BELGIUM. 



775 



volumes. Half a league iVom the city is the splendid palace of Schoonenburg. Brussels is 

 distinguished for its manufactures of laces, carpets, tapestry, woolen and cotton cloths, silk 

 stockings, gold and silver lace, and earthen ware. Population, 100,000. IVaterloo, about 

 10 miles from Brussels, and on the borders of the Soignies Forest, is a small village, near 

 which the fate of Europe was decided, in IS 15, by the victory of the Allies over Napoleon. 



Antwerp., on the Scheldt, is a large and well-built city, surrounded by a wall with carriage- 

 roads on the top, planted with rows of trees. The city is built in the form of a semicircle and 

 is intersected bj canals. The cathedral is one of the finest Gothic structures in the world, 

 and its spire is unrivaled ; it is 441 feet high, and deserves, according to the saying of Charles 

 the Fifth, to be kept in. a glass case and shown only on holydays. The stadt-house and exchange 

 are noble edifices. The harbor is deep and capacious. In the height of its prosperity, Ant- 

 werp was one of the most flourishing and wealthy commercial cities in the world, and contain- 

 ed 200,000 inhabitants. Its commerce has greatly declined, and the city has a decayed and 

 solitary appearance. Napoleon designed to make it a great naval station, and constructed here 

 some of the noblest dockyards in the world. The inhabitants carry on a few manufactures. 

 Population, 70,000. In the late revolution of Belgium, Antwerp was bombarded and set on 

 fire by the Dutch, and sustained much damage. 



Ghent stands at the confluence of .j rivers with the Scheldt, and is 7 miles in compass, out 

 contains within its walls many fields and unoccupied grounds. Many of its canals are bordered 

 with quays planted with rows of trees. The houses are large, but heavy and inelegant ; here is 

 a fine Gothic cathedral with marble floors and pillars. Ghent has manufactures of fine lace, 

 cotton, linen, woolen, silk, paper, and leather ; the trade of the city has lately increased. 

 Population, 80,000. Its citadel is one of the largest in Europe. The treaty of peace between 

 Great Britain and the United States was negotiated here, in 1815. 



Bruges, 8 miles from the sea, stands in a fertile plain. It communicates with the sea and 

 the towns in the interior by canals. Here are a college, an academy for painting, sculpture, and 

 architecture, several literary societies, a public library, and a botanical garden. The manufac- 

 ture of lace employs 6,000 people, and there are 200 schools, in which children are taught 

 this art. The town-house is a superb Gothic edifice ; its steeple is furnished with chimes of 

 bells, which play a different tune every quarter of an hour. Population, 36,000. It was for- 

 merly one of the great commercial marts of the world, but is now much declined ; yet its com- 

 merce, manufactures, and extensive ship-yards render it still important. Ostend, a few miles 

 west of Bruges, is one of the most important seaports in the country ; regular packets sail from 

 this place to England several times a week, and it has a great trade in the exportation of grain 

 and other products. Population, 10,554. 



Liege, on the Maese, is divided into 3 parts by the river, and has extensive suburbs. The 

 houses are high, and many of the streets narrow, crooked, and gloomy. Most of the inhabit- 

 ants are engaged in manufactures and trade. Iron, coal, and alum abound in the neighborhood, 

 and afford occupation for all the Industry of the place. The manufactures consist of iron, fire- 

 arms, clock-work, nails, &c. Population, 54,004. Liege contains a university, and numer- 

 ous institutions of education and learned societies. 



Tournay, the principal manufacturing town in the kingdom, is a flourishing place, with 

 33,000 inhabitants ; carpets, camlets, and porcelain, are among the principal products of its in- 

 dustry. Jllons, the capital of Hainault, is noted for the extensive coal mines in its neighbor- 

 hood. Population, 20,000. Louvain, with 25,000 inhabitants, is an active manufacturing 

 town, with a celebrated university. JYamur, capital of the province of the same name, is ren- 

 dered important by its manufactures of cutlery, leather, and earthenware, its extensive fortifica- 

 tions, and its population of 19,000 souls. JMalines or Mechlin, with 18,000 inhabitants, 

 Ypres, 15,000, and Courtray, 16,000, are among the other most considerable towns. Maes- 

 tricht, an important town in the Belgic province of Limburg, with 21,000 inhabitants, belongs 

 to the kingdom of the Netherlands. 



9. Agriculture. The agriculture of the Belgic provinces forms the principal source of their 

 wealth. The whole territory of Flanders is cultivated like a garden. A great proportion consisted, 

 originally, of harsh, barren sands, producing nothing but heath and fir ; yet by the application 

 of manure, these have been brought into a state of high fertility. The culture of artificial 

 grasses is the characteristic process of Flemish husbandry, which it has taught to the rest of 

 Europe. In general, the Flemish agriculture is conducted on a careful, econoraical, antique 



