traveller, "we see plainly typified the arrogant
despotism and the backward state of taste
and civilisation of Imperial Russia. In
gloomy Madrid, and its uncultivated environs,
may be recognised the gravity and the
aristocratic exclusiveness of the Spaniards of Old
Castile. Does not the very first glance of
Berlin reveal to the shrewd observer the
whole spirit of Prussian policy? In
picturesque Edinburgh do we not behold a
miniature reflection of all Scotland? Her
history may be read in the ruins of Holyrood,
and in the many-storied houses of the Old
Town, where the narrow wynds and closes
may be regarded as emblematic of Highland
poverty, whilst the broad streets and splendid
squares of the New Town seem to represent
the thriving Lowlands, enriched by newly
awakened industry and trade. In Vienna,
in Venice, in Florence, in almost all great
cities, we may, without much stretch of
imagination, view the streets, houses, and public
buildings, as so many hieroglyphics, which,
being decyphered, reveal the history and cha-
racter of the nation and people to which each
city belongs."

This notion may possibly be somewhat
fanciful; but, nevertheless, Mr. Kohl supports
it by some very ingenious reasoning, and
illustrates it by a multitude of curious facts
in relation to the Belgian capital, some of
which we here collect.

Brussels may be said to be a fruit which
very plainly indicates the tree whereon it has
grown and ripened. The mingled elements
composing the Belgian people are distinctly
manifest in the whole outward aspect of their
capital.

Many exquisite old specimens of
architecture, Byzantine as well as Gothic, bear
evidence of the great antiquity of Brussels.
The city contains buildings connected with
every phase of ftie national history, from the
periods of Burgundian and Spanish dominion
to the times of Austrian and Dutch rule;
and from thence to the present Belgian
monarchy. In passing from one district of
the city to another, it is most interesting to
observe these monuments of different ages as
they successively appear in view.

The Belgians are a people, who, whilst
they cling with reverential feelings to what is
old, nevertheless manifest great aptitude in
the adoption of what is new; and they are
animated by an eager desire for progression
and improvement. Accordingly their capital
exhibits a singular combination of the
antiquated structures of past ages, and the
elegant buildings of modern times;—poetic and
historic tradition are found side by side with
modern comfort and convenience.

In Belgium, the wealth of a rich and
productive country is poured into its capital;
and is visible in the markets, in the shops,
and in the houses. Everywhere, without
doors as well as within, the Belgians show
their wealth in the aspect of their capital.

The scenery of Belgium is pleasing rather
than grand; consisting chiefly of cultivated
plains, here and there varied by gentle
eminences. These features characterise the
country in the immediate environs of Brussels.
At a little distance from the city, the valley
of the Senne expands into an extensive plain,
overspread with rich pasture and woodland.
This plain is encircled by fertile hills; so that
Brussels may be said to unite, in its immediate
proximity, the wooded and hilly Walloon
country and the marshy land of Flanders;
the former represented by the Forest of
Soigné, and the latter by the swampy meadows
along the Senne.

Brussels is not only surrounded by parks
and gardens, but even within the city walls
the eye is continually refreshed by the sight
of shady trees and blooming flower-beds.
The stranger, on first setting foot in the city,
is impressed with the conviction that he is in
the heart of a highly cultivated and fertile
land. Madrid, the capital of a country in
which agiculture and gardening are in a very
backward state, is unadorned with vegetation;
and, as far as regards trees and flowers, the
Spanish capital, compared with Brussels, is
like a city in the midst of a desert.

In marked accordance with the elements
of the population, and with the natural
features of the country, are the occupations
of the Belgians in their capital. Art and
science, manufactures and handicrafts, flourish
in Brussels, and an enterprising and speculative
spirit in trade is a distinctive trait in the
Belgian character. Many branches of
manufacture have been brought to the highest
point of perfection in Brussels, which is not
merely the residence of the Belgian court and
nobility, but has from the most remote times
been an active trading and manufacturing
city. It is not less celebrated for lace- making
and cloth and carpet-weaving, than for
scientific and artistic efforts, and their successful
results.

Among the residents of Brussels we find
rich bankers, merchants, and manufacturers,
as well as retired capitalists and land-owning
nobles. In passing through the city, one
frequently finds a spacious garden adjoining a
densely- built group of houses; or an elegant
newly-erected building abutting on a venerable
old wall, the vestige of past centuries; or,
after passing a range of stately houses,
deserving the name of palaces, one suddenly
enters a manufacturing quarter of the city,
with its tall towering chimneys; then,
proceeding a little further, we arrive at a canal,
where ever-plying boats keep up continuous
intercourse between the busy trading districts
of the city. Nobles who are proud to trace
their lineage, even in the twentieth degree, to
John of Brabant and Margaret of Parma,
drive their emblazoned equipages through
the same streets in which the humble lace-
makers sit at work, and in which carpet-
weavers, goldsmiths, turners, &c., display at