Brussels to Braine-le-Comte, see Route 2.At Braine-le-Comte the line to Namur branches off east from that of Mons. A direct line is open to Charleroi, past Waterloo (page 40), Genappe and Nivelles (page 44). Ecausines (Station) is shortly arrived at, standing among valuable quarries of blue limestone. After leaving the station, a fine viaduct of nine arches is passed. The church of the village of Marché-les-Ecausines contains some exceedingly curious tombs. Passing through a country possessing no remarkable features, Manage (Station) is next reached. The junction of the Mons and Manage lines takes place here. On the left lies Seneffe, remarkable as the spot where William III., Prince of Orange, in 1674, fought the old warrior, Condé, on which occasion 27,000 were killed. There is at the latter place a magnificent château, enclosed by a remarkable park. Leaving Manage the scenery becomes more varied: interesting works of art are numerous. Traversing the tunnel of Godarville, the railroad takes a course, the windings and turnings of which it is impossible to describe-now turning to the left, now to the right-now passing hills, now opening a passage through them. After passing the Gouy-lez-Piéton and Pont-à-Celles Stations, the road next traverses a cutting, the sides of which exhibit layers of earth and flint strangely superposed. On approaching Gosselies the landscape becomes more interesting and varied, the cuttings are of immense depth; as the slope lowers, the country houses seen on either side are numerous and elegant. Gosselies (Station) is distant 1 mile from the town, to which an omnibus conveys the traveller. It presents nothing worthy of notice; population, 3,000. On quitting Gosselies, the railroad traverses a rich and beautiful country, cutting through several beds of coal, and passes Sumetz, situated in a most picturesque manner at the base of a little hill; the Abbey of Sart-le-Moine is here situated. It contains a rich altar-piece of wood sculpture. Passing the E Roux (Station), the road traverses a rich open country, in the midst of which are the manufacturing districts of Charleroi, and shortly reaches Marchiennes-au-Pont (Station), the junction with the Sambre and Meuse Railway, now extended to Berzee, Walcourt, Silenrieux, Canuin, Vireux, &c. At Marchiennes-au-Pont the Brussels and Charleroi canals join the Meuse. The river Sambre is here met with, and between this station and Namur the railroad crosses it no less than sixteen times. The railroad here crosses it on a beautiful bridge. On the right, after leaving Marchiennes, the gigantic establishments of Moncean Fonteine are seen; at the distance of a league and a half from these, the ruins of the Abbey d'Alne are situated-the traveller should visit these. Crossing the river Heure, which effects its confluence immediately after with the Sambre, the coal works of Lodelinsart are passed on the left, and the town of La Providence,--here the manufacture of iron is carried on to a large extent. The stranger should not think of quitting the neighbourhood without visiting some of these Cyclopean caves, which cast into shade the Vulcanian smiths of Etna, and all the mythological fictions of the ancients. Approaching Charleroi, the fortifications of which are seen through the trees by which they are shaded, the station situated in the lower town and near the place is arrived at. Charleroi (Station). Hotels: Du Grand Monarque; De Pays Bas; De l'Univers. Has 13,500 inhabitants, and is of little consequence, the fortifications having prevented its becoming what it otherwise would have beenone of the most flourishing towns on the Continent. The district around has a population of 80,000, and presents a scene of extraordinary activity. The Charleroi coal-field is the most extensive in Belgium, giving employment to 10,000 miners, and yielding annually 3,000,000 tons of coal; the glass trade is also carried on to a very great extent, and those numerous and extensive iron works, which derive their supplies of iron ore from the Sambre and Meuse district-one of the most picturesque and interesting countries in Belgium, but, with the exception of a few eminent geologists, totally unknown to travellers. It extends about 40 miles south of Charleroi to the French department of the Ardennes. The Sambre and Meuse Railway, which commences at Marchiennes-au-Pont (as above), about a mile from Charleroi, traverses it in its entire length, terminating on the Meuse, near Givet. The Sambre and Meuse present attractive features to the lovers of angling, the trout of the former and craw-fish of the latter being abundant and excellent. Bridges span both the rivers here. At two leagues distance from Charleroi, in the picturesque valley of the Sambre, are the ruins of the Abbey d'Alne (already mentioned), the most ancient monastery perhaps in Europe, built in the year 656. The railway crosses the river Sambre many times between Charleroi and Namur. The scenery is most charming. At Charleroi the line branches off, and leads to Walcourt, and having offshoots to Laneffe, Morialmé, Philippeville, Chimay (on the French border), and Florenne. Charleroi to Namur.-Shortly after leaving the station, the village of Couillet, renowned for its metallurgic establishments, is passed; then Montigny-sur-Sambre, the factories of which give employment to many workmen. Crossing the Sambre, the elevated chimneys of Châtelineau (Station) are observable, near a town celebrated for its earthenware, which is in high estimation. Leaving Châtelineau the traveller passes the beautiful château of Beaulieu, the gardens of which are much spoiled by the railway, and shortly arrives at Farciennes (Station), near a pretty village of 1,500 inhabitants, which has been literally cut in two by the railway passing through it. Through a country rich, varied, and interesting, Tamines (Station) is next arrived at, close to a village of little importance, then Auvelais, a pretty village, possessing nothing to interest the tourist. Crossing the Sambre for the seventh time since leaving Marchiennes, immediately after leaving Auvelais, the railroad enters vast cuttings, made in enormous banks of schistus, curiously disposed. Passing the hamlet of Grand Bois, and again crossing the Sambre, deep cuttings are entered, on emerging from which are seen richly clad meadows, through which meanders the Sambre. On the right is seen the steeple of the church of Ham-sur-Sambre, and on the left that of Lemmepe. Moustier (Station) is then seen, and further on to the left Mornsmerit; then a cutting, then again the Sambre, and always the Sambre, which recedes, approaching and bending like a serpent, enfolds amorously the green hills, then retires, coquette as she is, to wander about in a thousand circuits, where the eye in vain strives to follow her. The railroad next passes through a lovely wood, surrounded by forests; on the right, as far as the eye can reach, rise a succession of hills, entirely wooded, which lower insensibly, and terminate in front of us by a slight elevation, in which is situated the village of Francères; on the left are the park and château of Loye, and looking across the viaduct the traveller may perceive the magnificent buildings of the Abbey of Floreffe, situated midway on the side of a hill higher than all those we have hitherto seen, and bristled here and there with the points of rocks, which cut off by their aridity the vigorous vegetation which surrounds them on all sides. Floreffe (Station). The village gives evidence, in the immense church and the beauty of its abbey, of the importance anciently attached to it by the Counts of Namur. It has 1,600 inhabitants. Crossing the Sambre three times after leaving Floreffe, the railroad passes Malenne, a celebrated abbey, the beautiful steeple of which, erected in 1651, is seen between two hills towards the right. Passing through a country somewhat varied and interesting, the Sambre, in following the course of the railroad, describes innumerable curves and turnings, and crossing a fine viaduct, reaches the station in Namur, situated outside the Porte-deFer, which leads to Louvain. NAMUR (Station).-Hotels: Hotel d'Harscamp, highly recommended; landlord, Mr. Hoogen. Hotel de Hollande, a very comfortable, good house; Hotel Belle Vue. The capital of the province of Namur, at the conflux of the Sambre and the Meuse, a well-built city, with wide and clean streets. It contains a population (1873) of 26,030, who are chiefly employed in the cutlery business. It is defended by 50 On the right is seen the steeple of the south of Charleroi to the French department | Sambre of the Ardennes. it in its entire len near Givet. The Sambre an former and craw-1 At two leagues The railway cl citadel built on the summit of a craggy rock. Here are extensive manufactures of fire-arins, swords, knives, scissors, and other articles of iron, copper, and brass. Quantities of leather, paper, thread, and tobacco are also prepared here. Namur has often changed masters, and is noted for the many sieges which it has sustained. It is the - strongest fortress in Belgium. A statue of Leopold I. was inaugurated, 1869. Owing to the destruction inflicted during its numerous sieges, bombardments, &c., it has now but few objects of interest to enlist the traveller's notice. Among the few still remaining is the Cathedral of St. Aubin, an elegant modern building, in the Corinthian order, having a portico supported by twenty-five columns (the capitals of which are elaborately ornamented), and surmounted by statues in white marble. In the interior will be observed some fine paintings by Rubens, and some remarkable monuments. On the right of the altar is a monument to the Bishop Pisani. Here also is the mausoleum of Don John of Austria, the victor of Lepanto. The wooden pulpit erected in 1848, from a plan by M. Geerts, deserves notice. The figures carved on it are very fine. The Church of St. Loup, or the Jesuits' Church, is also a fine specimen of the ornamental style of architecture. The roof is constructed of the stone of St. Hubert, brought from the Ardennes, in the neighbourhood of Marche; and the wood of the confessionals is curiously and elaborately carved. The Château, remarkable for its siege of two years, from 1256 to 1258. The Government House was formerly the Bishop's Palace, built in 1725, by an Englishman named Strickland, who was bishop of the diocese. The Citadel and Ramparts, built on one of the mountains overhanging the town, command varied and extensive views over the fertile country watered by the Meuse. The town also contains several hospitals (the principal of which is that founded by the Countess of Harscamp, in 1812, for aged destitute persons of both sexes), a public library, an athenæum, and a theatre. In the neighbourhood of the town are immense quarries of free and lime stone, and also of black, red, and grey marble, susceptible of a very high polish. In addition to working these quarries the inhabitants of Namur are employed in the manufacture of cutlery, fire-arms, paper, glue, nails, hats, files, lace, serge, woollen stuffs, crockeryware, and all articles of iron, copper, bronze, steel, and tin. The tan-yards, which were formerly an important branch of industry at Namur, are much diminished in importance; but there are still several remaining-as also numerous breweries, and one glass house. The pit-coal, called houille, is found in the mountain on which the castle is built. Tobacco and endive are cultivated in the neighbourhood of the town. The streets of Namur are wide and well built, principally of blue stone, veined with red and black. The river abounds in excellent fish, particularly craw-fish, which are exported to every part of the kingdom. The singular sham-fights, formerly carried on between the two parties of young townsmen, mounted on stilts, were once a favourite diversion of the inhabitants, and to which, it is said the brewers of Namur owe the exemption from excise, granted by Duke Albert. They are now almost discontinued, but are still occasionally to be seen during the Fairs, the principal of which commences on the 2nd July, and lasts fifteen days: the others are but one day each, viz.: the second Monday in April, the second Saturday in July, and the first Saturday in October. Within 3 miles of Namur is the curious Hermitage of Montagne, cut in the solid rock, by a brotherhood of Carmelite Friars; and about two miles to the north, in the arrondissement of Philippeville, is the village of Vedrin, in which is a valuable lead mine, discovered in 1619; it is now worked by a powerful steam engine. This neighbourhood also affords a white sand, used in making glass. The walk to this village, as well as that of La Plante, which is about the same distance, is delightfully picturesque. ROUTE 9. Namur (Station), as in Route 8. The railway station is situated near the buryingground, between the exterior fortifications and the hill of Pied-noir, in the space which extends from |