the streets during
the hours of business. The people moving through
them seem by no means addicted to that splenetic
mien which characterizes John Bull, as he hastens
through Cheapside. On the contrary, they usually
appear frank, communicative, and lively, as if they
had been just enjoying good early dinners, and
foresaw no great difficulty in the management of
their affairs. The shops are well stored with every
9
ANCIENT GHENT. 159
species of attractive wares. They abound espe-
cially in jewellery, gold and silver ornaments, and
watches, wrougiit in the most elegant style. Some
of these are so small, that they would easily fit with-
in a lady"'s ring.
Near the old quays of the canals, however, and
the earlier haunts of commerce, may still be seen
narrow lanes and streets, in which the middle-age
style of houses, witii their fantastic gables and
chimneys, and their sharp-tilted roofs, still pre-
dominate. In these quarters, also, one encounters
several antique lofty towers and belfries. Amongst
the most curious of the old-fashioned forms of
building in Ghent is the " Hall of the Watermen "
on the Quai aux Herbes. Its numerous Saxon
arches and carvings in stone are well Avorth exa-
mination. The owners of it were in former days a
most turbulent band, as we may learn from the pages
of Froissart. The long old-fashioned waggons,
made for their coeval streets and lanes, present a
striking contrast with the gay, light carriages which
may be frequently observed in the modern quarters
of Ghent.
160
CHAPTER XL
The Wonder of Ghent. The Beguinage. Menage of a Beguine.
Her Fancy-work. Her Duties. Beguine Dress. Evening Ser-
vice. The Benediction. Solemn Scene. Antiquity of Be-
giaines. My Uncle Toby. Carmelite Chapel. Elaborate Carv-
ings. A Cowled Monk.
There is hardly a spot within the precincts of
this interesting city which has not a place in the
story of the numberless civil commotions or wars
with external foes, in which Ghent has been engaged
from time to time. In the street near the Marche
de Vendredi, called the Mannekens Aert, is a huge
cannon called " Mad Margaret," after a countess of
Flanders, celebrated for the terrible violence of her
temper. It is also commonly designated the " Won-
der of Ghent ;"" it is constructed of malleable iron,
and was used by Philip Van Artevelde, at the
siege of Oudenarde, in 1382. Froissart, speaking
of this monstrous weapon of war, declares in his
Tin: WO.XDKR OF GHENT. 161
own racy, tliounrli quaint language, that, when it
wixs used in the siege of the place just mentioned,
the report of its discharges was heard at a distance
of five leagues by day and of ten by night ! It
sounded, he adds, " as if all the devils of hell were
out !" Ghent may be said to be a seaport, as the
Sas de Gand canal connects it with the mouth of
the Scheldt at Terneuse. I observed several mer-
chant-vessels in its sj)lendid basin, and I was in-
formed that its maritime trade was annually in-
creasing. The latest returns shew that the inter-
nal commerce of Belgium has been trebled since
the establishment of the railways. Many new build-
ings are in progress of erection at Ghent, amongst
which the Palais de Justice stands conspicuous.
There is scarcely any religious establishment
upon the continent which a traveller, no matter
what in"s faith may be, visits with greater interest
and satisfaction than that which here ffoes under
the name of the " Beg u in age." There are two
connnunities of this order in Ghent, one belonirinn-
to the greater Beguinagc, the other to the smaller.
1 took an early opportunity of driving to tiie for-
mer. Upon entering within its gate, I found that
VOL. I. M
162 MENAGE OF A BEGUINE.
it was a village in itself, enclosed within a fosse and
a wall, a square in the middle, in which was a
Spanish-looking church, neat small houses all
round, accessible by short passages in front,
through doors with small grills in them, through
which questions were asked before admission v/as
given to a stranger. Plates are on or over these
doors, upon which are inscribed the names of
saints or of sisters of the order.
Approaching one of the houses nearest to the
gate, I pulled the bell-ring ; a sister immediately
appeared at the grill, and asked if I wished to see
any particular person in the house. I answered
that I merely wished to see the house itself, upon
which I was shewn into a large apartment, where
several females, not dressed in the habit of the
order, were engaged in knitting and sewing. Three
or four of the community were also present similarly
occupied. The nun who acted as my guide, then
approaching a cupboard, informed me that it con-
tained the whole of her part of the establishment.
It was fitted up with shelves, upon which were a
few plates, a cup, saucer, teapot, and coflPee-pot,
part of a loaf of bread, a portion of butter, a knife
Iiril FANCY-WORK. 1G3
and fork, and a napkin. " Here is my table/"' said
she, drawing out a scjuare board from beneath the
lower shelf of the cu{)boartl, — " we do not dine or
take any of our meals in common, because we are
usually out the greater part of the day, and our
return is uncertain. When our engagements abroad
are discharged, then we come home and prepare
our own breakfasts and dinners. We have each of
VIS a cupboard like this, with its small table, at
which each of the sisters sits alone. Here,""* she
added, opening the lower doors of tiie cupboard
under her table, " are some specimens of my work
— perhaps you would like to look at tJiem ? '' She
then produced several specimens of fancy-work,
very neatly executed. Among these were purses
fashioned in the old style, consisting of cards cut
three-corner-wise, covered with silk of different
colours, a gold tassel at the bottom, edged with
gold cord, and at top capable of being opened or
closed by gold cords, which were arranged for the
purpose. Nice pincushions, kettle-holders, and all
that knick-knackery of smull affairs, the names of
which my "gentle readers*' know a great deal
better than I do, abounded in tlie nun's little closet.
M 2
164 HER DUTIES.
I purchased a few specimens of her industry, as
memorials of my visit to this interesting establish-
ment. She then shewed me over her cell, and an
apartment attached to it, in which, she said, she
had the privilege of lodging, for such length of
time as she pleased, any female relative who came
to see her. Both her cell and its adjoining cham-
ber were furnished in a plain, comfortable style,
and were kept delicately clean. This description of
my kind guide's abode may serve for that of every
other sister of the community. In each house there
are two or three cells, with adjoining apartments for
hospitality. The members of the Beguinage are
not bound by their vows to remain in the commu-
nity an hour longer than they think fit. While
they do remain, they are pledged to celibacy. They
employ the whole of their time in the duties of
religion, in attending on the sick, assisting the
clergy in preparing for death those who may be in
need of their most consoling services, in administer-
ing charity secretly amongst those families whom
they may discover to be in want, preparing
articles of dress for the poor, and, in short, in every
kind of good work that is acceptable to the
BEGUINE DRESS. 165
DivixE ^Master wliom they serve. Though free
to quit the conimunity whenever they please, I was
informed that very few instances had occurred of a
sister divesting herself of her veil, and that those
instances were chiefly attributable to maladies
which required change of climate.
Although separated during the course of the
dav, after the niorninor service the whole of the
community assemble at seven o'clock, r.M., in tlie
church, to attend the benediction. I returned to
the Befjuinaixe a little before that hour, and ob-
served with jrreat interest the constant streaming
in throuirh the gate of these admirable women,
hastening to their devotions from all quarters of
the city, in wliich they had been during the day
exercising the saintly functions of their order.
Tlieir head-dress is peculiar, and highly pictu-
resque. Over a black silk hood they carry a veil,
called a beguinc, folded flat in form of a square,
and laid upon the top of the hood. It is formed
of a snowy white lawn : when they enter the
churci), they stop for a moment to remove the be-
guine from their heads, open it out, and then
arrange it gracefully over the silk hood, so as
166 EVENING SERVICE.
partly to conceal the face. They then proceed to
their places among the benches and genuflectories
ranged on both sides of the nave, and occupy them-
selves for awhile in meditation and prayer.
When I beheld the whole of the sisterhood, con-
sisting of nearly seven hundred individuals, thus
congregated, kneeling before the altar, which was
lighted up for the solemn function of the evening
with numerous tapers ornamented with flowers,
and arrayed in pure white draperies, richly fringed
with gold ; not a breath audible throughout the
Avhole assembly, all with one soul waiting for
the blessing they were about to receive as the
crowning reward for the labours of the day, I sud-
denly felt as if I had been for a moment admitted
to behold the choir of heaven prostrate before the
throne of God.
A peal from the organ announced the approach
from the vestry of a procession of boys clothed in
red cassocks and muslin surplices, bearing lights
and incense, and followed by the officiating priest,
clothed in a rich cope. Arrived at the steps of the
altar, he ascended to the tabernacle, and having
taken from its depository the sacred host, arranged
THE BENEDICTION. 1G7
it in the remonstrance, avIh'cIi lie placed before the
tabernacle; he then knelt down, and bowintr his
venerable head, remained for awhile in the attitude
of adoration, the fragrant fumes of the incense
rising like a cloud around him. The seven hun-
dred white-veiled sisters were all seen in a similar
attitude of homage for a few moments, when the
organ again preluding, they intoned in perfect Iiar-
mony the " O Salutaris Hostia/' The effect of so
many female voices, thrilling with the fervour of
enthusiastic devotion, accompanied by the sounds
of the organ, now swelling through the lower
clarions of the instrument, now running in joyous
modulations throuffh the notes of the higher oc-
taves, was well calculated to excite the feelings of
such an assembly as this to a seraphic rapture.
When they concluded the beautiful hymn, so
full of the aspirations of a soul knowing of no aid
against the violence of warring passions except that
which it may receive from the " saving host,*" the
host that "opens the gate of heaven," and points to
the abodes of eternal life, and light, and peace ; the
priest having offered his tribute of incense to the
eucharist, received from one of the attendants a
168 SOLEMN SCENE.
silk scarf, decorated in the middle with the figure
of the Lamb embracing the crucifix, worked in
gold, and surrounded by a glory, arranged it on
his shoulders over his cope, and again ascended the
altar ; then covering his hands with the scarf, he
took between them the remonstrance, and gave tiie
benediction in the usual form. All was again
breathless silence — profound adoration. The scene
has nothing like it upon earth ; so many virgins
veiled in white, prostrate in the Divine presence,
and wrapped, for the moment, in one common aspi-
ration of prayer and praise to the Great Jehovah ;
it was a spectacle which filled me at once with the
most sublime emotion and awful dread lest I should
never find myself repeating that homage before the
indivisible Trinitv in the regions of the blessed !
After repeating the Rosary and the Litany of
the Holy Name, the greater majority of the sisters
rose, and having re-arranged their beguines upon
their heads, took their departure. The rest re-
mained to pursue their meditations.
The establishment of the Beguinage in Ghent is
the principal one of their order, Avhich consists, alto-
gether, of between six and seven thousand members.
ANTIQUITY OF BKGUINES. 169
spread throughout Belgium. It has been in ex-
istence upwards of twelve hundred years, without
interruption, having been, on account of its truly
benevolent and useful objects, respected equally by
Joseph II. of Austria, when he suppressed almost
every other convent in the Low Countries, and by
the Frencb Directory, when Belgium became part
of the French republic. The late King of Holland,
bigoted though he was against their religion, gave
tbem a charter in 1827, confirming them in the
possession of their property and their privileges.
It is well known that they have amongst them
several members of ancient families.
Few Catholics, I apprehend, will agree in the
wish expressed by Sterne concerning the motives
by which the Beguines are actuated in the execu-
tion of their pious and charitable functions. "She
was in black," said Trim, " down to her toes, with
her hair concealed under a cambric border, laid
close to her forehead. She was one of those kind
of nuns, and please your honour, of which there
are a good many in Flanders." " By thy descrip-
tion, Trim," said my uncle Toby, " I dare say she
was a young Beguine, of whom there are none to be
170 CARMELITE CHAPEL.
found anywhere except in the Spanish Netherlands ;
they differ from other nuns in this — that they can
quit their cloisters if they choose to marry ; they
visit the sick by profession, but I had rather, for
my own part, they did it out of good-nature."'
Sterne ouffht to have known better. Good-nature
falls very short of religious charity, and would be,
as compared with the latter, but a very frail sup-
port during the performance of the duties which
the Beguine has to undergo.
Loitering homewards, still reflecting upon the
solemn scene I had just witnessed, I found open an
old iron gate leading to a building which, from its
neglected appearance in front, I supposed to have
been one of the old churches desecrated by the
vandal soldiers of the French republic. Seeing
two or thi-ee women, however, pass through the
gate, I followed their footsteps, and was surprised,
on entering the edifice, to find myself within one of
the most interesting and neatly-kept churches in
Ghent. It belongs to the order of the Cannes de-
chausses, with whose convent it communicates, and
stands in the middle of the Rue du Bourg. One
of the monks, who was engaged in preparing the
ELABORATE CAIIVIXGS. 171
altar for the services of the cnsuinsr morninfr, and
whose fine head, shaven all round the crown,
leaving a circle of raven black hair beneath it, was
well displayed, his cowl being thrown backwards,
immediately desisted from his work, and kindly of-
fered to shew me over the '• oratory," as he called
it. It is particularlv distinguished for its extremely
elaborate carvings, all exquisitely finished, and pre-
served with m much care that they seem as if they
had been recently executed, althougii at least three
centuries old. The sides of the oratory, which
consists simply of a nave and sanctuary, are
panelled all round to the height of nearly twenty
feet ; the panelling is divided into compartments,
in each of which there is a medallion head, carved
out of the solid wood, and wrought with remark-
able elegance. The head stands out in relief, the
leaf of the panel having been planed down after
the block for the medallion Avas outlined. The
balustrade of the sanctuary, the pulpit, and the
doors of the confessionals are also carved in the
most admirable style. But the niasterpiece of all
these wonderful works is the great door of the
church, which presents a unique specimen of this
172 A COWLED MONK.
species of decoration. I was astonished to hear
from my intelligent guide, that all these produc-
tions of an art now so little cultivated are the result
of the industry and skill of one individual, — a
monk of the order to which he belonired. He
mentioned the circumstance with a manifest feelino-
of pride, which may well be excused. The whole
of these performances occupied the author of them
thirty years. His must, indeed, have been a labour
of love.
While I was examining these curious legacies of
a pious age, an elderly monk came out from the
vestry in surplice and stole. Putting his cowl upon
his head, he entered one of the confessionals, where
three or four female penitents were waiting to be
heard. I glanced over the paintings in this chapel;
but they are, for the most part, of an indifferent
character.
173
CHAPTER XII.
Journey to Malines. Cardinal of Malines. Cathedral. Splendid
Monument. Vandyk. Ruben!*. Rubens's Charges. Pork Pie.
O'Connell. Brussels. Dr. Lever. The Park. The Library.
St. Gudule. Dullness of Brussels.
FiiOM Ghent we proceeded to >M alines, tlie een-
tral spot where all the railways of Belgium meet.
We arrived at a quarter before eleven, a.m. Bustle
—bustle — bustle in every direction — trains every
moment arriving and departing — portmanteaus —
bonnet-boxes — hat-cases — dressing-cases — and all
sorts of carpet-bags, pulled about by porters here
and there, followed by ladies and gentlemen, in
feverish watchfulness, to see if they had all their
baggage— policemen endeavouring, often in vain, to
appease the anxieties af crowds of passengers, some
of whom wanted to go to Antwerp, some to Lou-
vain, same to Termonde, some to Brussels, some to
Liege, all in an instant, everybody fearing, so
174 CARDINAL OF MA LINES.
many were the lines of road radiating from this
centre, that he might enter a wrong carriage, and
instead of o-ettino; forward to his destination, return
to the place whence he had set out. Very mucli to
the credit of the establishment, however, be it said,
that eventually order prevailed. A vast space is
o-iven to this general meetingr-rrround of all the rail-
to o o O
ways, which renders it, with its numerous engines
hastening to their proper stations, and its many
handsome buildings, one of the most interesting
spectacles in Europe.
We reached the cathedral in time to hear part of
a high mass, at which the Cardinal Archbishop and
Primate of Belgium was present. When the divine
service was over, he proceeded to a genuflectory in
the middle of the sanctuary, where one of the at-
tendants held before him a large silver crucifix.
Having remained on his knees — almost prostrate —
for some time, engaged in profound devotion, he
arose, and proceeded down the nave, administering
his blessings as he went to tl^e crowds by which the
cathedral was filled. Wherever he observed chil-
dren near him on the floor, or in their mothers'
arms, he laid his right hand on tlieir heads with an
CATHEDRAL. 17 J
emotion truly paternal. It is understood in the
political circles that the primate exercises a power-
ful influence upon the management of political
affairs in Belgium. The Catholic party, of course,
look up to his eminence as their principal support,
and they were, no doubt, the party who brought
about one of the most justifiable revolutions which
has ever taken place in any country.
The first object which strikes the eye of a stran-
ger, immediately after entering this noble cathedral,
is a new monument in white marble, erected in
honour of the late archbishop. It is an admirable
piece of workmanshij), presenting in its general de-
sign and details a degree of good taste, simplicity,
and effect not often to be seen in productions of this
description. The epitaph tells us that the departed
had discharged his arduous functions in the most
exemplary manner, under circumstances of no or-
dinary difficulty, created by the terrors that every-
where attended the march of the barbarians in the
service of the French Directory. He was the con-
soler of the afflicted, the friend of the poor, the
much-beloved pastor of his flock. He is represent-
ed kneeling and clothed in his pontifical apparel.
176 SPLENDID MONUMENT.
An angel, holding a flaming torch in his hand,
seems to announce to him that he is to appear im-
mediately before the throne of God, and pointing
the torch towards heaven, invites the prelate to fol-
low him. The conception is grand, and the exe-
cution of it does not impair the strong impression
which the scene produces in the first instance upon
the eye of a stranger. It is a model of excellence,
and must add greatly to the already distinguished
reputation of the sculptor, M. Jehotte, of Liege.
The cathedral abounds in admirable paintings,
the principal of which is Christ crucified between
the two thieves, by Vandyk. Sir Joshua Reynolds's
criticism upon this picture must supersede all other
panegyrics. He pronounces it to be " the most
capital of all Vandykes works, in respect to the va-
riety and extensiveness of the design and the judi-
cious disposition of the whole. In the efforts which
the thieves make to disengage themselves from the
cross, he has successfully encountered the difficul-
ties of the art, and the expression of grief and resig-
nation in the Virgin is admirable. This picture,
upon the whole, may be considered as one of the
first pictures in the world, and gives the highest
RUIJENS. 177
idea of Vandykes powers; it shews tliat lie hail
truly a genius for historical painting, if it had not
been taken off by portraits. The colouring of this
picture is certainly not of tlie brightest kind, but it
seems as well to correspond with the subject as if it
had the freshness of llubcns."
Besides the cathedral, there are several churches
in Malines well worthy of examination, two of
which bear the title of " Notre Dame/"' One of
these is so called from a tradition which relates that
a boat, having on board a silver statue of the Holy
Virgin, which was saved from a church destroyed
by fire, stopped of itself, on its way up the Dyle
river, and that the church now called Notre Dame
d'llanswyk was founded near the spot where the
boat rested. In the other church bearing the same
name is to be seen the celebrated picture of " the
Miraculous Draught of Fishes,'' by Rubens. It is
universally admitted to be one of his most masterly
productions. His " Adoration of the jVIagi,"" a
magnificent composition, is placed in the church of
St. John. Indeed, there is hardly an ecclesiastical
edifice in jM alines which is not filled with the
VOL. I. N
1
178 RUBENS'S CHARGES.
works of tliis great painter. But when his friends
complimented him upon his great success in his art,
he used to say to them, — " If you wish to see the
best of my works, you must go to the cliurch of
St. John, in Malines." His ordinary charge for the
employment of his time was a hundred florins of
Brabant a day, and the attendant who shews the
stranger over the church just mentioned seldom
fails to invite him into the sacristy, where he places
before him the receipt written and signed by Ru-
bens for eighteen hundred crowns, being the price
of eighteen pictures which he painted in as many
days for that edifice.
Malines, formerly more commonly called Mechlin,
was once celebrated for its manufacture of lace. Its
reputation for the finest species of that beautiful
fabric has passed altogether to Brussels. It is a
picturesque town, but wears a desolate air, espe-
cially to a traveller who visits it immediately after
quitting Ghent, with whose gay and joyous aspect
it forms a disadvantageous contrast. We were much
pleased, however, with its botanical garden, which
is extensive and kept in the neatest order. We
dined at the table cVhote of the hotel called " the
PORK-PIE. 179
Crane." Malines being famous for the delicacy of
a dish composed chiefly of pigs' feet and ears, we
expected a specimen of this luxury on the table ;
but it was not to be had. In lieu of it, however,
there was a pork-pie, which the guests, composed
chiefly of the officers of the Lancers, unanimously
pronounced to be delicious.
A little incident occurred on tliis occasion which
I cannot help relating. It appeared that the sur-
geon attaclied to the regiment of the Lancers, wlio
dined witli us, had been some years ago in Ire-
land, where he happened frequently to hear Mr.
O'Connell at public meetings. The moment we
sat down to the table, I observed tlie doctor look-
ing at me with a strong emotion, which I could
not comprehend. He whispered to one of the offi-
cers near him, and the communication went rapidly
round. All eyes were at once turned upon me,
with smiles of the utmost good-nature, which not a
little increased my astonishment. At length I was
asked whether I was not the "Great Agitator"
himself.-^ Mr. Bellew and I laughed aloud at this
droll mistake. He assured the company that I
was not even related in any shape or way to tb.at
x2
180 O'CONNELL.
celebrated personage. Tlie doctor, however, who
seemed to pride himself upon his skill in physio-
gnomy, remained for awhile incredulous. " Well,"
said he, at last, " if 3'ou be not O'Connell, I can
only affirm that I have never seen two faces more
alike in my life, especially from the lip, upwards,"
drawing at the same time a line across his upper
lip, to add force to his assertion. There was a
general laugh at his expense, in which he soon
joined with perfect good-humour.
We had at dessert some of the gingerbread for
which the Malines confectioners are said to be unri-
valled. When we arose from the table, the officers
very civilly pressed us to take coffee with them at
their societe, which they said was just at hand.
But we were obliged to decline their friendly invi-
tation, as the train was to start in a few minutes for
Brussels, where we found ourselves half an hour
after we bade them good bye. Assuredly the
fable of Fortunatus and his seven-leagued boots is
nothing to the realities of the railway.
Our first view of Brussels, as we approached it,
was not advantageous, owing to the evening being
cloudy, with showers of rain. The lofty tower of
BRUSSELS. 181
the callicdral looked, even throufirh the mist, grace-
ful and imposing, althoug]),bein«r tlien luidcr process
of repair, it was surrounded to the very top with
scaffolding. AVe took up our quarters at the Hotel
Koyal, where we experienced every possible degree
of attention. Anxious as we were, the dav after
our arrival, to explore all the "lions" of the
" Belgian Paris,'' we were detained within doors
the greater part of the day by a prolonged and
violent thunderstorm and an incessant fall of rain,
accompanied by that most uncomfortable of all
atmospheric influences, a mist of the true Scottish
order. As soon as the weather permitted, we sallied
out to the news-room, where we had the pleasure
of making the acquaintance of Dr. Lever, the
author of one of the pleasantest books in the
world— " Charles O^AIalley." We had to thank
him and his amiable lady for many acts of kindness
during our sejournt Brussels.
AVith the exception of some parts of the old
city, where one still encounters public and private
edifices in the favourite style of Brabant, there is
not much to be seen in Brussels which is in keeping,
as the painters say, with sucli towns as Ghent and
182 THE PARK.
Bruges. The new quarters of the capital are indeed
admirably laid out — the streets, and squares, and
boulevards are spacious, and iron gilt railings, and
long lines of lofty mansions, and shady trees put one
constantly in mind of the gay metropolis of France,
thougli they want the busy and lounging multi-
tudes by which the places of great resort in Paris
are filled, as if they were the scenes of a perpetual
carnival. The splendid districts of Brussels present
for the most part a lonely though stately appear-
ance, and in this respect brought strongly to my
mind the ordinarily deserted appearance of the
principal street of Madrid, the Calle de Alcala.
The palace of the King is not worth visiting ;
that of the Prince of Orange is remarkable for the
splendid style of its furniture and decorations, in-
cluding a vast number of paintings of great value.
The King, with a delicacy that confers great credit
upon him, has refused to appropriate this sump-
tuous edifice to his own use. The park forms one
of the handsomest public promenades I ever saw.
It was the scene of the most sanguinary contest
between the Dutch and the Belgians during the late
revolution. Several of the trees still retain the
ST. GUDULE. 183
traces of that conflict. The museums of paintings
and natural history, as well as " the library,"
deserve to be very fully examined. In the latter
there is a great number of very curious missals,
several of which are embellished with miniature
paintings of matchless beauty, by Van Eyck and
his pupils. Here, also, may be seen the celebrated
" Chronicle of Hainault," in seven folio volumes,
illuminated by the masterly hand of Hemling.
The noble tower of the Hotel de Ville attracts the
attention of the stranger at once to that remarkable
building, which has been justly styled a municipal
palace. In its grand hall took place the abdication
of Charles V. Its tower is the most imposing
structure of the kind to be found in Belgium,
On tTfe^ top^is a figure, in copper, of St. Michael,
which turns as easily as a small vane with the wind,
though seventeen feet high. From the top of the
tower the " storied " field of Waterloo may be
distinctly seen, weather permitting.
The only church in Brussels deserving of par-
ticular notice is the cathedral of St. Gudule.
The painted glass in its windows is said to exhibit
one of the finest specimens of that art which arc to
184 DULLNESS OF BRUSSELS.
be found in the world. The nave presents a most
imposing appearance, on account of the statues of
the twelve apostles which are ranged against its
pillars. In one of the side-chapels are still pre-
served the " consecrated particles," which ai'e said
to have been stolen from the tabernacle in the four-
teenth century by a sacrilegious Jew, and subjected
by him and his brethren in the synagogue to the most
blasphemous insults. I need say nothing in com-
mendation of the principal manufactory of Brussels
— its unrivalled lace. All my " gentle readers "
are, doubtless, aware that every pattern, however
minute and fine, is first wrought separately by the
hand, and then sewed on a groundwork prepared
for it.
The "curiosity-shops" in Brussels are abundant
and extremely tempting. I much regretted, how-
ever, to see in some of them exposed for sale
specimens of ingenuity very far from being fit for
public exhibition. I had occasion to call upon
some esteemed friends of mine on the Boulevards
de rObservatoire, which appeared to me a remark-
ably cheerful situation for a residence ; they informed
me that although Brussels was by no means so
DULLNtSS OF BRUSSELS. 185
mucli frequented lately by tlie English as it used
to be, nevertheless houses were not to be had u{K)n
any thinnr like economical terms. I cannot tliink
Brussels a very attractive place for a prolonged
sojourn. It is, after all, but an imperfect imita-
tion of Paris, and the measures taken to accomplish
this object have deprived it, in a great measure, of
that peculiarity and antiquity of character which
renders most of the other towns of the Netherlands
so very attractive. We had letters from Lord
Palmerston and a much-valued friend of ours, Mr.
St. George, to the minister, Sir G. Seymour. His
excellency was not in town for some days after our
arrival. As soon as he returned, he most kindly
invited us to his hotel, and placed his opera-box at
our disposal. We had only time to avail ourselves
of his friendly attentions in the latter respect, as
our arrangements were already made for a trip to
Waterloo, The orchestral and vocal establi.sli-
menls at the opera were of a very indifferent order.
186
CHAPTER XIII.
Waterloo. Sergeant- Major Cotton, British Bivouac. Incle-
ment Weather. Chateau of Hougoumont. Field of Battle.
Forest of Soignies. Chapel of Hougoumont. Its Crucifix.
Statue of the Virgin. Terrible Slaughter. M. Robiano. Po-
sition of the Guards. The Pyramid. The Weather. Antwerp.
The Cathedral. The Golden Fleece. Vespers. Painted Win-
dows. Dixit Dominus. The Confitebor. The Beatus Vir.
The Laudate. The Mass. The Song of Evening. The Mag-
nificat. Recal of the Jews. The Procession.
During the whole time of our stay at Brussels
the weather was gloomy and oppressive, accompa-
nied by frequent squalls and showers of rain. The
morninp- we set out for Waterloo the rain was in-
cessant the whole way. We stopped at the Cou-
ronne, and thought that we should have been
obliged to return to Brussels without accomplishing
our object, as Ave could not stir ten paces beyond
our hotel without being drenched to the skin.
However, an hour or two after mid-day the weather
SERGEANT-MAJOR COTTON. 187
cleared up a little, and we proceeded towards the
memorable scene of battle, under the guidance of
Sergeant-Major Cotton, who had served in the 7th
Hussars, and was himself engaged in the great
*' battle of the nations," as somebody has most aj>
propriately designated that tremendous combat.
The sergeant we soon found to be a " cliarac-
ter." He displays his medal on his breast with a
very becoming pride ; he is of a good figure ; has
much of a veteran military air, and vet seems as ac-
tive and as full of spirits as if he had not counted
half the number of winters which have passed over
his head. A few years ago he married a young
English woman, and built himself a house in the
village of Waterloo, from the gratuities presented
to liim by visitors. We found two or three fat
liitle urchins running about his kitchen and a fine
infant in a cradle. He is a native of the Isle of
Wight, and his commanding ofHcer during the
battle was Sir Edward Kerrison.
The sergeant commenced operations by pointing
cut to us the small inn at which the Duke of Wel-
lington established his head-quarters on the even-
ing preceding the day that was to fix the destinies
188 BRITISH BIVOUAC.
of Europe. Proceeding onwards about a mile, he
pointed out the summit of a gentle declivity, on
wl)ich the British army bivouacked during the
night, under heavy falls of rain, accompanied by
violent peals of thunder and continued flashes of
lightning. The whole country was covered with
standing corn. It was in vain to attempt cooking
any thing for supper, as there was no possibility of
lighting fires. " Indeed, in some places," said the
sergeant, " we were up to our knees in water, and
we had nothing to eat except a little dry biscuit."
The rain descended still as the morning broke, and
did not clear off until about nine o'clock, when the
English and French troops appeared in presence of
each other. " We were many of us," said our
guide, " trying to kindle fires, to boil a little coffee,
but before we could succeed, word went round to
stand to our arms, as the French were coming.'"'
Tliese words make one even now startle, coming
from one of the actors in that scene of slaughter.
It is unnecessary for me to pursue the narrative
of the battle which ensued, already told and sung
by historians, and travellers, and poets, and poet-
asters of every degree. The famous chateau of
FIELD OF BATTLE. 189
Plougouniont, tlie little farm-house of La Ilayc
Sainte, at both of which points the contest raf:;e(l
with the most terrible fury, still exist ; we in-
spected both witli a thrilling interest. The sergeant
pointed out at the distance of little more than a
mile the village of Genappe, near which the French
lines were drawn up, and also the eminence where
Napoleon took his station at the commencement of
the action. The whole area filled during the day
by the contending hosts may be described as a
large tract of undulating ground, well calculated for
the operations of every description of force. In the
rear of the British lines, however, was the forest of
Soignies, which, from its being almost entirely with-
out brushwood, offered a safe place of retreat for in-
fantry, if retreat should have become necessary. The
position of the enemy possessed no similar advantage
in the rear — nothing, in fact, buthighroads and oj)cn
places, where a pursuing cavalry might, as it after-
wards did, cut down the fugitives with terrible car-
nage.
We visited the garden where the IVIarquis of
Anglesey's leg is interred beneath a monument.
Our attention was particularly attracted by the
190 STATUE OF THE VIRGIN.
chapel which still remains in the farm-yard of Hou-
goumont. It was set on fire at an early period of
the battle, and the still blackened walls attest that
the ilames reached every part of the chapel, until
they approached the feet of a wooden figure of our
Saviour, when they instantly ceased. The con-
flagration in a similar manner spared a fallen sta-
tue of the Blessed Virgin and child. These are
facts that cannot be doubted, for all the figures still
remain in the chapel, unscathed by fire, untouched
by ball or sabre, just as they were before the battle
commenced, although, as everybody knows, it was
in this farm-yard, in the chateau of the proprietor
hard by, and in this chapel itself, that the fate of
the day may be said to have been decided. At one
period twelve thousand men, accompanied by nu-
merous pieces of artillery, were brought against this
post — a post of the last importance to the allied
troops then in possession of it. The first attack
was bravely repelled; another assault follow-
ed, and was made by the French with such
impetuosity that the orchard outside the chapel
was for a moment abandoned. The firing then
on both sidts became awful; in a few minutes
PO-SITIOX OF Tin: GLAHDi. 191
fifteen lunulrcd men were slain on the spot. It was
then that tlie chateau and chapel were set on fire :
both })artics were enveloped in the flames. The
■wounded and tlie dying were heaped upon one an-
other ; their shrieks were heard even amidst tlie
roar of the artillery : many of them were burnt to
■J J
death. The chateau was reduced to a mere shell ;
and yet those flames, dealing such awful destruc-
tion around them, lost all their fury the moment
they approached the precious emblems of the Ca-
tholic faith. They recoiled from the spot where
sacred figures still may be seen, tcstifvins: an oc-
currence which admits of no denial ! Enormous
sums have been offered for these figures to the pro-
prietor, the Count Robiano, with whom I have the
honour to be acquainted. All these offers he has
declined.
The sergeant also ])ointed out to us the place
where, behind a very slight rise, the Guards laid
down concealed uniil the French made their last
advance, when, at the laconic sununonsof the duke,
tlie former arose as one man and decided the
fortune of the field. I was satisfied with beholdino-
from a distance the vast pyramid of earth intended
192 ANTWERP.
to be a perpetual monument of the victory. It is
raised on the spot on which the brave Prince of
Orange was wounded ; it is nearly 200 feet in
height, and is surmounted by a gigantic lion.
The field was so much saturated with the rains
which had fallen, that those of our party who went
in sank to the ankle at every step. The sun,
which had been for a short time out, again retired
behind the clouds, the rain returned, and I was
glad to get back to the village of Waterloo and
re-enter our carriage. The roads were so deep
that it was late before we arrived at our hotel.
The following morning, after hearing High
Mass, we proceeded to AntAverp, where we arrived
just in time for vespers, which we found going on
in the cathedral of Notre Dame, admitted upon
all hands to be one of the most splendid specimens
of Gothic architecture in the Netherlands. On
each side of the nave there are three aisles. It
was commenced in the thirteenth century, and took
nearly ninety years for its completion. The whole
building, with the exception of the tower and
choir, was, by one of those accidents to which most
of the great churches have been strangely subject,
PALMED WINDOW. 193
both at home and abroad, burnt down in 1533.
But by the munificence of the then princely mer-
chants of Antwerp, it was restored in the following
year. A chapter of the celebrated order of the
Golden Fleece was held in the choir twenty-one
years after that period by Philip II, of Spain, at
which nine kings assisted as Knights of tiie Order.
It was truly elevating to the soul to hear the
vesper psalms, anthems, and hymns, sung in this
majestic temple, the bishop, and a great number of
his clergy, including the canons of the catliedral,
being all assembled in the most sumptuous attire,
the fine organ yielding its ever-enchanting music,
tbp junior chaunters raising to the vaulted roof
their cherub notes, which sounded in such brilliant
contrast to the tenor and bass voices of the graver
portion of the choir. Tlie altar was lighted up by
numerous wax-lights, but they burned dimly in
the rays of the summer sun, whicli streamed in
varied magic colours througii the great Avestern
O DO
window. The rich paintings on tlie glass of that
masterly piece of workmanship were all displayed
in gorgeous style, and as the penetrating beams
VOL. I. o
194 DIXIT DOMINUS.
passed over the heads of the people assembled in
the church, here a deep purple, in another quarter
Vermillion, in another a beautiful azure, now light-
ing up the side of a column in dazzling brightness,
now bringing into relief the darker parts of some
majestic picture, now touching a monument or a
statue with a blaze of gold, no true Christian
could contemplate such a scene without exclaiming
nearly in the words of the Psalmist : " Lord, I do
love the beauty of thy house, and the place where
thy glory dwelleth."
What a meet and fitting temple was this wherein
to hear those prophecies triumphantly proclaimed
which are now realities — the prophecies now per-
formed, that the enemies of the Messiah should
eventually be the " footstool of his feet " — that he
should hold in his hand the " sceptre of Zion,"
" rule in the midst of his enemies," surrounded by
the " brightness of the saints," and of that eternity
wherein he was begotten before the " day star " first
arose ; truly a " Priest for ever according to the
order of Melchisedech ;"" who hath seen " kings
broken," nations fallen into " ruin," and yet, with
THE VESPERS. 195
undiniinishcd ir.ight, hath stooped to " drink of
the torrent in the way," and then, " lifting up his
head," hatli proceeded in liis glorious course.
Peal on, thou " Tuba mirum spargens sonum,"
— sing aloud, ye alternate choirs, " Praise the Lord
witli all your hearts," exhibit to cur view the
" congregation of the just in council," say how the
" wonderful works of God " are in all things in
exquisite harmony with his designs, deserving of
all " admiration," and abounding in " magnifi-
cence !" Again and again proclaim His " cove-
nants " as " shewn forth to all His people." Bid
the Gentiles cherish the beauty of the " inheritance"
which they now enjoy, and syllable forth in your
— most solemn accents that " Holy and terrible
Name, the fear of wliich is the besinnincr of
wisdom."
Oh ! truly " blessed is the man who fears the
Lord," for he shall " delight in His command-
ments," and pursue the paths of true " glory."
To him shall be given " mercy," " compassion,*^
" judgment," indifference to '^ evil hearing,"
"hope," "charity," and "justice." Against him
the " desires of the wicked shall not prevail."
o2
196 THE LAUDATE.
Where is the soul, possessing within it a single
spark of religious fire, that has ever heard without
emotion the " Laudate pueri dominum ?" — or
that shout of the angelic choir, — " From the rising
of the sun unto the going down of the same, the
name of the Lord is worthy of praise," — of that
Lord, wlio though " above all nations," whose
" glory is even above the heavens," still condescends
to look down upon the " poorest of His creatures
upon earth," lifts them by His spiritual gifts to a
level with " the princes of His people," and " mak-
eth the barren woman to dwell in her house, the
joyful mother of children ?"
Such are amongst the ennobling thoughts and
aspirations with which the Vesper service of the
Catholic church renders her children familiar. The
liturgy of the morning sacrifice is indeed of a
more grave and majestic character, and performed
with a more solemn pomp, on account of the won-
derful mysteries which constitute and consecrate
its whole character. But there is something pecu-
liarly consoling in the evening office of the church.
It is a beautiful sequel to her matin occupations,
when she displays before the faithful all her energy
THE MAGNIFICAT. 197
and grandeur — all her glorious privileges — sum-
mons them to join in lur most exulting anthems,
to listen to the proclamation of the invariable tenets
of lier faith, and to bow down in awe while she
repeats the miraculous sounds Avhich change the
offerings on her altar into the body and blood of
Him who died for the redemption of mankind.
The early sun gleams upon her tabernacle while
those heavenly functions are in progress. When
that sun is about to go down, when all nature is
about to sink into repose, while
" The lowing herd winds slowly o'er the lea,"
while the tenants of the grove are warbling their
last hymns in that low tone of happiness, and love,
and thanksgivinfj for the blessings of the dav,
whicli is so infinitely more endearing than the most
thrilling song of the soaring lark ; again does she
call her flock around her, and by her psalms, and
prayers, and promises, and benedictions, cheers
them onward in their journey througli this " valley
of tears."
It is impossible, I think, for any person of any
religion, who has heard the Magnificat sung in one
of the fine old Flemish churches, to go away with-
198 RECALL OF THE JEWS.
out feeling something of the lofty, ardent spirit of
joy, by which that beautiful canticle of the Holy
Virgin is, above all others, distinguished. When
the moment comes for its being entoned, all the
attendant clergy, the choir, and the congregation
instantly arise; and, without prelude, forth at
once bursts the triumphant exclamation, as if it
could be no longer suppressed, " My soul doth
magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in
God my Saviour !" But that spirit, privileged
though it was beyond all other human beings, fear-
ful of its own exultation, trembles lest it should
have gone too far, and falls back upon its own
natural humility. But why do I rejoice in my
Saviour ? It is " because he hath regarded the
humility of his handmaid ;" and yet how can I feel
otherwise than inspired with rapture, when I am
assured that " henceforth all generations shall call
me blessed ?""
Then flow on in a noble, fervid strain the praises
of the Redeeming God : — " Holy is His name " —
infinite " His mercy to those who fear Him ;" He
hath "scattered the proud," " put down the mighty,"
given abundance to the " poor," " sent the rich
THE PROCESSION'. 199
awav empty," and received back into liis arms, as
a "son," the "wandering Israel;" thus fulfilling
the promise he had made to " our fathers, to Abra-
ham, and his seed for ever." To he.', who was
herself of that people, the hopu of their eventual
recall to the home in which thev were once so
dearly cherished — a people whom, notwithstanding
the crimes which they were to expiate, she could
not but love, it was a peculiar source of joy, that
long as they might wander over the face of the
earth, they were still to meet with that mercy which
endureth from "generation to generation."
The vespers terminated with a magnificent pro-
cession, during which the descending sun still con-
tinued to shoot its unclouded beams through the
great western window, rendering " pale and inef-
fectual " the numerous lighted torches which were
carried by the clergy, and the long line of attend-
ants, and converting into " dust of gold" the
clouds of incense by which the canopy over the
prelate who bore the host was preceded. The
whole cathedral was illumined by a variety of co-
lours that seemed as if they had been designed to
give peculiar magnificence to the spectacle.
200
CHAPTER XIV.
The Blacksmith of Antwerp. The Two Misers. Tower of the
Cathedral. View from the Tower. General Chasse. The late
King of Holland. Chimes of Antwerp. Tomb of Rubens. St.
Jacques. The Holy Family. Fac-simile of Calvary. Church
of St. Andrew. The Museum. Departure for Liege. Varied
aspect of the Country. Louvaine. The Library. Former Ma-
nufactories. Expulsion of the Weavers. Their Guildhall. The
University. The Hotel de Ville. The Cathedral.
I SPENT some hours the following morning in
the cathedral, admiring the numberless works of
art by which it is ornamented, many of them
master-pieces of Rubens, and well known to
amateurs of every description, if not from actual
inspection, at least through the eloquent panegyrics
of Sir Joshua Reynolds. The curious visitor, be-
fore entering; the cathedral, should not fail to look
at the iron cover of the pump near the foot of the
tower ; it is said to be the work of Quentin Matsys,
the "blacksmith of Antwerp," of whom it is
BLACKSMITH OF ANTWERP. 201
«
related that he had conceived a violent affection for
the daughter of a painter, but that her fLithcr having
resolved to give her in marriage to no suitor, except
of his own profession, he (the blacksmith) imme-
diately resolved to abandon his trade, in which he
had obtained celebrity for his many ingenious pro-
ductions in brass and iron, and to adopt that which
would (jualify him to obtain the great object of his
solicitude. He speedily became more eminent as a
painter than he had been even in his })revious pur-
suits, and he eventually won the hand of the lady.
Those who have visited Windsor Castle will
remember his celebrated painting of the " Two
Misers." The museum at Antwerp, however, has
the good fortune to possess his master-piece, the
" Descent from the Cross," the heads in which are
held to be e(pial to any ever produced by
Kaffaelle.
Wishing to ascend the tower, it was with some
difficulty we obtained admittance, as the keeper
happened to be out of the way. Some workmen,
however, who were engaged in repairing the
pinnacles which were knocked down by the Dutch
artillery under General Chasse, when they were
bombarding the town from the citadel in 1830,
202 VIEW FROM THE TOWER.
having opened the door on the inside, we made our
way to the upper gallery, whence the prospect is
superb. Glimpses may be discerned of the spires
of Brussels, Malines, and even of Louvaine, and
also of Ghent, Bruges, Flushing, and Bergen-
op-Zoom. The winding course of the Scheldt we
distinctly traced ; while we were observing it, the
steamer from London appeared at a distance of
nearly twenty miles, with its black smoke curling
upward in the calm atmosphere. The fine old city
itself lay beneath us, like a picture painted by one
of the old Flemish masters, with its numerous
churches, convents, and magnificent public build-
ings, its elaborate and extensive fortifications, and
its peculiai'ly fine citadel, forming one of the most
attractive features in the whole scene, on account
of the chivalrous resistance made within its walls
by Chasse in 1832 against its French assailants.
Heroic as was the conduct of the Dutch general
upon that occasion, one can never recall to mind
the circumstances which gave rise to it, without
abhorring the author of so much unnecessary
bloodshed. The obstinacy of the late King of
Holland, in attempting to retain possession of the
capitol of a city which had already ceased to be a
TOMB OF KUBENS. 203
part of his dominions, and which he perfectly wlII
knew could not be held for any length of time
against the forces assembled to wrest it from him,
can never be too severely stigmatised. One of the
workmen very civilly shewed iis over the ninety-
nine bells which form the chimes. The smallest
bell is full fifteen inches in diameter. A full-£rrown
man might easily sleep without inconvenience in
the largest. When this wonderful production of
the foundry was baptized, according to the old reli-
gious custom of the Netlicrlands, Charles V. stood
sponsor for it. We had not the good fortune to
hear this Carillon give out its harmonies.
The artist-pilgrim will no doubt make his way to
the tomb of Rubens, which he will find immedi-
ately behind the high altar in the beautiful church
of St. Jaques, a pei-fect gem for its paintings,
carvings in wood, variegated marbles, and richly
painted windows. Here also he will find one of the
most precious of all the works of that great
master — " The Holy Family" — in wliich the por-
trait of the painter appears under the figure of St.
George, those of his two wives as Martha and
Mary Magdalen, that of his father as St. Jerome,
204 FAC-SIM1LI-: OF CALVARY.
of his grandfather as Time, and of his son as an
angel. It is a most /owe/// picture, a characteristic
which does not usually belong to the works of
Rubens. Sir Joshua Reynolds particularly recom-
mends it to students as a perfect specimen of co-
louring. " It is as bright,"" he says, " as if the
sun shone upon it."
I went, of course, to see one of the greatest re-
ligious curiosities in Belgium — the representation
of Calvary, in the Dominican church. It is lite-
rally a small hill, formed artificially of rock-work ;
on the summit are the crosses, bearing images of
the Redeemer and the two thieves ; on the declivi-
ties are several kneeling statues of patriarchs, pro-
phets, and saints, and at the foot is a grotto, copied
from the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, containing
anodier figure of Christ. I own I did not much
admire this elaborate specimen of ingenuity.
There is a carved pulpit in St. Andrew's Church,
which is reputed to be the finest model of wood-
work existing in the Netherlands. Here also is to
be seen a monument raised in honour of two Eng-
lish iadies named Curie, who had been ladies in
waiting to Mary Queen of Scots. Attached to the
THE MUSKU.M. 205
monument is a portrait of" tlic ill-fated sovereign,
whose name always stirs up our deepest sympathies.
Although the museum of Antwerj) is open to
the public only on Sundays, on account, I jncsunie,
of the number of students, male and female, who
assemble there during the week-days, engaged in
copying its best pictures, nevertheless we, as stran-
gers, were very civilly admitted by the doorkeeper.
"We found every part of the gallery redolent with the
oils and other ingredients used by the young artists,
all of whom were most industriously occupied in
pursuing their labours. If I miglit judge from a
hasty glance of the many copies I saw in progress,
I should say that they generally exhibited highly
promising specimens of the talents of these young
painters.
When I add, that in this museum may be seen
several pictures by Rubens, Quentin Matsys, Fran-
cis Floris (usually honoured with the title of the
Flemish Rafl'aelle), Vandyk (the celebrated portrait
painter), de Vos, and Titian, I need not remark that
it abounds in attractions of the very first order.
The chair of Rubens is preserved here under a
glass case.
206 DEPARTURE FOR LIEGE.
Returning to Brussels, we took our places for
Liege. On our way thither Mr. Bellew paid a
flying visit to Louvainc, a name more familiar,
perhaps, than that of any other city in Belgium to
British and Irish Catholic ears, as it was in the
celebrated university established there, in the early
part of the fifteenth century, that many of their
ecclesiastical students, and the sons of the Catholic
nobility and gentry, received that education which
the penal laws denied them at home. The country
towards Louvaine, and still more towards Lieo-e,
begins to assume a much more varied aspect than
the lower parts of the Netherlands, which, with but
few exceptions, present one entire almost level sur-
face, peculiai-ly well adapted for the railway system.
The territory, particularly after leaving Malines,
becomes undulating, the cuttings are more exten-
sive, and Tirlemont is approached through a tunnel
of considerable length (1000 yards). The river
Dyle, to which the railroad runs parallel occasion-
ally, presents many agreeable prospects, and beyond
the town of Louvaine is seen a vast extent of forest,
said to be a part of the ancient forest of Soignies.
It is in this district that the most extensive coal-
LOUVAIXE. 207
beds of BL'lfrium are found. Piles of excellent
turf may also be observed by the roadside, which
mark at once the diderence of character in the
country we had now to traverse.
A few hours ■were sufficient to enable my friend
to visit the " lions " of Louvaine, the more espe-
cially as he was most kindly assisted upon the occa-
sion by one of the members of the university,
whom he had accidentally met on his way to that
institution. The library is one of the most mag-
nificent chambers of the kind in Europe. It ex-
isted more than a century before the university
itself, having been originally (1817) constructed
as a Guildhall, by the weavers of Louvaine, then a
wealthy, numerous, and at all times, until their ex-
pulsion, a most turbulent portion of the population.
It is recorded that in 1360 there were from three
to four hundred cloth manufactories in Louvaine,
which afforded employment to 150,000 artizans.
The chronicler (Justus Lipsius),upon whose autho-
rity this statement chiefly rests, adds that a few
minutes before the men engaged in those establish-
ments were accustomed to go home to take their
meals, the great bell of the cathedral was tolled, in
208 UNIVERSITY.
order to caution parents to prevent their children
from appearing in the streets, lest they should be
trampled down by the multitudes issuing from the
manufactories.
Acts of the government, of the most impolitic
character, subsequently drove all these people from
Louvaine, in consequence of various tumults in
which they were engaged. Many of them settled
in England, whither they were followed by their
employers. They most materially assisted in estab-
lishing amongst us the woollen manufactures, for
which our country has since become so eminent.
Their Guildhall was a superb structure, displaying
a fine taste ; no expense seems to have been spared
to render it worthy of its opulent proprietors.
According to the fashion of the times, it was most
elaborately ornamented with antique carvings in
wood, which are still in admirable preservation.
The colleges of the university at one time amounted
to nearly fifty in number, giving to the city an ap-
pearance not unlike Oxford, and frequented by
from five to six thousand students. Scarcely twenty
colleges now remain ; the number of the students
has dwindled down to four or five hundred. The
HOTKL DE VILLE. 209
whole locality in consequence, as well as the city
itself, present a deserted and gloomy appearance,
the population having been reduced from two hun-
dred thousand souls, which were at one time num-
bered within its walls, to nearly twenty thousand.
There is, nevertheless, a solemn, religious, and
classic air about Louvainc, Avhich invests it with
an interesting character. The Hotel de Ville is
admitted to be the most beautiful edifice of the
kind in Europe. It abounds in traceries and orna-
ments of the Gothic strain of poetical conception,
most exquisitely elaborated. The dilapidations
causetl by time from the period (1463) when it
was finished, have been recently restored with a
degree of skill and genius, not unworthy of the
artists by whom the original chiseling was executed.
Not exempted from the fate to which almost all
old ecclesiastical edifices have been at one time or
another sacrificed, the cathedral of Louvaine (dedi-
cated to St. Peter), which was founded in 1040,
was twice burnt down. A tower, of the extraordi-
nary altitude of five hundred and thirty feet, for-
merly attached to it, was blown down in 1G04, and
has not since been restored. It contains a good
VOL. I. P
210 THE CATHEDRAL.
many pictures by the elder masters, which are more
curious than inspiring. The scholar will be dis-
posed to pay a visit to the tower in which Janse-
nius composed his peculiar theological works. The
stranger cannot be long in Louvaine without feel-
ing, from the not unpleasant odours which meet him
in all quarters, that he is amidst numerous
breweries. The produce of these establishments,
which is in high repute, exceeds 200,000 casks
per annum, and is consumed all over Belgium.
Some part is exported.
211
CHAPTER XV.
Arrival at Liege. Its busy appearance. Quentin Durward. The
Wonder of Liege. Mineral Fountains. Caverns. Chaud-
fontaine. Its many Attractions. Beautiful Landscape. Young
Blanchiseuses. A Dwarf. A Bible Distributor. Translations
of the Scriptures. The Warm Fountain. Railway to Cologne.
The Brigand Idriel. Scheme for his Captiire.
The rail-road terminates within three miles of
Liege ; the remaining distance is accomplished by
omnibuses, one of which conducted xne to the
" Pommclette," a very good hotel, and much fre-
quented by mercantile men, of whom I saw great
numbers here, impressing me at once with the im-
portance of this city, as the principal commercial
city of Belgium. It strongly reminded me, upon
first passing through its narrow, dingy, smoky
streets, filled with dirty -looking houses, from which
proceeded incessant sounds of hammers and anvils,
of Birmingham and Sheffield. Its principal ma-
p 2
212 ARRIVAL AT LIEGE.
nufactory is that of cannon and fire-arms of every
kind. They are said to be inferior to those of
France and England, but they are much cheaper ;
a good double-barrelled gun may be had for twenty
or thirty francs. The workmen generally carry on
their several operations at home ; some being
employed in forging the bars, others in turning
them into the rough barrel, others in boring, and
so on with all the other branches of the trade.
Notwithstanding the gloomy atmosphere of
Liege, and its inferiority to the greater number of
the cities of Belgium, in an architectural point of
view, nevertheless its murkiness is much relieved by
the business-like bustle and hum of industry which
prevail in all quarters. There are many iron-mines
in the neighbourhood, and also extensive coal floors.
The latter have been worked not only to the verge
of the town, but beneath it, so much so as to un-
dermine many of the streets and houses. The out-
skirts present a succession of highly picturesque
scenery, characterized by lofty hills, and the broad
valley of the Meuse, which is navigable to the sea,
and here forms a junction with the Ourthe and
the Vesdre. From the summit of the hill of St.
QUENTIN DURVVARD. 213
Walberg, upon which several churches and palaces
have been erected, the views of tlie country all
round constitute a panorama of the most diversific^l
and animated description.
Those who have read Scott's charming " Quentin
Durward," will no doubt set about exploring the
localities of Liege with peculiar feelings of interest.
But those feelings will be of very short duration,
for Sir Walter Scott"'s Liege bears no more resem-
blance of the real city than it docs to Edinburgh.
He has indeed caught the spirit of its former tur-
bulent character, and related with tolerable fidelity,
as a chronicler, some of the most exciting passages
of its history, for which he is indebted to Monstre-
let and Philip de Comines. But upon almost all
points of topography, he has allowed his imagina-
tion a license, which is rather surprising, consider-
ing that if he had paid only a short visit to the
scene of his romance, or even taken the trouble to
make himself acquainted with it, through the '^ spec-
tacles of books," he might have easily avoided all
the errors into which he has fallen — errors, however,
which, after all, do not impair the attractions of the
story.
214 THE WONDER OF LIEGE.
There are very few objects in Liege worth the
attention of a traveller, except the Church of St.
Jacques, the Bishop's palace, and the modern uni-
versity. The former is generally called the " Won-
der of Liege." It is constructed principally in the
Gothic style, intermingled with what has been not
inappropriately called the " coquetry" and graces
of Arabian art ; it was founded about the year
1014, during the reign of Henry II., Emperor of
Germany. It was originally attached to a Ceno-
bite convent, in the bosom of a vast forest by which
Liege was then surrounded. The nave is vast and
majestic, and yet so light in appearance that it
seems to lift the soul : the whole style of decora-
tion is singularly beautiful. The arches, says Mr.
Hope, Avhose architectural skill and taste need no
praise from me, are elegantly fringed. It possesses
wide and splendid windows of painted glass, ele-
gantly mullioned net-work screens, reeded pillars,
branching into rich tracery, studded with embossed
ornaments, containing within them gay Arabescoes,
medallions of saints, sovereigns, and prelates innu-
merable. Amongst the medallions, are portraits of
the kings, queens, prophets, and prophetesses of
MINERAL I'OUNTAINS. 215
Scripture, with their names and the verses relating
to them, which form on each side of the nave a
continued inscription, written in Gothic charac-
ters.
The whole of this district of Belgium offers
many objects of great interest to geologists. Not
far from it commences that series of warm fountains
of mineral waters which, taking an eastern and
north-eastern direction, extend to Spa, Aix-la-
Chapelle, and so on to Germany. To the south
are many hills and mountains, bearing decided
tokens of volcanic action, presenting external fea-
tures of the most diversified and extraordinary
character, and containing within their bosom ca-
verns of great extent, filled with stalactites, fossil
bones of men and animals, and other very curious
objects, of which specimens may be seen in the mu-
seum at Liege, and also rendered particularly inte-
resting by the romantic lakes, galleries, vaulted
chambers and halls which have been recently disco-
vered in their recesses. It is a country, in fact,
which has not been yet sufficiently explored ; it
has even a language of its own — the "Walloon—
216 CHAUD-FONTAINE.
which is said to resemble the old French of Nor-
mandy more than any other dialect. In former
ages, the Walloons, like the Swiss, served in the
army of any state that would pay them.
From Liege we took an excursion to Chaud-
fontaine, by a diligence which plies twice a day
between those two places. The distance being
little more than five miles, we found ourselves in
about an hour before the Hotel des Bains, having
journeyed through a very charming country, and
by the light of a brilliant sun, which was peculiarly
refreshing to us after leaving the dismal climate of
Liege. Outside of the hotel benches were arranged,
on which were seated several invalids, who were
undergoing a course of warm bathing. The baths
are under the superintendence of government, and
are got up in a very handsome style. The hot
spring rises in an island of the Vesdre just hard by,
and is pumped up by a wheel turned by the current
of the river. The waters of the fountain are
remarkably clear ; the valley in which the village
is situated is extremely picturesque; the river
abounds in grayling, offering sport to the angler ;
BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPE. 217
the country around aflbrds many enchanting j^ros-
pects, and most agreeable walks and rides for those
who are in search of health or amusement.
I was quite struck with this pleasant village,
and wished that I could repose a few days within
its quiet and beautiful retreats. While I stood
upon its wooden bridge, looking towards the east,
I ranged in fancy over a lofty hill in that direction,
whose declivities and summits were ornamented by
groups of trees, dressed out in all their summer
foliage. The Vesdre beneath me, swollen by the
late rains, and tinged >vith a yellow colour, rolled
rapidly through the arches, sending out angry
voices as it pursued its course. A cascade just
near, added to the chorus which they formed ; and,
as if for my particular entertainment at the mo-
ment, an Italian organist stood for a while at the end
of the bridge, playing some of Mozart's most ex-
quisite airs, whose modulations seemed to receive
fresh powers of fascination from the hoarse mur-
murs of the neighbouring waters.
The shrubs and green turf of the island were
spread with clothes which had been just washed in
the river. While the sun was drying them, the
218 A BIBLE DISTRIBUTOR.
fair and youtliful blanchiseuses amused themselves
by various games ; some running over the island
in cliase of one another ; some laughing, some
sinsina:, some dancing^ ; all full of meriment incon-
trollable, A weaned traveller, dressed in a blue
blouse, now and then trudged his way over the
bridge, stopping a few minutes to admire the in-
dustry and talents of a dwarf, who, born without
arms, nevertheless taught himself to write with his
toes, which he used with all the facility that fingers
could have given him.
Asa characteristic of the times in which we live,
I may mention among the passengers on the
bridge, an English Bible distributor, attended by a
youth from Highgate, whom he appeared to have
captivated by his discourses. He addressed me, at
the same time placing in my hand a tract in the
French language, very neatly printed at the " Bel-
gian Evangelical Repository," in Brussels, and
entitled, " Why does your curate forbid you to
read the Bible in the vulgar tongue ?" The form
of the question is odd enough, for assuming the
veto to have been issued, it would extend, upon the
hypothesis, only to Bibles in the vulgar tongue,
A BIBLE DISIIIIBUTOR. 219
and not to the Greek or Latin ! The tract was in
the form of a dialogue between a messenger engaged
in carrying about Bibles for distribution, and a
labouring man, to wliom lie offers a copy, but
whom he could not persuade at first to accept it,
because the peasant is made to say, that his curate
had forbidden him to read that book. In the course
of the dialogue, the poor man is made to declare,
that even if he did read the Bible, he could not un-
derstand much of it, and that he preferred saying
his rosary — a well-known form of Catholic ])rayer
— always repeated in the language of the country
where it is used. The tractarian, however, is
pleased to represent the ignorant peasant as reciting
his rosary in Latin ! My eye happening to light
on this passage, I pointed out to my evangelical ac-
quaintance the pretty chapel of the village, where,
if he attended in the evening, he would very pro-
bably hear the rosary repeated, not in Latin, but
in the lancjuage of the conKres^ition. These Bible
distributors and their employers are all, I really
believe, well-intentioned persons ; but marvellous
is the number of chimeras which they put fortli in
their publications, as forming parts of the faith or
. 220 TRANSLATIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES.
discipline of the Catholic Church. Every well-
instructed member of that church perfectly well
knows that he is not forbidden to read the Bible ;
that it was first translated into Latin by one of the
brilliant line of fathers belonging to that church ;
that it was first printed in the original Hebrew and
Greek, and first translated into all the modern
languages of Europe, by members of that church ;
that the English Bible used by the dissenters, of
every hue of doctrine, is for the most part only a
copy of the one originally translated into our lan-
guage by English Catholic clergymen, who were
obliged to seek refuge in the colleges of Douay
from the persecutions of the British government ;
and tiiat in the United Kingdom at this moment,
reprints of that admirable translation may be found
in the hands of everybody who chooses to purchase
them. The veto of the cure, or rather of the
church itself, is not against the reading of the
Bible, but against the interpretation of it by any
person not duly authorized by her to perform a
task admitted on all hands to be at once so delicate
and so arduous.
Towards the west is a double row of poplars,
RAILWAY TO COLOGNE. 221
between whicli there is a handsome promenade along
the margin of the Vesdre, whose waters are said to
he remarkably cold at all times of the year. This
coldness is the more remarkable, as the springs
which are found in the island just mentioned are
rather warm (32" 50'), though more temperate than
those of Aix-la-Chapclle, or Borcette. Nor is the
interest which this pleasant village excites at all
diminished by the constant clacking of a water-
mill hard by, which is connected with a series of
forges for the manufacture of guns and pistols.
While I was standing on the bridge, my eye was
attractcxl to the heights beyond, by the sudden rush
of a number of workmen down the hill. They had
not descended far when a loud explosion followed,
caused by the blasting of rocks in the line marked
out for the prolongation of the line of the railway
from Liege to Cologne. It must have been the
most ex})ensive of any of the Belgian railways, as it
has required a great number of cuttings and tun-
nels through the hills, and of bridges over the
rivers which it passes on its course.
Not far from Chaud-fontaine are the ruins of the
famous stronghold of Chievremont, built during
222 THE BRIGAND IDRIEL.
the times of the earliest kings of France, upon the
summit of a mass of rocks inaccessible on all sides.
In the tenth century it was occupied by a brigand
named Idriel, who supported a numerous train of
followers by plundering the country around him,
fearless of all consequences, as he was sure to find an
impregnable refuge from his enemies in his castle.
His motto was, as the old chroniclers say — " The
enemy of all men, the friend of God alone P' His
sanguinary proceedings roused the anger of the
Bishop of Liege, who meditated all kinds of pro-
jects for seizing on the castle by surprise, but to no
effect, as the walls, besides being so well fortified
by nature, were always carefully guarded. At
length the birth of an heir to Idriel offered the
much desired opportunity for the accomplishment
of the prelate's designs. The brigand despatched
a messenger to him to request that he would repair
to the castle to baptize the infant. The bishop
eagerly accepted the invitation, and proceeded to
the chateau, attended by a numerous retinue, as if
with the view of giving to the ceremony the greatest
possible degree of pomp and pageantry. His fol-
lowers all wore coats of mail beneath their clerical
SCHEME FOR HIS CAPTURE. 223
dresses, which served also to conceal their weapons
of war. When they were all assemhlccl in the
church, at a given signal, they threw off" their ex-
ternal habits, and proceeded to cut down without
mercy the guardians of the castle. Idriel, finding
himself betrayed, grapsed his child in his arms,
and taking with him also his only daughter, he
precipitated himself from the walls, and perished,
together with his children, on the spot. In the
place where the castle stood there is now a small
chapel. \
224
CHAPTER XVI.
Visit to Spa. Castle of Franchimont. Its concealed Treasures.
Appearance of Spa. Its Public Establishments. Its Waters.
Their dangerous Effects. Ardennes Ponies. Country round
Spa. Curious Cave. Toys of Spa. Return to Liege. Depar-
ture from Liege. Serang. Messrs. Cockerill's Establishments.
Vineyards. Banks of the Meuse. Huy. Its Citadel. Jour-
ney to Namur. Extraordinary Rocks. Their strange Configu-
rations. A beautiful Solitude-View of Namur.
We had an excellent dinner at the table d'hote
of Chaud-fontaine, after which we intended to re-
turn to Liege, but a diligence coming up on its
way to Spa, we mounted it, and immediately drove
off. The road is for a part of the way parallel
with the charminor banks of the Vesdre as far as
Pepinster ; thence it turns off to the right and pro-
ceeds to Spa. The ancient village of Theuse, in
the neighbourhood, is rendered peculiarly interest-
ing to all lovers of romance, as having been formerly
the capital of the Marquisate of Franchimont, the
\
SPA. 225
the ruins of whose renowned castle are seen tower-
ing over a pile of lofty rocks. If any credit be
due to the legendary history of the castle, there
is a vast treasure buried in its vaults, amassed by
its lords from time to time by plundering tlie
adjacent country. The treasure is kept in an iron
chest, and guarded by a demon in the garb of a
huntsman, who is constantly sitting upon it. No
human hand can draw the bolts by which the lid of
this chest is made fast until some favoured mortal
shall arrive who can repeat the very words of the
spell which the last lord pronounced when he com-
mitted the treasure to the care of the demon-hunts-
man.
Spa is also within the ancient Marquisate of
Franchimont, and was a miserable little village
until its mineral springs were discovered in the
fourteenth century. It is now a very handsome
though irregularly built town situated in a beautiful
valley of the Ardennes mountains. Its general
appearance is cheerful, and a visitor would at once
say that it seems the very abode of health. It was
for centuries the most frequented watering-place in
Europe, and is celebrated as the spot where monarchs
VOL. I. fi
226 THE WATERS.
often assembled in Congress to discuss and arrange
their affairs. We found it almost wholly deserted,
though in the height of the season.
The establishments constructed for the accommo-
dation and amusement of the visitors are all upon
a very splendid scale. The principal are the Re-
doute, and a very handsome colonnade erected at
the expense of Peter the Great, as a memorial of
his gratitude for the benefit which he received from
the waters of the spring that rises in the very centre
of the town. The Redoute is a very extensive
building, containing within its compass a ball-
room, rooms for gambling, a cafe, and a theatre.
The colonnade includes a large pump-room, where
those who are able to take exercise may walk when
the weather is unfavourable.
The waters of Spa are carried in well-sealed
bottles to all parts of Europe. They are con-
sidered as particularly useful in cases of bilious and
nervous disorders. They are strongly impregnated
with iron — more so, the chemists say, than any
other mineral spring which has been yet discovered.
They are, moreover, so replete with carbonic acid
gas, that they require to be used at first with very
ARDENNES PONIES. 227
great caution, as they have been known in some
instances to fly to the head and to produce dan-
gerous effects, A friend of mine told me that his
memory was so much affected by the first glass of
the spring, which he drank early in the morning,
that he foro;ot to eat his breakfast !
The finely wooded heights which overhang the
town, present on all sides prospects of the most
varied and interesting description. Desirous of
becoming more nearly acquainted with them, we
hired a pair of the capital Ardennes ponies, which
abound in Spa, and set off at full gallop. I placed
the bridle upon my steed's head, and desired hira
to take me wherever he liked. He, I suppose,
knowing what he ought to do upon the occasion,
conducted me at once up the nearest hill, along the
bed of a winter torrent ; then descending by a
bridle-road, he trotted on until we found ourselves
upon a splendid ]\Iac-Adamised road, whence I had
a vast view, limited only by the horizon, over fine
plains and shghtly undulating grounds, towards
the Prussian boundary. The morning was mild
and balmy, and I came easily to the conclusion
that the invalid who cannot recover his health in
q2
228 TOYS OF SPA.
Spa and its environs, may as well make up his
mind at once for a journey towards that bourne
whence there is no return.
I was anxious to pay a visit to Adseaux, where,
I was informed, a river precipitated itself into a
natural grotto, taking its course subsequently
through a subterraneous channel of several miles in
extent, to the cave of Remouchamps, which it
traverses. Although I made all due inquiry as to
the locality of Adseaux, I missed my way. Some
few years ago a discovery of a new cavern was
made by an Englishman, the entry to which is
through the floor of the cave of Remouchamps,
which had long been well known. It is much more
extensive than the latter, and is filled with stalac-
tites. The rock in which these caverns are situ-
ated is composed of limestone, alternating with
clay slate. Near Spa may be seen the ruins of the
castle once occupied by William de la Marck, the
celebrated " Boar of Ardennes." The shop win-
dows of the town display, in abundance, specimens
of the wooden toys for which Spa is famous.
They are after the fashion of our Tonbridge ware,
but rather more elegantly painted. The wood of
RETURN TO LIEGE. 229
whicli they are manufactured is steeped in the
mineral springs before it is used, and when taken
out, is curiously stained by the iron ingredient of
the waters. Unfortunately for the many poor ar-
tisans who have been brought up to this species of
employment, the rush of the fashionable crowds of
hypochondriacs has been for some time towards the
wells of Nassau and Bavaria, although the doctors
assure us that there is hardly any malady affecting
the digestive or nervous system which may not be
relieved, if not even effectually cured, by the inter-
nal or external application of one or other of the
fountains in Spa and its environs. If one glass be
sufficiently potent to make a man forget his break-
fast, and five be certain to make him quite drunk,
I confess I should like to have seen the Great Peter
after his morning dose of no fewer than twenty-one
glasses of this formidable beverage !
Leaving behind us the numerous empty, and by
no means economical hotels of this place, the at-
tractions of its Ardennes mutton, which almost
tempted us to prolong our visit, and the pretty
scene of the loves of Lubin and Annette, celebrated
by Marmontel, we returned to Liege, where we
230 MESSRS. COCKERILL*S ESTABLISHMENTS.
were once more immerged in all the horrors of that
dismal atmosphere — the more dismal to us afte^
having enjoyed the pure skies of Spa and Chaud-
fontainc. We therefore set out (11th July) as
early as we could upon our journey southward,
quitting Liege by the magnificent quay of the
Meuse, under a deluge that had been pouring
down all the morning. By the time we reached
Seraing, however, the heavy clouds began to dis-
sipate, and to reveal some azure fields in the hea-
vens, which promised more agreeable weather.
Columns of fire rising in the air out of numerous
chimneys, indicated our approach to the celebrated
manufacturing establishments of the Messrs. Cock-
erill, justly styled, when they were in the height of
their prosperity, one of the wonders of Belgium.
The principal edifice visible from the road, was
formerly the palace of the Prince Bishops of Liege.
It subsequently became the property of the crown,
and was purchased by the late Mr. Cockerill, who
had previously erected in Liege several founderies
for the fabrication of machinery. Upon its being
discovered that coal and iron ore were to be ob-
tained in the immediate neighbourhood of each
SERAING. 231
Other, within the precincts of the land aiijacent to
the palace, he enclosed the whole within a high
wall, beneath which flows the Meuse. Thus, within
the limits of one establishment, were produced coal,
iron, steam-engines, and all kinds of iron machinery,
foi- which the proprietors received orders. In con-
sequence, however, of the vicissitudes in trade
which had occurred in Belgium, soon after its
separation from Holland, and particularly since
the contracts for the riiilroads have been nearly all
executed, the Morks at Seraing have been con-
ducted lately upon a limited scale. They are said
to have, at one time, given employment constantly
to upwards of two thousand men.
Seraing consists of a single street, of nearly a
mile in length, and occupies a valley, over which
tower on each side lofty cliffs, crowned with villas
and convents. The human " face divine'' does not,
certainly, shew itself to much advantage in these
districts; but, by way of compensation, it was
pleasant to observe that the inhabitants in gene-
ral, male and female, were comfortably clothed.
The Annd, which had been blowing coldlv all the
morning, ceased at noon, when the sun broke
232 HUY.
through the clouds, and bestowed a cheerful aspect
to the banks of the Meuse, near which we still
pursued our course. Vineyards began already to
make their appearance, interspersed with neat
cottages, and occasionally with immense formations
of limestone in an inclined direction, and huge
walls of brown stone, which give a wild and
peculiar character to the scenery. Plantations of
hops were now and then to be observed amongst
the vineyards, and also gardens for the production
of vegetables wherever strips of cultivable soil were
to be found between the enormous cliffs.
Nearer to the river, on either side, there are
tracts of alluvial soil, every part of which was
turned to advantage, the whole teeming with wheat,
oats, barley, and what is here called saigle — that
is, bere, — chiefly used, when mixed with a small
proportion of wheaten flour, for bread. Lucerne,
clovei', and poppies were also abundant on the
margin of the river, and occasionally considerable
fields of pasturage.
The approach to Huy is striking. Towering
high above the town is its magnificent citadel, not
long before the Belgian revolution repaired, and
CITADEL. 233
greatly extended upon the most approved plans,
by English engineers, under the direction of Colo-
nel IJlanshard, and at the expense of the King of
Holland. It is seated upon a lofty and precipitous
rock, and completely conmiands the passage of the
Meuse, by which this old town, wearing the aspect
of a former age, but still hardy and vigorous in its
condition, is divided. Beneath the citadel we
beheld the cathedral, and in every part of the
town the steeples and spires of many churches.
All round were very curious-looking rocks, like
the fragments of ruined castles.
We stopped at the Hotel de la Poste — beds not
bad — dinner indifferent — wines not drinkable.
According to my habit, I repaired to the bridge,
to fix in my memory some general idea of the town.
To the south, the fortress, the cathedral — beyond
the fortress, a bold ridge of rocks running to a
considerable distance parallel with the river, and in
some parts well wooded — beneath it some of the
streets of the town. To the north, a lonjj street of
rather mean-looking houses near the bank of the
Meuse — wiiich rolled beneath me, turbulent and
yeUow from the recent rains. The whole aspect of
234 JOURNEY TO NAMUR.
the place was cheerless, owing perhaps, in a great
measure, to the state of the weather, which, though
sunny and warm in the early part of the after-
noon, became exceedingly cold and cloudy in the
evening.
I ascended the fortress by an easy winding road,
which terminates at the gate. Thence I proceeded
by flights of stairs, and rambled at discretion over
every part of the pile, without meeting a single
human being. The vaults are chiefly excavated
out of the solid rock, and the thick massive walls
would seem capable of offering great resistance to
a host of assailants. But strong as the whole bul-
wark may be, I fancy it could not long hold out
against the shells and bombs and powerful artillery
of the present day. Moreover it is commanded by
the neighbouring heights. In one of the suburbs
may be traced the ruins of an abbey founded by
Peter the Hermit, the preacher of the first Crusade.
His remains were interred in the abbey.
We left Huy by diligence at five o''clock in the
morning (12th July) for Namur, having the Meuse,
which had been hitherto to our left, now on our
right. We passed by several factories, one of
EXTRAORDINARY ROCKS. 235
which was a paper-mill, established l)y the late
Mr. Cockerill. The weather was still remarkably
cold. The river, though navigable, exhibited no
sign of commerce. We had scarcely advanced
three leagues from Iluy when our attention was
drawn to the extraordinary features of the lime-
stone rocks which presented themselves for a con-
siderable distance along the opposite side of the
river. Some of these started up to a great height,
isolated, and of slender shape, bearing a close re-
semblance to so many towers belonging to fortifi-
cations, which it scarcely required any force of
imagination to trace in the masses of rock from
Avhich they stood out. Some of these tower-like
columns were clustered close together, as if for the
purpose of strengthening each other.
As we advanced, a still more interesting succes-
sion of these sports of nature became visible on our
left, the great designer passing from one side of the
river to the other, apparently while in some of her
most fanciful and capricious moods of creation-
The objects shaped out in a thousand varying
forms, were upon a more gigantic scale, hoary with
age, indented by many a winter's violent rain, and
236 A BEAUTIFUL SOLITUDE
exhibiting frequently horizontal strata of black
marble, which added not a little to the peculiarity
of their appearance, especially where the formations
stretched inwards like perpendicular walls, as if to
guard some once proud, but now ruined, capital of
the elder days. These mural precipices, sublime
in their effect, from their great height, vast extent,
and solid construction, were crowned occasionally
with round castles, the work also of nature, follow-
ing up the idea of fortifying the whole of that line,
and commanding the passage of the noble river be-
low. High above the most elevated of these towers,
a falcon was observed soaring on his expanded
wings, engaged in pursuit of quarry, which seemed
destined soon to become his prey. It was a meet
accessory to the picture we had been contemplating
with such profound interest.
As if to diversify the prospect, a deep ravine
suddenly presented itself to the view, in which,
amidst rich foliage, were embosomed a charming
villa, two or three neat white cottages, and a small
church with its tapering spire. The smoke curling
from the chimney-tops of the mansion and the
cottages, shewed that they were not unoccupied.
VIEW OF NAMLR. 237
One could not avoid associating ideas of liapjiiness
with that scene of beautiful solitude.
Further on, those fine rocky walls were still con-
tinued, but the most imposing efl'ect having been
ap]\arently yielded to those already passed, those
which now came within sight were veiled within a
long line of poplar trees. By degrees the sublime
descended to gracefulness ; variety of form still
kept up the charm of a picture perpetually chang-
inor, as if under the influence of some scene-shifter
possessing magic power over the whole of this re-
markable territory, and shewing occasionally the
most skilful contrasts between ranges of barren
rock and gentle declivities clothed in rich green
herbage, until at length this procession of unrivalled
grandeur and loveliness, having reached its ter-
mination, it was succeeded by a style of scenery
altogether rustic in its character, until at length
the fortresses, steeples, and ample domes of Namur,
came within our horizon, glistening under the va-
rx'mcr lights of the noon-dav sun, and reminding
mc forcibly of my first view of Constantinople.
238
CHAPTER XVII.
Namur. Church of St. Loup. Jesuit College. Journey to Dinant.
First View of Dinant. Origin of its Name. The Cave of Trou de
Hans. Road to the Cave. The Royal Hunting Lodge. Pretty
Scenery. Forest of Ardennes. Its abundant Game. Open
Country. Its Hungarian Appearance. Our Voiturier. The
Village of Hans. M. Lefevre. Discovery of the Cave.
Namur is seated near the junction of the Sambre
and the Meuse, a position which, combined with
the neighbouring heights, their richly cultivated
declivities, gardens, masses of fine foliage, villas,
vineyards, and scattered hamlets, the two magnifi-
cent rivers, one of which comes as a tributary from
France, renders it singularly picturesque. It has
nearly twenty thousand inhabitants, who find am-
ple employment in the quarries of valuable marble,
and the coal and iron mines in its neighbourhood,
and in the manufacture of brass ware and cutlery.
It is called the " Belgian Sheffield.'" It has been
NAMUR. 239
tlie scene of much strife in its time, and especially
during the war between the English and French,
during the reign of William III. Sterne would
have us believe that uncle Toby was present at the
re-capture of this city by the English in 169o, after
a siege of ten weeks, and that his much boasted
wound was received on the point of the " advanced
counterscarp, before the gate of St. Nicholas;
which enclosed the great sluice in one of the toises,
from the returning angle of the demi-bastion of St.
Roche " — a description sufficiently minute, but
which, I fear, would prove of little assistance to any
military traveller, who woiUd endeavour to find out
the said counterscarp, sluice, or demi-bastion, at the
present day. The history of the siege was written
by Racine, and forms the subject of one of the odes
of Boileau.
The cathedral is of comparatively recent con-
struction, having been finished as late as 1767. It
is dedicated in honour of St. Aubin, whose relics it
contains, is constructed in the Corinthian order,
surmounted by a beautiful dome, and may be con-
sidered as one of the handsomest modern churches in
Belgium. The most interesting ecclesiastical edifice
240 JESUIT COLLEGE.
in Namur is, however, that of St. Loup, which was
erected in the year 1642. The vaulted roof is com-
posed of solid white stone, most elaborately chased
in the Arabesque style, all executed by the hand of
a single artist, a Jesuit, under whose superinten-
dence the temple was raised from its foundation.
The roof is sustained by twelve rustic columns of
highly polished porphyry and red jasper, with
Ionian capitals ; and the floor is of variegated mar-
bles, the produce of the neighbouring quarries.
The confessionals are also of marble, richly carved;
and the sides of the high altar present a variety of
the same material, which, in every part of the
church, is also gilt to an extent that rather palls
upon the eye.
The Jesuits, to whom this church belongs, have
established a college also in Namur, under the tu-
telage of " Notre Dame de la Paix." It is under-
stood to be exceedingly well conducted, and upon
very economical terms. The scope of its studies
embraces, courses in grammar, literature, ancient
and modern, rhetoric, mathematics, philosophy,
zoology, botany, chemistry, algebra, and practical
geometry. Public examinations are held in the
FIRST VIEW OF DINANT. 241
month of August. There are some En<^lish j)upils
in this establishment, but the great majority of the
students are Belgian.
From Namur to Dinant, we still pursued the
charming valley of the Meuse. The scenerv, for
some time after quitting the former city, was in-
deed of a less striking character than that which we
had witnessed on our ap])roach to it ; but as we
advanced on our course, the river presented a wider
expanse, rolling more rapidly and with a grander
effect, between bold and lofty declivities, sometimes
densely wooded, sometimes utterly barren of vege-
tation and blanched by age.
The first view of Dinant constitutes a very
peculiar and imposing picture. Immediately above
the town rises, in a broken pyramidal form, to a
great height, an accumulation of limestone cliffs,
crowned by one of those costly fortresses which were
arranged to be erected under the terms of the treaty
of 1815. The cathedral, with its lofty and singular
tower, partaking somewhat of the shape of a
Chinese pagoda, occupies a commanding position,
and the principal street runs along the bank of the
river, which here opens out still more widely than
VOL. I. £
242 CAVE OF TROU DE HANS.
before. The city is a very ancient one, and is
said to have taken its name from Diana, who is
supposed to have had a temple here dedicated to
her worship ; it lias figured a good deal in the
wars between Louis XI. and the Duke of Bur-
gundy. The population, at the present day, does
not much exceed five thousand souls.
I have already stated that in most of the moun-
tains in this district of Belgium, numerous and
very curious caverns have been discovered from
time to time. Having been informed by our
esteemed friend, the Rev. Thomas Tyrwhitt (vicar
of Whitterborne church, near Blandford, Dorset-
shire), whose name I have already mentioned, and
whom we had again the good fortune to meet at
Dinant, that the cave about fifteen miles distant
from this place, called the " Trou de Hans," was
well worth examination, and that he and his
amiable lady had just returned from visiting it, we
engaged a voiture to proceed thither forthwith.
Quitting Dinant by the road which leads be-
tween a steep declivity and a remarkably tall
isolated mass of rock, to which the people here have
given the well-known chivalrous name of Bayard,
PRETTY SCENERY. 243
we soon gained the open country. The morning
was bright and genial ; butterflies were chasing
each otlicr along the fields and hedges, and we met
several peasant girls wending their way to the
market with baskets of flowers. It was not long:
before we entered upon a tract of forest, a part of
which King Leopold has purchased for his hunting
expeditions. He has constructed upon a very pic-
turesque eminence a hunting-lodge, which, without
any pretensions to show, bears about it every sign
of convenience and comfort. The cottage is on
the right of the road ; the forest is on the left,
and presents here and there openings in which
bridle-roads have been formed, for the accom-
modation of the royal sportsman and his com-
panions. We passed also in the way by two or
three other handsome villas, one of which belongs
to the Duchess of Beaufort.
A pretty little scene presented itself to our view
as we drove along. In a smiling valley on our
left the waters of a brook were dammed up until
they formed a sufficient power to turn a mill beneath
them. The mill seemed full of business, and in
its neighbourhood were a few rustic cottages, which
R 2
244 FOREST OF ARDENNES.
seemed quite away from all the cares of the world.
A little farther on we came upon a deep ravine,
the sides of which were well wooded with ash, oak,
birch, and beech ; a torrent tumbling down the
rocks fell into the bottom of the ravine, producing
a pleasing murmur, and along the margin of the
stream which supphed the waters of the torrent
there was a path, which is said to be a favourite
haunt of Leopold when he visits this part of his happy
kingdom. His majesty has also a farm on the left
of the road, in the cultivation of which he is said to
feel a lively country-gentleman-like sort of interest.
The day continued delightful ; a refreshing
breeze was in the air, repaying us by its balmy
healthy odours for all the late cold and rainy
weather which we had experienced. Corn-fields
and copses served to give variety to our route,
until descending towards a small stream, our voi-
turier informed us that it was the Lesse, which
passes through the cavern we were about to visit.
The forest of Ardennes here assumes a most mag-
nificent character, extending to an apparently
boundless extent on our right. We caught at
some distance a glimpse of a white house, which
ABUNDANT GAME. 245
indicated the village of Hans. Could ue have
gone thither as the crow flies, we might apparently
have reached it in less than half an hour ; but the
road takes a very circuitous course, leading us,
however, through a tract of country by no means
destitute of romantic features.
In this neighbouriiood the Count de Kirk, for-
merly an officer in the guards of Napoleon,
possesses an extensive property. The roacl now
passes partly through the forest, through which
the hunting-paths presented us occasionally with
some charming vistas. The forest is said to abound
with foxes, hares, rabbits, wild boars, and several
other kinds of game. We were cheered by the
notes of the thrush, the blackbird, and the
nightingale, and by ^^the sports of the beautiful
squirrel, who gamboled merrily from tree to tree.
Emerging from the forest, we passed through a
wild and heathy country, until we reached a
turn on the left, where we quitted the capital road
which we had hitherto traversed, exchanging it for
a rougii cart-way, that threatened to u]:set our
vehicle every moment.
The scene through which we were now passing
246 OPEN COUNTRY.
reminded me a good deal of my rides over the
plains of Hungary. Groups of sheep, with their
shepherds and shepherdesses, were assembled wher-
ever a green oasis supplied a scanty herbage. We
had a vast open horizon, and upon ascending an
eminence of considerable height, our voiturier
stopped awhile to rest his horses and to enable
us to take a view of the country beneath, which
was indeed well worthy of all the praise he gave
it, including a great part of the forest of Ardennes,
lying behind us, and a boundless sweep of undu-
lating territory in the distance, permitting us to
catch, far beyond all, glimpses of mountains so
much the colour of the azure sky, that they were
scarcely discernible from it. We drank in with
renewed delight the healthy breezes which visited
these rarely-trodden wilds.
Remounting our carriage, we proceeded towards
our destination, observing how carefully any little
spot which was at all capable of cultivation was
turned to the greatest possible advantage. We
had already become great friends with our voitu-
rier, whose name was Antoine Baugne, and who
shewed a great deal more of intelligence and, I
OUR VOITURIER. 247
may add, of sentiment, than one generally meets in
persons of iiis vocation. He was well accjuainted
with the road, and never failed to call our attention
to any object whicii lie thought might interest us.
Seeing my note-book and pencil constantly in my
hand, he surmised that I was preparing to give an
account of my travels. He was much pleased
when I asked him to give me his name, and added
that I should recommend him to my countrymen
who might be disposed to visit the cavern of Hans-
on-Lesse.
Descending through an agreeable valley, whose
declivities on either side were well stocked with
sheep, we passed by the village of Epraffe, and
then came within sight of the hill, not quite lofty
enough to be called a mountain, within whose
bosom was situated the object of our journey.
The hill is thickly wooded, and the cavern opens
a way through it from one side to the other, thus
affording a passage to the Lesse, which had already
begun to assume the appearance of a considerable
river. Arriving near an old wooden bridge, which
passes over it, but is wide enough only for pedef-
trians, Antoine was obliged to drive through the
248 THE VILLAGE OF HANS.
current, which was somewhat deeper than usual,
on account of the recent rains. We walked across
the bridge, and followed our vehicle to the village
of Hans, which was close by.
Hans has much the appearance of a Spanish
village ; its church and spire gave an air to the
picture, which, seen from a distance, would have
tempted a traveller to visit it, expecting that he
might find here a neat and pleasant resting-place
from the heat of the day ; but true to the simili-
tude I have stated, Hans presents every token of
wretchedness: ruined cabins, broken windows, a
scarcely passable road, groups of little naked
urchins staring at the new comers, as if they had
never seen a decently-clad person before, and nu-
merous dunghills tainting the air. The cabaret
of the place is kept by the guide, John Joseph Le-
fevre, who, in company with a labouring peasant
named Francois Maree, first accidentally discovered
the cavern so far back as the year 1814 ; but it at-
tracted no attention until within these last few vears,
when a short notice of it having appeared in a
scientific journal, some geologists were induced to
explore it. Very few tourists, however, have taken
DISCOVERY OF THE CAVE. 249
the trouble to go out of tlie usual tracks to ex-
amine this great natural curiosity. The names of
the visitors wliich we found in the guide's l)o<jk
were those chiefly of Germans, few French, and
still fewer English. Lefevre must have been very
young when he first attempted to make his way
through the cavern, for when we saw him he said
he was only thirty-eight years old. His wife, to
whom he had been married seven years, confesses
only to the age of twenty-six. They have cliil-
dren, of whom two were twins, then in their
cradle — fine little roll-about infants, who were
playing with each other's fingers. Maree is ratlicr
an elderly man.
250
CHAPTER XVIII.
Cabaret of Hans. Its Parlour Ornaments. Lodge near the Cave.
Entrance to the Cave. Romantic Lake. Wonderful Echoes.
Straw Torches. Picture of Charon and his Bark. Navigation
of the Lake. Stalactites. Beaks of Bii-ds. Curious Drapery.
Morning Star. Fish-Market. The Hall of Debarkation. Bou-
doir of Proserpine. Her Wardrobe. Sinuosities of th6 Cavern.
Its vast extent. Club of Hercules. Grotto of Mont Blanc.
Ostrich Feathers. Colossal Dome. Perilous Return. Remarks
on the Cavern. Ladies advised not to enter it.
My Spanish remembrances were not dissipated
upon entering the cabaret, in the kitchen of which
was one of those large chimney spaces so charac-
teristic of the Posada, with its blazing wood fire ;
an old man of fourscore was in the snug corner on
one side rocking the cradle, and the housewife was
active in preparing various savoury stews, whose
odour was by no means disagreeable to us after our
mornino:''s ride. We had armed ourselves with
some cold b.am and chicken and a bottle of cham-
PARLOUR ORNAMENTS. 251
pagn? ; but wc had no objection to preface our
repast by a warm potage, which IMadame placed
immediately before us on an old oak table, spread
with a damask cloth as white as snow, and in a
parlour infinitely neater than any thing of the
kind we had expected to behold in Hans.
Upon the walls of our refectory was suspended
a series of coloured prints representing the various
sports of the neighbouring forest of Ardennes — the
shooting of partridges, and the hunting of the
wild boar, the stag, and the fox. Bellew (who is a
keen sportsman) laughed at the idea of the hunts-
man, as he is here represented, taking up the run-
down fox by a handkerchief tied round his neck,
instead of by the tail, which is the only artist-like
mode for exhibiting lleynard to the followers of the
hounds. The wooden floor of the parlour was
neatly sanded. Earthen vases filled with fresh
flowers were arranged on the chimney-piece; on
one side was a solid oak press ; a tall clock of the
former time of chronometers reminded us of the
warning minutes by the constant tick of its pen-
dulum, and we were enabled to admire ourselves in
a mirror hung in a slanting position from the wall,
252 LODGE NEAR THE CAVE.
in the good old fashion of our grandmothers. Our
chairs were of oak, and not quite so easily moved
as the japanned toys, upon whose cane seats I have
been sometimes terrified to see a fat lady attempt-
ing to play lenity (I mean the word in its literal,
not its moral meaning) in one of our modern
drawing-rooms.
Having fortified ourselves with a good luncheon,
backed by the bottle of champagne of which men-
tion has been already made, we proceeded upon our
enterprise, attended by Lefevre and Maree. There
is a handsome lodge near the mouth of the cavern,
built, as I understood, by some person of property,
who had an idea of purchasing the hill, and of thus
obtaining an exclusive right to the fees receivable
from visitors. He, however, subsequently aban-
doned his intention, eventually not finding, I pre-
sume, that the speculation was likely to be
successful. The lodge is a very neat building ; we
were admitted to see every part of it, and were
shewn, as one of the wonders of the place, a door
filled with panes of glass stained in different
colours. We were desired to look through these
at the country in front of the lodge. The prospect
ENTRANCE TO THE CAVE. 263
was indeed liiglily picturesque in itself, and re-
quired no sueli artificial aids, which rather nuured
than improved its effect.
An active, strong young man, very well dressed,
■who appeared to be a tenant of this lodge, accom-
panied us with a gun in liis hand. Descending to
the river side, we walked on until we came to the
natural arch whicli ibrmed the entrance to the
cavern. The river here spread out in the ibnn of
a small lake, and two boats were near the bank, in
one of which our new companion embarked,
attended by a peasant ; we occupied the other
boat, which was rowed by our guide. INIaree had
procured a large bundle of straw, with which he
was to lijjht us on our way.
Shortly after our entrance into the mouth of the
cavern, our gunner, who advanced with us in his
own boat, discharged his piece. The reverberation
of the sound through the vaults of the cave re-
sembled at first precisely a loud peal of thunder,
prolonged by innumerable echoes for more than a
minute, until tliey gradually became less and less
audible, and then died away, apparently at a great
distance. It was just like one of those crashes
254 ROMANTIC LAKE.
which often occur towards the close of a storm ;
seeming, when the sound first affrights us, to break
immediately over our head, and then to go on rolling
without interruption along the sky until it is heard
no more. Numbers of swallows, who had their
nests in the roof of the cave, alarmed by the uproar,
flew around us in all directions ; nor were their
terrors mitigated by the effects of a second dis-
charge ; they seemed as if they would bring down
about our ears the vaulted roof of the vestibule in
which we then were.
Our gunner (having received his fee) then took
his leave of us, and returned in his own boat. We
were supplied with blue blouses, which we put on
over our clothes, and advancing through the cloud
of smoke which lingered over the lake, produced by
the last discharge, we were borne into the dark
womb of the mountain. Maree meanwhile sepa-
rated a handful of straw from the bundle which he
had brought, and having lighted it by a match, he
placed himself at the head of the boat. One would
have thought that a torch of pitch would have given
a brighter and a more permanent light than the
perishable material which he had brought for that
PICTURE OF CHARON AND HIS HARK. 255
purpose ; but we afterwards found tliat the straw-
was better, as when it was nearly burnt out, he de-
posited it on the path we took, in order that its
embers niii^ht assure us, upon our return, that we
adhered to our right course in emerging from the
labyrinth we were about to explore.
It demanded no great exertion of imagination, or
rather of our recollection of the mythological fables
familiar to us in our schoolboy days, to bring in
lively colours before our eyes the picture of Charon,
his bark, the Styx, and the shadows of the dead,
with whose transmission to the regions beyond, the
old navigator was charged. We were the shadows
(happily, however, not of the dead) ; our guide in
the dark behind us was Charon, and Maree, at the
prow, might be supposed the " fiimiliar " of the
infernal ferryman, nothing loath to see his vessel
supplied with new customers.
Maree waving his torch as high as he could
around him, shewed us the roof of the cavern, which
was highly polished ; but as we advanced, it be-
came more porous, as we felt from the copious
drops of water it permitted to fall upon our heads.
The stalactites already began to shew themselves in
256 STALACTITES.
great abundance, some of them assuming the form
of beaks of birds, some of large carrots. The arch
above us now expanded nobly ; beneath it we could
easily discern great varietiesof formations, in which
drapery, in many graceful arrangements, seemed to
prevail. Some solid masses presented surfaces which
seemed to have been carved by the chisel of a
sculptor. Our atmosphere became so cold that we
were chilled. The stillness of the scene was so com-
plete, that even the crackling of the burning straw
produced an echo. Maree having lighted a large
handful, threw it on the water, which was now nar-
rowed to the shape of a river. As we passed on, we
looked back at the floating conflagration, which from
a distance we might have imagined to have been
the fragments of a boat consumed to the water's
edge. It remained in sight for some time, until at
length it diminished to the size of a star. Beyond
it the light of the day was not yet wholly lost, so
that we had here a good resemblance of the day
star ushering in the pale grey of the morning.
Many of the stalactites which next presented
themselves to view looked like dried fish hung up
in stalls for sale. The forms were perfect, and we
CURIOUS DIIAPEIIV. 257
niifjht have easily thouHit ourselves in a fish-in;ir-
kot, had not the aniiahle female venders l)een
absent. We were now regularly benighted ; not a
ray visible in any quarter, save those which ema-
nated from our straw torch. All was dark behind
as the ages before the flood ; and before us we had
a strict imafje of the dimness of futuritv. Having
reached what Lefevre calls the hall of debarkation,
we landed ; he then carefully made the boat fast
to the shore, and we proceeded beneath a regularly
formed arch, hung with beautiful drapery, which
was occasionally festooned with a degree of grace-
fulness well worthy of imitation.
The gem of the cavern is the " Boudoir of
Pi-oserpine," for Lefevre has left no chamber with-
out its designation. The apartment was by no
means unworthy of the belle by whom it had been
abandoned. The formations, many of which had
the appearance of saplings cut off near the roots,
were of pearly lustre, and at the top curled off most
elegantly like the sprays and leaves of the young
tree inclined by the breath of the zephyr, as if to
give some idea of inverted Corinthian capitals, and
served, I suppose, as candelabras for the fair owner
VOL. I. S
258 SINUOSITIES OF THE CAVERN.
of the boudoir when she retired to array herself in
all her charms. To confirm the supposition, hard
by is tlie saloon, where all her dresses may yet be
found ; her veils perfectly transparent ; her mantles,
her scarfs, and shawls, all suspended with an eye to
gracefulness of appearance. The roof of this de-
pository is in many places fretted with enviable
taste, and is said to be two hundred feet above the
floor.
We visited several other chambers in the cavern,
being obliged frequently to climb slippery heights,
to creep through low passages, and to descend pre-
cipices, which cost us infinite toil. The number of
inequalities and sinuosities of this kind in the
cavern, several of which are of syphon shape, up-
riglit, or inverted, may be conjectured, when I
state, according to calculations which have been
made, that the current from the lake at one side of
the hill to that on the other takes no less than
fourteen hours to effect its passage, although the
direct distance between one lake and the other,
does not exceed a quarter of a league. The calcu-
lation has been verified in this way : When, after
heavy rains, the river is rendered muddy on its ap-
ITS VAST EXTENT. 259
proach to the cavern, no tinge appears in the waters
of the lake on the opposite side until after the
lapse of the time just stated.
Lefevre assured us that he liad visited several
corridors or galleries in this cavern, each of Avhicli
was more than a mile in length, and led to numbers
of apartments which he had not yet explored. He
shewed us various specimens of the rocks, some of
which were decomposed by the waters of the lakes,
others vitrified. Here also he found pieces of black
veined marble. We saw many stalactites in the
shape of icicles; there Avas one mass, v/hich has
been called the club of Hercules, not undeservedly,
so far as the resemblance to the general representa-
tions of that formidable weapon was concerned.
The stalactites and stalagmites occasionally assume
a columnar form, and adhere together, as if for
mutual support.
In the grotto called that of the " Trophy " or
" Mont Blanc " there is a superb stalagmite, Avhich
rises in the middle, upon pieces of rock heaped up
together by way of foundation. This pyramidal
mass is as white as alabaster, and exhibits upon its
surface a great variety of figures. Another group,
s2
260 PERILOUS RETURN.
not less beautiful nor less resplendent than this,
forms the pnncipal ornament of another grotto, and
seems to consist of bunches of large ostrich fea-
thers ; the guide, however, has bestowed upon them
the less poetical title of cauliflowers ! The most
spacious of all the grottoes which we visited is that
called the " grotto of the dome," on account of the
vast arch by which it is roofed. Few cliurches can
boast of a dome so immense as this. Had this
dome been formed outside the mountain, with pro-
portional columns to sustain it, one might easily
believe it to have been a work of the Titans when
they were bent on scaling Olympus.
After exploring the principal chambers and ex-
amining the more prominent curiosities which the
cavern contained, we were recommended by Lefevre
to retrace our steps, as our course further on would
be found very difficult and disagreeable, on account
of the river being flooded. We found the burning
embers deposited in various places by Maree ex-
tremely satisfactory in our way out of this dark
and enormous labyrinth. In one spot, which pre-
sented many turns, the embers had altogether dis-
appeared, having been blown away by a current of
PERILOUS RETURN. 261
air wliich passed through that part of the cavern.
Even the familiarity of the old man witli the
wintlings of the place seemed baffled, nor could
Lefevre give him any assistance. Maree proceeded
alone in two or three trials as to the risht course,
keeping up communication with us by callino- in a
loud voice. Our situation at this moment was far
from being enviable, more especially as our supply
of straw was very nearly exhausted. Imagine us
buried in the bosom of the earth, in the midst of a
labyrinth out of which tee at least could make not
even an attempt at escape without adding, most
probably, at every step, to the dangers of our posi-
tion. Providentially, however, Maree at last lighted
upon the path which he believed to be the right one,
and we speedily found his conjecture to be correct,
as we came again to some of our embers. Our
gradual return to the day was in due time apparent
by perceiving before us the first gleams of twilight,
which becoming clearer and clearer as we advanced,
we ceased to use our torch, and at length found
ourselves once more in the presence of the glorious
sun.
I was glad that we carried into execution our
262 REMARKS ON THE CAVERN.
intention to visit this truly wonderful display of
the powers and, if I may presume to use the word,
the caprices of nature. Undoubtedly the contem-
plation of such works teaches us that there are
many things in this world which " we dream not of
in our philosophy." Innumerable, most probably,
are the specimens of similar abysses formed in the
interior of the earth and of the mountains raised
upon it, of which we have as yet no conception.
The volcano and the earthquake are still at their
work, and although the geologists inform us that,
as compared with the catastrophes of former days,
all things now seem tending to repose, nevertheless
it would appear that at no period of the world has
the atmosphere exhibited more violent and more
destructive agitations than within these last few
years. But, leaving these topics to the meditations
of scientific men, I shall only add, that I would
not advise lady travellers to indulge their curiosity
by going to see the Wardrobe of Proserpine, extra-
ordinary though it be. The difficulties of the en-
terprise are much too severe for their ordinary
strength, and should they venture upon it, they
cannot escape without having their clothes pretty
LADIES ADVISED NOT TO ENTER IT. 2G3
well soiled. I was astonished to learn that ]\Irs.
Tyrwhitt had accompanied her husband in his
passage tlirougli this cavern from one lake to the
other. She must indeed have had the courage of a
heroine, though one would have never suspected its
existence in the bosom of a lady who usually ap-
pears to be amongst the most timid of her sex.
\
\
264
CHAPTER XIX.
Departure for Luxemburg. Shakspeare's Forest. A dear Cup of
Coffee. The Capuchin Church at Arlon. Festival Day. Lux-
emburg. Its renowned Fortifications. Road to Treves. Ad-
mirable Cultivation. First View of the Moselle. Village of
Marter. Fine Fields of Corn. Vines. Village of Igel. Its
celebrated Monument. Secundini Family. Description of the
Monument. Subjects of the Sculptures.
From Dinant we directed our course towards
Luxemburg, proceeding by voiture to the village of
Emptinnes, where we met the diligence from Brus-
sels. The excellent road between that city and
Luxemburg was completed only two years before
the Belgian revolution. Passing through the
pretty little town of La Marche, we again entered
the forest of Ardennes — Shakspeare's forest ; it
fully realized all the ideas of sylvan mystery and
beauty with which he has invested those charming
shades. There being no regular hotel at Bastogne,
we had refreshments in the house of the Demoiselles
THE CAPUCHIN CHURCH AT ARLON. 265
Mar<rueritcs. In rousing up her kitchen fire, one
of our hostesses findinjj her bellows somewhat asth-
matic, immediately substituted for it an old gun-
barrel, which, pointing to the fire, and blowing
through the touchhole, she made to serve her pur-
pose admirably. They charged us a franc per cup
for their coffee, which in all conscience was quite
enough. The road as far as Arlon was quite \\n-
interestins:.
The commentators upon ancient geography
have set down Arlon as the Roman Orolanum. It
was market-day ; the town was filled with all sorts
of agricultural produce. It happened also to be
the octave of the feast of St. Donatus, which was
celebrated with much splendour by the order of
the Capuchins, whose convent occupies a conspi-
cuous position upon the summit of a hill that over-
looks the town. I went up to their church, the
winding pathway to which is ornamented at inter-
vals by very old stone pillars, containing tablets,
fixed in them, of the same material, which repre-
sent, in a rude style of carving, the passion and
crucifixion of the Redeemer. The figures must
have been cut in the very earliest stage of the art
266 LUXEMBURG.
as applied to ecclesiastical purposes : some of them
retain traces of having been originally gilt and
painted. Ihe church was crowded with country
people, the men in their monotonous blue blouses,
and the women, for the most part, wearing cotton
bonnets, being also in other respects very gaily
dressed. I could not make out that the latter be-
longed to any style of beauty with which I am
acquainted : I suppose they have one of their own.
The German language begins to prevail here.
Arlon exhibits every symptom of being a stirring,
thriving town; several new houses were in pro-
gress of erection, and the people seemed all intent
upon business ; it is the capital of that portion of
the duchy of Luxemburg which has been added
to Belgium under the late partition. A road has
been constructed from this place to Metz, which
very considerably shortens the way from London to
Strasburg.
Shortly after leaving Arlon we arrived at the
Dutch frontier, where our passports and luggage
were examined. Within two hours afterwards we
came suddenly upon Luxemburg, which seemed to
us completely hemmed in between two ridges of
ITS FORTIFICATIONS. 267
lofty rocks, narrow at the entrance, but growing
wider as wc advanced : it is seated on tlie river
Alzette.
The utmost attention has been paid by the mo-
dern possessors of Luxemburg (Spanish, Austrian,
French, and Dutch) to its fortifications, which are
partly excavated in the solid rock, and have been
pronounced by Carnot as the strongest combination
of defences in Europe, after those of Gibraltar. I
found them occupied by a garrison of four tliousand
men. While walking on the ramparts, I observed
sentinels at intervals of almost every hundred
yards. From the position in whicli the town is
placed, chiefly on declivities of rocks, there is a
good deal of singularity in the appearance of this
place ; several of the streets are accessible only by
stairs or by zigzag carriage roads. It looks re-
markably clean and healthy, and the presence of so
large a military force imparts to it a peculiar degree
of animation.
A diligence goes every day from Luxembing to
Treves. We were off at six o'clock in the morn-
ing (16th July) ; the sky was serene, the sun un-
clouded, and the atmosphere as genial as a traveller
268 ROAD TO TREVES.
could desire. Our course lay right through the
principal part of the famed fortifications, beneath
portcullises, long passages, with portholes on either
side, and capable of being interrupted by huge iron
gates ; and then over drawbridges and dikes filled
with water, all strictly guarded by sentinels at
every step, as if the town were beleaguered by an
invading force. When we arrived within sight of
terraces, upon which gardens shone out in all their
summer opulence of vegetation and flowers, we
supposed that we had quitted the precincts of the
enormous bulwark. Nothing of the kind ; every
eminence was turned into an outpost, and armed
with cannon and watched by sentinels. We met a
detachment of the garrison, who, even at that early
hour, were returning from the exercise of sharp-
shooting. They carried with them two targets,
which, being perforated in all directions, spoke
highly for their skill and discipline.
Our route led towards a lofty eminence, and the
slow pace at which our vehicle moved enabled us to
observe, as we wound our way upwards, the appa-
rently impenetrable masses of rock within which
Luxemburg was situated. The drawbridges,
IIOAD TO TREVES. 269
wliicli literally seemed suspended in the air, pre-
sented very remarkable objects in this magnificent
picture of warlike ])reparation. But one is not
surprised at the expense which has been bestowed
upon these defences, and the vigilance with which
they are guarded, even in a season of peace, when
one learns that it is the only " point iVappii'i,^' ac-
cording to Carnot, by which France can be most
easily attacked from the side of the Moselle.
Having surn)ounted the eminence which rendered
our course very slow for more than an hour, our
horses trotted on at a pretty round pace, and we
soon lost sight of Luxemburg. The road being
constructed on the summit of a lofty ridge, enabled
us to obtain views of the country all round us to
an immense distance. The Belgian style of culti-
vation jjrevailed everywhere ; the soil was abso-
lutely teeming in every direction with wheat, rape,
and clover ; and wherever little spots of jiasturc
presented themselves, they were well stocked with
cattle, attended by boys and women.
Passing through the pleasant village of Sailing,
seated in a valley, we reached the large and very
handsome town of Niederartwiler. Our road sul)-
270 ADMIRABLE CULTIVATION.
sequently passed through a series of corn-fields,
bounded in the distance on each side by ancient
and extensive forests. Rows of tall poplars lined
our way, after the delightful fashion of France ;
tracts of rich pasturage were more frequently in-
termingled with the corn-fields than before; and
were filled with oxen, cows, sheep, and goats,
shepherds and shepherdesses, giving some idea of
Arcadia. Over the distant forests summits of hish
mountains occasionally lifted their heads, arrayed
as usual in their fascinating colours of azure.
The morning continued enchanting. Descend-
ing to Grevenmaucher, which, awfully German
though it be in name, wears an appearance almost
wholly Spanish, we soon again attained rising
ground, and beheld on our right a fine sweep of
hill, so beautifully planted that it seemed to be the
park of a gentleman's villa : upon its more sunny
declivities vines abounded. On the left another
range of hills declined gradually to the margin of
the way, occupied entirely by vineyards, arranged
terrace over terrace, indicating our near approach
to the Moselle, which we beheld in a few minutes
after, flowing smcothly through an expanded
VILLAGE OF MARTER. 271
channel, its surface shining witli something of a
silvery lustre.
On the lower banks, near the current, long
strips of linen were bleaching. Women, who stood
in the river, were engaged in throwing water upon
them from time to time, and in scolding scores of
little daring half-naked urchins, who were paddlino-
near them, flinging water at each other, shouting,
squalling, fighting, laughing, and doing every
thing — the roguish truants ! — but attending; to the
admonitions of their mothers. There were several
small, rather neatly-constructed boats near the
farther bank, hard by the pleasant village of Mar-
ter, in which were a neat rustic church and a fine
old chateau, to M'hich was appended a large garden
in the still" pedantic style of former days. We ob-
served, however, afterwards, near the river, several
countiy seats in a more modern fashion. Tiie
meadows, just cut, yielded to the air their grateful
perfume ; the harvest of corn, which was remark-
ably fine and abundant, was everywhere falling
rapidly beneath the sickle ; the yellow fallow
lands formed striking contrasts with the fields of
clover and mangel-wurzel in their neighbourhood.
272 THE SAAR.
The Saar, in its progress towards the Moselle,
with which it effects a junction, serves to mark the
boundary between the Dutch possessions in the
duchy of Luxemburg and the dominions of Prus-
sia. We crossed it by a small bridge, and were
immediately warned by a white pole standing erect,
and painted in black diamond squares, that we
were now in Prussian territory. Every thing in
and on the diligence in the shape of luggage was
taken down at the Custom-house for the purpose
of being examined. The operation was very te-
dious, though conducted, I am bound to add, in
the most civil manner.
We had full time, while detained here, to ad-
mire the beautiful scenery of the neighbourhood,
which receives additional interest from the junction
of the two rivers.
Resuming our seats in the diligence, we pursued
our course close by the banks of the Moselle. Se-
veial boats, laden with stones, were drawn against
the current by teams of horses : the animals were
often obliged to wade through the river. The banks
on our left were now all under vine cultivation,
while, on the other side, a long range of hili, wild
VILLAGE OF IGEL. 273
and barren, rose above successive groups of various
trees wliich grew near to tlie water's edge. Amongst
these trees we perceived occasionally hamlets, whose
white cottages a traveller in search of the pic-
turesque can never pass by without interest.
Quarries of red sandstone abound in all this part
of the country.
We were now upon very ancient classic ground,
the village of Igel being in sight, and this is only
six miles distant from Treves, which some chroni"
clers assert to have been built even before Home it-
self. We were travelling on the old Roman high-
way, and every step we advanced abounds in his-
torical associations. Close to the road, as we passed
through the village, is a monument or mausoleum,
which seems to have puzzled antiquaries and tra-
vellers almost as much as the Pyramids of Egypt.
Whence all their difficulties could have arisen it is
impossible to conjecture, for the monument itself
very clearly tells its own story. From an inscrip-
tion upon it, perfectly legible, it appears to have
been raised in memory of the Secundini, an ancient
and distinguished family of Treves, such as the
Balbi were in Spain, when that country was under
VOL. I. T
274 CELEBRATED MONUMENT.
Roman jurisdiction, or as the Paulini were at
Bordeaux, or the Saturnini, at Lyons, — that is to
say, very wealthy merchants, and at the same time
imperial commissioners for the management of the
communications by post, intendants of the military
forces, and contractors for the supply of the ma-
gazines.
The age of the erection of this monument has
also been a matter of great controversy ; but the
weight of opinion, and the architectural character
of the edifice itself, appear to assign as its proper
date the age immediately following that of the
Antonines, when the arts, which had already at-
tained so great a degree of perfection, were rather
on the decline. It is altogether a highly interest-
ing edifice ; it had been originally decorated with
a profusion of sculptured ornaments in excellent
style, but the greater part of these are now de-
faced. When it was first constructed, the stones
(a brown stone), which were of a large size, were
very neatly put together, but the external surface
was left in its rude form ; they were then sculp-
tured according to a series of designs, which were
conceived and executed with great taste. The
DESCRIPTION OF THE MONUMENT. 275
monument, or obelisk, as it is sometimes called, is
about seventy feet in height, by fifteen feet in width
on (jne side, and twelve on the other.
The sculptures partly represent scenes of ordi-
nary life, partly allegories having reference to the
actions of the gods and of distinguished heroes.
The southern facade exhibits in its principal com-
partment three figures, apparently male, supposed
to be memorials of those friends who had been
chiefly instrumental in promoting the prosperity of
the Secundini family. These colossal figures, un-
fortunately much decomposed by the influence of
the atmosphere, hold each other by the hand ; the
principal figure wears only the tunic; the two
others are arrayed in the toga, the figure in the
middle being much less than either of the two others :
above their heads are medallions of three females.
The pilasters are ornamented by representations
of infant genii, disposed one above another. Upon
each of the capitals there is a head, beneath which
is a bird, supposed to be the ibis, with its beak
directed towards a ball. The principal figures on
the two lateral facades are so much decayed that it
is not possible to form any opinion as to their cha-
t2
276 SUBJECTS OF THE SCULPTURES.
racter, except that it seems to be altogether mytho-
logical. Upon other parts of the monument may
be seen Jason, clothed in his leopard skin, and
armed with a sword; Theseus receiving from
Ariadne the clew to the labyrinth ; the head of the
Minotaur ; the Hesperides guarding, with the as-
sistance of the serpent, the golden apples, and
groups of dancing genii. The northern facade
seems to be principally occupied with the labours
of Hercules ; a zodiac, supported by four colossal
heads, which resemble those of the Tower of the
Winds, at Athens ; and groups of genii, some
dancing, some armed with swords and shields, as
if about to engage in combat.
277
CHAPTER XX.
Monument of Igcl continued. Interior of a Chamber. A Ware-
house. Country between Igel and Treves. Stone Crosses.
Treves. Its great antiquity. Its former renown. Its decay.
Ruined by the Goths and Vandals. Situation of Treves. The
Black Gate. The Bishop's Bench. A Holy Anchorite. The
Amphitheatre. Barbarous Exhibitions. Lancers exercising.
Tunnels in the Rock. Public Baths. Cathedral of St. Helen.
The Baptismal Font. The Archbishopric. The present King
of Prussia. Electoral Tombs.
The most interesting objects represented upon
this very remarkable monument are those con-
nected with the routine of the private life of the
family to whose honour it has been dedicated.
Amongst these sculptured pictures, if we may so
style them, is the interior of a chamber, in which
some business of importance is going on. The
principal figure is seated at a table, surrounded by
his assents, to whom he is reading; one of several
papers which he holds in his hand. Bales of mc:-
278 A WAREHOUSE.
cbandize are disposed on the floor. In another
quarter is seen a four-wheeled waggon, laden with
goods, and drawn by four mules; it appears to
have ah-eady just passed a town, and to have
reached the open country, which is indicated by a
tree. Elsewhere we behold vessels well filled with
cargoes, sailing on the sea, and the family regaling
themselves with a banquet. A number of travellers
on horseback appear to be approaching the scene
of festivity, by way of marking the hospitable dis-
positions of the Secundini. We have also here a
sort of warehouse, in which several buyers are seen
examining pieces of cloth and other goods, and
making notes in their tablets ; a light carriage
(probably used for the post), drawn by two horses,
and an infinite variety of other objects, in which
the grave alternates with the gay. It is, upon the
whole, one of the most curious monuments which
have reached us fi'om the Roman ages of decline ;
it was, to some extent, repaired in 1765 by order
of the States-General of the duchy of Luxem-
burg, but only with a view to preserve it from the
utter ruin with which it was then threatened ; no
attempt was made at restoration.
STOiNE CROSSES. 279
Between Ijjel and Treves tlie whole country was
alive with industry — immense fields of corn eitlier
under the sickle or just cut doun, and filled witii
peasants collecting the sheafs and heaping them
together. Women were traversing the road with
long baskets fastened to their backs, in which they
carried sheafs of corn, and supplies of green food
heaped above their heads, for their cattle. The
road passed through an avenvie of lofty j)oplars,
through which we beheld numerous distant villages
and hills, some shining in the rays of the noonday
sun, some overshadowed by passing clouds. We
scarcely moved a hundred yards w^ithout meeting
old stone crosses, tokens of the Christian piety by
which the whole of this district was distinguished
in the primitive ages. The colour of the soil
here is reddish ; so also is that of the stones used
in the construction of the roads and edifices of
everv kind ; the first effect of which was to make
US feel that we were in a country very peculiar in
many respects, and if we might so say, more
ancient, and even still more exuberant, than that
which we had already traversed.
Treves offers to the traveller innumerable objects
280 TREVES.
of interest and a vast field for reflection. It is,
undoubtedly, the most ancient city in Germany;
the chroniclers, as I have already intimated,
carry its pretensions to antiquity even much higher.
We were scarcely set down by our diligence at the
Poste aux Chevaux, near the Red House Hotel,
when I perceived on the front of the latter an
inscription in these terms : —
" AuxUium suis confidentibus,
Ante Romam Treviris stetit,
Annis mille trecentibus.
Perstet et aetema pace fruatur.
Amen."
" The asylum of those who sought its protec-
tion, Treves existed one thousand three hundred
years before Rome, May it be perpetual, and
enjoy eternal peace. Amen."
In point of rank and splendour, commerce,
wealth, learning, and the arts, it was at one time
considered to be the second capital of the Roman
empire, and exercised jurisdiction over the whole of
the first Belgic Gaul, which included Britain. It
was in the time of Julius Caesar a highly flourish-
ing city ; it has been the occasional residence of
many Roman emperors — Constantius, Constantine
RUINED 15 Y GOTHS AND VANDa a
the Great, Julian, Valentinian, Valens, Gratian,
and Theodosius.
One could hardly l)elieve, looking only at its
present extent and decayed condition, that it could
ever have justly enjoyed the title of a second
Home ; there is, however, no doubt upon tlie
subject, for we can easily trace, in all directions,
the remains of an ancient metropolis, abounding in
opulence, replete with every resource of luxury,
and marked by all the characters of imperial gran-
deur. Triumphal arches, palaces, and baths, upon
a truly lloman scale of magnificence; amphi-
theatres, basilicas, aqueducts, and forums, all still
may be discerned here in a state of ruin or com-
parative preservation. It was in its condition of
greatest pride when first attacked by the Goths
and Vandals, who demolished it to an extent from
which it never afterwards wholly recovered. Par-
tial revivals of its ancient power, and restorations
of its most ornamental edifices, were effected under
the government of the Archbishops of Treves,
who were ])rinces, arch-chancellors, and electors of
the empire, and in their temporal characters pos-
sessed, in former ages, very great power and
282 SITUATIOX OF TREVES.
authority. But with their government has expired
every hope for Treves ; it is now no more than
the attenuated shadow of what it was, and looks
the very picture of despair, weeping over days of
prosperity and glory that are never more to return.
Treves stands in the valley of the Moselle, be-
tween two mountains, anciently called those of Mars
and Apollo. Its most striking ancient monument is
that called the Porta Martis, but more commonly
the " Black Gate." Its original destination has
never been satisfactorily ascertained ; those, how-
V er, who are most familiar with the general
character of the ancient triumphal arches are
inclined to set it down in that order of architecture.
Considering it as such, it is certainly the most
extensive and curious structure of the kind in
existence. With reference to style, it can bear no
comparison with those of Rome ; it was evidently
raised at a period when simplicity and true taste
ceased to preside over the arts; it abounds in
halls and chambers, and galleries, for which no
purpose can be assigned, except that of supplying
to the citizens promenades where they might
lounge in the heat of the day, or perhaps meet for
A IIULY ANCIIUIUTE. 283
the transaction of mercantile affairs, and at the
same time enjoy charming prospects of the sur-
rounding country and of the town itself. The views
from the summit of tlic eminence, especially, pre-
sent a series of beautiful pictures, such as I have
never seen assembled before within a circle so
limited in its diameter.
One could easily fancy a prince bishop seated
in an angle which contains a bench defended by a
small parapet, on the highest part of the building,
surveying beneath him a part of his ample posses-
sions and their capital, rejoicing in the wonderful
fertility of the hills and valleys around him, and
the matchless beauties of the IMoselle ; and subse-
quently turning to his breviary to read his office,
on a spot as complete in its silence and solitude as
a hermitage could be. Indeed, it is recorded that
a saintly anchorite, Simeon of Syracuse, who had
previously been a monk in the convent of Mount
Sinai, did take up his abode in one of the upper
chambers of this structure, upon his return from
the Holy Land. Several of the most extensive
apartments in a lower story have been used as
chapels, to which purpose they were converted by
284 THE AMPHITHEATRE.
Archbishop Poppo, in the eleventh century. In
these chapels the divine service was celebrated
even so late as the commencement of the present
century.
Tiie amphitheatre, which is at a short distance
outside the town, remains in pretty good preserva-
tion. Like most of the Greek structures of the
same kind, it was excavated out of the solid rock.
It had been buried for ages beneath a mass of
earth planted with vines, until it was cleared out
by order of the late king of Prussia. The pane-
gyrists of Constantine inform us, as if it were one
of the most laudable transactions of his reign, that
after his victory over the Franks, who in the year
306 had crossed the Rhine, and were in full march
towards the Upper Moselle, with a view to make
an attack upon Treves, he had a great number of
his prisoners, amongst whom were two princes,
collected in the arena of this amphitheatre, and
exposed to the rage of wild beasts, which had been
previously assembled for the purpose in the vaults
of the building. It is recorded that, after the san-
guinary animals had satiated their appetites, the
unfortunate captives who still survived were com-
LANCERS tXEIlCISIXG. 285
polled to fightas jrlacliators with each otlicr, until
they were all destroyed.
It hapjx'ncd that while I was seated on the top
of a wall of this structure, for none of the hcnclics
now remain, and thinking of the wonderful ciianges
for the hotter which tlie sjiirit of Christianity had
produced, since those early days, in the minds of
men upon subjects of this description, a company
of lancers entered the arena on foot, in order to be
taught the use of that weapon. Their evolutions,
the sun occasionally glancing on their arms, and
the animation which their presence and their exor-
cises imparted for the moment, and so unexpectedly,
to the scene, added not a little to the interest which
I felt in contemplating it. ^-^
Only a part of the old amphitheatre now re-
mains. In its perfect form it is said to have been
capable of affording accommodation to six thou-
sand spectators ; nevertheless it bears no com-
parison in point of size with those of Verona or
Nismes, not to speak of the Coliseum. Two
passages to the arena were bored through the in-
terior of the rock, on the side of Treves, one of
which is now used as a cellar for the produce of the
286 CATHEDRAL OF ST. HELEN.
grapes with which the summit and sides of the hill
were covered. During the labours of the workmen
engaged in clearing the theatre, numberless bones
and tusks of wild beasts were discovered. The
public road passes now through the arena, and not
far from it is a well of excellent water. In the
neighbourhood of the amphitheatre are remains of
the public baths and other ancient buildings, to
which various names have been assigned by divers
travellers and chroniclers.
I visited the cathedral of St. Peter, also called
of St. Helen, in consequence of its being part of the
palace which was occupied by that empress. The
east and west ends of this structure are semicircular,
and are constructed of bricks, which bear every
appearance of a Roman character. Within the
church are four immense granite pillars ; three are
said still to occupy the places in which they were
arranged when the basilica was originally con-
structed ; the fourth pillar has been walled up,
in consequence of its having declined from the per-
pendicular and threatened to give way. The
whole of the four Connthian capitals, however,
■with which the columns were surmounted, may
THE ARCHBISHOPRIC. 287
still be seen in the church : seme of the arches are
round, some sharply pointed. The organ is mag-
nificent ; it was made at Munster in the year
1837: the ceiling over it is beautifully carved.
The baptismal font is of pure white marl)lc, and
executed in the most exquisite style : it is said
that an Englishman offered five thousand pounds
for it. The tomb of Baldwin, formerly prince and
elector of Treves, is a remarkably handsome
structure, and may be considered one of the prin-
cipal ornaments of this singular church, which
reminded me in some points of view of the mosque
at Cordova.
Wiien we were at^^reves the see was vacant,
and had been so for some years. The chapter had
elected for archbishop a clergyman Avhom they
believed to be in every way worthy of that arduous
office, but the late king of Prussia, in the prosecu-
tion of that feeling of hostility towards the
Catholic Church by which he was imhappily
actuated, refused to confirm the nomination of the
chapter. His successor has wisely adopted a dif-
ferent system ; since his accession to the throne, he
has, I am informed, in no instance attempted to
2S8 ELECTORAL TOMBS.
interfere with the just demands of his Catholic sub-
jects, with whom he is as popular as his father was
the reverse. By this prudent policy he lias avoided
the consequences of a revolution, which was noto-
riously in preparation throughout the whole of
the Rhenish provinces, the fairest portion of his
dominions.
Besides the monument already noticed, there are
several other electoral tombs in this church, which,
though very unequal in their fashion of style and
execution, still cannot be contemplated without
feelings of profound interest, when one recollects
that the prince bishops of Treves formerly held
sway over the whole country extending from
Treves to Coblenz, and that within their juris-
diction were the four electorates of Mayence,
Treves, Cologne, and the palatinate of the Rhine.
These monuments, the vast height of the building,
the ancient massive columns, the associations con-
nected with the name and character of the Empress
Helena, all combine to impart an air of primitive
Christianity, and at the same time of an imperial
majesty, to this cathedral, which are not to be found
in any other sacred edifice that I have ever seen.
289
CHAPTER XXI.
GraJinl of the Choir. The Crypts. Cliurch of Our Lady. For-
mer Churches of Treves. Palace of the Electors. Appearance
of a Cross in the Sky. Optical Illusions. Atmospheric In-
fluences. Poem of Conrad Celles. Ausonius. His Poem on
the Charms of the Moselle. Former Navigation of the River.
Within the choir there is a lamp, of modern
date, admirable for the antique simplicity of its
form. The panels of the stalls are beautifully in-
laid with ivory. Upon a book-stand Ave found a
gradual, that is, a large thick volume, containing
the anthems sung at high mass and vespers, which
has the reputation of being thirteen hundred vcars
old. It is richly illuminated, though not always
in the best style. One of the most curious of these
diminutive paintings represents the manna falling
from heaven. There are four other graduals in the
choir, but they are less ancient than the one I have
mentioned. Behind the high altar is a remarkably
vo L.I. u
290 CHURCH OF OUR LADY.
handsome repository for the holy sacrament. I
think that it was here also I observed a picture by
Rubens, of the " Garment without a seam," worn
by the Redeemer, the original of which is stated to
have been obtained at Jerusalem by the Empress
Helena, and to have been by her placed in a cabinet
now walled up in this church. Here also we were
shewn a manuscript of the Epistles and Gospels,
alleged to have been executed by St. Simeon. The
pulpit is very elaborately carved. There are two
crypts beneath the church, which add not a little
to those primitive Christian associations so pecu-
liarly belonging to this holy pile.
Near the cathedral is the less ancient, but re-
markably graceful church of Our Lady, erected in
the pointed style, and finished about the middle of
the thirteenth century. The portal, which is of
a semicircular form, is ornamented with a great
profusion of sculpture, but all in admirable taste.
The interior is in the form of the Greek cross, and
the roof is sustained by twelve pillars, upon each of
which is suspended a picture of an apostle. The
picture of St. Sebastian, which the visitor can
hardly fail to notice, was painted by Guido Neri,
PALACE OF Tlir: ELECTORS. 291
and was purchased for this church at an expense
of twenty thousand francs. Three magnificent
glass histrcs, in modern style, depend from the
roof. The peculiar character of this church is
gracefulness, which pervades all its features. There
is near the principal entrance a small black stone
inserted in the floor, from which the whole interior
may be viewed with the greatest advantage. There
is a very beautiful series of cloisters attached to
this edifice, which are kept, at the expense of the
canons, in the best order.
The ecclesiastical buildings in Treves were,
before the French revolution, mucli more nume-
rous than they are at present ; but the armies of
the republic, with their usual ardour for destruc-
tion, demolished the greater number, and con-
verted most of the remainder into barracks and
stables. The cathedral and the church of Our Lady
alone escaped their vandal hostility to every thing
that was magnificent or beautiful. The palace of
the electors and bishops, also a most extensive and
sumptuous pile, has experienced a similar degrada-
tion. It was erected on the site of an immense
Roman edifice, the original appropriation of which
TI ^
292 CROSS IN THE SKY.
has never been satisfactorily explained. It was
upon a colossal plan. Open windows of a vast
height may be traced in those parts of the building
which still remain, and serve to give an extraor-
dinary idea of the plan upon which it was con-
structed, whatever its purpose may have been.
The greater part of it was demolished, in order to
afford a space for the erection of the palace of the
electors.
The only other objects worth noticing in Treves,
are a pillar of granite raised in the market-place,
surmounted by a cross, said to have been raised in
commemoration of one that appeared in the sky ;
and the fragment of a bridge over the Moselle,
mentioned by Tacitus, and believed to have been
originally constructed twenty-eight years B.C. It
was blown up during the wars of Louis XIV.
Anciently it stood in the middle of the town,
though now at the end of it, thus marking the
almost general ruin in which this once imperial
capital has been involved. The piers, still remain-
ing, are composed of wonderfully large stones,
which are supposed to have been supplied by the
lava quarries of Mendig.
OPTICAL ILLUSIOxNS. 293
The pictures of crosses in tlic sky arc men-
tioned by many old chroniclers, who also re-
late frequently the piienomcna of double suns and
moons. These statements are most generally put
down to the account of superstition, although the
improved knowledge of atmospheric influences
which we have lately attained serves to teach us
that such phenomena are within the legitimate
circle of natural occurrences. The apparition of a
cross in the heavens, in, I think, one of the southern
departments of France, about the commencement
of the summer of the year 1842, has been attested
by so many witnesses, who had no opportunity of
communicating with each other, that no doubt can
be entertained of the fact.
These double suns and moons and aerial crosses
are all resolvable into causes, which arise in some
cases from the refractive, in others from the reflec-
tive, powers of the atmosphere. The appearance
of whole villages inverted in the sky is a fact of no
rare occurrence in the Highlands of Scotland : in
such instances, the misty air acts as a mirror. I
have frequently seen my own face so strongly re-
flected in the dense elements of a London foo; out-
294 ATMOSPHERIC INFLUENCES.
side my window, that, for the novelty of the tiling
I have shaved in it without the aid of my looking-
glass. Here is an occurrence well authenticated:
A farmer residing at the foot of the Felds, in lian-
cashire, happening to stand outside his door of a
summer evening while a heavy dew was falling,
looked towards the ridge of the heights above him,
and distinctly saw what he believed to be a great
number of horsemen galloping along the ridge as
fast as their steeds could go. Knowing that those
heights were, from their rocky and precipitous cha-
racter, absolutely inaccessible to equestrians who
did not choose to risk their lives in the experiment,
he called his neighbours to witness the extraordinary
spectacle, for which they could in no manner ac-
count. Their united testimony upon this matter
leaves the naturalist no room to doubt the correct-
ness of their statement. Upon inquiry, it was
found that a single horseman rode at a rapid pace
along a lower, and not dangerous, declivity of the
Felds on the evening in question, and the legitimate
conclusion is, that his figure was not only thrown
up to the ridge, but multiplied there by the action
of the atmosphere. Many occurrences of this kind
COMIAD CELLES. 295
might 1)0 acklec], if I were disjmsed to shew that
■vve really live in a world of " niairic." Several
friends of mine and I, while sailing vip the Adria-
tic, beheld, one fine afternoon, an Italian forest
completely projected on the sea, with its yellow
autunmal foliage, its waving branches, and its occa-
sional breaks, through which deep vistas were
opened. The tradition about the cross alleged to
have been seen in the heavens above the city of
Treves, is by no means so improbable as some
sages would have us to believe.
I could have wished that time had allowed us to
prolong our sojourn in that venerable ruin of an
ancient capital. In Home one hesitates to decide
between its Christian and its Pagan claims to re-
nown ; but in Treves all is old, quaint, and pecu-
liar, supplying the spectator with the shadowy
spectacles of emperors, electors, devastating armies,
sanguinary wars, moving in the procession of ages,
and leaving behind them solitude, decay, sepulchral
monuments, and the records of a vainglory which
has wholly passed away. A poet of the fifteenth
century (Conrad Celles) thus describes his feelings
while contemplating this most interesting city : —
296 POEM OF CONRAD CELLES.
" O quanta vestris moenibus inclytis,
Obliterata est gloria principum,
Viri Trevirenses, Mosellse
Qui gelidum bibitis liquorem.
" Romam videbar cernere corrutam
Prorsus ruina ; dum feror impiger
Per porticus, portas, et aulas,
Perque palatia prisca regum.
" Passim per agros, quse modo concidunt,
Feruntque celsis culminibus suis,
Thalisque summis atriorum,
Arboreos frutices et herbas.
" Idola Divum vidimus inclyta
Inscripta sacris sub titulis suis,
In plateis, heu ! nuUo honore,
Marmoreis recubare saxis.
" Sepulcbra Grsecis vidi epitaphiis
Inscripta, busta, et stare sub hortulis ;
Et manibus sacrata functis,
Urna suprema reperta in agro est.
" Avara quid non tempora devorant ?
Tulere metas Herculis seneas :
Nos nostraque involvunt minis,
Perpetuo rapiente coelo."
These stanzas form a striking contrast with the
glowing picture given of Treves and the Moselle
by Ausonius, in his well-known poem upon the
beauties of that river.
AUSONIUS. 297
•* Armipotens dudum celebrari Gallia gestit ;
Trcvericaque urbis solium, quie proxima Rheno
Pads ut in medise gremio secura quiescit ;
Imperii vires quod alit, quod vestit, et annat.
Lata per extentum procurmnt mcenia collem :
Largus tranquillo pntlabitur amne Mosella,
Longinqua omniginse vectans commcrcia terrse."
Man and his empires, his marts of commerce and
luxury, his palaces, and towers, and towns, pass
away ; but tlie works of nature ever remain, as
young, as vigorous, as grand, as beautiful, and as
imperishable as when they first left her plastic
hand. The line
" Longinqua omniginse vectans commercia terr£e"
no longer applies to the Moselle; but Ausonius
has celebrated no charm in the river itself which
does not still exist, and which is not quite as fresh
and captivating as it was when first he saluted that
ever-flowing river.
" Salve amnis, laudate agris, laudate colonis;
Dignata imperio debent cui moenia Belgse,
Amnis odorifero juga vitea consite Baccho,
Consite gramineas amnis viridissime ripas !
* * * *
lUa fruenda palam species, quum glaucus opaco,
Respondet colli fluvius, frondere videntur
Fluminei latices et palmite consitus amnis —
Quis color ille vadis, seras quum protulit umbras
Hesperus ct viridi perfundit monte Mosellam !"
298 FORMER NAVIGATION OF
Some time previous to the period of our visit to
Treves, the Moselle was regularly navigated from
Metz to Coblenz only by public barges, pretty
well fitted out, which plied up and down the river
twice a week, or by private boats specially engaged
for the purpose — a mode of conveyance subject to
uncertainty and delay, for the river winds so much
in its course, that it makes the distance twice as
great between Metz and Cologne as it would be by
a direct road. The winds therefore that in one
part of the river would be favourable, in another
would be just the reverse. Besides, these boats,
whether public or private, always stopped at night,
and landed their passengers at inns generally of an
inferior character, although the charges were exor-
bitant enough, especially to English travellers.
These circumstances, added to the fact that the
Moselle lies out of the great thoroughfare from
England to Germany by the Rhine, have conspired
to render the former river almost as little known to
my countrymen in general as the Danube was
before I steamed down that magnificent river.
Stanfield and Harding had indeed already illus-
trated some of the most striking views on the banks
THE RIVER. 299
of the Moselle, by their incomparable drawiiin;s,
but no English tourist, that I know of, except the
editor of IMurray's admirable " Hand-Book,"
whose index to its attractions is necessarily very
compendious, had attempted to describe the beau-
tiful scenery with which that river abounds, at
every point of its course between Coblenz and
, Treves. Higher up the stream, as far as Metz, the
Moselle wears rather a tame character ; it is only
below Treves that we behold it decked out in all
its ornaments.
300
CHAPTER XXII.
Steam Navigation of the Moselle. Our Embarkation. The Coun-
ti-y Village of Pfalzel. Forges of Quint. Curves in the River.
Village of Riol. Saloon of the Vessel. A Farmer. Village of
Trittenheim. The Friar Trithemius. Accusation of Sorcery.
The Friar's Celebrity. Calumnies against him. Invocations of
the Dead. Mary of Burgundy. An Incantation. The Friar's
Doctrine.
Some experiments, with a view to the steam
navigation of the river, had been made in the
summer of 1840, by a spirited company formed at
Coblenz ; but I believe they were rather irregular,
and received at first no great encouragement. The
bed of the river offered many impediments, which
the Prussian government has spared no expense in
endeavouring to remove ; and it was only in the
summer of 1841 that steam-boats were fully esta-
blished on the river. We embarked in one of these
at five o^ clock on the morning of the 18th of July
(1841). For the last day or two the weather had
VILLAGE OF PFALZEL. 301
been by no means agreeable ; tlicie was a givat
deal of rain, and on the mornintr we set out, rather
a high wind. A small steamer stnrted for Metz
shortly before we left our moorings. There were
very few ])assengers on board of either vessel.
Some difliculty at first occurred in getting one of
our paddle-wheels into motion, but the matter
being soon set right by the engineer, we proceeded
on our course.
The country presented at some distance on our
right an agreeable range of hill, and on the left
hamlets in the midst of corn-fields, which had just
yielded their treasures to the sickle. The cathedral
and towers of " Our Lady's Church,"" in Treves,
were still in view. As we advanced, the hills on
our right assumed a bolder character; they were
all cultivated to the top. Within the bosom of a
semicircular series of eminences on our left, a
pretty village, with its picturesque church, shone
out in a partial gleam of the sun. Close to the
bank on our right is the village of Pfalzel, beau-
tifully, but most dangerously situated, for when-
ever the river rises considerably above its banks,
Pfalzel is almost certain to be swept away by the
302 FORGES OF QUINT.
inundation. Frequent instances of this calamity
have occurred, but still the village is speedily
restored after the flood has subsided. It is sur-
rounded by a number of fruit-trees. The chief
occupation of its inhabitants appears to be the
culture of vegetables for supplying the market of
Treves. A little lower down the small stream of
the Ruwer falls into the Moselle. Here com-
menced the aqueduct which, in former ages, sup-
plied the amphitheatre of Treves with water.
Making a sudden bend to the left, a bold
promontory seems almost to forbid further pro-
gress. Opposite to it is Quint, whose lofty chimneys
indicate its extensive forges and works for the
smeltins: of the iron ore which abounds in the
neighbouring mountains. The iron of Quint en-
joys a high reputation, and is much sought after.
Had not our helmsman been stationed on an ele-
vated platform, after the excellent plan of the
American steam-boats, it would have been often
difficult for him to have directed the course of the
vessel, so sharp are the turns of the river. Running
round the point of the promontory just mentioned,
the river, pressed within a narrow channel, wheeled
SALOON OF THE VESSEL. 303
around with so much more rapidity on tlic left
than on tlie right bank, that the waters near the
former were actually higher tiian they were near
the latter, Avhere the current was more slusrirish-
The point of the promontory is, in fact, the apex
of a triangle, along whose second side we then ran
in a comparatively smooth stream, which widened
considerably as we approached Riol, the Rigo-
dulum of the Romans. Tacitus mentions a con-
flict of some importance which took place here
between the men of Treves and the Roman
legions.
The wind had been by this time somewhat
abated, and the day clearing up, the sun shone
out with so much force that Ave were obliged to
seek shade in the cabin. It was indeed a transition,
realizing the old adage, " from the frying-pan into
the fire.'''' The principtd saloon Avas constructed
close by the boilers, so that the heat of the
chamber was utterly intolerable. Tlie smell of
the coals used in the furnace was moreover so sul-
phurous and overpowering, that we Avcre glad to
make our escape again to the deck, and drink in
the fresh breeze wherever we could ilnd it.
304 A FARMER.
Most of the village churches which presented
themselves to the eye in various directions wear a
remarkably gay appearance. The walls and a
portion of the slated steeples are usually whitened,
and on the top of the graceful spire is usually a
gilded vane, glittering in the light.
We took in from a little hamlet which we passed
two passengers, one a clergyman from Luxemburg,
who was on his way to Bertrick, celebrated for its
mineral springs, which he intended to drink. He
represented the waters, from his own experience,
as eminently beneficial to those invalids who stood
in need of tonics. The other accession to our list
of voyagers was a very fine specimen of a farmer
of these countries. He wore a straw hat, a blue
blouse, brown cloth trousers, encased from the
knee to the ancle in leather, and strong boots be-
neath. He had a short stick, with a knot at the
end of it, and fastened to his hand by a stout
leather string. On one of his fingers appeared a
massive gold ring, and in his ears rings of the same
material. He wore a free and fearless air, of the
old Teutonic style.
The reader may imagine the extent to which the
THE FRIAR TRITHE.MIUS. 305
Moselle winds here, when he learns that after
sweeping round by the small hamlet, we pn^ecded
for some miles in a due eastern course, and then as
rapidly receding to the west, arnved at Neumagen,
precisely opposite to the hamlet just mentioned.
Before reaching Neumagen, we passed by Trit-
tenheim, which, though a large village, containing
upwards of 800 inhabitants, is scarcely vi^^ible
from the river, on account of the number of fruit-
trees within which it is embosomed down to this
point ; the vines on cither side of the Moselle are
said to produce a very inferior sort of wine : here
they begin rapidly to improve in quality. Tritten-
heim is remarkable as being the birthplace of an
abbe, named Trithemius, who was greatly advanced
beyond his age in genius and learning of various
kinds. He was born in the year 1462, and from
his earliest boyhood evinced a strong desire to pur-
sue the cultivation of his mind, rather than that of
the vineyards, to whicii his father wished to confine
him. With a view to accomplish his purpose he
escaped to Treves, and upon representing his wishes
to a holy friar, belonging to one of the many con-
vents then flourishing in tiiat citv,he was admitted
VOL. I. X
306 THE FRIAR TRITHEMIUS.
within the monastery, and applied himself to his
studies with so much assiduity, that he was event-
ually ordained priest, and took up his abode in a
convent near Mayence.
The discipline of this establishment had fallen
into a lamentable condition, but, by his energies,
it was speedily reformed. His own example, as
well as his earnest exhortations, inspired his bre-
thren with a love of learning, and in due season he
enjoyed the happiness of seeing those who had pre-
viously loitered away their time in idleness, atten-
tively employed ; some in preparing pens, ink, and
parchment ; some in transcribing the Scriptures,
some in copying other useful works, some in bind-
ing the books when finished, and others in illumi-
nating such manuscripts as he thought worthy of
that distinction.
When he first entered the convent, the library did
not contain more than fifty volumes at the utmost ;
when he finally quitted it, the library shewed
an accumulation of nearly two thousand volumes,
all written under his inspection. Meantime he had
composed several original works, and made a conspi-
cuous figure in some public controversies; which had
THE FRIAR'S CELEBRITY. 307
obtained for liim sonmcli celebrity, and at the same
time, as its natural accompaniment, so much envy,
that he was accused of sorcery — the fate of many of
the learned men of those times.
There is no doubt that the abbe had jriven no
small ground for these accusations. Borne away
by the enthusiasm of the age for Icaminff the Erreat
secrets of nature, he wrote a work containing some
very extraordinary doctrines concerning the pow-
ers of the intellect ; portions of which he connnu-
nicated to a learned Carmelite friar, whom he sup-
posed to be one of his most sincere friends. The
Carmelite, however, freely spoke of the work in
public ; but instead of drawing down censures upon
the author, it excited such ireneral wonder and
admiration, that the learned men of France and
Grermany, the Margravine of Baden, the electors of
the Palatinate and of Brandenburg, and great
numbers of other princes, curious savants, and per-
sons of every degree, crowded to the convent of
Sponhcim, where the abbe then was, in order to
get a sight of the wonderful book itself. Presents
of gold and precious stones showered in u}X)n him
from all quarters. The convent was daily be-
X <^
308 AN INCANTATION.
sieged by visitors from the most remote parts of
Europe.
These unlooked-for results tended to inflame the
hatred of his enemies to such an extent, that they
propagated the most absurd falsehoods against him;
accused him of being in communication with the
infernal spirits, and of being enabled to summon
before him any person with whom he thought fit
to hold a conversation. Amongst other things it
was said, that, touched by the profound grief by
which the emperor Maximilian was afflicted, upon
the death of his beloved spouse, Mary of Burgundy,
the abbe proposed to produce her shade before him.
The emperor accepted the offer with unbounded
delight. Attended only by a chamberlain, he pro-
ceeded to anapartment fixedupon forthe incantation,
where he found the abbe already waiting, with the
various instruments of his black art around him.
The doors and windows of the chamber being made
perfectly secure, the magician proceeded in his
operations, and in a few minutes Mary appeared
before him, arrayed in all the charms of her youth,
and in the magnificent attire of an empress.
"But the emperor was incredulous ; he said he
THE friar's doctrine. 309
never could be persuaded that it was the sliade of his
lost wifi", unless he could find upon the nape of her
neck a wart which was there in her lifetime. He
accordingly examined her neck, and when he found
there the veritable token of which he was in search,
he believed, and was forthwith, by way of punish-
ment for his momentary distrust in the power of
the magician, transported himself into the lower
world, with all its horrors. Not much relishing
this part of the incantation, he cried out to the
abbe to put an end to it, sharply reproved him for
carrying it on so far, and forbade him ever again to
be guilty of so great an act of temerity.
This, and a thousand other similar stories, hav-
ing been circulated against the abbe, he was of
course reputed as one of the great magicians of th^
age.
He had the courage to affirm in one of his works,
that when he was in a fit of inspiration, lie could
communicate to any person, no matter how distant
from him at the moment, all his thoughts, with-
out those thoughts being embodied in words, or in
signs of any description. He taugiit also, that at
the commencement of the world, seven angels were
310 THE FRIAR'S DOCTRINE.
set over the seven planets ; and yet that he held no
doctrine inconsistent with the faith of the Catholic
church, to which he deferred in all things. His
works, most of which are still extant, are distin-
guished by great learning, intermixed with mystical
ideas, which afforded to his enemies but too many
materials for their calumnies. He suffered much in
health from their incessant persecutions, and at
length died, literally broken-hearted, in 1516. The
little cabin in which he was born is still shewn at
Trittenheim,
311
CHAPTER XXIII.
Camp of Constantinc. Neumagen. Aerial Cross. Seen by the
Emperor and his Trooiis. Constantine's Vision. He adopts
the Cross for his Standard. Gibbon. Beauties of the Moselle.
Village of Piesport. Best Wines. Charming Landscapes.
Vineyards. Gardens. The delicious Braunerberger. Ilillupon
which it is grown. Cold Winds. Cardinal dc Cusa. His Hos-
pital. Letter to its riotous Inmates. Berncastlc. Exquibite
Scenery. Ancient Manners. Character of the Moselle.
Along the bank on our right, a range of hinli
and barren mountains covered the country to a
great extent, and seemed to allo\v but little space
for the " inclyta castra Constantini,"' which Auso-
nius represents as having existed at Neumagcn, or
Noviomagus. The emperor had an extensive palace
here, the materials of which are said to have been
employed in the erection of one or more of the
numerous monasteries that formerly abounded in
all parts of this country. The river, the peculiar
aptitude of the soil for the growth of vines of the
312 NEUMAGEN.
best description, and the eminently beautiful scenery
presented to the eye at every bend of the Moselle,
no doubt had their weight with the good monks
in inducing; them to fix their abode in these
quarters.
It was somewhere near Neumagen, if the local
traditions are to be believed, that Constantine be-
held the cross in the sky, on which appeared the
words " In hoc signo vinces." Eusebius, following
the narrative of the emperor, mentions the pheno-
menon in these terms : — " When now the sun had
ascended the middle heavens, and was rather in-
clining towards the time of afternoon, he (the
emperor) declared that he beheld in the heavens,
with his open eyes, the form of a cross glittering
with effulgent light, and upon it the inscription of
the words — * In hoc vince.'' "
Constantine was marching in the afternoon at the
head of his legions, when this phenomenon is said
to have occurred. It was seen by the whole army,
to whom, of course, it was an object of inexplicable
wonder. He could not find amongst his courtiers,
nor amongst the (Pagan) priests who were with the
army, any person to give him an explanation of the
AERIAL CROSS. 313
aerial cross. He continued his march until cvenint^,
when he retired to repose. During tiie night he is
said to have had a vision, in which he saw tlic
Redeemer holding in his hand a cross, exactly re-
sembling that whicii lie had observed in the heavens;
it is added that the Saviour directed him to make
one of the same form, and to attach to it the stan-
dard which was carried l)efore him in battle; and
that he assured the emperor, that by virtue of the
cross he would conquer all his enemies.
The moment Constantine awoke, he communi-
cated his vision to his confidential friends ; he sent
for some jewellers (a circumstance which is sup-
posed to indicate his arrival at Treves), to wliom
he gave orders for the fabrication of a cross of gold,
according to a model with which he himself sup-
plied them. Eusebius describes it as a lance orna-
mented with gold, and traversed by a piece of wood,
which gave it the form of a cross. At the bottom
there was a crown of gold ornamented witli dia-
monds, bcncatii which was the monogram of Jesus
Christ. Upon the arms of the cross was suspended
tlic imperial standard in purple, skilfully em-
broidered with gold, and enriched with precious
314 BEAUTIES OF THE MOSELLE.
Stones. Upon the lance itself, and beneath the
cross, were incrusted the portraits of the emperor
and his sons. The promise which had been given
to him was realized ; " he did," says an old chro-
nicle, '' conquer his enemies by the power of the
Labarum (the mysterious banner was so called), and
his victory was, at the same time, the symbol of
the triumph of Christianity over Paganism.
No ancient historian has mentioned the place
where Constantine is said to have beheld this
heavenly sign. Gibbon finds in the silence of
Eusebius upon this point grounds for withholding
his belief altogether from this miraculous event.
Other authors suppose it to have occurred at
Besanqon, Lyons, and Sinzig.
So far we have been navigating the upper
Moselle, where the vines have been nearly all of a
very inferior quality, the hills barren, and the
scenery by no means comparable with that of the
lower parts of the river. The richness and the full
beauties of the Moselle may be said to begin at
Emmel, a village placed beneath a bold and lofty
promontory, to which we made nearly a direct
course from Neumagen. At a short distance from
VILLAGE OF PIESPORT. 315
Emniel, and on the opposite bank, is PiL'Sjx>rt,
where the best of the most celebrated wines of the
Moselle are produced. One perceives immediately
in the more imposing size of several houses, and in
the appearance of the people of the village, who
crowded the bank as we approached it, all the in-
dications of a country teeminfr with the choicest
gifts of nature. They were all neatly dressed,
healthy, and joyous : the women were comely and
gay. They had only to look at the fine hills alxjvc
their village, which seemed all one vineyard, and in
the most promising condition, to assure themselves
of the abundant wealth which the approaching vin-
tage had in store for them. There is a handsome
old church in the village, with three towers, one of
which is crowned by a dome, and in the early
Gothic style. The cottages near the margin of the
stream are remarkably neat, and every one had in
its windows bouquets of flowers.
Reluctantly quitting this charming village, wc
almost instantly lost sight of it, as we wheeled about
abruptly to the right, and steamed away in a south-
eastern direction, as if we had no sort of intention
of going on to Coblenz, like a lover running away
316 CHARMING LANDSCAPES.
from his mistress in a momentary despair. But
we had no feeling of that description, for the pros-
pects that opened upon us every moment seemed
the work of magic, varying in outline, feature, and
colour, but all contending with each other in
beauty : rich successions of hills planted with vines
to the summit, but affording space below for num-
berless villages and churches, whose spires peep up
over groups of trees, which afforded a welcome
shade from the now brilliant sun to the comfortable
cottages embosomed amongst them. Gardens well
stocked with vegetables, and all the flowers of the
season, were near enough to the smooth mirror of
the Moselle to behold themselves reflected there in
all their charms.
After taking a peep at the interior of the country
in a southern direction, we resumed our course
northward, and curving westward slightly, reached
Dusemont, whence the amateur of Moselle wines
derives that exquisite kind denominated Brauner-
berger. The picturesque hills upon which the
wine is grown are separated from Dusemont by
the Moselle ; so that the inhabitants of the village
have in view before them not only the sources of
COLD WINDS. 317
their wealth, hut alsd ranrjcs of the most delicious
scenery whieh can he found in any part of the
world. The Brainierhcri;-, the iiill upon whieii the
wine grows, is of a peculiarly graceful form, ri.sing
from an ample base below, and gradually tapering
upwards, but not to a ])oint, gently rounded in
every direction, until it terminates in a convex.
It is often remarkable that \vherc nature bestows
her most valuable gifts, she signalizes them also
with some marks of her own beauty.
At a short distance from Dusemont is jMulheini,
where two small brooks, coming from the south,
fall into the Moselle. One of these is said to
contain particles of gold. We proceeded between
banks increasing, as wc advanced, in attractions,
well peopled by smiling villagers, and })rcsenting
tokens of general content and happiness such as
one rarely meets with elsewhere. We hail occa-
sional drawbacks upon the sensations with which
these scenes inspired us, in gusts of wind so cold,
^that it seemed as if they came from the pole itself.
To guard against them we were obliged instantly
to snatch up our cloaks and wrap tliem closely
around us.
318 CARDINAL DE CUSA.
Just before arriving at the rather important town
of Berncastle, we passed Cues, famous for its hospi-
tal, which was founded in the year 1438 by the cele-
brated Cardinal de Cusa, a native of the village, and
said, but incorrectly, to have been the son of a
poor fisherman. It was intended for the reception
of thirty-three invalids, in honour of the number of
years during which our Saviour lived upon earth.
Six of these were to be priests, six gentlemen, and
twenty-one of the class of bourgeoisie. Although
the revenues of the establishment increased con-
siderably in the course of time, the number of
invalids always continued the same. Upon entering
the hospital they made a vow of obedience and
fidelity to the rector, and assumed a grey habit.
They had cells assigned to them, but they lived in
common, and had all the external appearance of
being members of a religious order.
A curious letter is extant, written by an arch-
bishop who was one of the appointed visitors of the
hospital, which pretty well shews that this asylum
for old age and infirmity was not always the abode
of perfect sobriety and peace. It is dated in De-
cember in 1673, and is addressed to the lay-
HIS LETTER. 319
brothers of the hospital. The letter runs
thus: —
" We have learned from unquestionable sources,
that some amongst you frequent the cabarets, and
drink to excess; that you withhold the obedience
wliich is due to tlie rector, and that you even
strike with your naketl fists, knock down, and
violently beat the peaceful and orderly brethren of
the house, whom you keep constantly in fear of
their lives. All this displeases me exceedingly.
You are tliereforc hereby required, each and
every one of you, to abstain, henceforth, from
making a racket or noise of any kind or degree
whatsoever; carefully to avoid tippling and drunk-
enness; to pay to the rector all due obedience; not
to oppose his orders by word or deed; to be very
careful not to lay your hands upon him; not to
offend him in any way, nor to attack him by force
of arms. In line, I hereby require of you to observe
each and every of the statutes and rules of the
hospital, such as they are read to you every quar-
ter. Tiiis is our inflexible wilk"
Berncastle, which is a little below Cues, is a
320 BERNCASTLE.
town of at least 2,000 inhabitants. We stopped
here for nearly an hour, as our captain had some
merchandize to deliver. It is situated in a very
narrow valley, beneath a lofty precipitous pile of
the Hunstruck mountains, which press boldly here
upon the Moselle. Indeed, below the town, so
closely do the mountains approach the shore, that
the road is scarcely wide enough to allow of two
carriages passing one another. Upon the highest
point of the mountain are seen the ruins of an
ancient castle, of which two towers, one called the
Mandatthiirme, the other the Castle, remained in
good preservation until they were destroyed by the
French in the early part of the revolutionary wars.
From these ruins, one of the most magnificent
views of the Moselle, and of the country on each
side, to a vast distance, may be obtained. The
situation of the town itself is peculiarly beautiful,
seated beneath savage rocks, from which a fine
cascade tumbles, until it reaches the river, having
nearly opposite to it the noble hospital of Cuss,
and possessing within its own precincts an ex-
tremely handsome parish church, dedicated to St.
ANCIENT MAXXERS. 321
Michael, and an ancient convent of the Capuchins.
The steeple of the church is tall and graceful,
rising to an almost inipcrcoptibk' point. Ei^ht
small towers, besides, decorate the edifice, wliich is
erected in the pointed style. The view on the
opposite side of the IMoselle, upon wiiich no moun-
tain appears, hut an undulating plain, richly culti-
vated, contrasts in a most striking manner with the
precipitous heights of the Hunstruck, and charms
the mind with its smiling, animated, varied, ex-
panded fields of beauty, perfect in all its attri-
butes.
It does not injure this picture to add, that the
inhabitants of Berncastle are said still to retain
much of their ancient customs, and that they
present in their conduct towards each other, and
also to strangers, the most amiable dispositions.
Frank in their manners, cordial in their friendships,
deeply attached to the religion of their fathers,
which they practise with a most becoming piety,
they uniformly wear an air of cheerfulness and
even of gaiety, which speaks the innocence of the
heart within. This character belonged formerly
VOL. I. Y
322 CHARACTER OF THE MOSELLE.
to most of the population, who, to borrow a classic
phrase, " drank of the waters " of the Moselle.
Churches, monasteries, and religious houses appear
to have been in no part of Christendom so nume-
rous as they were in the middle ages', and down
even to a later period, upon the banks, or at least
not remote from the confines of this enchanting
river.
Nor is this surprising. The pervading charac-
ter of the Moselle is beauty ; not beauty of a kind
that may be passed by and easily forgotten, but
strongly defined ; never aspiring to the sublime, but
next to it in the diapason of that heavenly harmony
which breathes throughout the creation. I have
seen those parts of the Rhine which are admitted,
universally, to comprehend its principal attractions,
but they are, according to my taste, inferior to
those of the Moselle. They want the inspi-
ration of design, the completeness of outline, the
true grace of form, the disposition of principal and
accessorial objects, the exquisite sunshine and
etherial shade, which the Moselle and its banks
exhibit. Those who admire Dante would prefer
CHARACTER OF THE MOSELLE. 323
the Rhine; those wlio worshii) Milton ourrht to
seek the grandeur of tlie Danube ; but they who
love Tasso and his gardens of the IlesiKrides
would find on the Moselle much to remind them of
the genius of that immortal poet.
Ey:i) OF VOLUME I.
J. L. COX & SONS,
PRINTERS TO THE HONOURABLE EAST-INDIA COMPANY,
74 & 75, Gt. Queen St. Lincoln's-Inn Fields.
v.i
THE LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA
Santa Barbara
THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW.
II
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AA
000 328 32
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