hospitals or other charitable institutions. It is on this spot that the corporations of trades used formerly to assemble in arms and set up their standard, whenever they felt their privileges interfered with. It was here, likewise, that the ceremony of inaugurating the Counts of Flanders used to take place with great pomp and magnificence. In the year 1600 the citizens raised a column fifty feet high on this spot, to the memory of Charles V., whose statue was placed on the summit; it was rebuilt in 1772, and demolished at the revolution of 1793. But the greatest interest attached to the Marché du Vendredi is from the recollection of its being the scene of three dreadful and bloody events, which rank among the most sanguinary and horrid conflicts that were ever witnessed. It was also in this square that so many persons were put to death by order of the Inquisition, during the tyrannic rule of Aloa. At every step the traveller takes he will be reminded of the former greatness of this interesting city, than which no town in Belgium contains more to interest the visitor. In a street adjoining the square is an old cannon, said to be the largest in Europe, measuring 18 feet in length, and 10 feet in circumference; its date is coeval with the invention of artillery; there is no doubt of its having been constructed in the time of Philip Van Arteveldt. It would appear that it was to this cannon that Froissart alludes in his Chronicles. "In order to frighten the garrison of Oudenarde still more, they made a cannon of wonderful size, which was 33 inches wide at the mouth, and cast wonderfully large and heavy projectiles; and when this cannon went off it might be heard by day at least a distance of five leagues, and by night at ten leagues; and it made such an immense noise on going off, that one would have thought that all the devils in hell were let loose." This monster piece of ordnance is supported on stone pillars, and is called the wonder of Ghent, and Dalle-Griette, (Mad. Magmet.)

THE CITADEL, the first built in Belgium, was raised by Charles V. on the site of the ancient Abbey of St. Bavon. It was for some time the prison of the Lords d'Egmont and Horn. When attacked by 3000 men of Ghent, it was defended by 150 females, under the command of Senora Mardragon, who beat off the assailants, and at last capitulated upon honourable terms. Shortly afterwards, the citadel was levelled, by order of the States-General. The new citadel extends from the Porte de Courtray to that of St. Pierre. and overlooks the course of the Lys and the Scheldt. In the citadel are the remains of the old Abbey of St. Bavon, founded in 618, The Octagon Chapel of St. Macaire, built in the eleventh century, is in a complete state of preservation: part of the ancient crypt is paved with a very curious mosaic, which, unfortunately, is fast falling to decay.

Ghent has twenty-one hospitals or asylums, in addition to which there are many private institutions.

TRADE AND COMMERCE.-The first looms were established at Ghent in 968. In the thirteenth century, the city had already attained a high degree of prosperity, but the civil wars gave a deathblow to them. The principal trade of Ghent at the present time is cotton-spinning and weaving; and from thirty to forty thousand workmen are employed in these branches of manufacture; and about twenty thousand more find employment in the bleaching grounds and in cotton-printing. The estimated capital circulated by these branches is 43,000,000 francs. There are sugar-refineries, bronze and crystal manufactories, chemical works, and many breweries and distilleries. The annual exportation and consumption is very considerable. Linen, one of the riches of the country, is another article of large traffic. Ghent has always been famed for the growth of flowers; in this branch she carries on an extensive trade. There are many private collections of pictures and curiosities. The following are the best, and their owners are extremely courteous in showing their treasures, more particularly to the foreigner :-The Cabinet of M. Van Saceghen, Rue Aux Draps: pictures by the great masters. M. Brissar, Rue Longue des Violettes: old engravings and manuscripts. M. De Conninck, Rue Courte du Marais : pictures, drawings, engravings, and numismatic specimens. M. Regnaut, Rue de l'Université: a curious collection of old fans, medals, and other antiquities. M. Benoni Verhelst, Rue Basse : natural history and pictures. M. Versturme Roegiers, Rue de la Tourrouge ancient and modern engravings, armour, and antiquities. M. Van Alsteen, Rue des Sœurs Noirs: medals, pictures, and an extensive library.

Ghent has given birth to many illustrious persons. The following are among the most remarkable:-Charles V. first breathed in a house in the Rue de Cœur de Prince; Jacques Van Arteveldt; Margaret of Austria, the daughter of the Emperor Maximilian and Mary of Burgundy.

This was the birth-place of John of Gaunt, and also of Charles V. The castle wherein the latter was born is now visible as a pile of ruins on the ramparts. Ghent has been the scene of much tumult and revolutionary feeling in former times, as is admirably described by various authors. Latterly, it was the refuge chosen by Louis XVIII. during Buonaparte's progress through France in 1815; and here it was the news of the Emperor's sun having set to rise no more, was communicated to Louis, by the Duke of Wellington's aide-de-camp, on the night of the 18th June.

Near to the Fish Market there are the remains of the old Castle of Gravenstein, formerly the residence of the Counts of Flanders: it is worthy inspection from its antiquity, (it is dated 866,) and from the fact of its having been the residence of Edward III. in 1338, and the birth-place of the renowned John of Gaunt.

HEIDELBERG.

[Hotels Schreider, near the station (good); Adler and Ritter (moderate and comfortable).]

Heidelberg, famous for its beauty and misfortunes, as well as for its ancient University, consists of a single street nearly three miles in length, and numbers about 14,000 inhabitants. It owes its form to the narrowness of the ledge or shelf on which it stands, being compressed between the left bank of the Neckar and the opposite rocky heights.

As early as the second century the Romans had here a camp, as many antiquities excavated at different periods amply prove. It is believed, that upon the Heiligenberg, which lies upon the right bank of the Neckar, they had a cas le, and a temple dedicated to Mercury. After the expulsion of the Romans, the Allemannii established themselves on the soil; and in 496, the Battle of Zulpich brought the locality under the dominion of the Franks. In the course of Teutonic history, the Rhenish palgraveship arose and extended itself over the surrounding district, to be in turn metamorphosed into the electoral palatinate. The first palgrave held his court at Bacharach; but in 1156, Konrad of Hohenstaufen transferred his seat to Heidelberg, apparently at that time a very insignificant place. A century earlier, only a chapel stood on the Neckar. A few hermits of the neighbourhood, in the eleventh century, associated themselves in a monastery of the order of St. Augustine; the Abbot Lorsch built, also, a Benedictine monastery; fishers, millers, and other labourers erected their huts near the establishment from which they obtained employment or custom, and thus arose, in process of time, a little town, which Konrad surrounded with a wall, and endowed with municipal rights. He fixed his abode in the ancient castle, which stood higher than that of the present day, and of which few traces now remain. Of the ancient buildings still remaining, the oldest are the former Dominican monastery in the Vorstadt, or suburb, now in the occupation of the medical faculty of the University. The Peterskirche is now a Protestant place of worship, and the Convent of Black Nuns is a Catholic school. The building containing the University, standing on the Parade-platz, is not more than a century old, and occupies the site of the former Augustine monastery.

THE CHURCH DEDICATED TO THE HOLY GHOST is the finest in the town, and dates from the beginning of the thirteenth century. Many palgraves lie in its yards and vaults. The nave of the church belongs now to the Protestants, and the choir to the Catholics. Here stood the famous library, a considerable portion of which was carried to Rome as a spoil of the Thirty-years' War.

THE UNIVERSITY was founded by the Palgrave Rupert I. in the year 1386, and had the learned schoolman Mansilius for its first rector. In the first three years of his office, his fame drew more than 1000 students to Heidelberg, and thus contributed largely to its civil importance. A number of colleges for the residence of the pupils were erected about this time, near the present Parade-platz. The Reformation was introduced into Heidelberg, under the sanction of the electors Frederick II. and Frederick III., 1544-1576, and after the death of the latter, the University experienced a season of disquiet, and was scarcely restored to prosperity when the Thirty-years' War broke out, and all but made an end of Heidelberg itself. After the termination of this unhappy contest, it was the good fortune of the palatinate to receive a distinguished ruler in Karl Ludwig, who brought great zeal and abilities to the work of restoring the University. It was under his government that Heidelberg enjoyed her most flourishing period, between 1652 and 1680. The devastations of the French, a few years afterwards, laid all once more in ruins. Under the dominion of the Catholic electors in the eighteenth century, the Jesuits wielded unlimited influence, and the peace and freedom of the University were no more. A worm gnawed at the root of that costly plant which had been watched over with so much tenderness. Even after the downfall of the Jesuits, Jesuitry continued to reign. The learning of the order was gone, and only the spirit of intrigue remained. Since 1803, Heidelberg has been under the government of the Dukes of Baden, and the University, enjoying peculiar protection, has again flourished; priestly influence has been diminished; ecclesiastical prejudices have not been permitted to interfere with the progress of learning, which has received from the state especial encouragements.

The plain-looking building, which now forms the seat of the University, is situated in the square called the Parade-platz. Its foundation was laid in 1711. Here, also, is the ancient University library. Not far from this is the former Marstall, now converted into an academical hospital. Further, in the Vorstadt, is the former convent of the Dominicans, with its church and garden, now used as a museum for objects of nature and art, and for the Botanic Garden. The famous Library of Heidelberg is of great antiquity, the first books having been collected shortly after the foundation of the University itself. Two halls of the old Bourse formerly contained the books belonging to the philosophical and three other societies, while a third collection was preserved in the Church of the Holy Ghost. In the middle of the thirteenth century, there were not in all more than 800 volumes, and these were nearly all in the Latin tongue. Upon the invention of printing, the extent of the library was rapidly increased; but the collection in the church, favoured by the elector, soon outgrew the rest, and the court library was added

to it by the prince. The second founder of this library, now become an institution of the state, was the Elector Philip, a liberal prince, who, supported by men of learning, sought to bring together into one collection all the rich stores that the printing press and reviving science were producing. Several complete libraries were purchased by the state, and added to the Heidelberg collection, while at the same time learned men were sent into France and Italy, to discover scarce books and manuscripts. These valuable objects were not collected to gratify an idle vanity, or desire of accumulation; but regulations were made, by which the humblest student and the foreigner could at any time avail himself of the resources of the collection. No objection was offered to the copying, or even the printing, of the scarcest manuscripts; and books were even lent and forwarded to foreign scholars of reputation. In short, the Heidelberg library was an invaluable national treasure, of which the Thirty Years' War was to despoil the state.

After Tilly had conquered the city in 1622, the pope applied to Maximilian of Bavaria, and prevailed upon that friend of the Jesuits to give him this glorious collection, the greater part of which was removed to Rome in 1623.

The elector Karl Ludwig, upon coming into power, exerted himself to repair this great loss as far as possible, and laid the foundation of a new library. But what he collected with unceasing care the incendiary brand destroyed, in 1693, with the whole city. Ten years afterwards, Karl Ludwig took the first steps for forming the existing library, which now contains 12,000 well-selected volumes. In 1816, Pope Pius VII. restored nearly 1000 of the volumes removed in 1623. The visitor will find the library open to him for two hours throughout the week.

Two castles are reckoned among the antiquities of Heidelberg, each of which claims a Romish origin. Of the Upper Bau scarcely a trace is visible. It was the first residence of the palgraves, burnt with the city in 1278, and only repaired to be used as a powder magazine until 1537, when the electric spark ignited the material during a thunder-storm, and an explosion laid the whole in ruins.

The extant remains of the lower schloss, or castle, stand upon the well-ascertained site of Romish fortifications. The most ancient portion remaining is the Rupertsbau. Almost every successor of the Emperor Rupert added something to the edifice. Frederick the Victorious fortified the schloss, beautified and enlarged its chapel, and, it is said, built the so-called Gesprengte Thurm, one of the outer works of the castle. Ludwig V. built the spacious round tower. Frederick II., besides adorning the works of his predecessor, built the Neuehof, and drew the plan of the Ritter Saal, completed by Otto Henry. The works of this period are remarkable for their