torches. It consists of a series of cham- | pleasures, he passed the rest of his days bers opening into one another. -some in penance and prayer; and, devoting high, others low, some shaped like a his fortune to the church, acquired such syphon upright or inverted; in places a degree of sanctity as to work miracles, it contains some fine stalactites. The not merely by his hands, but by his garfirst hall or chamber is lighted by the ments; so that even a shred of his reflection cast from the surface of the mantle possessed virtue enough to cure water up to the roof. The effect is very hydrophobia, if placed on the patient's brilliant at 8 or 9 o'clock in the morn- head! The body of St. Hubert was ing, when the sun is opposite to the deposited in the abbey, 825, but is supentrance. It takes about 2 hours to posed to have been burnt in the conflaexplore the cave: there is a poor ca- gration caused by the French Calvinists, baret near it. who set fire to both church and monastery, 1568. In ancient times, the abbot of St. Hubert paid an annual tribute of 3 couple of hounds to the King of France, to be allowed to collect contribution for the monastery in his kingdom. From Nieupont the distance is about 12 m., by a cross road, through Hans sur Lesse, to Rochefort (Inn, l'Etoile, a neat homely inn, and good cuisine; charges for bed, dinner, and supper, only 3 fr.), on the Homme, surmounted by an old castle, commanding a fine view. The scenery of the valley of l'Homme above this is very fine, especially near Grupont, where the castle of Mirwart, one of the best preserved feudal strongholds in Belgium, which belonged once to the de la Marcks, is a striking object. Mirwart is about 6 m. from St. Hubert. A cross-road leads from Han sur L., by Wavrulle, Grupont, and Bure, a distance of 12 or 15 miles, to St. Hubert (Inn, H. des Pays-Bas), a miserable little town of 1842 inhab., occupying a clearance in the midst of the forest of St. Hubert, which has a circumference of 40 m. The Abbey Church is a fine Gothic edifice internally, adorned with precious marbles, and contrasting strangely with the humble buildings about it. The W. front with the 2 towers are Italian. Its founder, St. Hubert, the patron of hunters and sportsmen, was originally a dissolute prince, who, among other profane acts, was guilty of that of hunting on Sundays. He even did not hold sacred the holy festival of Good Friday; but, while engaged in his favourite diversion on that day, a stag suddenly presented itself to him, bearing a cross growing between its horns. The apparition, which he believed to be miraculous, and to be sent from heaven, recalled him from his evil mode of life. Renouncing equally his vices and his There are cross-roads from St. Hubert to Champlon and Marche; post stations on the high road from Namur to Luxemburg (Route 29.), to Bouillon, and by Neufchâteau to Arlon, on the way to Luxemburg. A good road has been constructed from Dinant to Beauraing, and is about to be continued (it is said) to Bouillon: the entire distance is calculated at 8 posts, about 40 miles. BOUILLON, once capital of the duchy of the same name, was pawned by Godfrey of Bouillon to the Bishop of Liége, to raise funds for the First Crusade. In after times the bishops refused to allow it to be redeemed, which gave rise to a long series of feuds and fights between them and Godfrey's descendants, so that the territory of Bouillon became truly debateable ground. At length Louis XIV. directed Maréchal Crequi to take possession of the town, "not," says his published declaration, "for the purpose of prejudicing the Bishops of Liége, but for the protection of France, which is not sufficiently fortified in that quarter." Louis, having thus realised the fable of the Oyster, protested, before the Congress of Nimwegen, that he was prepared to resign the province as soon as the umpires had decided to which of the contending parties it ought to belong. The dispute, however, was never settled, and the House of Li Tour d'Auvergne assumed the sovereignty and title of Dukes of Bouillon, with the consent of Louis (1696). The town was ceded to the Netherlands by the treaty of Vienna. Bouillon is a town of 2500 inhab.: it is situated in a deep ravine, and surrounded by hills. The extensive Castle of Bouillon, repaired and restored since 1827, and converted into a military prison, occupies the summit of a rock elevated high above the town, and washed by the river Semoi. No part of the original castle remains except, perhaps, the dungeons hewn out of the rock. 58 miles. the Netherlands. It is of marble, in the best style of the renaissance, sculptured apparently by Italian artists. Below is the depository for the Host: on the next stage is St. Martin dividing his cloak: the 2 lower rows of basreliefs represent the 7 Sacraments, admirable as works of art; the whole is surmounted by the pelican. In the octagon baptistery attached to the ch. is the gorgeous font of brass, covered by a spire studded with statuettes and groups in high-relief, of the Baptism of Christ, St. Martin, &c. It was cast at Tournay, 1467, by an artist named Lefebvre. 5 Tubise St. A tunnel precedes 11 Braine le Compte Stat. A town of 4400 inhab., named after Count Baldwin, who bought it from the monks of St. Waudru, at Mons, 1158. The district around furnishes some of the finest flax which is anywhere produced: it is employed in the manu Terminus at Brussels, Station du facture of Brussels lace. A few miles Midi, near the S. Boulevard. On quitting the station, the Boulevard is crossed, the Porte de Hal is seen on the 1., and the river Senne is passed near Forêt. Good view of Bruxelles. 5 Hal Stat. (Inn: H. des Pays-Bas.) Hal is a town of 5000 inhab. on the Senne and the Canal de Charleroi. The Church of St. Martin, a pure Gothic edifice, contains a chapel resorted to by pilgrims on account of a miracle-working image of the Virgin, of wood, 2 ft. high, which has acquired enormous wealth from the offerings of pious devotees, including gold plate given by Charles V., Maximilian I., Pope Julius II., &c. In a side chapel, near one of the doors, railed off, are 33 cannon balls, which, having been aimed at the church during the bombardment, were caught by the Virgin in her robe spread over the town to protect it! The High Altar of this church is unequalled in to the N. W. is Steenkerke, where William III. was defeated by the Duke of Luxemburg, in 1692, with a loss of 7000 men. A railway is carried hence to Charleroi and Namur, 38 m. (Route 28.) 6 Soignies St. This town, of 6500 inhab., has a Ch. of St. Vincent, and a convent (perhaps the oldest in Belgium) founded in the 7th cent. There are tombstones of the 13th and 14th centuries in its churchyard. Soignies has given its name to the vast forest which reaches to Waterloo. The railway makes an abrupt bend W. to reach 13 Jurbize St. About 5 m. W. lies Belœil. (Route 15.) Here a railway branches off to Ath and Tournay. (See Route 15.) To reach the Mons Station, the fortifications are cut through to admit the passage of the railway. 12 Mons. (BERGEN in Germ. and Flemish.)- Inns: Couronne, best : Aigle Noir, good. Mons, the capital of the province of Hainault (German, Hennegau; Flemish, Hennegouw), is a fortified town, of 23,500 inhab., owing its origin to a castle built here by Julius Cæsar during his campaign against the Gauls. After the siege in 1680, the King of Spain, to whom the town belonged, rewarded the citizens for their courageous resistance, by conferring a peerage on every member of the corporation. The fortifications were razed by the Emperor Joseph II., but have been renewed and strengthened since 1818. The facilities for laying the country round the town completely under water, by admitting the river Trouille, add greatly to its defensive capabilities. The east side is protected by two large ponds or lakes. Mons derives great advantages from the numerous and productive Coal Mines by which it is surrounded; a great many steam-engines are employed to pump up the water and extract the coal, which is exported in large quantities to Paris, by the long line of inland navigation connecting these mines with the French metropolis. In 1840, 26,000 persons were employed in 376 coal-pits of the coal-field of Mons. There are also in the neighbourhood extensive bleaching grounds. The principal buildings are the Church of St. Waudru (Waltrudis), a handsome Gothic edifice, begun in 1460, but not completed till 1580. The interior is well worth no tice; the elegant and lofty reeded piers without capitals send forth a network of ribs over the roof. The high altar is decorated with curious marble basreliefs from the New Testament, cut by an Italian artist, 1556, which were sadly mutilated at the French revolution. Here is also a curious Tabernacle. The Castle, a high tower or beffroi, was built in 1662, on the site of Cæsar's Castrum, as is reported. The Gothic Town Hall was begun in 1458; the tower is a later addition, and the whole ranks far below other municipal edifices of Belgium. Mons was the native place of Orlando Lassus, the celebrated musician of the 16th century. A communication is opened between Mons and the Schelde by the Canal de Condé; a new branch, called Canal d'Antoing, has been cut to avoid the French territory altogether, and to enter the Schelde lower down, at a point where both banks of that river belong to Belgium. About 10 m. S. from Mons, within the French frontier, was fought the bloody battle of Malplaquet, 1709, where the Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene beat the French, though with a loss of 20,000 men. A branch railway opens a direct communication between Mons and Manage, on the Brussels and Charleroi railway, avoiding the detour to Braine le Comte. Its length is 24 kilomètres, or 15 Eng. miles nearly. The stations are 9 kilom. Havré Stat. 9 La Louvière Stat. Here a branch turns off on the right to Bascoup. Its length is 8 kilom., or 5 Eng. miles. 5 Manage Stat. (See Route 28.) The Railway, on quitting Mons, crosses the river Trouille, and runs not very far from the Canal de Condé, and the sluices of St. Ghislain, by means of which the whole country around might be inundated. 4 Jemappes St. This village is celebrated for the victory gained by the French, under Gen. Dumouriez and the Duke de Chartres, late King LouisPhilippe, 6th Nov. 1792, over the Austrians. Three coal-pits were filled with dead bodies of men and horses after the battle. The result of this victory was to make the French masters of Belgium. A stone has been set up close to the post-road to mark the scene of the battle. 5 Saint-Ghislain St. Near this is a populous and increasing colony, already numbering 3750 inhab., though of recent origin, having been established by the late M. Legrand. It is composed principally of miners and iron-forgers, who are maintained by the mines of coal and iron here. Steamengines are manufactured to a considerable extent here. The village is built with straight streets on a uniform plan, the houses being of the same K 6 SECTION III. GERMANY. 28. Passports. -29. Inns and Expenses. 30. Beds.-31. Valets-de-Place. 32. Custom-House League, Zoll-Verein. 33. Distances, Travelling Maps. 34. Modes of Travelling, Posting, Laufzettel.—35. Diligences, or Eilwägen. -36. Voiturier, or Lohnkutscher. 37. Railroads. 38. Baggage. — 39. Succinct Account of Germany. 40. Some Peculiarities of German Manners, Titles, Salutations, Recreations, Public Gardens, Kirmes, The Turnpikemen, Travelling Journeymen.—41. Music.-42. German Watering Places.-43. German Towns, Firewatch, Woodcutters.-44. Clubs.· 45. Burial Grounds. [N.B. The information contained in this Section is of a general character, and applicable to the whole of Germany. The details peculiar to different states of Germany will be found respectively under the Heads Saxony, Bavaria, Austria, &c.] . Prussia, 28. PASSPORTS AND POLICE REGULATIONS. The strictness of passport regulations is much relaxed in Germany within the last 8 or 10 years, yet no one can travel without a passport, properly countersigned. On entering a frontier town of Prussia, or any other state of Germany, and in most of the large towns of Austria and Bavaria, the traveller is requested at the gate to produce his passport. If it be a town of some importance, and he intend to sleep there, in all probability the passport must be forwarded to the Police-bureau to be examined and countersigned (visirt), in which case he will receive in exchange a ticket or receipt (schein), enabling him to get his passport back in minor towns this proceeding may not be necessary, and the passport is merely detained 2 or 3 minutes, till the name be registered, and is then returned to the owner. It generally happens, however, that the traveller is requested to name the inn at which he proposes to take up his residence, in order that the passport may be sent after him: he is glad to avoid unnecessary delay, and the gate-keeper to have an opportunity of receiving a gratuity for his trouble, in taking the passport to the inn. As matters of this sort are totally foreign to English habits, and it is to travellers of this nation that the Hand-book is addressed, we shall dwell on a few particulars, which may be new to them, and useful to know. "All innkeepers are compelled to submit to the inspection of the police the daily arrivals and departure of their guests; and not merely the name, surname, and country, but frequently the age, condition, whether married or single, profession, religion, motives for travelling, and other particulars, are required. book (called das Fremden Buch, Strangers' Book), ruled into columns, and methodically classed, is presented to the traveller for him to fill up.”— S. A |