BELGIUM.

ROUTE 1.-LONDON TO BRUSSELS.

BY DOVER, CALAIS, LILLE, COURTRAY, GHENT, AND MALINES.

TRAINS leave by the London, Chatham, and Dover | De Flandre: Du Sauvage; De Londres; Quik

Hotel Meurice, Rue de Guise, open for night been introduced in increased numbers, and factrains and boats; moderate charges.

The Buffet Hotel, at the Railway Station; con- part. It is stated that 55.000,000 of eggs are veniently situated; sleeping, refreshments, annually exported from this place to England. and accommodation at moderate charges. The pier of Calais is three-quarters of a mile in Louis Duvivier, the Buffet Hotel Commis-length, and is used as an agreeable promenade. sioner, who speaks English, is very civil and On a spot of it is seen the pillar erected to comobliging memorate the return of Louis XVIII. to France.

The railway from hence to Lille, enables pas

all parts of Belgium; also to Douai and Paris. Travellers proceeding to Belgium or Germany will avoid much trouble by informing the authorities of their place of destination, and by what train they intend to proceed; their luggage should then be duly marked for transit, and they will avoid the annoyance of a custom-house search in France.

It originally bore the following inscription:-"Le a panoramic scene of great beauty, comprielap, on 24 Avril, 1814, S. M. Louis XVIII. debarqua a clear day, the distant cliffs of England, and the vis-à-vis de Cette Colonne et fut enfin rendu a outlines of Dover Castle. The public cemetery l'amour des Francais; pour en perpétuer le sou- outside the town contains the ashes of Lady venir la ville de Calais a élevé ce monument." Hamilton (Nelson's Emma), who expired here, His Majesty Louis XVIII. disembarked beside destitute and impoverished. this column on the 24th April, 1814, and was at last restored to the love of the French people. The town of Calais erected this column to com-sengers to proceed direct by rail to Brussels and memorate the event. A brazen plate was fixed on the exact spot where the monarch's foot stepped, in order to further commemorate the act; but at the revolution of 1830 both plate and inscription were effaced, leaving the pillar to stand as a monument of the capriciousness of French enthusiasm. Calais has very little to interest; and though one or two incidents in its history are fraught with deep interest, particularly the recent embarcation of French troops on board of English ships for the Baltic, yet its objects of attraction are few, and may be visited in about two hours. Its principal gate, built in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, and figured by Hogarth in his celebrated picture, is worth a short inspection. The Hôtel de Guise will also interest the English traveller, as having been the place where Henry VIII. lodged, and as the original | building where was established the guild hall of the mayor and alderinen of the "staple of wool," founded in 1363 by Edward III. The Hôtel de Ville, or Town Hall, situate is the market place, will repay a visit. Within it are all the public offices, and the front of it is ornamented with busts of St. Pierre, of the Duke of Guise, and of Cardinal de Richelieu. It is surmounted by a belfry containing a chime of bells. The tower and steeple of the principal church, built when Crais appertained to England, deserve attention. Immediately to the rear of the choir is a modern circular chapel, and the church itself is a fine structure, built in the early Gothic style.

English chapel, Rue des Prêtres; hours of service on Sundays 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

The ramparts around the town and pier form admirable promenades. The basse-ville, or lower town, is a pleasant walk on a fête day. The new lighthouse should be visited. It is one of the most beautiful works of mechanism in the world. The view from the summit of the tower presents

Steamers ply thrice each day between Calais and Dover, making the voyage in about one and a half to two hours. Steam-boats sail direct to London twice a week, performing the voyage in from 10 to 12 hours.

Calais to Lille-65 English miles. Leaving the station at the end of the pier, near to the gate St. Pierre, a place of no importance is passed, and

ARDRES arrived at. It is a small fortress, situated on a canal. A little to the west of the road, between the town and Guisnes, is the spot called by historians the "Field of the Cloth of Gold," where Henry VIII. of England and Francis I. of France met in 1520. It is so called from the cloth of gold covering the tents and pavilions occupied by the two monarchs and their suites, comprising 5,696 persons, with 4,325 horses.

ANDRUICQ Station. WATTEN Station,

St. Omer.-Hotels:

Hotel de la Porte d'Or, Rue St. Bertin. -New proprietor, D. Coolen. Very attentive, and charges moderate.

Hotel d'Angleterre; Du Commerce.

A third-rate fortress, situated in a marshy district on the Aa, well built and strongly fortified; streets wide and well made. A plentiful supply of refreshing water is afforded from 12 fountains in different quarters. The Hôtel de Ville is situated in the Place d'Armes. Beyond the walls are two considerable suburbs, between which and Clair

EBLINGHEM Station.

HAZEBROUCK: From here a branch line leads to Dunkirk. Refreshments may be had here.

The following unimportant stations are next passed:-STRAZEELE, BAILLEUL, STEENWERCK, ARMENTIERES, and PERENCHIES.

Lille.-Hotels:

Paris; Nouveau Monde; Flandre; France; Chemin

de fer du Nord.

marais are situated, amid extensive marshes,
several floating islands, covered with trees and
excellent pasture. The proprietors row them like
a boat to land their cattle or take them up. The
town is on the line of railway from Calais to Lille.
Living is said to be cheap. It contains a popula-
tion of 21,000 inhabitants, and possesses two
ecclesiastical buildings well worthy of notice
the Cathedral, and Abbey Church of St. Bertin.
The former is a magnificent construction, exhibit-
ing a transition from the round to the pointed
style of architecture, situated in the Rue St. Ber-Hotel de l'Europe-the best in the town.
tin. Its east end is of a polygonal termination,
with projecting chapels. The interior of the
church is in good preservation, and the small
Chapel of the Virgin has been lately redecorated.
At the extreme end of the street in which this
church is situated are to be seen the remains of
the once famous Abbey of St. Bertin, formerly
the noblest Gothic building in French Flanders.
The only fragments now remaining is a stately
tower, noble even in its ruins, the mutilated
panelling of its walls bespeaking the chaste and
superior elegance of its florid Gothic style of
ornament. From off the tower, which is propped
by a rude buttress of masonry, a fine panoramic
view of the town may be had. Thomas à Becket
sought refuge in this once-famous abbey, when a
fugitive from England, and within its cloister were
passed the last four years of his life. The monas-
tery was suppressed in 1792, but was spared by the
Convention. The Directory was less considerate,
and under it the roof was taken off, the building
stripped of its fixtures and wood work, which
were sold. The work of destruction was completed
a few years since by the local authorities, who
had the walls taken down, in order to find work
for some unemployed labourers!

It was here existed the celcbrated Jesuits' College; founded in 1596 by an English Jesuit, named Parsons. In it were educated many of the conspirators mixed up in the Gunpowder Plot, and some of the wild spirits who intrigued against Elizabeth. This college was succeeded by a seminary, for British Roman Catholics, and in it was educated the famous agitator, the late Daniel O'Connell.

English Church: Rue du Bon Pasteur Hours of Service, 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Sundays.

This city is strongly fortified, and forms, on the northern frontiers of France, the central point of defence. With a population of 72,600 inhabitants, it is the seat of thriving industry and of busy manufacture, ranking as the seventh industrial and commercial city of the new empire. The town is traversed by the waters of the Haute and Basse Deule, which fill its moats, and work the mill machinery about. They are connected by a canal, so arranged as to be able to inundate the country for one and a half mile around the walls, if necessary. Though the city is spacious and its wealth very great, yet its monuments and buildings are few and unimportant.

The Citadel is looked upon as a master specimen of the skill of Vauban, who held the position of governor for many years. The Hôtel de Ville is an erection of the 13th century, built by Jean SansPeur, inhabited by Charles V., and was anciently the palace of the Dukes of Burgundy. The building is in the early Gothic style, and has in one of its tourelles an exquisitely groined staircase and a chapel. A school of art, containing an interesting and rich collection of drawings by the old masters, occupies one division of the building. This collection consists of 44 paintings by Raphael, some by Masaccio Fra Bartolomeo, and a few architectural designs by Michael Angelo. An inspection of them will interest and gratify all lovers of the fine arts. Chevr Wicar bequeathed them to the city. Though Sunday is the only day on which there is a public admission, the housekeeper will not hesitate to admit pr of respectability on other days.