replied that if the King of Fralice and the Duke fell into their hands they would roast their hearts and livers for breakfast. The treaty of Ryswick gave Dinant to the Prince-Bishop. Attacked and taken during the first French revolution, it became the chief town of a French department, and so remained until 1813, when it was retaken by the allies, and definitely joined to the royalty of the Netherlands, together with the ancient district of Liége.

The church of Notre Dame is a massive structure, of a cruciform shape, built in the Gothic style. It contains nothing particularly interesting, and is only remarkable for the style of its architecture and a tower 210 feet high.

Excursions from Dinant to the Grotto of Hanssur-Lesse, Castle of Montaigle, Château de Wab. zins, and to Châteaux, a group of hovels.

Above Dinant the line leads us through a species of natural portal, abruptly terminated by a wall of rock shot out from the precipitous cliffs on the left, and on the right by the Roche à Bayard, an isolated mass of rock; close by here quarries of black marble are to be found; also immediately above is the pretty little town of ANSEREMME. The valley is very picturesque, and well deserves to be explored. At this spot, the · Lesse falls into the Meuse.

The road now begins to ascend, and at 3 miles above Dinant is the Château of Freyer, situated at the base of luxuriantly-clothed hills, on the left bank of the river. It is a country seat of the Duchess of Beaufort-Fontin, and has within its grounds a beautiful grotto. Opposite here the scenery is very picturesque. Forms and outlines of the most singular caste and character are shadowed forth by the broken masses of limestone, rising like so many giants out of the Meuse. As far as Flamignoul the scenery partakes of quite a romantic aspect. Passing by Heer we are attracted by a red marble quarry, and as we approach the top of the hill our road is enlivened by chaste and beautiful scenery, until we ascend the top, from which we have a magnificent view of Givet on French territory. The Stations of Hastière and Agimont are passed; then comes Givet (Station).

Inn:-Le Mont d'Or.

A small but prettily situated town, on the right bank of the Meuse, opposite Charlemont, with which it is connected by a bridge. Here is the French douane. Both places belong to France. Givet has a population of about 6,400, and is a fortress. The fortifications of Charlemont stand on the left bank, on a rock of limestone. There is a statue to Mehul, the composer. Rail to Mézières, Marienburg, Morialmé, Charleroi, &c.

ROUTE 17.

Landen to St. Trond, Hasselt, Maestricht, Aix-la-Chapelle, and Cologne.

Leaving Landen (Station)-Route 18-the railroad passes Attenhoven, a commune of 700 inhabitants, and soon after leaves the province of Liége, and enters that of Limburg, and shortly arrives at

Velm (Station), in a commune of Limburg, in the district of Hasselt, crossed by a Roman causeway.

St. Trond (Station), near the chief place of a canton of the district of Hasselt, in the province of Limburg, situated upon the Cicindria. There are eleven Churches, the best situated in a vast square; in which is likewise a Town Hall, worthy of notice. The manufacture of lace is the principal occupation of the inhabitants. Population, 12,000. Cortenbosch (Station) and Alken (Station) followed by

Hasselt (Station). Hotel: De Limbourg. Capital of Belgian Limbourg. Population, 10,900. Here the Belgians were defeated, August, 1831. Its two good Churches, containing many pictures and good carving, are worth visiting. A rail to Utrecht and Amsterdam via Eindhoven, Boxtel, and Bois-leDuc. Past Munsterbilsen (Station) to

Maastricht (Station), in Holland. Population, 29,210.

Hotels: Du Casque; Du Levrier (Greyhound).

The capital of Dutch Limburg, on the Meuse, Maas, or Maes, from which, and the old Roman ferry, or trajectum, it derives its name. It has a strong fortress (taken after a long siege by the Spaniards 1579) and a six-arch bridge to the suburb of Wyck. The Town Hall (1664), in the Market Place, is a handsome building. The Collegiate

Church of St. Servais is a fine edifice with 5 towers and a splendid portal; the square in which this church stands was the spot where William de la Marck was beheaded, in 1485. Notre Dame has a good tower; St. John (Protestant) has a tower and lantern 180 feet high. The most remarkable things near Maastricht, are the subterranean Quarries, under the hill called the Pietersberg; they wind in and out for 10 to 12 miles; and can only be safely visited with an experienced guide.

For Meerssen, Faquemont, &c., to Aix-laChapelle (Station), see Route 18.

ROUTE 18.

a holiday, and the people were dancing under the trees. Van Dyck delayed, and danced with the most beautiful girl in the village, and before the ball was over, found himself deeply in love with her. He was then twenty-four years of age Rome was forgotten. Days, weeks, and months rolled by; his money was all gone. Van Dyck's passion being now calmed, and his resources exhausted, he found that his interest and fame called him to Rome; but what was he to do, not

having a florin to take him there. Happily his courage sustained him. He presented himself to the curé, and proposed to paint an altar-piece for his church. The subject was agreed on, and the price fixed at 100 florins. The painting was

and Aix-la-Chapelle.

Brussels (Station), see Route 6. The rail quits the Rue Neuve, traverses the Senne, and rejoins the old line of railway leading to the station d'Allée Verte. To the left we see the Royal Palace of Laeken, on a height, from which by far the best and most comprehensive view of Brussels is obtained.

The Château of Laeken dates no further back than 1782. It was built after a design of the Archduke Charles Albert, Governor of the Netherlands, and is erected in a charming position. The park surrounding it contains an orangery, a theatre, pavilions, and beautiful trees. It was in this château that Napoleon signed the celebrated declaration of war against Russia. The palace is now the property of the crown, and favourite residence of the Royal Family (see page 16).

The first station passed is Schaerbeek, where the line to Malines diverges. Next Dieghem, and then Saventhem (Station), 12 miles from Brussels, a commune of the district of Brussels, with 1,200 inhabitants. The Church will well repay a visit to the amateur in painting, who will see there a magnificent picture by Van Dyck, representing St. Martin on his horse, giving a portion of his cloak to a poor man. The history of this painting is interesting, and deserves relating:

Van Dyck, on his way to bid farewell to his illustrious master, previous to his departure for Rome, was mounted on a superb horse, a gift from Rubens, and passed by Saventhem. It was F

horse served as models for the horse and saint, and the beadle of the church for the poor man The curé was, by chance, a judge of painting; he paid the demand without murmuring, and Van Dyck set out for Rome. This circumstance provided the poor village church with a chef d'œuvre.

This picture was a reproduction of Rubens' picture. It was stolen by the French, and given back in 1817. Van Dyck also painted another picture for this church, the Holy Family, in which he introduced the portrait of Anna van Ophen, the girl of whom he was enamoured.

This is the only station of interest between Brussels and Louvain, which is reached after passing through Cortenbergh, Velthem, and Herent. The scenery is thoroughly Dutch in character.

LOUVAIN (Station); Leuven, in Flemish Löwen, in German. Population (1882), 36,370. Hotels: De Suède, good; de la Cour de Mons Resident English Vice-Consul.

A large, irregularly-built town, of a circular form, situated on the Dyle, which passes through it Population, 34,440. Facing the station is a pedestal Statue of Van de Weyer, the statesman, 36 feet high, which was uncovered by the King, 1876 The foundation of Louvain has been attributed to Cæsar; but nothing certain is known of the history of the place until the year 888, when the Emperor Arnold, in order to protect the country from the predatory incursions of the Normans, built in the place of Louvain a castle, which has

been long improperly called Château César (Cæsar's Castle). The Dukes of Brabant resided many years in the castle, and Henry, the first Count of Louvain, was assassinated there in 1308. It was rebuilt at the expense of the magistrates in 1375, and was the winter residence of Edward III. of England, and his Queen, in 1485. At a later period it was selected as the place of abode of the illustrious Charles V. during his youth. The ruins of the castle are still remaining. Till the year 1792, when the revolutionary troops, under General Kleber, made themselves masters of the town, Louvain could boast of never having been taken by an enemy, though it had been repeatedly besieged during the sixteenth, seventeenth, and eighteenth centuries.

In the beginning of the fourteenth century Louvain was a large, populous, and rich city, in which the manufacture of woollen stuffs was so considerable, that in 1317 it reckoned 4,000 establishments connected with the cloth trade alone, and contained 150,000 inhabitants. During the reign of Duke Wenceslaus however, and about the year 1370, a tumult arose in the town, in consequence of the arbitrary punishment of a citizen, after he had been judicially acquitted of a petty theft of which he was accused. A number of cloth manufacturers took part in this tumult, and on its suppression were banished from the town. These ingenious workmen retired to England, drawing after them many of their relations and friends; and so rapidly did the town decrease in population from that period, that in less than forty years Louvain presented all the appearances of a vast deserted city. To remedy the evil, John, the fifth Duke of Brabant, founded in 1246, a University, which afterwards became one of the most celebrated in Europe. It was suppressed by the French in 1793, and the building converted into an hospital for invalids. It was, however, reestablished, under the late government, in 1817, in the former Halles of the cloth workers; large building of great simplicity, erected at the close of the last century. There are 17 professors and about 500 students. The library contains about 40,000 volumes, and the university also possesses a botanical garden and a tolerably good museum of zoology and mineralogy.

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The principal productions of Louvain are woollen stuffs and dimities, with the various articles proceeding from the salt-works, sugar refineries, manufactories of potash and starch, bottle works, window-glass manufactories, potteries, brandy and gin distilleries, and establishments for extracting oil from rape-seed and colza. There are also a number of cotton-printing establishments and several printing offices. The White Beer of Louvain is in great repute, and exported to all parts of Belgium; besides which, another kind of malt liquor, called peterman, is the common table beer of the higher classes. The town comprises upwards of forty breweries, producing, annually, above 200,000 barrels of malt liquor.

The Hôtel de Ville, is one of the most perfect specimen of its kind, of Gothic architecture extant, and the innumerable carved figures which enrich the front exhibit indubitable traces, notwithstanding the ravages of time, of exquisite workmanship. It was built in 1439. In the council chamber are some paintings by Verhaegen, and the Continence of Scipio, by Luca Giordano; and in the Grand Saloon is a collection comprising the Resurrection, by Rubens Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, by Crayer; and a portrait of Lipsius, by Van Dyck.

The Cathedral Church of St. Peter, a beautiful edifice, was built under Count Lambert Balderic, about the year 1010, and was formerly surmounted by a spire of the extraordinary height of 533 feet, considered by the people of Louvain as the eighth wonder of the world; but, unfortunately, this bold and justly admired specimen of steeple building was levelled with the ground, by a violent storm of wind, in 1604. The interior of this church contains much to attract the attention, particularly a fine allegorical subject, representing Faith, Hope, and Charity, by Crayer, which is in the Chapel of the Trinity, and the Holy Family, by Quentin Matsys, in that of St. Anne. The iron screen, curiously wrought in one piece, is by Goemans, and the iron lustre by Quentin Matsys.

The Crucifixion, by Van Dyck, which adorns the altar of St. Julien, is remarkable for the artist's introduction of a number of winged boys, who are stationed with a cup at the foot of the cross, to catch the blood of our Saviour. The Last Supper, and the Martyrdom of St. Erasmus, by Thierry